THE ALTAR OF MY HEART

 

God is Love by LDS Bookstore

As the stars in heaven

That burn with everlasting light

So is my love that burns for Thee

On the altar of my heart.

 

-      Cathryne Allen 

THE MIGHTY ELIJAH PART 1

 

 

There was a prolific and significant prophet of the Old Testament whose earthly mission was divided in two time periods, before the first and second advents of Christ. His life warrants a lengthy consideration. 

 

He is known as the ancient prophet who performed many mighty miracles and who had power to control the elements. Approximately 900 years before the birth of Christ, the people of the northern kingdom of Israel had almost entirely forsaken the worship of the true God under the reign of king Ahab and had become worshippers of the Phoenician god Baal.  Enter Elijah the Tishbite who was called to lead Israel back to their forsaken God. He boldly stood up to Ahab and said: “As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years but according to my word.” (1 Kings 17:1)

 

And so Elijah sat by the brook Cherith, before Jordan, and he drank of the brook and was fed by the ravens sent by the very God in whose name he proclaimed the draught that lasted three and a half years (1 Kings 17:2-6). When the brook dried up, the Lord led him to Zarephath to be sustained by a widow whose son he raised from the dead (vs 7-24).

 

Elijah's boldness of character would be difficult to replicate. He stands as an example of spiritual confidence of one who knows God on a personal level. Besides the power that he was entrusted with he loved the God of Israel and did everything he could to turn the people’s hearts to Him.

 

Elijah’s difficult life has touched my heart to the core. He sorrowed and he suffered through rejection, persecution and isolation and most of all he longed for heaven. When fleeing Jezebel who sought to take his life, Elijah went into wilderness and sat himself under a juniper tree and requested of God that he might die (1 Kings 19:4). The Lord instead sent him an angel who fed him and led him to mount Horeb.

 

Elijah fasted for forty days during this trip. When he arrived and the Lord asked him what he was doing there, he expressed the root cause of his sorrow: nothing about his personal hardships but that the children of Israel had forsaken the covenant and slain the prophets and that he was the only one left (vs 8-10). And then the assurance and comfort from the God he loved: “Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.” (v 18) In other words: Elijah, you have done some good even though you can’t see it.

 

And then the ultimate show of love and support……the Lord gave him Elisha. Another man of God, who denounced all his wealth and followed Elijah into his ministry. A man who became so great that a dead man cast into his sepulchre came to life again when his body touched the bones of Elisha (2 Kings 13:21). Is this not greatness???

 

How much You must love

Those who serve Thee to the end;

Who speak the words of truth

And proclaim Thy holy name.

These are Thy prophets,

Your everlasting friends:

The strong, the noble,

The devoted who hear and obey.

These are Thine angels who herald

Thy gospel and Thy name ;

To the ends of the earth they speak

And their words forever remain.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Elijah by Djane Daviss)

RETURN TO HEAVEN

 

Joy Cometh In The Morning by LDS Bookstore

Will I be lost in crowds of heaven

When my mortal shell at last I leave,

And will this earthly life appear unreal

When my true home is to me revealed?

 

Will I come to see Thy face

I so often sought on bended knee,

And forget all the lonely moments

I suffered with merciful help from Thee?

 

My heart will rend within my chest

When I kneel before Thy throne;

I will weep with grateful heart

For cherished truths that I have known.

 

-       CATHRYNE ALLEN

A SYNOPSIS OF LIFE

 

Seasons of Change by LDS Bookstore

Teenage years: Life is great and possibilities are great.

Twenties: My Prince has come, not on a steed but in a small second-hand Toyota, but that’s OK. I am about to sail off into the sunset of perfection and a glorious thereafter.

Thirties: The sunset faded all too soon and the prince has turned into a toad. I am divorced with two children in tow.

Forties: I am penniless but the tabloids tell me I am a superwoman and I can yet re-invent myself and create another life because for women life begins at 40.

Fifties: Still penniless and wrung dry by single motherhood. My mother is in her 70s and she refuses to walk with a cane. What the heck is wrong with her? Doesn’t she know how old she is????

Sixties: My body is breaking. The thought of having a shower fills me with fear and dread and actually having one that lasts all of five minutes is a monumental achievement. And no way am I walking with a cane!

I don’t know if it happens to everyone but it seems that when we reach the last leg of the journey, we start evaluating a lot and calculating the worth of our lives by a very short synopsis. I was struggling with a very low number I was coming up with until my friend recently confided in me the same struggle. She felt she has not achieved much and therefore she herself must not be worth much.  

