Still Be My Vision

“. . . heart of my own heart, whatever befall, still be my vision, O Ruler of all.” (Be Thou my vision, 8th Century Irish Hymn).

The final words to one of the oldest recorded hymns ever written, are foundational:
“Whatever befall, still be my vision, O Ruler of all.”
The entire hymn, verse after costly verse build ‘stone upon stone’ a foundation in which, we, believers in Christ can build our ‘temples’ on : “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”(1 Cor. 6:19). And it is most important that we remember, to keep in our ‘vision’ the word of the Lord: “For you were bought at a price…” (1 Cor. 6:20).
For some, there is no time for ‘religious stuff’, and these words just bring strife. So focus is on the immediate, the urgent in  the day to day life.
For others there is too much busy-ness, even in   ‘serving the Lord’ to ‘rest’. What are the foundations of our thoughts and actions? Do we desire to build relationship stone by stone, step by step?
Do we lose our focus in the whirlwind of life? Do we desire relationship with the Ruler of all and our Creator.
Did you know that the foundation of the Temple in Jerusalem was COSTLY?  “Beside the chief of Solomon’s officers which were over the work,”(of building the Temple of the Lord), “three thousand and three hundred, which ruled over the people that wrought in the work. And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house…” (1 Kings 5:16,17).
Great and costly and hewn stones were brought in to lay the foundation.
I speak in the present tense.  I speak to myself. The cost is great in laying the foundation.
And really? Who would use ‘costly and precious stones for a foundation that’s not even seen?
Foundations are seen by One, and One only. God sees. His vision is clear.
Believing that God cares about all the parts of me that no one else knows, and know one else sees, that’s foundational. And when everything I can see, everything on the outside, starts falling apart- (our temples, our physical bodies),  then the FOUNDATION is all that’s left!
When this world rates us and scores us at ‘zero’ , God sees our faith and rates us as heroes!
So, what are great and costly stones? What are ‘hewed stones’ in the building of the temple of the Lord? in our own bodies? The Chief Cornerstone. Everything rests on the Cornerstone.
We discover the importance of ‘foundations’ and ‘focus’ when trouble comes and great brokenness. It’s not all bad – in that we cry out and hunger for increased faith and focus -God uses it for good.
“Be Thou my vision, Lord of my heart. Not be all else to me, save that Thou art. Thou my best thought by day and by night. Waking or sleeping Thy presence, my light.”
“Be Thou my wisdom. Thou my true word. I ever with Thee and Thou with me Lord. Thou my great Father, and I Thy true son, Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.”
Costly stones are FAITH : “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”(Hebrews 11:1). It is costly to have faith. BUT, we must be reminded, “For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.” We can’t ‘see’ faith, but we can see the evidence of it in the testimony, in the story! AND, it is recorded, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him,(God), for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him! (Hebrews 11:6, exclamation point, mine!)
No one can see the great costly stones in the foundation, but God can, and God does! He’s got us in full view, and we best keep Him in full view as well, and then, we can stand on the Stone, the Chief Cornerstone no matter WHAT is going on in our world and sing with courage and trust:
“Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise. Thou mine inheritance now and always. Thou and Thou only, First in my heart. Thou King of Heaven my treasure Thou ART!”
“High King of heaven , my victories won. May I reach heaven’s joy, bright heaven’s SON. Heart of my own heart…
whatever befall… STILL BE MY VISION, Oh Ruler of all.” (Be Thou My Vision, 8th Century Irish Hymn).
The foundation? Faith – costly, sacrificial, precious faith – in the ‘High King of heaven’, my victories won. He wore a crown of thorns, so that one day…I can wear a shiny one. And that shiny crown I will receive, I will give it to Him and lay it at His feet!

 “Lord, help us get focus. Help us keep focus. Give us hunger for relationship with You, the Father Who cares, the Father Who guides, the Father Who loves and shows us through His Son Jesus Christ. Forgive us for sin, forgive us for losing focus. Fill us today with the Holy Spirit and let us walk in faith that You, our Precious Cornerstone care and hear and Love us!”

When our thoughts are the enemies…But God!

 When we’ve experienced  brokenness, or loss, or even a ‘falling’. We wrestle with God. We are tempted to ask, (and we do ask), in our hearts, “Why God?  Why!?”

