Online Church is leading the spiritual decay of the “church-goers” we have left. Why? Because it has put us on our own little faith islands…ALONE. Which is exactly how the enemy likes it. What we need is COMMUNITY. #faith #catholic #christianity #god #church #community #recovery #catholicblog #family #support
Online Church: And the Spiritual Decay that Ensues — BeautyBeyondBones
Oh the years without a creed
With stone in hand to hurt and bleed
I thought no Saviour did I need
Twas the same thought aimed at Stephen
Each day began with crowds and fears
Conditioned hatred, screams and tears
With stones in hand I marched up near
Twas the same thought aimed at Stephen
And with fear, in thought and mind,
Other people did I bind
With rage and anger to mankind
Twas the same thought aimed at Stephen
I threw my stones with strength I found
And watched them tumbling to the ground
No power can hurt what God has crowned
Twas the same thought aimed at Stephen
And as I learnt to leave my woes
And trust in God oh sweet repose
Through the Saviour’s blood we know
The example of St Stephen
Albert Orsborn (4 September 1886 – 4 February 1967) was the 6th General of The Salvation Army (1946-1954).
Born Albert William Thomas Orsborn, he became an Officer of The Salvation Army in 1905. Albert served as a Corps Officer and in divisional work in the British Territory of the Army. In 1909, he married his first wife, Captain Evalina Barker.
In 1925, he was sent to serve as Chief Side Officer at the International Training College. In 1933, he was farewelled to New Zealand as Chief Secretary. He then became Territorial Commander of Scotland and Ireland in 1936. In 1940, he became British Commissioner.
Albert Orsborn’s first wife, Captain Evalina Barker, died in 1942. This was a very hard time for him. Two years later, in 1944, he married his second wife, Major Evelyn Berry. They were married for just a year when she died.
In 1946, the High Council of The Salvation Army elected Albert to become the General of The Salvation Army. He married his third wife, Commissioner Mrs Phillis Taylor (a daughter of General Higgins), in 1947.
General Orsborn served as General for eight years. He was the author of The House of My Pilgrimage. He retired on 30 June 1954.
General Albert Orsborn died at the age of 80 years and 5 months.
Throughout the course of his Salvation Army life Albert wrote many wonderful songs and books.
One of the songs he wrote was In the secret of thy presence
The Saviour’s Love is all embracing,
Give our thoughts to Him above,
His Angels come to lift us higher,
To the Throne of Grace and Love
Gently resting on those feathers,
In the warmth of their embrace,
Rising up our minds from shadows,
To a place of ever Faith.
Like a swan who treads the river,
With her babes not far behind,
A group of Angels soaring upwards,
To raise the thoughts of all mankind.
Yet still within the bliss we protest,
Mistaking pain for downward flight,
Still each thorn it sends us soaring,
Like a child with upward kite
O blessed Angels pointing skyward
Are Life’s tests which come from thee,
Taking us forever higher,
Rising upward by decree.
Without the pain we cannot reach him,
However long? We cannot say,
Long slender fingers promise heaven,
But first our sins must die away.
White robed figures swirl around us,
E’er mistaken for a curse
Rising upward nearing Heaven,
Always better never worse.
When you feel that Life is scourging
Rejoice an Angel does draw near,
Surrender to the journey upwards,
Old beliefs will die with tears.
1 Praise the Lord.[a]
Praise the Lord, my soul.
2 I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
3 Do not put your trust in princes,
in human beings, who cannot save.
4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans come to nothing.
5 Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
he remains faithful forever.
7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
8 the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the foreigner
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
10 The Lord reigns forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the Lord.
🐶 I am an Animal Rescuer 🐶
heaven — 💥Peace & Truth
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross
The emblem of suffering and shame
And I love that old cross where the Dearest and Best
For a world of lost sinners was slain
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross
Till my trophies at last I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged cross
And exchange it someday for a crown
. Oh, that old rugged cross, so despised by the world
Has a wondrous attraction for me
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary
. In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine
A wondrous beauty I see
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died
To pardon and sanctify me
. To the old rugged cross I will ever be true
Its shame and reproach gladly bear
Then He’ll call me someday to my home far away
Where His glory forever I’ll share
“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,
Hold Thou my hand; so weak I am, and helpless,
I dare not take one step without Thy aid;
Hold Thou my hand; for then, O loving Saviour,
No dread of ill shall make my soul afraid.
Hold Thou my hand, and closer, closer draw me
To Thy dear self-my hope, my joy, my all;
Hold Thou my hand, lest haply I should wander,
And, missing Thee, my trembling feet should fall.
Hold Thou my hand; the way is dark before me
Without the sunlight of Thy face divine;
But when by faith I catch its radiant glory,
What heights of joy, what rapturous songs are mine!
Hold Thou my hand, that when I reach the margin
Of that lone river Thou didst cross for me,
A heav’nly light may flash along its waters,
And every wave like crystal bright shall be.
I first heard this arrangement as a child when my father bought a salvation army band LP with the arrangement on it. Being a child of about 7yrs old I obviously didn’t know the words or who wrote them. Now that I’m a lot older and have come to know the words and the composer Fanny Crosby I think it makes the arrangement a lot easier to understand. I also think that this particular arrangement is very fitting to Fanny Crosby’s words.
O loving Father walk with me
Across thy mountain way
Through the trees and thorny paths
From dawn to dusk each day
Help me heal my stubborn pride
Let my mind be still
Bind my own self righteousness
And let me do Thy will
When I err from Thy sweet path
The night comes dark and cold
Hold me in Thy mantle close
And Lead me to Thy fold
And when the storms and mists come down
With all their promised dreams
Keep me on the rugged road
However fair they seem
Teach me to love Thy footpath long
And those I chance to see
Let me follow and rejoice
And greet each one with glee.
J.McTaggert
I was reminded yesterday that even if you’re in the same room as other people, see the same things, hear the same words, and experience the same atmosphere, each person there will probably take different things from what they saw/heard/experienced.
That is why it’s important that when we communicate with others (regardless of the method of communication), it is important that we ensure the message we relate is understood by those receiving that message, simply because we all pick up on different things in different ways.
So in summary, present your message using whatever communication methods you want, but get those you’ve given your message to, to repeat to you a summary of your message. That way, if your message hasn’t been fully understood, you can then present it in a different way, maybe using a different medium, to try to get your message across.
Go and make followers of…
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