Fear not because your prayer is stammering...

Fear not because your prayer is stammering, your words feeble, and your language poor. Jesus can understand you. Just as a mother understands the first lispings of her infant, so does the blessed Saviour understand sinners. He can read a sigh, and see a meaning in a groan. ...JC Ryle image

The issue on which everything hangs...

“If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.” -Timothy Keller image

The Resurrection narratives...

The Resurrection narratives are not a picture of survival after death; they record how a totally new mode of being has arisen in the Universe. Something new had appeared in the Universe: as new as the first coming of organic life. This Man, after death, does not get divided into “ghost” and “corpse.” A new mode of being has arisen. That is the story. What are we going to make of it? ...CS Lewis image

Easter Sunday 2014

 The Resurrection of Christ is not the fruit of speculation or mystical experience: it is an event which, while it surpasses history, nevertheless happens at a precise moment in history and leaves an indelible mark upon it. The light which dazzled the guards keeping watch over Jesus’ tomb has traversed time and space. It is a different kind of light, a divine light, that has rent asunder the darkness of death and has brought to the world the splendour of God, the splendour of Truth and Goodness.

 

Just as the sun’s rays in springtime cause the buds on the branches of the trees to sprout and open up, so the radiance that streams forth from Christ’s Resurrection gives strength and meaning to every human hope, to every expectation, wish and plan. Hence the entire cosmos is rejoicing today, caught up in the springtime of humanity, which gives voice to creation’s silent hymn of praise. The Easter Alleluia, resounding in the Church as she makes her pilgrim way through the world, expresses the silent exultation of the universe and above all the longing of every human soul that is sincerely open to God, giving thanks to him for his infinite goodness, beauty and truth.
 

“In your Resurrection, O Christ, let heaven and earth rejoice.” ...Benedict XVI
(Photo- Garden tomb -taken  March 2014 from our trip to Israel)

Holy Saturday 2014

LORD, God of my salvation;

I cry out day and night before you.

Let my prayer come before you;

incline your ear to my cry!  
 

For my soul is full of troubles,

and my life draws near to Sheol.

I am counted among those who go down to the pit;

I am a man who has no strength,

like one set loose among the dead,

like the slain that lie in the grave,

like those whom you remember no more,

for they are cut off from your hand.

You have put me in the depths of the pit,

in the regions dark and deep.

Your wrath lies heavy upon me,

and you overwhelm me with all your waves.  
 

You have caused my companions to shun me;

you have made me a horror to them.

I am shut in so that I cannot escape;

my eye grows dim through sorrow.

Every day I call upon you, O LORD;

I spread out my hands to you.

Do you work wonders for the dead?

Do the departed rise up to praise you?

Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,

or your faithfulness in Abaddon?

Are your wonders known in the darkness,

or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

 

But I, O LORD, cry to you;

in the morning my prayer comes before you.

O LORD, why do you cast my soul away?

Why do you hide your face from me?

Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,

I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.

Your wrath has swept over me;

your dreadful assaults destroy me.

They surround me like a flood all day long;

they close in on me together.

You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;

my companions have become darkness.
-Psalm 88 image

Good Friday 2014

 From the cross uplifted high,

Where the Savior deigns to die,

What melodious sounds we hear,

Bursting on the ravished ear!

“Love’s redeeming work is done—

Come and welcome! sinner, come!
 

Sprinkled now with blood the throne;

Why beneath thy burdens groan?

On My piercèd body laid,

Justice owns the ransom paid:

Bow the knee, and kiss the Son,

Come and welcome, sinner, come.
 

“Spread for thee, the festal board

See with richest bounty stored;

To thy Father’s bosom pressed,

Thou shalt be a child confessed,

Never from His house to roam;

Come and welcome! sinner, come!
 

“Soon the days of life shall end—

Lo, I come—your Savior, Friend!

Safe your spirit to convey

To the realms of endless day,

Up to My eternal home—

Come and welcome! sinner, come!”

...Thomas Haweis image

Holy Thursday 2014

Here at Thy table, Lord, this sacred hour,

O let us feel Thee near, in loving power,

Calling our thoughts away from self and sin

As to Thy banquet hall we enter in.
 

Sit at the feast, dear Lord, break Thou the bread;

Fill Thou the cup that brings life to the dead;

That we may find in Thee pardon and peace,

And from all bondage win a full release.

So shall our life of faith be full, be sweet;

And we shall find our strength for each day meet;

Fed by Thy living bread, all hunger past,

We shall be satisfied, and saved at last.

Come then, O holy Christ, feed us, we pray;

Touch with Thy piercèd hand each common day;

Making this earthly life full of Thy grace,

Till in the home of heaven we find our place.

...May P. Hoyt image

How easily we forget...

How easily we forget that the church was founded by disciples who betrayed their master. None was willing to stand by Jesus as the religious and political authorities condemned him to death. At his moment of greatest need, the disciples fled in the darkness. The boldest of the lot, Peter, was the very one who cursed and denied him three times before the cock crew. It was for traitors that Jesus died. ...Philip Yancey image

Palm Sunday 2014

The Savior! what a noble flame

Was kindled in his breast,

When hasting to Jerusalem

He marched before the rest!
 

