Mid-Day Devotion 9/28/09

“Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
1 Corinthians 2:13-14

Why? Why do men take captive other men? Why do they take them hostage, ripping them away from their homes and from their families and from all that they love and care for? Why do they ransom them off, holding their lives cheap as if it was nothing more than something to be bought and sold in the marketplace? Why do they traffic in human flesh, trading life as if it was nothing more than cattle or life stock, laying to waste lives as they strip it of all dignity? Why do they make slaves of people, robbing them of everything, even their pride?

Why do these things happen? That is the question that we so often struggle with as we hear of the plight and the struggle of the hostages and the prisoner, the captive and the slaves, those languishing in bitter agony and painful suffering as their world is ripped away from them. It all seems so senseless as their lives are held in the hands of tyrants and terrorists, pirates and dictators who would do anything it would seem to extend their power and authority, to increase their wealth and influence, to further than ambition and their agenda amidst this world.

It’s easy to just say that they are misunderstood as some people do. We have heard the argument put forward that we have the wrong idea about them or that we have misconstrued their intentions and their work because we just don’t comprehend what it is that they are doing. Some even go as far as, in some of the cases, blaming the victims, claiming the true victims are those who are taking the captives, and making prisoners out of people. After all, we just have misinterpreted their motives and what they are doing, it is argued.

It’s easy to just say that it’s because there is evil in this world, as most of us do. We look upon the chaos and the havoc that is wreaked and we are left to realize that there are wicked and vile people who give no value to life as they hold it contemptuous, as nothing more than a weapon they can use to cause hurt and pain, suffering and sorrow in this world and then throw it away as if it never mattered. We see the anguish and the agony of those despicable people who buy and sell human flesh as if there was no dignity to be held in life as it is destroyed right before us, hidden in plain sight and we know that there is evil in this world, that there is a corruption in this existence that does so much harm. It’s hard to disregard the wickedness of these people’s iniquity as they work their malicious malevolence in this world.

But it’s not just that and that alone, there is something more to it altogether…

It is a rejection of the Spirit of God, as these men embrace this world and all of the foolishness, all of the wickedness and hate, all of the fear and loathing that it can inspire. It is a rejection of everything good and righteous that the Lord offers unto this world through the power of His Spirit as they reject love and compassion, mercy and grace and instead embrace the vilest of iniquity and sin that can bring the worst sorrow.

After all, how can any who take captive abide in the Spirit when we know that where the Spirit is, there is liberty? (2 Corinthians 3:17) How can they abide in the Spirit of the Lord when we know that where the Spirit of the Lord is, men and women abide in that fundamental and basic commandment to love their neighbors, to love their fellow man as themselves? (Mark 12:28-31)

Why though is this significant for the Christian to understand? Why is this important for them to understand and to have knowledge of?

It’s because of that greatest commandment taught unto us by the Lord. As hard is it may be, and for as much evil as they work in this world the believer is called to love their fellow man as they love themselves. Take that with what we are taught in Matthew’s Gospel account as we are told that we are to love our enemy and pray for those who seek to persecute us. (Matthew 5:44)

How though do we pray for ourselves and how do we pray for the Spirit in our lives?

In the book of Psalms David offers up a prayer that should and does instruct us all as he cries out to the Lord, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.” (Psalm 51:10-13)

As hard as it may be for us, we must also pray this for those who would persecute and who would take prisoners, those who would take captives and make slaves. We do this so that the Spirit of the Lord may come upon them, creating a clean heart in them, that it may wash away the foolishness and the evil of this world. We do it so they may have the right Spirit within them, that they may put aside their wickedness and their vile ways, their sinful iniquity and their fearful loathing and come to a sincere understanding of the love of God. We do it that they may come to salvation in Christ Jesus that they may repent of their sins, and come to justice, releasing those whom they take, those whom they hold in such bitter estate amidst their dark immorality and the hatred.

We do so because we know that there is a transformative power in the Spirit of the Lord that can and will convict even the most hardened of hearts, and the most wicked of people and bring them out of the darkness and into the light. It is then that they will finally stop and the people of God, the children of God, whom He cares for so deeply will finally be made safe.