The thing is, there is only one thing we take with us when we die….ourselves, therefore our worth cannot be measured by earthly achievements but by the worth of our souls. I have not attended one funeral where the financial worth of the deceased was on display for everyone to admire. Who they were was always remembered over what they have achieved and acquired.

When God the Father showed Enoch His corrupted children that would be swept away in the flood, He wept at the loss (Moses 7:28). Enoch was beyond perplexed when he considered that God would sorrow over a ‘handful’ of His children compared to the immensity of His creations (v 29-31). The Father simply answered that these His children were ‘the workmanship” of His hands (v 32). The dictionary defines ‘workmanship’ as ‘the product or result of labour and skill, or work executed’.

I pondered on this some years ago and considered the work that went into the making of us such as: 1. our spiritual creation which depended on the Father’s rise to Godhood; 2. Our spiritual tutoring for eons of time; 3. The creation of the earth for our mortality; 4. The overseeing of our earthly tutoring; 5. The preparation of kingdoms for our eternal destination; 6. The redemption of our souls through the sacrifice of another.

I also thought of our earthly lives and the scale of guidance, protection, care, anguish and sorrow of our Heavenly Parents, the Holy Ghost, our guardian angels, our ancestors, our departed loved ones and all the hosts of heaven who know us….and not just what others have put into us but what we have put into ourselves….in this life and before we even came here. Progression is a long journey.

As I spoke to my friend, I said to her that I have come to the conclusion that I would gladly repeat all the trials and hardships of my life if it would bring me back to this time and place where I am the closest I have ever been to the Saviour of the world. As I spoke, I became cognizant of my worth and that I was my greatest asset. The height of my value I owe to Him who has not only bled for my soul but who has fine tuned me like an old violin……..

“Twas battered and scarred and the auctioneer thought it hardly worth his while to waste his time on the old violin, but he held it up with a smile. “What am I bid, good people”, he cried, “Who starts the bidding for me?”

“One dollar, one dollar, Do I hear two? Two dollars, who makes it three? Three dollars once, three dollars twice, going, going for three.”

“But no, from the room far back a gray bearded man came forward and picked up the bow.

Then wiping the dust from the old violin and tightening up the strings, he played a melody, pure and sweet. As sweet as the angel sings.

“The music ceased and the auctioneer with a voice that was quite and low said, “What now am I bid for this old violin?” As he held it aloft with its’ bow. “One thousand, one thousand, do I hear two? Two thousand, who makes it three? Three thousand once, three thousand twice, Going and gone”, said he.

“The audience cheered, but some of them cried, “We just don’t understand, What changed its worth?” 

Swift came the reply, “The touch of the Master’s Hand.”

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

 

A GOD OF MIRACLES

 

Knock and Ye Shall Receive by LDS Art

I’ve written about the bad kings of ancient Israel and thought it might be unfair not to mention the few that were actually good. One of those good kings was Jehoshaphat, a faithful king of the Kingdom of Judah (1 Kings 15:24; 22). His story is one of unparalleled inspiration that cannot be overlooked.

The scriptures record that Jehoshaphat "sought the Lord God of his father David, and walked in his commandments and not after the doings of Baal worshipping Israel. Therefore, the Lord established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents; and he had riches and honour in abundance" (2 Chronicles 17:3-5).

Jehoshaphat was presented with a big problem during his reign which he handled with immense wisdom. Upon hearing that the armies of Moab and Ammon and the inhabitants of mount Seir were coming against him, Jehoshaphat first declared a fast and then gathered his people and offered an incredible prayer acknowledging  that they knew not what to do 'but that their eyes were upon the God of Israel' (2 Chronicles 20:3,4;12). In other words, 'we cannot solve this problem but we know that you can'.

And here is where it starts to get weird and wonderful. In answer to that prayer, the Spirit of the Lord came upon a totally unknown man in the crowd who prophesied that Judah need not fear and that the Lord God of Israel will fight that battle for them. He went on to say that they should do nothing when they confront the armies and that they should 'fear not, nor be dismayed but stand still and see the salvation of the Lord' (2 Chronicles 20:17).  

Instead of questioning the sanity of this man, both Jehoshaphat and the whole congregation of Judah fell on their faces and worshiped and praised God accepting this as an answer to their problem. The following morning they rose early and went into the wilderness as if to fight but when they got there, instead of sharpening their swords, the king assembled a choir and instructed them to sing and praise God. Now, that is faith….

At that, the Lord stepped in and 'set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab and mount Seir' (2 Chronicles 20:22). How exactly that happened, the scriptures do not tell, but they do tell us that these armies turned on each other and slaughtered every man there so that there was nobody left to fight with.  

