Hard Times but Life Is Beautiful

The Murray in Drought

'Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad - for these trials make you partners with Christ in His suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing His glory when it is revealed to the world.'  1 Peter 4:12-13

The Murray Valley is one of Australia's bread baskets. Fed by waters from the Murray river, this basin is lush with vineyards, olive groves and fruit orchards. From 10-16 Oct 2008, all 6 of us, Pat, Becky and I, John, Debbie and James, shared the rural pastoral experience of a town named Yarrawonga. It is located at the dam across the Murray River and Lake Mulwara. We swam, kayaked down the river, golfed, visited farms and wineries. The perceptive visitor will sense that there is a certain dryness, a land hardened by drought in this particular part of Australia. 

The shop-owner who rented to us two kayaks informed that the drought had so far lasted 10+ years. He had stopped taking tourist for kayaking tours because the interesting creeks along the river had all dried up. A farmer's wife at the Uniting Church where we worshipped, that Sunday informed Pat that the smaller farms had to burn their crops if there was insufficient rain. The church members are all senior citizens. They were so pleased to see us and to hear baby James cry in church. The younger people had long left the area to seek their fortunes in Melbourne or Sydney.

 

Droughts are hard times especially for a farming community but the week we were at Yarrawonga, coincided with the global financial crisis making it worse. Banks failed, the stock markets crashed and a global recession loomed. Many governments had to step in and underwrite their national banks. Australia was no exception. We can expect many people to suffer huge financial losses.

 

Kevin Rudd, then Prime Minister of Australia, rallied the Australians to tide over the global financial crisis with these words. "Anyone who grew up on the land knows that you can't control the weather," he declared. "Sunshine every day and rainy nights. That's what you dream of. But life's not like that. There are good years and there are hard years. And you don't choose the order in which they come. But the hard years teach you never to give up." Kevin Rudd was not just politicising but referring to character building; hard times whether in farms or in corporate rooms can bring out the best in character provided one learns life's lessons humbly.

Through these times, we learnt the bitter lesson that life wasn't meant to be easy. Christians despite our special relationships with God can fall on hard times too. Our faithfulness and the promised blessings do not shelter us from the hard knocks of life. Chapter 12 of the Book of Hebrews writes of discipline imposed on God's children and encourages us to withstand and overcome it,

'No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been through it.' Hebrews 12:11

We admire people who can go through very trying periods and still retain their sense of humour and sanity. The character, Guido in the film 'Life Is Beautiful' is a case study. Guido, goes to extraordinary lengths to convince his son that navigating life under the Nazis in the concentration camp is actually all an elaborate game. His behaviour in times of great suffering is comical and amuses his son, the narrator in the film who described his Dad's ruse as 'his gift to me.'   

Roger Ebert the film critic noted that in the real death camps there would be no role for, the comic, Guido. Ebert wrote, "But Life Is Beautiful is not about Nazis and Fascists, but about the human spirit. It is about rescuing whatever is good and hopeful from the wreckage of dreams. About hope for the future." The critic Tom Dawson wrote "the film is presumably intended as a tribute to the powers of imagination, innocence, and love in the most harrowing of circumstances," 

St Augustine, in his book the 'City of God' spoke of suffering and opined that what matters is not the nature of the suffering, what matters is the nature of the sufferer. Bishop (Dr) Robert Solomon wrote in his book, The Race(Ref 1), “In suffering, we need to find meaning. We need to also find love. It is difficult to suffer alone and many people feel they do. But we are not really alone when we suffer. God offers us His loving presence.” Bishop wrote on, “And when we allow Him to walk with us, we will find that suffering is redemptive. It changes us and makes us like Him. It gives depth and brings new life.”

St Paul wrote in Romans Chapter 8,

'I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the the glory that will be revealed in us...For we all know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purposes... Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us."  Romans 8:18,28,35 and 37

Matt Redman wrote a song, 'It is Well with My Soul' which is describes the relationship of Christians with suffering and the grace and blessing it can bring.

