Hope in Grace

Hope in Grace

By Christina Johnson

Lost, blind, confused, trapped,

I am bound.

My chains weigh me down.

Helpless, weak, afraid, twisted,

I long to escape

From this prison I shape.

All the wrong I have done.

All my scars for the world to see,

My shame so far gone,

Sins too many for me to ever be free.

But then a tiny light

Begins to peel back the darkness.

Hope begins to fight

Love strengthens my weakness.

Deep within a Presence I face.

He came humbled, despised, and rejected.

God as man, died in my place

Such love unexpected.

How could I refuse such Hope in Grace?

As sin stained as I stand,

Grace undeservingly embrace.

Freely given as He planned.

Forever my chains broken free

Forever my soul made new

Forever my sin in the sea

Forever "Hope in Grace" for me and you.


GET JOY!

Hebrews 2:9-11

New Living Translation (NLT)

⁹ What we do see is Jesus, who was given a position “a little lower than the angels”; and because he suffered death for us, he is now “crowned with glory and honor.” Yes, by God’s grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone. ¹⁰ God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory. And it was only right that he should make Jesus, through his suffering, a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation.

¹¹ So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters.

The Heart of Me

James 1:9-27

The rest of James 1 speaks right to the heart of me and who I am.  Sometimes, it is when God’s word is reflecting back at you who you really are…well it can be painful to look at.  Sadly, you might not like what is glaring back at you.  Sometimes we may say to ourselves, “I don’t look like much of anything of real value, much less a prized possession!”

I treasure this reminder in verses here 17-18

Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.   He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.

We need to remember how good our God is.  He loves us enough to change us into His image.  He puts new clothes on us.  He covers us with His feathers.  He is the one we call Abba or papa.  But He also shows us what old things to take off, to get rid of, to let go of.  The things that so easily trip us up, trip me up!

My money (vs. 9-11)

God knows what a stumbling block money is.  I understand how, in verses 9 -10, God shows us that He has honored the poor and humbled the rich.  That seems so weird to us westerners.  Sometimes, I get so caught up that if I have more money, I could give so much more.  But then I am reminded that to whom much is given much is required.  I have to answer to God in everything, even my finances.  God provides exactly what He means to.  It is me who must learn to be humbled.  I am rich compared to most of the world and a lot of the time I complain that we can’t go out to eat, buy new clothes, or see a movie.  God needs to humble me. 

My temptation (vs.12-15)

I appreciate it when God makes things very plain for us idiots.  God holds nothing back…He reveals here that He is not tempted and He most certainly does not tempt us to do wrong.  In the verses to follow, everything good and perfect comes from God, not sin and temptation to sin.  It is our own evil nature, my pastor calls it our Adamic nature (man’s propensity to sin), and our desires are what pull us away from Christ.  He also gives us a warning sign for us. 

When we are being tempted…watch out sin is lurking.  When we give into that sin death is breathing down our neck if repentance and turning away doesn’t come quickly. 

However, there is love tucked into these verses.  God knows us so well.  He knows our nature.  He knows sin is waiting to steal, kill, and destroy us.  But in verse 12, we see His love.  If we patiently endure testing and temptation; which alludes that it is absolutely possible to overcome temptation, He WILL bless us and give us eternal life when we endure.  We have to do our part and God whole heartedly does His.  Remember, God always keeps His promises.  We cannot give in, we must not give up, keep fighting patiently endure, and when we have done all to fight, stand!  And no worries, God gives us everything we need to fight temptation...He gives us Himself, His power, His Armor!

But God Always Digs Deeper

My actions (vs.19-25)

Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.  Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.   For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

I ardently love these verses…they speak so real to me.  How often do I find my self talking so much that I never really listen to those around me?  How often am I rattling off words immediately wishing that I could unsay them; because I see the hurt in my children’s eyes?  How often do I snap at my husband for no reason?  I need to get rid of my old ways and put on God’s ways!  I need to wash, rinse, and repeat until I humbly accept what God is doing in me.  I must also then live a life that does what His Word says, not become lazy, and not walk away and forget.  I must be vigilant and God’s blessings will flow. 

And just when you thought…”I don’t struggle with any of this stuff!”    BAMM! He squeezes these last two verses in…..

My words (vs.26-27)

 God’s Word says it all; I don’t need to add anymore….