Pray earnestly therefore knowing that there is power in it and that the Lord will work His will and His ways throughout this world through the humble supplication of His people as they raise their voices up to Him. Pray for His Spirit, that Spirit that brings liberty and freedom, justice and righteousness with it, that finally the integrity will be restored to life and the dignity will no longer be robbed from the innocent as they are held in dark, hidden places. Pray with all of your heart and all of your soul, with all of your spirit and all of you mind, knowing that there is strength in the power and the precepts of the Lord and that He will not let such malice and iniquity abide for all ages in all places.

He shall, as He promises, bring His goodness, His love, and His mercy to bear and their will come a time then when, one way or another, the Spirit shall set free all prisoners and captives, slaves and hostages that are held throughout this world.

What a wondrous promise, what a blessed assurance that truly is for all to put their faith and hope, the courage and their confidence, their strength and their expectations in as they look to the Lord their God with a faithful, devoted heart, committed to His wisdom and his ways.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, Amen.

Morning Prayer 9/28/09

Psalm 89

1 I will sing of the LORD's great love forever;
with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations.

2 I will declare that your love stands firm forever,
that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself.

3 You said, "I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant,

4 'I will establish your line forever
and make your throne firm through all generations.' "
Selah

5 The heavens praise your wonders, O LORD,
your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones.

6 For who in the skies above can compare with the LORD ?
Who is like the LORD among the heavenly beings?

7 In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared;
he is more awesome than all who surround him.

8 O LORD God Almighty, who is like you?
You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you.

9 You rule over the surging sea;
when its waves mount up, you still them.

10 You crushed Rahab like one of the slain;
with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.

11 The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth;
you founded the world and all that is in it.

12 You created the north and the south;
Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name.

13 Your arm is endued with power;
your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.

14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
love and faithfulness go before you.

15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD.

16 They rejoice in your name all day long;
they exult in your righteousness.

17 For you are their glory and strength,
and by your favor you exalt our horn.

18 Indeed, our shield belongs to the LORD,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.

Mid-Day Devotion 9/25/09

"This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.' "But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and stopped up their ears. They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the LORD Almighty was very angry. "'When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,' says the LORD Almighty.’I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land was left so desolate behind them that no one could come or go. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.' "
Zechariah 7:9-14

Short of the salvation that is granted through the life, sacrifice and death of Christ Jesus, His only begotten and beloved Son, given at the cross and made complete with his resurrection, conquering the power of sin, death and the Devil before his ascension to the right hand of the Throne of Might on High, one of the greatest of ways that the Lord shows His love onto His children is in how He instructs them to love one another. After all, the greatest of commandments is that we love the Lord our God with all of our hearts and all of our souls and all of our might, the second though is like unto it, that we love our brothers and our sisters, that we love our fellow man as we love ourselves. (Mark 12:28-31)

This is the means in which justice is truly administered and compassion and mercy is shown. As love, that transcending love of God that is given through the power of the Spirit in our lives, comes to encompass us we dedicate ourselves to being a force for God and for His goodness and His benevolence, abandoning the sin of our former selves and the shameful delight of its vanity, selfishness and self-righteousness. We become a force for freedom rather than a shameful oppressor, we offer ourselves for the cause of liberty rather than the cause of hatred, we seek justice rather than seek fear, and, in all things, through all things, we devote ourselves to the cause of the captives and the slaves held in dark bondage and cruel subjugation.

There are many ways the dark prince of this world afflicts his captivity on this world, binding the hearts and the souls, the bodies and the minds of men and women. Through his dark powers he ties the hands of people and he straps a stone to their neck, casting them amidst a sea of trouble then watching with delight as they drown, the hope drained from them as the old adversary, through his grim hold, asserts his dominance on this world. The war he wages may be a spiritual conflict, it may be a battle for the soul, but he will try to break not just the soul and the spirit, not just the heart and the essence of a person, but the body and the mind as well, hoping the shatter them to their very core.

To deal then in love with your fellow man held in such captivity, held hostage by the power of the Devil, regardless of how that hostility is made manifest by him, is the calling for every Christian, for every faithful child of God, hearing the voice of Christ in their heart through the Spirit moving with them. Make no mistake, to ignore it, to refuse to pay attention to it, to pretend as if does not matter, constitutes an act of betrayal against God and His Holy Word and Divine Commands.

