Deus Misereatur

Hold Fast the Faith: A Devotional Commentary on the Westminster Confession of 1647 Matthew Everhard PLC Publications PO Box 2210                                                     Lenoir, NC 28645 www.layman.org Copyright: 2012 ISBN: 978-1934453100; $11.99 Reviewed for Deus Misereatur by: Rev. Dr. Michael Philliber Theological Introspections – 4 ½ of 5 stars How do you bring theology and the spiritual disciplines together? Often, in personal discussions, theology and doctrine are disparaged by teachers and the taught so that the devotional can be developed. Usually this is heard in the notion that head knowledge must be trumped by heart knowledge. Yet Matthew Everhard has recently made a masterful atte...

The 1662 and 1928 Book of Common Prayer record the following for this Sunday: O GOD , whose never-failing providence ordereth all things both in heaven and earth; We humbly beseech thee to put away from us all hurtful things, and to give us those things which be profitable for us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. This is, again, one of my more favorite prayers, and I committed it to memory long, long ago. Its substantive simplicity is its brilliance. It breaks down into two segments, with the second opening out in two parts. Ascription: The declaration that God’s providence “ordereth all things” is inclusive of “heaven and earth.” The Westminster Shorter Catechism (Q & A 11) succinctly defines God’s works of providence in this way: “God’s works of providence are his most holy, wise and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures and all their actions.” The Collect goes further in announcing that God’s providence is “never-failing,” it can’t be thwarted b...

I just completed a short, 3-Part series, on the small book by the Old Testament Habakkuk. For your ease and convenience I'm posting all three audio links here. I hope it will stir your faith in the Faithful God. 1. God's Ways are Often Astounding and Perplexing . Habakkuk 1.1-11 2. The Terrifying, yet Hopeful Word of God . Habakkuk 1.12-2.20 3. The Righteous will Triumph in Life by Faith . Habakkuk 3.1-19 Mike

Here is the prayer for Independence Day from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer: Independence Day. [July 4.] The Collect. O ETERNAL God , through whose mighty power our fathers won their liberties of old; Grant, we beseech thee, that we and all the people of this land may have grace to maintain these liberties in righteousness and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. I like this particular version of the prayer far better than the slightly embellished one found in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer {**see the end of this post}. It's short, thoughtful, and too the point. Notice how the prayer breaks down. The Attribution: First, the God from whom our forbearers gained strength to win their liberties is not some fleeting, momentary divinity, but the eternal, unending, indestructible God. Next, our liberties are attributed to this God's active, powerful providential involvement, "through whose almighty powers our fathers won their liberties of old". The Petit...

Fahrenheit 451 , written by Ray Bradbury, is another work in the long line of Dystopian fictions. It was published in 1951, and the feel of the Cold War is still evident, especially at the end of the story. But much that it pictures and describes feels very up-to-date. Wall-sized TVs on every side of the living-room ear buds cranking out music day and night, rush and hurry everywhere, elevation of entertainment - even real life-and-death moments being displayed on the big screen TVs for entertainment purposes (sounds like The Hunger Games), etc. A seminal statement in the book is the scene where Captain Beatty is explaining to Guy Montag, the reason for the demise of books, and what is the purpose of life: "There you have it, Montag. It didn't come from the Government down. There was no dictum, no declaration, no censorship, to start with, no! Technology, mass exploitation, and minority pressure carried the trick, thank God. Today, thanks to them, you can stay happy all the...

I was blown off my feet this evening. A mother of a young girl sent me this email: "I just downloaded your Ruth series, per" our daughter's "request, for her to listen to at night while going to sleep." Also "we listened to the one on Tragedy over the weekend. I was amening all the way through. ( . . . ) Job is such an encouraging book when looked at from the right perspective." Wow! I'm floored!!! You can find the "Tragedy" sermon here: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=52813103185 The Ruth Series is here: Naomi - http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=422131139331 Ruth - http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=429131215591 Boaz - http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=56131139591 Yahweh - http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=513131048180

Recently, Huffpost Gay Voices (Posted 06/06/2013 and updated on 06/07/2013), relayed that three scholars had written an Op-Ed piece in the Des Moines Register, where they denied that the Bible mandates monogamy (you can find the HuffPost piece here ). The authors, Hector Avalos, Robert Cargill and Kenneth Atkinson, are teachers at three Iowa universities, Iowa State University, University of Iowa and University of Northern Iowa. If the Huffpost piece is accurate in its reporting, then it appears that these scholars come at the Bible with a priori suppositions that are, at the worst, hostile to the Bible, and at the least, simply taking the Bible as disparate, independent works that are stitched together; that the authors are approaching the Bible with the flatness of a flagrant fundamentalist, ignorant of style, genre, and literary variety, as well as social environment. In other words, the Huffpost writer is processing and promoting the Avalos-Cargill-Atkinson Op-Ed piece throu...