With hearts that still beat, but with each pulse there is pain – we lie broken and weak, under dark clouds and then… we cry… we cry and we cry, and then the mind fights against sense. Our thoughts are the enemies that line up… against –  against the foundations that were laid from the beginning: “Jesus loves me this I know…”
and in the whirlwind of thought – anger and fear, reappear rhymes that were told us from times past:  Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall, all the kings horses and all the kings men, couldn’t put Humpty together again”.
In the confusion of it all, seemingly spinning in the mess, comes the temptation of… hopelessness. Even believing Humpty Dumpty’s plight in our own restlessness.
What a horrible rhyme! Yet, universal in learning! But now, in the wrestling, something deep down inside, whispers ever gently: ‘This is a life without GOD! Lift up your eyes. There is a King, with a capital ‘K’,  that rises above all kings.  A King who knows, and is able, and can do all things!
There is always hope! Don’t believe the rhymes without God – so dark and empty and ending in shame – but here is the rhyme written with God as His friend: “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. Humpty Dumpty shouted “AMEN” God will put  me together again!” (Christian Nursery Rhymes).
Let us repeat this and teach this rhyme to the young!  We are all Humpty Dumpty! Deceived with Eve, and eaten forbidden fruit with Adam. We’ve all missed the mark- we’ve all had a great fall!
And we try every resource and rely on ‘king’s horses and king’s men’, and we find we just can’t do it ourselves.  But God meets us with mercy,  and when…we heed the deep whisper of hope in our heart, we begin to realize. “Jesus loves me. And He has from the start.”
God speaks. He’s not silent. When feeble hands open the words on His pages: “Then the LORD descended in the form of a pillar of cloud and stood there with him, (Moses), and passed in front of him and announced the meaning of his name: 
“I am Jehovah, the merciful and gracious God,” he said, “slow to anger and rich in steadfast love and truth. I Jehovah, show this steadfast love to many thousands by forgiving their sins; (literally forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin),(Ex. 34:5,6,7, Living).
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again. But God comes  – not to put broken pieces together – but to create a new creation altogether!
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
“Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it?” (Isaiah 43:18,19).
“Peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near,”…”And I will heal him.” (Is. 57:19, NKJV).
He knows what we are made of. He’s knows how very fragile we are. And He knows, we have been broken…“Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you. Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt…”Jer. 31:3.
Know the truth, it will set you free. “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know. (Jer. 33:3).
 “Behold, I will bring …health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.”(Jer. 33:6).
“Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,… ” (2 Corinthians 5:18).
“… that is, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:19).
“I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me.” (Jer. 33:8).“Then it shall be to Me a name of joy,…” (Jer. 33:9).
A name of joy, even ‘Humpty Dumpty’ who had a great fall. But God will put him back together again! God uses everything! He gave us His Son to pay our debts in full and by believing in Him, we are made new and whole!  And we can shout out  with out voices “Amen, Amen, and Amen, Let it Be! Jesus loves…even me!

"I have your new shoes."

“Take off the sandals from your feet.” The voice of God from the burning bush speaks.
Remember the story of Moses told in the Old Testament story? When he turned aside to see a bush, not consumed, but burning! (1).
But when the prodigal son returns home in the New Testament story, the Father runs and hugs him and puts new sandals on his feet.(2).
When reading the Bible today in the Song of Songs, God’s word to the prince’s daughter says, “How beautiful are your feet with shoes…”(3).
“Oh Lord, teach me something today, so that I am not confused!”
“Moses, take off your shoes!” God’s Law was given through him. Moses and the  10 commandments, familiar to all.
But the prodigal comes home in desperation to his Father.  Jesus  Himself, tells  us the story. The prodigal receives grace and forgiveness and… shoes for his feet.
“Take off your shoes!” God’s word is Holy. He alone can keep the law fully. Don’t think for a minute we can stand on our works. We’ve all missed the mark! We’ve all been wrecked by the fall! (4).
“I am in great need. I am in great desperation. I must return back to my Father in heaven!”
If this be our cry, the Father’s  heart hears. He’s been watching and waiting. The Father runs –  with arms open wide. Abounding in grace, in love, and forgiveness – and so much more besides – He comes with shoes and carefully puts them on our feet.
“My blood was shed on the cross that day to cover your sin from beginning to end. Come to Me. Trust in My work. Come to Me, Jesus, I have new shoes for you. Come to Me, let Me put on your feet, My love, the Gospel of Peace.”
“How beautiful are your feet with shoes, O prince’s daughter!” Song of Solomon 7:1.
O LORD, we must take off our shoes and not stand on the ‘Do’s’ and ‘Don’ts’ of the Law in our walking!  We must stand on the finished work of the cross and love, without stopping!
(1). Exodus 3:5.
(2). Luke 15:22.
(3). Song of Solomon 7:1.
(4). Romans 3:23.

"Help I Need Somebody!"

