The Train Tracks

Tuesday, August 16, 2011, 1:43 p.m. – After I had posted my devotions from this morning, the song, “The Train,” began playing in my mind, so I inquired of the Lord as to whether or not he had placed the song in my mind and, if so, if he had something he wanted to show me and/or to have me write about it. I prayed, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening,” and I read John 6 (quoting selected verses):

Vv. 24-27: Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

Vv. 34-40: “Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.”

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Vv. 43-51: “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

Vv. 53-59: Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.” He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

My Understanding: The people of Jesus’ day were not all that different from the people of today. We watch as God performs miracle after miracle in our lives and in the lives of others we know, and yet we often forget what he has done when we are going through the storms of our lives and are in great need of another miracle of God. Or, we don’t truly understand who Jesus really is and why he came and the significance of the miracles that we see him perform every day, and/or we get caught up in the miracles themselves and we become followers of the miracles of God instead of becoming followers of the God of the miracles.

Jesus knew the hearts of the people who were following after him, and he knows our hearts, too. He knows which ones of us are truly following him because of who he is and those who are following him just for the show, the entertainment value, the miracles of God they see him perform, what they can get, or for what they perceive to be the meaning of being a follower of Christ, though their understanding of who he truly is and what it really means to be one of his followers may be greatly lacking. He knew that some of his followers were just following him because he had fed them, and they wanted more. And, the Lord knows which ones of us are following him, too, just because of what we think we can get out of him.

Jesus told the people then, and he is still telling us today that we should not have a “give me” or “entitlement” mindset when it comes to our relationship with Jesus Christ. We should not follow him just for the blessings or the miracles or for whatever selfish motives we might have in becoming one of his followers. We should not think of Jesus/God as a genie in a bottle who is just there to grant our every wish and desire. That is not who God is and to treat him such is to dishonor him.

Instead of a “give me” approach to faith in Jesus Christ, we should have eternity’s values in mind and heart, and should be willing to give our all to our Lord Jesus Christ in service to him to advance his eternal kingdom, not to advance our own worldly kingdoms. Instead of thinking about what we want him to do for us or to give to us, we should think about and should act upon those thoughts concerning how we can live lives pleasing unto him, loving him and loving people, and giving ourselves to Christ as living sacrifices, no longer conformed to the likeness of this world and to fleshly appetites, but daily being transformed by the renewing of our minds, so that we think in terms of eternity and eternal values instead of having our minds on worldly things that won’t last and are destined to perish.

The people asked Jesus what they must do to do the works that God requires. Jesus answered them by telling them that the work of God is to believe in the one he has sent, namely Jesus Christ. Yet, the people wanted a miraculous sign, and they reminded Jesus of how their forefathers were given manna to eat in the desert. Jesus’ response to that was, again, to take them away from thinking about physical bread that would only temporarily satisfy them, and that would only satisfy physical hunger, and instead he led them again toward thinking about spiritual matters, i.e. those things of eternal value. He told them that Moses did not give them bread from heaven, but the Father is the one who gives them the true bread from heaven. Jesus was speaking about himself, but they did not understand.

So, in response to their request for the “true bread from heaven” who “gives life to the world,” Jesus told them plainly that he was that bread. Just as Jesus told the woman at the well about the “living water” that would never leave her thirsty, he told the crowd which was following him about the true bread from heaven, Jesus Christ, who gives life to those who put their faith and trust in him. For those who would choose to believe in him, they would never go hungry and they would never be thirsty. He was speaking metaphorically just as he did with the woman at the well, for he was speaking of spiritual hunger and thirst, and that only the true bread from heaven could ever satisfy that hunger and thirst in mankind.

Jesus went on to tell them that even though they had seen him, the true bread from heaven, still they did not believe, though some did. The Jews began to grumble about Jesus because of the words he had just spoken to them, and they began to examine his human qualifications, looking at him strictly from a human point of view. Jesus’ response to their questioning that he was the true bread who came down from heaven was to let them know that no one can come to him unless the Father draws him, so even the faith to believe in Jesus Christ is a gift from God.

Then, Jesus took it up a notch, and this is where it separated the sheep from the goats, i.e. separating those who were his true followers from those who were not, and who were following him in form only. Jesus, again, was speaking metaphorically, but some of the people listening to him took his words literally. He told them that they had to eat the bread if they wanted to live forever, and then he told them that the bread was his flesh, which he gives for the life of the world. Try to imagine with me for a moment being one in the crowd that day and hearing Jesus’ words, not knowing who he is and thinking that he was just a man (mankind) like you and me. We have to sympathize, to a point, with his listeners as he told them how they must eat his flesh and drink his blood if they were to be his true disciples, and if they were to have eternal life.

