A Diary of Private Prayer

I always enjoy the prayers that Pastor Allen chooses for our corporate confessions, and noticed early on that many of them come from John Baillie's A Diary of Private Prayer.

Curious to know more about the man and the book, I fould this (rated "most helpful") review on Amazon.com:


"John Baillie was an Anglican theologian, and evidently not a bad one. But his greatest work was this compilation of prayers. It is arranged into prayers for each morning and evening of 31 days, plus extra prayers for Sundays. The odd-numbered (right-side) pages have the prayers, while the even-numbered pages are empty for your own notes. The prayers are a combination of ancient prayers, various Christian liturgies, Scripture, and Baillie's own writing. It is written in elegant King James English, but it is certainly accessible to anyone who can read.

I can't recommend this highly enough for anyone, in any Christian tradition, wanting to grow in prayer. My God-mother gave it to me, and very quickly I was buying copies for my own good friends. Some of them were buying copies for their friends before long as well. I recommend it very enthusiastically. At least give it a try."

Continuing in Ephesians

Ephesians 4

Walk in Unity

1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,
3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Quotes of note from the sermon:

Tertullian (of the early Christians):
"See how they love one another...."

Justin Martyr:
"That the prophecy is fulfilled, you have good reason to believe,
for we, who in times past killed one another, do not now fight
with our enemies."

"In Rome, Christian would roam the hillsides looking for babies who had been abandoned."

"During the plague, Christians would go back into the towns, putting their own lives at risk, to nurse the dying."


And finally, Pastor Allen's advice to the students "seeking God's will," and even praying to be martyrs:

"Why don't you do your homework? Or pay attention in class?"

Speaking of music...

I hope everyone appreciates the song selection and worship leadership of Pat Daniels and the Dove Mountain Praise Team as much as I do. Their exposing us in recent weeks to Psalm 62 has been inspirational. You can hear the Aaron Keyes and Stuart Townend version of this psalm on YouTube by typing in "Psalm 62."

Psalm 62

My soul finds rest in God alone
My rock and my salvation
A fortress strong against my foes
And I will not be shaken
Though lips may bless and hearts may curse
And lies like arrows pierce me
I'll fix my heart on righteousness
I'll look to Him who hears me

Find rest my soul in God alone
Amid the world's temptations
When evil seeks to take a hold
I'll cling to my salvation
Though riches come and riches go
Don't set your heart upon them
The fields of hope in which I sow
Are harvested in heaven

(And) O praise Him hallelujah
My Delight and my Reward
Everlasting never failing
My Redeemer my God

I'll set my gaze on God alone
And trust in Him completely
With ev'ry day pour out my soul
And He will prove His mercy
Though life is but a fleeting breath
A sigh too deep to measure
My King has crushed the curse of death
And I am His forever

O praise Him O praise Him
Hallelujah hallelujah
O praise Him O praise Him
Hallelujah Hallelujah
O praise Him O praise Him
Hallelujah hallelujah

Whate'er My God ordains is right!

I love the hymn that Parker quoted from in his sermon Sunday, and thought you might enjoy reading the entire text, below. It was written in German in 1676, and Catherine Winkworth, pictured here, translated it into English in 1863.

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
His holy will abideth;
I will be still whate’er He doth;
And follow where He guideth;
He is my God; though dark my road,
He holds me that I shall not fall:
Wherefore to Him I leave it all.

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
He never will deceive me;
He leads me by the proper path:
I know He will not leave me.
I take, content, what He hath sent;
His hand can turn my griefs away,
And patiently I wait His day.

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
His loving thought attends me;
No poison can be in the cup
That my Physician sends me.
My God is true; each morn anew
I’ll trust His grace unending,
My life to Him commending.

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
He is my Friend and Father;
He suffers naught to do me harm,
Though many storms may gather,
Now I may know both joy and woe,
Some day I shall see clearly
That He hath loved me dearly.

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
Though now this cup, in drinking,
May bitter seem to my faint heart,
I take it, all unshrinking.
My God is true; each morn anew
Sweet comfort yet shall fill my heart,
And pain and sorrow shall depart.

