In Christ Alone

Japanese tea plant about to burst into full bloom in my garden

Awake o north wind,
And come, O south!
Blow upon my garden,
That its spices may flow out.
Let my beloved come to his garden
And eat its pleasant fruits.

- Song of Solomon 4:16

This post is a tribute to the One who wrote the story of my life.

It's a lovely Saturday morning and all is quiet on the home front. I'm alone here with my two dogs.

I woke up this morning with intense feelings of love, appreciation, thankfulness to God, my Father.


Since I got back to my hometown last Monday, I've been busy looking after my garden.

Watering it well has been my main priority. It hasn't rained in months and the water pressure has been ridiculously low. Our electric water pump still has to be repaired.

The only way we get water these days is to wait for water to flow at 4 a.m. On good days, there is water in our faucets for at least an hour, on bad days, there is none at all.

Of course we can always use our good, ever reliable old-fashioned hand pump. Thanks to this 25-year old contraption, I have been able to water my garden, one bucket-ful of water at a time.

It is hard work, but I don't mind. The reward is well worth the effort!

Pruning the overgrown bushes have also kept me occupied for a while.

The other day I harvested a large amount of compost soil from all the yard waste, vegetables and fruits that I have kept in my compost bin these past months. I'm in the process of drying, and blending this with other organic materials to come up with a nutritious mix for my garden.

My heart is a garden.

How I continually desire to cultivate it, make the ground soft and ready for God to plant, transplant, re-plant whatever it is He thinks will make my heart more beautiful.


The truth is that He is the Gardener. He waters. He tills and cultivates. He prunes. He sends the right condition for the plants to grow.

What amazes me is the realization that all I can do is say Yes to what He wants to do. Not to resist, but just to go along, to "flow" with His plans for this garden.

These past days God has been speaking to me through two very special passages in the Bible.

One is from Psalm 46 - "Be still and know that I am God."

The other is from John 15 -

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit,
while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes
so that it will be even more fruitful...

I am the vine; you are the branches.
If a man remains in me and I in him,
he will bear much fruit;
apart from me you can do nothing.

Of course, what God has been speaking to me doesn't come by chance, or coincidence.

My daily life is a two way conversation with God, and He speaks to me according to what He sees happening in my life. These verses bring so much comfort to me because they are so appropriate to the issues that I am dealing with these days!

To be still.

To abide, to remain connected to Him.

And when I woke up, my whole being wanted to burst into song, to praise Him for being a God that is so real. He never withholds His love.

The only reason that I sometimes do not feel Him near is because I have lost my focus,

or have been paying attention to the wrong things,

or grieved His heart by nurturing an offense in my heart. I have seen how nurturing an offended spirit really builds a wall around my heart, and keeps God away!


This morning as I awoke, the words of Paul in Philippians 3:7-9 were ringing in my ears.

But whatever was to my profit
I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.

What is more, I consider everything a loss
compared to the surpassing greatness
of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord,
for whose sake I have lost all things.
I consider them rubbish,
that I may gain Christ and be found in him,
not having a righteousness of my own
that comes from the law,
but that which is through faith in Christ—
the righteousness that comes from God
and is by faith.

I want to know Christ
and the power of his resurrection
and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings,
becoming like him in his death...

When my earthly life is over, this is what I want to be remembered by: I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

Yes, this is where I am now.

I consider all things, what I have accomplished, what I have reached, what I have become...things that are precious to me in this world... everything I am and have... I consider them nothing compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ my Lord.

He is my main priority.

My life is not about me. It is all about Him.

I am stating it here quite clearly: I am unashamedly Christian. I am not defensive or apologetic about being one.

And I certainly do not want to be a half-baked one... I want to be a Christian all the way down to the core. My daily aim and goal is to become more and more like Jesus with each passing day.

I desire to be a faithful ambassador for God's kingdom -- that through my life, my words, my daily choices, I will reflect the heart of my God, my King to this world that He has created and sent His Son Jesus to die for.


There is nothing like being on a beautiful journey of knowing God more and more, developing a deeper relationship with Him, growing in intimacy.

My garden, small as it is, gives me so much joy. After all the work that I have done, all the investment of myself into it, at evening time, as I sip my cup of tea or coffee, being in my garden gives me much joy.

Some people have great gardens -- manicured lawns, with exotic palm trees.

Mine is a simple garden, but because it is mine, and it represents my hard work, it gives me much pleasure.

The same is true of my Father, the Vinedresser, or the Husbandman, which is an Old English term for "gardener."

I want my heart, His garden, to give Him pleasure when He looks at it. I desire to be blooming, and giving off a lovely scent, being beautiful for Him.

In a blog post I read this morning, Debby of Heavenly Humor shared a Scripture verse that has been speaking to her lately: "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings" (Hosea 6:6).

This amazes me, too, because these past days, God has been speaking to me powerfully through my blog friends!

That Hosea 6:6 passage has spoken to me many times in the past, and today it reminds me again that God is looking for obedience, not legalism.

It is the whole grace versus law thing...what Paul speaks of in the passage I quoted above - that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.



Two other blogs have spoken to me these days:

Katie of Hope Is Calling and Jackie of Fresh Oil Today.

Jackie has posted a lovely song entitled Be Still and Know. It is such a heart-stirring song, one I have never heard before. I listened to it many times this morning. Please do click on the title and listen to the song on YouTube. It is worth five minutes of your time.

Thank you Katie, and Jackie, and Debby. God has used you to speak to my heart these past days. I thank God for the divine connection from your hearts to mine!


Below are two other songs that my heart has been singing this morning. In Christ Alone is the testimony of my life put to music. When I'm With You speaks of how my heart truly feels...I was created to worship God!

I want to share them here, for the benefit of anyone whom God may want to touch through these songs today.

May God continually be honored in all that we think, say, and do. David the Psalmist was so right when he wrote these words:

May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
- Psalm 19:14

In Christ Alone
by Brian Littrell

In Christ alone will I glory
Though I could pride myself in battles won
For I've been blessed beyond measure
And by His strength alone I'll overcome
Oh I could stop and count successes
Like diamonds in my hands
But those trophies could not equal
To the grace by which I stand

In Christ alone
I place my trust
And find my glory in the power of the cross
In every victory
Let it be said of me
My source of strength
My source of hope
Is Christ alone

In Christ alone do I glory
For only by His grace I am redeemed
For only His tender mercy
Could reach beyond my weakness
To my need
And now I seek no greater honor
Than just to know Him more
And to count my gains but losses
To the glory of my Lord

In Christ alone
I place my trust
And find my glory in the power of the cross
In every victory
Let it be said of me
My source of strength
My source of hope
Is Christ alone

When I'm With You

by Klaus Kuehn

I was made for loving You
I was made to worship
I was made to give You praise
All of my days, oh Lord
My all is for You

Cause when I'm with You
My heart is satisfied
And when I'm with You
My spirit can fly
When I'm with You
All the cares of my life
They just fade away
'til all I want, 'til all I see
Is You

Related post, taken from my Chiang Mai Diary:

All I Want Is You