Category: Life in Christ

Morning Prayer: Psalm 19:1-6; Judges 21:16-25; 1 Corinthians 7:9-12 ~ married forever

Morning Prayer

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentence

One thing I have asked of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life; to behold the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.

You will find the Lord your God, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Morning readings

Psalm 19:1-6 NLT:

The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world.

God has made a home in the heavens for the sun. It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding. It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race. The sun rises at one end of the heavens and follows its course to the other end. Nothing can hide from its heat.

A chuppah at the Sixth & I Synagogue in Washington D.C.
A chuppah at the Sixth & I Synagogue in Washington D.C.

Judges 21:16-25 NLT:

So the elders of the assembly asked, “How can we find wives for the few who remain, since the women of the tribe of Benjamin are dead? There must be heirs for the survivors so that an entire tribe of Israel is not wiped out. But we cannot give them our own daughters in marriage because we have sworn with a solemn oath that anyone who does this will fall under God’s curse.”

Then they thought of the annual festival of the Lord held in Shiloh, south of Lebonah and north of Bethel, along the east side of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem. They told the men of Benjamin who still needed wives, “Go and hide in the vineyards. When you see the young women of Shiloh come out for their dances, rush out from the vineyards, and each of you can take one of them home to the land of Benjamin to be your wife! And when their fathers and brothers come to us in protest, we will tell them, ‘Please be sympathetic. Let them have your daughters, for we didn’t find wives for all of them when we destroyed Jabesh-gilead. And you are not guilty of breaking the vow since you did not actually give your daughters to them in marriage.’”

So the men of Benjamin did as they were told. Each man caught one of the women as she danced in the celebration and carried her off to be his wife. They returned to their own land, and they rebuilt their towns and lived in them.

Then the people of Israel departed by tribes and families, and they returned to their own homes.

In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.

1 Corinthians 7:9-12 NLT:

But if they can’t control themselves, they should go ahead and marry. It’s better to marry than to burn with lust.

But for those who are married, I have a command that comes not from me, but from the Lord. A wife must not leave her husband. But if she does leave him, let her remain single or else be reconciled to him. And the husband must not leave his wife.

Now, I will speak to the rest of you, though I do not have a direct command from the Lord. If a Christian man has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to continue living with him, he must not leave her.

Reflection/Prayer:

The last chapters of the book of Judges can ve summed up in the final verse: they did what seemed to be right in their own eyes. It is a pantomime of neglect, abuse, reprisals, massacre, hasty oaths and back-pedalling.

The 600 Benjamite men were given 400 virgins from Jabesh Gilead – the only survivors respectively from both areas, but that left 200 Benjamites still needing wives, and all the other Israelites had sworn not to give their own daughters to a Benjamite.

Instead they turned a blind eye, and let the Benjamites hide nearby when the young girls came out to dance through the vineyards at harvest-time. We read of no complaints: their families were satisfied, the couples returned to larger portions of land, and were never able to be divorced. However hastily, some of the couples at least had chance to decide for themselves who’d be carried off by whom. Today ‘Tu B’Av’ is celebrated as the Festival of Love.

At a Jewish wedding ceremony the marrying couple exchange vows under a very special canopy known as a ‘hupah’. The rods at the four corners are either able to stand on the ground or are held by the groom’s attendants. The top of the canopy is his own prayer tallit (a fringed shawl). The symbolism is that he is taking the bride under his roof and she is becoming part of his house.

A song shall be heard in the cities of Judah
and in the streets of Jerusalem
a song of joy, a cry of gladness
a song of the Bridegroom,
a song of the Bride.
Jeremiah 33:10-11

Canticle

Christ, as a light… illumine and guide me. Christ, as a shield… overshadow me. Christ under me; Christ over me; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful. Be in the heart of each to whom I speak; in the mouth of each who speaks unto me. This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.

Christ as a light; Christ as a shield; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

Blessing

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever He may send you. May He guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you. May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
_____________________________________

Peanut Gallery: The Morning Prayer readings are from the Daily Office of the Northumbrian Community as available online here… and in the book form, Celtic Daily Prayer available on Amazon.com.

The website and prayer book are rich in prayer resources and I commend them to you. For our purpose here, I will limit my selections to the Morning Prayer resources.

Christ the King: Psalm 22:1-5; 2 Samuel 5:1-3; Colossians 1:12-20; Luke 23:35-43 ~ Christus Victor

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentence: The Spirit of God lives in us, inspiring and guarding. In the Spirit, we worship our creator and entrust ourselves to the Lord’s loving care.