Instead of slaughter, Judah collected the spoils of the attacking armies for 3 days. The riches and precious jewels that came into their possession was more than they could carry (2 Chronicles 20:25). It makes you wonder why an army would carry their precious jewels with them into battle, but that they did and the Kingdom of Judah was blessed for trusting in the God of Israel. On the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah and gave thanks to God following which they returned to Jerusalem with joy bringing  'psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the Lord' (2 Chronicles 20:26-28).

Next time you need a miracle, think of Jehoshaphat……

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

 

A BATTLE FOR OUR SOULS PART 2

 

Put On the Armor of God by Celestial Heritage

"As a small boy in grammar school, I had a teacher who made King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table come alive.  She caused me to become so obsessed with stories of knights that I played and dreamed that I was one.  One evening I dreamed that I was a white knight on a white horse riding over the greens of England.  Suddenly, without warning, a knight dressed in black armour and mounted on a black horse appeared at the edge of the forest.  We measured each other carefully, lowered our lances, and charged at full gallop.  The lances struck target and both of us were knocked off our steeds.

“I scrambled to my feet knowing that swords would be drawn and that hand-to-hand combat was imminent.  Fear gripped my heart as I saw my opponent rushing toward me flashing a long, gleaming sword.  Instinctively, I reached to my side and drew forth from the scabbard my weapon.  That is when the dream turned into a nightmare!  For in my hand was a small, dinky dagger - not a long, gleaming sword.  I woke up in a cold sweat screaming for help. 

“When the Lord draws you forth as His instrument in combating evil forces, what does he have in his hand - a long, gleaming sword or a dinky dagger?...The saving virtue of a sword is related to its strength, sharpness, cleanliness, and the hand which guides it.  Is it not the same with people?  I would pray that you would seek strength of character, sharpness of mind, and cleanliness of soul so as to become gleaming swords of righteousness.  By doing this, there will be no embarrassment, no disappointment, and no nightmare when He draws you out in battling the powers of darkness" (Elder Carlos E. Asay, "Instruments of Righteousness", New Era, June 1983)

There is a battle we are all engaged in with the enemy that cannot be seen. This enemy is cleverly disguised in many evils of mortality who carefully draws his bow and fires his darts and arrows aiming to wound so we would slowly bleed to death.

Since the battle is directed at the destruction of our souls, meaning both body and spirit (D&C 88:15), Paul admonished the saints of his day to put on ‘the whole armor of God that they might be able to stand against the wiles of the devil’ (Ephesians 6:10-13).  This armor is one of obedience and commitment to the commandments we have been given.

Every act of disobedience creates cracks in the armour that is supposed to protect us. And it is just such cracks that the adversary targets. Many cracks make a loose armour. A cracked and loose armour is sufficient to cause discomfort leading to the conviction that the armour is useless and not needed after all. Think of how many people regard the commandments of God to be inconvenient and restrictive.

The full armour of God that Paul admonished the Ephesians to wear addresses all the vulnerabilities of mortality:

        Loins (reproductive organs): typifying virtue and chastity

        Heart: in the scriptures the heart is always used to typify our conduct

        Feet: typify objectives and goals in life which would take us to perfection

        Head: a place the thoughts are stored which lead to actions

         

"Well, now, the apostle Paul went one step further. He didn't leave the man just with the armour on and expect him to cope against an army, seen or unseen. He had his armoured man holding in his hand a shield and in his other hand a sword, which were the weapons of those days. That shield was the shield of faith, and the sword was the sword of the spirit which is the Word of God. I can't think of any more powerful weapons than faith and a knowledge of the scriptures in the which are contained the Word of God. One so armoured and one so prepared with those weapons is prepared to go out against the enemy [and] is more to be feared than the enemies of the light" (Harold B. Lee, "Feet Shod with the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace", Speeches of the Year, 1954, pp 2-4, 6-7).

Don’t fear the enemy, make him fear YOU…..

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

CONSECRATION

 

The Anointed One by Joseph Brickey

I kneel before Thy throne each day

Never knowing what first to say.

Then I remember what my soul foremost needs

Is my heartfelt devotion to only Thee.

 

My thoughts, my words, my earthly deeds

I consecrate as a memorial in prayer to Thee.

I spread my heart before Thy feet,

As the Sacrificial Lamb I come to see.

 

I see You smile, I hear You say:

You are in my heart today.

The sacrifice was mine to give,

Your soul I purchased that you might live.

 

-       Cathryne Allen