So, what did Jesus mean? These are hard words for us to understand, even though we have the advantage of having the word of God and of knowing who he truly is. Other words for “eat” are accept, believe, absorb or partake, i.e. to share in or take part in something (Encarta). Jesus’ physical body was crucified on the cross for our sins, and his physical blood was shed on the cross for our sins, so when we partake in his body and blood, we are accepting into our lives what he did for us on the cross, and via his resurrection, by being crucified with Christ to our sins and by allowing the Holy Spirit of God to raise us to new lives, free from the control of sin, and free to walk in obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ.

In response to Jesus’ words, many of his followers felt the teaching was too hard for them to accept, they were offended by it, they did not believe Jesus, and so they turned their backs on Jesus and no longer followed him. Oh, what a sad picture this is! How it should break our hearts that so many are deserting true faith in Jesus Christ, because when they understand the true gospel of Jesus Christ and what it requires of Jesus’ followers, they find the teaching too hard, too, which is why so many are watering down the gospel and/or are becoming followers of a watered down gospel message, which they have chosen to follow instead of the hard teaching of the cross of Jesus Christ. The Bible says that the cross is an offense. If people are not offended by the gospel message, then perhaps what is being preached is not really the gospel.

The Lord gave me an illustration a month ago of a train with its cars on a track heading toward the judgment of God. He showed me that this train represented those who are lacking in faith yet who are in the institutional church and who are or who claim to be Christ’s followers, but who are following a gospel of men because they have fallen into the trap of the snare of this false gospel message. The true church is mixed in with those who are not true followers, just like Jesus’ followers were a mixture of true believers and those who followed him only in form or because of what they could get from him. Yet, a time is coming when Jesus, in judgment, will separate the sheep from the goats. Jesus is calling out to his church to repent of their sins and to stop being followers of men, but to accept the true gospel message, which is a hard teaching to accept, but is the only gospel that gives life eternal to those who are willing to accept it and to appropriate it into their lives.

The Train / An Original Work / July 17, 2011

The train is coming down the tracks.
It captures all who in faith lack.
The engine is controlled by man;
Leads each captive to ruin.

The cars, they are God’s holy church,
Which follows men who are on the search
To trap the church in their own snare;
For Christ they do not care.

The track, it leads to God’s judgment
For those who are not repentant,
But follow, each his own stubborn way,
And Jesus they do not obey.

So God is calling to His bride
To turn from sin and in Christ abide;
Stop placing their trust solely in man;
Trust Christ for His forgiveness.

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

Link to song

He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:

“‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
7 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.’

8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men” (Mark 7:6-8).

Oh, What Glory!

Tuesday, August 16, 2011, 8:42 a.m. – The song, “Magnify Him,” was playing in my mind when I awoke this morning. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read John 5:16-47 (quoting vv 16-30):

Life Through the Son
16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. 17 Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” 18 For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

19 Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these. 21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.

24 “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. 25 I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. 30 By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

My Understanding: Jesus often healed people on the Sabbath (Saturday). Because he did these things on the Jewish Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. They hated him and desired to kill him, too, because they felt that he broke the Sabbath, and because he was making himself equal with God, proclaiming himself to be God the Son. And, indeed, Jesus was letting them know that he was God the Son and that everything that God the Father did, he also did. He told them that just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so the Son also gives life. Only God can give life, so Jesus was most definitely letting them know he was God. Not only was he God the Son, but he was the judge of all men, so that all men might honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He was saying, in essence, that he was equal with God the Father and should be given the same honor as they gave to God the Father, and for this they hated him and wanted him dead.

Then, Jesus let them know the way to eternal life with God. They must believe in Jesus Christ’s word and believe God the Father, who sent Jesus, i.e. they were to believe that Jesus was sent from God, that he was God the Son, and they were to believe what God the Father had said about him, concerning the Son.

To believe in what God says (his word) means to obey it. Belief is not a mere intellectual assent to something or an emotional decision, as the Bible says that even the demons believe and they shudder. The kind of belief that Jesus and the writers of scripture spoke of was the kind of belief that put action to the words (read Hebrews 11). If we say we believe that Jesus died for our sins so that we can go free and we believe in him to be our Savior and yet we willfully continue to walk in sin, that is not belief. We show that true faith exists within us by putting feet to our words (read I John and the book of James, for example).

Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. He took all our sins upon him. They were crucified and buried with him, and then he rose from the dead, triumphing over hell, Satan, death and sin so that we could go free from the ultimate penalty of sin (eternity in hell) and so that we could be free from the control of sin over our lives, so that we could walk in freedom and obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ on a daily basis. So, when we come to faith in Jesus Christ, the Bible says that we are crucified with Christ, i.e. we die to our sins and our old way of living, we are buried with Christ and then we are raised to new life in Jesus Christ, free from the control of sin and free to walk in victory in the power of the Holy Spirit of God now living within us and giving us new life. Our baptism symbolizes what takes place in our hearts when we come into genuine relationship with Jesus Christ, and it symbolizes what Jesus Christ did for us when he died for our sins and when he was resurrected.

