Fiona Steward, Cardiff

In celebration of a birthday, this is a republication of Fiona's original entry found here.

I’ve sometimes wondered what it would be like to go to prison for my faith and to have no access to a Bible. What verses would I have memorized or wished I had? That is probably the closest I’ve come to imagining a desert island type experience!

Which verses would you take to the desert island?

Having lost everything I hold dear in this world, I would want to learn Paul’s “secret of being content in any and every situation.” (Phil 4:11) What was his secret? Christ! “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Phil 4:13); “For to me to live is Christ.” (Phil 1:21). Paul’s contentment was in and through Christ. Paul could have said with the hymn-writer: ‘Thou O Christ art all I want, more than all in Thee I find.’ So to fix my mind and affections on the all-sufficiency of Christ I would choose these verses:

Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:25-26

Verse 26 became particularly precious when I was doing student ministry in France. In an oppressive and spiritually hostile place, I would cry this verse out in prayer again and again. The first part of this verse expressed how I felt; totally weak and helpless. The second part of it was a rock under my feet. It was like the Lord was saying to me: ‘However weak you feel, I am enough for you.’ And He really was.

In a way, I wonder if I could just live out of those two verses. But I would also want to take a verse which reminds me of the ground of these blessings:

   He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Romans 8:31b-32

What greater proof do we need of God’s love for us than the cross and what greater promise of His provision?  It’s as if Paul is saying, ‘Since God gave you the greatest Gift of all, how is it possible that He would withhold anything else that is good for you?’  And so I need to keep my eyes on the cross; to trust Him and not doubt, to thank Him and not complain, and most of all to love and live for Him who died for me.

And leading on from this, what has given me the deepest comfort over the years? God’s sovereignty. If I know that God has lovingly ordered every detail of my life, then come what may, I can rest in this powerful truth: 

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who brought you out of darkness into His marvellous light. 1 Peter 2:9

How I need reminding in this verse of the honour and responsibility of belonging to God’s people: chosen, royal, sacrificial, holy and special.  We are not our own.  Our little lives exist for Him: to display the wonders of our Creator and Redeemer. And very soon, He will come back for His church and she will be presented to Him as His holy and perfect Bride to enjoy and praise Him forever.   

Who would you like to find on the island for company?

Lilias Trotter (1853 - 1928) was born to a wealthy family in London, she developed a rare artistic talent.  At age 23 she was told by John Ruskin (foremost critic of the day and her mentor) that if she gave herself up fully to her art, “she would be the greatest living painter and do things that would be Immortal.” At the same time a spiritual calling had also been growing within her and after days of agonising and prayer she wrote, “I cannot give myself to painting in the way he means and continue to ‘seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.’” In 1887 she felt the call of God to North Africa (very audacious by any means, but particularly at this time for a single woman!) and spent the next 40 years sharing the gospel in Algeria where she died.

I’d like to believe Lilias Trotter would be something of a kindred spirit, not least because I also appreciate art.  But she had a unique ability, which I would love to learn from, of combining her artistic eyesight with her spiritual insight.  She would see God even in the small things in the world around her and take spiritual parables and lessons from nature.  She recorded her observations in journals through watercolours and words.  Here is an example of what she observed while in the woods one morning:

…it was just a dandelion, and half withered – but it was full face to the sun, and had caught into its heart all the glory it could hold and was shining so radiantly, that the dew that lay on it still made a perfect aureole round its head. And it seems to talk, standing there – to talk about the possibility of making the best of these lives of ours.

For if the Sun of Righteousness has risen upon our hearts, there is an ocean of grace and love and power lying all around us, an ocean to which all earthly light is but a drop, and it is ready to transfigure us, as the sunshine transfigured the dandelion, and on the same condition – that we stand full face to God.

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” Hebrews 12:2

Lilias Trotter knew her God intimately. She devoted herself to prayer and the Word and experienced profound communion with Him in her sufferings. This was the key to an entire life offered to God as a living sacrifice. She knew that by losing her life she would gain it and would not regret it 100 million years later. What better person to be with on a desert island, than one who could focus your eyes on eternity and say: “We can do without anything while we have God.”

Which song would you take to the island?

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

My heart can easily become distracted, dispersed and dissatisfied. That’s why I have often prayed the first lines of this hymn, to once again SEE Jesus Christ as the Lover of my soul, my highest joy and the only one who is worthy of my whole heart.

