Morning Prayer 7/14/09

Psalm 28

1 To you I call, O LORD my Rock;
do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you remain silent,
I will be like those who have gone down to the pit.

2 Hear my cry for mercy
as I call to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
toward your Most Holy Place.

3 Do not drag me away with the wicked,
with those who do evil,
who speak cordially with their neighbors
but harbor malice in their hearts.

4 Repay them for their deeds
and for their evil work;
repay them for what their hands have done
and bring back upon them what they deserve.

5 Since they show no regard for the works of the LORD
and what his hands have done,
he will tear them down
and never build them up again.

6 Praise be to the LORD,
for he has heard my cry for mercy.

7 The LORD is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.
My heart leaps for joy
and I will give thanks to him in song.

8 The LORD is the strength of his people,
a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.

9 Save your people and bless your inheritance;
be their shepherd and carry them forever.

Evening Prayer 7/13/09

Psalm 47

1 Clap your hands, all you nations;
shout to God with cries of joy.

2 How awesome is the LORD Most High,
the great King over all the earth!

3 He subdued nations under us,
peoples under our feet.

4 He chose our inheritance for us,
the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.
Selah

5 God has ascended amid shouts of joy,
the LORD amid the sounding of trumpets.

6 Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises.

7 For God is the King of all the earth;
sing to him a psalm of praise.

8 God reigns over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.

9 The nobles of the nations assemble
as the people of the God of Abraham,
for the kings of the earth belong to God;
he is greatly exalted.

Mid-Day Devotion 7/13/09

The Calling of Samuel, Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1776

“And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.”
Samuel 3:10

Young, maybe thirteen years old, having spent his life in the sheltered walls of the home of the Priest Eli, Samuel had never heard the voice of the Lord before. He had no idea what it would sound like, what to listen for or even what to say when it called upon him.

Still a boy, there could be little doubt that there was still just so much more for Samuel to learn at the feet of his elderly mentor whom he had been sent to live with from the earliest of ages.

Yet, in the quiet of the night, the darkness all around him as he laid there asleep amidst the silence that encompassed the evening, there would come the whispering voice that would break through.

He had no idea what it was. At first he could have sworn it was his master in the other room calling to him. Yet as he awoke and hurried off to him he was given the assurances that he was not called, at least not by Eli, who had been asleep in his own bed. The long walk back to his room, he probably just had thought he was dreaming or that his ears were playing tricks on him. He probably went back to bed determined to just put it out of his mind as nothing more than the wind or some animal howling.

The voice would come again...

The voice would come again and once more he would go running to Eli. Again though the Priest would tell him, it was not I who called you. But then it would dawn on him. The calling whisper, it would be the Lord speaking to the boy. "Go back and when you hear the voice again say, “Speak; for thy servant heareth.”

He would once more go back to his room, perhaps perplexed by the recent turn and the instructions by Eli. Still, as the voice once more broke through the night Samuel would heed his words and would call back “Speak; for thy servant heareth.”

The path laid out for Samuel wasn’t an easy road. In an age of Judges who governed over His people according to their own ways, according to their own precepts, there was considerable darkness and danger that lurked. He would charged with coronating a King and preaching to a people prone to idolatry despite the miracles they had seen at the hands of the Lord. They were governed by the Philistines in captivity for a generation as they even took the Ark of the Covenant.

There would be no easy task for the Prophet called by the voice of the Lord from the earliest of days of his youth. Yet the Lord would provide for him, He would protect Samuel, guiding him by the hand as He lead him to those places He intended for him.

We perhaps don’t hear the voice of the Lord, not like Samuel did as this whispering sound that breaks through the night to lead us by the hand, and to guide us according to His will. Yet each of us, as the redeemed children of the Heavenly Father, washed clean in the precious blood of the lamb, are called, just as Samuel was, to preach against unrighteousness and wickedness, to lift up the call of the captives and the oppressed, to speak out against injustice and tyranny wherever it may lurk. We are to proclaim, in all places, through all challenges, the love that the Lord God Almighty has for His children.

Perhaps we don’t know where this road will lead or the direction that it will take us in, yet the call of the Lord, it cannot be ignored.

