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 image

As one of His redeemed ones...

As one of His redeemed ones, you are His delight, and all His desire is to you, with the longing of a love which is stronger than death, and which many waters cannot quench. His heart yearns after you, seeking your fellowship and your love. Were it needed, He could die again to possess you... His life is bound up in yours; you are to Him inexpressibly more indispensable and precious than you ever can know. ...Andrew Murray image

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

Do not run impetuously before the Lord...

Do not run impetuously before the Lord; learn to wait His time: the minute-hand as well as the hour-hand must point the exact moment for action. ...Mrs. Charles E. Cowman image

As one of His redeemed ones...

As one of His redeemed ones, you are His delight, and all His desire is to you, with the longing of a love which is stronger than death, and which many waters cannot quench. His heart yearns after you, seeking your fellowship and your love. Were it needed, He could die again to possess you... His life is bound up in yours; you are to Him inexpressibly more indispensable and precious than you ever can know. ...Andrew Murray
 (I took this picture at the Tel Dan Nature reserve in northern Israel-PD)

Love ever gives...

Love ever gives, forgives, outlives,

And ever stands with open hands.

And while it lives it gives.

For this is love's prerogative,

To give, and give, and give.

...John Oxenham image

There is a certain extravagance in love...

There is a certain extravagance in love. The alabaster phial of perfume was meant to be used drop by drop; it was meant to last for years, perhaps even a life-time; but in a moment of utter devotion, the woman poured it on the head of Jesus. Love does not stop nicely to calculate the less or more; love does not stop to work out how little it can respectively give. With a kind of divine extravagance, love gives everything it has and never counts the cost. Calculation is never any part of love. ...William Barclay image

Anybody who lives beneath the Cross...

Anybody who lives beneath the Cross and who has discerned in the Cross of Jesus the utter wickedness of all men and of his own heart will find there is no sin that can ever be alien to him. Anybody who has once been horrified by the dreadfulness of his own sin that nailed Jesus to the Cross will no longer be horrified by even the rankest sins of a brother. ...Dietrich Bonhoeffer image

As our life comes to maturity...

As our life comes to maturity we discover to our confusion that human ears can pick up from the Infinite many incompatible tunes, but cannot hear the whole symphony. And the melody confided to our care, the one which we alone perhaps can contribute and which taxes our powers to the full, has in it not only the notes of triumph but the notes of pain. The distinctive mark therefore is not happiness but vocation: work demanded and power given, but given only on condition that we spend it and ourselves on others without stint. ...Evelyn Underhill image

The Power of the Cross

"For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
-1 Corinthians 1:18

Those who follow the Lamb...

If anyone tells you that the life of prayer is one uninterrupted experience of being happy with Jesus, do not follow him. He is not a safe guide. Those who follow the Lamb know that there are stretches of darkness and loneliness and perplexity along the way, and they know that Jesus himself went that way. ...Lesslie Newbigin image

Look at what Christ has done for the soul of man...

How can we know that what Jesus has shown us of God is the truth; ... how do we know when we look into the face of Jesus that we are looking into the face of God? ... The answer is so plain and simple that it is a marvel how intelligent men can manage to miss it as they do... Look at what Christ has done for the soul of man: that is your answer. Christianity is just Christ—nothing more and nothing less. It is a way of life, and He is that way. It is the truth about human destiny, and He is that truth. It is the offer of life lived in the sunshine of eternal love, and He is that life. To know this is to know God, and every need is satisfied in that one word. ...RJ Campbell image

The road to true intimacy with God...

The road to true intimacy with God is an inward journey, proceeding into His Presence through the entrance gate of quietness of the soul. It is a narrow track that lies well off the beaten path, virtually unseen and ignored by the vast majority of humanity careening headlong through life.
...Jim Goll image

We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God...

We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God, who will thwart our plans and frustrate our ways time and again, even daily, by sending people across our path with their demands and requests. We can, then, pass them by, preoccupied with our important daily tasks, just as the priest—perhaps reading the Bible—passed by the man who had fallen among robbers. When we do that, we pass by the visible sign of the Cross raised in our lives to show us that God’s way, and not our own, is what counts. ...Dietrich Bonhoeffer image

When you go to prayer...

When you go to prayer, your first thought must be: The Father is in secret, the Father waits me there. Just because your heart is cold and prayerless, get you into the presence of the loving Father. As a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth you. Do not be thinking of how little you have to bring God, but of how much He wants to give you. Just place yourself before Him, and look up into His face; think of His love, His wonderful, tender, pitying love. Tell Him how sinful and cold and dark all is; it is the Father's loving heart will give light and warmth to yours. ...Andrew Murray image

The Land Beyond...

Somewhere over the rainbow.  
 Skies are blue,
 And the dreams that you dare to dream
 Really do come true...    
 If happy little bluebirds fly
 Beyond the rainbow,
 Why, oh why can't I?
 ...lyrics by E. Y. Harburg

The land beyond--shining, elusive.

But is this the "land beyond" we desire?  Are bluebirds happier than other birds?  Why "Over the Rainbow" in the first place?  Why Bali Ha'i? Camelot?  Is this the best we can hope for--a tropical  isle, perfect weather?   Or do these wistful songs spring from deeper roots? 

"You'll Never Walk Alone" points beyond the bright skies and birdsong:

 

At the end of the storm is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark.
Walk on through the wind,
Walk on through the rain,
Though your dreams be tossed and blown.
Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone.
...lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II

Here is a new element--presence.

Psalm 23 names this presence:

 

   The Lord is my shepherd...

   Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

   I will fear no evil,

   For Thou art with me.

   Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.

This land beyond is dark, foreboding. Silent.  But we have a companion.  

When someone has passed through this valley, which consoles us?  "Over the Rainbow?