 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

(If only the Westboro church would heed this)

James 1 is full of good things for us when we do our part...

God

Gives you joy, growth,contentment.

Gives you wisdom.

Gives you honor if you are poor and you have to live in shame.

Gives you blessings.

Gives us a crown of life.

Gives us all that is good and perfect straight from heaven.

Gives us His Word planted in our hearts which saves us when we believe.

I am His prize possession!  I am going to live like I am!

GET JOY!

Romans 7, part 2 - Good VS. Evil

Do you remember that Donald Duck cartoon where he struggles to become his better self. It was one of my favorite Donald Duck stories. In the cartoon you see Donald struggling with his naughty version and good version of himself. It is funny to see Donald struggle with sin; but it is not so funny when we struggle to do what is right. Donald is just a drawing; but the consequences of our actions can last for eternity. ( I think the story writer at Disney must have read Romans 7 as the inspiration for this cartoon. hehehehe)



This portion of Romans is one of my favorite. The first time I read 14-20 I laughed because I was like What, I am so confused????!!! It is a great portion of scripture that perfectly shows the war inside of hearts between the sinful man and the longing to do what is right. Try reading those verses really fast, it is kind of like a tongue twister.

¹⁴ We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. ¹⁵ I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. ¹⁶ And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷ As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. ¹⁸ For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

I think, I like it so much because I can relate to Paul. The law of God reveals our sin and our sinful nature. It is so hard sometimes to do the right thing and choose holiness. When I was younger these verses meant a lot to a young Christ follower. I realized that Christ could still use this wretched sinner. Praise God that he provides help through Jesus Christ!

I love, love, love these verses.....

²¹ So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³ but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Oooooooo Sin does not have to keep me a prisoner anymore! Jesus has delivered me. I will...

GET JOY!

Don't forget to visit Jenilee's blog and read what God has spoken to her about in Romans 7.

Romans 7, part 1- Two Marriages!

¹ Now, dear brothers and sisters—you who are familiar with the law—don’t you know that the law applies only while a person is living?
² For example, when a woman marries, the law binds her to her husband as long as he is alive. But if he dies, the laws of marriage no longer apply to her.
³ So while her husband is alive, she would be committing adultery if she married another man. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law and does not commit adultery when she remarries.

I love how Paul uses illustrations to help us understand deep spiritual truths. Paul uses the marriage covenant to help us understand how we are bound to sin. Sadly, in our culture we do not have a godly view of marriage, divorce is so rampant. But if we can understand for a moment the kind of marriage Paul is referring to it will help us better understand the bondage of sin. The kind of marriage is the type that doesn't divorce, the kind that is until death do us part. It is a lasting promises; one that takes death to dissolve it.

Marriage to the Law

When the law (Moses Law) was given we became married to it. The law is written on our hearts, it reveals our sin. The law also defined what sin was; so our human nature wanted to sin all the more. In this marriage with the law is lead to more sinfulness. It produced a "harvest of sinful deeds". Our sinful man cannot understand it's true purpose all we want to do is disobey it or obey it in word only not in our hearts.

⁵ When we were controlled by our old nature,sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death.

Marriage to Christ

But when we believed in Christ we died in that marriage and then became released from that promise. (Remember Romans 6:8-11?)We then enter a new covenant with Christ a marriage that will never die. Now we can produce a "harvest of good deeds" for God. We are no longer bound by sin but free in the Spirit. In some ways it is ironic because we now understand the heart of the law. God gave the law to protect us; because He loves us. We obey the law because we love God in return; we now understand it.

⁴ So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God.

⁶ But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.

Oooooo good stuff, this portion is really going to help us with tomorrows study! One of my favorite parts of scripture....I can't wait!

GET JOY!

Check out Jenilee's study on Romans, today!

Romans 6, part 2 - Slaves to Righteousness.

vs. 15-23

This next portion of scripture can be some what difficult for us to really understand fully. I think it is hard because we have such a negative view of slavery, and rightly so. God forbid we as Americans ever let such a savage, atrocity ever happen again.

