10.19.09
rise up church..
Rise up Church with broken wings, fill this place with songs again
of our God who reigns on high, by His grace again we’ll fly.
Shout to the north and the south, sing to the east and the west,
Jesus is Savior to all, Lord of heaven and earth…
Martin Smith, “Shout to the North,” 1995
I was listening to the old “Revival in Belfast” album this morning.. its funny how some songs and some albums endure. This one has unusual depth in the song-writing, a real spirit of devotion to Christ and a passion for the kingdom of God. The quality of the musicians is uniformly high. Beyond all this technical stuff, I found myself in the presence of God this morning.
And found myself thinking again about vision.. and the relationship of mission and vision. I was recalling a sermon I heard by James Ryle in Kelowna in the spring of 1997. His theme was something like this..
“If you are in submission to Christ, He will give you permission to go on commission with Him.”
Heh..
Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart…
Naught be all else to me save that thou art..
Thou my best thought by day or by night..
Waking or sleeping thy presence my light..
