Novena to St. Jude

Painting: St. Jude Thaddeus by El Greco

2012-01-22T00:01:00.000-05:00

El Greco (1541–1614) was a painter, sculptor, and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El Greco" (The Greek) was a nickname, a reference to his Greek origin, and the artist normally signed his paintings with his full birth name in Greek letters, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος (Doménikos Theotokópoulos).

St. Jude (Thaddeus) by Anthony van Dyck

2012-01-15T00:01:00.001-05:00

It is important to see how art is applied to religious or historical icons. The perspectives of artists tells us much about how these figures are viewed in and over time. Last week, I presented a painting of St. Jude by Sir Anthony van Dyck, a Flemish Baroque artist.

This week, I present a painting of the saint by Georges de La Tour (1593–1652), a painter who spent most of his working life in the Duchy of Lorraine, which became part of France the year before his death. He painted mostly religious scenes lit by candlelight, and after centuries of posthumous obscurity became one of the most highly regarded of French 17th century artists in the 20th century.

Sermon: Does Prayer Make A Difference?

2012-01-08T00:01:00.001-05:00

A sermon by a sermon by Dr. William P. Wood of the First Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.A. on November 7, 2004 (source link here).

Text: He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples’” (Luke 11:1).

Elie Wiesel, a Hungarian Jew, who witnessed firsthand the Holocaust, and lived to write about it once told the story of the beadle of a small synagogue in Eastern Europe, who would rush to the synagogue each morning before the services there and shout, “I have come to inform you, Master of the Universe, that we are still here.” The Jews began to be massacred, but he would still rush into the synagogue and cry at the top of his voice, “You see, Lord, we are still here.” After the last massacre, he found himself all alone in the deserted synagogue. The last living Jew, he climbed the bimah one last time, stared at the Ark and whispered with infinite gentleness: “You see, I am still here.” He stopped briefly before continuing with his sad, almost toneless voice: “ But you, where are you?”

The question, “But you, where are you?,” often arises from those who find themselves separated from God. But one does not have to go through a Holocaust to experience this. Sometimes the death of a loved one, a domestic tragedy, an illness, some great disappointment or loss--all of these things can place us in a situation in which our deepest prayer is that one that utters, “God, I am still here. But you, where are you?”

There is nothing more central to the life of faith than prayer. It is the means by which we have access to God. It is asking, but it is also listening.

In the New Testament there is only one thing that the disciples specifically asked Jesus to teach them--how to pray. Now in some ways that seems strange. After all, these people knew how to pray. They had prayed all their lives. However, when they came under the influence of Jesus and saw what prayer meant to him, it dawned on them that although they had prayed from the time they were children, they did not really know how to pray. “It came to pass,” says the Gospel of Luke, ‘as he was praying in a certain place, that when he ceased one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord teach us to pray, even as John also taught his disciples.’”(Luke 11:10).

When we speak of prayer, we are very close to the heart of the Christian faith.

But let’s be honest. Many people struggle with certain forms of prayer. After all, we do live in an ordered world. How do we expect God to intervene in the order of the universe? If each of us prays with our limited vision, our fragmentary understanding, our persistent sin and self- centeredness, how could all our prayers be answered without causing real chaos in the world? Too often to ask God to grant what we ask would require that God play special favorites. Sometimes God has to refuse our requests lest in giving that which would be good for us, he bring harm to someone else.

Abraham Lincoln, in his magnificent Second Inaugural Address, expressed a profound understanding of this. Lincoln observed of the North and the South: “Both sides read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes his aid against the other…The prayers of both could not be answered, that of neither has been answered just as they intended…Yet still it must be said, “The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.”

So how does a person pray without doing an injustice to our heart’s desires or an injustice to a God who is both loving and just?

One of the ways we do this is by acknowledging the distinction between the creator and the creature. The Protestant Reformers of the Sixteenth Century often used a Latin expression to express this notion: Finitum not est capax Infiniti (“The finite cannot contain the infinite.”) Karl Barth once noted that that the distance between God and man is an “infinite qualitative distance.” God is both imminent and transcendent. That is found in the Lord’s Prayer. It is intimate. We pray, “Our Father.”

But God is also transcendent. He is not our “buddy” nor our “pal.” He is the creator of the universe and all that is. That is why we approach God with reverence and awe. This was brought home to me this week in an article by Hughes Olds in Theology Today in which he spoke of worship in the Presbyterian Church. Olds notes that Presbyterian worship traditionally was celebrated with reverence and awe. For generations, he notes, a sense of solemnity was characteristic of Presbyterian worship. Then he notes, some wag accused us of being the “frozen chosen” and we have hung our heads in shame and traded simple dignified forms of worship for more giddy forms of godliness. So today we have Presbyterian Churches in Charlotte who offer worship on Saturday evening so that people are free to spend all of Sunday watching football games. Our forefathers would not recognize us.

Olds goes on to point out that in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century, when revivals were sweeping this country, many old school Presbyterians argued that a person could become a Christian by being born in a Christian family, being Baptized, learning the Catechism, receiving the regular preaching of the Word each Lord’s Day, and finally making a profession of faith and being received into the communion of the church. They argued that a person could be a Christian without having to attend a revival meeting or having a conversion experience.

Another way that prayer makes a difference in our lives is when we open others and ourselves to the working of God’s Spirit in our lives. The prophet Isaiah reminds us that “God’s ways are not our ways and his thoughts not our thoughts.” The great and essential mystery of prayer is that in prayer we actually share in God’s sovereign governance of the world. As Karl Barth has put it, “God’s sovereignty is so great that without abandoning his control of the universe, God allows himself to be influenced by his creatures.”

Here again a word of caution is in order. While affirming that God does hear and answer prayer, we must also state that his answer may not be at all what we expect or desire at any given moment. God is not at our beck and call.

In one of the most moving scenes of St. Augustine’s Confessions he pictures his mother, Monica, praying al night in a seaside chapel on the coast of Africa, that God would not let her son sail for Italy. More than anything else Monica wanted her son to be a Christian, but she feared that if he went to Italy, with all its temptations, he would be lost forever. Even as his mother prayed, Augustine set sail for Italy. But there, something remarkable happened. Augustine came under the influence of a great Christian, Ambrose of Milan, and became converted to Christianity. Augustine later reflected that he was converted to Christ in the very place from which his mother’s prayers would have kept him. He believed that God had to deny his mother’s specific request to grant her deepest desire.

Then, too, if prayer is to make a difference in our lives, we must understand that God is active in our lives. There is a great divide in the Presbyterian Church and its seminaries between those who believe that God is active in human history and those who do not believe that it is possible for God to be active in human history. If we do not believe that God is active in human life, then prayer is to no avail. Dr. Thomas Torrance, who taught at the University of Edinburgh for many years, once said that he would not allow a graduate degree to be granted to a student until he had heard that student pray.

John Calvin understood that prayer was a discipline and needed to be treated as such: He believed that there were certain times of prayer that were essential to Christians: 1) When we arise in the morning, 2) Before we begin our daily work, 3) When we sit down at a meal, 4) When by God’s blessing we have eaten, 5) When we are getting ready to retire for the day.

One of the ways that we affirm God’s activity in our lives is by praying affirmatively. The trouble with much of our prayer is that it is little more than begging. It conceives of God as a universal organized charity and of ourselves as impecunious applicants, saying, "Give me! Give me!”

One does not find that kind of prayer in the Old or New Testament. True prayer is affirmative. It turns its back on our wretched, miserable needs and stretches a taking hand to appropriate the divine grace. It says,

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul.”

Everyone knows that at the Diet of Worms Martin Luther defied the German Emperor at the risk of his life, but most of us do not know what Luther was praying at the time. Here are his words:

“O Thou my God, stand by me, against all the world…Do it. Thou must do it, Thou alone. It is indeed not my cause but Thine.” That is affirmative prayer. It does not so much ask as take. It does not so much beg for living water as it sinks it shafts into it and draws from it. It starts as Jesus did: “Our father who art in heaven.”