Preach therefore to the lost and the fallen, pray for the slaves and the captives, teach of the love of Christ, and the mercy of the Lord, humble yourself to the will of God that you may be used as vessels of His divine love, trusting in His plan and His grand design. As Samuel once did, so too let your cry to Lord be, “Speak; for thy servant heareth” and give your life to the message of freedom and liberty, justice and righteousness of our Heavenly Father for the edification, nourishment and sanctification of His children.

Yes, the road may be filled with challenges, the darkness and chaos may be all around us, and the old Adversary may wage his war on our souls with the suffering and the affliction of the captives and the slaves, yet we know that through all things, in all things we have a loving and merciful God who provides and who contends with the cause of His children in utter devotion and faithfulness to them.

Listen to the call of the Lord, listen for His call, knowing that ours is to do the work of the Heavenly Father here on earth and that He uses us for the freedom of our fellow man that there may be no bondage, no captivity, that shall be able to hold them. Go forth and do the work of our God and shine His light from your life as a beacon of hope in an unrighteous world so prone to chaos and pain, agony and hardship, knowing that by His mercy, His grace and His compassion He shall lead you even when we know not where the road will lead us. He is vigilant and true and so too are His promises to us….

Be imitators of Christ therefore in all aspects of your life, with every step you take, just as Samuel sought to live as God had intended, used for the healing of your fellow man and for their liberty even as the injustice of this world seems to lurk all around us. It is then that you shall know that, in all things, through all things, you have heard the call of our Lord in your life and that you have become what He has intended for you to be.

Lord, in your mercy, grant this unto us all.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Morning Prayer 7/13/09

Psalm 30

1 I will exalt you, O LORD,
for you lifted me out of the depths
and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

2 O LORD my God, I called to you for help
and you healed me.

3 O LORD, you brought me up from the grave;
you spared me from going down into the pit.

4 Sing to the LORD, you saints of his;
praise his holy name.

5 For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may remain for a night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.

6 When I felt secure, I said,
"I will never be shaken."

7 O LORD, when you favored me,
you made my mountain stand firm;
but when you hid your face,
I was dismayed.

8 To you, O LORD, I called;
to the Lord I cried for mercy:

9 "What gain is there in my destruction,
in my going down into the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it proclaim your faithfulness?

10 Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me;
O LORD, be my help."

11 You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

12 that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.

Possible Amnesty for American Reporters?

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on North Korea to grant an amnesty to jailed reporters Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who were sentenced to 12 years hard labor last month after being accused of illegally crossing N. Korea's border with China. Via Bradenton Herald:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asked for "amnesty" for the two journalists on Friday, a departure from her previous demands the two journalists be released on humanitarian grounds. Rather than offer an apology from the United States, Clinton offered an apology on behalf of the families.

"The two journalists and their families have expressed great remorse for this incident, and I think everyone is sorry that it happened," Clinton said Friday during a meeting with State Department employees. "What he hope for now is that these two young women would be granted amnesty through the North Korean system and be allowed to return home to their families as soon as possible."

Ling and Lee were filming a story on the human trafficking of North Korean refugees escaping into China when they were arrested. Please continue to pray for their protection and swift release, and for the safety of those helpless refugees they risked their lives to report on.

Previous:
Two American Journalists Sentenced to 12 Years Hard Labor
Trial Begins for 2 American Journalists
American Journalists Being Interrogated for Espionage
Kidnapped American Journalists Being Interrogated in N. Korea
American Journalists Held by North Korea

Red Cross Hostage Freed in Philippines

More good news, this time from the Philippines, where Eugenio Vagni, an Italian Red Cross worker kidnapped by Abu Sayaf rebels January 15, has been released. Via Bloomberg News:

July 12 (Bloomberg) -- Italian Red Cross worker Eugenio Vagni was released by Abu Sayyaf militants in the southern Philippine province of Sulu almost six months after he and two others were taken hostage.

Vagni was released around midnight to Sulu Vice Governor Lady Ann Sahidulla, who had gone to negotiate with Vagni’s captors yesterday, Philippine Red Cross spokeswoman Gwen Pang said in a phone interview. Sahidulla returned two wives of an Abu Sayyaf leader, who were detained by authorities last week, Philippine Daily Inquirer reported, citing the vice governor.

