The Gospel According to Harry Potter

That's the title of a book I read some time ago. It refers to "glimmers of the gospel" in the books. I've been a fan of Harry Potter for years but went slightly off it when I became a Christian, but since got back into them, and this book was a great help. It was written before the final three Harry Potter books were written, so I suppose you just need to figure those ones out for yourself. :)

Song lyrics are actually what makes me think the most. And today I actually made a connection between "When I survey the wondrous cross" and Harry Potter. This is an old hymn I know quite well by now, it's a favourite in our church. But ironically the line I connected with Harry Potter comes from the new version, Wonderful Cross: "bids me come and die and find that I may truly live".

I connect this part with the ending, or almost, of book 7, Deathly Hallows, Harry realises he must surrender himself to defeat Voldemort, but since there was a part of Voldemort's soul in him, all that happened was that the Horcrux in him was destroyed, thereby granting him life.

So, our salvation is summed up in that song lyric. Just like Harry, we know we must die, i.e. surrender ourselves to God, and because He loves us so much, we are then saved from hell by His grace and we may live!

P.S. Back to the previous post... sadly the baby has not survived. Hard to understand why, but I know God has His reasons.

Give this Christmas away

The title of one of the songs which I heard yesterday that has really made me want to make a difference this Christmas. This is the first, which came from the Big Idea (Veggie Tales) website. In my music collection it was followed by "Hands of Love" by Michael Harcus.

Putting these two together it had lyrics like "If there's love in your heart, don't let it stay there", "what about the people out in the cold, the starving and the hungry, by no fault of their own". There is a Christian company called Blytheswood, and through them we fill shoeboxes of Christmas presents for the poor. I haven't yet done anything for them this year, but these songs have encouraged me to do something, however big or small.

I also want to ask prayer for one of the families whose blogs I follow. The Stansels had sextuplets prematurely, and now only 3 are left. One is possibly going into kidney failure and they may have to say goodbye to this one too. I have seen this happen on another family blog, but with lots of prayer, that baby survived! Please lift them up in prayer and stop by their blog to give them some words of encouragement.

Weakness

I want to share a little bit of scripture, and a song lyric since I love these :)

From "Power of Your Love" by Darlene Zschech it says "I've come to know the weaknesses I see in me will be stripped away by the power of Your love". I love that - it's a very comforting bit.

I've been reading a lot of Joni Eareckson Tada recently and I would recommend them. The original Joni is a bit graphic, but The God I Love and Ordinary People, Extraordinary Faith are really rather awesome. It was in one of these books I found this bitty from the Bible I'm going to share now:

"To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12: 7-10)

Little Wonders

A blog question the other day asked "what is your favourite blog?" Now there are a LOT that I follow, so this was a tricky question. But in the end, for now, I think Little Wonders takes the spot. Why?

You can see little Zoey's picture to the left of this blog, with a link to the blog. See her smile? You'd never know this child has gone through as much as she has. You'd never know this child is seriously ill. If a child as young as that can zoom through things like that with such ease, then surely we ought to be able to take anything that comes our way. It's hard, I know, but just remember Zoey whenever something bad but considerably smaller than what she has comes your way.

"Assuredly I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3, NKJV

oh yes, and Eilidh, if you're reading this -





























HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Voice of Truth & Kayleigh

Don't know if these go together or not, but hey. Just to the left of this post is a button / badge which says "Pray for Kayleigh" and shows a tiny hand over a bigger one. Kayleigh Freeman passed away last week (I know I'm late) after spending 10 months in hospital. Kayleigh was simply a miracle - she survived the odds so many times. I ask that you keep this family in your prayers. You can access their blog by clicking the button I was referring to, or by scrolling to the bottom where you will find "Kayleigh's Story".

Voice of Truth

Oh what I would do to have
the kind of faith it takes to climb out of this boat I'm in
onto the crashing waves
to step out of my comfort zone
into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
and He's holding out His hand

But the waves are calling out my name
and they laugh at me
reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
time and time again
boy, you'll never win
you'll never win

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
the voice of truth says do not be afraid
the voice of truth says this is for my glory
out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth.

Oh what I would do to have
the kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
with just a sling and a stone
surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
shaking in their armour
wishing they'd had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out my name
and he laughs at me
reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
the giant keeps on telling me
time and time again
boy, you'll never win
you'll never win

Well the stone was just the right size
to put the giant on the ground
and the waves they don't seem so high
on top of them looking down
I will soar on the wings of eagles
when I stop and listen to
the sound of Jesus
singing over me



When my sister heard this, she didn't understand the part in the first verse when it goes "all the times I've tried before and failed". What she said was, you can't have tried and failed to walk on water because you'd have drowned! Anyone else thinking along these lines, it's metaphorical. It's imagery used to help you in ANYTHING in this world you've tried to do and failed, and you really want to. It says you can do anything if you know Jesus is with you.


I apologise for the lack of photos on this blog, but I don't know how! I just tried and failed - help?

Prayer for a Friend

So I meant to put these up Easter weekend, but it didn't quite work. Just pure forgetfulness.


Lord I lift my friend to You
I've done all that I know to do
I lift my friend to You

Complicated circumstances have clouded his view
Lord, I lift my friend up to You

I fear that I won't have the words that he needs to hear
I pray for Your wisdom oh God and a heart that's sincere
Lord I lift my friend up to You

Lord I lift my friend to You
My best friend in he world
I know He means much more to You
I want so much to help him
but this is something he has to do
Lord I lift my friend up to You

'Cos there's a way that seems so right to him
but You know where that leads
He's becoming a puppet of the world
too blind to see the strains
Lord I lift my friend up to You



I really like this because it's a good one to use as a prayer for our friends. I do have a few friends who aren't Christians. Sometimes we are so desperate to do it ourselves we can forget the best thing to do is turn it over to God and pray for them.

Praise You in this Storm

In honour of Good Friday, here is another Casting Crowns song!


I was sure by now,
God, You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away
stepped in and saved the day
But once again I say amen
and it's still raining

Well, as the thunder rolls
I'm barely here, You whispered through the rain
I'm with you
And as Your mercy falls,
I'll raise my hands and praise the God who gives and takes away.

And I will praise You in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried,
you hold in Your hands
You've never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm.

I remember when I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry, You raised me up again
My strength is almost gone, how can I carry on
if I can't find You

I lift my eyes up to the hills
where does my help come from
My help comes from the Lord
maker of heaven and earth