Then, too, if prayer is to make a difference in our lives, it will be because we have learned to pray dangerously. So often we think of prayer as a safe refuge, but the prayers of the New Testament are often dangerous prayers. Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Not my will, but thy will be done.” He might have escaped crucifixion if he had trimmed a little, but did not and he went from Gethsemane to the cross. That was true also of the great prophet Jeremiah, whom one person called “the father of true prayer.” Often he wanted to escape the difficult compulsions of his duty, but he was always prevented from running away by the habit of prayer. As Jeremiah himself put it, God said to him, “Call unto me, and I will answer you, and will show you great things, and difficult.”

Several years ago I visited Oxford, England. As we came to the square in the middle of the town, I noted a monument that had been placed there in memory of Hugh Latimer, one of the early reformers of England, who was burned at the stake for his faith. Before his death he prayed that he would not approach death as a coward. Then he turned to his companion Ridley and said, “Be of good comfort, Master Ridley and play the man; we shall this day light such a candle that by God’s grace in England, shall never be put out.”

I wonder what would happen in this church if we were to pray dangerously, asking God to use our lives to make a difference in this city. There is nothing more important for our lives and for our city than that we place prayer at the center of all that we do. Prayer does make a difference. It can change your life. It can change this church. It can change this city.

January 2012: Messages of Thanks

2012-01-01T00:05:00.001-05:00

Publish your messages of thanks (and special intentions) to St. Jude for January here.

Happy New Year 2012

2012-01-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

This year, whether it be in your darkest hour or during your brightest moment, remember: faith, hope, strength and endurance.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T00:01:00.001-05:00

On this special day and throughout the year, open your heart and mind to the infant Jesus, whose birth we celebrate today. May God bless you.

Painting: Adoration of the Shepherds by Gerard van Honthorst (November 4, 1592 - April 27, 1656). Gerard van Honthorst, also known as Gerrit van Honthorst and in Italy as Gherardo delle Notti for his nighttime candlelit subjects, was a Dutch Golden Age painter of Utrecht.

Article: Why Prayer Is Important

2011-12-18T00:01:00.002-05:00

An article by Johney Maron (source link here):

If you really think about it, prayer can seem a little odd. What do you do in prayer? You bow, or kneel, or raise your hands, or just sit there and talk, or even think - and you have the knowledge that God hears you and answers your prayer. Prayer is an amazing reality - a reality that can radically transform your life. Why is prayer so important?

Prayer is important because God invented it.

Prayer is not the random invention of a religious fanatic. It is not a fantasy, a crutch for the weak, or a pipe dream. Prayer is a rock-solid reality that God gave to us so we could talk to Him. Every book of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, records prayer. In an amazing act of grace, kindness, and love that God gave us this means for us to speak directly to Him. The fact that God invented prayer and asks us to pray is our confidence that prayer is important.

Prayer is important because the Bible commands it.

God's word is replete with commands to pray. Prayer forms a foundational element of the believer's life. Without prayer, the result will be confusion, anger, lack of peacefulness, and even sin. If anyone questions the importance of prayer, think about the importance that Jesus placed upon prayer. Repeatedly in the gospels, we read of Jesus going to a solitary place to pray, spending all night in prayer, and encouraging his disciples to pray. The final act that Jesus did before his trial and crucifixion was hold an all-night prayer vigil to His father. Jesus thought prayer was important, and the Bible is full of repeated commands for believers to pray, too (1 Corinthians 1:11; Ephesians 6:18; Philippians 4:6; Colossians 4:2).

Prayer is important because you need it.

Let's be honest, though. God doesn't need your prayers as much as you need to pray. Prayer has the power to change you, regardless of what you ask for. Prayer cultivates dependency upon God. When you pray, you are asking God for His help. That really takes the focus off yourself, and places it entirely upon God. Prayer gives us a means to worship God, praise God, and thank God. Beyond that, prayer is your only means of talking with God. We have the Bible, which is God's word to us. Mankind has prayer, which is our words to God. Beyond those reasons, think about one of the main purposes for prayer - asking God to meet our daily needs. Prayer is the believer's lifeline.

Prayer is important because humanity requires it.

Prayer is not just a give-me time. We must pray for others, too. How easy it is to let a casual "I'll be praying for you", turn into nothing more than a sanctified way of saying, "it's ok." Others need our prayers. The homeless need our prayers for shelter. The starving need our prayers for food. The sick need our prayers for healing. The struggling need our prayers for peacefulness. Prayer can change the world. That's pretty important.

Song, Video & Prayer Interlude

2011-12-11T00:01:00.000-05:00

While not specifically dedicated to St. Jude, this beautiful song, The Prayer, by Andrea Bocelli & Heather Headley and accompanied video on YouTube is inspirational, passionate and pleasing. Sometimes, songs like this can inspire and strengthen our prayer life. I included it as an interlude in our blog, and hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Perhaps, as you watch, say and pray:

Most holy apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the Church honors and invokes you universally, as the patron of hopeless cases, of things almost despaired of.

Pray for me, I am so helpless and alone. Make use I implore you, of that particular privilege given to you, to bring visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of.

Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly (here make your request) and that I may praise God with you and all the elect forever.

I promise, O blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor, to always honor you as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you.

Amen.

Article: Why Pray? A Perspective on Sovereignty

2011-12-04T00:01:00.000-05:00

Source link here

It had been just a few weeks since my father died with bone cancer. I was driving and rethinking my belief about prayer. Anyone who has watched cancer engulf a loved one, begged for God's healing, and lost in the face of death, knows why I was thinking about prayer.

My thoughts centered around the idea that if God is going to do what He wills anyway, why pray? As I was doing some mental "thumbing through" of the Bible, I remembered a time when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. Jesus' response came to be known as the "Lord's prayer."

Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Matthew 6:9-13

As I drove that day, I slowly went over the words I learned as a child. Probably the greatest and most lasting gift my dad gave me was the opportunity to memorize this simple and beautiful prayer. Through the words of the "Lord's Prayer," I found the answer to why one should pray, when God will do what He wants to anyway.

OUR FATHER

We approach the throne of God as members of the human race. We come to "our" Father, and we come personally, alone in our "closet" to the One who sees in secret and rewards men openly. In so doing, self must be replaced with a right perspective of how we stand among all men in the eyes of Him we petition and praise.

Do we feel too poor to pray? He says of us, "The rich and poor meet together: the Lord is the maker of them all" (Proverbs 22:2). Are we too burdened to pray? He says, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

Do we feel too sinful to pray? What was His response to the publican who prayed "God be merciful to me a sinner" (Luke 18:13)? God said he went down to his house justified. (Luke 18:14). Do we approach Him with pride? He says "There is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10).

Are we so overcome with grief or despair that we no longer are sure what to pray for, only that God is the answer to our pain? "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered" (Romans 8:26).

The one who created us in His image, saw man's sin in the Garden of Eden, and paid the price of the blood of the Son of God, invites us to approach Him as the loving Father, our Father.

Beyond our approaching him as a brother to all humanity, we enter His throne room as a joint heir with Jesus Christ (Romans 8:17). No sinner, though humble-- no beggar, though needy--no one, even at the depth of despair, is able to come unless he stands on the ground purchased by the blood of the only begotten Son of God. Out of the depths of unimaginable love came His sacrifice for us. His death for sins crossed a gulf that no man could repair. He did it all and called us His "friends" (John 15:13-15). And we call Jesus' Father, our Father. In this perspective, prayer begins.

WHICH ART IN HEAVEN

Earth is not heaven. That may sound too obvious for words. And yet, how often have we murmured and complained because someone did not act in a "Christian manner," or things did not go as planned. Or when the worse happens, such as the death of a loved one. It just doesn't seem fair. That is when it is good to remember, earth is not heaven. Earth has been corrupted by sin. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (Romans 5:12). That is what earth is like.

Does God live apart from it all, untouched by our problems? Never. Jesus Christ is the "great high priest," in Hebrews 4 "that is passed into the heavens." Of Him it is said,

"For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:14-16).

