Hello OCBC family!  Let me share a passage with you, “But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me” (2 Timothy 1:12 – ESV).  These words were a big impact for Daniel Webster Whittle.
Whittle was a soldier during the Civil War and he committed his life to Jesus when he was reading a New Testament that his mother gave to him before he went to war.

When the war ended Whittle began preaching in evangelistic services and for over 25 years he led revivals throughout the United States.  He was a hymn writer and many of his hymns became very popular during the tent revival meetings.  You know many of his hymns, “Showers of Blessing” and “Moment by Moment.”  His most familiar hymn is “I Know Whom I Have Believed” which is a confession that every believer must do, not knowing why “God’s wondrous grace to me He hath made known” nor “how this saving faith to me He did impart.”  Gladly, we can shout with Paul and Daniel Whittle that, “I know whom I have believed”

Please, read, sing and meditate in this glorious hymn, praising God for His immense mercy and grace for us.

I know not why God’s wondrous grace
To me He hath made known,
Nor why, unworthy, Christ in love
Redeemed me for His own.

Refrain:
But “I know Whom I have believed,
And am persuaded that He is able
To keep that which I’ve committed
Unto Him against that day.”

I know not how this saving faith
To me He did impart,
Nor how believing in His Word
Wrought peace within my heart.

I know not how the Spirit moves,
Convincing men of sin,
Revealing Jesus through the Word,
Creating faith in Him.

I know not what of good or ill
May be reserved for me,
Of weary ways or golden days,
Before His face I see.

I know not when my Lord may come,
At night or noonday fair,
Nor if I walk the vale with Him,
Or meet Him in the air.

​In His service,
Israel

Hello OCBC family,

Today I was reading that Jim Elliot, the missionary that was killed by the Auca Indians in the jungle of Ecuador, wrote in his journal, “'Faith makes life so even, gives one such confidence, that the words of men are as wind.”

Talking about faith, I recall the life of Ray Palmer.  He was twenty-two years old and a little frustrated because he wanted to be a minister but he was stuck in a girls’ school in New York.  During this depression, Palmer found a German poem about a sinner kneeling before the cross.  He translated it and added four stanzas.  He never thought that these lyrics might become a popular hymn in the 1800’s, but God led Ray Palmer into an encounter with Lowell Mason.  Mason was very popular because he wrote several melodies for several hymns.  During this encounter, Mason asked Palmer if he had some lyrics or poems or hymns to contribute to his new collection.  Palmer bashfully showed Mason these verses and Mason said to him, “You may live many years and do many good things, but I think you will be best known to posterity as the author of ‘My Faith Looks Up to Thee.’”

This hymn has been a comfort for many believers through the years, and even though in these times it is not that popular, the words are still powerful, and they are a great tool to worship our God.

Enjoy the words of “My Faith Looks Up to Thee.”

My faith looks up to thee,
thou Lamb of Calvary,
Savior divine!
Now hear me while I pray;
take all my guilt away.
O let me from this day
be wholly thine!

May thy rich grace impart
strength to my fainting heart,
my zeal inspire.
As thou hast died for me,
O may my love to thee
pure, warm, and changeless be,
a living fire!

While life’s dark maze I tread
and griefs around me spread,
be thou my guide;
bid darkness turn to day,
wipe sorrow’s tears away,
nor let me ever stray
from thee aside.

When life’s swift race is run,
death’s cold work almost done,
be near to me.
Blest Savior, then, in love
fear and distrust remove.
O bear me safe above,
redeemed and free!

In His service,
Israel