“Help! I need somebody! Help, not just any-body! Help! I need Somebody! HELP!”
We’ve got melody to our cry, thanks to the Beatles!
And when our hearts cry out these words of desperation, somehow, finally, our prayers are being answered –  because eyes are open and our heart is soft and our ears are prepared to listen, and a peace even draws near – as  God shows us He’s nearby. Oh, not at once, like we wish, but a ‘journey begins’ of seeking and discovering: ‘He uses all this!’
The sky is amazing and huge and it speaks. And the ocean is powerful and reminds us we’re weak. But the beauties of creation don’t speak words of consolation. “Help I need somebody! Not just any-body! Help!” …continues our cry of desperation!
God speaks through creation! Yet my cry remains the same. After spending time with the sunset sky, the questions continue, “Who?”, “What?”, “When”, “Where?”, “How”, and “Why?!”
For some, we need a ‘Knight in shining armor!’ For others, the need is a ‘double edged sword!’ Still others need a Great Physician. And others need their ‘daily supply’. Some need a cleansing bath in Living waters. We are thirsty and ill from all the ‘lie-ing! Help! Not just Anybody, We need Somebody… to HELP!” (Yes, All caps and italicized!)
So The Book is given, when the cry is at last desperate. The pages are opened to the end of The Story, to see if in fact it’s filled with the ‘often-told’ glory:
“Then [the angel]said to me, Write this down; Blessed – happy, to be envied – are those who are summoned (invited, called) to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me [further], These are the true words -the genuine and exact declarations -of God.” (Revelation 19:9, and indeed, Amplified).
All of a sudden, there’s a party being planned, and we wonder, “Am I invited? Could this be the ‘invitation’ that I hold in my hand?”
The Story continues, in brokenness we read, “Then I fell prostrate at his feet to worship -to pay diving honors- to him, but he [restrained me] and said, Refrain! – You must not do that! I am [only] another servant with you and your brethren who have [accepted and hold] the testimony borne by Jesus.
Worship God!
For the substance (essence) of the truth revealed by Jesus is the spirit of all prophecy – the vital breath, the inspiration of all inspired preaching…” (Revelation 19:10, Amplified), (and we must admit, the words are often a mystery in part, unidentified!)
But we keep reading on in great hunger we eat: “After that I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse [appeared}! The One Who was riding it is called Faithful (trustworthy, loyal, incorruptible, steady ) and True, and He passes judgement and wages war in righteousness – holiness, justice and uprightness.”
This is when we get ‘afraid’ knowing we are ‘not’ all this, but we read on as one who seeks to quench  their thirst: “His eyes [blaze] like a flame of fire, and on His head are many kingly crowns (diadems); and He has a title (name) inscribed which He alone knows or can understand. He is dressed in a robe dyed by dipping in blood,
and the title by which He is called is The Word of God.” (Revelation 19:12&13, Amplified. Mysteries, multiplied!) But the words, they come in like a flood, reminding us of His death: ‘He was dressed in a robe dyed by dipping in blood.’
“And the troops of heaven, clothed in fine linen, dazzling and clean, followed Him on white horses. From His mouth goes forth a sharp sword with which He can smite (afflict, strike)the nations, and He will shepherd and control them with a staff (scepter, rod) of iron. He will tread the wine press of the fierceness of the wrath and indignation of God the All-Ruler – the Almighty, the Omnipotent.
 And on His garment (robe) and on His thigh He has a name (title) inscribed, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” (Revelation 19:14-16, in the Amplified Version has us asking, “”God what is all this? Words unlike any other!”
So naturally, (I wonder if God always knew), we turn to the very end of this Best Selling Book, and our eyes catch the words, because He’s speaking right to us:  “I, Jesus, have sent My messenger (angel) to you to witness and to give you assurance of these things for the churches. I am [both] the Root (the Source) and the Offspring of David, the radiant and brilliant Morning Star.”
“The (Holy) Spirit and the bride [the church, the true Christians] say, Come! And let him who is listening say, Come! And let every one come who is thirsty [who  is painfully conscious of his need of those things by which the soul is refreshed, supported and strengthened]; and whoever [earnestly] desires to do it, let him come and take and appropriate (drink) the Water of Life without cost…” (Revelation 22:16&17 – Read aloud, somehow …change our heart).
Could it be, when opening The Holy Book, that we discover, that it’s an open invitation to ‘whosoever’ will hear, and that our Prince in shining armor is calling us near.
“Help, I need Somebody! Not just any-body! Help I need Somebody!”… and He is here!
The Words would never have been read  -out loud no less, unless many of us were in ‘great desperation’. How glorious it is, when ‘poor spirit’ and broken, Jesus Himself speaks His Revelation.
So The book has been opened, and the Book is Transforming. The Word of God is Comforting, and Fulfilling, and Restoring, but not only that The Word is right here!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

'Eye' will not worry!

We love a picture, so we hang it on the wall to look at over and over again. We love songs and listen time and time again. Well, I have a speech that moved me and inspired me and so, I put it down, so I can read it anytime, over and over again, when I get overwhelmed or worried.
The speech is a bit of an anatomy lesson of the eye, thanks to a nursing graduate at her pinning ceremony:
“Did you know that there are 47 different structures that make up the human eye that all have a unique function? Did you know that there are 6 extra-ocular muscles, 4 cranial nerves, and 1.2 million nerve fibers in each optic nerve.
Did you know that when light waves touch my eye, without even thinking about it, I blink to protect them from too much exposure.
And when that amount of light changes, my pupillary light response reacts without a thought, so that only the right amount of light is let into my eye.
Did you know that there are four-out of the twelve- cranial nerves that work specifically for the eye, so that they can not only allow me to focus on an object and read it, but also so that they can move in different directions.
There are 9 different structures that all play a specific role in receiving light messages before they even get to the brain. And it is not until those messages get to the occipital lobe of the brain that I can interpret what I am actually seeing.
The eyes receive millions of light waves and messages everyday, but my brain has a specific area that lets only the important and significant messages through so that the brain doesn’t get over-stimulated.
And did you know…
that the God who told me to cast all my cares upon Him, and that He will never leave me nor forsake me, that I should be anxious for nothing, was the very one who designed this whole system and hundreds like it! So that we can live and move and breathe every second.
And did you know that He didn’t have to lift a finger,
and He didn’t sweat a drop to think of it.
He just breathed on one man, and He knit us together and formed us in our mother’s womb
before you were even a thought in her mind.
And now tell me,
What are you worried about?
What will you be worried about when you come up to those hurdles that are bound to cross your path?
I want you to think of your EYE! and tell me,
that your situation, your problem, your worry is too big
for the God who created you and the world you live in
to handle.”
A young graduating nursing student  gave this speech on her mom’s birthday.  “What are you worried about? I want you to think of your eye!”
We can’t hang it on our wall, but we can read it over and over and over again. And share it with others that we might not be tempted…ever again,
to worry.
 
