Pray! Pray! Pray!
January 31, 2008
Pray! Pray! Pray!
I can never say this enough!
Pray! Pray! Pray!
We need to be always praying on behalf of those we love.
Prayer is our weapon!!!
“And this is my prayer that your love may abound more and move in the knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.” ~ Philippians 1:9-11
Do you pray for your children? We need to!
Do you pray for your grandchildren? We need to!
How about your nieces and nephews, do you pray for them? We need to!
We must NEVER cease praying for our children.
We can only guide and protect them so far in life. They have to learn right from wrong and hopefully without doing too much of what’s wrong. They have to be able to be in this world without falling into the temptations of the world. And, that cannot always come from us, no matter how good a job we try to do. That can only come from the direct leading and prompting of the Holy Spirit in their lives. For without the leading of the Holy Spirit, we are all lost in a dark world.
We need to be praying for the salvation of our children if they have not come to a personal understanding of Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord yet. We need to build that foundation in them-and we begin and end that process in prayer, being sure we set the example of Godly living as often as we can in the lives we live out before them.
Contemplative points:
- What an honor and a privilege to pray to our mighty God on behalf of our children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews…any child
- We want out children to have love and have it abound more and more as they grow in God’s knowledge and truth.
- We pray that they grow in discernment (knowing right from wrong) and that they will remain pure and blameless before God
- We pray that our children are filled with the fruit of righteousness and that the Spirit leads them in the path that will only draw them closer to God
- Start the moment you know you are expecting and never stop praying no matter how old they get
- Let this be a prayer you keep next to you daily and keep it fresh on your lips
- God LOVES His Word spoken back to Him
As you make your requests for our children known to the Lord, include these points as well:
- Firmer personal discipline
- God’s Grace to worldwide persecuted Christians
- Hedge of protection to our entire family
- Blessings to our spouses
- Godly men in Government
- Rest and Peace to our Bishops, Priests and Deacons
- God’s guidance and presence in all our activities for the day
Liturgy Lesson for Sexagesima: the Conversion of St. Paul
January 27, 2008
According to Acts, St Paul’s conversion took place as he was traveling the road to Damascus, meeting the resurrected Jesus personally, and in power, actually losing his sight—which was only restored by the ministry of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands for healing at the hands of Ananias, a Christian Jew in Damascus—who had struggled to overcome his own flesh to follow the Holy Spirit’s prompting to pray for Paul, a young Pharisee sent to Damascus to direct the persecution of Jewish Christians there. In this Pre-Lenten season, three weeks before Lent, early Church fathers intended for us to transition from the gaiety and celebration of our Lord’s nativity to the quieter, more focused Spirit-led time of examen and fasting in Lent. Marked by Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima—seventy, sixty, and fifty days before Easter—like St. Paul’s blindness and subsequent healing, this time yields excellent opportunity for us to review our spiritual lives in our Lord—what we are and what He is calling us to be in His Body, the Church. Do we really see—and have control, as we think we do, or are we still blind, at least partly—needing the Lord’s healing touch in our bodies, souls and spirits? Good questions as prepare ourselves for our own Gethsemane—walking with Jesus in the wilderness of Lenten devotions and growth.
