THE GOSPEL TRAIN

 

 

 

I want to share with you a very motivating and uplifting excerpt from my daughter’s Sacrament talk:

 

“My Grandma had battled cancer for nearly 3 years. One Saturday we received a phone call letting us know she had taken a bad turn and we needed to come and say our goodbyes. As hard as that experience was, I look back on it fondly as it left me with a very special lesson to learn, a lesson that I would continuously draw upon for the rest of my life. My whole family was present but I remember her particularly targeting me, my siblings and my cousins. She wasn’t able to talk much but when she did, all she kept saying was: “Stay on the gospel train”. At first we didn’t think much of it but she became increasingly persistent: “Stay on the gospel train”. I love a good analogy – In fact, I look for it in everything and so, naturally, I ended up finding one in her message. We are all passengers on the train of life. The tracks are our personal divinely written journey that we cannot always navigate on our own. When we board the train, we have a specific destination in mind but we don’t ever see it until we get there. Sometimes during our journey, there may be track work that slows us down. There may be other stations along the way that look more appealing than our final destination, so we get off and explore them. Sometimes we may travel through a dark tunnel or two without being able to see the light at the other end. Thankfully, we have a train conductor. Without him, we wouldn’t be able to navigate the twists and turns of the tracks or make our way through that dark tunnel. Without him, we wouldn’t even be able to find our way back onto the train after getting off at one of the stations. So we show faith by putting our trust in the train conductor. We get to know him and love him because we feel safe in his hands. So we decide to stay on the train. Every now and then, he puts our train on a different set of tracks and opens our eyes to the possibility of a destination we have not yet considered. Throughout our journey we begin to see that he understands the characteristics of the tracks much better than we do so we sit back and let him drive our train and we let him decide where we will end up. We must stay on the gospel train though to experience joy at our final destination.”  (Christie Parton, Tuggerah Lakes Ward, Australia Newcastle Stake)

 

I want to pay homage to my mother-in-law who arrived at the end of her journey so valiantly and left a priceless legacy to my children but most of all I want to honour the Conductor of my train, He who has engineered, created, atoned and made my journey possible: the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace…..

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

ARTIST: David Bowman

PSALMS

 

Psalms have taken on a new meaning for me. I learnt recently that some Psalms were sung anciently at the Passover, in particular 116, 117 and 118. Cast your mind on the last Passover that Jesus celebrated in His mortal life. We know it as the Last Supper. It goes without saying that the Saviour would have sung these particular Psalms with His disciples.

 

Psalm 118 is a Messianic Psalm with a powerful theme of “His mercy endureth forever” which is repeated five times (vs 1, 2, 3, 4, 29). But that is not all. Upon closer reading, this Psalm testifies of the Saviour’s sacrifice. In verse 16 we read: ‘The right hand of the Lord is exalted’. Who is the right hand of God? Jesus Christ. In verse 27, we read: ‘God is the Lord, which hath showed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.’ We cannot dispute that it was the Saviour who has shown us the light. It is the latter part of the verse that is significant to me. The ‘horns of the altar’ in Moses’ tabernacle symbolised Jehovah’s might and power to save. When the officiating priest put sacrificial blood on the horns, it signified that forgiveness can only come through Jehovah’s power. Often a person accused of wrongdoing would flee to the tabernacle and hold onto the horns claiming asylum until he was tried and found guilty. The horns powerfully symbolised salvation. ‘Binding the sacrifice with cords’ can only mean the Saviour’s sacrifice was bound to the horns of the altar and did indeed symbolise that salvation comes only through Him. Likewise, the sacrificial lamb would have been bound with cords as it was being sacrificed upon the altar. Imagine the Saviour singing this Psalm about himself prior to going to His death as the sacrificial lamb of God.  Makes you want to weep…..

 

I have one final thing to say, that adds onto my last post about the need to praise and worship the Lord. It is found in Psalm 117: “O PRAISE THE LORD; all ye nations: PRAISE HIM, all ye people. For His merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. PRAISE YE THE LORD.” Those of us who have in the depths of our soul gratitude for His merciful sacrifice will shout from the rooftops and praise Him now and forever…..

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Artist: Liz Lemon Swindle)

PRAYER OF WORSHIP

 

Whenever I come across someone’s prayer recorded in the scriptures I am touched to my core to hear such beautiful words of praise uttered by man. I am saddened that our prayers today fall short somewhat of reverence and worship they used to be anciently and tend to be mere one way dialogues of thanks and supplications for help. Some of us do not worship God for who He is and tend to speak to Him in all too familiar and common way as if He is our friend and so godly respect gets somewhat lost.  Consider King Hezekiah’s prayer: “O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth….” (Isaiah 37:16-20).  

