🎵Prompt Response: For One Soul
If you had to sum up your life philosophy in one sentence, what would it be?
This has been my single-sentence philosophy for years. When it occurred to me that YahShua (Jesus) would’ve willingly gone to the cross at Calvary for just one soul, the value of each soul became clear. Every single human made in the image of Yahveh Almighty The Creator is worth everything to Him. For me, that means living every moment of my life as if He put me exactly where I am for the purpose of reaching at least one soul.
Living and reaching can be as simple as a smile, as quiet as a prayer, or as passionate as a warning to protect someone from destruction. If their soul was a body running into traffic, grabbing them and dragging them out of harm’s way would not seem harsh or cruel even if it hurt a bit. Sometimes, we may have to reach into the miry clay and fight to free someone from the grip of sin. In that, we are doing exactly what The Lord would do.
“[2] He lifted me up from the pit of despair, out of the miry clay; He set my feet upon a rock, and made my footsteps firm.”
He is able to deliver, and He gives us strength and wisdom to help reach out to those in our world who need deliverance. They may be praying for help, and we may be the vessel God sends to offer it. So we just keep living in every moment as if we’re ready to be used by God—and blessed in it.
About the value of a soul: I wrote back in 2013 about the poem by Myra Brooks Welch called The Touch of The Master’s Hand. It’s my favorite poem, and I think it’s worth sharing again…
The Touch of the Masters Hand by Myra Brooks Welch (1921)
Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
thought it scarcely worth his while
to waste much time on the old violin,
but he held it up with a smile.
“What am I bidden, good folks,” he cried,
“Who’ll start the bidding for me?
A dollar, a dollar; then two! Only two?
Two dollars, and who’ll make it three?
Three dollars, once; three dollars twice;
going for three…” But no,
from the room, far back, a gray-haired man
came forward and picked up the bow;
Then wiping the dust from the old violin,
and tightening the loose strings,
he played a melody pure and sweet
as a caroling angel sings.
The music ceased, and the auctioneer,
with a voice that was quiet and low,
said; “Now what am I bid for the old violin?”
And he held it up with the bow.
“A thousand dollars, and who’ll make it two?
Two thousand! And who’ll make it three?
Three thousand, once; three thousand, twice;
and going and gone,” said he.
The people cheered, but some of them cried,
“We do not quite understand,
what changed its worth?” Swift came the reply:
“Twas the touch of a master’s hand.”
And many a man with life out of tune,
and battered and scarred with sin,
is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd,
much like the old violin.
A mess of pottage, a glass of wine,
a game – and he travels on.
He’s going once, and going twice,
He’s going and almost gone.
But The Master comes, and the foolish crowd
never can quite understand
the worth of a soul and the change that is wrought
by the touch of The Master’s hand.
Wayne Watson put this poem to music:
And Janet Paschal sings a version of it called If You Had Known Me Before I Knew Him, though I wasn’t able to find it with lyrics:
And just in case you are interested, here is the poem made into an 18-minute movie with some very emotional parts:
Shabbat Shalom 🕊️
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🎵Prompt Response: My Guiding Light Principles
with help from Gemini Nano Banana and Photo Studio Pro
What’s a personal mantra or philosophy you live by?
Guiding Lights on the Path of Life
Life isn’t just one path from conception to death. It’s like that quilt poem where the underside has all these hanging and frayed threads that make it look messy and without form. But flip it over to the top side where The Artist is at work, and you’ll be amazed at the beauty He has put together when He gives it His own touch.
The Light of Grace and Mercy to Change
See, I know that I’m messy and fail often. Paul the Apostle said the same thing about himself.
“I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do. And if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”
The Lord is My Editor
As a writer, that means I need to be edited, so that leads me to one of the lights on my path, the philosophy of letting God edit my writing. And, ultimately, I want Him to edit me as a person and as His child. The writer’s “mantra” is… The Lord is my Editor, I shall rewrite. That’s from a parody of Psalm 23 that I shared in the post, The Lord is My Own Personal Shepherd.
Rewrite My Life
In addition, the life philosophy of being edited is an idea I wrote as a short chorus many years ago but after the parody. It goes:
Edit me, Creator,
Edit me, My Lord.
Open up the heart of me,
And fill it with Your Word.
Write me as
A song of praise,
To lift Your name on high.
Please edit me, Creator,
Re-write my life.
The Desire to Please God
And the philosophy that lights my path and gives me a reason to desire God’s Hand of editing within it is simply that I desire to please Him. And you know what? Even that desire is a gift from Him. I love the way it’s written in the Plain English Version (P.E.V.), a Bible translation created for use on the mission field.
“God is the one that is working inside you. He helps you think the right way, so that you want to do the good things that make him happy, and he gives you the power to do those good things.”
For One Soul
Whether I’m failing or succeeding, reading or writing, listening or speaking, one thing I always want to think about is how I affect others. I’ve probably mentioned this quote from my original website domain before:
Live every moment of your life as if it could be… For One Soul!
That philosophy came in a moment of prayer where I was asking God if I was reaching enough people. After some time of conversation with Him, I came to the conclusion that if only one soul needed Calvary, He would still have walked that path and poured out His precious blood. And then I got the picture clearly that if I worked hard to minister to people (as a friend, a writer, a teacher, a singer/songwriter, or whatever else I do), I should do it as if it’s for millions of souls but know that if it only reaches one soul, it’s totally worth it. Just one moment in my small life could reach one soul that no one else has reached, and that one soul is precious to Our Lord.
To The Believers and to The Undecided
What about you? If you’re a fellow believer, would you live and work all the moments and days of your life if you knew at the end it would only touch one person? And would you keep on shining that light even after you’d likely reached the one?
I believe we have a loving Heavenly Father who is thrilled to share the joy of “catching souls” with us. We know that the angels rejoice more over just one new redemption than over 99 just men who don’t need to repent. So, if you are not yet a believer, I invite you to bring joy to God, to the angels, and to me, by turning to The Lord as the Guiding Light of your life today. 🛐
Jesus’ Parable of The Lost Sheep
“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, comes home, and calls together his friends and neighbors to tell them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep!’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent.”
And though I’ve shared it before (back in February), this seems like the perfect time to share one of my favorite songs, “That’s When the Angels Rejoice.” I think maybe it could also be called The 4 1 Soul song. 😁 This time it’s by the original artist but without lyrics.
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