he happened to be meditating. And suddenly the thought came into his mind which he would prefer to suffer, injuries from men or to be exposed to the rage of wild beasts.

- The Monk Jonas, Life of St. Columban (Italian, 7th century)

Prove me, O LORD, and try me; test my heart and mind.

- Psalm 26.2

Columbanus ultimately allowed as how he would prefer to be savaged by beasts, since, their being animals, no guilt of sin would be involved. Satisfied with his decision, he suddenly noticed twelve wolves in the path ahead of him. Great.

They began to approach him and started to tear at his clothing. At which he stood still and cried out, "Oh, God, come to my aid. Oh, Lord, hasten to aid me!"

Well, that must have been the right thing to do, for, as quickly as they had appeared, the wolves went into retreat, leaving Columbanus alone. Here was a bit of a test at two levels. First, the intellectual and affective test: the thought problem. Second, the actual trial, which had the outcome of proving Columbanus' faith. Faced with a trial which he had settled in his mind before the Lord, he turned to the Lord for deliverance, resting in His will.

Make up your mind and set your heart in advance for the trials and temptations you will face each day. Discern and embrace the Lord's will before the trial comes, and, when it does, you'll be better prepared to prove the reality of your faith in submission and obedience, calling upon the Lord.

Live ahead of your temptations and trials, so that, when you have to live in them, you can live above them.

Exercise for the Month: OK, now, assuming you've all been looking over the download for this month and praying for the people in your Personal Mission Field, this week, reach out to some of them. Tell them you've been praying for them, and invite them to share any prayer requests. And keep praying, and continue to become familiar with the Questionnaire.

Today in ReVision: Rights and Wisdom - Cut him some slack, the President just doesn't know. How could He?

This Week's Download: Impact and Understanding of the Bible: A Questionnaire

New content under Kingdom Civics and Every Thought Captive for this week. Check it out. After all, who'd have thought to find Ghengis Khan on a Celtic Christian website?

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.