through the storm we reach the shore..

I sought the Lord, and afterward I knew
He moved my heart to seek him, seeking me;
It was not I that found, O Saviour true;
No, I was found by Thee.

Thou didst reach forth Thy hand and mine enfold;
I walked and sank not on the storm-vexed sea;
'Twas not so much that I on Thee took hold
As Thou, dear Lord, on me.

I find, I walk, I love, but O the whole
Of love is but my answer, Lord, to Thee!
For Thou wert long beforhand with my soul;
Always Thou lovedst me.
Anonymous

A heartfelt praise to God..

writing to reach you..

For the past decade, doctors and psychologists have been taking notice of the health benefits of reflective writing. They note that wrestling with words to put your deepest thoughts into writing can lift your mind from depression, provide insight, and offer a healing wisdom within your experiences. Similarly, a recent news article discussed the benefits of confessional writing, where one is freed to explore the depths of the emotional junkyard.

Indeed there is so much ugliness around us, writing is one way to sift through the mess. But its effectiveness is most significant when we learn from reflection, not merely revel in the messes. You see, the eye of a writer seeks the transcendent. Moments where you behold the extraordinary in the ordinary. Glimpses of clarity within the junkyard. The beauty of God in a godless world. Writing is a tool with which we learn to see ourselves more clearly, and a catalyst for which we can learn to see God.

In the C.S. Lewis novel, Till we have Faces, the main character, Orual, has taken mental notes throughout her life, carefully building what she refers to as her "case" against the gods. Finally choosing to put her case in writing, she describes each instance where she had been wronged. It is only after she has finished writing that she soberly recognizes her great mistake. To have heard herself making the complaint was to be answered. She now sees the importance of uttering the speech at the center of one's soul, profoundly observing that the gods used her own pen to probe the wounds. With sharpened insight Orual explains, "Till the words can be dug out of us, why should [the gods] hear the babble that we think we mean? How can they meet us face to face till we have faces?"

Such an illustration brings to mind the intimate descriptions of life recorded in the Psalms. Writing to express loneliness, joy, even frustration with God, the Psalmist always walks away from his words with a clearer sense of reality.
Have you dared to utter the words at the center of your soul? What if God could use your own pen to probe the wounds of your life? Try writing through your struggles; giving words to your doubt, your pain, or your anger. In the beginning, Jesus Christ was the Word who brought life into existence. May your own words heed this creative drive and bring you to a richer knowledge of yourself and, ultimately, of God.
Ravi Zacharias

fool on the hill..

There was once a guy working for Decca records, back in the 60s, who had a band come to him called the Beatles, who he listened to, and said that they would never amount to anything and so he refused to give them the contract. Just imagine the regret over the years, as the billions and billions of dollars came in. On a much more serious note, the person who turns their back on Jesus Christ and says, ‘He’s nice, but optional’ will one day discover that He is the only and absolute key to the future.

Filed under Christianity

what difference does it make?

The difference between God's being and ours is more than the difference between the sun and a candle, more than the difference between the ocean and a raindrop, more than the difference between the universe and the room we are sitting in.
Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology

well, if you put it that way..

Filed under Christianity; Books | Reading

wait & see..

a story that took place in 1805..

the Boston Missionary Society had a famous meeting with the American Indians, the Chiefs of Buffalo Creek, New York. And the Chiefs said to the missionary leaders, after listening to their presentation of the Gospel, ‘You say that there is one true faith through Jesus Christ. Good. We will wait and watch you. If we see the effect of your teaching does good on your people, we will consider your teaching and your Jesus Christ.’

Now it’s not a great way for unbelievers to make their mind up about Jesus Christ by watching the people of Jesus Christ, but it is a challenge to the people of Jesus Christ, isn’t it. Imagine if your neighbour said to you, ‘We will watch you. We will watch you this year.’ The people at work, ‘We will watch you this year. And then, if there is some good effect, we will take the message seriously.’

Filed under Christianity; Books | Reading

lost and found..

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believed!

Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

When we've been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we'd first begun.
John Newton (1725–1807)

it's only a paper moon..

Say, its only a paper moon
Sailing over a cardboard sea
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me

Yes, it's only a canvas sky
Hanging over a muslin tree
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me

there's no sense in telling me..

the wisdom of a fool won't set you free

If we would talk less and pray more about them, things would be be better than they are in the world; at least, we should be better enabled to bear them.
John Owen

joy division..

God created you and me to live with a single, all-embracing, all-transforming passion - namely, a passion to glorify God by enjoying and displaying his supreme excellence in all the spheres of life. Enjoying and displaying are both crucial. If we try to display the excellence of God without joy in it, we will display a shell of hypocrisy and create scorn or legalism. But if we claim to enjoy his excellence and do not display it for others to see and admire, we deceive ourselves, because the mark of God-enthralled joy is to overflow and expand by extending itself into the hearts of others. The wasted life is the life without passion for the supremecy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples.
John Piper, Don't waste your life

don't waste your life..

protection..

My Heavenly Father, I thank You, through Jesus Christ, Your beloved Son, that You have protected me, by Your grace. Forgive, I pray, all my sins and the evil I have done. Protect me, by Your grace, tonight. I put myself in your care, body and soul and all that I have. Let Your holy angels be with me, so that the evil enemy will not gain power over me. Amen.
Martin Luther, Evening Prayer

the day you come..

When John Wesley was once asked by a friend what he planned to do that day, Wesley said, ‘This morning I plan to prepare a sermon, and this afternoon I am going to visit a widow from the parish.’ His friend replied, ‘If you knew that the Lord Jesus was going to return tonight, what would you do today?’ Wesley said, ‘I would prepare my sermon this morning and visit the widow this afternoon.’ He made no adjustments to his diary, or his lifestyle, in the light of the second coming of Christ. He did not need to. In other words, he was living always in the light of the coming of the Son of Man.

The best preparation for death, or the coming of Jesus, is to do your duty. When the son of Man comes you want him to find you doing what he has set apart for you to do. ‘Be ready,’ Jesus says, ‘be faithful and wise.’

Matthew 24:36-51