Then, Jesus told them about another resurrection. Our first resurrection is a spiritual one in which we are raised to new life in Jesus Christ after having died to our old lives of sin. The resurrection he talked about next, though, was a physical one at the second coming of Christ at which time the dead in Christ will be raised and those in Christ Jesus who are alive and remaining will be caught up with the Lord in the air and forever we shall be with the Lord (read I Thessalonians 4:13-18). Yet, those outside of faith in Jesus Christ will rise to be condemned. And, Jesus said that his judgment, which comes from the Father, is just.

One day Jesus is going to come back for us and he will judge the earth and those who live upon the earth. For those of us who are truly his by his grace and through genuine believing faith (faith in action), it will be a glorious time for us when our Lord returns for his bride. Yet for those outside of Christ, which includes many who think they know the Lord because they have bought into a lie which tells them that turning from their sin and obedience to Christ are not necessary for salvation, they will be eternally condemned. So, make sure today that you have turned from your sin and that you are walking in obedience to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ so that when he comes back you will hear his voice and you will rise to live with him for eternity in glory!

Magnify Him/ An Original Work / April 17, 2011

Glory to the Father, and glory to the Son;
Praise the Holy Spirit – our God, the Three in One.
Alpha and Omega, beginning and the end;
Savior, sanctifier, healer, the Amen!

Jesus reigns forever; He is the King of kings.
He is our Redeemer, the Lord of everything.
Through His blood He saved us, and brought us victory;
Purifying, our debt buying, so we’re free!

Soon He’s coming back for us, to make us His bride.
He asks that we watch ‘til the time when He arrives.
When He comes, what glory then will be ours to share;
Magnify Him when we meet Him in the air!

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

Link to song

The Kind of Worshippers the Father Seeks

Monday, August 15, 2011, 5:28 a.m. – The song, “And Can It Be That I Should Gain,” was playing in my mind when I awoke this morning. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read John 4:1-42 (quoting vv 1-26):

Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman
1 The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.

4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”

13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”

17 “I have no husband,” she replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

21 Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

26 Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.”

My Understanding: The scripture said that Jesus “had to go” through Samaria. It may be that was the most direct route between Judea and Galilee, yet I believe that he “had to go” through Samaria because he had a divine appointment with a woman at a well.

Jesus was tired from the journey. He sat down by the well. A Samaritan woman came to draw water. Jesus asked her to give him a drink. The woman questioned Jesus’ request of her. After all, she was a woman and a Samaritan, and Jews did not associate with Samaritans. Jesus responded by telling the woman that if she knew the gift of God and the one who was asking her for a drink, she would have asked him for a drink and he would have given her living water.

Just as in the story of Nicodemus when Jesus tried to tell him that he must be born again, and he questioned the physical impossibility for him to reenter his mother’s womb, because he was thinking in the natural mind and the physical realm, the woman at the well also responded to Jesus by questioning how he could give her something to drink when he did not even have anything with which to draw water. And, just as Jesus was speaking to Nicodemus about a spiritual birth, not a physical one, he was speaking to the woman at the well about spiritual and life-giving water, i.e. he was speaking about the Holy Spirit of God, and he was talking to her about being born again of the Spirit of God, as well.

Jesus responded to her by telling her that physical water will always leave us thirsty and wanting and needing more, because it is temporary and cannot provide permanent satisfaction, because it goes in and then out of the body. Yet, the water Jesus was speaking about, i.e. the “living water,” would be a continual well springing up within her to eternal life. In other words, this “living water,” would remain within her and would continually supply all her spiritual needs. It would provide a permanent solution to her spiritual thirst which she had tried to satisfy with the things of the world and with wrong relationships.

The woman, still thinking that Jesus was speaking in the natural realm, asked Jesus for this water so that she wouldn’t have to keep coming to the well to draw water. That seemed practical. So, Jesus, knowing full well her marital status, told her to go and call her husband and come back. She told him she had no husband. He told her that what she said was the truth, and in fact she had previously had five husbands and the one with whom she was now living was not her husband. Imagine with me for a moment a complete stranger knowing about your entire life and telling it to you. The woman immediately responded by believing him to be, and declaring him to be a prophet of God.