Our scars are a sign

Of grace in our lives

Oh Father, how you brought us through

 

When deep were the wounds

And dark was the night

The promise of your love you proved

 

Now every battle still to come

Let this be our song

 

It is well (it is well)

With my soul (with my soul)

It is well, it is well with my soul

 

Weeping may come

Remain for a night

But joy will paint the morning sky

 

You're there in the fast

You're there in the feast

Your faithfulness will always shine

 

Now every blessing still to come

Let this be our song

 

It is well (it is well)

With my soul (with my soul)

It is well, it is well with my soul

I trust your ways (trust your ways)

I trust your name (trust your name)

It is well, it is well with my soul

 

You lead us through battles

(You lead us through battles)

You lead us to blessing

(you lead us to blessing)

And you make us fruitful

(and you make us fruitful)

In the land of our suffering, God

 

Lionel

Ref 1. Robert M Solomon, The Race – Finding the Real Journey in Life. Genesis Books 2008

Updated 1st Published Nov 2008

Christian Missions - Christian Witness or Culture Subjugation?

'Then you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.' John 8:32

Kent Nerburn's book “Chief Joseph and the Flight of the Nez Perce” is a story of a band of Red Indians, 800 men, women and children, who were relentlessly pursued by the US Army. In 1877, they were illegally forced from their homeland in Oregon. In an attempt to break free from the reservation where they were quartered, this band led by a series of chiefs conducted a 1,500 miles retreat to try and reach sanctuary in British Canada. They outmaneuvered five US armies but finally about 40 miles from the Canadian border and freedom, the tired Nez Perce, surrounded by US forces and laden with wounded and sick, surrendered. They could have escaped if they left their wounded, their sick, their women and children behind. 

Their remaining Chief, Joseph or Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekht or Thunder Rising in the Mountains negotiated a settlement to repatriate to their homeland in high Willowa Valley in the mountains of eastern Oregon. But the US government recapitulated on its promises and sent them under harsh and privation conditions to the Indian Reservation Territory in Oklahoma. Many members of the tribe died during the repatriation especially the elderly and children (Ref 1).

What is rather concerning for the Christian community is a side and obscure story about the effect early Christian missions had on the Indian tribes. While some missionaries are kind, others are exploitative. Along with the preaching of the good news, came the inevitable subjugation of a proud Indian culture. When Jesus said “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free” he was meaning freedom from sin and the bondage attached to the sinful nature. It was not an intention to replace a perceived inferior culture with a superior one. The Gospel message has become adulterated by way of life of the missionary, an unwelcomed superiority complex. When the unconverted Nez Perce rejected this subjugation, they were seen as unrepentant savages.

The US government thinking that the church would probably be benevolent to these communities appointed Indian Reservation Agents from the Christian community, the Quakers and Presbyterians. However, these so called Christian agents were corrupt, withheld and pilfered the already meager privileges and supplies consigned to the Indians.

The betrayal was eloquently uttered in these words of the Chief Joseph, “Good words do not last long unless they amount to something. Words do not pay for my dead people. They do not pay for my country, now overrun by white men. They do not protect my father’s grave. They do not pay for all my horses and cattle. Good words cannot give me back my children. Good words will not give my people good health and stop them from dying. Good words will not get my people a home where they can live in peace and take care of themselves. I am tired of talk that comes to nothing. It makes my heart sick when I remember all the good words and all the broken promises. There has been too much talking by men who had no right to talk.”

The disgraceful behavior of Christians are contrasted with the honourable behaviour of the Indians, the non-Christians. The Book of Jonah also showed this disgraceful contrast. Twice the prophet Jonah encountered people who were racially and religiously different from him, once on board ship in a storm and again in the evangelistic crusade in Nineveh. Jonah's behaviour towards these pagans (an unfortunate derogatory term to describe non-Christians) were dismissive whereas the pagans acted admirably. Timothy Keller (Ref 2) wrote that one of the main messages of the Book of Jonah is that 'God cares how we believers (Christians) relate to and treat people who are deeply different from us. God wants us to treat people of different races and faiths in a way that is respectful, loving, generous and just. 

