Happy Wednesday

It is Well with My Soul

“But God will rescue me; he will save me from the power of death” (Psalm 49:15 TEV).

The hymn, “It is Well with My Soul” is one of the most popular Christian hymns. Horatio Gates Spafford (1828–1888) composed it. When Spafford was forty-three years old as a Chicago businessman, he suffered financial disaster in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. He and his wife were still grieving over the death of their son shortly before the fire, and he realized they needed to get away for a vacation. Knowing that their friend Dwight L. Moody was going to be preaching in evangelistic campaigns in England that fall, Spafford decided to take the entire family to England. His wife and four daughters went ahead by a ship, and he planned to follow in a few days. Nevertheless, on the Atlantic Ocean, an iron sailing vessel struck the ship and the ship sank within twelve minutes. Two hundred and twenty-six lives were lost—including the Spaffords’ four daughters. When the survivors were brought to shore at Cardiff, Wales, Mrs. Anna Spafford cabled her husband with two words: “Saved alone.” Spafford booked passage on the next ship. As they were crossing the Atlantic, the captain pointed out the place where he thought the first ship had gone down. That night, Spafford penned the words of the hymn: “When peace like a river attendeth my way. . . it is well, it is well with my soul.”  

One of the close associates of Jesus Christ betrayed Him. He was arrested, tried and condemned to die on the cross. He was crucified and died. However, as the Psalmist prophesied in Psalm 49:15, God saved Him from the power of death, and He resurrected on the third day. The suffering and death of Jesus Christ were not pleasant, but He triumphed over everything. Today, His name is exalted above every other name “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11 NIV). Horatio and Anna Spafford later moved to Israel and became channels of God’s blessings to many people there. It was indeed well with their souls.

Trial, temptation, hardship, calamity, death of loved one, or anything that happens to us is not the end of the road. No matter what you may be passing through, the Lord will indeed rescue you from all of it and you will join Horatio Spafford to sincerely sing, “It is well with my soul, It is well, it is well with my soul.” “Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5 NIV).

In His service,

Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor).

In The News: 
My Country 'Tis of Thee: Evangelicals Score Highest on Patriotism

WASHINGTON (RNS) -- When it comes to God and country, white evangelicals report the most intense patriotic feelings in a new poll, with more than two-thirds (68 percent) saying they are extremely proud to be an American.

That figure was markedly higher than for white mainline Protestants (56 percent), minority Christians (49 percent), Catholics (48 percent) and religiously unaffiliated Americans (39 percent), according to the study, conducted by the Washington-based Public Religion Research Institute in partnership with Religion News Service.

White evangelicals are also more likely than any other religious group surveyed to believe that God has granted the U.S. a special role in history (84 percent) and to say they will likely attend a public July 4th celebration (62 percent).

On the other end of the spectrum, relatively few religiously unaffiliated Americans believe in a God-given American exceptionalism, (40 percent) or plan to attend a public Independence Day celebration (48 percent).

Eric Metaxas, the popular Christian author and speaker, said evangelicals “are not patriotic and pro-American in a tribalistic, nationalistic, or jingoistic sense.

“But they do tend to be pro-America because they believe that the ideas of the Founders — religious liberty at the head of them — have been a huge blessing to those on our shores – and to those beyond them.”

“Like Gov. Winthrop of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 17th century,” Metaxas continued, “evangelicals see America as being blessed by God to be a blessing to others, to be a ‘city on a hill.’ And to the extent that that’s true, they celebrate that.”

But Dan Cox, PRRI’s research director, said the study of 1,007 adults might say as much about cultural and regional differences among Americans as religious distinctions.

“A lot of evangelicals live in the South, and flying a flag from your house or car, and singing the national anthem — not just standing for it — is infused in Southern life,” said Cox.

“In the South and in many rural areas, we see a cultural terrain that is more likely to embrace Americana in ways that people who live outside the South don’t get,” he said.

Similarly, a person’s lack of religiosity doesn’t necessarily signal a lack of patriotism.

Instead, the relative lack of a visible patriotism among the one in five Americans who are religiously unaffiliated may be better explained by their perceptions that they are culturally distinct from the rest of the country, Cox added.

The poll found that unaffiliated Americans are more likely than other religious groups to report that they are very different from the typical American, and Americans who believe they are atypical are also much less likely to say they are extremely patriotic (35 percent) than those who see themselves as typical (59 percent).

It may also come down to politics: The unaffiliated tend to be liberal, and liberals tend to view their patriotism in different ways than conservatives, who, as the poll shows, are much more likely to embrace public displays of patriotism.

“Many liberals argue that they can be patriotic as they criticize their country, and exercise their First Amendment rights to express dissenting opinion,” Cox added.

In general, the poll found that Americans are proud to be Americans, with eight in 10 reporting that they are extremely (51 percent) or very proud (31 percent).

Asked what makes them proud to be an American, those surveyed said:

• Their military service or American military achievements, including the capture and killing of Osama bin Laden (17 percent)
• The nation’s response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks (14 percent)
• Freedom in American society (12 percent)

About one-third (31 percent) said there has been a time when they were not proud to be an American — the most cited reasons given were the wars in Iraq and Vietnam (29 percent) and poor treatment of minorities and racism (14 percent.)

The study, conducted June 5-9, had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

c. 2013 Religion News Service. Used with permission.