Lo, beyond nest, it is Jesus, the Christ Nazareth, that hath compassion in Us. Behind bars, there is see, that Christ is the power of everlasting hand. You, who fought nest, Christ abhor, that there are nations afar to Thee, whom We can let assure, that kneel before, Christ is the very one old to see in heaven core.

Cover image for post Stealing Psalm 40, by JimLamb

JimLamb in Religion

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Stealing Psalm 40

At Easter I like to share my testimony for those who want to know how I became a Christian.

Sometime in 1970, I stole a Bible. Perhaps “stole” is too strong a word. Let's just say I borrowed it and never gave it back. The theft wasn't intentional. It happened at the Naval Air Station in Atsugi, Japan. One evening, while on duty, I was in a room where someone left a Bible. I picked it up and began to read.

Though brought up in church, I'd questioned the existence of God, so His Word had become irrelevant to me. Fortunately, I had not become irrelevant to Him.

When my duty watch was over, I took the Bible back to my barracks, thinking, “I’ll return it when I'm done.” While flipping through pages, I found Psalm 40, and read the verse “I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.”

The words touched me.

The year before, I'd been under investigation because of drugs. A dishonorable discharge loomed. But because I'd just become a father, I was given leniency. Perhaps fatherhood would straighten me out. Afterward, I was sent overseas.

As I traveled to various naval bases (Japan, Guam, Vietnam, and the Philippines) I fell deeper into my own “horrible pit.” To deaden the despair, I turned to drinking. (I stayed away from drugs because I feared the Navy would throw the book at me—and it wouldn't be a Bible.)

In June 1971, my first wife wrote me a “Dear John” letter, launching a deep personal crisis that came just months before my discharge from the service.

The following Sunday, I attended an evening Chapel service. That night, instead of a sermon, a film was featured. It told the story of three men trapped after a coal-mine collapse. One man was a churchgoer whose faith was not real. The second was an avowed atheist. The third was a believer. It was obvious that only the believer was prepared to deal with the crisis. I wanted to be like the third man.

After the film, the chaplain gave an invitation. I was the second person who went forward. Later, a counselor had me read Roman 10:13, “For whosever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." When I read the word "saved,” I realized the promise of Psalm 40 was fulfilled: I'd been pulled out of the pit and placed upon a “Rock.” My life hasn't been the same since.

Thank God for that . . .

Ledlevee in Religion

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Rise

Help me rise with you

from the depths of death’s darkness,

from the fiery pits of hell,

past the dirt and mud,

the cold solid stone,

the fog, the clouds, the rain.

Help me rise with you

past the anger, hurt and pain,

past the lust and greed and sorrow,

past the conflict, blood, and razor wire,

the faces kindling hate

through television screens,

Help me rise with you

past depression and anguish,

past loneliness and heartache,

the shadows of the unlit night,

the broken bones and slashed sides,

the crowns of thorns we all hide.

Help me rise with you

into the morning sky,

past the atmosphere,

through the vacuum of space

like a rocket or a comet

hurtling towards the sun.

Help me shine with you

like the sun’s luminous rays

through trees and leaves and windows

with the light that feeds flowers,

gives life to living things,

love to the loveless

and hope to the hopeless.

Happy Easter

4/9/23