We continue to face the same error in modern missions, where well intended Christians and churches use their superior spending power in the interest of social concerns to secure conversions of poor and unreached people groups. There was no regard for preserving what is good and acceptable in the indigenous culture and conditions of these people. We cannot replace genuine Christian love by just the showering of gifts. 

The quotation of Chief Joseph is an indictment whenever the Living Word becomes replaced by hollow words. Are we evangelizing with the Living Word or has 'there been too much talking by men who had no right to talk.' 

Timothy Keller pointed out that two lessons from the Book of Jonah can help Christian missions from committing the same pitfalls.

• Seek the Common Good. Like Jonah and the sailors, believers and nonbelievers are in the same boat of this crooked world. God is the God of all people and we need to see ourselves as part of the whole human community and not only as members of the faith community.

• Recognise the Common Grace. God bestows gifts of wisdom, moral insights, goodness and beauty across humanity, regardless of race or religious beliefs. Christians are to respect and learn from the wisdom God gives to others who are non-believers.

This is a perennial challenge for Christian Missions. 'I Love to Tell the Story' but let us to so with grace, mercy and truth.

I love to tell the story

Of unseen things above

Of Jesus and his glory

Of Jesus and his love

I love to tell the story

Because I know 'tis true

It satisfies my longings

As nothing else can do

I love to tell the story

'Twill be my theme in glory

To tell the old, old story

Of Jesus and his love

I love to tell the story

For those who know it best

Seem hungering and thirsting

To hear it like the rest

And when, in scenes of glory

I sing the new, new song

'Twill be the old, old story

That I have loved so long

I love to tell the story

'Twill be my theme in glory

To tell the old, old story

Of Jesus and his love

To tell the old, old story

Of Jesus and his love

Lionel

Ref 1: http://nativeamericanrhymes.com/chiefs/joseph.htm

Ref 2: Timothy Keller, The Prodigal Prophet, Jonah and the Mystery of God's Mercy. Hodder and Stoughton, 2018

Updated, article first published 13 Apr 2007

A Matter Of Heart

'I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but why have already passed from death into life.' John 5:24 (NLT)

Every year on 24 May, Methodist Churches all over the world commemorate Aldersgate Day. On that day in 1738, John Wesley had a sublime but life-changing spiritual experience in which he described his heart as 'strangely warmed.' At a prayer meeting on Aldersgate Street and listening to a reading from Martin Luther about the new birth he described this experience as "I felt I did trust Christ, Christ alone, for salvation and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death."

Many had tried to interpret what exactly happened to John Wesley that night. Some say that it was a true conversion experience. Others saw this as the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Whatever it was, it was a watershed of his life and ministry.

I believe that Wesley had a deep assurance of his salvation, once and for all, never to look back, a 'Forever Christian' assurance. 

I had a similar experience, when about a year after I became a Christian and after listening to a Overseas Missions Fellowship missionary, Mr. Martin Goldsmith speak at a Youth for Christ camp. Martin Goldsmith was speaking on Christian Discipleship and he urged the campers to go back to our rooms, make a list of our then known sins, confess everyone of them then commit our lives to Jesus Christ. It was an emotional experience for me to confess my sins. However from that time on, I knew I will be a 'Forever Christian.'

Hal Knight (ref 1) concurred and wrote, 'What Wesley experienced there was a new capacity to trust in Christ, forgiveness of sins and assurance that he was a child of God, and a new birth in which he began to grow in the knowledge and love of God and in love of neighbour. This was not simply an external obedience but a matter of the heart.' 

The assurance of being forever a Christian is the anchor of the Methodist Church and by which it withstood the test of time since 1738. Methodist Churches all over the world have gone through periods of troughs and highs, backslidings and revivals. Nevertheless the Aldersgate experience lives and characterises the Methodist Churches today (Ref 2)

• The experience and assurance of Salvation. Methodists believe that everyone needs to be saved, that we have a Saviour in Jesus. From there we will 'grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.' 2 Peter 2:18   

• The rigorous preaching of the Gospel. John Wesley preached tirelessly. He broke out of the religious molds of his day and went straight to the people, not in the churches but at the street corners. He preached any day in the week, not just on a Sunday and often several times a day as opportunity presented. 

