"Where is your faith?"

Do you ever have those times when it's blatantly obvious what God is teaching and/or reminding you?

That has been the story of my life for the last several weeks. God has been using several everyday (and seemingly mundane) events and activities in my life - conversations with friends and loved ones, passages I've "happened" to read during my devotions, etc. - to make it crystal clear that I have a lot of growing to do in a particular area of my walk with Him.

That area would be faith.

From a purely human perspective, it seems like nearly everything in my life hasn't "gone according to plan" (ie. "gone wrong") lately, and I have allowed that to cause worry and discouragement in my mind and heart. Sure, I know the (now almost cliche) Christian catch phrases and Bible verses we commonly use when we feel this way: "all things work together for good...," "It's in God's hands," "God knew this would happen before I was born," "God won't give you anything you can't handle," etc.

But do I truly, genuinely, without reserve, believe that?

After taking an honest look at how I have handled life's "curve balls" over the last several weeks, I have to say the answer is no.

God has allowed me to experience a storm of trying circumstances. His intention has been, not to drown me, but to strengthen my faith. Like Peter, I have chosen to look at the wind and the waves and forget the One who orchestrated their design. I have sunk into the sea of worry and anxiety more than once, but God has always pulled me up and helped me continue to walk on that tempestuous sea towards Him.

We may fret over how the bills are going to be paid when our bank balance is low, when we'll get that raise we've been waiting for, when we'll meet "the one," etc - that's normal. It's normal for us as humans to want to know what the future holds so we can be prepared. We don't like to be taken by surprise (well, some of us might...but I digress). We can't see what the future holds, but we know the One who holds the future. God won't allow anything to happen to us outside of His will. And that. my friend, is a truly comforting thought.


Father, 

I don't know how these seemingly impossible things are going to work out. I don't know where the money is going to come from to pay my bills. I don't know how or where I'm going to find work. I can't see how these things are right now working for good and going to work for good in the future, but I know You do. Thank You for taking care of my every need, even the ones that don't cross my mind. 

Please calm my anxious heart. Increase my faith.  Help me keep my eyes off the stormy sea of doubt, fear and worry and on You instead so I may walk on water in the faith and peace only You can give. 

"But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" Matthew 14:30-31

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Wait on the Lord

Our spiritual lives are a lot like the young tree in this picture. Someone had to take a great deal of time to tend it - water it, turn its soil, etc. - in order for it to grow into what you see here. Such care requires a great deal of patience. Trees don't grow overnight. Neither does our spiritual life. It must be tended with great care and patience, and growth will result. The young bud of our spiritual life might not be growing as rapidly as we would like, but, with the Lord's help, it will eventually blossom into a full-grown, mature testament to His work in our lives.

Perhaps the growth rate of your spiritual life isn't what's worrying you right now. You may be facing a trial or difficulty that, if you're honest, you want out of as quickly as possible. God has a reason for allowing that trial to come into your life. Your job is to patiently endure through the trial as long as God allows it to remain in your life and to learn as much as you can from it (much easier said than done, I know).

Trees are strengthened by storms. We are spiritually strengthened by trials.


"It may seem an easy thing to wait, but it is one of the postures which a Christian soldier learns not without years of teaching. Marching and quick-marching are much easier to God's warriors than standing still. There are hours of perplexity when the most willing spirit, anxiously desirous to serve the Lord, knows not what part to take. 

"Then what shall it do? Vex itself by despair? Fly back in cowardice, turn to the right hand in fear, or rush forward in presumption? 

"No, but simply wait. 

"Wait in prayer, however. Call upon God, and spread the case before Him; tell Him your difficulty, and plead His promise of aid. In dilemmas between one duty and another, it is sweet to be humble as a child, and wait with simplicity of soul upon the Lord. It is sure to be well with us when we feel and know our own folly, and are heartily willing to be guided by the will of God. But wait in faith. Express your unstaggering confidence in Him; for unfaithful, untrusting waiting, is but an insult to the Lord. Believe that if He keep you tarrying even till midnight, yet He will come at the right time; the vision shall come and shall not tarry. Wait in quiet patience, not rebelling because you are under the affliction, but blessing your God for it. 

