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Devotion
Recent Posts
Testify!August 14, 2010
Why does the song "Amazing Grace" resound so in our hearts? Because it is giving credit to where credit is due. He is the God of all grace. And we are the grateful recipients.
It Is Necessarily So!
July 24, 2010
The Bible has always had its detractors, but for the last hundred years there has been an unprecedented attack mounted against it. The death blow has failed, but not for lack of trying.
Be Careful Where You Sit
July 19, 2010
Reading scripture plops us down into a world of faith, of trust, and a miracle-working God. Can some of that faith rub off on us? Hope so.
But By My Spirit
July 16, 2010
Jesus told his disciples that they would be better off when he left, because then they would benefit from the presence of the Holy Spirit. We cannot overestimate this gift.
When Heartburn Is A Good Thing
July 14, 2010
For the Christian, the danger is when the mind understands, but the heart does not follow. Certain death will follow if the situation is not remedied. But there is a remedy.
After The Bread And Cup
July 5, 2010
Communion is a privilege for the believer that has no parallel. It is impossible to plumb the depths of its significance, and expressing appropriate gratitude is daunting. Lancelot Andrewes helps us, with his gift for words.
A True Hymn
June 25, 2010
Our words count for eternity. One of the readers of what we write is the Lord Himself. And we will give an account someday.
It Is Necessarily So!
July 24, 2010
The Bible has always had its detractors, but for the last hundred years there has been an unprecedented attack mounted against it. The death blow has failed, but not for lack of trying.Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Psalm 119:89
Among other things, it's mock-proof.
The broadcaster Daniel Schorr has died at 93. Apparently while attending a Frank Zappa concert, he was called up on stage and invited to sing. In a performance worthy of American Idol's worst auditions - you know, the people who think they are singers, but aren't - he crooned the song IT AIN'T NECESSARILY SO, by George and Ira Gershwin.
Not being familiar with the song (from PORGY AND BESS) a quick Google search brought up this.....
It ain't necessarily so
It ain't necessarily so
The t'ings dat yo' li'ble
To read in de Bible,
It ain't necessarily so.
Li'l David was small, but oh my !
Li'l David was small, but oh my !
He fought Big Goliath
Who lay down an' dieth !
Li'l David was small, but oh my !
You get the idea? Let's just mock the Bible. A Youtube clip shows the singer holding the Bible in his hand, sneering derisively, heaping scorn on a woman who unquestioningly trusted the words written there.
Other verses include......
Well, it ain't necessarily so
Well, it ain't necessarily so
Dey tells all you chillun
De debble's a villun,
But it ain't necessarily so !
To get into Hebben
Don' snap for a sebben !
Live clean ! Don' have no fault !
Oh, I takes dat gospel
Whenever it's pos'ble,
But wid a grain of salt.
And then Ira and George show their true agenda - this is their sermon.
I'm preachin' dis sermon to show,
It ain't nece-ain't nece
Ain't nece-ain't nece
Ain't necessarily ... so !
If Francis Quarles (1592-1644) were in the same room with the Gershwin brothers, he might read them some "lyrics" of his own, to warn them of the consequences when the Bible is not taken seriously.
ON GOD’S WORD
Francis Quarles
God’s sacred Word is like the Lamp of Day,
Which softens wax,
but makes obdure (hardens) the clay.
It either melts the Heart, or more obdures (stiffens).
In never falls in vain,
It wounds, or cures.
Lord, make my breast thy Hive, and then I know,
Thy bees will bring in Wax and honey too.
I know which effect I want the Bible to have on me. Lord, soften my heart.
What Really Matters
July 11, 2009
On the surface, this world seems promising. But as wonderful as it is, it can't compare with knowing Christ, and the living water he supplies that quenches any and every thirst.
Now I saw in my dream, that thus they sat talking together until supper was ready. So when they had made ready they sat down.....and all their talk at the table was about the Lord of the Hill.
John Bunyan PILGRIM'S PROGRESS
Only a person who has tasted of the heavenly fruit, and drunk the living water would understand making singleminded conversation that focuses on the eternal, and treats the temporal as inconsequential.
Malcolm Muggeridge spent half of his life drowning in earthly pleasures. And when he discovered the glory of Christ, there was no turning back.
I may, I suppose, regard myself or pass for being a relatively successful man. People occasionally stare at me in the streets - that's fame.
I can fairly easily earn enough to qualify for admission to the higher slopes of the Internal Revenue. - that's success.
Furnished with enough money and a little fame even the elderly, if they care to, may partake of trendy diversions - that's pleasure.
It might happen once in a while that something I said or wrote was sufficiently heeded for me to persuade myself that it represented a serious impact on our time - that's fulfillment.
Yet I say to you, and I beg you to believe me - multiply these triumphs by a million, add them all together, and they are nothing - less than nothing, a positive impediment - measured against one draught of that living water Christ offers to the spritually thirsty irrespective of who or what they are.
John Bunyan PILGRIM'S PROGRESS
Only a person who has tasted of the heavenly fruit, and drunk the living water would understand making singleminded conversation that focuses on the eternal, and treats the temporal as inconsequential.
Malcolm Muggeridge spent half of his life drowning in earthly pleasures. And when he discovered the glory of Christ, there was no turning back.
I may, I suppose, regard myself or pass for being a relatively successful man. People occasionally stare at me in the streets - that's fame.
I can fairly easily earn enough to qualify for admission to the higher slopes of the Internal Revenue. - that's success.
Furnished with enough money and a little fame even the elderly, if they care to, may partake of trendy diversions - that's pleasure.
It might happen once in a while that something I said or wrote was sufficiently heeded for me to persuade myself that it represented a serious impact on our time - that's fulfillment.
