Morning Prayer 7/7/09

Glory to you, Lord God of our fathers; *
you are worthy of praise; glory to you.

Glory to you for the radiance of your holy Name; *
we will praise you and highly exalt you for ever.

Glory to you in the splendor of your temple; *
on the throne of your majesty, glory to you.

Glory to you, seated between the Cherubim; *
we will praise you and highly exalt you for ever.

Glory to you, beholding the depths; *
in the high vault of heaven, glory to you.

Glory to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; *
we will praise you and highly exalt you for ever.

Evening Prayer 7/6/09

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

Mid-Day Devotion 7/6/09

“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”
Matthew 24:35

We place a great deal of trust, of hope and confidence in things of this world. We look to them for guidance and for encouragement when this world seems so hard and full of trials and challenges that would befall us. We see that wisdom of this world, we see the powers and the forces of this temporal existence and we come to regard them as the means by which the tools of justice and the instruments of righteousness can be wielded.

Yet the reality and the truth of this life is found in the simple words offered in by the Savior himself…

“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away…”

The righteousness of the Lord and the power of His Holy hand, it does not rely on this world. All that we see, all that we know, it could pass away before our eyes, disappearing as we watch it fade away, or vanishing in a flash of light, until there was nothing left, until all we had ever known and ever looked upon, all we ever believed in or placed our trust in was gone, blown away as if caught in a mighty gale or a gust of wind. Yet the word of the Lord, the truth of His glory, the love of His hand that is guided by His tender mercy and gracious compassion, it remains… ever vigilant, ever faithful, it remains as a lasting testimony to His commitment and the promises He makes unto His children. “No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.” (Joshua 1:5)

Come what may, come what must, the truth of the Lord, the righteousness of His hand, and the guiding presence of His Spirit, it contends with the cause of His children in the love that He has for them. It does not forsake them, even as the trials of this existence befall them and they are left with this deep yearning of the spirit, this deep longing of the soul that cries out for help amidst their troubles. For we know that as the Lord was there in the days of Israel, in the deliverance of Moses, through the challenges that would befall Isaiah, or the torment that would plague Jeremiah, so too shall He be there with us now, as He has been through each day, in every day, battling for our cause, throughout all our ordeals.

What an amazing comfort we have through those promises that He, our gracious and loving Father, offers unto us.

Still, throughout this world we see so much suffering, we see so much agony and anguish, so much pain and sorrow. We hear of the plight of the captives taken, the struggles of the hostages ripped from their homes and from their lives, their humanity held cheap. We see the pain of the slaves ruled over by the oppressive hands of the unrighteous, or we know of the torment of those girls taken from the streets and sold into bondage as sex slaves, their dignity robbed from them as they are held in such contempt.

We see, we hear and we know, wondering why the judgment of the Lord is so far off, wondering why it seems so distant from us as we see the chaos that is worked by wicked men of cruel iniquity and unrighteous ways. Those who hate and subjugate through brutality and anger, seeking to inflict themselves on the world.

Yet, in our trust we must know that the judgment of the Lord, it is not far off, nor will it allow for evil to reign in these places for all times. The Lord will work His will to light those dark places through the power of His spirit and He shall offer unto His children the encompassing mercy and compassion of His transcending love, given unto them through His gracious precepts as He contends mightily with their cause. He shall work His will to remove the powers of darkness that turn so readily from this world and from His love. He shall work His will according to His time and His way in that transcending power and that encompassing love that He has.

Know that the mercy of the Lord, the compassion of the Lord, it shall remain even if heaven and earth pass away, even if everything we ever saw before us, even if everything we ever placed our trust in of this world crumbles right before our eyes, there is nothing in this life that can compare to the majesty and the power, the glory of the Lord which shall come in all righteousness and that is revealed through His holy and divine word, as given unto us by the prophets and the apostles, the saints and the disciples, and taught us so readily by His Son, that Son that proved to us that the Word of the Lord is that deep and transcending Light of our lives. As He came to put to the greatest of captivities to flight, as He came to ransom us amidst even the darkest of trials that would seek to subjugate us, that would seek to dominate us. And through the power of the Cross He set us free according to His great love for us.

Trust in the Lord, in all things, through all things, and in the power of His might, for in all ages, through all ages, He is the one constant that remains.