The woman’s thoughts immediately jumped to questioning the appropriate place of worship of God the Father. There was not much of a segue there to know how she transitioned in her mind from proclaiming Jesus to be a prophet of God to declaring the difference between where the Jews worshipped God and where her people worshipped God. Yet, that is where she went next. I love Jesus’ response to her! He said that a time was coming when she would worship - or worshippers of God in general would worship - the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. He said that a time was coming and had now come when true worshippers of God the Father would worship him in spirit and in truth, “for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks.” She said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes he will explain everything to us.” Jesus said, “I am he.”

How this applies to our lives

Jesus Christ has a divine appointment with each one of us. He was/is God the Son on his throne in heaven, yet he willingly came to earth, took on human flesh, suffered as we suffer, was tempted as we are tempted, yet without sin, was rejected and despised by men, was betrayed, abandoned and denied by his closest companions, was mocked, flogged, beaten and then he was crucified on the cross, although he had committed no wrong. He did all of this because of his great love for us. When he died, our sins died with him. When he was buried, our sins were buried with him. When he rose from the dead, our sins remained buried, as he triumphed over them by the cross and through his resurrection so that we could go free of the ultimate penalty of sin (eternal punishment in hell), so that we could go free from the bondage to and control of sin over our daily lives via repentance, and so we could be free to love, obey, worship, honor, glorify, magnify, and serve Him only.

Jesus is offering to each one of us the same thing he offered the woman at the well, i.e. he is offering us “living water” that will never leave us thirsting for anything else, because it will be a well within us springing up to eternal life. In other words, when we come to faith in Jesus Christ via repentance (turning from our sin) and obedience (turning to walk in God’s ways and in his truth), he puts within us the Holy Spirit of God, i.e. this living water, and he remains within us as our life-giving source to provide all that we would ever need in this life to satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts, minds and souls. When we daily draw on that source of life instead of looking to the things of this world to satisfy us, we are filled to overflowing with this “living water” that will never leave us dry and that will always satisfy.

Jesus told the woman that a time was coming and had come (in the person of Jesus Christ) when men would no longer have to go to a specific place to worship God. When Jesus Christ, via the Holy Spirit of God, enters into our hearts, our hearts become his sanctuary and God lives within us, so we can worship him anytime and anyplace. The “sanctuary” is now in our hearts, not in a physical building or at a particular location. God no longer dwells in buildings built by human hands. We, the people of God, are the building of God. So, a physical building called a “church” today is not the church, and a “sanctuary” within the building is not the sanctuary of God, and when we enter a building, we are not in the house of God. When we enter into fellowship and communion with our Lord through our times of prayer and reading of his word, and when we enter into our times of personal worship during our daily quiet times alone with him, we are worshiping him in spirit and in truth, if indeed true worship is what is taking place and not just ritual or routine.

In Romans 12:1-2, the apostle Paul, inspired of the Holy Spirit of God, tells us of the kind of worship of God that is in spirit and in truth, and the kind of worship and worshippers that our Father God seeks. We are to offer our bodies (our entire beings) as living sacrifices to God, holy and pleasing to him, for this is our spiritual act of worship. God is not interested in our routines, rituals, forms of worship, empty vows, and/or going through the motions of what some call “worship.” The kind of worship that is “in spirit and in truth” is for us to offer ourselves to God to live holy lives, and to live lives pleasing to him, no longer living in conformity to the pattern of this world and all the things of this world designed to “satisfy” our deepest longings, but rather being transformed by the Holy Spirit of God within us in the daily renewing of our minds to be in conformity with God’s plan and purposes for our lives. We cannot do this in our own flesh. This is a work of the Holy Spirit within us in giving us this living water that springs up as a well within us, yet it is not forced upon us. We must daily surrender to the will of the Father in our lives in obedience to our Lord’s commands.

Not one of us is deserving of this living water. We did nothing to earn it. Jesus provided it for us freely by his grace, yet to receive it we must humble ourselves before God, repent of our sins and choose to walk in obedience to God. This is what faith means. Then, we can say, with Charles Wesley, the writer of this hymn, “My chains fell off, my heart was (is) free, I rose (rise), went (go) forth and followed (daily follow) Thee.”

And Can It Be That I Should Gain / Charles Wesley / Thomas Campbell

And can it be, that I should gain
An interest in the Saviour's blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

He left His Father's throne above,
So free, so infinite His grace,
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam's helpless race:
'Tis mercy all, immense and free;
For, O my God, it found out me!

Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature's night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth and followed Thee.

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMCOyY0Rlus

Oh, What Love!

