apologies to St Francis!

I have been considering a song or hymn to follow my sermon on ‘patience’ (see yesterday’s blog) on Sunday morning. There were several candidates but in the end I went for ‘Blessed assurance’ which is a great old hymn. The verses are relevant to what I think I will be saying, but the chorus goes:

“This is my story, this is my song: praising my Saviour all the day long.”

That is a brilliant summary of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. My life should be one long song or story that praises him, which points people in his direction and says, ‘he’s amazing, isn’t he?’ I want to amend St Francis of Assissi’s famous (or attributed) saying, “At all times and in all ways preach the gospel. If necessary use words.” I hope he won’t mind.

“At all times and in all ways praise Jesus. If necessary use words.”

I will try to do that in the way I drive, in the way I relate to people, in the prayers I pray, in the conversations I have, in the activities I do. Whatever I do I will try to do as an act of worship to Jesus. I think this will have several side-benefits. One is that it means I will be more consciously serving and praising him during the day, making it more difficult to slip. A second is that I should be nicer to be around. A third is that I will always be doing my best.

The following hymns have been adapted for those who are teenagers four times over:

Precious Lord, Take My Hand . . . And Help Me Up 
It Is Well with My Soul . . . But My Knees Hurt 
Just a Slower Walk with Thee 
Count Your Many Birthdays, Name Them One by One 
Go Tell It on the Mountain . . . But Speak Up 
Blessed Insurance 
Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah . . . I’ve Forgotten Where I Parked