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

Evening Prayer 7/3/09

Visit this place, O Lord, and drive far from it all snare of the enemy; let your holy angels dwell with us to preserve us in peace; and let your blessing be upon us always; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Mid-Day Devotion 7/3/09

“And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians. And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.”
Exodus 14:21-27

With strength in His hand the Lord God Almighty would part the waters of the Red Sea, making a wall on either side that His children might walk upon dry land and be delivered from the hands of the Egyptians…

For so long the children of Israel had been made slaves, ruled by cruelty and oppression, forced to make the cities of Pharaoh, so long that they knew no other life but the sting of the whip, and the subjugation of the spirit. Generations had come and gone, their fathers had lived and died, their mothers had passed from this life to the next and still, no deliverance had come.

It’s not hard to understand why they would lose hope, why they would find themselves gripped by despair and misery. When pain and sorrow would mark your days, making them as dark as night, the bleak despondency of those merciless times can crush the spirit and the soul of even the most faithful.

Now though they had found deliverance. Moses had come, the word of the Lord upon his lips, the mysteries of God in his staff, and with power and might he proclaimed liberty. He would call out to captive Israel, declaring that the day of the Lord had arrived and that deliverance was at hand with them. He put to shame the glory of Pharaoh and the gods of Egypt, showing that there was, there always would be, only one God, the Lord God Almighty of Abraham and Isaac.

He would lead his people from their slavery, the promise of the Lord now upon his lips.

Yet now… now they seemed like they were trapped. The armies of Pharaoh behind them, the sea before them, it’s not hard to understand why they would despair. Looking at the situation that was now before them, all they could wonder is if they were led out into the desert to die. It would be yet another sign of the hopelessness of their cause, a hopelessness that they abided in for generations.

But God, God was not a God of hopelessness, and He does not lead His Children to death and despair. He would command His prophet Moses to stretch out his arms as he stood before the sea. Then He would send a strong East wind, and while the Armies of Pharaoh were still far off He would part the waters, making way a dry path for the once captive Israel to pass on. As they then found themselves on the dry land of the other side he would send the sea pouring back, putting a quick end to the cruel hold that the Egyptian King had over them.

We look to the stories from the Bible like that of the Exodus and the parting of the Red Sea, seeing the deliverance of the Lord in all its might and its glory, and, in looking to the plight and struggles, the anguish and the agony of the prisoners and the captives, the hostages and the slaves, it’s not hard for us to wish that God would lift His hand in a miracle as He did in those days of old to rescue His children, offering them release from their cruel oppression at the hands of wicked men.

Yet the miracles of God’s liberation are not just in the obvious signs or the great encompassing miracles that part the seas or light the sky ablaze with a pillar of fire. His hand is not just in the great and the wondrous that we see. It’s in every release, every relief that we see of those who are made prisoners and slaves, those who are held in meager estate, ransomed as if sold like cattle. Ours must be to watch for those signs and wonders, knowing that they, in and of themselves, are miracles performed by the Lord in His great love for His children. Perhaps we don’t understand them, perhaps we don’t quite get it, yet it’s not important whether we do or do not, what’s important is that God brought freedom through His precepts and that we give praise to His name for it.

Just as He parted the seas, He now works through governments and authorities, just as He made the land dry, He now gives opportunities for escape in the most basic of ways, just as He once drowned the armies of Pharaoh, He now moves to work against unrighteousness and wickedness by bringing the evil men to justice or working repentance in their hearts. He is there, as He has been, to work His miracles through this age, as He has through all ages.

Just because we don’t see the great and wondrous signs of freedom the Children of Israel once saw so many years before does not mean God is not there. He is… He is there, working His loving kindness, and His tender mercies in the lives of the captive prisoners and the pained slaves to bring them once more to the blessed air of freedom that they may find themselves far from the darkness that once encompassed them. He is there in power and might, in glory, through all things, in all things, to work His will, a will of justice, freedom, liberty and abiding hope.

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

Iran to Put British Embassy Staff on Trial

Two Iranian employees of the British Embassy in Tehran will face trial for inciting protests following the recent election. Nine Embassy staffers were detained earlier this week but several have since been released. Via CNN:

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- A top Iranian cleric said Friday some of the arrested employees from the British Embassy in Tehran would be put on trial, Iranian Students News Agency reported.

The employees have been accused of helping to incite some of the post-election protests that swept through the country.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband issued a statement "urgently seeking clarification from the appropriate Iranian authorities."

He said: "We are confident that our staff have not engaged in any improper or illegal behavior.

"We remain deeply concerned about the two members of our staff who remain in detention in Iran."

Iranian officials had said previously that all but one of the nine embassy staffers taken into custody on June 27 were released.

The European Union said Friday that all of its member governments will call in the Iranian ambassadors in their countries to tell them that the EU opposes the continued detention of the two British staffers.