 

He says, "Follow Me". So today, we choose…

Who’s the ‘He’? He’s the One who created me. He’s the One who knows all things. He’s the One who knows our name! Why else do you think God put all those names in His word? He certainly doesn’t think we’ll read each  one – but as we glance past them all, as each has a part in His Story- and He impresses on my heart, “You’re name, dear one, I call. Come, follow the Son.”
So, what happens when I make the choice? Not just once for Salvation, but every day to hear His voice?
He starts making everything ‘crystal clear’, as we choose to walk with Him through the Gospels. Somehow, He answers questions  that we have both far and near – as we hear Him speak – just to me, just to you, as if He’s right here:
But there is an enemy that likes to mess us up because He hates God and hates me and hates you and hates all! He whispers thoughts like, “This is so boring” and “no-one can understand,” “it’s always talk about blood…”,  and “you need more than Jesus” and “who has time for all this!”
But God is greater! God is able! God is amazing and He’s working still. He ‘skips on the mountains’ that make our hearts fail. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). This is what He tells us in His word, that we might KNOW His will!
There are no guesses!  When we think, “Well, maybe God loves me.”
When we get our eyes in His word and hear Him speak, the message is clear: God is love. He loves. He provides. He sees…“For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that  maketh an atonement for the soul.” (Lev. 17:11 KJV), 
and that is why He had to die for me.
“All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28, emphasis mine!)
“Come to Me.” Jesus says. (Matthew 11:28). “… and I will give you…”
“I will…” (The Creator of the Universe and Creator of every cell in our heart, soul and mind),
“I will give to you…”, (Speaking in relation, knowing our names, knowing our pains, knowing all that’s going on in our minds),
“I will give to you rest for your souls.”
“Follow Me.” (This is Jesus. The One who speaks. The One who can make us whole).
“But what will others say? What will others think? “…day by day and week by week? “(these thoughts wrestle inside each one of us). What is the choice? What is it we seek?.
But today, Jesus passes alongside where you are and calls you by name. Can you hear Him call: “Follow Me.”  It’s recorded – the stories of others who chose to follow,  in His Word, His (magnificent, #1 bestseller ):(Mark 1:16-18), “Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.  And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”[ And immediately they left their nets and followed him.”
“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28, emphasis mine!)
Today, He calls us to lay down the yoke of strife and compulsion and anxiety and dread, and take His yoke. Learning of Him and knowing more what He said; investing time in His word that we might have not strife, but peace instead!

 

To Do: "Rest"

 
“There is a place of quiet and rest,…there is a place of comfort sweet, near to the heart of God.”This is the first line to a hymn titled, “Near to the heart of God.”
When ‘Rest’ is on the ‘To Do List’, this is where we needs meet: ‘Near to the heart of God’.
When asked the question, “How are you?” The only reply near to the tongue is,
“I’m tired.”
Today, I read the words aloud of an unfamiliar (to me, that is), hymn:
“O Jesus, blest Redeemer, Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us, who wait before Thee, Near to the heart of God.”
“Hold us, who wait before Thee, Near to the heart of God!” (emphasis and exclamation, mine.)
‘Hold us, who wait before Thee, Near to the heart of God.’ So, I think of King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles. Do you remember him? Well, I remind myself today of his famous prayer from 2 Chronicles 20:12: “O our God, will You not judge them?” (Them? The enemy that came out to battle. We won’t battle with the people of Moab, but we will battle the enemy of fear every day. And the enemy of doubt, which makes no delay, and the enemy of ‘control’ which depletes breath and life and unity- and the enemy of addiction to things that destroy…etc., etc., etc!) “For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”
King Jehoshaphat had gathered all of Judah, with the little ones, their wives, and their children, and they stood before the LORD to pray this prayer together.
And they received an answer because the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of … who was the son of …, (a reminder that God knows our names!) and the response was recorded,(after you get through all of the names) many, many years ago, for you and for me – today. It’s in 2 Chronicles 20:14-17.
“Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the LORD to you: “Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s…You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves,
stand still and see the salvation of the LORD,
who is with you. O Judah and Jerusalem!” (and repeated a second time, he continues,) “Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you.”
Jehoshaphat then bowed his head to the ground and worshiped the LORD.
“Position yourselves,…”
And Jehoshaphat showed us how: King Jehoshaphat ‘bowed his head to the ground and worshiped the LORD’.
“Near to the Heart Of God”
“There is a place of quiet rest, Near to the heart of God; A place where sin cannot molest, Near to the heart of God.
O Jesus, blest Redeemer, Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us, who wait before Thee, Near to the heart of God.”
“There is a place of comfort sweet, Near to the heart of God; A place where we our Savior meet, Near to the heart of God.
“There is a place of full release, Near to the heart of God;
A place where all is joy and peace, Near to the heart of God.
O Jesus, blest Redeemer, Sent from the heart of God,
“Hold us, who wait before Thee, and speak dear Jesus, as we rest we listen, and even more than that, we choose to hear: “I AM the True Vine and My Father is the Vinedresser. Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit – that stops bearing – He cuts away (Trims off, takes away). And He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit.
You are cleansed and pruned already, because of the Word which I have given you – the teachings I have discussed with you. Dwell in Me and I will dwell in you. – Live in Me and I will live in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me. 
I am the Vine, you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me – cut off from the vital union with Me – you can do nothing.
If you live in Me -abide vitally united to Me – and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will and it shall be done for you…”(John 15: 1-7, Amplified).
“O Jesus, blest Redeemer, Sent from the heart of God,
Hold us, who wait before Thee, Near to the heart of God.” 
Hold us and speak to our tired hearts and show us the way to overcome the and bear fruit TODAY, as we rest, we bow our heads in position of worship, speaking hymns and Your word and receiving Your love! Revive us O Lord, in these last days, give us rest and hearts that Praise. In Jesus Name, and we all say…
 
 
 

I want fruit, but how?!

