Out of the ordinary

I love having those really smack-on-the-head obvious divine appointments. You know, when something so out of the ordinary happens or you meet someone in a place and at a time that strikes you as odd and mysteriously planned. So the theological bods will be musing to themselves that everything is kind of a divine appointment anyway. But do you really notice these moments and stand in awe at a God who delights in shaping and crafting the tiniest, (to you) most insignificant parts of your life?

I had one such meeting today. It was an unexpected, path-crossing moment with a friend, which later turned out to be a direct answer to prayer. The words she spoke to me were so to the point, contained a gentle, godly rebuke and yet were also so encouraging. It was like God was speaking clearly and directly to my heart through her mouth, showing me an answer to my prayers this week over a couple of issues that have been on my heart.

It was a humbling experience.

"Contentment is the inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, freely submitting to and taking pleasure in God's disposal in every condition." ―Jeremiah Burroughs

Read the rest here.

All That Thrills My Soul

Who can cheer the heart like Jesus,
By His presence all divine?
True and tender, pure and precious,
O how blest to call Him mine!

All that thrills my soul is Jesus,
He is more than life to me;
And the fairest of ten thousand
In my blessed Lord I see

Love of Christ so freely given,
Grace of God beyond degree,
Mercy higher than the heaven,
Deeper than the deepest sea!

What a wonderful redemption!
Never can a mortal know
How my sin, tho red like crimson,
Can be whiter than the snow.

Every need His hand supplying,
Every good in Him I see;
On His strength divine relying,
He is all in all to me.

By the crystal flowing river
With the ransomed I will sing,
And forever and forever
Praise and glorify the King

Lyrics and Composer: Thoro Harris, 1931

-This hymn was in my head as I was cycling home at 9.30pm having spent about three hours with a friend and sharing the gospel with him. 'All that thrills my soul is Jesus'! He is the only One that can thrill my soul because He is truly more than life and more beautiful than all the world could offer. Proclaiming the gospel is thrilling and heals up more hurts, dispells more doubts, and feeds our souls more than we dare realise.
Having doubts? Share the gospel.

O how blessed to call Him mine!

Attention girls!!

I highly recommend reading this blog: http://www.emmascrivener.org.uk/index.html
particularly the 'My Story' bit.

Guys, you ought to read it too of course :P

A Tune! and extract from what I've been reading...

Stille, mein Wille! Dein Jesus hilft siegen;
Trage geduldig das Leiden, die Not;
Gott ist's, der alles zum Besten will fügen,
Der dir getreu bleibt in Schmerzen und Tod.
Stille, mein Wille! Dein Jesus wird machen
Glücklichen Ausgang bedenklicher Sachen.

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side;
Bear patiently 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 joyful end.

Katharina von Schlegel 1752. Trans. Jane Borthwick 1855.


'It is not necessary to be a linguist, anthropologist, theologian or even evangelist to qualify as a missionay. A willingness to laugh at yourself and flow with sometimes unpleasant surroundings is more important than degrees, special skills or natural talents. As with all of us, God is not so concerned with our ability as He is our availability.' Larry Dinkins, Help! My Halo's Slipping, (1990) pp.178-9