Vivit! Vivit! (He Lives! He Lives!)

Martin Luther was once found at a moment of peril and fear, when he had need to grasp unseen strength, sitting in an abstracted mood tracing on the table with his finger the words, “Vivit! Vivit!” (He Lives! He Lives!) It is our hope for ourselves and for His truth and for mankind. Men come and go; leaders, teachers, thinkers speak and work for a season, and then fall silent. He abides. They die, but He lives. They are lights kindled, and, therefore sooner or later quenched; but He is the true light from which they draw all their brightness, and He shines for evermore.–Alexander Maclaren, Streams in the Desert devotional

Two simple Latin words proclaim the Truth of the Gospel that changes everything about our everyday lives and our eternity--Because He Lives, we too, shall live...Pass It On!

When I was a senior in high school, our youth group performed the 1970’s folk musical “Tell It Like It Is.” It was such a spiritual milestone in my life, standing up for my faith before secular audiences.

It only takes a spark to get a fire going

And soon all those around, can warm up in glowing

That’s how it is with God’s love

Once you’ve experienced it, you spread His love to everyone

You want to pass it on

What a wondrous time is spring, when all the trees are budding

The birds begin to sing, the flowers start their blooming

That’s how it is with God’s love

Once you’ve experienced it, you want to sing

“It’s fresh like spring”; you want to pass it on

I wish for you my friend, this happiness that I’ve found

You can depend on Him, it matters not where you’re bound

I’ll shout it from the mountain top

I want the world to know; the Lord of love has come to me

I want to pass it on

 

The providence of God is like Hebrew words—it can be read only backwards, wrote Puritan John Flavel, referring to the fact that the Hebrew language is read backwards from our perspective–that is, right to left instead of left to right. A component of the Beth Moore Bible Study, “Believing God,” was to complete a timeline of our life in 10 year segments, asking God to reveal to us all the spiritual mile markers in our lives--broken places, hurts, disappointments, accomplishments, and joyful times--to help us see that God had been there all along. His grace is sufficient. To accomplish this task, I discovered a very helpful tool for a “Timeline Template” through Microsoft. It’s free, and it’s very easy to use, the text boxes expand to whatever size you need, and the arrows on the boxes can be moved to any location on the timeline. It really helped my memories come to the surface, and God has used it to encourage me in so many ways.

Looking back at spiritual milestones in my life encourages me. How about you? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments box below, I’d love to hear from you!

Linking up with Holley Gerth’s Coffee for Your Heart as an encourager!