• A lifestyle of Witnessing. Communities were formed in which Christian love and sharing were witnessed. Methodists gathered in their homes for prayer and praise, witnessing to their neighbours and sharing of experience. These became the parish meetings of the early Methodist churches.

• The Love for neighbour. The Methodist Church ushered a social consciousness and action that saw many social reforms in post-industrial Britain including the abolition pf slavery. This social consciousness remained to this day where many Methodists became involved in many charitable and humanitarian missions. 

• A chorus of joyous Singing. Together with his brother Charles Wesley's prolific song writing, the Methodist revival was borne on a wave of songs. John and Charles gathered a congregation about them by singing and after prayer began to preach. Hymn singing brought the Methodists together into a powerful emotional unity.

'Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.' Proverbs 4:23

In 1961, the Methodist Message lamenting the state of the Methodist churches in Singapore wrote, "What is needed is a new experience, the transforming power of Christ in the heart of the believer." 

Having lived through the 1960s to the present day, we can testify that the Methodist Church in Singapore did revive from the 1970s by God's help. The Holy Spirit poured out into the hearts of Methodists in our churches, the transforming power of Christ in the heart of the believer.

The Aldersgate experience echoes in the words of this song, 'Amazing Love' (And Can It Be) which has become a beloved Methodist Anthem. Written by Charles Wesley, in 1738, when both brothers felt their heart strangely warmed, Charles gave this account of his experience, "At midnight I gave myself up to Christ: assured I was safe, sleeping or waking. I had continued experience of his power to overcome all temptation; and confessed, with joy and surprise, that he was able to do exceedingly abundantly for me, above what I can ask or think."  

And can it be that I should gain

1. An int’rest in the Savior’s blood?
   Died He for me, who caused His pain—
   For me, who Him to death pursued?
   Amazing love! How can it be,
   That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
   • Refrain:
     Amazing love! How can it be,
     That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
2. ’Tis myst’ry all: th’ Immortal dies:
   Who can explore His strange design?
   In vain the firstborn seraph tries
   To sound the depths of love divine.
   ’Tis mercy all! Let earth adore,
   Let angel minds inquire no more.
3. He left His Father’s throne above—
   So free, so infinite His grace—
   Emptied Himself of all but love,
   And bled for Adam’s helpless race:
   ’Tis mercy all, immense and free,
   For, O my God, it found out me!
4. Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
   Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
   Thine eye diffused a quick’ning ray—
   I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
   My chains fell off, my heart was free,
   I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
5. No condemnation now I dread;
   Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;
   Alive in Him, my living Head,
   And clothed in righteousness divine,
   Bold I approach th’ eternal throne,
   And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
6. The Aldersgate accounts of both brothers, now written in the beloved hymn clearly testify to the assurances of their salvation. Forever Jesus!

Lionel

Ref 1: Hal Knight, 'The Meaning of the Aldersgate Experience' The Missouri Conference of the United Methodist Church. 21 May 2015

Ref 2: Reclaiming Aldersgate. The Methodist Message, Singapore, May 1961.

“Hear Only the Good Stuff” – the dangers of Glitz and Gizmo Christianity

'Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.' Psalms 46:10

Some years back, a Singapore radio station Gold90.5FM, ran a series of clever ads on TV with the tagline 'Hear only the Good Stuff.' It depicted a tennis coach commenting to a father how talented his son was at tennis, when the boy was missing every single ball. Better put, the father only wanted to hear the good stuff about his son. It was a clever ruse for persuading listeners to switch to the radio station - Gold90.5FM only give its listeners what they want to hear.