Sunday, August 14, 2011, 7:56 a.m. – The song, “How Deep the Father’s Love For Us,” sung by Philips, Craig and Dean, was playing in my mind, only I could not recall the words to the song, so then the song, “Magnify Him,” began playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read John 3:1-21:

Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

3 In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

4 “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”

5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

My Understanding: Nicodemus came to Jesus at night, perhaps because he was afraid to be seen with Jesus during the daylight out of fear of what his fellow Pharisees might think of him. It appears he came out of curiosity, with an inquisitive mind, desiring to know more about this man Jesus. He recognized and acknowledged that Jesus was a man sent from God, and that the things he did were evidence that he was sent from God. So, Jesus seized upon this divine appointment and opportunity to tell Nicodemus what was required of him in order for him to have eternal life in God’s eternal kingdom.

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

“Born again” is a phrase that has been used and misused by so many people that it brings about various responses from people today when they hear that phrase spoken. Yet, when we understand its true meaning and how Jesus intended the phrase to be understood, even though the phrase itself may have a bad repute in our generation due to its misuse, I think we will come to appreciate what Jesus was saying to Nicodemus and the importance that Nicodemus understood what Jesus was saying and why he said it this way.

Nicodemus was thinking with a natural mind. He was trying to image a full-grown man being born again out of his mother’s womb, and of course, this made no sense to him. So, Jesus took what he was thinking and explained further what he meant. He said,

“I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit."

This is yet another part of Jesus’ words that have been interpreted many different ways today, yet I believe, if we read what Jesus said in the context of how he said it, that it will become clear as to what Jesus meant. Jesus had told Nicodemus that he must be “born again.” Jesus was speaking of a spiritual birth, not a physical birth. Nicodemus, on the other hand, was thinking of a physical birth and his question to Jesus was asking him how a man could be born again physically, recognizing that this must certainly be a physical impossibility. So, when Jesus said that we must be born of “water” and the “Spirit” he was talking about the fact that we must be born physically, yes, but we must also be born spiritually. That is why he followed that statement by saying “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” He was letting Nicodemus know that he was not talking about having another physical birth, but that the birth he was speaking of was spiritual.

Nicodemus wanted to know how one could be “born again” spiritually, so Jesus answered him. He let him know that Jesus had to first be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. He was speaking to Nicodemus about how Jesus must be lifted up on the cross to die for our sins so that we, through faith in him, could be saved from our sins and so we could gain eternal life with God in his eternal kingdom, beginning right now. Then, he went on to tell him something which we now, in our time, have come to accept as the primary or main passage of scripture that presents the gospel of Jesus Christ:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

This is where it gets sticky, though. Many have watered down the word “believe” to where it means nothing more than acknowledging that Jesus Christ was sent from God and that he died on the cross for our sins and that we are sinners in need of a Savior. That is really not much different from where Nicodemus was when he came to Jesus at night, for he recognized that Jesus was indeed a man sent from God and that the things he did were of God, yet what Nicodemus lacked was a heart transformation, being “born again,” of the Spirit of God. When one is born, he starts out new and fresh, and that is what it means to be born spiritually, too. We don’t invite Jesus Christ into our old lives for him to save us from hell and yet continue to live just like we did before. No! Being born again means to have a radical life-changing and life-altering renewal of heart and mind to where we actually become a new person, leaving our sin behind us, and walking in obedience to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, imperfect as we may yet be, yet trusting Jesus each step of the way.

Jesus said, in speaking further on this subject of new birth and belief in Jesus Christ for salvation, This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” He said that those who continue to do evil will not come into the light lest the light expose their evil deeds. In contrast to this, he said that those who love the light and who live by the truth, will come into the light so that it may be seen plainly that what they do has been done through God.

Basically, he was saying that “belief” in Jesus Christ means turning from our sin, no longer living lives in darkness and doing things we wouldn’t want other people to see us do, but rather living as people who have come into the light whose deeds can be seen to be of God. Nicodemus came to Jesus at night, not because his deeds were evil necessarily, but perhaps because he was ashamed to be seen with Jesus. Many “believers” are ashamed to be associated with Jesus, too, and still live in darkness. Jesus came to set us free from that darkness so we can walk in the light. True belief means living as people of the light and having a life-altering transformation of our hearts to where we truly become new people, repentant of (turning from) sin and obedient servants of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

How Deep the Father’s Love for Us / Philips, Craig and Dean

How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
And make a wretch His treasure…

Why should I gain from His reward
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YV2zMZ-nZ7k

Magnify Him/ An Original Work / April 17, 2011

Glory to the Father, and glory to the Son;
Praise the Holy Spirit – our God, the Three in One.
Alpha and Omega, beginning and the end;
Savior, sanctifier, healer, the Amen!

Jesus reigns forever; He is the King of kings.
He is our Redeemer, the Lord of everything.
Through His blood He saved us, and brought us victory;
Purifying, our debt buying, so we’re free!