“With two dear women nagging, the subleader was persuaded to help work out the release of Vagni,” Navy spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Edgard Arevalo said in a phone interview. While authorities said no ransom was paid, the Inquirer reported Sahidulla as saying she gave Vagni’s captors 50,000 pesos ($1,036) as “cigarette money.” She didn’t answer mobile phone calls or text messages seeking her comment.

Vagni was among three Red Cross workers kidnapped by the militant Abu Sayyaf group on Jan. 15. The other two, a Filipina and a Swiss national, were released in April. Abu Sayyaf is a splinter of the Muslim separatist movement in southern Philippines, home of most of the country’s Muslim minority.

The kidnappers in March threatened to behead at least one of the hostages unless the military withdrew from the area. The government refused, saying complying would amount to surrendering the island.

Thank God for this successful release. Please continue to pray for the protection and safety of all the many aid workers who struggle against harsh conditions and the threat of kidnapping and murder to bring hope to the needy in some of the most dangerous parts of the world.

Long-Held Hostage Freed in Mali

Good news from Mali, where Werner Greiner, the last of a group of European tourists kidnapped in Niger in January of this year, and then moved to Mali by their Al Qaeda abductors, has been freed at last. Via BBC:

A Swiss man held hostage for six months by members of al-Qaeda in Mali has been freed, Swiss and Malian officials say.

Werner Greiner - seized in Niger - is the last of six Western hostages held by a group calling itself al-Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb.

In May, the group announced on a website that it had killed British hostage Edwin Dyer.

The group had been demanding the release of radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada from a UK prison.

"The Swiss Foreign Ministry learnt with joy that the efforts towards the liberation of the last Swiss hostage in Mali have been successful," the ministry said in a statement.

Mr. Greiner was abducted along with his wife Gabriella and fellow tourists Marianne Petzold and Edwin Dyer January 22 while visiting Niger. The two women were freed in April while Mr. Dyer was beheaded in May.

Thank God for the end of this ordeal. Please continue to pray for all the remaining hostages on our prayer list and those known only to God.

Mid-Day Devotion 7/10/09

“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

Jerusalem, the city of Kings, it laid there in ruins…

Once a powerful seat of the mighty, now it was fallen, the shattered shadow of its past glory, the days of its greatness faded before the eyes of children Israel, as they were left with nothing but the rubble that littered the landscape and the devastating loss of their wrecked Capital. The Temple of Solomon, once glorious, once so mighty, would lie in waste. Once a beacon of hope and faith, it would be destroyed, the siege of destruction leaving nothing untouched, holding nothing to be sacred.

The lamentations, the mournful cries of the people, now captive to the foreign masters of the foreign lands of Babylon, they knew that their lives… their lives would never be the same again.

Yet, despite the sins of Judah, despite the iniquity that governed the hearts and the souls of men, God, the Lord God Almighty, the God of their Fathers, Abraham and Isaac, would not abandon them. Though they were marked by transgressions, dwelling amidst a sinful world, the God of deliverance, who had set free the slave nation of Israel under the hand of the Prophet Moses, would not forsake them through the trials they were to face. Though the symbols of faith and glory, power and might may have now faded, still the Lord God Almighty remained, ever vigilant, ever faithful to His children. Though Jerusalem may have laid in waste, though the Temple was in ruins, the Lord would still stand according to the great love He had, that He has for His children.

Though all the world around them may have been consumed by fire and by siege as their lives were in shattered estate and tattered ruins, still the He, according to His great compassion and His tender mercy, would never let them be consumed.

How great is the faithfulness of the Lord…

Though the destruction of Jerusalem may remain a far distant memory, nothing more than the pages of history passed down from one generation to another we still live in an age of desolation and destruction, a world of sin and sorrow, where agony and pain, anguish and hurt seem to be all around us

Yet never does God abandon, never does He fail or forsake, never does he desert His children, leaving them to the wiles of this world and the wicked ways of wicked men working their unrighteousness. Though the trials and the tribulations seek to destroy us, to consume us, to swallow us whole and to spit us out the fallen remains of the people who we once were, our Heavenly Father never disowns us or turns His back on us. By our side, through all the days of our lives He is there in compassion and goodness, in love and in kindness to contend with our cause even as the struggles persist all around us.

To the slaves toiling in the field, under the sting of the task masters whip He shall bring that long awaited freedom.