Until the Covid Pandemic hit our shores, the mega-churches were very successful in attracting huge crowds each Sunday. Some would say that they used the latest entertainment and media techniques to communicate their message. Each worship service was chock a block full, with worshippers enjoying making music with songs of praises. They often reached ecstatic emotional levels during the service. The sermons were delivered by skilled and polished motivational speakers, moving about on stage not unlike entertainers on TV.

There is a very good reason for turning to glitz and gizmos during worship services. We live in the era of one minute commercials and 30-second sound bytes. Children grow up surrounded by every communication device delivering connections at breakneck speeds. The conventional wisdom seems to be that if one wants to get a message across, it had better be entertaining enough to attract attention and capture imagination. It is not surprising that churches have turned to these techniques. But aren't we, like the advertisement, guilty of pandering to the audience when our duty should be to worship and focus on the Triune God?

Some years back, Rev Andy Goh then a young pastor of Charis Methodist Church bravely spoke from Micah Chapter 3, telling the Charis congregation that the temptation to pander to the wants instead of the needs of society is not new. In Micah’s days, the Lord condemned the spiritual leaders and prophets for hypocritically feeding the people a diet of distorted messages to please the congregation and for their own profit.

'As for the prophets who lead my people astray,

if one feeds them, they proclaim 'peace';

if he does not, they prepare to wage war against him.

Therefore night will come over you, without visions,

and darkness, without divination.

The sun will set for the prophets, 

and the day will go dark for them.

The seers will be ashamed and the diviners disgraced.

They will all cover their faces because there is no answer from God." Micah 3:5-7

Preachers and spiritual leaders should take heed because:

• the medium of communication these days may distract and detract from true worship.
• the Church's agenda may not necessarily be God's agenda. 
• what the congregation wants to hear is not necessarily God's message for us.

'Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price,

and her prophets tell fortunes for money.

Yet they lean upon the LORD and say,

"Is not the LORD among us?

No disaster will come upon us.' Micah 3:12

Any church or church leader can fall into this trap sometimes. Hence the average church goer, like myself, should learn not go to the worship service just for the singing, nor the preaching or even the fellowship. Instead we go to worship and all these other activities in the service and programme should point and help us in that direction.

After a hiatus of more than two years, with the Covid restrictions lifted, our churches will no doubt be filled once more. Did we learn anything, any lessons during the silent years? Will our churches be houses of worship or halls of performances? 

During the enforced isolation of Covid, I learnt to meditate and I realised that silence speaks louder than sound; that in the solitude, God speaks. Hence, I will value the quieter atmosphere of a worship service at which there can be joyful singing intermixed with quiet prayers and God's Word read and preached. That is just a preference, others may think differently

Then there are times when we enter a sanctuary not just during the worship service but to sit quietly and gaze at the crucifix (for Catholic churches) or the plain cross (for Protestant churches). At Charis Methodist Church we will have the chance to look at the depiction of the Triune God through the stain glass that will dominate the chancel. We may contemplate the passion, crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. There are people who come early to church services to be in God's presence and pray.

"Go out and stand before on the mountain," the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord is not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face with his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 1 Kings 11-13

David Haas wrote the song You are Mine beginning with the phrase, 'I will come to you in the silence.' In the silence of the Covid years, this song helped me to know that God is present even when we could not go to church and worship Him.

I will come to you in the silence
I will lift you from all your fear
You will hear My voice
I claim you as My choice
Be still, and know I am near

I am hope for all who are hopeless
I am eyes for all who long to see
In the shadows of the night,
I will be your light
Come and rest in Me

Do not be afraid, I am with you
I have called you each by name
Come and follow Me
I will bring you home
I love you and you are mine

I am strength for all the despairing
Healing for the ones who dwell in shame
All the blind will see, the lame will all run free
And all will know My name

I am the Word that leads all to freedom
I am the peace the world cannot give
I will call your name, embracing all your pain
Stand up, now, walk, and live

Do not be afraid, I am with you
I have called you each by name
Come and follow Me
I will bring you home
I love you and you are mine

Lionel

Updated, 1st published 31 Oct 2010

My Heavenly Father Watches Over Me

'I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.' John 10:14a

My Christian brother, Dr Koh Hai Yong, once made this comment, "Oftentimes we as parents are overly anxious about our children. Are they doing well in school? Are they mixing with the right company? Are we providing enough for them? Then, this thought came to my mind – no matter how much we love and are concerned about our children, God loves them and cares for them infinitely more. I am emancipated!" 

