The love, therefore, wherewith God loveth...

The love, therefore, wherewith God loveth, is incomprehensible and immutable. For it was not from the time that we were reconciled unto Him by the blood of His Son that He began to love us; but He did so before the foundation of the world, that we also might be His sons along with His Only-begotten, before as yet we had any existence of our own. ...Augustine of Hippo image

Feast of the Transfiguration 2015

These are the divine wonders we celebrate today; this is the saving revelation given us upon the mountain; this is the festival of Christ that has drawn us here. Let us listen, then, to the sacred voice of God so compellingly calling us from on high, from the summit of the mountain, so that with the Lord’s chosen disciples we may penetrate the deep meaning of these holy mysteries, so far beyond our capacity to express. Jesus goes before us to show us the way, both up the mountain and into heaven, and - I speak boldly - it is for us now to follow him with all speed, yearning for the heavenly vision that will give us a share in his radiance, renew our spiritual nature and transform us into his own likeness, making us for ever sharers in his Godhead and raising us to heights as yet undreamed of.
 

Let us run with confidence and joy to enter into the cloud like Moses and Elijah, or like James and John. Let us be caught up like Peter to behold the divine vision and to be transfigured by that glorious transfiguration. Let us retire from the world, stand aloof from the earth, rise above the body, detach ourselves from creatures and turn to the creator, to whom Peter in ecstasy exclaimed: Lord, it is good for us to be here.
...St. Athanasius on the Transfiguration image

I Need Thee, O I Need Thee

Before the ending of the day...

Before the ending of the day,

Creator of the world, we pray!

Your grace and peace to us allow

And be our guard and keeper now.
 

From evil dreams defend our sight,

From all the terrors of the night,

From all deluding thoughts that creep

On heedless minds disarmed by sleep.
 

O Father, this we ask be done

Through Jesus Christ, your only Son,

Who with the Holy Ghost and you

Shall live and reign all ages through.

-Ambrose image

What’s Technology Really Doing to the Bible?

Three reasons Bible engagement is down — and three ways we can change that.

by Rachel Barach
July 17, 2015

Excerpt:
For many of the nearly two billion smartphone users in the world, getting searchable Bible text in their language for free is merely a tap away. Digitization has meant mass distribution in the blink of an eye.

The American Bible Society’s State of the Bible 2015 study shows that 50 percent of Americans read the Bible online — that’s up 6 percent from the 2014 report.

Perhaps even more staggering is that all this Bible reading isn’t happening silently. Bible verses are being shared more than ever on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks.

It’s no wonder polls show people believe that having the Bible available digitally has helped them read it more today than in years past.

But is Bible engagement actually happening in our digital world?

The truth is, all this digital accessibility, all the hours spent reading Scripture on our laptops and mobile devices, all of these verses broadcast out to our friends via social media may not be having the impact we might expect on Bible engagement and Christian maturity — on our understanding and application of Scripture, on biblical literacy, on our connection to church and Christian community, on our lens for seeing and serving a broken world.
 the rest image

Praying the Bible: Book Review

July 15, 2015
by Tim Challies

Excerpt: This book is premised on the existence of a very common problem: That prayer is difficult. “I maintain that people—truly born-again, genuinely Christian people—often do not pray simply because they do not feel like it. And the reason they don’t feel like praying is that when they do pray, they tend to say the same old things about the same old things.” I would guess that this resonates with you and that many of your prayers feel just like that. The repetition in your prayers can lead you to assume that your prayers are meaningless and having no effect. When you are bored with your prayers you stop praying. When you stop praying you feel like a spiritual failure and count yourself a second-rate Christians. It’s a familiar downward cycle.

Now the problem here is not with praying about the same old things. We have to pray regularly and repetitively about certain matters—personal holiness, family members, our church families, our unsaved neighbors and relatives, financial care and provision, health and safety, and so on. “The problem is not that we pray about the same old things; rather, it’s that we say the same old things about the same old things.” The problem, then, is one of method.

Full review

(I just ordered it- here on Amazon)

The incentive to peacemaking is love...

The incentive to peacemaking is love, but it degenerates into appeasement whenever justice is ignored. To forgive and to ask for forgiveness are both costly exercises. All authentic Christian peacemaking exhibits the love and justice - and so the pain - of the cross. ...John R. W. Stott image

Happy July 4th, 2015

O God, our help in ages past,

    Our hope for years to come,

    Our shelter from the stormy blast,

    And our eternal home.

 

Under the shadow of thy throne,

    Still may we dwell secure;

    Sufficient is thine arm alone,

    And our defense is sure.
 

Before the hills in order stood,

    Or earth received her frame,

    From everlasting, thou art God,

    To endless years the same.
 

A thousand ages, in thy sight,

    Are like an evening gone;

    Short as the watch that ends the night,

    Before the rising sun.
 

 Time, like an ever rolling stream,

    Bears all who breathe away;

    They fly forgotten, as a dream

    Dies at the opening day.
 

O God, our help in ages past,

    Our hope for years to come;

    Be thou our guide while life shall last,

    And our eternal home.

-Isaac Watts

(picture by Raymond Dague)

 

"If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." -2 Chronicles 7:14

The bible is one of God's greatest love gifts to you...

The bible is one of God's greatest love gifts to you. It is the world's greatest literary treasure. It is the foundation of the church and your faith. But there is always the danger that you may forget how personally God wants to give it specifically to you. He desires you to use it daily as your spiritual food, your personal prayer resource, and your weapon for spiritual conquest. ...Wesley L. Duewel image

Look how fears have presented themselves...