Does Jesus, the One who intercedes for us at God's Heavenly throne, understand what we are going through? He understands to a depth that we shall never know, for He resisted every temptation and suffered for every sin. We live our lives narrowed by looking too long at those things that concern only us, and naturally we place some of that personality on to God Himself. He is not as limited in His perspective as we. He resides in Heaven, but He has borne the pain of earth.

The agony of my father's leaving would have been too great to bear had I not known where he was going. Jesus was merciful to those who have been touched by grief in that He included God the Father's permanent residence address(Heaven) in the "Lord's Prayer."

"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (John 14:1-3).

JUSTICE WILL PREVAIL

In addition to heaven being the eternal home for those we love, it is the highest court where all matters will someday be decided justly. "For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off" (Proverbs 23:18). "... for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known" (Matthew 10:26).

There is no one who has had more of a reason to doubt that God was in control than the Apostle Paul: He said,

"...We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body" (2 Corinthians 4:8-10).

Fixing our hearts in prayer to our Father in heaven reminds us that His thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). Even though we cannot understand why things happen, we have the assurance that "He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer" (Psalm 102:17), so we can say "My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him" (Psalm 62:5).

HALLOWED BE THY NAME

We come as children in prayer, addressing our Father who is in Heaven. Is He a father like any other? No, His name is hallowed. "Hallowed" is most often translated "sanctify" or "sanctified" in the New Testament, which means set apart or dedicated to God. In our prayer, it points out the fact that God's Name is the name that is "above every name" (Phil 2:9), not only set apart, but set above, for He is the "Most High, the possessor of heaven and earth" (Genesis 14:22).

When God met with Moses at the burning bush, Moses doubted his ability to convince the children of Israel that God had chosen him. Moses feared the people would ask him the name of the God who had spoken to him. God told Moses to tell them that "I AM hath sent me unto you" (Exodus 3:13,14). "I AM" and "LORD" in the Old Testament (Yahweh or Jehovah) mean essentially the same thing, the self-existent, eternal One. Although God is the creator of time, He exists apart from it. In order to communicate with mankind, He described himself as I AM. One of the reasons his name is hallowed is that only the one true God can reign eternally in every moment of everyone's days.

THE NAME ABOVE EVERY NAME

God's name is set apart because it is the name of the God who is like none other. When King David transferred power to his son, Solomon, he prayed for him. That prayer is recorded in Psalm 72. David ended his prayer praising the name of God:

"His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed. Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen" (Psalm 72:17-19).

Jesus taught that no man had seen the father at any time (John 1:18), but He revealed to us what the Father is like. In fact He said, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9). When Isaiah prophesied the birth of Jesus, he said His name shall be called "Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God , The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6).

His Name is WONDERFUL

Our God's name is wonderful, or full of wonder. Moses song at the Red Sea was full of praise: "Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?" (Exodus 15:11). This song came after the deliverance from Pharaoh's Army. The children of Israel would be delivered time and time again by their mighty God.

The greatest deliverance of all, of course, came when Christ Himself was "delivered...up for us all" (Romans 8:32) as a sin offering on our behalf. It is no wonder that the Son of God is called "Wonderful."

His Name is COUNSELOR

His name is also "Counselor." Perhaps a simple illustration will shed some light on the Biblical concept of "counselor."

If an employer made the announcement he would give away $100 bonus checks at noon in the conference room, it could be said he purposed on that day to give away $100 bonus checks. The employer's counsel would be to come to the conference room at noon to get the bonus check. If he is a truthful employer, he will be at the appointed place and give away the $100 checks. In this particular matter, the employer's purpose and his counsel are inexorably linked together, and his counsel is true because what is about to happen depends solely on his doing it.

"Counsel" is also used to describe the help of a professional, as in the case of "retaining counsel" for a legal matter or seeing a "counselor" in regard to a personal matter. In both of these cases, the basic reason the counselor is sought out is for his or her expertise in a given field. A counselor has a thorough knowledge of the subject at hand.

Our all-knowing Counselor is divine, as are His purposes. Isaiah 55:8 teaches,
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD." This may sound like He is unwilling to share His thoughts with us, but this is not the case at all. One primary reason His thinking is so vastly different from ours is because when He thinks something, it is as good as done. His purposes cannot be frustrated. That's why his "counsel" is invaluable. What He counsels is what is happening all around us. In fact, Ephesians 1:11 teaches that He works "all things after the counsel of His own will." In Jeremiah 29:11, God says "I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." His thoughts are His purposes, and this is what will happen, without fail.

No one is God's counselor, but His ways are perfect (Romans 11:34; Psalm 18:30). He is eminently qualified as Counselor because He knows everything about you and me:

"Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether" (Psalm 139:2-4).

He shares that counsel with mankind through the written word and the living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. We should give heed to the words of this counselor:

I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see (Revelation 3:18).

This is the counsel of our Lord. It is the counsel to obtain the eternal riches of salvation, the white raiment of righteousness, and the anointing of sin blinded eyes, that see Jesus as He really is.

His Name is THE MIGHTY GOD

The word "mighty" means powerful, or warrior. It is translated in scripture as mighty man, mighty one, champion, etc. Only the mighty God could triumph over the grave: "The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in his love, He will joy over thee with singing" (Zephaniah 3:17).

He is "the great, the mighty God, the Lord of hosts, is His name, great in counsel, and mighty in work:" (Jeremiah 32:18). He is a God that stands alone without need of anyone and beyond the influence of power or bribery: "For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward" (Deuteronomy 10:17).

His Name is THE EVERLASTING FATHER

All Hebrew letters have a numerical value. The Hebrew word for "Father" is assigned number one (#01) in the Hebrew language. It's numerical placement could serve as a reminder that all things proceed from the Father. This is true of the Holy Spirit: "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me" (John 15:26).

Jesus name was to be called "The Everlasting Father" which is a remarkable commentary on the interdependence and relationship within the Trinity. John taught that the "Word," Jesus Christ was "in the beginning with God" (John 1:2). He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending" (Revelation 1:8).

Unlike an earthly father, the everlasting Father can never die. He is never too busy or too tired at the end of a long day. He is never impatient; He always has time for us. Everlasting is also translated "world without end," and there is no end to the love our heavenly father has for all His children. "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him" (Psalm 103:13). "Pitieth" means to have compassion on; and His "compassions fail not" (Lamentations 3:22). It is extremely important to remember this fact when we pray. God is able to do what He wills, but His will is always compassionate toward his children.

His Name is THE PRINCE OF PEACE

Another of the names by which God is known is "Prince of Peace." Something calm or tranquil comes to mind whenever one thinks of peace. Paul taught that Jesus "is our peace" (Ephesians 2:14), because we have peace with God through Him (Romans 5:1).

In order to understand this type of peace, one must look at Jesus' prayer in John 17. He prayed about being "one" (same word as at peace) with the Father (John 17:21). "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me" (John 17:21). Jesus did not come to send peace, "but a sword" (Matthew 10:34). If the price of peace is a denial of Christ, then a "sword" it must be. But He did come to make peace between God and man. There was a great gulf fixed between God and man when Adam sinned. Nothing could bridge this gulf but the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:13). Because of Christ, we can now be one with God through Him.

This lesson in peace gives insight into maintaining a peaceful spirit. In any circumstance, we can remain in a spirit of agreement and oneness with our Lord that His will is perfect and He works everything out for our good and His glory. This will keep us from striving to understand "why me?" in the midst of adversity. Our focus and thought in all things can be "No matter what happens to me, I rest assured that God loves me. He proved it at Calvary." This is true peace authored by the Prince of Peace

Thy Kingdom Come

Why would God teach us to pray that His kingdom is to come? This makes it clear that we are praying for a future date and it is forward looking prayer that keeps hope alive! What does he tell us about his kingdom? He told the parable of the tares and the wheat to tell us about His kingdom (Matthew 13:24-30). As in the parable of the sower and the seed (Matthew 12), there is nothing wrong with the seed, it is the good seed of the Word of God. But the enemy of men's souls, the devil, sows his seeds as well. In this parable, a "tare" is a weedy grass that grows alongside the wheat. It's difference from the wheat is easily seen when the two have reached maturity side by side. The wheat bows its head laden with its fruit, the tare does not bow.