Or the One who walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death?   -Meditation by Holly Delavan image

Faith is not a pathetic sentiment...

 Faith is not a pathetic sentiment, but robust vigorous confidence built on the fact that God is holy love. You cannot see Him just now, you cannot understand what He is doing, but you know Him. Shipwreck occurs where there is not that mental poise which comes from being established on the eternal truth that God is holy love. Faith is the heroic effort of your life, you fling yourself in reckless confidence on God.

God has ventured all in Jesus Christ to save us, now He wants us to venture our all in abandoned confidence in Him. There are spots where that faith has not worked in us as yet, places untouched by the life of God. There were none of those spots in Jesus Christ’s life, and there are to be none in ours. "This is life eternal, that they might know Thee." The real meaning of eternal life is a life that can face anything it has to face without wavering. If we take this view, life becomes one great romance, a glorious opportunity for seeing marvellous things all the time. God is disciplining us to get us into this central place of power. ...Oswald Chambers image

When the knowledge of God doesn't exist anymore...

When the knowledge of God doesn't exist anymore there is no truth or mercy. God's Word is our only reliable source of truth and God's love is the only source of true mercy. We are now living in a day in which the knowledge of God is being suppressed there's an organized effort to remove the consciousness of God from our national life . The result is and will increasingly be less truth and mercy. Deception is on the increase and heavy cruel treatment of others is running rampant.  ...Chuck Smith image

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you...

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

and before you were born I consecrated you;

I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

-Jeremiah 1:5 image

Waiting on God prepares for greater blessing...

Waiting on God prepares for greater blessing. God has greater plans than you have realized. Prayer has one function, and that is to answer 'Yes' when He knocks, to open the soul and give Him the opportunity to bring us the answer.
...O. Hallesby image

I love, my God, but with no love of mine...

I love, my God, but with no love of mine

For I have none to give;

I love Thee, Lord, but all that love is Thine,

For by Thy life I live.

I am as nothing, and rejoice to be

Emptied and lost and swallowed up in Thee.

...Mme. Guyon image

Prayer is the expression of a good desire...

Prayer is the expression of a good desire. The human heart is full of restless desires, and the prayers of men consist for the most part of the unsifted petitions which are urged by their varying passions... To desire what is right, and to desire it consistently, and passionately, is the first condition of true living. The desires can be corrected only by truth, the mind must apprehend God, and then it will say, “There is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee.” ...James Hastings image

God thinks his choice is so important...

 Jonah teaches us that this storm, whose physical causes are the same as those of all other storms, is there only for Jonah and because of Jonah. It has other effects. It sweeps the coasts, disperses fish, causes ships to founder. But its purpose is to smash inflexible Jonah. Thus the elements and many men, especially the sailors, are engaged in the adventure of Jonah with him and because of him. One sees here the weight and seriousness of vocation. God thinks his choice is so important, and takes the one elected so seriously, that he brings nature into play to see that this man fulfills his vocation.
...Jacques Ellul image

It is only by being grafted into Christ...

It is only by being grafted into Christ that we produce good fruit. Other religions say, “Do good and you will become good.” Christianity says, “Be in Christ, and you will do good.” The meaning of the Atonement and the Blood that washes away our sins is that we are grafted into Christ, I in Him, and He in me. It is a bitter sprig which is grafted into the tree, but, once it is grafted in, the sweet juice of the tree flows through the bitter sprig and makes it sweet. ...Sadhu Sundar Singh image

What star is this, with beams so bright...

What star is this, with beams so bright,

More lovely than the noonday light?

’Tis sent to announce a newborn King,

Glad tidings of our God to bring.
 

’Tis now fulfilled what God decreed,

“From Jacob shall a star proceed”;

And lo! the Eastern sages stand

To read in heaven the Lord’s command.
 

While outward signs the star displays,

An inward light the Lord conveys,

And urges them, with force benign,

To seek the Giver of the sign.
 

True love can brook no dull delay;

Nor toil nor dangers stop their way

Home, kindred, father land and all

They leave at their Creator’s call.
 

O, while the star of heavenly grace

Invites us, Lord, to seek Thy face,

May we no more that grace repel,

Or quench that light which shines so well!

To God the Father, God the Son,

And Holy Spirit, Three in One,

May every tongue and nation raise

An endless song of thankful praise!

...Charles Coffin image

Love came down at Christmas...

Love came down at Christmas,

Love all lovely, Love Divine;

Love was born at Christmas,

Star and Angels gave the sign.

 

Worship we the Godhead,

Love Incarnate, Love Divine;

Worship we our Jesus:

But wherewith for sacred sign?

 

Love shall be our token,

Love be yours and love be mine,

Love to God and all men,

Love for plea and gift and sign.

...Christina Rossetti


When we give each other our Christmas presents in his name, let us remember that he has given us the sun and the moon and the stars, the earth with its forests and mountains and oceans and all that lives and moves upon them. . . . And to save us from our own foolishness and from all our sins, he came down to earth and gave himself.  ...Sigrid Undset

Wishing all the readers of this blog a blessed and

 Merry Christmas!

 

Raymond and Pat Dague

and Herschel dog

There is a time appointed...

There is a time appointed in the history of our world, when that very Jesus who appeared on earth, "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief," shall reappear with all the circumstances of majesty and power, "King of kings and Lord of lords." We are led to expect a day when Christ shall find a home in the remotest hearts and families, and the earth in all its circumference be covered with the knowledge and the power of the Lord. ... Henry Melvill image

"Stand still"

"Stand still" - keep the posture of an upright man, ready for action, expecting further orders, cheerfully and patiently awaiting the directing voice; and it will not be long ere God shall say to you, as distinctly as Moses said it to the people of Israel, "Go forward." ...Charles Haddon Spurgeon image