Friday, January 19, 2024

…and keep the charge of the Lord, so that you may not die; for so I have been commanded.

Leviticus 8:35b

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:2

“Short meter.” “Long meter.” “We’ll omit the third and sing the fourth by rising on our feet.” I can still hear my Daddy declaring those words as he stood at the front of our church and the sound of the congregation’s tapping feet on the old wooden floors. 

We end these three weeks of our hymn focus with another one of Daddy’s favorites. “A Charge to Keep I Have” was written by Charles Wesley, the brother of Methodist Church founder, John Wesley. Scholars refer to the hymn as “an unequivocal call to commitment to follow the Master and to fulfill our vocation through service.” It’s interesting to note that former President George W. Bush’s autobiography, A Charge to Keep, was drawn from this Charles Wesley hymn.

MEDITATION: Lord, help me always bring you glory.

A charge to keep I have,A God to glorify,A never-dying soul to save,And fit it for the sky.To serve the present age,My calling to fulfill:Oh, may it all my pow’rs engageTo do my Master’s will!Arm me with jealous care,As in Thy sight to live;And O Thy servant, Lord, prepareA strict account to give!Help me to watch and pray,And on Thyself rely,Assured, if I my trust betray,I shall forever die.

In the name of Jesus, I praise You. AMEN.