Please continue to pray for the protection of these Embassy staffers and all those others who long for freedom but are being swept up in brutal police raids and violence.

Mid-Day Devotion 7/2/09

Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields: To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety. He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.”
Job 5:10-13

It’s hard to believe at times that Job, amidst his suffering and his agony, amidst the trials and the turmoil that he faced, would be able to hold on to his faith with such strength and power of conviction. Once a man of wealth and stature his fortune would blow away like nothing more than dust caught in the wind. A loving father, the lives of his children would be robbed from them in their youth, leaving him with horror of outliving them. Where he once had his health, now his body was covered in boils, and his pain would make him wail, it would make him cry out, longing for deliverance that would not come.

His struggle, so many of us would find too much to bear. The burden would be too much for us to take on as we found ourselves lamenting our loss, weeping amidst the depth of our grief and despair, yearning for some sense of peace and comfort that now seemed to escape us. In many ways we couldn’t even imagine the hardship that would overtake him, let alone the possibility of standing firm in our faith as it weighed so heavily on us, threatening to break our backs under its burden.

Yet Job would not let the assurances that He had in the Lord be ripped from his grasp, no matter what the world threw at him, no matter what the power of Satan, that old Adversary, may have used to bombard him with, seeking to destroy his faith. The man from Uz, even in his darkest of hours, as it seemed like he stood alone in a world that deprived him and cheated him out of his solace, security and wellbeing, as it tried to destroy his comfort and his contentment, refused to turn from the love of God, knowing that, by His holy hand, His divine hand, he had a God of deliverance who would guide and protect him all the days of his life, even all around him seemed fleeting and that he was left to devices of wickedness and iniquity.

“He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the forward is carried headlong.”

There is so much evil in this world, men… wicked men who seek not the counsel of the lord but the devices of their own craftiness as they seek to set the world ablaze in chaos. Their weapons are tyranny and oppression, their call is the call of injustice and pain as they hold humanity cheap, robbing dignity and integrity from human life, setting it in poor and meager estate. They take hostages and prisoners, ripping them from their families and ruling over them with fear and hatred, they make slaves of men, grasping at them, clutching at them with pain in their hands that anguish can be seen in the eyes of their captives, they turn girls into prostitutes, trafficking and selling flesh on the street, keeping them submissive through drugs and dread.

Horror and terror are their names, sometimes the only names we know them by as they work their wicked ways throughout this world turning the hopes and dreams of people into nightmares. By their hands and through their works they seek to inflict the suffering of Job upon the souls of those whom they take captive.

Yet, even as we become acutely aware of all of this amidst this world we know that not all is lost…

Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields: To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety.

Just as Job’s trust was in the Lord even during those days of his darkest of hours so too must trust be placed in our Heavenly Father now, during these days of hardship and darkness, during these days when the souls of men are held cheap by the forces of evil in this world. Even as everything burns in the chaos that is set ablaze in this world the Lord remains, and remains ever vigilant, contending with the cause of His children. He disappoints the devices of the crafty, and their wisdom… that wisdom of their craftiness that makes their evil possible is no match for the power that He has in His precepts.

Even as the world all around us seems so dark, trust in the Lord knowing that His light shall illuminate even the hidden places, the secrets places were wickedness dwells and iniquity lurks. Though He may seem far off during the struggles of these painful, powerful days where sin and the power of the Devil rules over the hearts of men, He is not. In His loving kindness, His tender mercy, His encompassing compassion, He is there for His children in the transcending power of His grace, giving them strength even in their bleakest and most grim of hours.

By guided therefore by the faith of Job, knowing that through all the days, through all the challenges of this world, the Lord is there, and He shall put to flight all worries and challenges that are faced and that the power of evil has no power over Him. Just as Christ Jesus, our beloved Savior, put to flight the power of sin, death and the Devil, conquering the grave for the sake of our righteousness and redemption, God shall conquer all wickedness and transgression, all iniquity and sin, in this age and through all the ages.

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

American Soldier Captured by Afghan Insurgents

UPDATE II: CNN: Abducted US soldier sold to infamous Haqqani clan, a video is believed to be coming soon

UPDATE: CNN: Taliban claim responsibility for kidnapping of American soldier

An American soldier reported missing Tuesday has been confirmed to be captured by insurgents in eastern Afghanistan. Via Fox News:

KABUL — Insurgents have captured an American soldier in eastern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said Thursday.

Spokeswoman Capt. Elizabeth Mathias said the soldier went missing Tuesday.

"We are using all of our resources to find him and provide for his safe return," Mathias said.