Every branch wants to bear fruit. That’s the plan from the beginning. But, ‘unless a grain of wheat fall into the dirt and break down'(1) – it remains alone, bearing no beauty.
Unless a grain of ‘anything’ fall into the ground and ‘die’- it forever will stand on its own with no flower – oh sigh!
God’s Word in the Gospel of John, chapter 15, had me in the middle of a garden thinkin’ of all kinds of things:
“Abide in the Vine of Love never-ending. A river of life will continually flow. With gentle power, when we walk in the Spirit and put a stop to our flesh as we go!” This reads so ‘flowery’, so ‘easy’ so ‘sweet’…
But we must not be mistaken – the path is not all ‘rosie!’ We won’t ask for troubles to come, oh no, but they do! We have sunny days and cool breezes, but then the north wind blows… and the dark clouds roll – ‘What then! What then! What then must we do?
We must speak to our soul the words of a song. We must sing a new song – now of faith, not of fear. God abides in our praise, let a worshiper’s heart appear:
“What have I to dread, what have I to fear? Leaning on the Everlasting Arms. I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms…
“What a fellowship, what a joy divine, leaning on the Everlasting Arms. What a blessedness, what a peace is mine, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!”
The answers! The answers are written right here- now …to just keep singing, just keep singing, as the north winds blow so near.
John 12:24-25 “Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal.”
“What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
  Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
  Leaning on the Everlasting Arms! Leaning, leaning,
Safe and secure from all alarms;
  Leaning, leaning,
  Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.

 

O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
  Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
O how bright the path grows from day to day,
  Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!

 

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
  Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
I have peace complete with my Lord so near,
  Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!” 
(1) Joh 12:24.
(2) Everlasting Arms, Elisha Hoffman.

We need the stories…remembering Corrie Ten boon

“You will never know that Christ is all you need until Christ is all you have.” Corrie Ten boon. 
Today in this broken world, these words are an ointment to hope and point the way to the truth that what we need in our weakness and darkness and loneliness is Jesus.
In The Hiding Place, Corrie Ten boon recorded how her family was captured by the Nazi’s, and were taken away as prisoners for hiding Jewish people during World War II. But through all the sorrow and suffering and trial there  are story after story of  God’s faithfulness. Supernatural Help is written of over and over again. The Spirit of God shines ever so bright in the darkness.
We get to read in a written testimony how the ‘River of life’ in one’s life flows ever so faithfully, when ‘tapped’ into continuously!
Corrie was taken into a cell of solitary confinement, for endless amounts of time, stripped of everything- but incredably enough, before that moment of confinement God was present in a nurse, who (only had seconds), asked Corrie, “Quick! Is there any way I can help you?”
Corrie’s quick response, “Yes, Oh yes! A Bible! Could you get me a Bible? And -a needle and thread! And a toothbrush! And soap!”
Well, later Corrie did receive 2 small ‘precious’ bars of soap and not an entire Bible, but little Books of the Gospels,(Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).
The words Corrie wrote of her time in confinement:
“I stepped inside. The door clanged behind me. The bolt was slammed shut…six steps long, two wide, a single cot at the back…I must not let my thoughts run wildly; I must be very mature and very practical. Six steps. Sit down on the cot. This one reeked even worse than the other: he straw seemed to be fermenting. I reached for the blanket: someone had been sick on it. I thrust it away…at that moment the light bulb in the ceiling went out… the cell was bitter cold, wind hammered against the wall…in the morning my fever was worse.”
But God was with her. But not only that – the Holy Spirit was in her. Corrie had asked, and she had been given, just as Jesus had said: “If you had only known and had recognized God’s gift, and Who this is that is saying to you, Give Me a drink, you would have asked Him instead and He would have given you living water.” (John 4:10, Amplified).
Corrie continues her testimony:
“As my health returned, I was able to use my eyes longer. I had been sustaining myself from my Scriptures a verse at a time; now like a starving man I gulped entire gospels at a reading, seeing whole magnificent drama of salvation.
And as I did, an incredible thought pricked the back of my neck. Was it possible that this – all of this that seemed so wasteful and so needless – this war, Scheveningen prison, this very cell, none of it was unforeseen or accidental?
Could it be part of the pattern first revealed in the Gospels? Hadn’t Jesus – and here my reading became intent indeed – hadn’t Jesus been defeated as utterly and unarguably as our little group and our small plans had been? 
But…if the Gospels were truly the pattern of God’s activity, then defeat was only the beginning. I would look around at the bare little cell and wonder what conceivable victory could come from a place like this. “(pg. 139, The Hiding Place)
Stories written, stories told –  Corrie had a trial with a Lieutenant Rahms, with his true National Socialistic mentality remarked about the Ten boon’s  humanitarian efforts: “What a waste of time and energy! If you want converts, surely one normal person is worth all the half-wits in the world!”
After reading the gospels for 4 months and keeping company with a few ants that came to eat crumbs through a crack in her cell, here is Corries response to a Nazi Lieutenant: “The truth , Sir,” …”is that God’s viewpoint is sometimes different from ours – so different that we could not even guess at it unless He had given us a Book which tells us such things.”
Instead of getting into more trouble, the following morning this Nazi Lieutenant himself unlocked her cell door and escorted her to her hearing.
She records for us Lieutenant Rahms words, “I could not sleep last night, thinking about that Book where you have read such different ideas. What else does it say in there?”

“On my closed eyelids the sun glimmered and blazed, “It says,” I began slowly, “that a Light has come into this world, so that we need no longer walk in the dark. Is there darkness in your life, Lieutenant?”
There was a very long silence.
“There is great darkness,” he said at last. “I cannot bear the work I do here.”

Corrie continues, after the Lieutenant spoke of his fear for his family in Bremen, she said,“There is One Who has them always in His sight, Lietenant Rahms. Jesus is the Light the Bible shows me, the Light that can shine even in such darkness as yours.”

