Ah, Lord, the heart is weighed
With darkened thoughts and lonely sighs;
None care to listen, none have paid
The price, none seek the heavenly prize.
Can seven thousand faithful hide
Among a wayward church? Have they
No objecting voice? Have they not cried
Against the obscene who dance and play? Continue reading
Our heavenly Father,
Let us jettison what divides, embrace what unites, rejoice in the Cross which reconciles.
Let us hear what others say, test all things, prove the spirits, seek after truth.
Let us value silence, know the power of words, use the influence of a good example in the imitation of Christ. Continue reading
Today, Chuck Webster asks, Does Prayer Work?, in his devotional thought centered in the book of James.
Days earlier, we failed to share Richard Mansel’s article, Attitudes Necessary for Prayer, on Forthright Magazine.
Let us pray and let us ponder the place and power of prayer in our lives as God’s people.
God who controls heaven and earth,
Again, the bombs of terrorism have exploded,
Again, lives have been lost and hundreds injured,
The pleasure of competition turned into a field of war.
Save those who have been injured, O Lord,
Let your people offer hope,
May those who see no sense in this slaughter,
Understand that peace is far from the earth. Continue reading
The heart is slow, behind the head,
To rest upon the truth it knows;
Until the two are joined and wed,
His patient love to man God shows. Continue reading
Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I
Might walk a holy man, and please
In every step, to satisfy
Your will, offering the kingdom’s keys
That men to self might die;
I seek Your face — if man think ill,
So be it — Your Spirit on me spill.
Father, let that which is to you an abomination be also to me an odious thing; may I prize justice, righteousness, wisdom, and goodness, all of which flow from your hand, and in them you delight.
What have we done, O God?! Forgive our rebellion, remove our sin of self-enthronement!
Purify our hearts and motives. Purge our minds of wavering doubts.
Let love reign supreme. Let our devotion be single and exclusive.
Our heavenly Father, make our actions as quick as our words. Let us speak little and act with integrity.
Let us put away excuses and accept responsibility for our lives. Wake us to the consequences of our actions.
Help us choose those behaviors that show the earnestness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Amen.