Liturgy Lesson for Septuagesima: Farewell to Alleluia
January 20, 2008
Three weeks prior to Ash Wednesday, on the day before Septuagesima Sunday, the ancient Church would chant a bittersweet hymn bidding farewell to the word “Alleluia”: “We do not now deserve to sing the Alleluia forever; Guilt forces us to dismiss you, O Alleluia.” Known as the Depositio of the Alleluia, this ceremony ushered in Septuagesima, the roughly seventy days prior to Easter that help us make the transition from the joy of Epiphany to the penitence of Lent—a season so important to ancient Christians that they actually had a separate season to prepare for it. Thus, the day after Septuagesima Sunday, they would begin a period of voluntary fasting that would grow more restrictive as it approached the fuller, obligatory Lenten fast. They would eat less, and the consumption of certain “pleasure” items, such as butter, milk, eggs, and cheese, would gradually be abandoned. Starting on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday, they would abstain from meat. Thus the name for this seven-day period before Ash Wednesday is “Carnival,” from the Latin carne levarium, meaning “removal of meat.” Finally, within the week of Carnival, the last three days (prior to Lent) would be reserved for personal confession. This period, known as “Shrovetide, (ending on Shrove Tuesday)” from the old English word “to shrive,” means to have sins forgiven through absolution. In today’s Church, we mark this period of examen by putting away the alleluias, then the Gloria—a liturgical fast paralleling the physical one, using all as devotional tools to help us open our hearts to the Holy Ghost, so He can show us where we need His help, healing and restoration to fully celebrate the Resurrection life of Easter in Spirit and Truth. May the season work in us God’s purpose to be fit clay for the Master’s Hand!
Liturgy Lesson for the First Sunday after Epiphany: Holy Communion
January 13, 2008
In today’s worship, we will celebrate the Holy Communion, also called the Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper or the Mass, where we partake of the Lord’s nature to feed us spiritually. We are sometimes asked why we celebrate this feast so often. It’s by Christ’s instruction to us! “Do this to have life,” He said. In obedience to Him, the ancient Church met daily to share their experiences in the Lord that day, fellowship among each other, rehearse the stories of the Gospel and share the Lord’s Real Presence in the Holy Communion, using much the same form as we use today. They would also pray for each other and talk of how they would work for the Lord the next day. But above all, they strove to love each other, in obedience to our Lord’s repeated command, to “…love one another.” In this way, they modeled the Lord’s sacrifice of Himself and lived the Scriptural teaching that Christians would be known by their love for each other. Likewise, we should all meet as often as possible with like minded Christians, taking the Sacrament and practicing His love among us all, as empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Liturgy Lesson for the Epiphany of Our Lord: Manifestation
January 6, 2008
Today we commemorate the ancient Feast of the Epiphany, meaning “manifestation” or “showing forth.” The festival, which has specific devotions for an octave, or eight days, celebrates the day the Lord first revealed Himself to the Gentiles, in the persons of the Magi (Wise Men) from the East, who traveled to Bethlehem to see Him following His birth. This “showing forth” meant non-Jews could now share in the Gospel and privilege of membership in God’s family. The Magi presented Him gifts—gold, recognizing His royalty; frankincense, recognizing His divinity; and myrrh, an embalming spice, prophesying His death as mankind’s Sacrifice. Originally called the “Epiphanies,” in ancient times it also commemorated the finding of the Boy Christ in the Temple, His Baptism, and First Miracle. We sustain this ancient remembrance in the Gospels we read on the Sundays to follow. Epiphany begins on January 6th—12 days after Christmas—and extends to Septuagesima Sunday, the third Sunday before Lent.
Healing: Cruz Sanchez
January 4, 2008
Cruz Sanchez believes in the power of prayer—he has seen the results in his own life. He was diagnosed with macular degeneration, and his right eye was bleeding. Soon a big black spot in the middle of the eye reduced his vision significantly. As the disease progressed, he began receiving treatment through a weekly injection in his eye. One Sunday, Fr. Chip laid hands on Cruz and prayed for healing, and by Tuesday the black spot had lightened to gray. After 21 months of weekly treatments, he can now see as if looking through a thin gray curtain. He can read, though the type is wavy, and he’s delighted to be able to read Scripture again. He no longer requires weekly treatment and doesn’t have to return to the eye doctor for two months. Praise God!
Investing in the Kingdom
January 4, 2008
Bible Reading: 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven, And pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. 11 “And I will rebuke the devourer for your
sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” Says the LORD of hosts; 12 And all nations will call you blessed, For you will be a delightful land,” says the LORD of hosts. ~Malachi 3:10-12 (NKJV)
Bonus Reading: Haggai 1:3-10
What biblical principles should direct a Christian’s giving? Far from being a burden, giving is viewed by the wise believer as a “blessing opportunity,” and the first Scripture above talks about how God views it—probably the only time in Scripture when He tells us to test Him—linking giving our tithes—our first ten percent—to His promise of blessing and protection to us.
