Which verses would you take to the desert
island?
You will not fear the terror of the
night, nor the arrow that flies by day. Psalm 91:5
Psalm 91 was a
great help to me in 2011 when I was on the Intensive Care Unit in hospital and
very near to death. I did experience the ‘terrors of the night’. It was a dark
and terrible time – but my wife laminated the whole of Psalm 91 and stuck it
beside my hospital bed – and I frequently listened to the sung version of this
psalm by Sons of Korah.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is
no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in
the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for
me. Galatians 2:20
This is a favourite
verse of mine that helps me worship. If the realisation that Jesus loves you so
much that he gave himself for you, does not move you to worship then you must
be spiritually asleep – if not dead!
For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at
the last he will stand upon the earth. Job 19:25
This is a verse
that would help in terms of loneliness. I doubt that there was a more lonely
man than Job and yet in the midst of all the agony he had this certainty.
Knowing that Christ will return is enough.
And when they could not find them, they
dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting,
“These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also.” Acts
17:6
This is a verse
that I often quote because it indicates the impact that Christianity had on the
1st Century world and should have on the 21st Century world.
My belief is that we are so insipid and loveless that we have no radical impact
today.
For I am sure that neither death nor
life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to
separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39
These are verses that
give real peace because it is an absolute guarantee from the God who cannot lie
and who never fails to keep his promises!
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where
can I flee from your presence? Psalm 139:7
This is a verse
that keeps me from sin. Not because it conveys an image of God as the ultimate spy
camera, but because it means that our gracious God is with me at all times –
even on a desert island. It matters a little if other people see me sin – but
it matters much more when God does.
For those whom he foreknew he also
predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be
the firstborn among many brothers. Romans 8:29
This is a verse
that changed my mind in terms of how I thought about God and salvation. My
minister at the time was preaching through Romans and his exposition of this
passage included: “God predestines us to
Heaven, the Devil predestines us to Hell, and we have the choice”. It was
neat but even I as a young Christian could see that it was not what the passage
said. So I investigated and became absolutely convinced of the sovereignty of
God – a doctrine that has been a great comfort to me in my life and a great
incentive and encouragement in evangelism.
Who would you like to find on the island
for company?
I would take
Augustine of Hippo – because by the time we had discussed The City of God, Confessions
and all his other works, we would have long been rescued or else eternity would
have arrived!
Which song would you take to the island?
I would take a book
of songs – the five books of the Psalms.
But if I had to choose one it would be Psalm 62 (the Keyes/Townend) version; My Soul Finds Rest in God Alone. It’s a song
I would sing every day! And because there is no one else there on the island (except
Augustine) no one could complain about my singing voice!
