What a friend we have in Jesus

The Song and the Story

Irish born Joseph M. Scriven (1819-1896) was 25 years old, in love and to be married.

The day before his wedding his fiancé died in a tragic drowning accident. Heartbroken, Joseph sailed from his homeland to start a new life in Canada. While in Canada working as a teacher, he fell in love again and became engaged to Eliza Roche, a relative of one of his students. Once again, Joseph’s hopes and dreams were shattered when Eliza became ill and died before the wedding could take place. Although one can only imagine the turmoil within this young man, history tells us that his faith in God sustained him.

Soon after Eliza’s death Joseph joined the Plymouth Brethren and began preaching for a Baptist church. He never married, but spent the remainder of his life giving all his time, money and even the clothes off his own back to help the less fortunate and to spread the love and compassion of Jesus wherever he went. Around the same time that Eliza died, Joseph received word from Ireland that his mother was ill. He could not go to be with her, so he wrote a letter of comfort and enclosed one of his poems entitled What a Friend We Have in Jesus.

Many years later a friend was sitting with Joseph, as he was very ill. During this visit, the friend was very impressed when he ran across his poems, including What a Friend We Have in Jesus. As a result of this visit, almost 30 years after his letter of comfort to his mother, Joseph’s poems were published in a book called Hymns and Other Verses. Soon thereafter, noted musician Charles C. Converse (1834-1918) put music to one of those poems: What a Friend We Have in Jesus. Well-known musician and revivalist Ira D. Sankey (1840-1908) was a great admirer of Joseph Scriven. In 1875, Sankey came upon the music and words for What a Friend We Have in Jesus. He included it as the last entry into his well-known publication Sankey’s Gospel Hymns Number 1. After Joseph Scriven’s death, the citizens of Port Hope, Ontario , Canada , where he gave so much of himself, erected a monument to his life.
The seemingly sad and obscure life of one man resulted in so many lives being uplifted, both in his own time, and for many years after whenever the beautiful and comforting words of What a Friend We Have in Jesus are sung.

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield you; you will find a solace there.

Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bear
May we ever, Lord, be bringing all to Thee in earnest prayer.
Soon in glory bright unclouded there will be no need for prayer
Rapture, praise and endless worship will be our sweet portion there.

“Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends.” ( John 15:13)

Jesus Saves

One day Jesus and Satan were arguing about who had the greatest computer skills. They argued and argued. When they had drawn a crowd of onlookers and were still going at it hot and heavy, the angels– fallen and not–started to take sides and make bets.

Well God had had quite enough of this and decided to intervene. He told Jesus and Satan that there would be a programming contest between the two that would settle the argument of who was better.

They both began programming day and night to win the contest. They were at their computers for an eternity when ZAP came a flash of lightning from God and their screens went blank.

The day of reckoning had come. “Well, let’s see what you have done”, said God. So, Satan reboots his computer calls up his program and the screen is blank. Nothing! He turns, smiles and looks at Jesus.

Jesus reboots his computer, calls up his program, and an infinite universe appears: Colorful, luminescent, in breathtaking 3-D, with populations of people and animals, building, working, eating, loving, giving birth, and dying.

“THAT’S NOT FAIR,” shouted Satan.

“Oh, yes it is,” God said, “JESUS SAVES.”

How Much

Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting.

“Yes, sir, just caught me a world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used the bait I knew they couldn’t resist.
And I Got Um all!”

“What are you going to do with them?” Jesus asked.

Satan replied,
“Oh, I’m gonna have fun!
I’m gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other,
how to hate and abuse each other,
how to drink and smoke and curse.
I’m gonna teach them how to invent guns
and bombs and kill each other.
I’m really gonna have fun!”

How Much

“And what will you do when you get done with them?” Jesus asked.

“Oh, I’m not going to do anything with them. After I have taught them all I know, they will take care of the rest. All I will need to do is sit back and enjoy.” Satan glared proudly.

“How much do you want for them?” Jesus asked.

“Oh, you don’t want these people.
They ain’t no good.
Why, you’ll take them and they’ll just turn their backs on you. They’ll spit on you, and they’ll curse you !
You don’t want those people!!”

“How much?” Jesus asked again.

Satan looked at Jesus and sneered,
“All your blood, and all your tears,
you will have to give your life to get these people.”

Jesus said, “It’s a Deal!”

HE PAID THE PRICE !!

Lesson from Chocolate Chip Cookies

Like this story of a 3-year-old boy who went to the grocery store with his mother.

Before they entered the grocery store she said to him, “Now you’re not going to get any chocolate chip cookies, so don’t even ask.”

She put him up in the cart & he sat in the little child’s seat while she wheeled down the aisles.

He was doing just fine until they came to the cookie section. He saw the chocolate chip cookies & he stood up in the seat & said, “Mom, can I have some chocolate chip cookies?”

She said, “I told you not even to ask. You’re not going to get any at all.” So he sat back down.

They continued down the aisles, but in their search for certain items they ended up back in the cookie aisle. “Mom, can I please have some chocolate chip cookies?”

She said, “I told you that you can’t have any. Now sit down & be quiet.”

Finally, they were approaching the checkout lane. The little boy sensed that this may be his last chance.

So just before they got to the line, he stood up on the seat of the cart & shouted in his loudest voice, “In the name of Jesus, may I have some chocolate chip cookies?”

And everybody round about just laughed. Some even applauded. And, due to the generosity of the other shoppers, the little boy & his mother left with 23 boxes of chocolate chip cookies.

The point is, we ought always to pray and not give up. There’s power in a persistent prayer.

Jesus wore the Crown of Thorns for You

And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head… John 19:2

If hard work is the formula for prosperity, then everyone who works hard should be prosperous. But this is certainly not the case. Many people who work very hard are still poor!

I am not advocating laziness. What I am saying is that working hard by the sweat of your brow is not how God’s prosperity comes. In fact, if you have to work overtime all the time and are stressed out, you are probably operating under the curse.

What curse is that? It is this curse: “In the sweat of your face, you shall eat bread…” (Genesis 3:19). And it refers to the stress, struggle and anxieties that come with working hard and yet producing little. Now, work itself is not a curse since God gave Adam work before the fall — Adam was to tend the garden of Eden. It was only after he sinned that the land was cursed and it brought forth thorns, and man had to toil to eat of it. (Genesis 3:17–18)

But praise God, Jesus wore the thorns on His head to show you that He has borne this curse for you and redeemed you from it. He wore the crown of thorns so that you can work stress-free and yet have the results. You don’t have to be worried and stressed out day and night like the people of the world just to get ahead in life. Your heavenly Father can get you there without the worries and stress. (Matthew 6:31–33)

Beloved, every curse that was supposed to fall on your head fell on Jesus’ head, typified by the crown of thorns. He wore the crown of thorns for you so that you can have peace of mind. He wore the crown of thorns for you and took your curse so that you can wear the crown of glory and take His righteousness, and all the benefits of that righteousness!