"Never murmur against the second cause, as the children of Israel did against Moses; never wish you could go back to the world again, but accept the case as it is, and put it as it stands, simply and with your whole heart, without any self-will, into the hand of your covenant God, saying, 'Now, Lord, not my will, but Thine be done. I know not what to do; I am brought to extremities, but I will wait until Thou shalt cleave the floods, or drive back my foes. I will wait, if Thou keep me many a day, for my heart is fixed upon Thee alone, O God, and my spirit waiteth for Thee in the full conviction that Thou wilt yet be my joy and my salvation, my refuge and my strong tower.' "                                           

- C.H. Spurgeon

Let none that wait on thee be ashamed:

Psalm 25:3

Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

Psalm 27:14

Those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.

Psalm 37:9

I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints. 

Psalm 52:9

My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. 

Psalm 62:5

I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. 

Psalm 130:5

Wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee.

Proverbs 20:22

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. 

Isaiah 40:31

The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD. 

Lamentations 3:25-26

I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.

Micah 7:7

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Promises That Strengthen

This post is a conglomeration of verses and passages of Scripture the Lord has used to strengthen me recently. I hope they are an encouragement to you.

My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

{Psalm 121:2-8}

But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil. 

{Proverbs 1:33}

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

{Isaiah 26:3}

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. 

{Isaiah 40:29-31}

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. 

{Isaiah 41:10}

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

{Jeremiah 29:11-13}

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. 

{Matthew 11:28-30}

And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. 

{John 10:28-29}

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

{John 14:16-18}

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 

{John 14:27}

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 

{Romans 8:1-2}

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 

{Romans 8:28}

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

{Romans 8:35-39}

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 

{I Corinthians 10:13}

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 

{Philippians 4:19}

He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
{Hebrews 13:5b-6}

 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 

 {I Peter 1:3-5}

Now, dear reader, it's your turn - what are some of your favorite "promise passages"? Please don't be shy! :)

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Pride Destroys

God wants to be the center of your life, because that's where He belongs. Someone who is prideful believes they has need of nothing but deserves everything, because they placed themselves at the center of their life. God is constantly working to de-centralize humanity, this problem of pride. Pride is the root of a great many of the roadblocks we encounter in our spiritual life as we seek to learn and grow to become more like Christ.

James 4:6 says, "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble." God wants your reliance and your focus to be on Him (as it should be), not on yourself.

Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon and one of the world leaders of his day. He fought and conquered many nations, including Israel. He took everything from those he conquered, except their false gods. He knew he could get more cooperation from them if he let them keep their gods. This is the same tactic Satan uses today. He may take your marriage, your children, your health, your purity, your joy, your money, your peace of mind, your job, any number of things.

The one thing he will not take is your "god." Your "god" is anything you allow, out of the pride of your heart, to take the place of God or in place of obedience to God. Satan's goal is to turn your heart away from the one true God. He leaves your "god" in your life to accomplish that goal.

Some examples of "gods" would be:

• Alcohol
• Drugs (prescription or illegal)
• Independent spirit
• Anger
• Pleasure
• Work/career
• Pornography
• Self-destructive actions and thought patterns
• Jealousy
• Money
• Fame/popularity
• Eating disoders (anorexia/bulimia)

In Daniel 4, Nebuchadnezzar recounts the story of how his pride brought him very close to destruction.

The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? {Daniel 4:30}

Nebuchadnezzar was so filled with pride that he set himself up as god. He was completely self-absorbed and self-satisfied, even after he was warned by Daniel about God's imminent judgment (see v. 27).

God mercifully stayed His judgment for an entire year, giving Nebuchadnezzar plenty of time to repent. After voicing his prideful boast in verse 30, God decided that the time for judgment had come.

While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws. {Daniel 4:31-33}

 Nebuchadnezzar believed in the existence of God. He knew God can work miracles, that He had the power to reveal mysteries to Daniel, that He had the power to deliver the Hebrews from their enemies. But Nebuchadnezzar's heart was filled with pride. He wanted to be the king of his life. God had to bring him to the end of himself, causing him to live as an animal for seven years, in order for him to humble himself before God.

And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?  At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me.  Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase. {Daniel 4:34-37}

How have you displayed pride and/or self-absorption? How have you, like King Nebuchadnezzar, ignored God's Word and His warnings about that pride?