To the captives held in darkness and ransomed by evil men seeking to subjugate other men for their own profit and gain, He shall bring the blessed air of liberty.

To the prisoners of brutal tyranny and bitter oppression, He shall, by His hand bring justice to reign over them.

To the sex slaves, those victims of human trafficking, used as nothing more than the objects of pleasure as so much pain is afflicted on them, He shall bring emancipation and liberation.

By His power and His authority all things shall be made possible as He battles for the cause of righteousness in this world, contending with the cause of His beloved children, never letting them be consumed by the evil that seeks to assert itself, to afflict itself on this world. Though the forces of sin and iniquity may be great, though it may seem like it is all around us, ready to destroy and to lay waste amidst the chaos it can inflict, the virtue of the Lord is the love tha He has and the supremacy of His righteousness given unto His children in the deep and abiding love He has for them.

Remember the power of the Lord, a might that can and does set captivity captive. If the cause of the Lord, through the love of Christ, can stand against the harsh, hard grip that Satan has over this world as it clutches us in the force of the grave, if the course of the Lord, through the precious blood of the lamb, through that encompassing sacrifice at the Cross, can conquer the power that the grave has over us, setting us on a road to redemption even as we are held to ransom to sin, how much more can it do against the forces of wicked men who would believe that they have authority in this world?

Trust therefore in the Lord and in the power of His might, knowing that through all things, in all things it shall be a power that shall forever set the captives free and liberate even the most lost of souls, even as the world around us may seem consumed by the fire. By His hand, through His love, we shall forever be made to stand, never being swallowed, never being destroyed, no matter what the evil powers of sin and iniquity, hatred and pain may throw at us, for the mercy of the Lord, it endures forever, and great is His faithfulness to us.

What a glorious and blessed assurance is that.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Mid-Day Devotion 7/9/09

“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever.”
Philippians 4:19-20

It’s hard…

In a world so prone to chaos and agony, so given to turmoil and anguish, it’s hard to believe that the Lord will provide for His children according to all of their needs…

We have a tendency to look around and see everything that’s going on and to wonder where God is in all of this. Why not? After all, He’s a God of goodness and mercy; He’s a God of grace and compassion who guides us by the tender precepts of His love. Yet, if this is true then where is He? Why does He seem so far off? Why does He seem so distant from us? We wonder to ourselves because we have heard the promise that He’s supposed to provide for us and yet it seems like all that is provided is pain and suffering, hurt and sorrow. Is He even there? Does He even exist if this is the world that we are given?

We cry out in a deep sense of yearning that grips our souls as our spirits seemed crushed under the burdens of this world and we wonder what else is left to us as the darkness of these wicked days seem to encompass us, engulfing us in the bleakness of the despair that they carry with them. We see evil men of seemingly unstoppable force on the march as they let iniquity guide their way. We can’t help but wonder what sort of God allows for these people to triumph while the innocent suffer by their hands. We can’t help but wonder what sort of God allows for injustice to reign while tyranny subjugates the spirits of those who are in so much need.

How can we not wonder?

When there are captives taken, held for ransom, used as nothing more than tools of a political agenda or for monetary gain, their lives held cheap, how can we not wonder? When prisoners are cast to dark places by brutal regimes governed by hatred and oppression, left to rot in these dark places, how can we not wonder? When human trafficking seems to be on the rise and children are tortured by this depravity of the iniquity of the souls of such evil men, then how can we not wonder?

How can we not wonder when slavery is still in this world or when governments still practice genocide and gendercide against their people? How can we not when such horrors occur and we are left with nothing more than to watch them happen as they rob the dignity from humanity and the integrity of life from not only their victims but from all of us, who then become clutched by the power of their evil as well.

With all of this around us, with all of this to be seen all around us, how can we not wonder? It just doesn’t seem possible to put those fears and doubts out of our minds as they grip our hearts and our souls, our spirits and our being.

Yet just because we can’t see the hand of God, our Heavenly Father, at work in the world around us, just because we cannot see His hand guiding the fate and the destiny of men, doesn’t mean that He isn’t there. A God of justice and of tender mercy He toils and He labors for the cause of His children even in the darkest of days, even in the bleakest of times, providing unto them comfort and peace, until that moment when, at last, He shall bring them to freedom, that blessed freedom that they so long for, that they so yearn for and that had seemed so elusive to them.