In Zechariah we hear the account of the Prophet talking about how the Lord told his people to care for the widows and the fatherless, the aliens and the poor and not to oppress them, and how they ignored him. It’s clear though that by God’s words and by His careful admonition that His judgment was solely upon those who did oppress and those who did make slaves of those who were in need. It was upon all who turned a blind eye to it as well, and who refused to show compassion and mercy, those who refused to administer true justice. After all, a sin of omission is just as much a sin as a sin of commission.

Is that really how we want to consider our lives? Given to turning a blind eye to suffering and affliction, sorrow and pain, anguish and agony amidst the captivity of this world? As the ones who could have dedicated themselves to pushing back against the dark power of the old adversary as he takes prisoners and hostages by his evil authority but who turned their back, believing it was someone else’s job or someone else’s calling or duty or obligation to administer true justice and show mercy and compassion? Is that really how God would want us to use the gifts He has given us?

If we are truly called to be imitators of Christ, if we truly are called to live our lives as He lived His, then the answer we must forever and always come to is “No”. We are called to something better and more as we dedicate our lives to ending captivity and to being a force for justice, mercy, compassion, and liberty in this world, regardless of whether it is a captivity of the body, the mind, the spirit or the soul.

Yes these days… the days may be long and the struggles great as we toil amidst this world against the forces of evil that would seek to devour and destroy. But even in that, we know we have the Lord God Almighty listening to our prayers and hearing our calls. He shall then answer them, shining His light and His love as a beacon amidst the darkest of places, even in the darkest of hours that would seek to so afflict people in their greatest need. A God who would never ask us to go it alone, we know that He truly is the Spirit of liberty and justice and where He is freedom shall reign. There we know that as we hear His words telling us to be this force for His will in the world, this voice for His calling in this temporal existence, we will not be alone nor will we be left to face the challenges alone. He shall walk beside us and He shall, through His Holy Hand administer His justice against the wicked and the vile, against the evils of this age and all ages.

Trust then that Rock of Ages know that this is the blessed assurance of our calling from the Lord, a true and faithful promise that we know through His calling. Therefore put your hope and your trust in it, knowing that God does not fail or forsake those who work according to His will to put an end to oppression. He is there to put to flight the acts of corruption that would so violate His commands of love as He works as an ever vigilant force for good in this world.

Blessed be His Holy Name for that.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and Of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

No Show Today

Because of technical problems at Blog Talk Radio, we are unable to do a show today. God willing, we will be back tomorrow. Please continue to pray for the hostages as always.

Mid-Day Devotion 9-22-09

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Romans 12:1 and 2

All too often there are those who conform themselves to this world, abandoning the path of righteousness and letting themselves be tools for wickedness and iniquity. They seek not the Lord and His wisdom, nor Christ and his love nor do they try to find the Spirit and that peace that comes through it. Instead they let themselves become a force for evil and for sin as they put themselves and their will above the will of our Heavenly Father. And there, though they may pretend as if it is somehow different, they establish themselves to be gods with power over life and power over death, dominating through misery and despair every step that is taken.

They hold men and women in captivity, ransoming them or selling them, using them as slaves and as property, asserting their dominance over them as if it was meant to be them, not the Lord God Almighty who is meant to control the destinies and fate of mankind. They hold nothing sacred but themselves and their own power as they do what they want, when they want with no thought or consideration as to anything but themselves as they make light of humanity and rip the innocence away from those whom they come in contact with, those whom they touch. In the end they leave nothing but the hollow, shallow frame of their victims in their path, or the broken forms of their bodies all around them.

They conform not only to this world and to the evil that can be present in it but they seek to transform it into their own heavy, dark image as they try to set a fog about it that our eyes will be unable to see the works of their hands and the deeds of their hearts as they move around us, causing so much hurt and pain, suffering and sorrow, agony and anguish. They set the world ablaze through the chaos of their hands so that when it is done, from the ashes, they can remake every place in their own grim, dark image.

But then, through the history of humanity, it’s so often how it ends up happening when we follow our own path, letting the unrighteousness and the wickedness of the prince of this world overtake us. We establish ourselves to be the highest authority, we create for ourselves false idols and false gods to justify what we are doing, false gods made in our own image, whether its power or money or our own political agenda and we completely forsake the nature of humanity with all of the value that the Lord, our God, places in it. In the end all it causes is pain and torment as we think only of ourselves and our own gratification, never stopping to consider the effects that it has on anyone else’s life.