Good-will to men, and zeal for God,

His every thought engross;

He longs to be baptized with blood,

He pants to reach the cross.
 

With all his suff'rings full in view,

And woes, to us, unknown,

Forth to the task his spirit flew,

'Twas love that urged him on.
 

LORD, we return thee what we can!

Our hearts shall sound abroad

Salvation, to the dying Man,

And to the rising God!
 

And while thy bleeding glories here

Engage our wond'ring eyes;

We learn our lighter cross to bear,

And hasten to the skies.

-William Cowper image

Ride On ! Ride On In Majesty-King's College

1.  Ride on, ride on in majesty!
     Hark! all the tribes hosanna cry;
     O Savior meek, pursue your road
     With palms and scattered garments strowed.

2.  Ride on, ride on in majesty!
     In lowly pomp ride on to die:
     O Christ, your triumphs now begin
     O'er captive death and conquered sin.

3.  Ride on, ride on in majesty!
     The winged squadrons of the sky
     Look down with sad and wond'ring eyes
     To see th'approaching sacrifice.

4. Ride on, ride on in majesty!
    Your last and fiercest strive is nigh;
    The Father on his sapphire throne
    Expects his own anointed Son.

5.  Ride on, ride on in majesty!
     In lowly pomp ride on to die;
     Bow your meek head to mortal pain,
     Then take, O God, your pow'r and reign.
                    -Henry Hart Milman

Dear Lord, if at this evening hour...

Dear Lord, if at this evening hour I think only of myself and my own condition and my own day’s record of service, then I can find no peace before I go to sleep, but only bitterness of spirit and miserable despair. Therefore, O Father, let me think rather of Thee and rejoice that Thy love is great enough to blot out all my sins. And, O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, let me think of Thee, and lean upon Thy heavenly righteousness, taking no pleasure in what I am before Thee but only in what Thou art for me and in my stead. And, O Holy Spirit, do Thou think within me, and so move within my mind and will that as the days go by I may be more and more conformed to the righteousness of Jesus Christ my Lord; to Whom be glory forever. Amen.
...John Baillie

When we look out towards this love that moves the stars...

When we look out towards this love that moves the stars and stirs in the child’s heart and claims our total allegiance and remember that this alone is Reality and we are only real so far as we conform to its demands, we see our human situation from a fresh angle; and we perceive that it is both more humble and dependent, and more splendid, than we had dreamed. We are surrounded and penetrated by great spiritual forces, of which we hardly know anything. Yet the outward events of our life cannot be understood, except in their relation to that unseen and intensely living world, the Infinite Charity which penetrates and supports us, the God whom we resist and yet for whom we thirst; who is ever at work, transforming the self-centred desire of the natural creature into the wide-spreading, outpouring love of the citizen of Heaven. ...Evelyn Underhill

Breathe on us, breath of God...

Breathe on us, breath of God; not as the mighty rushing wind, lest the dimly burning flax be quenched; but with the quiet breath that shall fan to flame our smouldering faith. Inward Presence of our God, we cannot do without Thee! Unless first we hear the gentle whisper of Thy voice, the majesty of fire and storm, the glories of earth and heaven will pass in meaningless pageantry before us. The sacred page of the past and the slowly-traced bible of today will alike be closed to us. As we address ourselves to seek our God, light Thou our hearts with His presence. As we turn to think of Jesus, make our hearts to burn with love. Spirit of the Living God, Spirit of Jesus, Spirit who choosest man’s mind for Thy dwelling; make Thyself known to us now. Amen.
...William Edwin Orchard

Christianity is not a voice in the wilderness...

Christianity is not a voice in the wilderness, but a life in the world. It is not an idea in the air but feet on the ground, going God’s way. It is not an exotic to be kept under glass, but a hardy plant to bear twelve manner of fruit in all kinds of weather. Fidelity to duty is its root and branch. Nothing we can say to the Lord, no calling Him by great or dear names, can take the place of the plain doing of His will. We may cry out about the beauty of eating bread with Him in His kingdom, but it is wasted breath and a rootless hope, unless we plow and plant in His kingdom here and now. To remember Him at His table and to forget Him at ours, is to have invested in bad securities. There is no substitute for plain, every-day goodness. ...Maltbie D. Babcock

Are we living in a holy relationship with God?

Are we worshiping God in a way that will raise us up to where we can take hold of Him, having such intimate contact with Him that we know His mind about the ones for whom we pray? Are we living in a holy relationship with God, or have we become hard and dogmatic?

Do you find yourself thinking that there is no one interceding properly? Then be that person yourself. Be a person who worships God and lives in a holy relationship with Him. Get involved in the real work of intercession, remembering that it truly is work-work that demands all your energy, but work which has no hidden pitfalls. -Oswald Chambers