(Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.)
Be Thou My Vision is a 365-day devotional book I first published in 1995. It’s a devotional book based on selected lyrics from traditional known and lesser-known hymns. I wrote it on the premise that lyrics written by Christians over 100 years ago might speak into our culture today in refreshing ways. I was right. I also found that two to four lines from a hymn gave me plenty to write about each day.
One other thing about daily devotional books is the uncanny way they can relate years later to events on the very day. Case in point is yesterday’s reading on the very day Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. Keep in mind this was published 27 years ago to be read yesterday. Here is that reading.
Where cross the crowded ways of life,
Where sound the cries of race and clan,
Above the noise of selfish strife,
We hear Thy voice, O Son of man!
From “Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life” by Frank M. North
Virtually all of the major conflicts that go on in the world — all of the wars — can be traced to the cries of race and clan. These wars are full of hateful crimes, fueled by memories of injustice — atrocities one generation remembers and retaliates for by inflicting upon the next. The cycle goes on and on.
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John Fischer The Catch 