July 27, 2018 (Friday)
Alfred H. Ackley wrote the song, “Take Up Thy Cross and Follow Me,” in 1922. The words of the song, illustrated with pictures, is presented here as a poem. This song was very popular a few years back. Wanda and I loved to sing it as a duet.
And there a stranger journeyed too,
Bent low beneath the burden of His load:
It was a cross, a cross I knew.
I cried, “Lord Jesus,” and He spoke my name;
I saw His hands all bruised and torn;
I stooped to kiss away the marks of shame,
The shame for me that He had borne.
And, lo, a cross for me appeared,
The one, forgotten, I had cast aside,
The one, so long, that I had feared.
The way I journey soon will end–
Where God Himself shall wipe away all tears,
And friend hold fellowship with friend.
I hear the blessed Savior call;
How can I make a lesser sacrifice,
When Jesus gave His all?