Such love as Yours
Burning bright in my heart,
I will forever know.
Through highs and lows,
Through depths unknown,
Its flame I will carry with me
Wherever I go.
- Cathryne Allen
Wednesday, 4 November 2026
THE FLAME
IN AWE OF HUMANITY
Sometimes when I consider the atrocities in the world today and some of the things we say and do, from our leaders down to the common man, I am convinced we are operating here on the level of intelligence called stupidity. I don’t know how God tolerates us in this weakened state of mortality.
At other times I hear a piece of music
that lifts me to the gates of heaven or I see a piece of art that rends my soul
with gratitude for beauty or read a poem that bares someone’s soul and I see the
other side of humanity. I am often amazed by the talents, strengths, attributes
and achievements of many of us.
I marvel at our uniqueness, our creativity, our intelligence, our very essence and all that we are and are yet to become. I imagine if there were no mortal days of probation I might never have heard of a man called Abraham Lincoln in the vastness of the Universe or been moved by music written by Mozart or heard Renee Fleming sing Casta Diva.
Somewhere along the path of all my life’s difficulties I lost sight of this concept and had forsaken the pleasures of life that once lifted me above my moments of discontent and even despair….such pleasures as reading literature. The other day I decided to change that. I don’t recall ever reading a book twice but I am doing so now. I am getting lost in The Book Thief again and I am once again celebrating our humanity.
This is a book of words that strikes at the recesses of my heart. The brilliance of this author’s writing is once again astounding me. I don’t know which I admire most, the talent of the written word or what the narrator of this story is teaching me. Once again I stand in awe of Markus Zusak who introduced Death as the narrator of World War 2 for who would know this war better than Death??? And so Markus turns Death, which "delivers souls to the conveyor belt of eternity" into an entity who learns about humanity in the midst of suffering and ends the story with these searing words: “I am haunted by humans….”
What an amazing gift it is to be a witness of someone's unique expression of self and of the mark they leave on this world. Most of us will not earn a page in the annals of history. Most of us will never become another Abraham Lincoln or Mozart or Isaiah but all of us have a unique light within with which we can illuminate the world.
God sees us in our entirety. He sees who
we were, our present limitations and what we will yet become. He sees us as an
amazing assortment of humanity and most of all He sees our potential. This is
how He can tolerate us here and now.
I am especially enthralled by
people enshrined in holy writ…..their capabilities, their sufferings, their
level of endurance, their skills at handling life, and especially their faith, devotion
to and love of God. They are my idols. They show me the way to what I can
become.
In the realms of heaven when your glorious destiny hung in the balance, the Saviour saw you and your worth and your potential. Besides His overriding desire to bring glory to the Father, this is what propelled Him to the cross.
In the words of Dr. Seuss: "Today you are you, that is truer than
true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You". How truly magnificent
are you?!!!
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
Tuesday, 3 November 2026
THE RETURN OF THE LOST
(Artist Unknown)
One day when Your tears cease to fall
For the ones that go astray
And You reach for them from Your throne
Your power to display;
I will praise
I will rejoice
I will join the heavenly throng in song
For the return of the lost
For whom You suffered for so long.
- Cathryne Allen
THE PRICE
There
will come a time when the House of Israel shall know that Jesus Christ is the
Lord and their God, and when He will not let them pollute His holy name anymore
(Ezekiel 39:7,22). Unfortunately, there will be a high price to pay for that
knowledge.
The
Lord makes it plain to understand that He will be the mastermind behind the great
battle of Armageddon which will usher in the Millenium, wherein all the nations of the earth will come
against the ‘unwalled villages, without walls and having neither bars nor
gates’ in the mountains of Israel ‘to take a spoil, and to take a prey’
(Ezekiel 38:8,11). Think of how the ancient world protected itself from enemies
by building walls and gates around their cities. Now consider how open the land
of Israel is today.