In fact, my daughter this week had to do a paper on the "The Middle Passage". The middle passage was the portion of the process of bringing the slaves to America. It was completely horrible what people did to other human beings. I tried to get across to my oldest daughter the horror that slaves went through; but there are no words for me to describe my anger regarding such a treatment of men, women and children. Humans literally stacked in rat, lice and disease infected boats....humans feed to sharks....humans chained and beaten. There is no excuse for ever treating any human like the slaves were treated on those boats and with their masters.

Paul used slavery to help the reader to understand a deep spiritual truth. Putting slavery in a right perspective in this portion of scripture can be difficult. We are all slaves to one of two things, God or Sin; there is no other option.

Slaves to Sin
Living a life of sin is as though you are slave to it. It controls you; it has its way with you. We are chained to it. Sin/Satan is your Master and we all willingly serve it/him. Satan, the Master, has come to kill, steal, and destroy you, much like how slaves coming to America were treated. He does not care about you; he hates you.

John 10:10 (New King James Version)

¹⁰ The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

But unlike those African slaves sadly, more often than not, we love it, we worship it and we choose this type of slavery. Remember, being a slave to sin will lead us to death, eternal death. Oh the horror on judgment day when those who choose to be slaves to sin realize their fate.

Proverb 2

¹² Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,
from men whose words are perverse,
¹³ who have left the straight paths
to walk in dark ways,
¹⁴ who delight in doing wrong
and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,
¹⁵ whose paths are crooked
and who are devious in their ways.

Slaves to God
Now here is were we have a hard time understanding being a slave to God. Here is the irony, when we choose righteousness our shackles are removed....we are free.

¹⁸ You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

To become slaves of God is really choosing freedom. We are no longer bound to sin. We no longer have to feel shame for God gives us the power to overcome the things that use to bind us. We are forgiven. We freely make a covenant to serve a loving Master. Our new Master gives us life, love and hope. He has our best interest at heart. The scripture clearly expresses that this does not give us freedom to sin....No...we are to live a life of holiness an act of love to our new master.

¹⁷ But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance.

The Bible really shows him more like a loving Father who welcomes us home. I think it is easier to stomach that then to be a slave. But I think when we look at this portion of scripture the Holy Spirit really illuminates this idea of slavery to God as being for our good...eternal life.

²² But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. ²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I choose freedom; I choose to be a slave to God!
GET JOY!

Romans 6, part 1 - Dead to Sin...Alive to God!

The passage is often used for baptism services. Baptism is a beautiful image of this passage of scripture. It illustrates and declares how we have died with Christ and now live new life in Him.

I was baptized as a young girl and my daughters were baptized a couple years ago. It is so wonderful to see someone baptized; it brings tears to my eyes every time. Baptism is the outward declaration of a life yielded to God. It declares that I belong to Him.

Going down into the water represents us dying to our sin. We no longer desire to follow our sinful desires any longer. I love this imagery of dying in Christ. Christ bore our sin on the cross. He took our punishment. Our sin is transferred to the work that was done on the cross so many years ago. Jesus paid our debt; we only need to have faith in Him.

There is this amazing beauty that I can not describe when I see anyone come up out the water. Literally my spirit man leaps inside of me in joy and I experience it every time. When a person comes up out of the water it is a picture of their sins washed away, all things are new. This display of hope, new life eternal, that takes my breath away for a second. They are now alive, I am alive my daughters are now alive!

I think I am so moved because I have come to understand the depth of the action, the depth of love that comes from God to redeem us.
Romans 5...

⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

I think these verses really sum up what Paul is expressing, words we should hide in our hearts.

⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. ¹⁰ The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. ¹¹ In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

I Am Alive!

GET JOY!

The picture is of my husband baptizing my daughter...love it.

Check out Jenilee's take on Romans 5 today!

Romans 5, part 2 - The Tale of Two Men!

Here is the story of two men in Romans 21-21. One man brings death and one man brings life.

" ... a much greater power in the second Adam to make us happy, than there was in the first to make us miserable."-Matthew Henry's Commentary

Adam
When Adam choose to eat the forbidden fruit in Genesis it broke the relationship between God and him. I was thinking about dear old Adam & Eve and how I had a few words for them when I got to heaven. The funny thing is that I came to the realization that if it were me in the garden....I bet I would have done the same thing.

It really comes down to it that I think anyone of us would have done the same thing and broke God's heart. Who are we to think we are better than any other human being. Because of Adam's choice, sin enter the world. Because of sin it also brought death. When God gave Moses the law it revealed our sin even more...