The word "tare" is also used to identify an empty counterbalance in weights and measures. Job said, "But He knoweth the way that I take: when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold" (Job 23:10). Our place in the kingdom is to be concerned about our own inner "weight," whether we are pure gold or empty inside.

Jesus taught another parable about His kingdom. It was of the "ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom" (Matthew 25:1-13). The five "foolish virgins" were as empty as the tares are. While outward appearances may be deceiving, the inner heart that seeks God will someday be manifest. The kingdom is likened also to a net (Matthew 13:47), which "gathered of every kind" but only the good were gathered into the vessel, the bad were cast away.

Also included in the parables of the kingdom are those which describe the seeming insignificance of its promise of influence to a worldly eye. The "kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed...which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof" (Matthew 13:31-32).

The plant here described was very different from that which is known among us. It was several years before it bore fruit, and became properly a tree. Mustard, with us, is an annual plant; it is always small, and is properly an herb. The Hebrew writers speak of the mustard-tree as one on which they could climb. The seeds of this tree were remarkably small; so that they, with the great size of the plant, were an apt illustration of the progress of the church, and of the nature of faith.

This seeming insignificance that leads to complete permeation of the world is also shown in the parable of the leaven: "The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened" (Matthew 13:33).

When a Christian prays, "Thy kingdom come," he must keep in mind that the Lord's kingdom may never appear that it has the ascendancy in this world. It is like the leaven or the grain of mustard seed. To man's eye, the size is insignificant and weak. It is not how big the grains are, it is the power that is carried within the grain that makes the difference.

Value of the Kingdom

Other parables teach the value of this kingdom.

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field" (Matthew 13:44).

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it" (Matthew 13: 45,46).

The kingdom of God is such that it could be said, "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul, or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mark 8:36). This same truth is found in Psalms 49:7: "None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him." No matter what treasure we may accumulate on earth, it cannot compare to the treasure of knowing Christ and being a partaker of His kingdom. And for those who seek salvation, there is no help but of God: "For He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper" (Psalm 72:12).

Thy Kingdom = God's Kingdom

Jesus also made it clear who sets the rules for entrance into the kingdom. He said, "For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard" (Matthew 20:1). This is the story of the laborers who worked all day for the same price as those who were hired toward the end of the day. This is a true picture of salvation. The penny can represent the fact that there is only one thing received in God's kingdom by all who labor there, that is salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. And the fact that some worked all day and some only a little while points out the fact that this "penny" is not measured by work on the part of the recipient.

These things were hard to understand for the minds of the Jewish nation, dulled by
their corruption of God's laws. The law was meant to be the "schoolmaster, to bring us unto Christ" (Galatians 3:24), not some way of measuring how worthy we are of Christ's salvation, or to use as a tool for controlling the masses. God set the standard for the relationship man and God. He says there are those that are last which shall be first, and there are "first which shall be last" (Luke 13:30). It is not our place to decide where or how long we should labor. It is enough to pray for the culmination of all things, even as John prayed, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus" (Rev. 22:20).

THY WILL BE DONE

This is a hard statement because it is the recognition of total release to God. It is good it comes in the midst of the prayer. It follows the establishment of who God is, what His character is like, and what His kingdom really is. It is then one can pray "Thy will be done." Even then, it takes courage to pray this prayer. But we can never hope to ask more of God than His own Son did. And it was His Son, headed to Calvary's cross, who prayed "Not my will, but Thine be done" (Luke 22:42).

On Earth As It Is In Heaven

Again, Jesus teaches us to look up and to look forward in our prayer. We are to pray for God's will on earth, while thinking of what His will accomplishes in Heaven. It is there that Christ is seated at the right hand of God, where He "ever liveth to make intercession" for us (Hebrews 7:25). Jesus presence in heaven assures our care on earth. His prayer on our behalf recorded in John 17 tells us about the heart of Jesus:
"O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them" (John 17:25,26).

When we pray that God's will be done on earth, as it is in heaven, we also enter into worshipful praise. John tells us in Revelation there is an unceasing chorus of praise around God's throne.

And the four beasts had each of them six wings about Him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come" (Revelation 4:8).

Give Us This Day our Daily Bread

Three requests are included in the Lord's Prayer, and they are requests for "us," never for "me." The first is a prayer for "daily bread." It is the phrasing of the request that is noteworthy. The prayer is a daily prayer at the beginning of the day.
King David prayed "My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up" (Psalm 5:3). Jeremiah taught, "It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22,23). It is necessary to seek God's provision daily.

The Psalmist understood this as he prayed, "Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily" (Psalms 86:3). "Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High" (Psalm 56:2). The Lord is the source of abundant provision: "Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation" (Psalms 68:19).

"Daily Bread" is, of course, the only part of this prayer that deals with practical necessities. Bread is meant to be those things we need, as in Matthew 6:31,32 "Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, wherewithal shall we be clothed?...For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things." In this passage recorded by Matthew, Jesus warned us to not worry about tomorrow. "Tomorrow shall take thought for the things of itself" (Matthew 6:34). The Creator gives us permission to leave our troubles, future and past, in His capable hands. To carry a future fraught with uncertainty and worry and a past filled with regret is too large a burden for His child, so He tells us to pray just for "daily bread."

Forgive ... As We Forgive

The publican (a hated tax gatherer) in Luke 18 who was "justified," prayed for God's mercy. Without the mercy and compassion of God, there is no forgiveness. Forgiveness is that free gift extended to one who cannot and does not merit the gift. It is the essence of salvation. Jesus Christ paid sin's debt by shedding his own life blood, but it is the forgiveness of God that applied that blood to lost mankind. We sinned against God and He has made provision to forgive every sin. Every day we fall short and need to ask God's forgiveness. "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). "Trespassed" or "debts" translates literally as "to fall near" (just short of the mark). It is the wisdom of God that forces us to seek His mercy while facing our own attitude toward those who have offended us. Psalm 18:25 teaches "With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful."

The Apostle Peter asked, "Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, until seventy times seven" (Matthew 18:21,22). Forgiving our brother is not about our relationship with that particular brother. It is all about our relationship with God, for He has said, "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy" (Matthew 5:7). Many times we think that if we forgive someone, we will open ourselves up to being hurt time and time again. There is potential danger in that. The mystery is that when we are merciful toward our brother, it permeates our attitude toward our own lives. We feel confident in our approach to God. A greater tragedy than being hurt by the same person twice would be to approach God and feel unwelcome because we carried with us a bitter and unforgiving spirit.

Even in the face of my father's death, I could see the mercy of God at work in that relationship. In the last months of my father's life, I finally came to grips with the fact that many of the expectations I held for him were unfair. In my own way, I had to "forgive" him for not being perfect. It was necessary for me to be merciful to him and love him as he was. The last personal thing my father said to me was, "Don't worry about it." He spoke it tenderly to me. He knew there were many ways in which I had failed to show genuine patient Christian love to him. This was his way of telling me I was forgiven for everything, real or imagined. He died less than 24 hours later. In this life there is nothing more damaging to a relationship than a lack of mercy and there is nothing sweeter than that tender mercy and forgiveness extended without reproach.

Salvation is Deliverance

The third request in this model prayer is a plea not to be led into "temptation," but to be delivered "from evil." James teaches that God cannot be tempted with evil, neither does He tempt any man (James 1:13). For this reason, we know it is not necessary to ask God not to tempt us. The meaning of this prayer can be found by keeping it phrased with the second part of the sentence, "But deliver us from evil."
Jesus "gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world" (Galatians 1:4). If one studies the word "temptation," it can also be translated "test" or "tribulation." Jesus is the one who delivered us from evil when He took all mankind's trials and tribulations on Himself at Calvary. He was tempted in all points on our behalf, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

He then is the One who went "into temptation," in order to deliver us from evil. Asking to be saved from "temptation" in this model prayer is defined by the reality of being "delivered from evil." This part of the Lord's prayer rehearses the truth of salvation. It is, in fact, the believers privilege to be led, not into temptation, but by "still waters" (Psalm 23:2). The "leading" in Psalm 23 is a gentle guiding to a resting place. And the resting place described by "still waters" is the "rest" of the people of God from their own efforts to earn salvation (Psalm 95:11). As Paul said in his final letter to Timothy: "And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (2 Timothy 4:18).

