Deadly Peril

[God] delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many. ~ 2 Corinthians 1:10-11 (ESV)

Paul faced his share of danger during his missionary journeys. Whipped five time, beaten with rods three times, nearly stoned to death, imprisoned, shipwrecked - no one can accuse him of being a wimp. But he relied on two things to keep him going. First, he believed that God would deliver him. Second, he believed the prayers of others would help him. That someone who suffered so much hardship would still consider prayer to be helpful is instructive to us, for to our modern sensibilities Paul might appear to have been abandoned by God, rather than delivered by God. If Paul could trust in God’s deliverance and the assistance of prayer, can’t we?

Vice-Admiral Hippocrates

“Ships lost. Mindarus dead. Men starving. Don’t know what to do.”

— Hippocrates

This brief note was sent by Hippocrates, the second in command under Admiral Mindarus, to Sparta after the battle at Cyzicus in 410 B.C.

A Collect from Acts 4:23-31

Sovereign God, who has decreed that salvation be through faith in Jesus’ name, give us the boldness by the Holy Spirit to speak your word at all times, that by your power the gospel would bear fruit among us, through Jesus Christ our Savior, Amen.

All That And A Bag Of (unopened) Chips

I hate it when packaging doesn’t work as intended. The Ziploc strip on the pouch of shredded cheese rips along the seam rendering it useless to preserve the slow-aged cheddar goodness. Needing to get a pair of scissors to open the welded plastic shroud of a $5.99 utensil, risking sliced fingers in the process - from the package, not the scissors. The legendary bag of chips whose top seam is so strong that the bag rips down the side instead of at the top. It goes on and on. I always ask myself as I reflect on the momentary frustration I feel, “Doesn’t anyone test these things first?”

Many Are The Plans

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. ~ Proverbs 19:21 (ESV)

The week before Thanksgiving in 2005 the screen on my laptop malfunctioned. Days turned into weeks as the technician sought to discover the problem. Eventually he would recommend that I get a new laptop rather than risk an expensive repair on the old machine. And so I was back in business a few days later. Would I have planned this scenario? No, I would have had my old laptop last forever without failure if I could. But this begs the question - What was the purpose of the Lord in my situation? Honestly, I don’t know. One might conjecture that perhaps I needed to learn patience. But this one thing I do know, God works all things for my good, even if I can’t always recognize his work at the time. This is as true for my petty frustrations as for the major crises in my life.

Have things turned out differently for you than what you had planned for yourself? If you entrust yourself to God then you can at least be assured his purpose for you will stand..

The Cathedral of Consumption

So I’ve received several divine messages from the Cathedral of Consumption this evening and apparently to “feel alive” I need a Mazda and to have unity in my life I need a Boar’s Head Ham which “brings everyone and everything together”.

Patrick Henry Reardon

“If there is any firmness for our lives, any steadfastness for our souls, the cause of such constancy is the immovable throne of Christ our God.”

— Patrick Henry Reardon (from Christ in the Psalms)

Patrick Henry Reardon is the pastor of All Saints Antiochian Orthodox Church in Chicago Illinois. Over the years his scriptural insights, found in the As It Is Written… column of Touchstone magazine, have helped me in my study of and appreciation for the Bible in its unity and historicity. But when I bought his book Christ in the Psalms and began using it during my private devotions, I really came to understand what a gift from God to the church Pastor Reardon truly is.

Rest In Peace

In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. ~ Psalm 4:8 (ESV)

After having gone through a few nights with trouble sleeping, I can attest to the value of peaceful slumber. The Psalmist rested in spite of turmoil and trouble on all sides because the Lord granted him safety. How often we retreat from our haven of rest because we seek safety in our own efforts to predict or control future events. We lay awake at night, turning over various scenarios in our minds, forgetting that only the Lord can give us surety for tomorrow.

They Soon Forgot

But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel. ~ Psalm 106:13 (ESV)

This verse is a distressing one. That a group of emancipated slaves, collectively known as the Children of Israel, could forget the efforts of their Deliverer is the epitome of ingratitude. But this attitude is all too common, even today. Especially today. How often we are tempted to forget what Jesus has done for us, to demand our own way and turn a deaf ear to the call of holiness and sacrifice. Let us not forget Christ’s work on the cross and let us pay heed to his counsel.

Carried Along

For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. ~ 2 Peter 1:21 (ESV)

The Bible didn’t float down from heaven amidst an angelic glow. Forty-some authors, over a span of 1500 years, in differing languages, writing history, poetry, biographies, and letters produced a seamless whole under divine guidance. The Bible that sits on your coffee table or resides in an unopened app on your phone is a miracle. It is a gift. Read it.