Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Saturday, August 23, 2014
On the Persecution of Christians Today
In my 57 years, I don't remember ever seeing, until this week, a top news media item, written by a minister of the gospel. Considering the details, how could (Anglican) Canon Andrew White do any less than bear witness to the truth. People are dying simply because they refuse to give up their faith in Jesus. Sound the alarm! Pray! God help both them and us to react according to our means and God's direction. I have recently donated and recommend the frrme.org website.
(Please read this link http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2720983/Vicar-Baghdad-We-need-military-actions-NOW.html )
Pray for God's people and their persecutors. Pray for all innocents caught in the snares of the wicked. Iraq and Syria are merely two peaks on the top of the iceberg. From Liberia and Nigeria, to Sudan and Egypt, to Saudi Arabia and Chechnya, to Gaza and Israel, to Iran and Pakistan, to China and North Korea, to Brazil and East Timor, to Russia and the Ukraine, to Europe and Scandinavia and indeed to Britain and the Americas, our enemy, the devil, prowls the whole earth like a roaring lion seeking to devour. He is the sower of division and confusion. He is the Father of Lies, and for a time, the god of this world, of ISIS or DA'ISH, of FASCISM, of MORAL RELATIVISM, of HAMAS, of REBELLION, of HERESY, of SCHISM and of all other forms of SIN.(Please read this link http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2720983/Vicar-Baghdad-We-need-military-actions-NOW.html )
In the spiritual battles which rage believers are given both armor and guidance. Put on the gospel armor: the helmet of Salvation, the breastplate of Righteousness and the belt of Truth. Don't take it off. Make sure it's tight as it needs to be and put it right back in place when the enemy knocks it off. Don't forget that on your feet you wear the Preparation of the Good News of God's Peace and that in your hands and your mouth you are equipped with a Mighty Spiritual Sword, The Word of God.
Stand firm and remember that Our God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is infinitely Greater than any other pretender. His Merciful Love is Everlasting. He is the Sun of Righteousness, the all-consuming Fire. March Forth. Don't give up. God's will shall prevail.
Even so, Come Lord, JESUS...YESHUA!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Anglican Church in North America soars on motion of recognition from the Synod of the Church of England
It is recorded that Jesus spoke the following to His Almighty Father:
They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.
As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word;
that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.
The following is taken from a letter written by David Virtue and can be found at www.virtueonline.org
2/12/2010
Dear Brothers and Sisters
The vote (at Synod), when it came, stunned everybody. There were visible sounds from delegates and then brief applause. At 309 to 69 (reminiscent of the Lambeth resolution 1:10 vote 527 to 69), members of the Church of England Synod, the governing body of the church, unanimously voted to affirm The Anglican Church of North America (ACNA) and to recognize its existence as legitimately Anglican.
It was immediately hailed as another stepping-stone in orthodox Anglicanism, separating the true orthodox and evangelical faithful from Western pansexual Anglicanism.
When you consider where ACNA was a mere two years ago, this is a giant step forward. From a bishop deposed in his diocese, publicly humiliated by Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori, and despised by liberal and revisionist bishops in The Episcopal Church, The Most Rev. Robert Duncan, (leader of the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), has risen like a phoenix from the ashes of a dying church into the pure, clear air of an Anglicanism that has identified with Scripture, the creeds, and the vast majority of Global South Anglicans.
The truth about why the vote went as it did was this. When the Rev. Canon Simon Butler (Sanderstead) got up and accused the motion makers of lying and invoked the ninth commandment about bearing false witness, he blew everybody away. No one, especially this august body likes to be told they are liars or potential liars. He overplayed his hand. Now the other truth is this; had the original Ashworth motion been allowed to stand, based on voting figures she would have lost, but only by 60-40 - that is 233-166.
The truth is, there is only a small handful of revisionists In the Church of England (unlike the US), the large majority of which are broad church but not necessarily liberal. Unlike their American counterparts they can be persuaded with solid arguments. TEC revisionists specialize in emotion and cries of homophobia. That does not play so well here. The British are rationalists. They don't get jerked around by emotional displays of feelings. Make your case or shut up. Appealing simply to emotion won't do.
First to acknowledge the victory was the Bishop of Winchester, The Rt. Rev. Michael Scott-Joynt who promptly said he would welcome Archbishop Duncan into his diocese to preach and confirm. Will this lead to more ACNA bishops crossing the pond to preach and perform Eucharist functions with the blessing of local bishops? Time will tell. Anyway you look at it, a door has been opened that will not now close. The liberals and revisionists can scream all they want, but this week the Anglican Communion lurched rightward and away from the secular humanism and political (read sexual) correctness that now fills Episcopal pulpits.