The
great Gog, the prince of the land of Magog who will lead the great army of all nations to march against Jerusalem and the
prosperity of Israel, will be a pawn in Christ’s hand to afflict and bring
God’s covenant people to their knees and claim victory for Himself ( Joel 3:1,2;
Zechariah 14:2). The Lord makes this clear through Ezekiel with simple repeated
declaration of “I will”:
-
I
will…put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army
(38:4);
-
I
will…cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the
mountains of Israel (39:2);
-
I
will…smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall
out of thy right hand (39:3);
-
I
will… give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the
field to be devoured (39:4);
-
I
will… send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles;
and they shall know that I am the Lord (39:6).
-
I
will…gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle (Zechariah 14:2)
This
army that will come upon Israel will be so great and so terrifying it will
‘cover the land as a cloud’ (Ezekiel 38:9).
“Joel stated that the army would be the
greatest army in the history of the world up to that point (Joel 2:2). He
described it as being like a “fire” that devours the land, leaving what had
looked like the “garden of Eden” before their coming as a “desolate wilderness”
(Joel 2:3; see also Joel 2:2,4-5). Joel also said that the army would be highly
disciplined in warfare and virtually invincible: “When they fall upon the
sword, they shall not be wounded” (Joel 2:7,8,9)” (The Battle of Armageddon: A Prophetic
View, Enrichment I, Old Testament Student Manual Book 2, p 291)
But their defeat at the hands of the God of
Israel will be equally terrifying. As the army descends upon Israel, “the Lord
will then come, and all men shall shake at his presence, there will be such an
earthquake as has never before been known, which will throw down the mountains;
there will be pestilence, blood, fire, and brimstone which will descend upon
the armies; the forces of Gog and Magog will be destroyed upon the mountains of
Israel; the Supper of the Great God shall then take place as the beasts and
fowls eat the flesh and drink the blood of the fallen ones (Rev 19:17-18;
D&C 29:18-21); and the house of Israel will be seven months burying the
dead and seven years burning the discarded weapons of war (Ezekiel 39:8-13).
“The
armies of Gog will turn upon each other, perhaps in the panic and confusion of
the great earthquake (see Ezekiel 38:21; Zechariah 14:13). A great rain of fire
and hail will shower down upon the army (see Ezekiel 38:22; D&C 29:21;
Revelation 16:21). John said the hailstones will weigh a talent, which is about
75.6 pounds or 34.3 kilograms (see Bible Dictionary, s.v. weights and
measures).” (Old Testament Student
Manual Book 2 p 284 and 294)
And
this is the price that Israel will pay for its betrayal of their God and for
profaning His name: “Zechariah says that only one-third of the nation of Israel
will survive this final extremity when the “city [Jerusalem] shall be taken,
and the houses rifled [looted], and the women ravished; and half of the city
shall go forth into captivity” (Zechariah 14:2; see also Zechariah 13:8-9;
14:1); and 7,000 will be slain and one tenth of the city destroyed (Revelation
11:13).” (The Old Testament Student Manual Book 2 p 294)
“So
the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day
forward.” (Ezekiel 39:22)
And
thus this prophecy of Isaiah will be fulfilled:
“Speak
ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is
accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of the
Lord’s hand double for all her sins.”
(Isaiah 40:2)
Monday, 2 November 2026
SENTRIES OF THE HEART
Like
Israel of old
I
foolishly sought man’s protection
And
trusted in the arm of flesh
Until
you showed me the strength
Of
Your invincible arm
And
how much easier You can make
My
journey’s difficult path.
How
foolish I was to trust in man’s might,
How
foolish to seek mortal comfort
And
settle for feeble sentries of the heart.
- Cathryne
Allen
HIS HOLY NAME
When
I read Ezekiel 36 this week I came to see a very serious result of idolatry
which caused the scattering of Israel:
“…when
the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way
and by their doings…..wherefore, I poured my fury upon them for the blood that
they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted
it…and I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the
countries…..and when they entered unto the heathen…they profaned my holy name,
when they said to them, These are the people of the Lord, and are gone forth
out of his land.” (Ezekiel 36:17-20)
What in reality Israel was saying to the
heathen nations they were scattered amongst is this: We had a God but He was
really not so good in looking after us so we had to turn to your gods for
protection and prosperity. They in reality profaned Jehovah’s name by their
idolatrous betrayal of a God who in all reality delivered them over and over
and prospered them as many times. They did more than reject their God, besmirched
His name….