Hai Yong's comment reminded me of this picture that my father in law the late Rev Kao gave us. It was a picture that hung on the family wall for many years. I chose this picture amongst many that he wanted to pass on to his children because at that time the song "My heavenly father watches over me" came to mind. This picture somehow gave me much comfort that I am under the watchful eyes of Jesus. The realisation that Jesus loves us including our young children, frees us from any anxiety of growing up in an unknown future.

John 10:14-16 states

'I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me — just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.' 

We used to sing the song 'there were ninety and nine that safely lay in the shelter of the fold, but one was lost on the hills away, far off from the gates of gold.' The song went on to indicate how Jesus the Good Shepherd will go out of His way to search for the lost sheep. 

Hai Yong was exactly right, we Christian parents can rest in the assurance that Jesus is the Good Shepherd.

Let me share with you one email I wrote to the my girls on 20 Oct 2001 when the world was filled with uncertainty. As parents, with children living far away in UK and Australia, what else can we do but to trust in the Good Shepherd? This email went, 

"Psalms 65:2 reads 'O You (referring to God) who hear prayer, to YOU all men will come.' Just one month ago, we witnessed a dastardly terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre, New York. Now, there are the Anthrax letters attacks on Washington DC. These are times of uncertainty. No one knows what the terrorists might do. Should we not turn to God?

Psalms 65: 9 says, 'You care for the land and water it, you enrich it abundantly.' This verse is really encouraging. Despite what these evil men can do, they cannot compete with the restoration God provides. God will heal the land. All they can do is create trouble, some mischief. Soon it will pass and they will be gone but God's creation remains. 

That God answers prayers is a statement of fact. It is not only when we turn to him that he hears our prayers. No, it just a plain fact that God hears prayers. And because he does, he draws us to Him, people like us who acknowledge His presence and preeminence at these times. I would you both to go to God in prayer often. 

We may not have the inclination to spend hours or even minutes in prayer. Few people do. But at every chance and every remembrance, whisper a prayer. When we travel and we remember someone say a prayer. When we wake up and when we go to sleep just pray a few sentences. If we have a need, pray to God. A few short sentences anywhere and at any time will do. We will then cultivate an attitude that acknowledges God as someone, though beyond us, is infinitely greater. Yet we can always bring a need, a fear, an anxiety, a joy, a laughter, an inspiration to Him and He will hear us."

The picture of the Good Shepherd makes me feel secure. See how the lamb is folded within the left arm of Jesus! And on the right hand is the staff to ward away things evil, destructive or predatory.

The hymn, 'My Heavenly Father Watches Over Me.' reminds us that we can put our trust in God at all times. When we experience the storms of life, when we appear to be in the lions' den or in a dark alley, Jesus is there keeping and watching over us.

1. I trust in God wherever I may be,
   Upon the land, or on the rolling sea,
   For come what may, from day to day,
   My heav’nly Father watches over me.
   • Refrain:
     I trust in God, I know He cares for me;
     On mountain bleak or on the stormy sea;
     Though billows roll, He keeps my soul;
     My heav’nly Father watches over me.
2. He makes the rose an object of His care,
   He guides the eagle through the pathless air,
   And surely He remembers me;
   My heav’nly Father watches over me.
3. I trust in God, for, in the lion’s den,
   On battlefield, or in the prison pen,
   Through praise or blame, through flood or flame,
   My heav’nly Father watches over me.
4. The valley may be dark, the shadows deep,
   But, oh, the Shepherd guards His lonely sheep;
   And through the gloom He’ll lead me home,
   My heav’nly Father watches over me.

Lionel

Updated Article, Previously posted on 25 May 2007