Dear refuge of my weary soul

I heard this song tonight for the first time.  The words are by Anne Steele who lived in the 1700’s.   Her mother died when she was 3. At the age of 19 she became an invalid after injuring her hip. At the age of 21 she was engaged to be married but her fiance drowned the day of the wedding. On the occasion of his death she wrote the hymn “When I survey life’s varied scenes.” After the death of her fiance she assisted her father with his ministry and remained single. Despite her sufferings she maintained a cheerful attitude. Read more here.  Rich words:

1 Dear refuge of my weary soul,
On thee when sorrows rise;
On thee, when waves of trouble roll,
My fainting hope relies.

2 While hope revives, though pressed with fears,
And I can say, “My God,”
Beneath thy feet I spread my cares,
And pour my woes abroad.

3 To thee I tell each rising grief,
For thou alone canst heal;
Thy word can bring a sweet relief,
For every pain I feel.

4 But oh! when gloomy doubts prevail
I fear to call thee mine;
The springs of comfort seem to fail
And all my hopes decline.

5 Yet gracious God, where shall I flee?
Thou art my only trust;
And still my soul would cleave to thee,
Though prostrate in the dust.

6 Hast thou not bid me seek thy face?
And shall I seek in vain?
And can the ear of sovereign grace
Be deaf when I complain?

7 No, still the ear of sovereign grace
Attends the mourner’s prayer;
O may I ever find access,
To breathe my sorrows there.

8 Thy mercy-seat is open still;
Here let my soul retreat,
With humble hope attend thy will,
And wait beneath thy feet.

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Do you need to fall in love again?

Paul Tripp has a a really good word for us:

If you had to write a short description of Christianity, what would you write? If you had one sentence to capture the essence of your belief, how would you phrase it? I’ll give you 5 common answers:

1. Christianity is having your sins forgiven and going to Heaven
2. Christianity is a commitment to ministry within the body of Christ
3. Christianity is a commitment to evangelism and service
4. Christianity is theology that provides answers for major life questions
5. Christianity is a moral code for daily living

None of these answers are wrong. Christianity is absolutely about justification and eternity; Christianity most definitely includes ministry and evangelism; Christian theology provides a framework to interpret life; and Christianity does lay out a moral code for daily living.

However, at its essential core, Christianity is not about activity, theology, or evangelism. All of those things are good and meaningful parts of Christianity, but they miss one key ingredient.

In a word, Christianity is about love. The core of the Christian message is the comfort of God’s love for undeserving sinners, coupled with the call that Christians should love God above else. Christianity is about a life altering, agenda-setting, love relationship.

Keep reading Fall in Love Again and “meditate on Christ’s beauty. Focus on His glory. Bask in His grace. Fall in love again with your Savior.”

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Why do we keep arguing?

One biblical counselor  ponders,

“Why does anyone keep arguing when we know it is wrong, and it is counter-productive? Titus 3 begins with a discussion about authorities and respect for them, about being peaceable, gentle, humble instead of hateful, self-centered. Is it not our selfish desires that become the dictators, telling us what to argue for and to keep going until we get what we want? We set ourselves up as our own authority, our own little god, determining what is valuable for us to attain. Other human authorities (parents, spouse, or boss) and even God, are disregarded. Pride rules.

At that moment when we are tempted to argue, we must change gears in our thinking, allowing gentleness and humility to point us to peace so we can quit arguing. We must see that whatever we desire in no way compares to the abundant mercies and grace of our Lord and the life He has given us. Our thinking must focus on eternal values and Christlikeness if we are to change and develop the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5-11). It is the put off /put on principle, replacing our old way of responding (arguing for what we want) with humility and gentleness, that will help us to change permanently.”

The author Sherry Allchin goes on to relay a biblical strategy for putting off arguing in our lives by choosing to think like, act like, and talk like Christ. She even gives some excellent, do-able, practical assignments for changing your heart, speech, and thinking on this issue.  Click on over and learn from  Must We Argue Again?

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Some words for the anxious soul!

Here’s a post that offers some counsel to the anxious soul–which includes both those whose nerves are constantly frayed or those who struggle ewith worry on a more occasional basis.  Kevin explains how commands maxims don’t always help and offer hope to the anxious soul.  Rather using Scripture he shows our faithful actions and patient endurance is the path of wisdom we are to pursue.

Click on over and receive some biblical explanation from the Psalms, Jesus and Paul at Words for the Anxious Soul.

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