D.S. al Coda: Go to the Sign of the Cross, Then proceed to the End

When you get down to it, There’s a God who created us and desires a relationship with us, but the functionality of that relationship hinges on OBEDIENCE on our part. Here is where the cart and horse thing comes into play: when your obedience to the commands of God as spelled out in His Holy Word is a legalistic means to an end in order to expect God’s blessings and to escape damnation, your RELATIONSHIP with God will not be at all be what He desires for you. In this condition, you are really still in control of your life and destiny, or so you think and act. Yet, when you have a RELATIONSHIP with God based upon the love He has shown you, in which you understand that He gave His Son to save you from death and destruction and has delivered you, then your OBEDIENCE becomes your greatest desire because there is no greater way to show your love to Him!   In this condition, you have given up your rights and you are not in control of your own destiny— God is in control of your life and yo

Here I raise mine ebenezer, Hither by Thy help I've come!  These familiar words are from the hymn "Come. Thou Fount of Every Blessing" written by Robert Robinson in 1758.   I guess what has been surprising to me through the years is that this single phrase has been used to declare why we should not sing the old hymns because singing "Christianeze" words that the world doesn't understand does not help evangelize the lost and only turns off the modern generation.   Well, did it ever occur to anybody that if you come across a word you don't understand, it might be a good idea to look it up or even ask someone what it means?   Good grief, you can Google it and find the answer in about one minute! This phrase was penned because the author knew his Bible enough to know the word "ebenezer".   It is found in 1 Samuel 7 where the prophet Samuel and the Israelites found themselves under attack by the Philistines. Fearing for their lives, the