Deus Misereatur

Rhythm of Life by David Adam My rating: 5 of 5 stars A nice, handy 136 page paperback guide to prayer. It has a simple "rule" for morning, midday, evening and night prayers for each day of the week. David Adam draws from several sources, some historical and others contemporary, to color the daily rhythm. Though it is geared for communal prayer, it is still usable for those who are alone. Each day of the week resounds with a specific theme. Sunday is resurrection; Monday reflects on creation; Tuesday is shaped by incarnation; Wednesday is filled with the Holy Spirit; Thursday thinks about community; Friday gazes at the cross; and Saturday recalls the fellowship of the Saints. There are short litanies; Psalm recitations; small Scripture readings; praises; and collects. About ten years ago I obtained copies for everyone living at home and we used it for a year in family worship. And I have picked it up and utilized it in my personal daily devotions. I recently took it up a...

Scars Across Humanity: Understanding and Overcoming Violence Against Women by Elaine Storkey My rating: 5 of 5 stars Her book will raise your blood pressure and stoke your sense of outrage. But it will also sharpen your perception of what is happening around you, just out of ear shot or out of eye sight. Wife, mother, scholar, author, speaker, journalist, tireless advocate for the marginalized as president of Tearfund and cofounder of Restored: Elaine Storkey compiles a sturdy dossier on violence against women and girls across the world in her 288 page paperback, "Scars Across Humanity: Understanding and Overcoming Violence Against Women". On the one hand it is easily readable no matter your skill level; on the other hand it is hard to read if you have a heart! "Scars Across Humanity" is a studious report on the ways nations and societies assault and violate their women and girls. Storkey takes whole chapters to meticulously describe the universality of specif...

The Lost World of the Flood: Mythology, Theology, and the Deluge Debate Tremper Longman III and John H. Walton (Contribution by Stephen O. Moshier) IVP Academic IVPress.com ISBN: 978-0-8308-5200-0; April 2018; $18.00 The Biblical deluge story is an episode in Scripture that generates plenty of friction. It brings questions to the surface for those who believe it is authentic, and raises the ire of those who are certain it is fictional. Not long ago Tremper Longman III, Distinguished Scholar of Biblical Studies at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, and John H. Walton, professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College and Graduate School, added their contribution with a 192 page softback, “The Lost World of the Flood: Mythology, Theology, and the Deluge Debate”. The volume also includes a chapter on geological data by Stephen O. Moshier, professor of geology and chair of the geology and environmental science department at Wheaton College, and director of th...

Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama by Tim Wise My rating: 2 of 5 stars The book is about ten years old and thus dated on some matters (written in 2009). The book falls out in two chapters, the first on white denial and the second on white responsibility. The story Wise tells is disheartening at many levels. On the one hand, no one escapes Wise's criticism or condemnation, whether white folks or President Obama. No one seems engaged enough, active enough, attempting enough to satisfy Wise's righteous indignation or imperative. The alarmism - going to all the highest and most hurtful examples and indices to the point of nearly expounding a white conspiracy theory - makes Wise's criteria an impossible standard. Even the author's chapter on white responsibility, where he brings out suggestions for remediating the situation is a mixed bag, some useful, others impracticable. On the other hand, the author does expose the numerous wa...

(Coming Week) : Father, since we recognize our lives, successes, upswings and downswings are in your hands; that though every way of a man is right in his own eyes, yet you, O LORD, weigh the heart (Proverbs 21.2): we pray for this coming week… Smile on us in our day-in-and-day-out routines; guide our conversations with family, neighbors, fellow-workers, employees, fellow-parents, grocery clerks and baggers, doctors and nurses. Direct our plans and proposals we will be mapping out; provide richly for us, and supply us with thankful hearts . O Lord, hear our prayer.    (Persecuted Church) : Sovereign God, mighty in power, deep in love, rich in compassion; you know all of those who suffer in your name, for whom we now pray…: we remember those who are imprisoned for their faith. May they, like Paul and Silas, still sing your praises in their cells and see you do mighty things on their behalf. For those who are being tormented both in body and mind, give them the grace to...

O Strengthener of the weak; fortifier of the faithful, rescuer of the wayward, restorer of the repentant; we lift up our hearts and eyes and voices proclaiming that your steadfast love is good and endures forever. Thank you that by your most holy, wise and powerful preserving you govern all your creatures and all our actions; thank you that you deliver your people from their enemies, drawing them from the miry bog and setting their feet on a rock. This brings us to pray for Fika and Obet in Indonesia; Emmanuel in Ghana; Christell in Peru; Arlyn and Benjamin in El Slavador; Yeidi in Columbia; and Aide in the Dominican Republic; and their families. Provide for them, lift their hearts, fill them with grace and courage. And it brings us to pray for AXXXX BXXXX, FXXXXX BXXXXXX. and other believers in Turkey. Bring them help, defend them, and deliver them from their accusers and prosecutors. Look on the nations – including Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, and the Netherlands – preserve the go...