THE KINGDOM, THE POWER AND THE GLORY, FOREVER AND EVER. AMEN.

This prayer ends with a crescendo of adoration and praise. After thinking through all that God is and all that He has done and will do, it is no wonder the believer cries, "For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever, and ever, Amen." The believer has come to a point of understanding the position of the One who has invited him into fellowship through prayer.

When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, He said they shouldn't think that they would be heard because their words were fancy or plentiful. God would be much like anyone else if He could be wooed or bribed with flattery. And, in addition to that, what good would it do to pray to someone who was not all powerful? Matthew 6:8 tells us the "Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him." Perhaps more than anything else, the Lord's Model Prayer is establishing truth in the mind of the believer. Prayer may be more about a rehearsal of what God is really like than a shopping list. It is a time for talking through the hard things with the only One in our life we can be absolutely sure of. It is a time of forgetting present trouble and circumstances and getting a renewed assurance that someone really cares about us.

Too often we tell children to pray for some special thing they desire, or we ask someone to pray for something we want or some decision we have to make. It is as if prayer needs a problem to generate itself. That should not be the case.

It is in the constant exercise of prayer, as it was taught to be in Matthew 6, that we work through all things, as in that living communication with the LIVING GOD, we find our will adjust to His own. Prayer is the living, breathing discovery of who God is and what He intends to do.

It is no longer then a question of why pray, because God will do what He wants to anyway. Rather, prayer is an invitation, even a challenge, extended to all believers. The truth is we must pray because God is going to do what He wills, and He has invited us to share in the eternal life that He has authored.

December 2011: Messages of Thanks

2011-12-01T09:26:00.000-05:00

Publish your messages of thanks (and special intentions) to St. Jude for December here.

Picture: St. Jude Thaddeus

2011-11-27T00:01:00.001-05:00

From the Shrine of St. Jude in Faversham, Kent, England (link to the Shrine's website here).

"The church was originally built as a school by the proprietors of the gunpowder factories, for the children of their staff, and later became the Empire Cinema.

The Carmelites who took on the care of the parish in 1926 acquired the site and it has been a church since 1937. A number of well-known and established artists were employed to decorate the Church and later the Shrine, which was built in 1955.

Since then, pilgrims have come here from all over the world to visit and pray at this little shrine to St Jude. It is not a large building, but it has become sacred with the prayers of the many pilgrims who have come here."

(Source link here)

Third Anniversary of the Novena to St. Jude Blog

2011-11-23T00:01:00.002-05:00

Dear Readers,

Today, the Novena to St. Jude Blog celebrates the third anniversary of our first posts. Three years ago, we started this blog to give thanks to St. Jude and praise him for two very special intentions granted. It dawned on us that the blog could provide others with a convenient venue to publish their messages of thanks.

There is no right or single way, in our view, of leaving a message for or thanking St. Jude. In the past, people have thanked him in the personals column of newspapers or parish newsletters. Others leave notes to him or copies of the novena prayer in church pews. As the use of information technology pervades almost every aspect of modern society, still others have used the World Wide Web, through websites, message threads, on-line guest books and blogs, to publish their messages of thanks.

Whichever venue you choose, let people know of your devotion and fulfillment, so others will turn to God through St. Jude during their own times of great need.

The blog now receives nearly two thousand first-time and returning (unique) visitors each month. Our success at spreading the word about St. Jude and his faith-based power to help us in times of need and desperation can only be achieved with your assistance.

Please let people know of the blog's URL (http://stjudenovenablog.blogspot.com/).

God bless,

St. Jude Novena Blog Publisher

Article: The Power of Prayer

2011-11-20T00:01:00.000-05:00

A sermon delivered on July 17, 2005 by Rev. John Schmidt of Central Presbyterian Church, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. (source link here).

Debbie and I took on a project. We decided to tile the bathroom; to tile the floor of the bathroom. Now I want you to know that we did an outstanding job. It was a 3 x 5 area and we are talking about a tight three or four tiles and it was done, but we did a wonderful job, and the reason is not because we were particularly skillful at it, but because we bought the right tools, particularly a tile cutter. It made all the difference in the world. No matter what the project is, having the right tools really makes it work better. If you are working on a flat tire, you better have a jack. I don't know of any reasonable way of getting around that. You have got to have a jack. If you are going to sew, whether you are working with a machine or by hand, you have to have a needle. The needle is the essential tool for sewing; that and the thread.

Well, we have a task as a body, as a church. Our task is to change the world one life at a time. It's a huge task, but it's the reason we have people that go out from this congregation and serve in other parts of the world. CB is out there in Haiti because she believes that God is changing the world. That's the reason why C and K are in Cameroon. That's the reason why GH went to Indonesia. That's the reason why we share with the people in our workplace or around their homes, that's the reason why we give to mission work, that's the reason why we work with the homeless or with battered women. This is all part of something that God is doing and we feel like we are a part of it, and we want to see people who have needs to have those needs met. We want to see them hear the gospel and then we want to see their lives change from that, and then they become part of God's church representing the kingdom of God in this world. And that's part of Jesus' own vision because Jesus said that we are to go out and make disciples of all nations, a global vision. But, if we have something that huge to do, it is important that we keep in mind what our essential tools are to get this thing to happen and to change lives, and to change the world, the most essential tool is prayer.

I think that more than any other generation this is a very difficult thing for us to believe, because we can do so many things without prayer. Think about 200 years ago if somebody was sick and had chills and a fever, you bring some cool towels to cool them down, you give them some blankets for the chill, you may be given an herbal remedy of some sort and then you pray, God please heal this person, because there would be that sense of incompleteness and desperation, God help them. But think about it now if you have a fever and chills. Well you go and if things are bad enough you go and see the doctor and you get antibiotics. If things are really bad you go get x-rays and MRI, you get blood work, they have targeted drugs that work on specific kinds of illnesses and after we do all of these things then we say, "Oh yeah, and by the way God, please heal this person." It's so easy to think that way because there is so much we can do that's effective.

It's the same way when we talk about reaching out as a church in this area or whether we are reaching out overseas. There are so many things we have the power to do. If we are concerned about reaching other people, well lets give better amplifiers and better equipment up here. Maybe we can get a better sign or do a market study. Maybe start CD ministry, DVD's, put something on the Internet. If its overseas, well we can go overseas now by plane and we can be there by tomorrow and we can send teams there to do stuff. We've got money. And so we have so much power that it's very easy in the church as well to think, well there is so much we can do, but it's important to remember that when it comes to the essential things, all the other things we can do without prayer is totally inadequate, and it will never, ever get the right job done. Prayer is the essential tool that God has given. Now God is going to use our technology, use our gifts, use our money, use our buildings, use our equipment, all of that is great, but we have to learn how to pray.

Now to have a sense of where prayer fits into the whole picture we need to get a heavenly perspective on just how critical prayer really is. Now, when we experience prayer, when we experience ministry, there are times that it's absolutely clear how important prayer is. There was a time when a missionary named Irene Webster Smith was working in Tokyo. This was about the time that I was born. She was working in Tokyo and she was working with a group like Inner Varsity, but in Japan. They needed a center for the student work in the city, and so she went and talked to a Japanese woman about a piece of property there in Tokyo and the woman said, "I'm sorry. It's not for sale anymore. Someone has already agreed to buy it." And so Irene said to her, "Well, in case it falls through, please let me know." And she gave her the information. The woman said, "It's not going to happen because we already have an agreement." A day or two later the woman contacted Irene Webster Smith and she said, " The deal fell through; so I am offering it to you, do you have the money for it?" At which point, Irene Webster Smith said, "No, I don't. I don't have a penny of it, but I serve a God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills. I will pray about it. Would you be willing to take $3,000 a month for the next six months for us to pay?" And the woman said yes she would.