This hymn is a beautiful expression of all that Christ is to us because we are united to Him: ‘Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.’ Because of this union, someone has said that just as a groom makes vows to his bride, Jesus Christ vows to His church: ‘All that I am I give to you and all that I have I share with you.’  What more could we want or need!? This hymn also echoes the heart cry of His bride the church in response, ‘Eclipse everything else Lord Jesus, so that I desire nothing else more than I desire you. Have my heart Lord, have it all.’ And so this brings me full circle. May God increase our faith to say and know that Jesus Christ is enough, whatever our circumstances, and to give ourselves to Him.

Esther Smith, Beugen, Netherlands

I'm being honest, the prospect of being abandoned on a desert island doesn't sound entirely horrible right now. In the throes of studying at missionary training college, being a wife and a first-time mum to a baby who thinks sleep is for the weak, the idea of being far away by the sea seems almost luxurious! Choosing which verses I would carry with me, however, has proven to be much more challenging than anticipated. Perhaps I'm bending the rules a little by choosing two short passages rather than individual verses...but I would be lost without them both so they must come with me! 

Which verses would you take to the island?

In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight. Ephesians 1:4-8

Ephesians 1 (especially these verses) is important to me because it tells me who I am in Christ and where I find my identity. In a society that seems obsessed with image, identity and ‘finding yourself’, it's so important to ground myself in what God says who I am and where my worth is found. As a new mum, it’s easy to think that I’ve lost part of my identity. So much of my time is spent looking after this little person, there are days when I don't ‘achieve’ anything else - it can lead to frustration and feeling I'm not doing anything ‘worthwhile’ because I don't do the things I used to do anymore. So much of my own identity seems to have been swallowed up in motherhood. This passage helps me refocus on who I really am but, more than that, it highlights my sin: seeking worth in what I perceive as achievement and productivity (or in anything other than Christ and his finished work on the cross). God has redeemed me by his blood, I am his child. He has brought me into this season of motherhood. Living out the gospel at home in the menial tasks of mothering is what God has prepared for me to do right now. Any dissatisfaction and ingratitude I feel comes from a part of my heart that wants approval from others and to do things that are meaningful by the world’s standards. I need to come back to verses like these repeatedly and ask myself: "Where is your identity?"

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:25-34

This is another passage I return to again and again. In the interest of full disclosure, I listened online to John Piper preach this passage, how I apply it to my life mainly comes from that sermon.  As someone given to semi-frequent bouts of anxiety, I love that our Saviour has so much to say about it. As I read through this section I repeat eight truths to myself:

1.    Life is about more than our physical needs like food and clothing.

2.    God's creatures rely on him to provide without anxious hoarding! God can be counted on, he is God today and he will be tomorrow.

3.    Anxiety achieves nothing, it just makes you miserable!

4.    God adorns the lilies, which live a few years, will he not also delight in providing for me?

5.    The world is anxious about these things, believers are different, we should find our contentment in other things.

6.    God knows what I need.

7.    Seek first the Kingdom, everything else is secondary.

8.    God has appointed to each day pleasure and trouble, don’t bring tomorrow's troubles into today, God will still be God tomorrow.

Who would you like to find on the island for company?

One of my missionary heroes is WEC missionary Helen Roseveare, she went to glory in 2016. She served in the Congo as a missionary doctor during the rebellion in the sixties. She was taken prisoner by rebel forces, endured beatings and was raped. After a short time at home in the UK, she returned to Congo to establish a new medical school and hospital. Even after she had effectively retired as a missionary, she continued to minister through speaking and writing books, documenting the faithfulness of God to her.

I heard Helen speak at a meeting once but I would love the opportunity to really sit down and talk to her about missionary life: the challenges and blessings of cross cultural ministry, any tips she might have for a missionary-in-training, but mostly I would love to hear how she was able to keep praising God even after enduring such hardship.

Which song would you like to take to the island?

If I could only take one song with me, it would be How Great Thou Art. Surrounded by the natural beauty I imagine this desert island would have, I could sing with gusto:

O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art

And when I think of God, His Son not sparing
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And lead me home, what joy shall fill my heart
Then I shall bow with humble adoration
And then proclaim, my God, how great Thou art

Tim Vasby-Burnie, Shrewsbury

I hope my desert island is large, because I have always wanted to go solo hiking and camping. Hopefully some inner voice-of-Ray-Mears would help me take a fragment of my wrecked boat, sharpen it into a machete and then use that to construct a Swiss-Family-Robinson-style tree-house. Naturally it wouldn’t be long before I wanted to get home to my wife and daughter. The absence of a church family means that my favourite Bible verses about the wonder of church, or the power of preaching, would sadly not be needed.