On hearing the news, Archbishop Duncan wrote to VOL to say that the leadership of the Anglican Church in North America is very pleased with the result. While not the original straightforward motion of Lorna Ashworth, the (Bishop of Bristol) Michael Hill amendment speaks of us "remaining in the Anglican family."You can only remain in something of which you are a part. Bishop Hill also spoke of his purpose "to encourage those in the Anglican Church in North America." That encouragement carried 309 to 69.
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Christians affirm, in contrast to all other views, that history is 'his story', God's story. For God is at work, moving from a plan conceived in eternity, through a historical outworking and disclosure, to a climax within history, and then on beyond it to another eternity of the future. The Bible has this linear understanding of time. And it tells us that the centre of God's eternal-historical plan is Jesus Christ, together with his redeemed and reconciled people. --- From "The Message of Ephesians" (The Bible Speaks Today) John R.W. Stott
Our Christian doctrines of creation and redemption tell us that God wants (all of) his gifted people to be fulfilled not frustrated, and his church to be enriched by their service. --- From "Issues Facing Christians Today" by John R.W. Stott
One day (known only to the Father), when the gospel has been 'preached in the whole world as a testimony to the nations' (Mt. 24:13), the end will come. For Christ will return in glory, terminate the historical process and perfect his reign. --- Quoted from Bultmann's "History and Eschatology" by George Eldon Ladd in "The Gospel of the Kingdom"
They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.
As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word;
that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.
The following is taken from a letter written by David Virtue and can be found at www.virtueonline.org
2/12/2010
Dear Brothers and Sisters
The vote (at Synod), when it came, stunned everybody. There were visible sounds from delegates and then brief applause. At 309 to 69 (reminiscent of the Lambeth resolution 1:10 vote 527 to 69), members of the Church of England Synod, the governing body of the church, unanimously voted to affirm The Anglican Church of North America (ACNA) and to recognize its existence as legitimately Anglican.
It was immediately hailed as another stepping-stone in orthodox Anglicanism, separating the true orthodox and evangelical faithful from Western pansexual Anglicanism.
When you consider where ACNA was a mere two years ago, this is a giant step forward. From a bishop deposed in his diocese, publicly humiliated by Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori, and despised by liberal and revisionist bishops in The Episcopal Church, The Most Rev. Robert Duncan, (leader of the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), has risen like a phoenix from the ashes of a dying church into the pure, clear air of an Anglicanism that has identified with Scripture, the creeds, and the vast majority of Global South Anglicans.
The truth about why the vote went as it did was this. When the Rev. Canon Simon Butler (Sanderstead) got up and accused the motion makers of lying and invoked the ninth commandment about bearing false witness, he blew everybody away. No one, especially this august body likes to be told they are liars or potential liars. He overplayed his hand. Now the other truth is this; had the original Ashworth motion been allowed to stand, based on voting figures she would have lost, but only by 60-40 - that is 233-166.
The truth is, there is only a small handful of revisionists In the Church of England (unlike the US), the large majority of which are broad church but not necessarily liberal. Unlike their American counterparts they can be persuaded with solid arguments. TEC revisionists specialize in emotion and cries of homophobia. That does not play so well here. The British are rationalists. They don't get jerked around by emotional displays of feelings. Make your case or shut up. Appealing simply to emotion won't do.
First to acknowledge the victory was the Bishop of Winchester, The Rt. Rev. Michael Scott-Joynt who promptly said he would welcome Archbishop Duncan into his diocese to preach and confirm. Will this lead to more ACNA bishops crossing the pond to preach and perform Eucharist functions with the blessing of local bishops? Time will tell. Anyway you look at it, a door has been opened that will not now close. The liberals and revisionists can scream all they want, but this week the Anglican Communion lurched rightward and away from the secular humanism and political (read sexual) correctness that now fills Episcopal pulpits.