So, on the last Friday of every month, Irene was supposed to make a deposit in the bank and it was to be transferred to the woman's account. And she made that payment, holding on to the verse from the Book of Philippians, the fourth chapter that says, "Don't be anxious about anything but through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving make your request known to God" and so she did, and so she made the payments month after month. But there came one month that that final Friday came, and she did not have the money. On that day, the bank called her saying, "We are doing an audit and doing some inventory in the bank. We are not taking any new transactions today. Could you wait and do your deposit on Monday?"

On that weekend she spoke to a bunch of American GI's there in Japan and she raised $3,000 for the orphanage that she was working with, and actually it wasn't the orphanage it was the Inner Varsity work. She got $3,000, and went on that Monday and paid the monthly payment. When the work was over, and she had paid for it all and the property was hers, she talked to the woman who owned the property and the woman said to her, "When you said that you didn't have the money, but that God would give it to you, I made the decision to let you do that because I have been a Shinto believer my whole life, and I have made countless prayers and none of them have been answered. I have lost my husband and my sons to the war and I made a decision at that point that if your God would answer this kind of prayer, then I would follow that God. And so at that point, Irene Webster Smith led this Japanese woman to know Jesus Christ.

God answered in an absolutely unassailable way. But there are other times that it's not quite this clear. I think about 20 years ago I was with a small group study and one of the couples in that study their marriage started to fray and they were on the verge of divorce, when they made the commitment, and we made the commitment as a small group. We made the commitment as a small group that we would pray for them everyday and they made the commitment to continue to work on their marriage. They went and got counseling. They had all kinds of arguments with each other, all kinds of times asking each other for forgiveness and we prayed and we prayed. Now that couple is still together now 20 years later. Now is it because they worked hard at it and got counseling, yes. Is it because we prayed, yes. But it is so hard to unravel that and to know how important prayer really was because you are not going to set up some kind of... well, let's not pray for them. They tried to do studies like that on healing, but there are so many questions that are still out there, because so often it's a combination of our effort, our wisdom, our technology, the best things we can do, and prayer that God actually answers in the world. So if we are going to have an idea of prayer, we are going to have to have a heavenly perspective that comes from God telling us how he views prayer and then we can apply that to the complicated things that actually exist in our lives. To do that I want to go to the Book of Revelation. I want to read to you five verses from the 8th chapter so that we can get a picture of God's perception of the importance of prayer. Revelation 8

"When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about a half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who will stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the alter. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden alter before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went out before God from the angel's hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the alter, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake."

Let's pray. Gracious God, we pray now that you will take these words of scriptures and open our eyes to whatever it is you want us to see so that we might respond to your truths in faith and obedience, for we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

Okay, we are in the Book of Revelation and one of the characteristics of this book is that it gives us a picture of history, a picture of reality that's in symbols; symbolic language and in pictures. And so there are all kinds of pictures in the Book of Revelation; all kinds of images that we see that gives us a sense of what's actually happening. So some of the things that are happening in the Book of Revelation are actually history. Some of the things that are happening are a process that is always standing behind history, but it's going on all the time and there are other times when we are seeing something that is yet in the future. So the Book of Revelations is filled with these pictures, symbolic language illustrating spiritual realities. Now in this we come in the fourth chapter to the throne room of God. And so here in the throne room we are not only seeing the things that are actually happening on earth, but we are seeing things that behind the scenes. It's as if we are watching a television special, and we are not just seeing the things that are happening on the stage, but all of the things that are happening in the back, backstage where the people are behind their monitors, people with microphones, people that are making decisions about what people will see on the telecast, the cameramen. That's what is happening in the throne room of God.

It's all the things that are standing behind the action that is actually happening on the earthy stage. In this section, prayer is mentioned three times. Three times from Chapter 5 to Chapter 8 prayer is mentioned. The first time happens in Chapter 5 and it's Verse 8. "And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the lamb . Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full in incense, which are the prayers of the saints." So here in this picture, remember we are looking at spiritual reality through pictures; here is this picture of a censer, which is a bowl or some kind of an object that allows the incense to loft into the air. This is identified with the prayers of the saints and it's before the throne of God and the alter of God.

Now we go to the 6th chapter and we get a picture of what the prayers content might be. Chapter 6 around verse 9. "When he opened the fifth seal I saw under the alter the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, "How long Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" So here we get a sense of the content of what some of these prayers are all about. There is this picture that there is an alter and underneath the alter, which is an exalted placed, there is actually these people who have died for their testimony to Christ, and the cry that was on their heart before they died is still on their hearts at this point. "How long God until you bring justice, until you vindicate us and show the whole world that we didn't die in vain, that this is true, that justice will come, and that we follow Jesus Christ and that was good." So this prayer is coming up before God in the throne room of heaven.

Then we come to Chapter 8. Now up to this point there is all kinds of activity there before God. In fact, between Chapter 4 and Chapter 7 there are all kinds of passages that are the foundation for many of our praise songs and hymns. There are spontaneously prayer and praise erupts in heaven and creatures of every imaginable variety are praising God, holy is the lamb, worthy is the lamb, holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts. This is constantly happening before God and yet here at the start of the 8th chapter everything becomes silent.

Just last week in London in honor of the people, who had died in the bombing, the whole country had two minutes of silence. During that time it is my understanding that they even stopped train lines, and buses, and all. I know they stopped the planes from taking off and landing those two minutes. Silence all across the nation in honor of those who died. Here in heaven before God there is silence for half an hour. Something major is happening. You see, up until this time there has been a series of escalating events. There were seven seals that have been broken and at this point in the book, the seventh seal, the final seal is broken and from that comes seven trumpets and what's happening is this escalating series of events that's leading to the judgment of the world, the end of history as we know it. So the seventh seal has been broken, and then we see seven angels who stand before God, and two of them were given seven trumpets, and it's at that point that they are silence.

Now I want you to take a look at Verse 3.

"Another angel, who had a golden censer came and stood at the alter. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden alter before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand."

So here we are at the hinge point of history, the seventh seal is open, the seven trumpets are revealed and about to take action and at this point again we have this censer and the prayers of the saints rising up before God. Now take a look at Verse 5.

"Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the alter, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake."

At this point of history the image is that this angel takes the prayers that are rising up before God and takes that censer that represents our prayer, and takes it and hurls it upon the earth, and out of that moment come the judgments that lead to the end of the world. So here in this picture of God bringing full and final judgment on the earth, right in the center of it is this image of our prayers. It's not just the prayers of that five-minute period that people happen to be praying. What does time mean in heaven anyway? This represents all the prayers over all the ages of all the saints, all the times that people have cried out, "How long O God until there is justice on the earth? How long God before this changes? How long God are you going to allow children to suffer? How long God are you going to allow things to happen in people's lives like this?" All of that scattered by God and cast on the earth and it's the beginning of the end. Nothing has been lost. Nothing has been forgotten.

This is the picture of how incredibly important it is for us to be praying because God has chosen that prayer is going to be part of what he uses to end history as we know it. It's part of creating a new heaven and a new earth. It's part of bringing in the kingdom that he taught us to pray, thy kingdom come thy will be done. Every time we pray that we are sure we are praying that evidence of that happens now, but we are also praying for this event to happen. When all those prayers, over all those years, are used by God in judgment. It's an incredible image of what God does in prayer. And I think what is important for us to remember is that it is not just at the end of history that God uses prayer like this. This is an image of some of the reality that is behind all of what we do. Sometimes we pray prayers. Now, sometimes we pray prayers that God actually has to change, and so as we pray it across time, God actually changes our heart and we realize that what we were praying for first we don't even want to pray now. But other times we pray something that we know is in the will of God and yet we still don't see the answer. And what this shows us is that this is not lost on God. Sometimes it's long after we have given up hope that God actually answers. If you think back on the life of Elizabeth and Zecariah, two great saints that preceded Jesus Christ. These people had prayed for a child all through their childbearing years and it was only when they were too old to bear children that God actually gave them a son, John the Baptist.

