"We must re-learn the essential truth that Christian prayer is rather like cleaning a car. When we are lucky enough to have a new one we wash and polish away with enthusiastic fervour, it is a devotional job. When the novelty wears off it becomes rather a nuisance and rather a bore, but we can still clean it efficiently, and here is one vital point: there is no difference whatever in the result."
Sunday, July 24, 2011
No Difference Whatever
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Paradoxes (The Valley of Vision)
the more I do, the worse I am,
the more I know, the less I know,
the more holiness I have, the more sinful I am,
the more I love, the more there is to love.
O Lord, I have a wild heart,
I am like a bird before a man.
How little I love Thy truth and ways!
I neglect prayer,
by thinking I have prayed enough and earnestly,
by knowing Thou hast saved my soul.
Of all hypocrites, grant that I may not be
an evangelical hypocrite,
who sins more safely because grace abounds,
who tells his lusts that Christ's blood
cleanseth them,
who reasons that God cannot cast him into hell,
for he is saved,
who loves evangelical preaching, churches,
Christians, but lives unholily.
My mind is a bucket without a bottom,
with no spiritual understanding,
no desire for the Lord's Day,
ever learning but never reaching the truth,
always at the gospel-well but never holding water.
My conscience is without conviction or contrition,
with nothing to repent of.
My will is without power of decision or resolution.
My heart is without affection, and full of leaks.
My memory has no retention, so I forget easily the lessons learned,
and Thy truths seep away.
Give me a broken heart that yet carries home
the water of Grace.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Learning From The Wise Men
- Gold
- Frankincense
- Myrrh
Thursday, January 6, 2011
There is a time to born, and it is now (Walter Brueggemann)
There is a time to be born and a time to die.
And this is a time to be born.
So we turn to you, God of our life,
God of all our years,
God of our beginning.
Our times are in your hand.
Hear us as we pray:
For those of us too much into obedience,
birth us to the freedom of the gospel.
For those of us too much into self-indulgence,
birth us to discipleship in your ministry.
For those too much into cynicism,
birth us to the innocence of the Christ child.
For those of us too much into cowardice,
birth us to the courage to stand before
principalities and powers.
For those of us too much into guilt,
birth us into forgiveness worked in your generosity.
For those of us too much into despair,
birth us into the promises you make to your people.
For those of us too much into control,
birth us into the vulnerability of the cross.
For those of us too much into victimization,
birth us into the power of Easter.
For those of us too much into fatigue,
birth us into the energy of Pentecost.
We dare pray that you will do for us and among us and through us
what is needful for newness.
Give us the power to be receptive,
to take the newness you give,
to move from womb warmth to real life.
We make this prayer not only for ourselves, but
for our school at the brink of birth,
for the church at the edge of life,
for our city waiting for newness,
for your whole creation, with which we yearn
in eager longing.
There is a time to be born, and it is now.
We sense the pangs and groans of your newness.
Come here now in the name of Jesus. Amen.
The Christian Calendar
It's a new year, and it's been a long while since I've posted anything here. Balancing a few different outlets of social media has never been a forte of mine. However, since Advent kicked in at the end of 2010, I've been wanting to post some resources for those exploring the Christian Calendar year... The book I'm using devotionally this year is called "Living The Christian Year: Time to Inhabit the Story of God" by Bobby Gross.
"We want to inhabit the still-unfolding Story of God and have it inhabit us and change us. And this is exactly what the ancient liturgical habit of living the Christian year helps us do.""Like 9/11, an ordinary day in our common calendars can become charged with memory and meaning, can become, in a way, hallowed.""Each season suggests a spiritual choreography for our own lives. We perform movements that mirror God's: waiting, giving, telling, turning, dying, rising, and pouring out."
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
"Resting On God" - Valley of Vision
O God, most high, most glorious,the thought of Thine infinite serenity cheers me,for I am toiling and moiling, troubled and distressed,but Thou art for ever at perfect peace.Thy designs cause thee no fear or care of unfulfilment,they stand fast as the eternal hills.Thy power knows no bond, Thy goodness no stint.Thou bringest order out of confusion, and my defeats are Thy victories:The Lord God omnipotent reigneth.I come to Thee as a sinner with cares and sorrows,to leave every concern entirely to Thee,every sin calling for Christ's precious blood;revive deep spirituality in my heart;let me live near to the great Shepherd,hear His voice, know its tones, follow its calls.Keep me from deception by causing me to abide in the truth,from harm by helping me to walk in the power of the Spirit.Give me intenser faith in the eternal verities,burning into me by experience the things I know;Let me never be ashamed of the truth of the gospel,that I may bear its reproach, vindicate it,see Jesus as its essence,know in it the power of the Spirit.Lord, help me, for I am often lukewarm and chill;unbelief mars my confidence, sin makes me forget Thee.Let the weeds that grow in my soul be cut at their roots;grant me to know that I truly live only when I live to Thee,that all else is trifling.Thy presence alone can make me holy, devout, strong and happy.Abide in me, gracious God.