Weaknesses

Weaknesses

O spirit of God,

Help my infirmities;
When I am pressed down with a load of sorrow,
perplexed and knowing not what to do,
slandered and persecuted,
made to feel the weight of the cross,
 help me, I pray thee.
If thou seest in me
any wrong thing encouraged,
any evil desire cherished,
any delight that is not thy delight,
any habit that grieves thee,
any nest of sin in my heart,
 then grant me the kiss of they forgiveness,
and teach my feet to walk the way of 
thy commandments. 
Deliver me from carking care,
 and make me a happy, holy person;
Help me to walk the separated life with
 firm and brave step,
and to wrestle successfully against weakness;
Teach me to laud, adore and magnify thee,
with the music of heaven,
And make me a perfume of praiseful gratitude 
to thee.
I do not crouch at they feet as a slave before a tyrant,
 but exult before thee as a son with a father.
Give me power to live as thy child in all my actions,
and to exercise sonship by conquering self.
Preserve me from the intoxication that comes
 of prosperity;
Sober me within I am glad with a joy that comes not from thee.
Lead me safely on to the eternal kingdom,
 not asking whether the road be rough or smooth.
I request only to see the face of him I love,
 to be content with bread to eat,
 with rainment to put on,
 if I can be brought to thy house in peace.


The Valley of Vision: Puritan Prayers and Devotions, p.188

Devotion

GOD OF MY END,

It is my greatest, noblest pleasure
to be acquainted with thee
and with my rational, immortal soul;

It is sweet and entertaining
to look into my being
when all my powers and passions
are united and engaged in pursuit of thee,
when my soul longs and passionately breathes
after conformity to thee
and the full enjoyment of thee;

No hours pass away with so much pleasure
as those spent in communion with thee
and with my heart.

O how desirable, how profitable to the Christian life
is a spirit of holy watchfulness
and godly jealousy over myself,
when my soul is afraid of nothing
except grieving and offending thee,
the blessed God, my Father and friend,
whom I then love and long to please,
rather than be happy in myself!

Knowing, as I do, that this is the pious temper,
worthy of the highest ambition, and closest
pursuit of intelligent creatures
and holy Christians,
may my joy derive from glorifying and
delighting thee.

I long to fill all my time for thee,
whether at home or in the way;
to place all my concerns in thy hands;
to be entirely at thy disposal,
having no will or interest of my own.

Help me to live to thee for ever,
to make thee my last and only end,
so that I may never more in one instance
love my sinful self.


The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions Aurthur Bennett, ed. (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1975), p. 236-7.

With thanks to Bob Roach, in memory of Jean Roach.

Encouragement for Praying Christians

From Rolling Roads Baptist Church Reminder,  March 2015

“Encouragement for a Praying Church”

Our church is a busy place, full of busy Christians. We involve ourselves in many aspects of ministry and Kingdom of God work. In all our activity, we can't forget that one of the top priorities we have from God is praying. It is an honor for Christians to share one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2, 9-10). However, the “labor of prayer” is not for the faint of heart! If we take this work seriously, we will find how difficult it can be. Often prayers are not answered in the way we expect, and so we may become confused or discouraged. Sometimes we don't ever hear of an answer; we've just prayed in faith and left the answer to God. We are in danger sometimes of getting so engrossed in the details of situations people share, so that we almost forget to pray!

I believe strongly that the foundation for prayer is the promise of God. God is not unpredictable or capricious, as some would tell us. Rather, God's people are in a secure, unchangeable covenant relationship with Him through Christ. God has made manifold promises to His people. Among these are that He will not leave us hopeless in any circumstance. In Luke 11:13 Jesus says, “...how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” In Romans 15:13 Paul prays, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” So our labor of prayer is always an expression of hope-filled dependence on the God of promise, who loves us and gives His life to us. So no matter the challenges of prayer, may we always fulfill the commands of I Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Happy because of Jesus,

Pastor James

Muslim Prayer at National Cathedral?

A few days ago a special Muslim prayer event (invitation only) was held at the so-called National Cathedral in Washington D.C.  This service was condemned by Franklin Graham and a host of other leading Christian personalities.  During the service, there was even a dramatic protest by a lady who has a humble ministry to Muslims, and who is concerned deeply about the "Islamisation" of America.  Read the details of her story here:

The Woman who Spoke up at Muslim National Cathedral

Organizers of the event say the special Muslim prayer event was to promote ecumenical dialogue between Muslims and Christians.  I'm sure soon there will be a special Christian worship service at a grand mosque down the street from the so-called National Cathedral.

I'd be irresponsible if I didn't point out two things:

First, there is no National Cathedral in the sense you probably think.  I fear people are assuming that the National Cathedral is somehow the "official church representing all Christians in this officially Christian (and no other religion) nation." Wrong. The building in question is actually not a church.  It is, in fact, a hyper-eccumenical "spiritual center" that is open to all faiths, perspectives, and etc. ad infinitum.  It only LOOKS LIKE a church (of the most oppressive kind).  

Second, there is a Christian congregation that meets there called "Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington."  They also run the place and offer Christian-like spiritual services. This congregation is of the Anglican (Church of England) kind.  For you church history buffs, the Anglicans are the ones that many of our spiritual forefathers were attempting to escape.  The church of England crowd now goes by the name of Episcopalian. It is well-known that Episcopalian tradition has long ago embraced certain theological ambiguities that could easily accept the truth claims of Islam (ignoring the lack of ambiguity therein).

From these two points I hope you see that no one should be surprised or outraged that a Muslim prayer event was held at the so-called National Cathedral.  Remember also that we do not have any national or state religion that is established by any government.  Further, I hope we all believe in equal protection under the law for all people, regardless of their religious affiliation.

Finally, outrage is no substitute for repentance.

Peace of God in Philippians 4:7

What we are after is "the peace of God that is far beyond/above the known."  How do you like that translation? I mean unknown to us.  It is "far beyond all comprehension" or "knowledge" or "logic."  So see then we can experience it, but we will not ever understand it.  I venture then it is supernatural, or mystical (!).  And such an experience over time has a predictable result.  "...will protect your hearts and your minds IN Christ Jesus."  We can think of this as "keeping us within the sphere of Christ Jesus' power" or more simply "Christ Jesus will be the means of soul-protection via the peace of God."  So without a doubt what we are after is spiritual.  On this day when the perpetual adolescents in our media are showing video of children being run over by trains (uninjured though they were), we need "soul protection" more than ever.  My prayer is that I would be always pursuing that peace of God through the commands of Philippians 4:4-6!

What happens in a great worship service 

in 2011?

• There is some keyboard based band, with live instruments
• There is a real loud organ
• There are music leaders, singers
• There are visual enticements and helps
• There is recitation of belief and focus
• There is strong congregational singing, reading, participation, praying, testimony
• There is a lot of prayer
• There is lots of Scripture, treated reverently
• There is a strong message, meaningful, intelligent and challenging
• There is a call to response and action and commitment

In summary, there is worship…