“Come close to God and He will come close to you… [As you draw near to God] be deeply penitent and grieve, even weep [over your disloyalty]. Let your laughter be turned to grief and your mirth to dejection and heartfelt shame… Humble yourselves -feeling very insignificant – in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. – He will lift you up and make your lives significant.” Hebrews 4:9,10, Amplified.
Today we must have courage to share the truth and to love in this often dark and difficult world.
Corrie Ten Boon also wrote: “When the train goes through a tunnel and the world gets dark, do you jump out? Of course not! You sit still and trust the engineer to get you through…”
“We must ‘be still and trust the engineer to get you through…’ and while we wait…we will read His word, and we will sing. Sing His Psalms, His hymns, the Spiritual songs, make melody in our hearts to the Lord!  As we humble ourselves and wait, He gives us peace and rest! Praise to our God.
“Be still my soul, the LORD is on thy side. Bear paitiently, the cross of grief or pain. Leave to thy God to order and provide, in every change He faithful will remain. Be still my soul, thy Best, thy Heavenly Friend, through thorny ways, leads to a joyful end.” (Be Still My Soul).
 

If we be sheep in God's immense pasture…

If we be sheep in God’s immense pasture – we mere sheep and He being Shepherd- then my prayer for 2016 is that we sheep go back to school, and let God, be the One who Be the Teacher!
If it is true that the ‘fear of the Lord’ is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom, then who are we kidding? The first place to start, dear Lord is a prayer, that you teach us this year, Your holy name to fear. Not ‘fear’ in fear but in reverential ‘awe’ and love. Oh, ‘Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name’ –  teach continually what all this means!
Put in our hearts a Godly sorrow that leads us to repentance – a ‘turn around’ of sorts, being humble and gentle,  emptying us of ourselves that can prove to be hard and sharp,that we might be anointed with the oil of forgiveness that our cups overflow…
That by emptying and letting go, and losing our lives, so to speak, that You would fill us, and fill us and fill us with love abounding, that Your love would flow like a fountain and then in great power, move our feet!
Teach us this year, in 2016, the way of the Lord – ‘gracious, compassionate, slow to anger and abounding – abounding in love, abounding in mercy, arms open wide with love.  Forgiving iniquity and forgiving sin…’ This is the Way, the Truth and the Life, This is our hope and peace and our Joy:  You  – offer –  forgiveness!
Is there anything in this world more wonderful than that?!
So, dear God, teach us again and again, that to say, “I love You,” in return,  is done without words, but shown… through obedience.
May Your sheep hear Your Voice, and in humility and care, follow You, and be lead to the cross, each and every minute of the day, ‘likened as sheep’ which so easily forget – let us  remember that THAT is what LOVE looks like – Your willingness to surrender…
to surrender: “Not my will but Yours be done.” With Your  heart on us, and Your eyes on Your Father…
May Your sheep hear Your voice: ” I am the good Shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own…And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.”
We prayer for ourselves that You help us remember: “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul…” That in 2016, minute by minute, hour by hour, month by month we follow, You, good Shepherd, and in fear and great awe, we be made whole!”
In Jesus Name, Amen, amen, and amen over and over again!

An old speech, an old hymn might very well best bring this new year in:

A grandfather of sorts to this nation at this time, Billy Graham’s speech is perhaps, timeless and appropriate even now for us all.

 Fifteen years ago, Sept. 14th, 2001, only days after terror hit our nation, Billy Graham was asked to  speak to a nation with bleeding hearts. So, today, with ‘troubles abounding’ – terror threats and christian rights being taken away, and foundations being broken…I share his words AGAIN, as we begin year 2016:

“We come together today to affirm our conviction that God cares for us, whatever our ethnic, religious or political background may be. The Bible says that He is “the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles.”
No matter how hard we try, words cannot express the horror, the shock and the revulsion we all feel over what took place in this nation on Tues morning…
But today we come together in this service to confess our need of God. We’ve always needed God from the very beginning of this nation. But today we need Him especially. We’re involved in a new kind of warfare. And we need the help of the Spirit of God.
The Bible says, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and mountains fall into the heart of the sea.”
But how do we understand something like this? Why does God allow evil like this to take place? Perhaps that is what you are asking. You may even be angry at God. I want to assure you that God understands these feelings that you may have.
We’ve seen so much that brings tears to our eyes and makes us feel a sense of anger. But God can be trusted, even when life seems at its darkest.
What are the lessons we can learn?
First, we are reminded of the mystery and reality of evil. I have been asked hundreds of times why God allows tragedy and suffering. I have to confess that I do not know the answer.  I have to accept , by faith, that God is sovereign, and that He is a God of love and mercy and compassion in the midst of suffering.
The Bible says God is not the Author of evil. In 1 Thessalonians 2:7 the Bible talks about the mystery of iniquity. the Old Testament Prophet Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.”
The lesson of this even is not only about the mystery of iniquity and evil, but second, it’s about our need for each other.
What an example New York and Washington have been to the world these past few days! None of us will forget the pictures of our courageous firefighters and police, or the hundreds of people standing patiently in line to donate blood…
Finally, difficult as it may be for us to see right now, this event can give a message of hope-hope for the present and hope for the future.
Yes, there is hope. There is hope for the present because the stage, I believe, has already been set for a new spirit in our nation.
We desperately need a spiritual renewal in this country, and God has told us in His Word, time and time that we need to repent of our sins and return to Him, and He will bless us in a new way.
There also is hope for the future because of God’s promises. As a Christian, I have hope, not just for this life, but for heaven and the life to come. And many of those people who died this past week are in heaven now. And they wouldn’t want to come back. It’s so glorious and so wonderful. That is the hope for all of us who put our faith in God. I pray that you will have this hope in your heart.
This event reminds us of the brevity and uncertainty of life. We never know when we too will be called into eternity. I doubt if those people who got on those planes or who walked into the world Trace Center or the Pentagon on Tuesday thought that it would be the last day of their lives. And that’s why we each must face our own spiritual need and commit ourselves to God and His will.
Here in this majestic National Cathedral we see all around us the symbol of the cross. For the Christian, the cross tells us that God understands our sin and our suffering, for He took them upon Himself in the Person of Jesus Christ. From the cross God declares, “I love you. I know the heartaches and the sorrows and the pain that you feel. But I love you.”
The story does not end with the cross, for Easter points us beyond the tragedy of the cross to the empty tomb. It tells us that there is hope for eternal life, for Christ conquered evil and death and hell. Yes, there is hope.
I’ve become an old man now, and I’ve preached all over the world. And the older I get, the more I cling to that hope that I started with many years ago.
Several years ago at the National Prayer Breakfast here in Washington, Ambassador Andrew Young closed his talk with a quotation from the old hymn, “How Firm a Foundation.”
This week we watched in horror as planes crashed into the steel and glass and the World Trade Center. Those majestic towers, built on solid foundations, were examples of prosperity and creativity. When damaged, those building plummeted to the ground, imploding in upon themselves. Yet, underneath the debris, is a foundation that was not destroyed. Therein lies the truth of that hymn, “How Firm a Foundation.”
Yes, our nation has been attacked, buildings destroyed, lives lost. But now we have a choice: whether to implode and disintegrate emotionally and spiritually as a people and a nation; or to choose to become stronger through all of this struggle, to rebuild a solid foundation.
And I believe that we are starting to rebuild on that foundation. That foundation is our trust in God. And in that faith, we have the strength to endure something as difficult and horrendous as what we have experienced this week. This has been a terrible week with many tears.
But it also has been a week of great faith. In that hymn, “How Firm a Foundation,” the words say, “Fear not, I am with thee; O be not dismayed, For I am thy God, and will give thee aid; I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.”
My prayer today is that we will feel the loving arms of God wrapped around us and that as we trust in Him we will know in our hearts that He will never forsake us.
We know also that God will give wisdom and courage and strength to the President and those around him. And this will be a day that we will remember as a day of Victory.
May God bless you all.”
(2 Cor. 1:3-4, Ps. 46: 1-2, Jeremiah 17:9)
The Hymn: How Firm a Foundation (From A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors, by John Rippon, 1787; attributed variously to John Keene, Kirkham, and John Keith.)
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?
In every condition, in sickness, in health;
In poverty’s vale, or abounding in wealth;
At home and abroad, on the land, on the sea,
As thy days may demand, shall thy strength ever be.
Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.
When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.
Even down to old age all My people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne.
The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.
May 2016 be a year where the Foundation is laid, moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day in our hearts and our minds as we draw ever nearer the LORD! Praying for us all, that God helps us keep focused-because the King is Come in our hearts and our lives, and we need to ‘preach the gospel’ in every land that we might all be ready – the Bride, for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb! Revelation 19:6-9:

6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
    the Almighty reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and exult
    and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
    and his Bride has made herself ready;
8 it was granted her to clothe herself
    with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

9 And the angel said[a] to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

May God richly bless you with His powerful Spirit to help you walk step by step in His presence and joy. In His love I pray for my children, my family, my friends, and all the people this year that God lets me meet, toni

this mama's letter never changes…

I wrote, ‘A letter to my children this Christmas’ 5 years ago. This letter unveils a lot of mystery, and it’s the same through the ages, ‘A letter to my children this Christmas’ too:
There is a lot of mystery – even in family – but I would like to unravel some of it for you. You see, I grew up with ONLY the fairy tales. I grew up with the ‘fingers’ crossed’ and the blown up Easter Bunny and Santa Clause coming to town, and also the tooth fairy – but the fears and the insecurities and then anger rooted itself so deep in me that there was no way out.
All the ‘believing’ I was doing was only in things like ‘vapor in a cloud’ so to speak. When I reached for what I thought had substance to hold on to, it would simply vanish into thin air.
I moved far away from my home in Arizona, all the way to NYC, and the ‘mess’ that was inside me was working its way to destroy every bit of life in me. The ‘mess’ manifested itself in an eating disorder. My life became unmanageable.
I wasn’t seeking God. I never thought about God – but He knew me and He was watching me. When I was younger, I wanted to be close to God, but, it was just in my mind. I never took hold of Him with my heart. I was 17 inches away from relationship with Love.
So, in a ‘mess of desperation’, one dark and dreary day…and I’m not talking about the levels of sunshine in the weather, I walked into a room filled with people with the same struggles and I read a poster on the wall – with only one word: GOD.
(Now this is a mystery), the one written word, “GOD”, was the beginning of the rest of my life. You see, I needed something that had substance to hold on to with my whole being – all the other ‘stuff’ I was leaning on was just ‘vapor’.
I knew I needed help. And somehow, on that dark and dreary day, I realized ‘GOD’ had ‘rolled back the clouds that I might see the Light. I went and bought The Book at the local bookstore…
He, (meaning God), drew me to Himself. And through time, He, (yes God), healed me completely. He saved me from the ‘self-destructive’ path I was on. He unveiled Himself as I hungered for His Word, the Bible – and He, Yes God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ – He raised me up out of a pit and set my feet upon a Rock.
Jesus gave me my life back after I gave Him the mess that was left of it.
So, that is why, when we had our first baby, we chose to spend time on giving you something that you could REALLY hope in and believe in. To hope and believe in God, because He is real!
And it is ONLY because of Him and the work that He had done in our hearts and lives that we had more, (OK, and more and more…) children! So kids – you are here – because JESUS was our substance, (your dad and I, and He still is!) Past, present and prayerfully, future! Jesus is the One we put our hope in everyday.
So, if you ever wonder WHY we didn’t spend time, (any time, for that matter,) on the tooth fairy or Santa Clause, (and it seems like a great mystery to you), at least now you know. I wanted to spend time and energy on the ‘unspoken’ stories about God. I wanted you to know the truth that I didn’t know when I was young, so perhaps you would be spared some of the ‘struggle’.
But God allows the ‘struggle’, I can see now. He wants you to discover Him for yourself, in a whole different way.
He knows you. God knows your name. He cares for you. His love and His power and His might, they will never vanish away. His phone is never busy. He is always there for you when you call out His name:
(Jeremiah 33:3), “Call unto Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you know not of.”
He is the Creator of all things. He has a plan for you… (Jeremiah 29:11), ‘Plans not to harm you,  but to give you a future and a hope.’
“Nothing is impossible with God. And nothing will ever separate you from His love. He loves…He is love.
So call His name this new year, with each new month, each new day, each new hour. God loves you so much, and He looks forward to your times to-gether!
I love you all so much, and Jesus loves you most. I just want you to know that forever. I am so blessed to be called… your mom.
P.S. (So, forgive me if you ever feel that you ‘lost out’ at Christmas or when your teeth fell out! God is bigger than all that! I pray  that in knowing Jesus, you can share a beautiful smile and His love beams through your life so you can have a giving heart as big as Santa Clause!)
 

