Hi,
Welcome to the April Sings a Lot podcast,
Where I share a story,
A song,
And invite you to sing along.
This is my story.
This is my song.
I was a part of a women's Bible study for several years.
All of these women were people that I truly admired.
I thought they definitely knew more than me and they were farther along in their Christian walk,
Stronger in their faith.
My pattern in my Christian walk has always been that I get really close to God.
I feel very committed and will be regular about getting up early and having a quiet time.
Will be disciplined about reading my Bible and journaling and praying.
I'll be gold star Christian all the way.
Then things in my life will be going really well.
So I'll get overconfident and start letting those things slide.
So then I won't be doing everything every day.
Or maybe I'll skip certain parts of that routine and I'll get cocky.
And then over time it may even disappear altogether from my morning routine.
And then something will happen in life that will just devastate me.
Something that I thought I could handle will just go terribly wrong.
And then I'll run right back to God and say,
Oh that was a mistake.
I'll never leave you again here.
I'm going to commit my life to you and commit to spending time with you every day.
And then that cycle will repeat itself again and again and again.
And I was confessing that to this group of women thinking that they would be able to tell me how to fix that.
How to make sure that I stay committed and I don't get lax about things.
And the woman that was sitting across the table from me,
I'll never forget it.
Because she,
Of all the women in that room,
Was one that I was like,
She has got it all together.
She definitely is going to be embarrassed for me that I have this pattern.
And she reached across the table and she grabbed my hands and she looked me in the eye and she was fierce.
And said,
You're human.
Of course that happens.
You're human.
And I was stunned.
I looked at her and I was like,
Really?
That happens to you too?
And yes,
It did happen to her.
And it turns out it happens to all of us.
And so this deep dark secret or pattern that I thought was unique to me is apparently not.
So I would like to lead us in now to the song,
Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross.
Because that is my prayer,
That I would remain close to God no matter what.
And when I stray or fall away,
That I will come back sooner than I did before.
Let's sing together.
Jesus keep me near the cross,
There a precious fountain,
Free to all a healing stream,
Flows from Calvary's mountain.
In the cross,
In the cross be my glory ever,
Till my raptured soul shall find,
Rest beyond the river.
Near the cross,
A trembling soul,
Love and mercy found me.
There the bright and morning star shed its beams around me.
In the cross,
In the cross be my glory ever,
Till my raptured soul shall find,
Rest beyond the river.
Near the cross,
O Lamb of God,
Bring its scenes before me.
Help me walk from day to day with its shadow o'er me.
In the cross,
In the cross be my glory ever,
Till my raptured soul shall find,
Rest beyond the river.
Near the cross I'll watch and wait,
Hoping,
Trusting ever,
Till I reach the golden strand just beyond the river.
In the cross,
In the cross be my glory ever,
Till my raptured soul shall find,
Rest beyond the river.
I'll watch and wait,
Hoping,
Trusting ever,