Take some time to get alone with God. Allow Him to show you your pride in its real light. Confess those areas of pride in your life and put God back on the throne of your life.

Pride erects a little kingdom of its own, and acts as sovereign in it.

William Hazlitt

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Focusing on Change

Photo by Myrna Moore

When we suffer bad/negative experiences, Satan uses these hurts to encourage bad attitudes and habits, which often leads to unhealthy and unbiblical choices. These unhealthy, sinful, and unbiblical choices and habits in your life are the basis for the problems you are living with right now. They are the consequences for seeking relief outside of God. Instead of facing pain, sin, hurt, and/or wrong choices responsibly, we tend to try to find a way to shift the blame and live in denial of the part we have played and the responsibility that lies with us in changing our behavior.

Sure, you want relief from the pain, but you don't want to have to change. Most often, the pain you cause yourself is as great or ever greater than the pain caused by your experience(s). But your denial of your responsibility keeps you in bondage to your unbiblical, sinful, self-destructive lifestyle.

{ You feel the way you feel, because you think the way you think, and act the way you act. Jim Berg }

What we call denial is what God calls self-deception.

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. {James 1:22-24}

 During the time of the Apostles, a group of Jews did not react favorably when Paul and Barnabus confronted them with their own sin.

Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets; behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you. And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath. 

Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. 

But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region. But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts. {Acts 13:38-50}

 The Jews didn't like it when Paul and Barnabus began preaching to the Gentiles. When Paul and Barnabus spoke out against their envy and jealousy against the Gentiles, the Jews drove them away. They were unwilling to hear the truth about themselves. How often to we react in a similar way when a fellow Christian, or God Himself, exposes areas of our life that are in need of change.

Even David, whom God called "a man after His own heart," struggled with the sin of denial.

And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house. And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child. 

And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David. And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered. And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king. But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house. 

And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto thine house? And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing. And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to day also, and to morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow. And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.  

 And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die. {II Samuel 11:2-15}

David thought that making Uriah's death look like an accident would ease his guilt, but it didn't. If you read further in the passage, you will see just how much pain David's denial caused in this situation.


When you repeatedly disobey God's law, your heart becomes calloused and you are no longer sensitive to the guilt of your sin. Denial leads you into deeper sin habits.

Examine the list below and ask God to reveal to you the areas where denial is keeping you in bondage to sin. You may want to add more as God reveals additional areas of sin in your life.

• Sexual immorality (Galatians 5:19)
• Lust (Colossians 3:5)
• Discord (Galatians 5:20)
• Anger (Galatians 5:20)
• Dissention (Galatians 5:20)
• Envy (Galatians 5:21)
• Idolatry (Galatians 5:20; Ephesians 5:5)
• Cheating (I Corinthians 6:8)
• Drunkenness (Galatians 5:21)
• Homosexuality (I Corinthians 6:9-10)
• Stealing (I Corinthians 6:9-10)
• Stubbornness (I Samuel 15:22-23)
• Impurity (Galatians 5:19)
• Hatred/Bitterness (Galatians 5:20)
• Envy/Jealousy (Galatians 5:20)
• Selfishness (Galatians 5:20)
• Arrogance (II Corinthians 12:20; Galatians 5:20)
• Murder (I Corinthians 6:9-10)
• Adultery (I Corinthians 6:9-10)
• Greed (I Corinthians 6:9-10; Ephesians 5:5)
• Lying (Revelation 22:12-16)

Ask God to take away your heart of stone and give you a heart that is willing to be broken over your sin, a heart that is willing to change.

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. {Ezekiel 36:26-27}

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Be Thou My Vision

Wicklow Mountains, Ireland

"Be Thou My Vision" is one of the most widely recognized hymns in the world (and one of my personal favorites). I did some research on the history behind this great hymn, and I thought you might enjoy reading some of my findings.

The Music

The tune is derived from an 8th century Irish melody called Slane, named after a place in Ireland called Slane Hill. According to tradition, the ruling King of the time had decreed that no one was permitted to kindle a fire until he had lit his own fire to announce the start of the pagan spring festival. Saint Patrick defied the royal order and lit candles atop Slane Hill on the eve of the festival, widely believed to be Easter. The King was so impressed by Patrick's devotion to God that he pardoned him and allowed him to continue his missionary work in Ireland. Patrick let 100,000 people to Christ and establish 2,000 churches before his time in Ireland ended upon his death in AD 493 (traditional date).

The Words

The original words were used in the Monastic tradition before they were set to music, meaning it probably would have been chanted instead of sung to a tune. A 6th century monk named Dallan Forgaill penned the words as a tribute to St. Patrick's wholehearted devotion to God. The original Old Irish text, Rop tu mo Baile, went something like this:

Rop tú mo baile, a Choimdiu cride:

ní ní nech aile acht Rí secht nime.

Rop tú mo scrútain i l-ló 's i n-aidche;

rop tú ad-chëar im chotlud caidche.

Rop tú mo labra, rop tú mo thuicsiu;

rop tussu dam-sa, rob misse duit-siu.

Rop tussu m'athair, rob mé do mac-su;

rop tussu lem-sa, rob misse lat-su.

Rop tú mo chathscíath, rop tú mo chlaideb;

rop tussu m'ordan, rop tussu m'airer.

Rop tú mo dítiu, rop tú mo daingen;

rop tú nom-thocba i n-áentaid n-aingel.

Rop tú cech maithius dom churp, dom anmain;

rop tú mo flaithius i n-nim 's i talmain.

Rop tussu t' áenur sainserc mo chride;

ní rop nech aile acht Airdrí nime.

Co talla forum, ré n-dul it láma,

mo chuit, mo chotlud, ar méit do gráda.

Rop tussu t' áenur m' urrann úais amra:

ní chuinngim daíne ná maíne marba.

Rop amlaid dínsiur cech sel, cech sáegul,

mar marb oc brénad, ar t' fégad t' áenur.

Do serc im anmain, do grád im chride,

tabair dam amlaid, a Rí secht nime.

Tabair dam amlaid, a Rí secht nime,

do serc im anmain, do grád im chride.

Go Ríg na n-uile rís íar m-búaid léire;

ro béo i flaith nime i n-gile gréine

A Athair inmain, cluinte mo núall-sa:

mithig (mo-núarán!) lasin trúagán trúag-sa.

A Chríst mo chride, cip ed dom-aire,

a Flaith na n-uile, rop tú mo baile.

The Irish Sea

Unless you've studied Old Irish, that block of funny-looking text probably doesn't mean much to you. Thankfully, Mary Byrne translated Rop tu mo Baile into English in 1905. 

Be thou my vision O Lord of my heart

None other is aught but the King of the seven heavens.

Be thou my meditation by day and night.

May it be thou that I behold even in my sleep.

Be thou my speech, be thou my understanding.

Be thou with me, be I with thee

Be thou my father, be I thy son.

Mayst thou be mine, may I be thine.

Be thou my battle-shield, be thou my sword.

Be thou my dignity, be thou my delight.

Be thou my shelter, be thou my stronghold.

Mayst thou raise me up to the company of the angels.

Be thou every good to my body and soul.

Be thou my kingdom in heaven and on earth.

Be thou solely chief love of my heart.

Let there be none other, O high King of Heaven.

Till I am able to pass into thy hands,

My treasure, my beloved through the greatness of thy love

Be thou alone my noble and wondrous estate.

I seek not men nor lifeless wealth.

Be thou the constant guardian of every possession and every life.

For our corrupt desires are dead at the mere sight of thee.

Thy love in my soul and in my heart --

Grant this to me, O King of the seven heavens.

O King of the seven heavens grant me this --

Thy love to be in my heart and in my soul.

With the King of all, with him after victory won by piety,

May I be in the kingdom of heaven O brightness of the son.

Beloved Father, hear, hear my lamentations.

Timely is the cry of woe of this miserable wretch.

O heart of my heart, whatever befall me,

O ruler of all, be thou my vision.

Irish Countryside

In 1912, Eleanor Hull worked Byrne's translation into a metrical, poetic version:

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart,

Be all else but naught to me, save that thou art;

Be thou my best thought in the day and the night,

Both waking and sleeping, thy presence my light.

Be thou my wisdom, be thou my true word,

Be thou ever with me, and I with thee Lord;

Be thou my great Father, and I thy true son;

Be thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.

Be thou my breastplate, my sword for the fight;

Be thou my whole armour, be thou my true might;

Be thou my soul's shelter, be thou my strong tower:

O raise thou me heavenward, great Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise:

Be thou mine inheritance now and always;

Be thou and thou only the first in my heart;

O Sovereign of Heaven, my treasure thou art.

High King of Heaven, thou Heaven's bright sun,

O grant me its joys after victory is won!;

Great heart of my own heart, whatever befall,

Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.

Hull's original poem has been used by editors since to produce versions of the hymn so widely known and treasured today. The music and words first appeared together in the Irish Church Hymnal in 1919. 

Have you asked Christ to be your vision - today and every day?

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"Like a Tree"

Photo by Myrna Moore

As I read over Psalm 1 again last night, meditating on verse 3 (specifically the phrase "like a tree") generated some additional thoughts that I would like to share with you.

"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither..." {Psalm 1:3}

Healthy trees have reliable access to a water supply. Healthy Christians frequently access their spiritual water supply - communion with God through prayer and the study of His Word.

Healthy trees bear fruit/leaves, or are in the process of preparing to bear fruit/leaves. You might not always see it on the outside (during the winter, for example), but they are inwardly preparing everything they need to bear fruit/leaves. Healthy Christians also bear outward fruit that results from inward preparation.

Healthy trees are firmly rooted, but flexible. They adapt to the changing seasons and weather patterns as necessary. Healthy Christians are firmly rooted in the truth of God's Word while being adaptable to the changing seasons of life.

Do you have any additional thoughts on this verse? In what other ways are healthy trees and healthy Christians similar? 

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Quotes by C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis (or "Jack," as he liked to be called) is one of my favorite authors and Christian apologists. His writings are some of the most profound works on Christianity that I have read so far in my experience with Christian apologetic literature. His unique ability to describe complex ideas in a simple ways is an inspiration to me.

So, without further ado, I would like to share with you some quotes attributed to him that I have found helpful, thought-provoking, and encouraging. I hope they will minister to your heart, as well.

"A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling 'darkness' on the walls of his cell."

"A young man who wishes to remain a sound atheist cannot be too careful of his reading."

"Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you will get neither."

"Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important."

"Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point."

"Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement."

"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."

"Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see."

"Nothing that you have not given away will ever really be yours."

"There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, 'All right, then, have it your way.'" 

"We are what we believe we are."

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."

 "You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body."

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will be come unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable."

"I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time - waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God - it changes me." 

"Love is not an affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained."

"Atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning..."

"To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you."

"Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a dead world."

"There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind."

"What draws people to be friends is that they see the same truth. They share it."

"I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice?" 

"God allows us to experience the low points in life in order to teach us lessons that we could learn no other way."

"Though our feelings come and go, God's love for us does not."

"It is not your business to succeed, but to do right; when you have done so, the rest lies with God."

"To walk out of His will is to walk into nowhere."

"When you are arguing against God, you are arguing against the very power that makes you able to argue at all."

"God loves us, not because we're lovable, because He is love. Not because He needs to receive, because He delights to give."

"Faith in Christ is the only thing to save you from despair."

"When we lose one blessing, another is often most unexpectedly given in its place."

"If God forgives us, we must forgive ourselves. Otherwise it is like setting up ourselves as a higher tribunal than Him."

"If we only have the will to walk, then God is pleased with our stumbles."

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Friends: Gifts to be Treasured

Photo by Myrna Moore

Today I had the unexpected blessing of receiving a phone call from a very dear friend whom I haven't heard from in six months. (Yes, there were tears, but they were tears of joy.) We were able to   catch up on each other's lives, share burdens, and rejoice in what the Lord is teaching us and doing for us. To be honest, I was a little sad when we had to say goodbye, but so thankful that we had been able to talk (finally!). I have missed her more than words can express.

Friendship is a beautiful manifestation of God's loving care for us. I believe that with all my heart.

Is maith a sgathan suil caraide. 

A friend's eye is a good looking-glass.