He has always been, He is, and He remains a provider God who cares for and loves His children, who contends with their cause and their plight, never leaving them like lambs unto the slaughter.

Perhaps we may not always be able to look upon the struggles and the ordeals of this world and figure out how the Lord is at work, after all His ways are not always our ways and though we may like to see Him come with a flaming sword of justice and a shining shield of righteousness, it doesn’t mean that’s the way it’s going to happen. Our Heavenly Father is a God of wondrous signs and miracles, but just because we cannot recognize those miracles at the time they happened or see them as a wondrous sign of His great love doesn’t mean they are not there. Remember, even when the eyes of Pharaoh beheld the great deeds of the Lord in Egypt for the cause of His people who had suffered as slaves under the task masters whip, the great and mighty king was quick to dismiss the hand of God as being present to offer unto His children deliverance from those cruel days.

Look therefore for the signs of the Lord and His miracles. Even in this sinful world of iniquity that leads to the dark hold that evil men have over the poor and the weak, the suffering and the pained, the anguished and the sorrowful, the Lord is there to work His will and His ways, forever contending against unrighteousness that would seek so to destroy the innocent and rule over the spirits and the souls of men with such spite and vile despondency. Know that the Lord God Almighty is there, that He is here, has He has always been, ever faithful to the promises and the assurances that He has given unto each of us in the precious love and the tender mercy that He has for us.

Though darkness and chaos may be all around us, God, in His justice, will provide His righteousness even when it seems as if He is far off or far distant from us. His miracles remain, His signs are shown and each and every one of them are offered unto us as a wondrous testimony to the compassion and the care that He has for His beloved children. He shall, in glory and might, in power and authority, set captivity captive and ransom even the most lost of souls, even the most downtrodden of spirits, for He is the Lord God Almighty, given to the plight of His people, regardless of where it may be, regardless of the strength that evil may have, regardless of the influence and the hold the old Adversary may have in this world.

There, as we look to all that the Lord provides for us and how He does it, even in those moments when He, in His righteousness, seems far off, we too can proclaim, as the Psalmist once had “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?”

What a rich and great blessing that is in the hearts and the souls of all of the people of the Lord, given in love to His will and desire, sheltered in the protection of His gracious and glorious wings, restored to strength and comfort and peace in the power of His Holy Spirit and granted salvation in the precious blood of the Lamb through the great sacrifice Christ has given unto us in wondrous mercy for us, given for our liberty and our freedom..

Lord, therefore grant this unto us all.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Morning Prayer 7/9/09

Psalm 18:1-20 Diligam te, Domine

1 I love you, O LORD my strength, *
O LORD my stronghold, my crag, and my haven.

2 My God, my rock in whom I put my trust, *
my shield, the horn of my salvation, and my refuge;
you are worthy of praise.

3 I will call upon the LORD, *
and so shall I be saved from my enemies.

4 The breakers of death rolled over me, *
and the torrents of oblivion made me afraid.

5 The cords of hell entangled me, *
and the snares of death were set for me.

6 I called upon the LORD in my distress *
and cried out to my God for help.

7 He heard my voice from his heavenly dwelling; *
my cry of anguish came to his ears.

8 The earth reeled and rocked; *
the roots of the mountains shook;
they reeled because of his anger.

9 Smoke rose from his nostrils
and a consuming fire out of his mouth; *
hot burning coals blazed forth from him.

10 He parted the heavens and came down *
with a storm cloud under his feet.

11 He mounted on cherubim and flew; *
he swooped on the wings of the wind.

12 He wrapped darkness about him; *
he made dark waters and thick clouds his pavilion.

13 From the brightness of his presence, through the clouds, *
burst hailstones and coals of fire.

14 The LORD thundered out of heaven; *
the Most High uttered his voice.

15 He loosed his arrows and scattered them; *
he hurled thunderbolts and routed them.

16 The beds of the seas were uncovered,
and the foundations of the world laid bare, *
at your battle cry, O LORD,
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.

17 He reached down from on high and grasped me; *
he drew me out of great waters.

18 He delivered me from my strong enemies
and from those who hated me; *
for they were too mighty for me.

19 They confronted me in the day of my disaster; *
but the LORD was my support.

20 He brought me out into an open place; *
he rescued me because he delighted in me.