Stir Me

We had a great missions conference this weekend at Prairie with 86-year-old speaker Dr. Helen Roseveare, missionary to the Congo for over 20 years. Her message was powerful because it was backed up with the life she has lived. It is so evident that she knows Christ in a real way (even the way she says the name of Jesus is so loving, so tender). Whether it was in villages in Africa, or grocery stores in her home of Belfast, she has demonstrated the love of God to others. Maybe I'll share more later of what we were challenged with this weekend, but for now I wanted to pass on these lyrics of a hymn Helen taught us this weekend. "Stir me, O Lord." As a pot of paint is stirred so it becomes the right color and consistency for use, so we ask the Holy Spirit to stir our hearts to make us into people he can use for his purposes in the world. 


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Stir me, oh, stir me, Lord, I care not how,
But stir my heart in passion for the world,
Stir me to give, to go, but most to pray;
Stir till the blood-red banner be unfurled
O'er lands that still in heathen darkness lie,
O'er deserts where no cross is lifted high.

Stir me, oh, stir me, Lord, till all my heart
Is filled with strong compassion for these souls;
Till Thy compelling word drives me to pray;
Till Thy constraining love reach to the poles
Far north and south, in burning deep desire,
Till east and west are caught in love's great fire.

Stir me, oh, stir me, Lord, till prayer is pain,
Till prayer is joy, till prayer turns into praise;
Stir me, till heart and will and mind, yea, all
Is wholly Thine to use through all the days.
Stir, till I learn to pray exceedingly;
Stir, till I learn to wait expectantly.

Stir me, oh, stir me, Lord, Thy heart was stirred
By love's intensest fire, till Thou didst give
Thine only Son, Thy best beloved One,
E'en to the dreadful cross, that I might live.
Stir me to give myself so back to Thee,
That Thou canst give Thyself again through me.

Stir me, oh, stir me, Lord, for I can see
Thy glorious triumph-day begin to break;
The dawn already gilds the eastern sky;
Oh, Church of Christ, arise, awake, awake.
Oh! stir us, Lord, as heralds of that day.
For night is past, our King is on His way.

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Inviting the Lord to continue stirring in our hearts and yours,
The Moglers