As we prepare to approach God’s throne of grace, we call to mind our sins:   (pause).   Amen.

Lord Jesus, you came to gather the nations into the peace of God’s kingdom … You come in word and sacrament to strengthen us in holiness … You will come in glory with salvation for your people: Lord, have mercy.

A Reading from the Psalms: Psalm 22:1-5 (NLT)

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help? Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief.

Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. Our ancestors trusted in you, and you rescued them. They cried out to you and were saved. They trusted in you and were never disgraced.

A Reading from the Old Testament: 2 Samuel 5:1-3 (NLT)

Then all the tribes of Israel went to David at Hebron and told him, “We are your own flesh and blood. In the past, when Saul was our king, you were the one who really led the forces of Israel. And the Lord told you, ‘You will be the shepherd of my people Israel. You will be Israel’s leader.’”

So there at Hebron, King David made a covenant before the Lord with all the elders of Israel. And they anointed him king of Israel.

Christ the King (Polish: Pomnik Chrystusa Króla)is a statue of Jesus Christ in Świebodzin, Poland in the western Poland, completed on 6 November 2010.
Christ the King (Polish: Pomnik Chrystusa Króla) is a statue of Jesus Christ in Świebodzin, Poland in the western Poland, completed on 6 November 2010.

A Reading from the Pastoral Letters: Colossians 1:11-20 (NLT)

We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.

A Reading from the Gospels: Luke 23:35-43 (NLT)

The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. “He saved others,” they said, “let him save himself if he is really God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine. They called out to him, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” A sign was fastened above him with these words: “This is the King of the Jews.”

One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!”

But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”

And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Intercessions:

King Jesus – You have defeated the powers of sin, death and evil. You alone are the One who Saves. Hear my prayers:

+ For bishops, priests, pastors, deacons and all who minister in Your name in every tribe and nation – wisdom and sound judgement as they lead Your church. (pause) Lord, have mercy.

+ For the leaders of the nations and all in authority, and for mercy, justice, and peace among all peoples – especially in the Middle East. (pause) Lord, have mercy.

+ For all those in danger and need: the sick and the suffering, prisoners, captives, and their families, the hungry, homeless, and oppressed – especially those who are persecuted for their faith. (pause) Lord, have mercy.

+ For abundant fruits of the earth, and for their distribution with thankful hearts and a spirit of generosity to those in need – especially those suffering devastation and loss through natural disasters. (pause) Lord have mercy.

+ For my city and those who live in it, and for my family, friends, and those I love. (pause) Lord, have mercy. 

+ For those who rest in Christ and for all the dead, born and unborn, and those who mourn their loss. (pause) Lord, have mercy.

+ For deliverance from all affliction, strife, and need – may Your Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. (pause) Lord, have mercy.

God of the ages, who reconciles all things to Yourself in Christ, hear the prayers I offer this day and remember me in your kingdom; through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.

Hymn: “King Jesus” – Jeremy Camp

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

9 Things You Should Know About C.S. Lewis | The Gospel Coalition Reblog

THE GOSPEL COALITION (Original Post)

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9 Things You Should Know About C.S. Lewis
Joe Carter
TGC Blog | November 22, 2013
FB SHARETWEET

Today (Friday) is the 50th anniversary of the death of Clive Staples Lewis, one of the most well known, widely read, and often quoted Christian author of modern times. Here are nine things you should know about the author and apologist who has been called “The Apostle to the Skeptics.”

1. Lewis is best known for his seven children’s books, The Chronicles of Narnia. But he wrote more than 60 books in various genres, including poetry, allegorical novel, popular theology, educational philosophy, science-fiction, children’s fairy tale, retold myth, literary criticism, correspondence, and autobiography.

2. Lewis’s close friend Owen Barfield, to whom he dedicated his book The Allegory of Love, was also his lawyer. Lewis asked Barfield to establish a charitable trust (“The Agape Fund”) with his book earnings. It’s estimated that 90 percent of Lewis’s income went to charity.

3. Lewis had a fondness for nicknames. He and his brother, Warnie, called each other “Smallpigiebotham” (SPB) and “Archpigiebotham” (APB), inspired by their childhood nurse’s threat to smack their “piggybottoms.” Even after Lewis’s death, Warnie still referred to him as “my beloved SPB.”