Soon He’s coming back for us, to make us His bride.
He asks that we watch ‘til the time when He arrives.
When He comes, what glory then will be ours to share;
Magnify Him when we meet Him in the air!

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs/home/songs/magnify-him

Heavy Burdens

Thursday, August 11, 2011, 5:40 a.m. – The song, “Refresh My Spirit, Lord,” was playing in my mind when I awoke this morning. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Luke 22-24 (quoting 24:36-49):

Jesus Appears to the Disciples
36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”

40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in their presence.

44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

My Understanding: I read in chapter 22 how Judas had agreed to betray Jesus. Then, Jesus sat down with his twelve disciples to eat the Passover feast with them. Jesus took the bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples. He said, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” Then, he took the cup in his hand. He said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” He was not just asking them to remember him through the act of taking communion. He was teaching them and he was preparing them for what was about to take place, i.e. his crucifixion, even though they did not understand what he was saying about his death and resurrection at the time. He was letting them know that his coming death, i.e. his body and blood were being given to them as a sacrifice for them and for their sins. And, he wanted them to remember that sacrifice regularly.

Then, he told them that one of them was going to betray him. A dispute arose among them about who was considered to be the greatest. Jesus then seized this opportunity to teach them the importance of being a servant, as he had always modeled to them.

Following this Passover meal with his disciples, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives to pray. His disciples followed him. It was there that Jesus struggled in his human spirit with the thought of what was soon to take place. He knew not only the emotional (rejection, mocking, abandonment, betrayal and denial of him) and physical (beatings, scourging, being spat upon and being crucified) suffering he must endure, but he knew that the ultimate suffering would come when he took upon himself the sins of the entire world.

He prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Jesus was very God and yet he was also very man, so he struggled in his human spirit with what he knew must take place unless there was another way. So, even though, in his flesh, he hoped there was another way, yet he was submissive and obedient to the Father and to the cross, because of his great love for us and because of him being willing to die for our sins so that we could go free.

Judas did betray him. Jesus was arrested and put on trial. All his disciples deserted him, and Peter disowned him three times. The religious leaders incited the crowd and they called for him to be crucified, although he had committed no wrong. They beat him, mocked him, spat upon him and then they hung Jesus on a cross as though he was a common criminal. When he died our sins died with him. When he was buried in the tomb, our sins were buried with him. Yet, he rose from the dead, triumphing over death, hell, Satan and sin so that, through faith in him, we would be free from the penalty of sin and the control of sin over our lives.

The disciples got word that Jesus had risen from the dead, just as he said he would do, yet they still did not believe the news of his resurrection.

Two of the Lord’s disciples were on their way to Emmaus. They were talking with each other about what had just happened. Then, Jesus appeared and began walking with them, yet they did not recognize him. This reminded me of the time the disciples were in a boat out on the lake during a fierce storm. Jesus came walking to them on the lake, but they thought he was a ghost. He said to them, “It is I, don’t be afraid.” On the road to Emmaus, Jesus asked his disciples, “What are you discussing?” The passage of scripture in Luke 24 states that the disciples were downcast. Then, they went on to tell the stranger (Jesus) about Jesus and how he was a prophet of God and how he had been crucified.

They were downcast because they thought Jesus was going to physically redeem Israel from bondage to Rome and to usher in the kingdom of God on earth. They had expectations of Jesus that he had never promised, at least not in the sense that they understood. So, they were disappointed, confused and sorrowful of heart and were in great need to have their spirits refreshed and their hearts revived by the power of God. They went on to tell how it had been three days since Jesus’ crucifixion and how they had received a report that Jesus had risen and that he was alive. Some of their companions had gone to the tomb and had found it empty, just as the women had told them, but they did not see Jesus alive.

Jesus’ response to these disciples’ story of despair and hopelessness was to rebuke them for their slowness of heart to believe what the prophets of old had told concerning Jesus many years prior to this. He said to them, “Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” Then, Jesus began to explain to them all that the scriptures had said concerning himself, beginning with Moses and all the prophets. When they got to their destination, they urged Jesus to stay with them for the day was almost over. So, he went in to stay with them. The scripture says: “When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them,” just as they had seen him do many times before. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but Jesus disappeared then from their sight.

These two disciples with whom Jesus had spoken on the road to Emmaus got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. They found the eleven (Judas was no longer with them) disciples and others who were with them. They were all assembled together. They told them, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” Then, they told them about their encounter with Jesus on the road to Emmaus.

