Deus Misereatur

  It was disheartening. I'd read it a number of times before, but for some reason this morning it really struck a note with me. It was the situation and setting of Jeremiah 43-44.  God's people had been defeated and demoralized. Their own actions brought it on them, their own power-hungry, self-gratifying morals and their turning their backs to Yahweh and not their faces. And now that their country had been toppled by Babylon, most of the people had been hauled off into captivity. And the few that were left in their homeland had to live with the consequences of their actions. For those poor souls, impoverished and insubstantial, there was a glimmer of hope, but they didn't respond well.  First, there was the murder of the Babylonian-installed leader, a godly man, Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan. Murdered at the hand of one of the royal family, a descendent of David. It was cold blooded, brutal, and senseless. After all the decimation they had faced, you wo...

  “ Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders ” (Exodus 15:11 NKJV)? We draw near to you through Jesus Christ with a true heart in the full assurance of faith. O faithful Lord, we pray for your Church in all nations, our denomination, this congregation, and Village Baptist Church, Vision Community Church, Waterloo Rd. Church of Christ, and Wildewood Christian Church. Lead and guide your churches in sound doctrine, strengthen and fortify us in utmost loyalty, and supply all of our needs richly in Christ Jesus, so that we may learn to devote ourselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful (Titus 3:14). God of steadfast love, please call, convert, and save those who have never submitted to and relied on your Son, and please reclaim those who have “ wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs ” (1 Timothy 6:10). We implore you, merciful Father, to look com...

  O Lord God, though you are unlike us in your very being, unlimited by space, unrestrained by time, untouched by mortality, unmarred by sin; yet you made us to bear and reflect your image that we may be able to be in communion with you! And then, after our open rebellion you became – in that wondrous exchange – as full-bloodedly and full-bodily human as we are to bring us back into communion with you! What an astounding thought! O Lord, we adore you and thank you! And so, in communion with you we plead with you for the world and the Church. Look upon the nations of this world, including our own country, with all our spite, insurrections, commotion, mayhem, war, drought, flooding, wild-fires, government-approved barbarity, orchestrated impoverishments, socially sanctioned human, sex, and drug trafficking, as well as tribal and racial bigotry. We implore you to steer, steady and stabilize the nations; to restore and renew sound justice; to bring substantial relief and help to the or...

  Fox Chapel Publishing has compiled several short articles and instructions from various authors and presented them in a glossy 96-page softback, "Complete Starter Guide to Whittling: 24 Easy Projects You Can Make in a Weekend". This manual is ideal for starters and newbies, experimenters, and those who have launched out on their own and spent some time attempting whittling and carving.  This manual begins with the basics. It covers safety, four types of carving/whittling cuts, sharpening knives, and the different cutting-edge pitches that distinguish normal knives and carving knives. I enjoyed this part since I didn't realize that there are different pitches of cutting edges. It helped to explain why I was having difficulty when using my normal pocket knife. Though most of the book is for using simple pocketknives for whittling/carving, yet some of the projects clearly used other carving tools. The 24 projects in the book range from extremely simple to a bit more advanc...

  The following is what I wrote and sent to my congregation this past week: Many years ago, an Anglican churchman compiled a spiral booklet that has supplemental seasonal prayers that focus on missions, evangelism, service, and giving. It’s titled “Spend and Be Spent”. I doubt it’s still in print anywhere, but I have an old copy that I have used for about 15 years.   The supplemental prayer for the First Sunday in Advent is drawn from an ancient 5 th Century liturgy and is attached to passages from Romans 12: “ Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality ” (12:9-13).   This supplemental prayer addresses God’s love, and how that should impact our interactions. I feel li...

  “ Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture ” (Psalm 100:1-3). Joy-filling LORD, Creation-making Lord, People-preserving LORD, it is to you we pray, O Lord, hear our prayer. First, we give you our thanks for upholding us through this last year. We specifically give you thanks for ( think of definite things to give thanks for here… ). May our whole lives be serving you with gladness. O Lord, hear our prayer.   Further, Lord, we implore you to look on those who don’t know you. To take notice of those who don’t know that you are God. To watch over and restore those who have forgotten that you made us, and we are yours (…). Bring them into your sheepfold, call them all by name. O Lord, hear our prayer.   We also ask you to govern our nation, with all of its present strife. We hav...

  In "Diary of a Country Priest" by Georges Bernanos, the story unfolds as the young, idealistic priest meets grace that impacts and confronts both priest and parishioner. Very much like Chaucer's medieval parson, who cared for his flock at great cost to himself. This pastoral sense is what lies behind a new 168-page softback by T. Dale Johnson Jr., Executive Director of The Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC) and the Director of Counseling Programs and Associate Professor of Biblical Counseling at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. The whole premise of the volume is soul-care should be reclaimed by church leaders, and how the congregation can be the healthy environment for such soul-care. In a nutshell, the book is primarily focused on pastors and ministers returning to the biblical role of " prayer and the ministry of the word " (Acts 6:4). The ministry of the word includes preaching and bible teaching, but also formal and informal counse...