Then why would we? This, after all, is what our false gods demand of us.

A captivity of the spirit and a captivity of the soul…

Here, what we have to remember is that every captive and prisoner, every slave and hostage, they are held by those who are taken captive as well. By their conformation to this world and the prince of it they have let their spirit and their souls be taken captive and held hostage by the force of evil, an authority that forces them into their wicked actions, because of their unwillingness to break free or to seek that which will give them liberty, by their own unwillingness to be transformed by the presence that ransoms all those who are taken hostage by the forces of sin, death and the devil. Through their rejection of what is good and their acceptance of that which is evil as they become agents of misery they ensure their own captivity through their thoughts, words and deeds, holding themselves in the darkest of places that afflicts not just their victims to distress but themselves as well.

This is why we pray for all to be moved by a sincere repentance, because the compassion and the mercy of the Lord demands that we do. We do so not because we accept what these men of darkness do nor because we somehow believe it is right or anything less than pure evil. We do it because they, through their works, have set themselves captive and only when they are ransomed by the love of Christ and his great sacrifice is an end put to their wicked ways and to ensure the freedom of all hostages and prisoners, all captives and slaves. It’s only then that finally a true and lasting sense of freedom is sought.

Just as we seek not to conform to this world but to be transformed by the everlasting love of the Lord through and by the power of His Holy and Divine Spirit, let us pray also that all those who, in their wickedness, working their vile ways throughout this world are also transformed that they may find the errors of their ways and come to finally know that their ways are not God’s way and their judgments are not God’s judgment. Let us pray that though evil fills their heart they may come to know the hatred and the fear that they have inflicted on this world that they may finally come to know the hatred and the fear that Satan has so darkened their hearts with. Let us pray that they see their evil for what it truly is, a rejection of all that is good and righteous, a rejection of all that is given in love and compassion, and have hope that finally they too shall be set free.

We may not understand how the captivity of their spirit works nor may we understand how their souls have been taken hostage, disgusted by their acts and by all that they have done to cause misery and pain, yet we what we must understand is that when the Spirit of the Lord moves there is freedom, there is a lasting sense of liberty and it overtakes. This is the best force for true freedom in this world, and when it is at work God reveals His truth even to the most wicked of men who have worked in the most contemptuous ways to let them finally understand the true cost and the true toll of their deeds, transforming them from evil calling to set those that they hold in their tight grip free.

So seek to pray that these who work such wickedness and iniquity in this world may come to be transformed and made whole that once they do they shall no longer move with such vileness in their ways but shall seek to set all their hostages and prisoners, all their captives and slaves free, bringing themselves to justice so they can answer for the crimes that they have committed against their fellow man and all of humanity.

In this then true justice will finally be served and a lasting and abiding sense of hope shall overtake and overshadow the dark presence at work in this world, shining the light of the Lord and the love of Christ and the peace of the Spirit in all of the hidden, murky places that we know exist in this world and through this world. It will be then that there will be no captivity that shall so bind and capture the innocent, no captivity that will rob them of their dignity and their lives, just an abiding understanding that we are called to be transformed by the Spirit through the sacrifice of Christ that calls us to the greatest possible love.

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

Mid-Day Devotion 9/18/09

The Scourging of Christ, Tiziano, 1560

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
John 3:16

Turn your eyes upon Jesus . . . Turn your eyes upon Jesus, that was the words, that was the theme of our hymn today, and that should be the words of our heart, that should be the theme of our soul and our spirit. To look around the world today and see it for what it is, it's hard to see goodness, it's hard to see compassion, as we focus ourselves, our thoughts and our minds, our hearts and our spirits to the plight and the sufferings of the hostages and the captives, to the prisoners and the slaves who are so brutally ripped from their homes, from their families, their friends and their loved ones, from the innocence that they once had in their soul. It's hard to see love, it's hard to see compassion and mercy, it's hard to see the will and the hand of God at work as it should be in all things and through all things, and there, amidst desperation and despair, amidst agony and suffering, torment and sorrow, we have to wonder, where is God in all of this? Why has He not revealed Himself? He is a God of righteousness, a God of mercy who is always contending with the cause of His children. So where is He? Why has He not revealed Himself in these places? Why is evil still allowed to triumph, why is it still allowed to rise, to be on the march?

