Sunday: God's-Eye View

From heaven the Lord looks down
and sees all mankind;

from his dwelling place he watches
all who live on earth—

he who forms the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do. . . .

The eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,

on those whose hope is in his unfailing love.

Psalm 33:13–15, 18

Sunday: Discipline

Discipline is the other side of discipleship. Discipleship without discipline is like waiting to run in the marathon without ever practicing. Discipline without discipleship is like always practicing for the marathon but never participating. . . . Discipline in the spiritual life is the concentrated effort to create the space and time where God can become our master and where we can respond freely to God's guidance.

Thus, discipline is the creation of boundaries that keep time and space open for God. Solitude requires discipline, worship requires discipline, caring for others requires discipline. They all ask us to set apart a time and a place where God's gracious presence can be acknowledged and responded to.

Henri J. M. Nouwen, Bread for the Journey

Sunday

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth. . . .

For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Psalm 57: 5, 10

Sunday: Advent

It was a time like this
war and tumult of war,
a horror in the air.
Hungry yawned the abyss--
and yet there came the star
and the child most wonderfully there.

It was a time like this
of fear and lust for power
license and greed a blight--
and yet the Prince of bliss
came in the darkest hour
in quiet and silent light.

And in a time like this
how celebrate his birth
when all things fall apart?
Ah! wonderful it is
with no room on the earth
the stable is our heart.

Madeleine L'Engle, "A Time Like This"

Sunday: Advent

Thou son of the Most High, Prince of Peace, be born again into our world. Wherever there is war in this world, wherever there is pain, wherever there is loneliness, wherever there is no hope, come, thou long-expected one, with healing in thy wings.

Holy Child, whom the shepherds and the kings and the dumb beasts adored, be born again. Wherever there is boredom, wherever there is fear of failure, wherever there is temptation too strong to resist, wherever there is bitterness of heart, come, thou blessed one, with healing in thy wings.

Savior, be born in each of us who raises his face to thy face, not knowing fully who he is or who thou art, knowing only that thy love is beyond his knowing and that no other has the power to make him whole. Come, Lord Jesus, to each who longs for thee even though he has forgotten thy name. Come quickly.

Amen.

Frederick Buechner, The Hungering Dark

Sunday: Advent

The Incarnation is the place . . .

where hope contends with fear.

Kathleen Norris, Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith

Sunday

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message,
so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ.

Colossians 4:2-3

Sunday

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! . . .

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known.

1 John 3:1-2

Sunday: This Far

This far will you come but no more.
This far will you come but no more.
Who holds back the raging sea?
Who keeps trouble far from me?
This far will you come but no more.

"Should you not fear me?" declares the LORD.
"Should you not tremble in my presence?
I made the sand a boundary for the sea,
an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.
The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;
they may roar, but they cannot cross it."

Jeremiah 5:22

Lyrics from The Innocence Mission, "I Was in the Air"

Sunday: Falling

The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever.

Isaiah 40:8

Resurrection Sunday

Happy Easter, everyone!

Sunday

There is a fountain filled with blood
drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;
and sinners plunged beneath that flood
lose all their guilty stains.
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see
that fountain in his day;
and there may I, though vile as he,
wash all my sins away.
And there may I, though vile as he,
wash all my sins away.

E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream
thy flowing wounds supply,
redeeming love has been my theme,
and shall be till I die.
Redeeming love has been my theme,
and shall be till I die.

(About 41, but who's counting?)

This awesome cartoon by Dave Walker is from the awesome CartoonChurch.com.

Sunday

"We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ."

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 NIV

Sunday

Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2 NKJV

Please pray for all those touched by the accident involving George Fox University students.

Sunday

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

Matthew 5:14-16