Deus Misereatur

 This book was loaned to me by a friend. He had been a Green Beret in Vietnam and recently passed away. As I read about General “Chinese” Gordon, I saw a lot of my friend. Charlie Gordon won the loyalty of those who served with and underneath him. He strove hard to maintain his integrity in some of the most dangerous of situations, and succeeded. And when he failed at times, his integrity showed by his seeking forgiveness and making amends. Charlton Heston played General Gordon in the 1966 movie “Khartoum”. Charlie Gordon comes through in this biography with clarity. A Christian (though slightly off here and there) he masterfully served in the Crimean War, in putting down the Taiping Uprising in China, and facing off against the Mahdi revolt (where he was overthrown and died). He also, momentarily, ended the slave-trade of Sudan a few years earlier. These episodes, and others, are carefully chronicled in this volume. He was also a man of compassion. He spent years helping young str...

  Your righteousness is like the mountains, O God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O LORD (Psalm 36:6); therefore we implore you to give your much needed assistance, provision, direction, comfort, strength and restoration to our brotherhood throughout the world, specifically where they are facing heat and hostilities, such as in Yemen, Nigeria, Uganda, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Eastern Europe and Indonesia. O Lord, hear our prayer . We pray for all the nations of our world and our own country. Guide the leaders and peoples – and specifically the leaders of Russia and Ukraine – toward peaceful civility and justice. And may neighborly love strongly help those who need to rebuild and pull their shattered, broken lives back together. May the inhabitants of every nation enjoy safety so that your church may be unmolested, and your Gospel go forward unhindered. O Lord, hear our prayer . For this congregation we ask: give us, O Lord, purity of lips, clean ...

  (This illumined version of Psalm 128 comes from Rosemary Buczek at The Gilded Quill ). Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways! You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you (Psalm 128:1-2) . Since Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, we pray for the church here and world over, for this congregation, as well as Mt. Lebanon Baptist, Mt. Moriah Baptist, Mt. Olive Baptist, and Mount Triumph Baptist Church. We ask that by his blessing, by the reforming and revitalizing work of your Holy Spirit, by the faithful reading, preaching, and teaching of your Scriptures, and by the right administration of your sacraments, Jesus might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:25-27). And we ask you to be with those ...