Which verses would you take to the desert island?

When he went ashore Jesus saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Mark 6:34

When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Luke 7:13

Once the reality of loneliness and hardship sank in, I would need verses like these to remind me of the compassion of my Saviour. Jesus’ mercy towards me is not a duty he has to perform. I love the truth that his heart is stirred towards me, with gut-wrenching compassion and mercy. What is more, he does not get fed up or bored of showing me kindness. Each morning, as the light of the sun drives away darkness, I would probably sing to myself:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercy never comes to an end. They are new every morning, new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness O Lord. Great is thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 as turned into a song by Edith McNeil

This is a song that has been in my mind as far back as I can remember: in the middle of that great lament, I take great comfort that God’s mercy is fresh and his faithfulness is constant.

The priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot. Leviticus 14:14

My next verse is a strange one, but I’m hoping that it would remind me of the whole context. A verse from Leviticus would remind me of, and make me thankful for, the people who have taught me that the Old Testament is all about Jesus. If someone pointed a gun at me and said, “Preach a sermon now or else you die!” (an unusual threat...) then my sermon-up-my-sleeve would be Leviticus 13 and 14 – all about skin diseases. It is a section of God’s Word that always amazes me with the full-orbed vision of what Jesus my High Priest has done for me. I am unclean because my being is corrupt and I keep grasping after fleshly glory (Leviticus 13). I didn’t go to Jesus, he came to me – outside the camp, in my place of exile and death. He has washed me clean, baptised me in his blood, carried away my sin, made me a new creation, brought me home to his temple, and offered a “full, perfect and sufficient sacrifice” for me. Then, if that wasn’t enough, Leviticus 14:14 tells me that I have been anointed by blood and oil (Jesus’ death and the Holy Spirit) to make me part of his royal priesthood. Just rehearsing this passage in my mind puts a smile on my face. It makes my heart rise with joy at the overwhelming and comprehensive salvation I have in Jesus!

On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken. Isaiah 25:6-9

Finally, I need a Bible verse about the future. My congregation know that a theology of food is important to me… So on my desert island, with rather limited kitchen facilities, I want to remember the feast that lies ahead. I would take with me as much of Isaiah 25:1-9 as I can carry. Perhaps I can smuggle in all of verses 6-9. What a future! What comfort as I remember the what of the future (New Creation feasting) and the who of the future: my Lord, wiping away my tears with his nail-scarred hands. Every time I share in the Lord’s Supper I am reminded it is a taster course for the wedding feast of the Lamb.

Who would you like to find on the island for company?

Who would I want to share island life with? Perhaps Athanasius (who understands what life in exile is like) to keep me centred on Jesus. I imagine he could recite all the Psalms; that would be helpful. Or Justin Martyr, who knows his Old Testament so well that I can have all the Bible verses I need! I think I might decide on Luther, though. As well as beating the gospel into me continually, I hope he could make sausages and brew beer to make life more enjoyable.

Which song would you take to the island?

Luther could teach me some of his powerful hymns – I have a sneaky suspicion that there are lots of amazing Lutheran hymns that we need to learn. The song I’d bring along may well be Here is love, vast as the ocean but only if that includes the two mighty verses by Richard Bewes. I’ve chosen it at various special services in the past (including my wedding, I think), and it would remind me of the wisdom and support Richard gave my wife and I in recent years. The music soars as we sing words that make my heart soar:

Here is love vast as the ocean,

loving kindness as the flood,

when the Prince of life, our ransom,

shed for us His precious blood.

Who His love will not remember;

who can cease to sing his praise?

He can never be forgotten

throughout heaven’s eternal days.

On the mount of crucifixion

fountains opened deep and wide;

through the floodgates of God’s mercy

flowed a vast and gracious tide.

Grace and love, like mighty rivers

poured incessant from above;

and heaven’s peace and perfect justice

kissed a guilty world in love.

Through the years of human darkness,

shone the lamp the prophets trimmed,

making known redemption’s story,

of the love of God undimmed.

