JONAH HAD FAITH (song) by Daniel Patrick Brown
May 15, 2008
(thoughts derived from Jonah, Matthew, Psalm 105, I Corinthians 13, and Isaiah.)
copyrighted 2006 by Daniel Patrick Brown [of our parish]
Verse 1: the ocean is a playground where I’d rather not play /
when I think about the size of the creatures that pray /
to the Lord to provide for their huge appetite /
when a man-size snack swallows without a bite.
Chorus: Jonah had faith but he didn’t have love /
Jonah had a problem he was not aware of /
so the fish swallowed him who would not swallow his pride /
till that Ninevah-bound sub-marine ride.
Verse 2: the prophet did not profit by holding on to hate /
when the prejudice preacher became deep-sea fishing bait /
Jonah knew the Word and Jonah had the faith /
but he didn’t have the love to accept that other race.
Verse 3: Jonah believed God’s love was too great /
to destroy a people that Jonah chose to hate /
Jonah knew the Word of God does not return void /
so he doubted he was sent to see Ninevah destroyed.
Verse 4: I could speak every language on the earth /
but if I had no love what would my talent be worth ? /
and though a man’s faith may move a mountain to the sea /
Contagious Christians
May 15, 2008
“All Saints is Spirit-filled…
Christ-centered…
Biblically led…..
and filled with contagious Christians.
If you ever visit, you will become contagious!!!”
~ Mary Ann Green
WHAT I LEARNED FROM GOD LAST NIGHT by Mary Ann Green
May 8, 2008
“What is God doing in your life,” I was asked
Dumbfounded and embarrassed—
Couldn’t come up with an answer,
I replied:
“I’ve been absent. I don’t know.”
Sitting quietly late into that night
Realizing the well had slowly been running dry
Immersing myself in reading Scripture
I felt the well slowly begin to fill
And reading from a short meditation on
How our hearts become dehydrated
I could relate to that
I can do nothing apart from you,
The Source of all Life,
I need sips of the water of life often
As
I’ve had no words to write—
Until I learned this from God tonight.
Waiting on the Lord
May 2, 2008
“We can’t force God to follow our schedule, but we can make sure we are ready when he does act.” ~ Dr. Sam Shaw, Jr, Sam Shaw Online
The Power of Persevering Prayer
April 28, 2008
“But why … does it often take so long for the answer to prayer to come? And why must God’s own elect so often, in the middle of suffering and conflict, cry day and night? He is waiting patiently while He listens to them. … Our great danger, in this school of the answer delayed, is the temptation to think that, after all, it may not be God’s will to give us what we ask. If our prayer be according to God’s word, and under the leading of the Spirit, let us not give way to these fears. Let us learn to give God time. God needs time with us. If only we give Him time, that is, time in the daily fellowship with Himself, for Him to exercise the full influence of His presence on us, and time, day by day, in the course of our being kept waiting, for faith to prove its reality and to fill our whole being, He Himself will lead us from faith to vision; we shall see the glory of God. Let no delay shake our faith. Of faith it holds good: first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. Each believing prayer brings a step nearer the final victory. Each believing prayer helps to ripen the fruit and bring us nearer to it; it fills up the measure of prayer and faith known to God alone; it conquers the hindrances in the unseen world; it hastens the end. Child of God, give the Father time. He is patiently listening to you. He wants the blessing to be rich, and full, and sure; give Him time, while you cry day and night. Only remember the word: ‘I tell you that He will avenge them speedily.’ (Luke 18:8)” ~ Andrew Murray, The Power of Persevering Prayer
I can do all things …
April 24, 2008
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” ~ Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)
I can do all things doesn’t mean mind over matter, it means Christ in circumstance. ~ Pastor J. D. Hatfield, Voice of Vision
Christ’s Construction Co. or The Devil’s Demolition, Inc.?
April 12, 2008
“God is in the construction business. He creates, and He builds up. Satan, on the other hand, is in the demolition business. He tears down, and he destroys. Which business will you be a part of - The Devil’s Demolition, Inc. or Christ’s Construction Co.? The choice is yours.” ~ Renae Brumbaugh on the blog Morning Coffee
Where Churchmen Ought to Be
April 7, 2008
“I simply argue that the Cross should be raised at the center of the marketplace as well as on the steeple of the church. I am recovering the claim that Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral between two candles; but on a cross between two thieves; on the towns’ garbage heap; at a crossroad, so cosmopolitan they had to write his title in Hebrew and Latin and Greek… at the kind of place where cynics talk smut, and thieves curse, and soldiers gamble. Because that is where He died. And that is what He died about. So, that is where churchmen ought to be and what churchmen ought to be about.” ~ Rev. Dr. George McLeod, Minister, Church of Scotland, 1895-1991
(quoted by Sam Shaw Online)
PILGRIMS by Mary Ann Green
March 26, 2008
Soul searching pilgrims longing to find
quiet, dark places to pray and meditate,
clearing their minds of mundane matters,
searching their souls to find the parts that are missing
to fulfill the persistent longing deep within.
To find and feel the Presence
the Guide for their lives;
the Sanctuary for their restless souls
the Peace for their busy minds.
Looking ahead, cathedral spires outstretched,
doors wide open, waiting for them to enter,
welcoming them and warmly embracing
each one as they search to find a space to kneel and pray
to receive fuel for their soul and their unending journey.
Our Holy Mission
March 22, 2008
“Our holy mission is to preach what Christ preached, to teach what the apostles taught, and to propagate what the holy Fathers propagated.”~
Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev, the Russian Orthodox Bishop of Vienna and Austria, at the World Council of Churches Central Committee meeting