Now, all of our prayers aren't answered in ways we understand. There is a mystery about it all. There are confusing things that don't all come together, but the fact is that behind it all we are sure that God is hearing, and God is understanding, and God is remembering our prayer. Now if prayer is this important, if at the right time God is going to take these things we have prayed and use them in ways that exceed our understanding, if prayer is that important, what are the sort of things that we are praying about? Are we taking seriously the kinds of things that we can unlock on earth, the kinds of things we can shut up on earth, to bind and to loosen, are the kinds of images that Jesus gave that were in the power of the church as it prays? Are we praying for our children, for protection, spiritual and physical and for change to happen in their lives? It's very important that we establish a good solid Christian home. What we do day- to- day, send them to the right schools, all of these things are important, but it's absolutely essential that we pray. We need to be praying for our church leaders, because behind every leader there is a normal life with all of the complexities and ugliness and messiness. We need to be praying for these people so that they don't fall into temptation, so that they aren't hurt, so that they grow and have wisdom. We need to be praying for government leaders, that they will value peace and justice and make wise decisions. We need to be praying for the outreach of the church, for missionaries.

There is nothing too small and there is certainly nothing too big to be praying about. And it means we also have to take advantage of the opportunities we have to pray together. We have two prayer meetings on Wednesdays. We have prayer meetings on Saturdays. We have a prayer meeting coming up in September on Friday, September 23; we have an overnight prayer meeting coming up. We are going to spend all night praying for this churches ministry and for Baltimore. We are also hoping to start some new prayer ministries in the year ahead of us. One of them is going to be an E-mail prayer ministry. If you want to be a part of that you get some E-mail about specific things to pray for. If we are going to be a praying church, we talked about being a praying church, but the only way we are going to be a praying church is if each individual here learns how to pray. There has got to be some reality behind what we say, when we say, that we value prayer.

There are times that God strips away all the technology, strips away all the personal ability, strips away everything so it's absolutely clear and beyond all doubt that it's his power at work through prayer, because that's the essential reality that's behind it all. And I want to share with you one story about the unimaginable power of prayer itself.

This is a story from a missionary in Central Africa named Helen. One night in Central Africa I had worked hard. She was a doctor. I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward but in spite of all that we could do she died leaving us with a tiny premature baby and a crying two year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive. We had no incubator. We had no electricity to run an incubator and no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. A student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and for the cotton wool that the baby would be wrapped in. Another went to stoke up the fire to fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle it had burst. Rubber perishes easily in tropical climates. These bottles don't grow on trees, and there are no drug stores down forest pathways. "Alright, I said. Put the baby as near the fire as you safely can, sleep between the baby and door to keep it free from drafts and your job is to keep the baby warm."

The following noon as I did on most days I went to have prayers with many of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained the problem about keeping the baby warm enough mentioning the hot water bottle. The baby could so easily die if it got chilled. I also told them about the two-year-old sister crying because her mother had died. During the prayer time a ten-year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt consciousness of our African children. Please God she prayed, send us a water bottle. It will be no good tomorrow God, the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon. Well, I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added by way of corollary, and while you are about it, would you please send a dolly for the little girl, the sister of the baby, so that she will know that you really love her. As often with children's prayer, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say Amen to this? I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh yes, I know he can do everything. The Bible says so, but there are limits aren't there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending a parcel from the homeland and I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time and I had never ever received a parcel from home. Anyway, if someone did send a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle. I lived on the equator.

Halfway through the afternoon I was teaching in the nurse's training school. A message was sent there that a car was at my front door. By the time I reached home the car had gone, but there on the veranda was a 22-pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I couldn't open the parcel alone, and so I sent for the orphanage children. Together we pulled off the string carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting. Some 30 or 40 pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top I lifted out colored knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patient's and the children began to look a little bored. Next came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas and that would make a nice batch of buns for the weekends. And as I put my hand in again I felt, could it really be, I grasped it and pulled it out, yes, a brand new rubber hot water bottle. I cried. I had not asked God to send it. I hadn't truly believed that he could. Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward crying out, "If God had sent the bottle, he must have sent the dolly too". So rummaging down to the bottom of the box she pulled out this small, beautifully dressed doll. Her eyes shone. She hadn't doubted. Looking up at me she asked, "Can I go over with you mommy to give this dolly to that little girl so that she will know that Jesus really loves her?"

That parcel had been on the way five whole months, packed by my former Sunday School class whose leader had heard and obeyed God's prompting to send a hot water bottle even to the equator. And one of the girls had put in a doll for an African child. Five months earlier in an answer to a believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it that afternoon, from the Book of Isaiah, Chapter 65 "And it shall come to pass, that before they call I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear." Do you long for God to work like that in life? Do you long for God to work like that in this church body? I know I do. But to see God work like that we are going to have to learn how to pray.

Let's pray. Gracious Father, you are to be blessed and honored because you have prepared for us an eternal kingdom, a heavenly city, a new Jerusalem and it's something that we see played out in the Book of Revelation and our Lord Jesus has taught us to pray for that kingdom. Right now we pray for the church, that she might be in truth that new Jerusalem, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Our Lord Jesus give to the church purity that we might be without spot or wrinkle and we pray particularly for our own congregation. Grant that we might be a sign, here on earth of the church that exists above. We pray for those who lead our church, for pastors, elders, deacons, small group leaders, worship leaders, staff. Fill them with the spirit and wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord. Lord, we pray that not just for this church, but for the church in all nations that they might have an effective outreach to people in different lands, people of all tribes and nations and languages. We pray for those who lead our nation that you will give them a sense of honesty and fairness, intelligence, a love of peace, a love of justice and learning. And we pray for the members of our own congregation Lord, for husbands and wives that their love might be rich and grow ever kinder, for children and students that they might grow in every good direction, for people who live alone, that they might find friendship and community as we obey you at the church, for grandparents, and elderly friends that they might have a radius that belongs to those who have walked along with you. We ask for these mercies, we ask for these things believing that you hear, believing that Jesus Christ sits at your right hand, and he is still our Intercessor and it's through him that we pray. Amen.

Song, Video & Prayer Interlude

2011-11-13T00:01:00.000-05:00

While not specifically dedicated to St. Jude, this beautiful song by Bob Carlisle & Lucy Kane and accompanied video on MySpace is inspirational, passionate and pleasing. Sometimes, songs like this can inspire and strengthen our prayer life. I included it as an interlude in our blog, and hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Perhaps, as you watch, say and pray:

Most holy apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the Church honors and invokes you universally, as the patron of hopeless cases, of things almost despaired of.

Pray for me, I am so helpless and alone. Make use I implore you, of that particular privilege given to you, to bring visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of.

Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly (here make your request) and that I may praise God with you and all the elect forever.

I promise, O blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor, to always honor you as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you.

Amen.

Bob Carlisle and Lucy Kane - Make A Wish

DWB | MySpace Video

Article: Why Pray?

2011-11-06T00:01:00.000-04:00

An excerpt from Prayer, Does It Make Any Difference? by Philip Yancey, pages 29, 42-43 (source link here).

Why pray? I have asked this question almost every day of my life, especially when God's presence seems far away and I wonder if prayer is a pious form of talking to myself. I have asked it when I read theology, wondering what use there may be in repeating what God must surely know. Prayer has become for me much more than a shopping list of requests to present to God. It has become a realignment of everything. I pray to restore the truth of the universe, to gain a glimpse of the world and of me, through the eyes of God.

In prayer, I shift my point of view away from my own selfishness. I climb above timberline and look down at the speck that is me. I gaze at the stars and recall what role I or any of us play in a universe beyond comprehension. Prayer is the act of seeing reality from God's point of view.

It occurred to me one day that though I often worry about whether or not I sense the presence of God, I give little thought to whether God senses the presence of me. When I come to God in prayer, do I bare the deepest, most hidden parts of myself? Only when I do so will I discover myself as I truly am, for nothing short of God's light can reveal that. I feel stripped before that light, seeing a person far different from the image I cultivate for myself and for everyone around me.