We wonder, and yet it seems that there is no real good answer. And yet, amidst our captivity, amidst our Gospel lesson, we find that there is always an answer. And that answer comes in the love of Christ. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." We think about that in terms of our own personal salvation, or in terms of our refuge to that Rock of Salvation, that Rock of Ages. And yet it means so much more than that to us amidst our own personal struggles, and the struggles of the hostages and prisoners. Because what we consider when we consider that lesson is the true nature of what Christ's sacrifice was, the true nature of what His sacrifice means to us. For that sacrifice was a price that was paid, each and every one of us, we were lost, we were bound to sin, death, and the Devil. We were held in captivity to iniquity and unrighteousness, to hatred and to loathing. And there amidst that captivty that we were held in, to that dark prince, that prince of this world, that old adversary who seeks our demise, amidst that captivity and bondage, those dark chains that kept us submissive to him and to his will, Christ came, that Messiah who was promised even in the days of old. Even in the first days of man's first iniquity, He came and He set us free, He set captivity captive, and He ransomed all the poor lost sinners out there, setting them free amidst His love and compassion.

And if this is the Gospel message of Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior, if this is the Gospel message of God our Heavenly Father, who cares for His children, who has so much compassion for them, and if this is the power that they have over the great might, the great authority that Satan has in this world, then how much more power, how much more authority do they have over unrighteous men, against wicked men, how much more power does our Triune God have against those vile perpetrators of such brutal iniquity? There, we know that God our Heavenly Father has the power to set captivity captive, to ransom all the poor and lost souls by the power of His hand, and that in faith, in righteousness, in grace, in mercy He shall do just that according to His will and according to His desire in His time. We don't have to question where God is in all of this, we have to question when is God going to work His will? And there we know the answer, because it is only a matter of time. It is only a matter of time for He is ever faithful to His promises and to His assurances.

Consider how long people waited for the coming Messiah. It got to a point where they thought He would never come, it got to that point where they believed He was never going to show up. And just as they started to assume that, here He comes. Here He comes, born in the most meager of estates, born in the most humble of circumstances. God is not going to make the prisoners and the captives wait for thousands of years before the captivity is ended, He is not going to make them wait for generation after generation for unrighteous men to be put in their place. But yet what this serves for is a valuable lesson to show us that there is only a matter of time before God’s righteousness and the righteousness of Christ that leads the way to that path of redemption shall come again in glory upon this Earth to set to flight all challenges that we face. And what a wonderful and glorious lesson that is, what a faithful assurance that we can place all of our hope in knowing that have a loving Heavenly Father, knowing that we have a loving God who is willing to do so much for us, who is willing to offer so much to us.

Place your hope and your faith in God and His promises as you lift up the hostages and the prisoners, praying that the Holy Spirit shall come upon them and give them peace, but also praying that His will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven, knowing that His will, His Spirit, is a Spirit of liberty, a Spirit of Freedom, waiting to set His people free. Place your hope and your trust on that safe reliance and know that God will never let you down, know that God will never fail or forsake His children, nor will He lead them like lambs unto the slaughter in a world of wolves waiting to devour them. Trust in that promise and know that God is always faithful.

Lord, grant this unto this all.

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

Mid-Day Devotion 9/17/09

“When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble: when he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops. Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.”
Habakkuk 3:16-19

There is always darkness at the doorsteps…

There is always darkness at the doorsteps waiting to enter, waiting to get in. It stands at the gates, like a flood pounding, hammering against the walls, pushing hard against it, trying to crack the barriers that hold it in place, to come pouring in, and to drown the all that it washes by, the weak and the strong, the brave and the afraid, the rich and the poor, with no distinction as to who they are.

Chaos…

At its hand there comes chaos as the darkness sweeps by and the world, it doesn’t seem to make sense, it doesn’t seem to have any meaning or purpose. It’s just full of the hurt and the pain, the agony and the sorrow, the suffering and the despair that can be heaped upon it, as the pressure builds and it seems to crush us all under its weight, a little bit of our humanity dying with each and every step, with each and every challenge and struggle. Evil seems to dominate over the world as we see it and as we know it and we are left to wonder if there is a time, or even a moment, where it will all seem to make sense again.