For
this betrayal, Israel’s God has sworn that He will recover His holy name and
wipe away the negative influence Israel’s idolatry has had on the world. Israel, who was a chosen nation to bear the
name of Jehovah, did in fact do the opposite. How many people would they have
turned away by this negative influence rather than bring the awareness of the
only source of salvation to them? In all their boasting that they had Abraham
for a father (Matt 3:9; John 8:33,39) they totally over-looked the
responsibility which the Abrahamic covenant placed them under to bless all the families
of the earth (Abraham 2:9-11).
Herein
is the ultimate wisdom of God and herein is Jehovah’s vengeance. He would not
utterly destroy them but save them….no destruction, but salvation… and here is
why:
“But I had pity for mine holy name, which the
house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. Therefore…thus
saith the Lord God, I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for
mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye
went.” (Ezekiel 36:21,22)
To
clear His name, the Lord promises restoration of Israel instead of destruction and
likens it to resurrection in chapter 37, verses 1-14:
“The
exiles are represented as having lost hope (their bones are dried up) of ever
living again as a nation. But the Lord shows them that they can be restored
through His mighty power even as the dead will be raised in the resurrection…..The
symbolic meaning of this [dual] prophecy as it relates to the gathering of
Israel is apparent. The bones represent Israel in its lost and scattered state,
the graves indicate where Israel is as well as its condition of spiritual
death. The spirit…means the new spirit of righteousness the people will have
when they have been resurrected, that is, restored from their fallen state.” (Sidney B. Sperry, The Voice of Israel’s
Prophets, pp 225-26)
I
wondered at first why the Lord would liken the restoration of Israel to the
resurrection and upon reflection I came to understand that this so because
‘restoration’ is a component of the Atonement. The Atonement performed only by
Him hence His power to destroy or to save. Resurrection in its proper
definition is restoration (see Alma 40 & 41). Notice the cleansing power of
the Atonement in this verse referring to the gathering:
“For
I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries,
and will bring you into your own land….. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon
you, and ye shall be clean, from all your filthiness, and from all your idols,
will I cleanse you….A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I
put within you…...” (Ezekiel 36:24-28).
But
that is not all. After they have been cleansed, the Lord will turn the desolate
land of Israel into a fruitful one akin to the Garden of Eden (Ezekiel
36:33-35). Put simply: I will show you
who I really am…”I will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and you
shall know I am the Lord”. (Ezekiel 36:11)
The
Mighty Jehovah will clear His name before the heathen nations when He again
gathers Israel and establishes an everlasting covenant with them in the midst
of His temple, and the heathen will know that the Lord does sanctify Israel.
(Ezekiel 37:26-28)
Referring
to the gathering of Israel, the Lord repeats this phrase five times in the book
of Ezekiel: “I will be their God, and
they shall be my people” (Ezekiel 11:20; 14:11; 36;28; 37:23, 37:27). Is this
not a God of mercy???? And the God who never breaks His covenants (Deut 4:31;
Leviticus 26:44,46; Isaiah 49:15,16; 2 Kings 13:23).
We,
modern day Israel have a responsibility to show the world the God of mercy, the
God of integrity and the God of power through the influence we wield. May our commitment,
dedication and love for the Saviour of the world bring honour to His holy name.
Sunday, 1 November 2026
HEALER OF MY SOUL
Your
lessons, so piercing
And
so raw
Leave
me spent
As
I exhale the hurt and let it go;
Your
wisdom prevails
And
tutors me when I need it most;
You
are the healer who saves
The
broken hearted and the lost.
-
Cathryne Allen
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