 

Recently I read about the prayer of King Manasseh who reigne for 50 years from 671 B.C. This king was the most loathed and cursed king in the history of Judah, the most idolatrous king who sacrificed his own son to a heathen god, added devotion of heavenly bodies and constellations to idol worship, who shed innocent blood of prophets and all the righteous men among Hebrews every day until he had filled Jerusalem with blood from one end to the other (2 Kings 21). But something unexpected happened….Manasseh repented. When the Assyrians carried him off to Babylon he saw the error of his ways and went to the Lord with the most profound prayer that is today known as The Prayer of Manasseh. A reference to the prayer, but not the prayer itself, is made in 2 Chronicles 33:19). The prayer is deemed to be  Apocryphal by Jews and Christians alike and is used by some Christian Churches today. These are the words that touched my heart the most because they were uttered from the very depth of Manasseh’s heart: “O Lord, God of our fathers…unending and immeasurable are your promised mercies….O Lord I am justly afflicted because I did evil things before you….And now behold I AM BENDING THE KNEES OF MY HEART…”  Have you ever heard a prayer of repentance as touching as this???

 

Manasseh’s prayer is today considered one that pays tribute to the merciful heart of God. Praying to God acknowledging His providence, mercy, grace, kindness, love and all the perfect attributes He possesses will bring us nearer to His throne because of the humility which will grow in our hearts and endear us to the God of heaven. Therein we will find forgiveness, mercy and deliverance and most importantly we will bring joy to His heart and be a delight to Him forever. May we bend the knees of our hearts when next we speak and seek the God of eternal love.

 

I stand all amazed as I am lifted to Thy throne,

To see Thy soul and all that Thou art.

If I had the might to plant Thee in each heart

Of all that breathes,

In pursuit of such a quest I would walk the earth

With apparent ease.

I long to praise the magnitude of words I cannot find

That tell the glory that is Thine.

As I can do so little all my desires to meet,

I place my loyal love at Thy holy feet.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(ARTIST: The Lord's Prayer by Liz Lemon Swindle) 

THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY

 

 

I have one thing to say about brilliant Isaiah, a statesman, a prophet, a poet, a psalmist, a visionary, the mighty seer…..it is impossible not to feel the strength of his testimony of the God he called the Holy One of Israel. Consider verses such as these:     

• Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation (Isaiah 12:2);
• O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou has done wonderful things…….. thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat……(Isaiah 25:1,4);
• As for our redeemer, the Lord of Hosts is His name, the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 47:4).

Isaiah’s testimony permeates his entire book and references to it are too many to mention here. Why is this important? Because the words of Isaiah are plain ‘unto those who are filled with the spirit of prophecy (2 Nephi 25:4) and the spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus (Revelation 19:10). Many of us are reluctant to study Isaiah because of his reputation that he is hard to understand. It is true that knowing the historical background and the manner of prophesying amongst the Jews is most helpful in this endeavour but the depth of our understanding of Isaiah comes from the depth of our testimony of Jesus.  

Listen to the Saviour’s invitation: “Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord……the people in whose heart is my law: Great are the words of Isaiah….search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (Isaiah 51:1,7; 3 Nephi 23:1; John 5:39). When we reach the depth of understanding concerning prophecies of Christ, we will become like Nephites of old and be able to say: “…we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ….” (2 Nephi 25:26). And may we also LOVE CHRIST. 

 

How much You must love those

Who proclaim Thy holy name.

Thy prophets, Thine everlasting friends,

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: Road to Emmaus by Liz Lemon Swindle)

THE GREAT MEDIATOR

 

My gratitude for our beloved Saviour was renewed today as I prayed for forgiveness of my shortcomings, my failure to exercise faith when I should, my moments of complaint when going gets tough, my shortsightedness when I need to be brave, my humanity when I need to rise to the true stature of my spirit. As I sorrowed in my heart I reflected on the mercy enabled by the Saviour's atoning sacrifice which has not only afforded forgiveness but has enabled Him to be my mediator with the Father. I understood in that moment that the Father knew my life to the latter because of this merciful mediation of His Beloved Son. I knew that without this medium I would be lost forever. Through it I am granted forgiveness, love, acceptance and assurance of eternal life. May glory be His forever and ever.....

I am lifted to the foot of Thy throne

And speak the words of my longing soul.

I feel Thee Father just a moment away

Because of Him who has paved the way.

I reach for Thy hand

And find Thee there.....

• CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Father and Son by Danny Hahlbohm)

SATAN'S FOE

 

After a rather harrowing week I had a personal insight into the whole premise of Job’s trials which is this: how much easier it is to remain true to your convictions when all is well in your little world. This of course is the test of time and this place. 

 

The prince of this world, and we all know who he is, will have us in pursuit of eutopia which this life cannot give. He drives us with a yoke of ‘expectations’ we can very seldom fulfil. He wants to wear us out so that he can shred us into pieces by the realisation that this life is not worth living so that he can sift us as wheat and bring us into his ‘granary’. When Jesus warned the Nephites, “Satan desireth to have you, that he may sift you as wheat” (3 Nephi 18:18), He was not only teaching the same message to them that He had expressed to Peter (Luke 22:31) but also to us……because the Book of Mormon was written for our day. 