But then how can we look to the harm that can be inflicted by wickedness, by iniquity and hatred, by spitefulness and malevolence on the rise, on the march in the world and not feel as if a little piece of us is dying inside as the innocence is ripped away from so many? How can we look to the chaos and the darkness that can be imposed as evil means wreak their tyranny and injustice, their vicious loathing of human life on the world and not find that an abiding sense of grief overtakes us as we look to so many who are held captive in so many ways?

There are many ways that unrighteousness and wickedness seems to take men and women prisoner in this world as slavery of the body and the mind, the spirit and the soul, seems to bind our hands and crush us under its dark weight, leaving nothing more than the broken, shattered frame of the person its victim once was. Ernest Hemmingway, the great American Novelist, once wrote in his novel A Farewell to Arms “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure that it will kill you too, but there will be no special hurry.”

How true is that?

We speak a lot of the captivity and the breaking of political prisoners cast to dungeons or who are murdered, of young girls who are grabbed from the street, drugged, and sold for their flesh as they are made into sex slaves, devoured for the pleasure violent and perverse men. We talk a lot of ransoming of men and women who are kidnapped and held by terrorists and pirates, sold back as if they were property or murdered as if their lives weren’t anything more than a game that ended, of slaves who are made of freemen used as if nothing more than an object or a machine to toil for the wealth and the glory of others, killed when they are of no more use, their lives held worthless and then destroyed.

Though they are the disturbing and vile ways men and women are held in dark bondage, they are not the only way. Each day illness takes countless families hostage and prisoner as they find sorrow overtaking them. Spousal abuse happens all around us in places we would have never thought, as violence seems to dominate the lives of those who are held in its grip. Alcoholism and drug addiction takes so many as they seek a way out of their lives and find that it instead comes to dominate their life, holding them enslaved to their next drink or their next fix. Poverty as families sleep in cars, shelter lines seem to go on and on forever, and veterans who gave so much for our freedom are left to the streets, their hopes and dreams squashed under the weight of such harsh conditions.

Yet there is hope…

Even amidst the greatest of darkness’ that seek to overtake us, even amidst the greatest of chaos that overwhelm us, there is hope, and it’s found in the words of the Prophet.

There is a loving God, a compassionate God, a God of deliverance and of mercy who contends with the cause of His children, and regardless of the struggle, regardless of the ordeal, He is at work in this world, seeking to set them free from the captivity that now takes such hold over them.

Yes unrighteousness and iniquity, evil and sin is always around us, as the Adversary tries to assert his dominance on this world. We see it all around us as Satan never relents, using ever weapon in his arsenal to prey upon the weakness of men and women, trying to break people, to destroy them, so that his dark hold over them will be made complete. Yet, against the power of the Lord God Almighty, and the strength of His hand, all the forces of the dark prince are fleeting, soon to pass as the peace and the love of the Lord sets it to flight. Our proof? The life, the death and the resurrection of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who, for our sake, was made man.

A world held in dark bondage to the powers of sin, death and the Devil, Christ set it free. Through his encompassing sacrifice he conquered the grave, giving it no more power over us, and their he set captivity captive and ransomed us enslaved hostages to it. Freedom came through his love and his sacrifice, through God’s mercy and compassion and it guided us through the darkness to a path of redemption that we would once more be able to find ourselves amidst our heavenly home.

Yet the Devil, knowing his days were numbered, and his power gone, is always trying to reassert it in this world.

Still, if this is the power of the Lord, if this is the grace of our Heavenly Father and the firm reliance by which we place our hope on, knowing that he is the strength of our salvation, then how much more can He do now against the forces of iniquity in this world? How much more can he do for the cause and the struggle of His children whom he has promised never to fail or forsake?

Regardless of the struggle, regardless of the ordeal, regardless of the captivity, regardless of all that is waged by the dark power of the forces of iniquity and hatred, chaos and sin as evil seeks to triumph over us, put your faith and your reliance on the Lord, lifting the cause of His people to Him in humble submission to His word and know that the Your Heavenly Father will hear the cries, will hear the calls, and shall see the plight, working through all things to set all people free that they will once more, in justice, be able to abide in liberty.

This is the hope and faith of the broken and the wounded, healed by the miraculous touch of the Lord God Almighty.