Christ for every tongue and nation!

All must come beneath his sway;

his the everlasting kingdom

that shall never pass away.

When the stars shall fall from heaven,

and the sun turn black as night,

when the skies recede and vanish,

and the elements ignite.

Then the Son of Man in glory,

coming as the Morning Star,

shall return to claim his loved ones,

gathered in from near and far.

Even on my desert island, Jesus is for me. No matter how far away I am, Christ will gather me. Yes, I think I could sing that song frequently. Hopefully some more stranded Christians could join us, and then we could start singing Psalms vigorously in four-part harmony. I’ve discovered this recently, and it is such an encouragement. O Lord, may this become a reality in my church family!

So: if my desert island (with tree-house) had these Bible verses, Luther cooking sausages and four-part Psalm singing, I’m not sure I would ever want to leave...

Joe Kirby, Wigan

To be stuck on a desert island with just a handful of Bible verses to dwell on sounds idyllic! Perhaps I'm speaking only for myself but I find life so full of distractions. But when I spend time meditating on God's Word, and I mean really meditating, not just ticking the "I've done my quiet time box," I really do find that I'm an activity addict like Martha and need to hear those words of Jesus, "Only one thing is necessary."

Which verses would you take to the island?

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 2 Corinthians 5:21

So let's begin with a verse which a verse which blew my mind when I first became a Christian. Every night, before I went to bed as an early believer, I would read 365 Days with Charles Spurgeon. I remember the text for the evening on the 16th April 2011 was 2 Corinthians 5:21. Spurgeon writes, "When the judge of all the earth said, "Where is sin?" Christ presented himself."

This verse moved me greatly and I dwelled on it for many months that Christ not only was the sacrifice for our sin but he became those wretched sins for us on the cross and that's why "it pleased the Lord to bruise him." (Isaiah 53:10)

…the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7

There are another couple of verses which, as a street preacher, I often find myself quoting as I'm preaching off the kerbs of Lancashire. Probably the number one most quoted verse from me is 1 John 1:7 - I love that picture of King David in Psalm 51, after he's committed adultery with Bathsheba, crying out "Wash me and I shall be white than snow." I have no doubt that, on the streets, some of the worst kinds of people by the world's standards have walked past me as I've been street preaching. But the atoning blood of Jesus can scrub the filthiest sinner and make them totally clean in God's eyes.

…it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment. Hebrews 9:27

…without shedding of blood there is no remission. Hebrews 9:22

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” Psalm 14:1

Some other verses I often quote are Hebrews 9:27, Hebrews 9:22 and Psalm 14:1. So if this desert island has some kind of indigenous people that need to hear the Gospel I would likely take those verses to them and preach from a palm tree perhaps.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:34

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”… 2 Corinthians 12:9

A verse which has helped me personally over the years as a young man who struggles with anxiety have been the warm words of the Saviour in Matthew 6:34. If there are any over thinkers like me reading this, you will be able to empathise that we worriers spend a lot of time living in the future with the two words, "WHAT IF?" etched on our minds. But Jesus reminds us that we aren't even promised tomorrow, that there's enough pain in one day, so live each day at a time. When you couple this verse with 2 Corinthians 12:9 we are reminded God provides a measured amount of trouble in 24 hours but also covers it with the exact amount of grace to get you through the day and this promise has always been true in my wife and my own life.

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time. 1 Peter 5:6

Lastly, to take a verse with me to keep me from sin (there have been many). One which is particular dynamite to me at the moment is 1 Peter 5:6. The older I get, the more I realise I'm not a nice person at all! I can be self-centred, quick-tempered, judgemental, arrogant and unguarded. Something I used say to myself was "Get off the throne, Joe" and I think it's helpful for us all to remember we are but dust and ashes. God is the sovereign ruler of the universe who has permitted our heart to beat for this past hour, so let our next breath be a breath of gratefulness, that we might be humble vessels for God realising it is by grace alone we are even alive today.

Who would you like to find on the island for company?

One great saint from the past I would take on this desert island with me would be George Whitfield; I'd probably pretend to be a unbeliever for an hour or so just to observe how he approaches sharing the Gospel with me, then after ‘becoming a Christian’ I'd pretend I was Biblically illiterate so that he I could listen to him preach the full counsel of God. After I'd blown my cover, I'd ask him how he managed to preach 28 times in a week and if he could offer any other advice to a budding open air preacher!