 

I have mentioned once or twice that I grew up in Croatia and that I have witnessed wheat harvests….I have seen wheat sifted and would not wish to experience it. It is a process where the wheat is fed into a big machine to have its’ husk stripped off to reveal the grain. The Saviour’s wisdom in applying this metaphor to Satan’s attempt to strip us of all hope, faith and perseverance is priceless.  He will do anything to steal our spiritual identity, to kill our faith in God and destroy our commitment to Christ. 

 

Very often we refer to Satan as our foe but I propose that WE are HIS foe. We, the strong, the valiant, the noble sons and daughters of God. We are the foe of evil and destructive forces of faith because we bear the image of the Son of God in our countenance. We are the bearers of righteousness and hope because we are children of Christ. And when He comes He will crush the enemy at His feet and there will be no more pain and no more sorrow and no more death. HE will do this: the Good Shepherd, the strength of Israel, the King of Righteousness, the Rock of our Salvation,  the Great I AM…..

 

Let the everlasting hills and mountains

Hear Thy exalted voice;

That the ends of the earth

Might proclaim Thy eternal fame

And know the strength of Thy salvation.

May all who hear, walk in Thy holy name

And seek Thy mercy and Thy grace;

And may those found worthy

Be endowed with Thy image

In the countenance of their face.

I bequest to you my trust and my faith

And fly to you with my arms of faith.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Arms of Faith by Youngsung Kim) 

ODE TO JOB

 

I have just one thing to say about Job......the trials have to equal the stature of the man:

He strengthened weak hands (Job 4:3)

He supported those who were falling (Job 4:4)

He strengthened the feeble knees (Job 4:4)

He delivered the poor (Job 29:12)

He cared for the orphans (Job 29:12)

He helped those whom no one else would help (Job 29:12)

He gave the widow cause to sing with joy (Job 29:13)

He was eyes to the blind (Job 29:15)

He was feet to the lame (Job 29:15)

He was father to the poor (Job 29:16)

He searched for people in need of his assistance (Job 29:16)

He never found joy in the suffering of his enemies (Job 31:29)

He never wished evil on his enemies (Job 31:30)

He opened his home to strangers (Job 31:32)

If your trials are more than you feel you can bear, the test of faith is equal to the glorious person you are, and like Job, your deliverance will come.....

ODE TO JOB:

Your watchful eye was over all my trials

So carefully crafted

With love and tender care,

The crucible almost too hard to bear;

Yet did I worship Thee

Praising Thy name forever.

You stood as sentinel to my yielding heart

Knowing my trust would stand the test of time;

You crushed the enemy of my soul in the final hour,

Your glory, Your might, Your unfathomable power.

• CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Artist unknown)

VINEYARD OF LOVE

 

“Now I will sing a song to my wellbeloved….touching his vineyard….” (Isaiah 5:1). Is there a more poetic way for a writer to begin? And could there be a more beautiful metaphor for the House of Israel than that of a vineyard (v7) housing vines that yield sun-drenched mouth-watering grapes? I grew up in Croatia and I have picked such grapes in vineyards. If you have ever been in a vineyard you would appreciate the beauty of it.

 

I am knee deep in Isaiah and his lamentations over the House of Israel. In chapter 5, Isaiah speaks that only wild grapes grew in the vineyard of Judah which produced spiritual drunkenness (v 11) and the Lord of the vineyard was forced to leave it desolate vulnerable to captivity (v 6,7,9,13). Isaiah, however, ends the chapter with the hope of gathering in the latter days. This is what breaks my heart though…..the Saviour’s lament of ‘what could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it?’ (v 4). This lament of the Saviour is repeated in Zenos’ allegory of the olive tree in the Book of Mormon where the Saviour does the plucking, pruning, digging and grafting. He also grieves, preserves, laboures, watches and tends to the vineyard constantly. His frantic efforts to ensure the divine destiny of the House of Israel, as represented by the olive trees in His vineyard, can be seen through repetitious declarations of His love and long-suffering. His desire to preserve the vineyard is mentioned in the parable 11 times; at least 15 times the Lord expresses His desire to bring the vineyard and its' harvest 'unto my own self'; eight times He says 'it grieveth me to lose the trees of my vineyard'; and 3 times He asks with anguish, weeping, 'what could I have done more for my vineyard?' 

 

The parable of the vineyard in Matthew chapter 21 is the one that renders one’s soul. It speaks of the Father sending His Son to the House of Israel after all the servants the prophets have been ignored, stoned and killed with a hope that they will ‘reverence His Son’ (v 37) but instead of reverence the Son receives death. What more could possibly be given than this????

 

I wait for you to come

Into the shadow of my wings;

I have paid the price: come unto Me,

Your God and Your King. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Jesus Wept by Liz Lemon Swindle)