This beautiful song came to my mind this morning so I went searching for information about the song. The author was Septimus Winner who was born in 1827 in Philadelphia. He was the seventh child born to the Winner family. His father was a violin maker and he no doubt grew up with music all around him. Septimus wrote under the name of Alice Hawthorne and it is widely believed that he did not deem himself worthy to receive honor for the words he penned. Whispers are only heard by those whispered to. There have been times in 2009 when God has whispered only to me. No one else heard our conversation. God’s whispers encouraged me to go on. It was whispers as the songwriter put it.

“Whispering hope, oh how welcome thy voice

Making my heart in its sorrow rejoice.”

Colossians 1:27 sums it all up, “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Yes, it’s whispering hope that keeps us going.

Prayer: Thank You Lord for the whispering hope of Your Word when things look hopeless and it’s hard to go on.

Praise is Inevitable

“And he answered and said unto them, I tell that, if these should hold their praise, the stones would immediately cry out.” Luke 19:40 (in the King James Version of the Holy Bible). Jesus was speaking in this verse and wanted both the multitude and His disciples the seriousness of praise. Praise is inevitable; somebody will praise Him. If you an I withhold our praise then a stone without a mouth will immediately cry out. Why not praise Him? He’s been so good. He’s done so much for us and yes, He deserves all of our praise.

Prayer: With everything that’s in me I’ll praise You. Lord, You have heard every request that I have made and answered every prayer according to the will. I refuse to let a silly stone take my place.

Absenteeism

Employers loose millions of dollars every year due to absenteeism. The spirit of the world has crept into churches and they too are having a similar problem with lack of attendance. From reading the scripture it looks like it’s not a new problem as Paul addressed this issue in Hebrews 10:25 (NIV). “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Some of the excuses that people give for not coming to church are often laughable. One man told my husband that they would be in Sunday School if he did not get his boat cranked. The schools have also had a problem and have set a rule of missing only 10 days. If they miss more than 10 days the student cannot be passed to the next grade. Faithfulness is what God is looking for and I wonder if He hasn’t reached His limit with some of us? A very important thought to consider.

Prayer: Lord, I want to hear You say, “Well done, thy good and faithful servant.” So much is lost when we don’t go to Your house. The continuity of faithfulness is beneficial to a Child of God.