St. Patrick’s Day isn’t a major holiday, but there are those who enjoy some of the fun that goes with it. Unbeknownst to me until just recently, it also holds a tie to one of my favorite hymns, Be Thou My Vision.
For some, it’s the mysterious Celtic tune that draws one’s heart and mind to this hymn. For others, the prayer of these lyrics convict or arrest their soul with a desire that this prayer would be their own. It is in its own right a prayer of consecration and a recognition of our great need for God to be all these things for His people.
Be Thou My Vision is an 8th century Irish hymn that was translated by Eleanor Hull in 1912. This hymn is rooted in medieval Irish Christianity; its lyrics came from a poem written in honor of St. Patrick’s heroic stand against Ireland’s king in 433, in order to honor the King of kings, Jesus Christ. King Lóegaire hated Patrick and Christianity and sought to kill him. So, he issued a decree that prohibited anyone from lighting a flame or candle in the region– in observation of a pagan Druid festival. This decree intentionally fell on Resurrection Sunday.
Easter morning, Patrick risked his life by climbing up the tallest hill (Slane Hill), lit a huge Easter bonfire, and not only lit the hillside but began Ireland’s conversion to Christianity. Legend has it, even the king eventually came to faith.
Perhaps verse three best describes Patrick’s bold stand for Christ on that Easter morn: Be thou my breastplate, my sword for the fight; Be thou my dignity, thou my delight. Thou my soul’s shelter, thou my high tow’r; Raise thou me Heav’nward, O Pow’r of my pow’r.
I would encourage you to reflect on the verses of this hymn, which I will place after the Decency Minute scripts below. As you read these scripts or listen to their narration, thanks to Bill Johnson, pray for those involved, that our most holy God would become their “vision” and “Lord of [their] heart.”
Some have wished that people running for an elected office were like NASCAR racers; their sponsors are proudly displayed outwardly for all the world to see.
In the upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court judicial race, voters can clearly see which way Dane County Judge Susan Crawford leans by the “sponsor stickers” on her robe. They suggest she’ll be a supreme legal ally to the “drag community” and other far-Left causes.
FIVE nightclub is holding a “Disney Princess Drag Bingo” fundraiser for Crawford and she’s backed by activist groups fully immersed in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion WOKE religion. Some of these endorsements come from the pro-LGBTQ Human Rights Campaign and from Planned Parenthood, promoter of transgender procedures for children.
Crawford is also receiving millions of dollars from wealthy Leftists like billionaire megadonor George Soros.
Let’s pray that “checkered” endorsements don’t equal a checkered flag in this race.
Though I’m grateful for every conservative that struggles against those who would dismantle our Constitution and our country, I truly wish that we stood on the same side spiritually as well. I pray they could know the love and peace of God in their lives.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, gives clear witness to trusting Jesus as her Savior. “It’s like a veil has been lifted, revealing a deeper understanding of the struggle between light and darkness… For those who are searching, who feel the same longing I once did, I can only say this: keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. Faith is not about having all the answers but about trusting in the One who does. And when you find Him, you will know you are finally home.”
May each one of you come to know this peace.
Many on the left are up in arms as the Trump administration takes steps to revoke visas and deport foreign nationals who support terrorism. When it comes to terrorist sympathizers, leftists are suddenly concerned about civil liberties. However, under federal law, any foreign national who endorses terrorist activity can be deported.
The first to be arrested was a Syrian national who led the antisemitic riots on Columbia’s campus and advocated for the terrorist group, Hamas. According to the New York Post, he sought the “total eradication of Western civilization.”
President Trump understands that if we continue to allow into our country those who do not value freedom and American ideals, but rather seek to eradicate them, we will eventually lose what makes America a beacon of hope. To be an American is not based on ethnicity, but on a love for liberty grounded in Judeo-Christian values.
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 and by night;
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.
Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true Word;
I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord.
Thou my great Father, I thy dear child;
Thou in me dwelling, with thee reconciled.
Be thou my breastplate, my sword for the fight;
Be thou my dignity, thou my delight.
Thou my soul’s shelter, thou my high tow’r;
Raise thou me Heav’nward, O Pow’r of my pow’r.
Riches I heed not, nor vain, empty praise;
Thou mine inheritance, now and always.
Thou and thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my treasure thou art.
High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heav’ns Sun!
Heart of my heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
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