"Blest be the tie that binds."

I witnessed a bit of heaven this past week as glory bumps ran from the top of my head to my toes. My body tingled as I felt the presence and closeness of our God, the GREAT author of everything. There is nothing greater than God. Nothing!

My experience began as I was on facebook the social networking utility that makes the world smaller. It connects people everywhere that has computer access. I was just about to shut the computer down for the night when a pastor from the far east began chatting with me. We exchanged a couple questions each and then a college student from a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean clicked on my name and she too began chatting.

There certainly was a tie that bound us together and that tie was Jesus Christ, our Beloved King. We enjoyed fellowship and shared our prayer concerns with one another. We talked of our mutual burdens and sympathized together. We told of our dreams of one day meeting the guy in the sky and being in the presence of the Holy One.

I had never communicated in a chat with someone who was living in the next day. These two Christ-followers are around 12 hours ahead of me. As I was getting ready to go to bed on a Thursday night, one of them with hunger pains was already thinking about what to prepare for lunch on a Friday. That's Crazy!

But, what is more CRAZY is that the other one said he fasted and prayed on Friday's. As I crawled in bed and hoped to drift off to sleep I found myself sweetly dreaming of the coming kingdom of God. And, that is exactly what the man had told me to do as we signed off.

I felt a presence of the Lord surrounding me with his angels as I laid in bed and prayed. I have never flown on eagle's wings, but I felt I soared around the starlit skies that night.

I took the prayer concerns of the two I had just chatted with to Jesus, my intercessor with God on the throne. I can tell you that I was being prayed for by those two that night. Our hearts were tied together. I can't express the feeling I had as I was being prayed for.

"Blest be the tie that binds." I lived those words that night. They were written by a Baptist preacher for his sermon nearly 300 hundred years ago in England. John Fawcett wrote that poem and it later became a farewell Christian hymn and is sang yet today in churches around the world.

"Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love; the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above. Before our Father's throne we pour our ardent prayers; our fears, our hopes, our aims are one, our comforts and our cares. We share each other's woes, our mutual burdens bear; and often for each other flows the sympathizing tear. When we asunder part, it gives us inward pain; but we shall still be joined in heart, and hope to meet again."*

Thank You, Jesus. My love for you and your dearly loved children continues to grow in my heart. Expand my area of influence for you and your coming kingdom. You are the King of Glory. I ask that you bless each and every person that reads this blog and shares it with others. Come, King Jesus. Come!

Born To Love,

Rick Hawbaker
'Jesus' Younger Brother'

*John Fawcett's Poem "Blest be the tie that binds."