On hearing the news, Archbishop Duncan wrote to VOL to say that the leadership of the Anglican Church in North America is very pleased with the result. While not the original straightforward motion of Lorna Ashworth, the (Bishop of Bristol) Michael Hill amendment speaks of us "remaining in the Anglican family."You can only remain in something of which you are a part. Bishop Hill also spoke of his purpose "to encourage those in the Anglican Church in North America." That encouragement carried 309 to 69.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Christians affirm, in contrast to all other views, that history is 'his story', God's story. For God is at work, moving from a plan conceived in eternity, through a historical outworking and disclosure, to a climax within history, and then on beyond it to another eternity of the future. The Bible has this linear understanding of time. And it tells us that the centre of God's eternal-historical plan is Jesus Christ, together with his redeemed and reconciled people. --- From "The Message of Ephesians" (The Bible Speaks Today) John R.W. Stott
Our Christian doctrines of creation and redemption tell us that God wants (all of) his gifted people to be fulfilled not frustrated, and his church to be enriched by their service. --- From "Issues Facing Christians Today" by John R.W. Stott
One day (known only to the Father), when the gospel has been 'preached in the whole world as a testimony to the nations' (Mt. 24:13), the end will come. For Christ will return in glory, terminate the historical process and perfect his reign. --- Quoted from Bultmann's "History and Eschatology" by George Eldon Ladd in "The Gospel of the Kingdom"
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Re: Clinical Pastoral Education .... Did You Know?
... that certain types of mental illness could be understood as attempts to solve problems of the soul, and that some patients can find a cure in the power of religion?
At least according to Anton Theophilus Boisen, who lived from 1876 to 1965. His ideas served as the foundation of modern clinical pastoral education. Considering much current education and practice, one might enquire whether the edifice of counsel is off its Rock.
Boisen may have been quite right, but I prefer to defer to the power of God in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. I know ... that all things ... including incoherent speech, waking nightmares, seven months in a psychiatric hospital and eighteen months in rehab ... all things, work for good to those who Love God, to those who are called according to His purpose, mysterious though it may be!
At least according to Anton Theophilus Boisen, who lived from 1876 to 1965. His ideas served as the foundation of modern clinical pastoral education. Considering much current education and practice, one might enquire whether the edifice of counsel is off its Rock.
Boisen may have been quite right, but I prefer to defer to the power of God in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. I know ... that all things ... including incoherent speech, waking nightmares, seven months in a psychiatric hospital and eighteen months in rehab ... all things, work for good to those who Love God, to those who are called according to His purpose, mysterious though it may be!
Friday, June 27, 2008
Quebec City - My Portal to Canada
To mark 400 years,
Je me souviens.
Why go to Canada?
Memories of cold winters in Loughborough, England, no central heating, and having hot water bottles by our feet just to get to sleep.
Toes chilled to the point of pain in the mornings.
Dad fetching coal to start the fire in the dining room, and taking a blowtorch to the outside loo to melt the layer of ice that had formed in the bowl.
Hearing my mother tell the stories of Jesus, and even then, seeking the face of God on my bedroom wall.
My younger brother and I waiting together for my sister to be born.
Being inside a dark church, hearing, "Shush, God is here."
Playing with tops and trains and wooden hammers and an alphabet set, each block an animal picture with its letter, A for antelope, B for Buffalo. Distinct recollection of the moment I realized that letters could be put together to made words. Amazement! Reading simple nursery rhymes, long before I started school. Remembering that we were to look for police if we were threatened or lost. Being the oldest, the one to set the example. Doing jigsaw puzzles while it rained outside. Listening to the wireless (radio), not having TV, or even a fridge.
Being allowed to play records on an old manually cranked phonograph. Walking to visit my Nana, hearing the bells of the marvellous carillon in the large park near her house.
Remembering peacocks, budgies and poodles. Almost every Sunday having tea with my great-grandparents who lived in a big old house another short walk past Nana’s. The clip-clop of horse-drawn cart on cobblestones, the smells of the cattle yard and the weekly market, fair days. Being disappointed, yet excited when at seven and a half, my parents decided to bring us to Canada.
Leaving Liverpool on the Empress of Canada. Setting foot on Canadian soil, taking a whirlwind tour through the narrow streets of Old Quebec City, visiting a church decorated red and gold, getting back on the ship and on to Montreal, passing multi-coloured roof tiles on the homes which hugged the cliffs.
The cross on Mount Royal. Living in a duplex, shopping at vast supermarkets. Growing beans in a glass jar. Spelling bees. Memorizing the 23rd Psalm for a poetry recital in Grade five, and after reading only four or five words, being told by my teacher, ‘Sit down! That’s not poetry, that’s Scripture!’ In grade six, getting hold of a Gideons Centennial Edition of the New Testament, being intrigued by the book of Revelation and the Gospels. And EXPO '67; Canada, notre pays! Trips with school and family to visit the Plains of Abraham.