S.O.S…Psalm 73:25,26 and the power of devotion…

“Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.
My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever…” (Selah, pause and think quietly upon this – this whole day, moment by moment, minute by minute…)
With a heart that weeps, with great sadness all around…I open my devotions to C.H. Spurgeon, to help me understand what to do with great clouds of sadness when holiday gatherings and festivities abound:
“JESUS WEPT. John 11:35. Lazarus was dead, but Jesus was going to raise Him (John 11:11). Lazarus/ resurrection was at hand, yet Jesus wept (John 11:35). We are sometimes told that if we really believe our friends will rise again, and if we really believe they are safe and happy, then we should not weep. Why not? Jesus did.
And there cannot be any error in following Jesus’ example. Jesus knew that Lazarus’ death was for God’s glory. He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it” (John 11:4). Still He wept.
Have you ever thought it wicked to weep at a loss that will glsorify God? It is not wicked. If it were, Jesus would not have wept under similar circumstances. Tears, which might have been regarded as contraband, now have free admission into the realm of holiness because “Jesus wept..”
Dear friend, you may weep because “Jesus wept.” He wept with the full knowledge of Lazarus’ happiness, with the full knowledge of his resurrection, with the firm assurance that God was glorified through this death. We may not condemn what Christ allows. If you can weep and thank God, if you can weep and know that you are in His presence, then your weeping is not sinful. Let your tears roll in floods. This is good instruction.
May the Holy Spirit teach us. May the Lord write it on every weeper’s heart. you may weep because “Jesus wept.” (From C.H. Surgeon, Beside Still Waters).
So, I flip the page, and my tears do flow, but I read on and the Comforter touches me, to the depth of my soul:
“DO NOT BE TROUBLED. John 14:1. “All too often, we believers watch the gathering clouds and forecast storms and anticipate troubles. Some of us confess that times of depression are coming. We see our business slipping away, and we worry about the future. We worry about our children, for we see the various tendencies in young people, and we worry about the way they will go. Our health declines, and we wonder what to do when the disease gets worse. Yet our Lord Jesus Christ concels us, “Let not your heart be trouble” (John 14:1).
Do not fear! Has not God helped you in every plight already? When we cast our cares on the Lord, to do as He wills, at no time will He be unkind. He will never put us in the furnace unless He intends to purge our dross, and the furnace will not be one degree warmer than is absolutely necessary. Mercy will always balance misery; strength will always support burden. The Lord is our friend; He will never be our foe.
Cheer up! “Do not fear little flock,” shake off your fears and rejoice, “for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). The road  may be rough, but the end is sure. We are going to the kingdom, to a land where all the believers will be princes and kings. Take heart. What difference does it make if our accommodations are sparse, if the passage is rough, if the winds boisterous? There is a kingdom ahead? Make the best of the voyage. Do not be fainthearted, but sing:
‘With a bag on my back and a staff in my hand, I march on in haste through an enemy’s land; The way may be rough, but it cannot be long, So I’ll smooth it with hope, and I’ll cheer it with song.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Beside Still Waters).
So in quiet time with Jesus, I wept with Him still, and I read on in devotion with my heart weak and frail. And He Comforted me and met me right where I am, (Past tense and present)  and He says, “Take hold of My hand. I will lead you, I will guide you, I will fill you with all you need. Trust me, dear child. You are Mine, and I Am yours,… for now and always, for all eternity!  Yes, I Am yours and  you are Mine…weep if you must, but Remember always, I AM the broken Bread, and the poured out wine. Hungry and empty? I Come to fill you FULL – be filled with my Fullness of Spirit from above, be filled to overflowing with faith, hope and love. But if ‘your heart and flesh fail’, don’t fret, it only causes harm, but remember always, I AM the ‘strength of your heart and your portion forever’. I love you today, I love you tomorrow, I will be with you in joy and I am a present help in your sorrow.” (Jesus).