While they were still talking about this, Jesus suddenly appeared among them and said, “Peace be with you.” They were afraid and thought he was a ghost – sound familiar? And, again he said, “It is I,” and he encouraged them not to be afraid. Then he reminded them that he had told them previously that everything must be fulfilled that was prophesied by Moses, the Prophets and Psalms. And, then he opened their minds so that they could understand the scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations…”

Jesus appeared to many people after he rose from the dead and then he ascended into heaven where he now sits on his throne. He sent his Holy Spirit to dwell inside his followers, i.e. those who truly believe in him as Lord and Savior, as evidenced by their lives and actions. And, since that time he has continued to come inside the lives of his followers via his Holy Spirit. One day he is coming again to judge the world, to gather his faithful ones to himself and to set up his kingdom reign on the earth for 1000 years after which time there will be a new heaven and a new earth and we will be with him forever. Yet, he now lives within us via his Holy Spirit, who counsels, directs, teaches, guides, convicts, assists, empowers and enables his true disciples to live for him, to forsake sin and worldly passions and to walk humbly before their God in obedience and submission.

Before Jesus was crucified, he told his disciples about what they could expect to happen to them as his followers. He told them that they would be persecuted, rejected, arrested, put in prison, flogged, put on trial for their faith in Jesus Christ, and that all this would result in them being witnesses for him. He told them not to worry about what to say, for they would be given both wisdom and words to speak. Then, he went on to tell them that they would be betrayed by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and that some of these would even put them to death. Ouch! Not only that, he told them that all men would hate them because of Christ. He didn’t paint a pretty picture for them of what it would mean to be his followers. Yet, he gave them many encouraging words, too, throughout his time with them, including he concluded these remarks by telling them that if they stood firm in their faith, they would gain eternal life, not that they were earning their salvation but that their perseverance in suffering for the sake of the gospel was evidence that they were indeed saved by grace.

So, when we go through times of suffering and trials in our lives; when we are hated, persecuted, abandoned, rejected, mistreated, mocked, and even betrayed by those we love and who are the closest to us, we must understand that Jesus told us ahead of time this would happen to us, so that we are not surprised and become downcast within our spirits, thinking that he had promised us a rose garden (without thorns) when he did indeed tell us that we would suffer just as he suffered and because of our faith, testimony and witness for him and for the gospel of repentance and forgiveness of sins.

Not only should we not be surprised when we go through suffering, and we should not be downcast because we had the wrong expectations of what it means to be a Christian, but we are to rejoice and to “leap for joy” when we go through such times as this. We must bring our burdens to Christ and take his yoke upon us and learn from him, because he already bore the penalty of our sin so that we could go free. And, we should surrender and submit ourselves to the cross and to what that means for our lives, and allow Jesus to take control and to do his will in our lives through our times of suffering. Then, he can refresh our spirits and revive our hearts so that we can serve him, love him and obey him always.

Refresh My Spirit, Lord / An Original Work / August 8, 2011

Refresh my spirit, Lord. Revive my heart today.
Move me to serve You, Lord in all I do and say.
Be my heart’s one desire; my spirit set on fire
In pure devotion, Lord, to love you and obey.

Create within me, Lord, a pure heart, this I pray,
So I can worship You and yield to You always.
May all Your love and pow’r be lived in me, I pray,
So I might love as You; be Your witness today.

Jesus says, “Come to me all you with heavy hearts,
And find in me your peace, and give to me your all.
My yoke is light to bear, ‘cause I paid for your sin,
So you might be set free, and purified within.”

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

Link to song

Our Purpose Statement

Tuesday, August 09, 2011, 7:23 a.m. – The song, “God’s Great Commands,” was playing in my mind when I awoke this morning. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Luke 19:1-10:

Zacchaeus the Tax Collector
1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’”

8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

My Understanding: Zacchaeus was a wealthy tax collector. Tax collectors in Jesus’ day were despised and were often considered in the same category as robbers and thieves. The scripture says that Zacchaeus wanted to see who Jesus was. I don’t know if it was because he saw a crowd around him and was just curious as to whom the people were paying so much attention, or if he had heard about him previously, i.e. through word of mouth, so that when Jesus came into town, he wanted to see the man he had heard so much about. Either way, Zacchaeus wanted to learn about the man Jesus and to discover who he was.

Jesus knew who Zacchaeus was, though, and he had a divine appointment with him that day. When Jesus saw him in the tree, he commanded him to come down, stating that he must stay at his house that day. There appeared to be urgency in Jesus’ words and a sense that this was one of those divine moments that could not and should not be overlooked. Zacchaeus’ heart was ripe at that moment to receive Jesus into his home and into his life. And, Jesus was sensitive to seizing that moment and that opportune time to invite himself into Zacchaeus’ home and life, even knowing and being fully aware of the kind of reaction he would receive from the populous of his day who regarded tax collectors as “sinners,” while obviously not recognizing that they, too, were sinners.