 {Gaelic Proverb}

A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. {Proverbs 17:17}

Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. {Proverbs 27:17}

Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel. {Proverbs 27:9}

I am so thankful for the godly friends God has placed in my life. How often I so foolishly take them for granted! They help me up when I fall, encourage me when I'm discouraged, point me to Christ when I take my eyes off Him, put up with my silly antics and bad moods, make me laugh when I don't even want to smile, and so much more. I am not what I ought to be, but I hope I can be at least a fraction of the blessing to my friends that they have been to me. I am forever indebted to them for their kindness, generosity, exhortation, and encouragement. Thank You, Lord, for the tremendous gift of friendship!

Photo by Myrna Moore

True, godly friends are bits of Heaven on earth - precious gifts to be treasured. 

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Remember Lot's Wife

Remember Lot's wife. {Luke 17:32}

Scripture is full of exhortations to leave behind the "old man," the way we thought and acted before we received the "new man" thoughts and actions through Christ's atoning work on the cross. Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 

A less positive exhortation to refrain from looking back at our past life of hopeless bondage to sin and the world (ie. pre-salvation) is the story of Lot's wife. You can read the whole story in Genesis 18:20-19:30. In a nutshell, the story goes like this: Lot and his family lived in the city of Sodom, one of the most wicked cities of the day. God told Abraham, Lot's uncle, that He would destroy Sodom and Gomorrah due to their abominable practices. Concerned for his nephew's safety, Abraham persuaded God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if there were ten righteous people living in the city limits. Since there were not ten righteous people living in those cities, God sent two angels to Sodom to warn Lot about the coming judgment. They urged him to take his family and flee the city as quickly as possible. The angels warned them not to look back as they left. Lot's wife did not heed the warning, and she was turned into a pillar of salt.

{Philippians 3:13-14}

While there are many lessons to be learned from this story (including heeding God's word and obeying it, etc.), I would like to focus on just one in particular for now. God bringing Lot and his daughters safely out of the destruction of Sodom is a picture of Christ rescuing us from the debauchery of sin through His shed blood. when we "look back" at our former life, before Christ rescued us, we are making opportunity for the Devil to entice us back into that lifestyle. If you know Christ as your personal Savior, you have been made a new creature - you don't have to live your old, hopeless, dead pre-conversion life anymore because Christ has given you new, hopeful, joyful, everlasting life! 

In Philippians 3:13-14, Paul uses the picture of an athlete running a race to illustrate this transformative change: "...but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God." If an athlete looks back while running a race, he/she will veer off-course or possibly even cause injury, hampering his/her ability to run. The same is true if we look back at "those things which are behind," meaning a pre-Cross, pre-Christ lifestyle and sinful habits that may have seemed enjoyable at the time. It hinders our ability to run towards "the high calling of God."

Remember Lot's wife - don't look back, look forward! 

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Bible Reading... What Do You Do?

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
{Psalm 119:105}

Christians know the importance of spending time in God's Word on a daily basis. Scores of verses within the pages of the Bible reinforce this vital part of a Christian's relationship with God. Countless men of God have preached countless sermons on this topic. But...how does one go about reading the Bible, exactly? 

I have heard many different "plans" and "schedules" for reading the Bible during personal time alone with God. These include, but are not limited to: reading through the Bible in a year, reading through the Bible in 6 months, reading through the Bible in 3 months, reading through the Bible chronologically, reading one book of the Bible every day for a month, and reading through the Bible by topic, to name a few.

With all these different methods for reading the Bible, how you know which one is the "right" one? 

I do not believe there is one "right" method for reading the Bible. God made us all unique, with unique rates of reading and absorbing information. You might want to try several different plans over a period of time to see which one(s) compliment your unique, God-given abilities. For several years I used a plan to read through the Bible in a year. Starting on January 1st of this year, I decided to challenge myself a bit more and started a 6-month plan for reading through the entire Bible, which (Lordwilling) I will finish at the end of June. I have enjoyed using both of these methods, and hope to try others to enhance my study of the Word.

Whatever plan/method you use, the result is the same: you are drinking in the precious words of our amazing God, and that is truly an awesome gift! 

Please leave a comment below with a response to these questions: What plans and/or methods have you used in your personal study? Which ones did you like and why? 

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