When we give, we’re placing ourselves directly in the path of God’s blessings. Solomon—the wisest man who ever lived—amplified it: “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine” (Proverbs 3:9-10).
It’s pretty clear. If we choose to honor God by giving Him the first of our time, talent and treasure, not the “leftovers,” he intends to reward us. So, it makes perfect sense, that as we plan our budgets and calendars we should use our boldest, most indelible pen to reserve our first appointments with Him, while also writing His check first, and then trusting Him to meet our other needs. Certainly Jesus’ words in St Matthew 6:33 ring out this truth: “…Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Obviously, the Lord intended for us not to worry about this world’s supply, but to make His Kingdom our priority—then He would take care of what we needed.
Although this might not seem like the prudent path to a real return on investment, we can take God at His Word that He will reward us—in ways we might not have considered. Remember the story of the widow and her son who were about to eat their last meal and die because of a severe famine? She gave to God’s prophet Elijah first, before even caring for her own needs. God worked miraculously so that “no matter how much they used, there was always enough [flour and oil] left in the containers” (1 Kings 17:16)—supplying her needs! When we give to God first, regardless of our needs, we see how big our God can be in our lives. If we withhold from Him, we miss blessings and provisions the Lord longs to shower on us.
But does it still work today? Sure! A seasoned Christian once spoke of how 50 years earlier, he and his wife committed to give God the first portion of their income. As a young couple, they searched their budget for ways to cut expenses. But they found no way to do this and still meet the needs of their growing family. Praying over their decision, they began giving to God first anyway, knowing that by the end of the third week of every month they’d be out of money. God provided faithfully, month after month and year after year. He cared for their family creatively through odd jobs, leading others to share clothing or homegrown vegetables, a bonus or overtime pay from work, close-out-priced items in stores—and so on. Although they were very limited in their ability to give, they did what they could—with a cheerful heart, doing it to and for the Lord. Did they become rich? Not apparently—but their dedication had to bring a tear to God’s eye. Think about that for a second—warming God’s heart!
So—what’s the answer? If we invest in the Kingdom, will we be skinny, rich and gorgeous? Perhaps not here—but, in God’s Kingdom—and His eyes—we’ll all be a “10” with Warren Buffett checkbooks. The reward? It’s a matter of when God decides to deliver on His promises—now, or later. And, after all, where will the real treasure be? The Bible says that this world and all its goods will one day pass away, but that we pursue the incorruptible prize—and making Jesus Lord in our time, talent, and treasure is a huge part of how we pursue that prize.
But what happened to the family who made sacrifices to give to the Kingdom through their local parish? By making giving to the Lord’s work their first financial priority, they learned more about the love, care, and reality of God as their Heavenly Father than through any other spiritual discipline. We cannot imagine the return on their investment the Lord has for them. But Scripture tells us—it will happen…it’s just a question of when.
At the beginning of this new year, we are entering the stewardship drive cycle—building our budget for the year, so this is a very timely topic. We have seen unprecedented blessings and opportunity for service in our parish—and are working very hard to accomplish the mission of providing for God’s people in our ancient way, while reaching out to the unchurched around us. There are so many reasons to be part of the parish—we need to expand our worship spaces and classrooms, provide more services to young families and the elderly, reach out more effectively to bring the Lord to our community, and make more services and ministerial support available to those who need them. To get there, we need to expand our budget and volunteer workforce. Will you be part of the vision by investing in the Kingdom with us—to God’s reward?
Contemplative Prayer: “Holy Spirit, please show me my heart about my time, talent, and treasure—and how I can best invest in God’s Kingdom.”
Think about it: Where my heart is, there is my treasure.
All love in the Beloved,
Chip+
