Deus Misereatur

First, Second, and Third John by George L. Parsenios My rating: 4 of 5 stars Sometimes, as they say, dynamite comes in small packages. Three of the shorter books of the New Testament, 1, 2, and 3 John, are that way. At first their small size gives the impression that they can’t contain much of significance – especially 2 and 3 John, each of which are only one page in length – yet once one dives into them attentively it becomes quickly obvious that there is more here than first meets the eye. Then if a student of the Scriptures will pick up a commentary on those three, their depths and enormities become clearer. George L. Parsenios, associate professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary and sessional professor of New Testament at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, has recently penned a 208 page paperback commentary on these three New Testament writings. It has recently been published in the Paideia Commentary series at BakerAcademic. The treatise is a fa...

Our Refuge and Strength—Psalm 46 Over the past several weeks we have been hit hard with bad news, gloomy prognostications, and disconsolate prognosis. We’ve been faced with shocking deaths, and calamitous events all over the world. On top of these are the dark stories of potential national fiscal failures, racial tensions, governmental corruptions. As you and I stare down the near future – say the rest of 2015 thru 2016, we have no clue what’s coming from the other end of the dark tunnel, but we have a creeping suspicion it might be a freight train. So this Psalm ought to be one of the first places you go whenever the dark clouds of doom begin to brood over your soul. Verse 1 is the main point of the Psalm, and all the rest flesh it out. The sentiment is echoed in 7 and 11. So, here is the declaration – no matter what else may follow, no matter what else may befall you, no matter how you feel: God is our refuge and strength, a very present (very accessible) help! 1....

Sunday Morning Our Father, you who are a father to the fatherless, helper to the helpless, defender of those who are defenseless; you see that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves. Please keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, so that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to our bodies and from ALL evil thoughts that may assault and hurt our souls! We remember these who are tackling and being tackled by specific misfortunes…may it please you to console and relieve them according to their particular needs; giving them enduring patience under their sufferings and a happy ending to all their afflictions.  Please safeguard our country from all enemies foreign and domestic; preserve our industry; strengthen our educational attainments; rebuild civility, lawfulness, and courtesy; turn the hearts of the parents to the children and the hearts of the children to their parents (Malachi 4.6); come and be a swift witness agai...

Active Defense: Guidelines for Building a Security Plan by MS Kathy L Gaynor My rating: 5 of 5 stars On the one hand, this 95 page paperback is an over-sized product pamphlet for Lighthouse Investigators of Norman Oklahoma. Throughout the material some of the services Frank and Kathy Gaynor provide are mentioned and explained. Both authors are private investigators who have worked in legal, insurance and investigation fields for years. On the other hand, this is a simple textbook on the whys and hows of security and safety for a congregation. The authors take the time to carefully explain the importance of churches conducting background checks, setting up emergency plans for several situations, preparing for violent crimes on church property, giving security tips, examining ways survive violence at church, and conducting risk management. The material is not overwhelmingly technical. The Gaynors have presented the main information in short chapters that stay on task. "Active Def...

War in Heaven by Charles Williams My rating: 4 of 5 stars Oftentimes the mundane and material are perceived as swimming in a closed system, performing and progressing along well defined tracks to a clearly predictable destination; unless the mundane and material are seen through the eyes of the mystically minded. Charles Williams, long-time friend and confidant of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, is such a one. “War in Heaven,” originally published in 1930, and recently republished as a 260 page e-book (Kindle), is an ideal example of Williams’s ability to see the commonplace and corporeal through celestial senses. This particular edition has a new introduction written by admirer Jonathan Ryan. “War in Heaven” seizes the reader’s interest in the first line, “The telephone was ringing wildly, but without result, since there was no-one in the room but the corpse” (11). From there the story takes the reader from London to Fardles, city to country, and back again as we follow the steps of...

Before I Go: Letters to Our Children about What Really Matters by Peter Kreeft My rating: 5 of 5 stars Over the years I have sat with many people as they draw close to the end of their life, and I have noticed that several find themselves frustrated by the short time they have left to say the final, important things to their loved ones. And as I continue to grow older I find myself pondering and asking, more and more, what I should hand on to my children, what valuable things do I want them to hear from me and take to heart. Peter Kreeft has launched a preemptive strike at that moment for his family by writing his short 244 page, readably warm hardback, “Before I Go: Letters to Our Children about What Really Matters.” Kreeft states that this book, written to his grown children, is simply a “word-insurance policy,” since it is “a way of speaking even after you are dead” (4). These are words written against the day when he may no longer be able to say what he deems important, to spea...

Morning Prayer: Our Father, who has gladly and joyfully initiated and implemented the only way the world may be saved and no longer be condemned, we lay our burdened hearts before you. We find that things are not as we had planned nor dreamed they would be. We find that some of us, some of our friends, or some of our family-members are in the middle of trials, disenchantments or distresses that are perplexing and worrisome….Grant that they and all of us may learn obedience by the things that we suffer, and turn to you, our Helper, in the time of trouble. May there be no bitterness in our sorrows, no despair in our submission, and no doubt of you in our bewilderment. Teach us to face trials bravely; please make even the dark things of life to work together for our good; and bring all quickly out of their distresses, that together we may praise you with joyful heart. With Your watchful eye, please preserve our U.S. Military personnel, and those of our numbers who are in othe...