Lord, grant this unto us all.

In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen.

Morning Prayer 9/17/09

God, the King eternal, who divides the day from the night and turns the shadow of death into the morning: Drive far from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to keep your law, and guide our feet into the way of peace; that, having done your will with cheerfulness while it was day, we may, when night comes, rejoice to give you thanks; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Mid-Day Devotion 9/16/09

1 Give ear to my words, O LORD,
consider my sighing.

2 Listen to my cry for help,
my King and my God,
for to you I pray.

3 In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait in expectation.

4 You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil;
with you the wicked cannot dwell.

5 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence;
you hate all who do wrong.

6 You destroy those who tell lies;
bloodthirsty and deceitful men
the LORD abhors.

7 But I, by your great mercy,
will come into your house;
in reverence will I bow down
toward your holy temple.

8 Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness
because of my enemies—
make straight your way before me.

9 Not a word from their mouth can be trusted;
their heart is filled with destruction.
Their throat is an open grave;
with their tongue they speak deceit.

10 Declare them guilty, O God!
Let their intrigues be their downfall.
Banish them for their many sins,
for they have rebelled against you.

11 But let all who take refuge in you be glad;
let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

12 For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous;
you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

Psalm 5

Because of the life, the death and the sacrifice of Christ Jesus, because of that encompassing love that He has shown for His children, we have come in grace to the blessing and the miracle of the Holy Spirit, to know of a God, our Heavenly Father, the God of love. The God who draws us close in His compassion and His mercy, in His righteousness and in His great and encompassing love for us. He brings us in, He showers us with His blessings, He shines His grace upon us, that infinite mercy that transcends all of our human understanding, all of our human wisdom. And there, there though we have sinned, though we have transgressed, we know that we find forgiveness through a sincere faith, through that rebirth, that rejuvenation that we have as His disciples, called to do better, called to be better, called to live better lives through the transformative power of the Holy Spirit in our life.

But there is a side of God that we don't always talk about, because we have come to know that great love, and that is the side of God that abhors evil, the side of God that cannot stand unrighteousness, that looks upon the wicked and evil transgressions that men can commit against their fellow man, and finds His heart sinking deep within Him. A God who cannot contend with the unrighteousness, we find there a God of justice, a God who still has that love and mercy within His heart, a God who still has that compassion in His heart, but a God who because of that love, mercy and compassion must work through this world with a hand of judgment, with a hand of wrath against all of those who would seek to subjugate, all those who seek to take slaves, all those who would seek to bind up their fellow man, holding their lives to be cheap and without value, without purpose, in order that they can fulfill their own ambitions of greed, of power and ambition. Ambition becomes nothing more than their guiding star, as they turn from the righteousness of God, as they turn from the good that God can do, as they let wickedness and iniquity encompass them.

And here we know that because of that justice and because of that love, that God does not let His children stay in their company forever. He does not let them be ruled over by such wickedness forever. And there He comes in His judgment, to work His will in this world in order to assure the blessings of His peace and His comfort come upon His children. And there we know that the wicked men of brutal iniquity, the wicked men's trangressions shall not stand upon this Earth forever but that God's judgment, God's justice and God's will, it will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.

In the words of the Psalmist today we hear that he kneels, that he kneels down in humble submission to the Lord and to His word. He cries out, he prays out to the Lord, for His eyes not to be far from him, not to be distant from him, that His ears will hear and that His heart will reach out, and that the enemies, not of that man, not of that Psalmist, but of God, they will shown that their ways are not His ways, and their unrighteousness cannot be joined in unity with God's righteousness. And here we know that the Lord listens, that the Lord hears those calls, and that by His holy hand, His works which are good and righteous, which are good and merciful, will come to bear upon this world.

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

Morning Prayer 9/16/09

Psalm 121

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills; *
from where is my help to come?

2 My help comes from the LORD, *
the maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot be moved *
and he who watches over you will not fall asleep.

4 Behold, he who keeps watch over Israel *
shall neither slumber nor sleep;

5 The LORD himself watches over you; *
the LORD is your shade at your right hand,

6 So that the sun shall not strike you by day, *
nor the moon by night.

7 The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; *
it is he who shall keep you safe.

8 The LORD shall watch over your going out and your coming in, *
from this time forth for evermore.