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
Here shall my stand be taken;
Though sorrow, need, or death be mine,
Yet I am not forsaken.
My Father’s care is round me there;
He holds me that I shall not fall:
And so to Him I leave it all.

A great resource for learning about hymns is called Cyberhymnal. You can go there by clicking the link below, and hear what it sounded like in it's original form!

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/w/h/a/whateerm.htm

Tim Keller on "Why hell?"

It was great to hear Parker Tennant quoting from Tim Keller's The Reason for God in his sermon on Sunday. This is the current selection being read by the book club I mentioned in the August 1 posting, and we all agree it may be the most significant book we have read to date.

Parker made a great point concerning the parable of Lazarus and the rich man: the rich man was still unrepentant in hell - demonstrating denial, blame-shifting, and spiritual blindness. In this illumination from the lips of Jesus Himself, we do not see a hell populated by humble people acknowledging God's justice and appealing for deliverance.

I particularly appreciate the next paragraph:

"In short, hell is simply one's freely chosen identity apart from God on a trajectory into infinity. We see this process "writ small" in addictions to drugs, alcohol, gambling, and pornography. First, there is disintegration, because as time goes on, you need more and more of the addictive substance to get an equal kick, which leads to less and less satisfaction Second, there is the isolation, as increasingly you blame others and circumstances in order to justify your behavior. 'No one understands! Everyone is against me!' is muttered in greater and greater self-pity and self-absorption. When we build our lives on anything but God, that thing - though a good thing - becomes an enslaving addiction, something we have to have to be happy. Personal disintegration happens on a broader scale. In eternity, this disintegration goes on forever. There is increasing isolation, denial, delusion, and self-absorption. When you lose all humility you are out of touch with reality. No one ever asks to leave hell. The very idea of heaven seems to them a sham."

Not Greek to Us!

In his sermon today, Parker Tennant mentioned several Greek words and defined them in ways that helped "open up" the scriptures for us. They were found in Matthew 11:28-30: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

If you didn't happen to jot them down, here is a reminder:

Greek word: kopiwntes
King James word choice: labor
Literal tranlation: ones-toiling

Greek word: pefortismenoi
King James Wonrd: heavy laden
Literal translation: having been carried; having been laden

Greek Word: crestos
King James word: easy
Literal translation: kind

I always find these comparisons to the Greek very helpful, even more than comparing several different English translations. I remember how excited I was when I got my first inter-linear Greek New Testament. Ironically, it wasn't very long after puchasing it that it became available for free in the internet. You might like to take a look at:

http://www.scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/Greek_Index.htm

Speaking of books...

For the past three years I have belonged to a book club comprised of folks from Catalina Foothills Church and Rincon Mountain Presbyterian Church which meets once a month for about three hours to discuss a book we have all agreed to read simultaneously. This has become a true case of "iron sharpening iron," as we challenge interpretations, ask text-based questions, and follow enticing rabbit trails arising from the conversation. I think we would all agree that we have become Christians who are better equipped for engaging the culture wars as a result of these stimulating discussions.

Jerry LeMay (pictured above with his lovely Kathy) and I would like to start a similar book club for Dove Mountaineers this fall. Like my other group, we would choose a book of mutual interest, agree to have read the assigned chapters by the date of the next meeting, and meet once a month at homes of different members. Jerry and Kathy have kindly offered to host the first meeting in September. Unlike my other group, we would be open to discussing works of fiction, as well as non-fiction.

What we need now are a few more adventurous souls who would like to undertake this journey with us. You can indicate your interest by either replying in the comment section to this post, or e mailing either Jerry or me directly at: jklemay@yahoo.com or tomaskew@mac.com.

We'd also like to hear what books you are interested in discussing. In my other club, we read thoughtful non-fiction on topics primarily in the areas of history, culture, and theology. We have enjoyed Christian writers such as Rodney Stark, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Tim Keller, as well as non-Christians like Natan Sharansky and Neil Postman. Feel free to make your suggestions for potentially "discussable" books when you contact us. Happy reading!