Hymns of Eternal Length
GCD Weekly Newsletter 09/19/2022
Holding a little hymn book, she prayed that the next song would be a short one. The book was called, “Hymns of Eternal Truth,” but when my wife was a child, she and her friends called it, “Hymns of Eternal Length.” Unable to yet fully comprehend the words being sung, the drone of a room full of brilliant singers who couldn’t sing loudly, and terrible singers who couldn’t sing quietly was painful.
Now, however, the “Hymns of Eternal Length” playlist on her Spotify is one of her favourites, though it contains many of the same songs and even bears her childhood title. The hymns didn’t change, Anna did, and the words didn’t change, instead, they changed her.
I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard people pray for God to do a new thing in them, their Church, or their lives. Although this is always well meant, as Christians we know that victory has already been won. As a friend of mine puts it, “Lord, would you do a new, old, thing.” Essentially, do what you’ve always done, and do it afresh today. Like my wife, perhaps you’ve grown tired of the same repeated verses, or the monotony of Church has led you to look for a source of change in places other than the word of God. Let me encourage you today as you read these articles, ask God to renew your trust in him that his work in you is not yet done, and ask him to change you for his glory.
Adsum Try Ravenhill is married to Anna and together they are passionate about seeing young men and women discipled within the context of the local church. You can find Adsum through his writing at The Raven’s Writing Desk and alongside Anna as the co-host of the Consider the Ravens Podcast, you can also find Adsum’s articles for GCD here.
Articles of the Week
Please Don’t Let It Hurt Too Much: Faith Reflections from a Cancer Oven (#2)
— Tim Shorey (timshorey.com)
“It’s not that I think I’m going to die anytime real soon. It’s just that unless God chooses to heal me in an instant of omnipotent healing, it’s likely to hurt. And I just don’t want it to hurt too much.”
We Remain Stagnant Under Unrepentance
— Chrys Jones (@Chrysbeats)
“How often do we hear a compelling sermon but let it slip from our minds before the Sunday afternoon NFL coin flip? How often do we read a convicting passage of Scripture only to move to the next task on our to-do list? How often do we have friends willing to faithfully wound us, and yet we focus on the wound rather than the sin being brought forth?”
The American Dream Couldn’t Save My Marriage
— Habtamu Sisay
“I was so broken by the shock that I began to pray as an act of desperation. I had nowhere else to turn, but to the God in whom I had once professed my faith. Then, as I prayed, the Lord confronted me about my rejection of his love and my selfishness as a husband and a father. I realized what a fool I’d been, trying to provide security for my family through human means. Yet in my pride, I had torn apart my family.”
Poll of the Week
The GCD Writer’s Guild
Here at GCD, we run a small social network catered to Christian writers. As a writer myself, I know that it can often feel like a thankless and solitary task, and it sometimes leads me to believe the lie I must be the only one experiencing that. If you’re a writer and you feel like that too, the GCD Writer’s Guild is for you. We provide regular writing prompts, we help each other by providing critique, and we champion and cheer on the work of other writers in the Guild. We welcome writers of every level, from communicators who are just getting started to published authors. Our aim is to encourage and help each other in saying what is good, truthful, and beautiful and to create a culture that glorifies Christ. If you’d like to join, or you simply want to know more, click here for more details: