Posts from June 2015

6 Items

Hymn Stories – “Make Me a Servant”

by Pat Finnegan

Jesus said, and in Matthew 20:28 we read, “The son of man came not to be served, but to serve.” Service should therefore be the highest desire of every Christian. Kelly Willard, in his hymn “Make Me a Servant”, gives us the words we need to petition the Lord for a humble heart of service […]

Devotional Illustration – Overcoming Temptation

by Pat Finnegan

In his volume, The Imitation of Christ, Thomas à Kempis writes this take on the Apostle Paul’s admonition to “take every thought captive” (2 Cor 10:5). Thomas encourages us to be vigilant and to employ swift countermeasures at the first hint of temptation’s attempt to infiltrate our minds. We will do better in dealing with […]

Devotional Illustration – Temptation

by Pat Finnegan

Fifteenth-century Augustinian monk, Thomas à Kempis, is attributed with writing the classic work, The Imitation of Christ. In this passage the author describes how the temptations we suffer can be an indicator of our spiritual health, specifically the steadiness of our thinking and our trust in God. These words encourage us to recognize this fact […]

Hymn Stories – “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”

by Pat Finnegan

The Christian’s journey toward holiness can be seen as a cycle of revelation and response. For example, when the true extent of God’s love is revealed to us, we, in turn, desire to love more deeply. The fourth and final verse of the hymn, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” written by the prolific and […]

Devotional Illustration – Adversity

by Pat Finnegan

In his poem, The Pulley, George Herbert imagines that after bestowing many gifts on mankind, God considers that a life of ease would not be something he should grant us. He portrays that an easy life, one without toil and struggle, would only cause us to worship the gifts rather than the Giver, and that […]

Devotional Illustration – Demonstrating Devotion

by Pat Finnegan

Fourteenth century writer Richard Rolle, in his work The Fire Of Love, writes of a singular devotion in following Christ. In this quote he effectively merges Jesus’ teaching on serving two masters and the ideas found in the book of James regarding our works being an indicator of our faith. Love for God and love […]