Look how fears have presented themselves, so have supports and encouragements; yea, when I have started, even as it were at nothing else but my shadow, yet God, as being very tender of me, hath not suffered me to be molested, but would with one Scripture or another, strengthen me against all; insomuch that I have often said, Were it lawful, I could pray for greater trouble, for the greater comfort's sake. ...John Bunyan image

Here lies the tremendous mystery...

Here lies the tremendous mystery – that God should be all-powerful, yet refuse to coerce. He summons us to cooperation. We are honoured in being given the opportunity to participate in his good deeds. Remember how He asked for help in performing his miracles: Fill the waterpots, stretch out your hand, distribute the loaves. ...Elisabeth Elliot image

Where does your security lie?

Where does your security lie? Is God your refuge, your hiding place, your stronghold, your shepherd, your counselor, your friend, your redeemer, your saviour, your guide? If He is, you don’t need to search any further for security. 
...Elisabeth Elliot image

Elisabeth Elliot 1926-2015

June 15, 2015

A wonderful woman of God.  I've read several of her books and used to listen to her radio program years ago.  I did not know that for the last decade or so she suffered from Alzheimer's. (click on the link for a great article: Alzheimer’s, the Brain, and the Soul)

I thank God for her life and how she was willing to be used by God to minister to so many.

Elisabeth Elliot, 1926-2015

Died: Elisabeth Elliot, Pioneering Missionary and Author, Passes Through Gates of Splendor  One of the most influential Christian women of the 20th century, Elisabeth Elliot, has died.

Elliot, the Christian author and speaker whose husband, Jim, was killed during their missionary service among unreached tribes in eastern Ecuador in the 1950s, passed away Sunday at 88, according to reports. She had been suffering from dementia.

 

She wrote two books about her husband’s martyrdom and the years she and her newborn daughter spent living among the Aucans, the tribe that killed him. Through the Gates of Splendor and Shadow of the Almighty: The Life and Testimony of Jim Elliot both became bestsellers...

The will of God...

“The will of God is not something you add to your life. It’s a course you choose. You either line yourself up with the Son of God…or you capitulate to the principle which governs the rest of the world.” ...Elisabeth Elliot image

8 Keys to Personal Prayer

Winfield Bevins
June 9, 2015

Prayer is first and foremost a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Some people think of prayer as a business transaction or as something they have to do just like checking something off a to-do list. But that isn't really prayer at all. Think of prayer in intimate terms, like a conversation between close friends. What are some words you think of when you think of an intimate friendship? You probably think of words like loving, caring, warm, sincere, personal and intimate. These are words that should be used to describe our prayer time with the Lord. Prayer should not be dry or stuffy; it should be warm and intimate.

Every believer can have a dynamic personal prayer life. The Bible gives us the keys we need to develop a powerful prayer life. The Scriptures are full of examples of men and women who walked with God and used prayer to impact their world, and you can do the same thing through prayer.

Here are 8 Scriptural ways you can develop a deeper more fulfilling personal prayer life here.  image

Some people have a warped idea of living the Christian life...

Some people have a warped idea of living the Christian life. Seeing talented, successful Christians, they attempt to imitate them. For them, the grass on the other side of the fence is always greener. But when they discover that their own gifts are different or their contributions are more modest (or even invisible), they collapse in discouragement and overlook genuine opportunities that are open to them. They have forgotten that they are here to serve Christ, not themselves. ...Billy Graham image

The conviction of His Spirit...

God will never plant the seed of his life upon the soil of a hard, unbroken spirit. He will only plant that seed where the conviction of His Spirit has brought brokenness, where the soil has been watered with the tears of repentance as well as the tears of joy. ...Alan Redpath image

"Let us make man"

"It was the whole Trinity, which at the beginning of creation said, "Let us make man". It was the whole Trinity again, which at the beginning of the Gospel seemed to say, "Let us save man"." ...JC Ryle image

Praying Most For What You Love the Most

by Matthew Holst
May 28, 2015

Your prayer-life is a measure of your spiritual maturity. Just about any decent book on prayer will tell you so. Your prayer lives exposes you to the reality that what is nearest and dearest to your hearts are those things for which you pray the most. It is an inescapable rule. In this respect, your prayer life may betray the public image which you, in turn, portrayed to others. Just a few years back, I became painfully aware that my prayer life was centered on...me. What a shock it was to realize that my prayers were essentially self-serving!

The practice of prayer has fallen on hard times in the church today. There may be many factors producing this rapid downturn in frequency and quality of prayer. Two of the most obvious are the affluence of western society and the lack of deeply spiritual representative prayer in our churches. the rest image

Holiness...

No amount of money, genius, or culture can move things for God. Holiness energizing the soul, the whole man aflame with love, with desire for more faith, more prayer, more zeal, more consecration-this is the secret of power. These we need and must have, and men must be the incarnation of this God-inflamed devotedness. God's advance has been stayed, his cause crippled: his name dishonored for their lack. Genius (though the loftiest and most gifted), education (though the most learned and refined), position, dignity, place, honored names, high ecclesiastics cannot move this chariot of our God. It is a fiery one, and fiery forces only can move it. The genius of a Milton fails. The imperial strength of a Leo fails. Brainerd's spirit can move it. Brainerd's spirit was on fire for God, on fire for souls. Nothing earthly, worldly, selfish came in to abate in the least the intensity of this all-impelling and all-consuming force and flame." ...EM Bounds image