Being told to look to the church and God for help with spiritual struggles. Reading everything: Hardy Boys, Jules Verne, modern sci-fi, historical romance, … Recovering from chicken pox, being given a book all about ghosts, mind reading, astral travel and other strange ideas. One night I experienced a very real personal attack. I felt physically grabbed by someone or something not of this world. Childhood's End?
Throughout high school being shy and always managing to avoid speaking in class. Pulling up roots again, moving to Nova Scotia. At university, taking honors Physics and Engineering. New friends giving me copies of the Bible, strange books with titles like Bel and the Dragon, and the Wisdom of Sirach. Being challenged to seriously consider the story and claims of Jesus, attending Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship, and for the first time, clearly hearing the message of the cross: the good news that Jesus had died for me; discovering that I needed to make a personal response to His sacrifice.
Asking God to reveal Himself to me if he really was there. Shortly afterward, feeling my heart being powerfully touched by His loving presence. Talking to my friends at length even in the middle of the night. Being prayed for. Experiencing a turmoil that required hospitalization. Spending two months at home with my family. Writing in my New Testament of my decision to receive the Lord Jesus as my personal Savior. Three days later, being admitted to psychiatric hospital; my baptism of fire!
On to Toronto, passing by Quebec City, and Montreal, passing again to revisit the Maritimes, pondering lingering early memories of God and church. Being born again, a new childhood: excitement!
Je me souviens.
Why go to Canada?
Memories of cold winters in Loughborough, England, no central heating, and having hot water bottles by our feet just to get to sleep.
Toes chilled to the point of pain in the mornings.
Dad fetching coal to start the fire in the dining room, and taking a blowtorch to the outside loo to melt the layer of ice that had formed in the bowl.
Hearing my mother tell the stories of Jesus, and even then, seeking the face of God on my bedroom wall.
My younger brother and I waiting together for my sister to be born.
Being inside a dark church, hearing, "Shush, God is here."
Playing with tops and trains and wooden hammers and an alphabet set, each block an animal picture with its letter, A for antelope, B for Buffalo. Distinct recollection of the moment I realized that letters could be put together to made words. Amazement! Reading simple nursery rhymes, long before I started school. Remembering that we were to look for police if we were threatened or lost. Being the oldest, the one to set the example. Doing jigsaw puzzles while it rained outside. Listening to the wireless (radio), not having TV, or even a fridge.
Being allowed to play records on an old manually cranked phonograph. Walking to visit my Nana, hearing the bells of the marvellous carillon in the large park near her house.
Remembering peacocks, budgies and poodles. Almost every Sunday having tea with my great-grandparents who lived in a big old house another short walk past Nana’s. The clip-clop of horse-drawn cart on cobblestones, the smells of the cattle yard and the weekly market, fair days. Being disappointed, yet excited when at seven and a half, my parents decided to bring us to Canada.
Leaving Liverpool on the Empress of Canada. Setting foot on Canadian soil, taking a whirlwind tour through the narrow streets of Old Quebec City, visiting a church decorated red and gold, getting back on the ship and on to Montreal, passing multi-coloured roof tiles on the homes which hugged the cliffs.
The cross on Mount Royal. Living in a duplex, shopping at vast supermarkets. Growing beans in a glass jar. Spelling bees. Memorizing the 23rd Psalm for a poetry recital in Grade five, and after reading only four or five words, being told by my teacher, ‘Sit down! That’s not poetry, that’s Scripture!’ In grade six, getting hold of a Gideons Centennial Edition of the New Testament, being intrigued by the book of Revelation and the Gospels. And EXPO '67; Canada, notre pays! Trips with school and family to visit the Plains of Abraham.
Being told to look to the church and God for help with spiritual struggles. Reading everything: Hardy Boys, Jules Verne, modern sci-fi, historical romance, … Recovering from chicken pox, being given a book all about ghosts, mind reading, astral travel and other strange ideas. One night I experienced a very real personal attack. I felt physically grabbed by someone or something not of this world. Childhood's End?
Throughout high school being shy and always managing to avoid speaking in class. Pulling up roots again, moving to Nova Scotia. At university, taking honors Physics and Engineering. New friends giving me copies of the Bible, strange books with titles like Bel and the Dragon, and the Wisdom of Sirach. Being challenged to seriously consider the story and claims of Jesus, attending Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship, and for the first time, clearly hearing the message of the cross: the good news that Jesus had died for me; discovering that I needed to make a personal response to His sacrifice.