¹² Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—

²⁰ The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase.

but we are not without HOPE!

Jesus
Now there is no comparison between these two people. I love verse 15...

¹⁵ But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!

What a fantastic verse for us. The trespass of sin brought death to all; but the Gift of God's grace brings life to All! What a great hope we now have through the shed blood of Jesus.

This quote from Matthew Henry is awesome,

"Surely Adam could not propagate so strong a poison but Jesus Christ could propagate as strong an antidote, and much stronger."

Ooo Ooo this one is good too,

"The stream of grace and righteousness is deeper and broader than the stream of guilt; for this righteousness does not only take away the guilt of that one offence, but of many other offences, even of all. God in Christ forgives all trespasses, Col 2:13. "

Okay this is the last one,

"We are by Christ and his righteousness entitled to, and instated in, more and greater privileges than we lost by the offence of Adam. The plaster is wider than the wound, and more healing than the wound is killing. "

This last one really goes with what I blogged about on Sunday about how sin creates a wound between God and us.


This is a story of two very different men; but whose lives give vast different results on humanity.

With Adam there is disobedience, in Christ there is obedience.
With Adam there is death, in Christ there is Life.
With Adam there is separation, in Christ there is reconciliation.
With Adam there is shame, in Christ there is justification.
With Adam there is the curse of sin, in Christ there is freedom.
With Adam hope is lost, in Christ Hope Remains!

We choose one or the other for our lives. We can continue to live in the curse that Adam brought to us all; or we can choose the free gift of salvation through Christ that will bring us Life. I love the last part of vs. 17...

how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

I will choose Christ and ....

GET JOY!

Check Jenilee's blog on Romans today!
Paintings by: Adam, “The Creation of Adam” Sistine Chapel, c. 1511 Leonardo Da Vinci;
Jesus "Forgiven - Jesus Christ" Russ Docken

Romans 3,part 1 - We Are All Sinners!

Romans 1-19

10 As the Scriptures say,
“No one is righteous - not even one.

Our humanity is so plain in this first part of scripture. Here the Jews who are God's chosen people still don't get it. Just like the Jews we look for excuses to sin all the more. Surely, our sin makes God look more holy right!

No, NO, NOOOO! Our sin condemns us all the more and makes us more deserving of the punishment, the wrath of God. We are all sinners and our sin separates us from a holy God. The fact that we have broken the law proves this and we have disobeyed God.

Our sin does nothing to make God look better. (It is almost crazy talk going on here and Paul is correcting their crazy thinking) There is nothing we can do to make God look better, be better, more holy or bring Him more Glory. Why? Because He is completely Holy, completely Just, completely Glorious, completely Good and He is better than anything that ever was, is or will be. He is completely Faithful! He is completely True! There is no one like our God and it is overwhelming foolish to think that there is anything we can do to make Him better.

Do you see the ridiculousness of the thought, "That if I sin it will make God look better!"

Our sin only shows us how desperate we are for a holy God to save us from ourselves. We are so arrogant as humans thinking we can make God any less than who He is. Our sin requires a punishment; because God cannot be in the presence of sin. To be with God, we must be holy. How can we become holy? Well the answer is...when we give our lives to a holy God! When we accept His free gift, Jesus! Jesus is the only way we can become holy. A holy God can only make us holy!

An important point to note here is that it is our choice. Yes, our sin condemns us but Christ gives us away to escape punishment. So, when people ask, "How can a loving God send anyone to hell?" The answer simply is He doesn't. We send ourselves there by rejecting his free gift.

Thank goodness for Romans 3, part 2....tune into tomorrow and ...

GET JOY!

Ron Dicianni's Art "Only the Cross"! -My favorite Christian artist, love it!

Check out Jenilee's take on Romans 3!

Romans 2 part 2, The State of Our Hearts!

All I can say is whoaaaa, Paul really gets right to the heart of the matter (vs 17-29). He is telling the Jews that it is not what you are on the outside it is who you are on the inside. You can do all the right things but get it all wrong. What is the true state of hearts?

God is always searching our hearts. I love what my friend Jenilee wrote yesterday about God's Searchlight. As Christ followers we have to be careful to not be like the Jews here in this passage. We can know a lot of stuff and yet not let the Spirit have His way with our hearts.