Yet I say to you, and I beg you to believe me - multiply these triumphs by a million, add them all together, and they are nothing - less than nothing, a positive impediment - measured against one draught of that living water Christ offers to the spritually thirsty irrespective of who or what they are.
Saturday Night Ritual
June 22, 2009
No question, Saturday evening is traditionally a "night-on-the-town" opportunity. But if we are to be sitting in church just 12 hours later for worship, just what steps can be taken to make that time as significant as possible?
Old Things Pass Away....
June 13, 2009
Transformation. Being born again, suddenly everything is turned upside down. Or is it right-side-up? Either way, we no longer see things the same way. We belong to another. And it's ok. Or if it's not.....
The Best And Worst Of Times
May 11, 2009
In the opening sentences of A TALE OF TWO CITIES, the reader is immediately thrust into the turmoil. For Madame Elizabeth of France, that turmoil meant death by guillotine. She was faithful to the end, and went magnificently.
The Problem With Puddles
March 28, 2009
It rains, and they appear. Want-a-be lakes, they show up and are gone. Puddles are a nuisance more than anything - good for nothing, really. How do we keep our lives from being the equivalent?
The Cross and "Whatever"
March 6, 2009
It is not possible for there to be more pathos than what is packed into the death of our Lord Jesus on the cross. But often there is no "correspondingly" from us to match the significance of the moment. How do we move from cold indifference to melting?
Outrage and The Holiness of God
March 5, 2009
A jaded Christian is an oxymoron. Anything that is hurtful to God must hurt us as well. We must not become so self-protective that we are not emotionally impacted by rebellion against God. And any such identification pleases God.
Deserted, maybe. Forsaken, never!
February 24, 2009
Our walk with God has its high points, and its low ones. We have times when God seems intensely near, and other times when it seems our cry is ignored, and God is nowhere to be seen. Or so it seems. Bottom line - it is all for our good.
The Bible and Yadayadayada
February 4, 2009
There was a time in the Old Testament when, while cleaning out the Temple, a "book" was found. People began reading it, and before long, the city of Jerusalem was repenting! Only one book has such power - God's word, the Bible.
Rise And Shine!
February 4, 2009
Getting out of bed in the morning can be difficult. And making the time to be with God before the day demands our full attention is a challenge many of us struggle with. But the dividends are immeasurable.
History In The Making
January 28, 2009
“Prayer is a grand cement, and lack of prayer is like withdrawing the force of gravitation from a mass of matter, and scattering it into so many separate atoms.” C. H. Spurgeon
Flawless
January 11, 2009
The Bible has come under intense scrutiny for more than a hundred years, and Satan has done all he can to discredit it. Consequently, it lies unopened and collecting dust on many a bookshelf. But it is a treasure of hope nonetheless.
Saintly Resolutions: GEORGE BOWEN
January 1, 2009
Who? It was said of him,"He was all soul, and you can't photograph the soul nor describe it as you know it to exist." Missionary, scholar, mystic, saint. Quite a resume. So what advice does he give us at the turning of a new year?
The Only Authentic Truth Syrum
December 25, 2008
Your truth, my truth. That doesn't work very well, does it. God has a truth, and it is the word of God, scripture, the Bible, the holy book. No matter what you call it, it is his word to us. And we need it now more than ever.
Feeling Our Way Through Life
November 24, 2008
Feelings have become the new end all, the criteria that governs our actions. At the same time, self-discipline is frowned upon as inauthentic and artificial. Worship often loses out, when it is our means to health and wholeness.
Out With A Blaze Of Glory
November 19, 2008
Our culture sets 65 as the ideal time to quit working and just enjoy life. For the Christian, an eternal perspective places a different set of demands on us. The Lord's work is never done. What keeps us going?
Self-examination
November 12, 2008
"Don't be so hard on yourself. Give yourself a break." Welcome to our cultural mantra. The gravitational pull of the world can be devastating, so Paul says in 2 Corinthians 13: 5: "Examine yourselves." Just what does that look like, and how do we do it?
Keeping The Main Thing The Main Thing
November 9, 2008
When the advice "don't put all your eggs in one basket" seeps into ministry, danger lies ahead. "Keeping your options open" is a recipe for disaster for the minister of God, making whole-hearted devotion to Christ an even greater mountain to climb.
If I Should Die Before I Wake
November 5, 2008
We all know we should pray. And for most of us, we get around to it eventually, mainly in emergencies. What can we learn from a man of prayer? And how might we end the day before God on our knees? What might that prayer sound like?
Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep
November 3, 2008
One never knows what a day might hold. So to safely get through a day is a mercy of God, and He deserves our thanks. John Baillie gives us a helpful example from his prayer life.
Cheaper Chicken
October 29, 2008
What are you shooting for? Is your life being lived myopically, with self-interest as the bottom line? Or do you have the grand purposes of God propel you? Choose carefully. Each of us gets one go-around.
Detecting Slippage
October 21, 2008
This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word. Isaiah 66:2
Prepping The Heart For Worship
October 14, 2008
How many of us slide into church on Sunday morning, and the first song is like a cold shower. What might we do to prepare the heart for worship? A Puritan has a few valuable suggestions.
The Best Time Of The Day
October 8, 2008
Most of us struggle to have a quiet time at all, so to argue for the early morning hours as "most desirable" seems a bit unfair. What secret did Jesus know that we need to rediscover?
Anybody Seen My Bible?
October 3, 2008
We can read anything and everything before we sit down and read the one source of truth that doesn't lie - God's word, the Bible. Which is crazy, because only scripture gives us the spiritual nutrients we need to run the race of faith.