Asking God to reveal Himself to me if he really was there. Shortly afterward, feeling my heart being powerfully touched by His loving presence. Talking to my friends at length even in the middle of the night. Being prayed for. Experiencing a turmoil that required hospitalization. Spending two months at home with my family. Writing in my New Testament of my decision to receive the Lord Jesus as my personal Savior. Three days later, being admitted to psychiatric hospital; my baptism of fire!
On to Toronto, passing by Quebec City, and Montreal, passing again to revisit the Maritimes, pondering lingering early memories of God and church. Being born again, a new childhood: excitement!
A Peaceful Warning: Amidst the Perils, Love!
LOVE! WHY? It’s God’s command, here and now,
besides who will if you won't?
Take some down time; Look around.
Multi channels visit the globe; NOISES BLARE!
Feel the sombre stare of SCREAMING PAGES pulled up through the web.
Burning sun and shooting stars yell and cry and warn...
Of bitter justice soon scrawled on walls and doorways!
At the guarded gate to paradise,
Mythic states jeer in defence of forged creeds.
Shadows of our past echo in prideful conflict
FORCING the children of men into a nightmare.
Green peasant's lands suffer afflicton,
as silvered rivers, damned for electric amenities,
flow wth pesticides, fungicides, wasted antibiotics.
Vigor is sterilized and rotten wealth is made.
A strange preacher leads his flock awry,
and authorities bring the fire and brimstone!
Is Love on holiday?
Kids bully and are bullied to take up arms
and little towns cry for lost minds.
Convicted killers are shut in dusk and doom,
like parched trees,
dying to be posters for deception and vengeance.
Terrible gauntlets fly;
A mighty fortress is cracked open
and the deathday dawns upon a city of liberty;
Cries of faith punch at apathy and sacrifices begin again.
Silent lamp posts hang down,
marking lonely days and nights.
Even the whole planet shudders,
leaving cities and nations swamped as by its tears.
Crystal cups of sorrow haunt the yearly festivals.
LOVE! Why? … It’s essential, required, demanded!
Seek the Face of THE HOLY ONE,
The healer of all wounds.
LOVE! AND MARCH FORTH TO ETERNITY!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
O Canada! Watching for the Vision
Whatever projects we get up to, I'm sure our Heavenly Father has some great laughs, sometimes in derision, sometimes delight.
Whatever mischief we create or encounter, don't you think many tears from mingled sorrow and joy come easily from His eyes?
Consider Canada
Comment ça va avec lui? avec nous?
What keeps us together?
The Trans-Canada highway? Maybe.
The Federal government? Eh, say what?
But remember!
Our governors separated us into Upper and Lower Canada.
Then one day a true first-rate fellow took an act of political hubris to curb our inferiority and brought our constitution home from across the pond.
Now we can follow our dreams, if only we can agree on what they are.
Romance clashes with work ethic. In our national anthem we sing, en français,
'Il sait porter la croix!
Ton histoire est une épopée des plus brillant exploits'...and yet...Quebec feels left out.
So do the Atlantic Provinces … the Prairies and B.C.
We’ve no Grand Canyon, just a few noisy fire-crackers, dissidents who avoid responsibilities while promoting rights!
What about the privilege of duty?
What of Ontario?
The Place to Stand, Out in the cold with the North?
So what can keep us together? Simple convenience and compromise has so far.
But a little more is required:
Charity, friendship, common sense,
hope, the Word of life, hot apple cider and sticky
maple syrup.
Mon Dieu!
Whatever mischief we create or encounter, don't you think many tears from mingled sorrow and joy come easily from His eyes?
Consider Canada
Comment ça va avec lui? avec nous?
What keeps us together?
The Trans-Canada highway? Maybe.
The Federal government? Eh, say what?
But remember!
Our governors separated us into Upper and Lower Canada.
Then one day a true first-rate fellow took an act of political hubris to curb our inferiority and brought our constitution home from across the pond.
Now we can follow our dreams, if only we can agree on what they are.
Romance clashes with work ethic. In our national anthem we sing, en français,
'Il sait porter la croix!
Ton histoire est une épopée des plus brillant exploits'...and yet...Quebec feels left out.
So do the Atlantic Provinces … the Prairies and B.C.
We’ve no Grand Canyon, just a few noisy fire-crackers, dissidents who avoid responsibilities while promoting rights!
What about the privilege of duty?
What of Ontario?
The Place to Stand, Out in the cold with the North?
So what can keep us together? Simple convenience and compromise has so far.
But a little more is required:
Charity, friendship, common sense,
hope, the Word of life, hot apple cider and sticky
maple syrup.
Mon Dieu!
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