Jesus wants all of us! We can not hold anything back. And we can't think of ourselves better than what we are. Our actions must match the condition of our heart. I never want verse 24 to be said of me.....

²⁴ As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”


But rather I want this to said of me...

Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God. (vs.29)

GET JOY!

Make sure you stop over to Jenilee's blog on Romans today!
Sorry this is short but I have been very sick the last 24 hours. ; ( boo hoo

Romans 2 part 1, Only One Really Judges!

There is so much packed into verses 1-16. I literally had to read it like three times to really understand and decided what exactly God was showing me. This is why I love Romans because it has so much theology jammed into it!


I am reminded of my Romans class that I took at college. I don't remember much from that class; but I do remember one thing. I recall my professor, Dr. Oss, talking about how the law of God is written on all of our hearts. That is why everyone is accountable to God even those who may never hear the gospel. The heavens and earth declare God and our hearts know there is a God. The choice is ours if we are going to choose to love Him in return. We are all without excuse. We are all on a level playing ground. Someday we will all be judged by one true God.

I love how God just cuts to the chase about things. Remember Paul is writing to the Roman Christians and God is clearly addressing their very state of their hearts . They were so concerned with judging others actions that they forgot to address there very own sin. They were just as lost, without God, as anyone else in sin. My hubby and I always laugh at how easy it is to point out others sin than it is to deal with our own.

Matthew 7

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. ² For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.

³ “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? ⁴ How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? ⁵ Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

I love how the New Living Translation of verse 4

⁴ Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?

Bottom line is what are you going to do with the knowledge of God that is written in your heart. You have a choice to either serve Him or not; but understand that one choice is life and another is death. You can know the truth and not live it. You can ignore your sin or do something about it. You can hear it but not choose to believe it. You may listen but it doesn't make you right with God (vs.13). We can try to hide from God but he knows our secret heart.

God is truly wonderful; He gives us the gift of choice. He doesn't make us love Him. We get to decide to love Him or not. He is and has done so much to show His great love for us all we have to do is accept Him, believe in Him and live for Him.

What will God say about you when you stand before Him one day? What is your decision?
I have decided to follow Jesus...no turning back, no turning back!

GET JOY!

Romans 1, part 2 "Deserving of God's Wrath"

²⁵ They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

This verse sums up the whole last part of Romans 1; our sad state that we as humans have found ourselves in.

We are without excuse (vs. 20 I love, love, love) . We know the Truth. It is plain to us. Creation declares the evidence of a living God. However, humanity has in general decided to worship the created rather than the creator.

There is a VeggieTale story that I really like and since it is March this will be rather fitting. (Hey, I am a mom sometimes the only good t.v. I get is cartoons. hahaha) It is the story of St. Patrick. St. Patrick was a missionary to Ireland. He proclaimed the "Good News" of Jesus to the druids. The druids much like many today have traded the truth for a lie and worship the created rather than the Creator.

The Bible is so relevant for today! Paul then shares a list of things that humanity has done, rejecting God with their very lives. They did not glorify or thank Him. They thought they were wise but became fools. They exchanged the glory of God for things (sound familiar in our world now).

So, what does God do....he lets us have our way:

Humanity decided to...

lust, have unnatural sexual relations, have shameful acts with the same sex, fill themselves with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, depravity, envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice.

Then to top it off, we become...

gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, boastful, invent ways of doing evil and just when you think whew I am not and have not done any of these things He throws in this last one.. they disobey parents!

Okay whoa! that covers just about everything and somewhere on that list we will find ourselves and that is when we need to realize our need of a Savior. We deserve God's wrath; we have turned our backs on the living God. Thankfully through out Romans Paul shares with us how we can avoid this wrath. Who can save us from these wicked ways ....Jesus Christ.

Just like St. Patrick I will give glory and thanks to God. I will worship the Creator. I will spread the good news so that those who are lost in their sin will no longer know the wrath of God but rather the greater love of the most high God. Jesus is Truth!

I love this portion of the prayer of St. Patrick...

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me;
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a mulitude.

Christ shield me today
Against wounding
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through the mighty strength
Of the Lord of creation

Lets trade the lie for "The Truth, Jesus Christ!"

GET JOY!

Check out Jenilee's take on this portion of scripture, it is an excellent read.