Deus Misereatur

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 that that may assault and hurt our souls! We remember these who are tackling and being tackled by specific trials …May it please you to calm, compose, and clear them according to their particular needs. Give them enduring patience under their sufferings and a satisfactory ending to all their afflictions.   Please safeguard our country, as well as all other nations in our world, including Kosovo, Kuwait, and Kyrgyzstan. Also, we implore you to direct the hearts and minds, deliberations and decisions of all the leaders in your ways of justice and truth on behalf of the favored and ill-favored, the mighty and meager, and the powerful...

Nancy Pearcey’s 336 page stout hardback, “ Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality,” came out in January 2018, and hit the ground running! It is a book focused on the human body, what it means to be made in the image of God, and how our culture has increasingly become anti-body and anti-human. And it is a book written in the utmost seriousness. According to Pearcey, and my own experiences, we have moved into a Gnostic era, what Hans Jonas defined as an anti-cosmic dualism. In this Gnostic stage, the body is commodified, treated as a malleable substance that can be discarded or remade to suit the customer’s satisfaction, because it is treated as other than “me”. The statement usually runs something like this: “Why are you focusing on this outside stuff (body; genitalia; physique; etc.). The real me is on the inside!” Unfortunately this kind of dualism is the offspring of Christians in North America over the last 200 years. I have heard and read nume...

The Warriors Manifesto: Ideals for Those Who Protect and Defend by Daniel Modell My rating: 5 of 5 stars  Warriors show up in different sizes and classifications. Some are deployed to hot zones, surrounded by hostiles. Others are Law Enforcement Officers patrolling their areas. A few are Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) standing in, and up, for those who have no voice. They could be lawyers, doctors, teachers, parents, or concerned citizens. When the circumstance calls for action and determination, the warrior becomes manifest. Yet, according to Daniel Modell, 20 year NYPD veteran, CEO of Ares Tactical and Emergency Management Solutions and an adjunct professor at the State University of New York-FIT, in his brand-new 96 page softback, “The Warrior’s Manifesto: Ideals for Those Who Protect and Defend,” there is a clear line between the warrior and the brute. And it is this clear line that works its way through the whole manual. Modell addresses the what , why and way...

(Anxiety) : LORD God of Sabaoth, you have recorded for us these words of deep comfort: “ Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you ” (Isaiah 35.3-4). We pray for the anxious and the forlorn, especially those we know…break through the dark walls that have been set up around their assessments; pull back the thick curtains they have around the eyes of their hearts; and bring the light of your face to shine on their lives that their weak hands may be strengthened and their feeble knees made firm. O Lord, hear our prayer. (Rest) : With your servant, Augustine, we pray: “You awake us to delight in your praise; for you made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you” (“Confessions,” 1.1). Lord, we’re not very good at resting. Honestly, we own up to you that it’s our fault. We...

Our Father, who turns our darkness into the brilliance of day, and gives us garments of joy in place of the apparel of sorrow; we find ourselves in times of worry and deep concern for ourselves, our children, our grandchildren, our nation and our world. In times of prosperity fill our hearts with thankfulness; and in the day of trouble suffer not our trust in you to fail. We remember those who are grappling with specific hardships…may it please you to console and relieve them, according to their specific needs; giving them enduring patience under their sufferings and a happy conclusion to all their afflictions. With your watchful eye preserve those in our Military, especially…., and encourage their families. Look kindly on those we know who are thinking of marriage. Help them, in all of the excitement of romance to listen to wise counsel, to see clearly what it means to be married, and to learn how to sensibly and graciously work together as they go through the sometimes t...

A Church You Can See: Building a Case for Church Membership by Dennis E. Bills My rating: 5 of 5 stars One of my nagging frustrations as a minister is how many unconnected people I have run across through the years. They claim to be Christians but refuse to affiliate with a congregation for a host of reasons, some substantial and others superficial. Dennis Bill, an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America, addresses church membership in his 122 page softback, “A Church You Can See: Building a Case for Church Membership.” This down-to-earth manual is ideal for disciples of Jesus wherever they are in their life’s journey. The author uses a building metaphor as the backdrop and developmental structure of the book. He looks at the builder of the Church, Jesus Christ, and what our Lord said about the church and what makes someone a Christian. Then Bills unrolls the blueprint to set out the contours and framework of what the Church is and what churches are, echoing the W...

What is gender dysphoria? How are we to think about someone who is transgender? Is there a way to respond that is both compassionate while being committed to the biblical ethos?  Vaughan Roberts, Rector of St Ebbe's Church - Oxford, Director of the Proclamation Trust, and one who grapples with same-sex attraction, has compiled a nifty little 80 page booklet that addresses these issues, and more, in “Transgender: Christian compassion, convictions and wisdom for today's big issues”. It is a quick and easy read that is the right size and right tempo for handing out to anyone asking questions. Roberts defines “transgender” and other sexual/gender recognitions, bringing out the origins and rationale that lies behind these identifications. He further discusses the Scripture’s narrative on what it means to be a sexually differentiated human, how the Fall has contaminated every aspect of our being and existence, and what our hope is in the resurrection. Finally, the author addr...