Just Pondering
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Rick Branan |
So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
Colossians 3:1-2 (CSBBible)
Johnson Oatman, Jr., son of Johnson and Rachel Ann Oatman, was born near Medford, N. J., April 21, 1856. His father was an excellent singer, and it always delighted the son to sit by his side and hear him sing the songs of the church.
Outside of the usual time spent in the public schools, Mr. Oatman received his education at Herbert's Academy, Princetown, N. J., and the New Jersey Collegiate Institute, Bordentown, N. J. At the age of nineteen he joined the M.E. Church, and a few years later he was granted a license to preach the Gospel, and still later he was regularly ordained by Bishop Merrill. However, Mr. Oatman only serves as a local preacher.
For many years he was engaged with his father in the mercantile business at Lumberton, N. J., under the firm name of Johnson Oatman & Son. Since the death of his father, he has for the past fifteen years been in the life insurance business, having charge of the business of one of the great companies in Mt. Holly, N. J., where he resides.
He has written over three thousand hymns, and no gospel song book is considered as being complete unless it contains some of his hymns.
Jacob Henry Hall
Higher Ground
I'm pressing on the upward way,
New heights I'm gaining every day;
Still praying as I onward bound,
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
Lord, lift me up and let me stand,
By faith, on Heaven's table land;
A higher plane than I have found;
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
My heart has no desire to stay
Where doubts arise and fears dismay;
Tho' some may dwell where these abound,
My pray'r, my aim is higher ground.
I want to live above the world,
Though Satan's darts at me are hurled;
For faith has caught the joyful sound,
The song of saints on higher ground.
I want to scale the utmost height,
And catch a gleam of glory bright;
But still I'll pray till Heav'n I've found,
Lord, lead me on to higher ground.
Written by Johnson Oatman, Jr.
Johnson Oatman, Jr. opens this hymn with the phrase, “I’m pressing on the upward way.” “Press on” is not a term we use much anymore. Webster defines the term as “to continue moving forward in a forceful or steady way.” I like that. Years ago, my buddies and I decided to climb Pine Mountain in the Guadalupe range out in West Texas. We loaded our packs and set off. Soon we could see the elevation rise in front of us and the series of switchbacks that would bring us to our campsite. There was no more flat ground, only climb, climb, climb. We had to press on. By the end of the day, I no longer looked up, but at my feet, one step at a time.
Our spiritual journey is like that. We run into obstacles and mountains, but we have to press on. Paul told the Colossians “to set our minds on things above.” If we focus on earthly treasures, we will get way laid. If we concentrate on our jobs, we get bogged down. We have to focus on Jesus: that is our goal, our desire. Just like climbing Pine Mountain, it is one step at a time always remembering why we’re climbing.
I heard a sermon one time where the preacher asked a series of questions like are your finances in trouble, is your marriage a wreck, are your kids a burden. After each question, he reminded the congregation to press on. We too need to press on for the cause of Christ in every aspect of our lives.
Just pondering . . . Bro. Rick