Which song would you like to take to the island?

If I could only take one hymn and only had permission to sing that alone, I would sing "I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice." In the church where I grew up, there was an elderly man who used to sing in a choir with other men his own age. I got a copy of his CD and I played this hymn on repeat over and over as I was driving in my little red Citroen. I love this hymn because of it's a joyful tune, I love it because it reminds me of evangelism and above all I love it because it reminds me that, daily, I need to preach the Gospel to myself.

I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,

And it told Thy love to me;

But I long to rise in the arms of faith,

And be closer drawn to Thee.

Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,

To the cross where Thou hast died;

Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,

To Thy precious, bleeding side.

Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,

By the pow’r of grace divine;

Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,

And my will be lost in Thine.

O the pure delight of a single hour

That before Thy throne I spend,

When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God,

I commune as friend with friend!

There are depths of love that I yet may know

Ere Thee face to face I see;

There are heights of joy that I yet may reach

Ere I rest in peace with Thee.

Trevor Brock, Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland

So here I am in retirement, recalling the repetitive call to others never to dislodge verses from their context! Dare I now do so myself? I get the drift, and trust all readers to do their homework on each verse below and to diligently re-read them in their setting in the Bible!

Which verses would you take to the island?

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

It wasn’t the first verse I ever learned off by heart. Mombasa Gospel Tabernacle, where we belonged in 1957, ensured that we, as children, all followed the Navigator’s Bible memorisation programme. Having learned it, I recognised it when it was being preached by George Lyon. The truth dawned on me that I needed to confess my own sin and enjoy personal forgiveness from God. 1 John 1:9 still forms part of the assurance I need, that God looks kindly on me through Christ. Age serves us well in showing us how bad our sin really is, and it is sweet to be reminded that the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, keeps on cleansing us from all sin.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 2 Corinthians 4:7

The years between conversion and entering the Irish Baptist College seemed  like an age – leaving Kenya, settling in Saltcoats, Ayrshire, moving to Beith, finishing school, going to Glasgow University, joining an IVF summer mission, failing exams, becoming a teacher, and then sensing God’s call to Bible College – it seemed to last for ever. In reality that was just eight years. I began to train in Belfast as the “troubles” began in the Province; confident that the Lord wanted me there, but totally unsure what lay ahead. Three years later and this was the text preached by Alec Judd at our graduation service. The truths never left my mind through forty-two years of ministry – a fragile clay pot even at my very best moment. It’s a great text to keep pride at bay in a world that prizes fame, success, and illusions of grandeur; a great text to comfort when physically, mentally or spiritually the task seemed too big, and I too inadequate; a good text to filter my view of other Christians when I saw their weaknesses and puzzled over their failures; a lens through which to look at believers with disability or serious failure; and it is extremely good medicine as old age beckons!

Who would you like to find on the island for company?

This is risky ground now! I’ve preached all those years that God keeps us on earth, partly to refine us, but even more, so that He can use us to engage with unbelievers. I’ve scolded myself and others who have hardly got a real close friend who is unsaved! I really need the ones I have to keep me in touch with the mindset they have, the doubts they struggle with and the heartaches they feel. I need the challenge to be real and authentic that comes from heart-to-heart conversations with those who don’t understand our heart for God. So I’m limiting myself to take with me someone whose unbelief has been high profile, let’s say Charles Darwin or Richard Dawkins …conversations should be good!

Which song would you like to take to the island?

I might be pushing seventy years old, but I love so many of the newer songs that have been brought to us as the Church. Among them: My worth is not in what I own. My warped sense of humour reckons that those words would be perfect on a desert island!

My worth is not in what I own

Not in the strength of flesh and bone

But in the costly wounds of love

At the cross

My worth is not in skill or name

In win or lose, in pride or shame

But in the blood of Christ that flowed

At the cross

I rejoice in my Redeemer

Greatest Treasure,

Wellspring of my soul

I will trust in Him, no other.

My soul is satisfied in Him alone.

As summer flowers we fade and die

Fame, youth and beauty hurry by

But life eternal calls to us

At the cross

I will not boast in wealth or might

Or human wisdom’s fleeting light

But I will boast in knowing Christ

At the cross

Two wonders here that I confess

My worth and my unworthiness

My value fixed - my ransom paid

At the cross