Mathias did not provide details on the soldier, the location where he was captured or the circumstances.

"We are not providing further details to protect the soldier's well-being," she said.

An Afghan police official said the soldier went missing during the day Tuesday in the Mullakheil area of eastern Paktika province. Gen. Nabi Mullakheil said there is an American base in the area.

Please pray urgently for the protection and rescue of this soldier. It is not known yet if he is in the hands of the Taliban or one of the many other insurgent groups operating in the region. More updates as they become available.

Morning Prayer 7/2/09

The Song of Zechariah Benedictus Dominus Deus

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; *
he has come to his people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty savior, *
born of the house of his servant David.

Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he would save us from our enemies, *
from the hands of all who hate us.

He promised to show mercy to our fathers *
and to remember his holy covenant.

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham, *
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,

Free to worship him without fear, *
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, *
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,

To give his people knowledge of salvation *
by the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our God *
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, *
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Mid-Day Devotion 7/1/09

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16

It’s probably one of the most famous of texts to be found in the Word of the Lord. It’s quoted everywhere, people hold up signs that simply say “John 3:16” and why not? It’s a beloved verse that simply and yet beautifully explains the entire scope of the Gospel message in nothing more than one sentence. Disciples and Apostles used entire Epistles to try and clarify the same message, Prophets and Psalmists would take verse after verse to try and describe this same concept. Yet, in one verse, found in the divinely inspired writing of St. John it is found so clearly illuminated that it cannot be mistaken. So clearly illuminated that it shines the light of the Lord in our hearts and in our souls.

What though does this mean for the hostage and the captive, for the prisoner and the slave? What does this mean for sailor whose ship is boarded by pirates or the young girl ripped from the streets to be sold as flesh and nothing more? What does it mean as the slave is beaten or the hostage is ransomed, as the captive held in darkness and despair, and the prisoner is kept from their loved ones, what does this mean?

We live in a world of torment and torture, a world so given to agony and anguish, to pain and despair, to hurt and chaos as the cries of the oppressed yearning to be free shatters the peace of our souls and robs this existence of its innocence.

Yet, it’s not the first time… It’s not the first time that we have seen this.

The history of mankind is a history of trouble and hardship, of challenge and trial, all of which grip the soul amidst the hurt that grasps at our spirits. Throughout God has seen horrific and horrifying events that have cast darkness upon this world. But never… not ever was He far off… a God of Deliverance, even in the darkest of days as wicked men worked their wicked ways, the Lord would stand defiant to their tyranny and their oppression, to that hatred that would subjugate their fellow man amidst the evil that held their hearts. The Lord God Almighty would never abandon or forsake His children.

And here, in the beautiful message found in John’s Gospel account we see that taught so clearly with wondrous significance and glorious meaning.

The greatest captivity to ever hold man in its clutches was the captivity to the grave, it was the power that sin, death and the Devil held over us, robbing us of our peace and our comfort, of our lives, of that blessing of eternal life. Yet God, in His love, mercy, kindness and compassion, in the richness of His grace, would contend with the cause of His children, that they might find a solace and a blessed assurance that would come to illuminate their souls and free their spirits. He would send His only begotten Son to ransom us from that evil presence that would chase hope from our lives and rob us of our freedom as it held us in such bleak estate.

If this is the love that God has shown unto a captive world, then how much more love does He show unto His children even now amidst the trials and the tribulations of their current ordeal?

The Lord, He shall, in righteousness and love, in compassion and mercy, deliver His children. He shall let His justice be known, as He has through all the ages, letting His children be guided by His hand through His devotion to them. He is a God of tender kindness, and there He abides with the lost and the forsaken, touching them with His healing hand and giving them strength when it is needed, when they feel the weight of this world crushing them under that deep burden.

Just as He sent His Son into this world to rescue all who are held captive by sin's dark power, His presence will be known in this world as He sets free all the prisoners and hostages, all the slaves held by the forces of evil working amidst the murky shadows, according to His time, in His way, by His justice. Though we may not always understand He shall be there for His children in all things, through all things, all the days of their lives.

It is a trust we can rely on for we have seen the power of the Lord at work in this world, bringing freedom to even the most lost of souls, and offering justice even through the days of the greatest injustice. He does not abandon His promises, we know this, for we have seen the fulfillment of those promises through Christ Jesus, our Savior and Messiah. And there we know He shall remain ever vigilant beside His children in all the days of their lives, as they journey through the challenges and the hardships of this world, regardless of how powerful the forces of wickedness and transgression may seem to be.

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