I Asked The Lord That I Might Grow

by John Newton

I asked the Lord that I might grow
In faith, and love, and every grace;
Might more of His salvation know,
And seek, more earnestly, His face.

’Twas He who taught me thus to pray,
And He, I trust, has answered prayer!
But it has been in such a way,
As almost drove me to despair.

I hoped that in some favored hour,
At once He’d answer my request;
And by His love’s constraining pow’r,
Subdue my sins, and give me rest.

Instead of this, He made me feel
The hidden evils of my heart;
And let the angry pow’rs of hell
Assault my soul in every part.

Yea more, with His own hand He seemed
Intent to aggravate my woe;
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,
Blasted my gourds, and laid me low.

Lord, why is this, I trembling cried,
Wilt thou pursue thy worm to death?
“’Tis in this way, the Lord replied,
I answer prayer for grace and faith.

These inward trials I employ,
From self, and pride, to set thee free;
And break thy schemes of earthly joy,
That thou may’st find thy all in Me.”
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It's really fun reading all three groups' critique of the two texts from last Saturday. The exercise was a window into your minds: the role of a choir in church, what consitutes 'good' art etc.

I came across this poem/prayer by John Newton while looking for the two texts for critique and revisited it again when the critiques were done, thinking to myself, THIS will fit everyone's criteria, haha.

Enjoy =)

Know The One

A: There is only one of them there.
B: Where? There are so many of them on the rack! And they all look almost the same!

In a messy world we live in, know that there is only one God. Seek to know Him more, so that we can tell what is of Him and differentiate who/what are the counterfeit gods messing in our lives!

Let us discern for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what is good. (Job 34:4)

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11)

I had the girls in mind when I took this photo.. haha!

And then I had myself in mind

I decided to mock raffles abit.

For the last one.. notice that's a law firm?

在我心房定居
教导我什么值得去努力
因为我今日留下的足迹
有一天这世界将不再记起

一种惯性的追求
成为生存的理由
充满我心占据我心
日子却空虚依旧

在我心房定居
告诉我生命的真谛
因为人间的悲欢合离
有一天我将不再知悉