Zacchaeus, though, did not allow the opinions, attitudes and remarks of the people to dissuade him. The scripture said that he stood up and spoke to the Lord very confidently and assuredly concerning his heart response to Jesus. The picture of him standing up and saying emphatically, “Look, Lord!” paints a picture in my mind of someone who decided in his heart that he was not going to be the person people thought him to be any longer. He was going to be a changed man. He did not let the words of others discourage him. In fact, I believe their words actually helped him make that decision, though I could be wrong. Yet, what is clear is that Zacchaeus did make a heart decision at that point to repent (turn from) of any sin and to become a new man.

Zacchaeus didn’t just say he was sorry for any wrong he might have committed against anyone. He went in the opposite direction. His response to Jesus reminds me of this passage in Ephesians 4:20-28:

You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21 Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need...

Zacchaeus, though a tax collector and a “sinner,” understood this truth, even though many of the “religious” people of his day totally missed this truth. When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, it means that we are transformed inwardly, in our hearts, and we become completely new. The old sinful nature is discarded via repentance (turning from our sin) and we are changed inwardly into Christ’s likeness. This is the true meaning of repentance, and it is the work of the Holy Spirit of God within our hearts that brings about this transformation, as we cooperate with his work in allowing him to change us. Zacchaeus was given understanding because his heart was receptive to receive this truth and to accept it personally into his life.

Then, Jesus stated that, because of Zacchaeus’ faith, salvation had come to his house, and not only that, but Jesus went on to say that Zacchaeus, a despised Gentile tax collector and “sinner” was now a son of Abraham, too. Oh, how that must have insulted the “religious” people who thought they were the only sons of Abraham. Yet, Gal. 3:7 states that those who believe in Jesus Christ are the children of Abraham, and Romans 2 states that a Jew (the Jews were God’s chosen people) is one who is one inwardly and circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. As well, Romans 9 states that just because someone is a physical descendant of Abraham it does not mean he or she is a child of Abraham or that they are true “Israel.” It is not the natural children (by physical birth) who are God’s children, but it is the children of promise (belief in Jesus Christ as Messiah and Lord) who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.

Then, Jesus stated his mission: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” This is who Jesus was and is, and Zacchaeus wanted to see who Jesus was. If someone were to write Jesus’ purpose statement, this would be it – to seek and to save the spiritually lost. And, he has passed that mission on to his followers. He told us that when the power of the Holy Spirit comes upon us that we will be his witnesses to the ends of the earth (see Acts 1:8). He also said that we are to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching them to obey everything Jesus commanded (see Matt 28:19-20).

Jesus set the example for us of how to “seek and to save the lost” in this story of Zacchaeus. Jesus was passing through Jericho. While he was on his way, he spied Zacchaeus up in that tree. He knew this was a divine appointment, and he acted upon it immediately. And, Zacchaeus responded to the call of God on his life, he believed, and he was saved. We, as well, need to be prepared, ready, willing and sensitive to those divine appointments in our lives to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with those God puts in our paths. We must do so in the power of the Holy Spirit, and we must do so with the intent of leading people to become followers of Jesus Christ who obey his commands.

May I, and may we follow Jesus’ example today in being ones whose mission and purpose in life is to seek and to bring to salvation the spiritually lost who are outside of faith in Jesus Christ.

God’s Great Commands / An Original Work / July 10, 2011

Loving God and loving others
Are the Lord God’s great commands.
On these rest all of the others;
Live by them and you’ll not fail.
Be a witness, share the gospel,
Be a light in this dark world.
Share the love of Jesus always
To a world who has not heard.

Serving others; be like Jesus;
Wash their feet and pray with them.
Be a healer; mend their hurts and
Show them how to turn from sin.
Be a living example of
How to live for Jesus Christ,
Walking with Him in His footsteps,
Leading others to new life.

Give to God and give to others
Of yourselves in ev’ry way.
Obey your Lord, do His bidding;
Bow your knees and humbly pray.
Pray for others to know Jesus.
Tell how they can be set free
Of their sins and live for Jesus;
Walk with Him eternally.

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

Link to Song

Refresh My Spirit, Lord

Refresh My Spirit, Lord / An Original Work / August 8, 2011

Refresh my spirit, Lord. Revive my heart today.
Move me to serve You, Lord in all I do and say.
Be my heart’s one desire; my spirit set on fire
In pure devotion, Lord, to love you and obey.

Create within me, Lord, a pure heart, this I pray,
So I can worship You and yield to You always.
May all Your love and pow’r be lived in me, I pray,
So I might love as You; be Your witness today.

Jesus says, “Come to me all you with heavy hearts,
And find in me your peace, and give to me your all.
My yoke is light to bear, ‘cause I paid for your sin,
So you might be set free, and purified within.”

Song Lyrics @ Public Domain

Link to Song