4. In 1917, Lewis left his studies to volunteer for the British Army. During the First World War, he was commissioned into the Third Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry. Lewis arrived at the front line in the Somme Valley in France on his nineteenth birthday and experienced trench warfare. On 15 April 1918, he was wounded and two of his colleagues were killed by a British shell falling short of its target. Lewis suffered from depression and homesickness during his convalescence.

5. Lewis was raised in a church-going family in the Church of Ireland. He became an atheist at 15, though he later described his young self as being paradoxically “very angry with God for not existing.”

6. Lewis’s return to the Christian faith was influenced by the works of George MacDonald, arguments with his Oxford colleague and friend J. R. R. Tolkien, and G. K. Chesterton’s The Everlasting Man.

7. Although Lewis considered himself to an entirely orthodox Anglican, his work has been extremely popular among evangelicals and Catholics. Billy Graham, who Lewis met in 1955, said he “found him to be not only intelligent and witty but also gentle and gracious.” And the late Pope John Paul II said Lewis’ The Four Loves was one of his favorite books.

8. After reading Lewis’ 1940 book, The Problem of Pain, the Rev. James Welch, the BBC Director of Religious Broadcasting, asked Lewis to give talks on the radio. While Lewis was at Oxford during World War II he gave a series of BBC radio talks made between 1942 and 1944. The transcripts of the broadcasts originally appeared in print as three separate pamphlets — The Case for Christianity (1942), Christian Behaviour (1943), and Beyond Personality (1944) — but were later combined into the book, Mere Christianity. In 2000, Mere Christianity was voted best book of the twentieth century by Christianity Today.

9. On 22 November 1963, exactly one week before his 65th birthday, Lewis collapsed in his bedroom at 5:30 pm and died a few minutes later. Media coverage of his death was almost completely overshadowed by news of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, who was killed less than an hour earlier. In 2003, Lewis was added to the list of saints commemorated on the church calendar of the Episcopal Church.

 

Morning Prayer: Psalm 65:9-13; Leviticus 23:15-22; Acts 2:1-2 ~ Shavuot

Morning Prayer

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentence

One thing I have asked of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life; to behold the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.

You will find the Lord your God, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Morning readings

Psalm 65:9-13 NLT:

You take care of the earth and water it, making it rich and fertile. The river of God has plenty of water; it provides a bountiful harvest of grain, for you have ordered it so. You drench the plowed ground with rain, melting the clods and leveling the ridges. You soften the earth with showers and bless its abundant crops. You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance. The grasslands of the wilderness become a lush pasture, and the hillsides blossom with joy. The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep, and the valleys are carpeted with grain. They all shout and sing for joy!

An Ultra-Orthodox Jew carries sacks full with wheat after harvesting it using hand sickles in a field some three kilometers from the Mevo Horon settlement in the Israeli occupied West Bank, on May 22, 2012. (Photo credit: MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/GettyImages)
An Ultra-Orthodox Jew carries sacks full with wheat after harvesting it using hand sickles in a field some three kilometers from the Mevo Horon settlement in the Israeli occupied West Bank, on May 22, 2012.
(Photo credit: MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/GettyImages)

Leviticus 23:15-22 NLT:

“From the day after the Sabbath—the day you bring the bundle of grain to be lifted up as a special offering — count off seven full weeks. Keep counting until the day after the seventh Sabbath, fifty days later. Then present an offering of new grain to the Lord. From wherever you live, bring two loaves of bread to be lifted up before the Lord as a special offering. Make these loaves from four quarts of choice flour, and bake them with yeast. They will be an offering to the Lord from the first of your crops. Along with the bread, present seven one-year-old male lambs with no defects, one young bull, and two rams as burnt offerings to the Lord. These burnt offerings, together with the grain offerings and liquid offerings, will be a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. Then you must offer one male goat as a sin offering and two one-year-old male lambs as a peace offering.

“The priest will lift up the two lambs as a special offering to the Lord, together with the loaves representing the first of your crops. These offerings, which are holy to the Lord, belong to the priests. That same day will be proclaimed an official day for holy assembly, a day on which you do no ordinary work. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation wherever you live.

“When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. Leave it for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the Lord your God.”

Acts 2:1-2 NLT:

On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting.

Reflection/Prayer:

The temple priest now returns to the grain field, now full and rich with a very ripe crop of grain, ready for harvest. He cuts and gathers enough to make two loaves. Back in the temple, he beats and presses the seed, grinding it to flour, adding water to fashion loaves from the dough and slips them into the depths of a fired oven. He waits. It is now about eight in the morning. Soon the loaf will be ready to lift out from the oven, take to the altar and lift up to God. Then the day of Pentecost will have fully come.

