Ebenezer?

So at church Saturday night, we sang the classic hymn, "Come Thou Fount" and in the second verse it reads as so:

Here I raise my Ebenezer
Hither by Thy help I come
And I hope by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home
Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wondering from the fold of God
He, to rescue me from danger
Interposed His precious blood

So my question is, what/who is this Ebenezer spoke of in this song? I mean when I think of the word Ebenezer, the first word that comes to mind is Scrooge from Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." So I wrote it down in my black journal to make sure to look it up and investigate. Well, I started reading 1 Samuel on Monday and when I got to chapter 4, there is a mention of the town of Ebenezer and then again in 5:1. These chapters 4-6 deal with the Phillistines defeating the Israelites and taking the Ark of the Covenant and the Phillistines returning the Ark after plagues came after taking the Ark.
However, in chapter 7, Samuel tells the people of Israel, "If you are really serious about wanting to return to the Lord, get rid of your foreign gods and images of Ashtoreth. Determine to obey only the Lord, then he will rescue you from the Phillistines." The Israelites immediately did as they were commanded but the Phillistines decided to attack. The Israelites were afraid and asked Samuel to continue pleading for the Lord on their behalf. While Samuel did this and was offering sacrifices, the Lord used a booming voice throwing the Phillistine army into confusion leading the Israelites to victory.
Verse 12:
Samuel then took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer (which means "the stone of help") , for he said, "Up to this point the Lord has helped us!"
So back to the hymn, it basically is saying that the hymnist has gotten as far as he has gotten by the Lord's help and he is saying with his continual help and God's good pleasure to arrive at his eternal home, heaven. We can do nothing of our own strength but with God we can do all things.

Happy Valentine's Day

Well it was another awesome year for Valentine's Day (or as I labeled it a few years ago SAD (Singles Awareness Day)). I got together with some buddies for dinner and a movie tonight and we really did have a great time together sharing life together and enjoying each others company. However, this Valentine's Day was special for me because it was the first year I truly spent some time meditating and thinking about how awesome God is and how much he truly loves me. Think about it, God sent his only Son, who is without sin or blemish, to this sinful world to die for me and give me a way out from the eternal death I deserved with hell. Since I don't have a significant other or child, I tried to think of the person I care about the most and love the most (which is prolly Danny, my brother) but there is no way I would willing send him to go and die on a cross. I love him too much to do that. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were in perfect harmony and relationship with one another and did not need to even create us but they decided to.
I totally can not grasp how much he truly loves me. I have heard it said that in his anger, he loves more than any human could love in the greatest act of love they could perform. I decided to come up with a list of why God loves me and not just how he says it in His Word but also how he shows it in the Word but also in my life.

Some examples off the top of my head from my Bible:
Rescuing the Israelites from the Egyptians
Providing for the Israelites in the desert with manna
Daniel in the lion's den
David being saved from Saul on multiple occasions
Esther being raised to queen and saving the Jews
Paul and Silas in jail
..and of course, Christ's suffering and subsequent death on the cross

Some examples from my own life:
Ending my relationship with ex-fiancee and providing support and comfort from friends and family
Bringing along godly Christian men & women my own age to share life with
Giving me a love to read more of His Word

So to conclude, I hope all of you had an awesome Valentine's Day but think about how awesome Christ's love is towards you. He beckons you and wants you so badly to experience this.

I Feel the Need...

One of my favorite movies is "Top Gun" because of the jets that Tom Cruise (Maverick) and Val Kilmer (Iceman) fly, the soundtrack and theme song, "Danger Zone", the love interest, but the thing I really love from this movie is the relationship aspect between Maverick and Goose. Goose is Maverick's wingman and basically looks out for his back both in the air and when they are on the ground. No matter what Maverick does, Goose sticks by Maverick through good and bad. He may openly disagree or question but he trusts his friend and sticks by him even when he knows it will get him in trouble.
Goose: No. No, Mav, this is not a good idea.
Maverick: Sorry, Goose, but it's time to buzz a tower.
They are not just friends but truly you see their relationship is like a family and they are brothers.
In life, we need people to be our wingman and look out for us and I am so grateful for the brothers that I have and can share my life with. The good, the bad, the victories, the struggles. I have heard it said that, "Except for one, the world is made up entirely of others." So sharing it and living it out with others is how God created us. When reading the book of Acts, it is great seeing how the believers relate to one another and truly do care about one another. I am thankful for the brothers I have and just truly love their advice and wisdom they share with me and bless me with. So thank you for being my Goose.