God alone knows the selfish motives behind my every act, the vipers' tangle of lust and ambition, the unhealed wounds that paradoxically drive me to appear whole. Prayer invites me to bring my whole life into God's presence for cleansing and restoration. Self-exposure is never easy, but when I do it, I learn that underneath the layers of grime lies a damaged work of art that God longs to repair.

"We cannot make him visible to us, but we can make ourselves visible to him," said Abraham Joshua Heschel. I make the attempt with hesitation, shame, and fear, but when I do so I feel those constraints dissolving. My fear of rejection yields to God's embrace. Somehow in a way I can only trust and not understand, presenting to God the intimate details of my life gives God pleasure.

"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands." Isaiah 49:15

I think of the way mothers dote on their infants who offer so little in return. Every sneeze, every turn of the head and dart of the eyes, every whimper and smile the mother scrutinizes as if studying for a test on infantile behavior. If a human mother responds with such absorbing love, how much more so God?

We humans represent the only species on earth with whom God can hold a conversation. Only we can articulate praise or lament. Only we can form words in response to the miracle and also the tragedy of life. We dare not devalue this our unique role in the cosmos, to give words to existence, words addressed to our creator. God eagerly bends an ear toward those words.

November 2011: Messages of Thanks

2011-11-01T00:01:00.001-04:00

Publish your messages of thanks (and special intentions) to St. Jude for November here.

Article: Touching Incidents and Remarkable Answers to Prayer by S.B. Shaw

2011-10-30T00:01:00.000-04:00

From “Touching Incidents and Remarkable Answers to Prayer” by S.B. Shaw, 1893 (source link here).

I had had a very busy day, and experienced a very delightful feeling of restfulness, as I settled myself in a comfortable arm-chair, after having said “Good-night” to my children. Just before going, they had sung their evening hymn. As their sweet childish voices had joined with that of their mother, one verse had made an impression on my mind.

I was familiar with it, but it came to me with a new beauty and force. It was:

Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word,
But as Thou dwell’st with Thy disciples, Lord
Familiar, condescending, patient, free,
Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.”

My wife went away with the little ones to see them to bed, and I was left alone with this verse of the hymn repeating itself in my memory; and the thought came to me, supposing He were to come as He came to his disciples, am I altogether prepared to receive Him into my house, to abide with me? And as I meditated on the subject, I fell asleep, and dreamed, and, lo the door of the room opened, and in walked one whom I knew at once to be the Christ. Not the glorified Redeemer, as seen by John in the Isle of Patmos. No, he had answered the prayer of our hymn, and had come in humble human form:
“Familiar, condescending, patient, free.”

I knelt before Him, but He laid His hand on me and said: “Arise, for I have come to tarry with thee.”

My recollection of my dream here grows somewhat confused; but I remember it again when the next morning seemed to have arrived, and I was gathering my children around me, and telling them that Jesus had come to stay with us in the house. The little ones clapped their hands for joy, and my dear wife’s face beamed with rapture that seemed to transfigure her.

Just then the Lord Himself entered the room, and we took our seats around the breakfast-tablet. What language can I use to describe the wondrous peace which filled all our souls, or how our hearts burned within us as He talked with us?

But when the meal was over, and we had family worship, which was that day a foretaste of heaven itself. I was ailed with perplexity. What should I do with my strange visitor? It seemed disrespectful to leave Him behind me at home yet it would mean serious loss to me to stay away from my place of business that day. But I could not take him with me, that was certain who ever heard of taking Christ to a counting-house?

The Savior surely knew my thoughts, for he said, “I will go with thee. How didst thou ask me? Was it not:
“Come not to sojourn, but abide with me?”

So whatever thou art doing, henceforth I will be beside thee. Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”

It seemed rather strange to me, but I could not, of course, question what He said, so I started for my office with the dear Lord by my side.

At my counting-house I found a man waiting my coming with a good deal of impatience. He was a stock and share-broker, who transacted considerable business for me. To tell the, truth, I was not greatly pleased to see him there, as I was afraid that he might bring forward matters which I would not feel inclined to go into with Jesus listening to our conversation.

It was as I feared. He had come to tell me of a transaction he had arranged, which, whilst perfectly honorable according to the usual code of morals of the share-market, meant the saving of myself from the fear of loss by placing another person in the danger of it. He laid the whole scheme before me, without taking the slightest notice of the Lord; I knew not if he even saw Him.

I cannot tell the bitter shame I felt. I saw how impossible it was to square such a transaction with the Golden Rule; but I could not hide from myself the fact that the broker told me of it with a manner and tone that meant that he had no doubt whatever that I would applaud him for his cleverness, and eagerly close with the offer. What must that mean to the Christ? Would it not tell him that I was in the habit of dealing with one thought in my mind-how I could benefit myself?

The broker was astonished when I rejected his proposals, on the ground that they would be prejudicial to the interest of the other party in the transaction; and left me abruptly, apparently thinking I had developed a mild species of insanity.

Humbled, I fell at my Savior’s feet, and cried to Him for forgiveness for past sinfulness, and strength for time to come.

“My child,” said He, in tender accents, “thou speakest as if my presence were something strange to thee. But I have always been with thee. I have seen and seen with grief, the way thou hast dealt with thy fellows, in business, and marveled at thy unbelief of My promise that I would ever be with thee. Have I not said to my servants, Abide in Me, and I in thee?

Just as He said these words, another gentleman entered the office. He was a customer whom I could not afford to offend, and I had uniformly shown a cordiality to him which I was far from feeling in my heart. He was vulgar, profane, and often obscene in his talk.

He had not been many minutes in my office before he made use of an expression which brought a hot blush to my cheek. I had heard him speak in a similar way before; and, although I felt repelled by it, I had, for fear of offending him, met it with faint laughter. But now I felt as I should have had it been uttered in the presence of a lady; only this feeling was intensified by the realization of the absolute purity of the Divine One who had been a hearer of the speech.

I gave expression to my feeling in a word of expostulation , and he exclaimed: “You seem to have suddenly grown very prudish,” and left me in a rage.

Again, I turned to the Christ with a cry for pardon; and again, I learned that he had beheld all my former intercourse with this man.

I was now called into the adjoining office, where my clerks were employed, and found that one of them had made a foolish blunder, which would mean a considerable complication, and perhaps loss. I am naturally irritable, and at once lost my temper, and spoke to the delinquent in unmeasured terms. Turning my head, I saw that Jesus had followed me out of my private office, and was standing close beside me.

Again I was humbled, and had to cry for mercy.

Through all that strange day, similar incidents occurred; and the presence of the Master, which I thought would have been a joy, was a rebuke to me. It showed me, as I had never dreamed before, that I had framed my life on the supposition that He had but little to do with it.

But, on the other hand, there were times during the day when my soul was filled with rapture; times when He smiled on me in loving approval, or when He spoke words of pardon and absolution, or when He opened out before my wondering gaze some fresh beauty of His character and person. Such a time was the moment when, on my return to my home, the children came crowding around Him, and wanted to show Him their toys and pigeons, and a brood of newly-hatched chickens, and I rebuked them, and said to them “Run away, children! Trouble not the Master with such trifles.”

And he seated himself and took my curly-headed little boy on His knee, and called my two little girls to His side, and said to me: “Suffer these little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”

I awoke, and lo! It was a dream. — The Ballarat Christian Union.

October 28th, Feast of St. Jude Thaddeus

2011-10-28T00:01:00.000-04:00

Oh glorious apostle St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the name of the traitor who delivered thy beloved Master into the hands of His enemies has caused thee to be forgotten by many, but the Church honors and invokes thee universally as the patron of hopeless cases--of things despaired of. Pray for me who am so miserable; make use, I implore thee, of that particular privilege accorded thee of bringing visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need, that I may receive the consolations and succor of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations and sufferings, particularly (mention your request), and that I may bless God with thee and all the elect throughout eternity. I promise thee, O blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor, and I will never cease to honor thee as my special and powerful patron, and to do all in my power to encourage devotion to thee. Amen

Novena to St. Jude, Day 8

2011-10-27T00:01:00.000-04:00