Meanwhile at a house somewhere in the city people are praying, and the presence of God bursts upon them. The Day of Pentecost is fulfilled. Harvest is here. The church is born.

(Gene Edwards)

Canticle

Christ, as a light… illumine and guide me. Christ, as a shield… overshadow me. Christ under me; Christ over me; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful. Be in the heart of each to whom I speak; in the mouth of each who speaks unto me. This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.

Christ as a light; Christ as a shield; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

Blessing

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever He may send you. May He guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you. May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
_____________________________________

Peanut Gallery: The Morning Prayer readings are from the Daily Office of the Northumbrian Community as available online here… and in the book form, Celtic Daily Prayer available on Amazon.com.

The website and prayer book are rich in prayer resources and I commend them to you. For our purpose here, I will limit my selections to the Morning Prayer resources.

Morning Prayer: Psalm 121:3, 5-8; Genesis 24:34-58; Hebrews 11:5-16 ~ by faith

Morning Prayer

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentence

One thing I have asked of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life; to behold the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.

You will find the Lord your God, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Morning readings

Psalm 121:3, 5-8 NLT:

He will not let your foot slip — he who watches over you will not slumber….

The Lord watches over you — the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm — he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

Genesis 24:34-58 NLT:

So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. The Lord has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. My master’s wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age, and he has given him everything he owns. And my master made me swear an oath, and said, ‘You must not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live, but go to my father’s family and to my own clan, and get a wife for my son.’

“Then I asked my master, ‘What if the woman will not come back with me?’

“He replied, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked faithfully, will send his angel with you and make your journey a success, so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my father’s family. You will be released from my oath if, when you go to my clan, they refuse to give her to you — then you will be released from my oath.’

“When I came to the spring today, I said, ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come. See, I am standing beside this spring. If a young woman comes out to draw water and I say to her, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar,” and if she says to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too,” let her be the one the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’

“Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’

“She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too.’ So I drank, and she watered the camels also.

“I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’

“She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milkah bore to him.’

“Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms, and I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son. Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so I may know which way to turn.”

Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the Lord; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.”

When Abraham’s servant heard what they said, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts to her brother and to her mother. Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night there.

When they got up the next morning, he said, “Send me on my way to my master.”

But her brother and her mother replied, “Let the young woman remain with us ten days or so; then you may go.”

But he said to them, “Do not detain me, now that the Lord has granted success to my journey. Send me on my way so I may go to my master.”

Then they said, “Let’s call the young woman and ask her about it.” So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?”

“I will go,” she said.

Hebrews 11:5-16 NLT:

By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.

Obey-1

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country — a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Reflection/Prayer:

O Lord our God
and God of our fathers!
Mercifully direct and guide our steps
to our destination,
and let us arrive there
in health, joy and peace!
Keep us from snares and dangers,
and protect us from enemies
that we might meet along the way.
Bless and protect our journey!
Let us win favour in Your eyes
and in the sight of those around us.
Blessed are You, O Lord,
who hear and grant our prayers!
(Praying with the Jewish Tradition, trs. Paula Gifford)

“Hallelujah” – NewsBoys

I’m looking up / Holding out / Pressing forward / Without a doubt / Longing for the things unseen / Longing for the things I believe / My true country

(please click on audio link)

We hope and wait / For the glorious day / All tears will vanish / Wiped away / On the saints this day already shines / On the saints this day already shines / It already shines

We’ll be singing hallelujah / We’ll be singing hallelujah / At the top of our lungs, halle-le-lujah / (With all our breath, halle-le-lujah) / To Your glory, hallelujah / Hallelujah, hallelujah

And I know that it’s coming / But I can’t see it now / And I’ve touched it in moments / But I can’t hold it yet / And it glows in the darkness / And it calls us away / To our true destination / ‘Til that glorious day

Canticle

Christ, as a light… illumine and guide me. Christ, as a shield… overshadow me. Christ under me; Christ over me; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful. Be in the heart of each to whom I speak; in the mouth of each who speaks unto me. This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.

Christ as a light; Christ as a shield; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

Blessing

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever He may send you. May He guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you. May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
_____________________________________

Peanut Gallery: The Morning Prayer readings are from the Daily Office of the Northumbrian Community as available online here… and in the book form, Celtic Daily Prayer available on Amazon.com.

The website and prayer book are rich in prayer resources and I commend them to you. For our purpose here, I will limit my selections to the Morning Prayer resources.