Listen to this incredible story of love...a four-year old girl gives us a glimpse of what Jesus' love must be like for us.
http://snapjudgment.org/audio/by/title/xiao_xiao
"The way I think about it is this: if you think about love being a state where you can't be happy if the person you love isn't happy, this is the way she loved that little boy. She never could rest knowing that he was still there." --Jacqueline's mother
the power of prayer;
http://snapjudgment.org/lost-in-translation
Showing posts with label prayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prayer. Show all posts
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Friday, September 04, 2009
SBC Pastor Prays for Obama's Death
Just what we need: more prayers for God to kill people. Father forgive him for he knows not what he says and does.
via Liz Mosbo VerHage
from the Associated Baptist Press
Drake, former SBC officer, says he's praying for Obama to die
By Bob Allen
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
A former SBC vice president told Fox News Radio's Alan Colmes he is praying 'imprecatory prayer' on President Obama.
NEW YORK (ABP) -- A former Southern Baptist Convention officer who on June 2 called the death of abortion provider George Tiller an answer to prayer said later in the day he is also praying "imprecatory prayer" against President Obama.
Wiley Drake, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Buena Park, Calif., and former running mate of American Independent Party presidential candidate Alan Keyes, said June 2 on Fox News Radio he didn't understand why people were upset with his comments quoted by Associated Baptist Press from a webcast of his daily radio talk show.
"Imprecatory prayer is agreeing with God, and if people don't like that, they need to talk to God," Drake told syndicated talk-show host Alan Colmes. "God said it, I didn't. I was just agreeing with God."
Asked if there are others for whom Drake is praying "imprecatory prayer," Drake hesitated before answering that there are several. "The usurper that is in the White House is one, B. Hussein Obama," he said.
Later in the interview, Colmes returned to Drake's answer to make sure he heard him right.
"Are you praying for his death?" Colmes asked.
"Yes," Drake replied.
"So you're praying for the death of the president of the United States?"
"Yes."
Colmes asked Drake if he was concerned that by saying that he might be placed on a Secret Service or FBI watch list, and if he believed it appropriate to talk or pray that way.
"I think it's appropriate to pray the Word of God," Drake said. "I'm not saying anything. What I am doing is repeating what God is saying, and if that puts me on somebody's list, then I'll just have to be on their list."
"You would like for the president of the United States to die?" Colmes asked once more.
"If he does not turn to God and does not turn his life around, I am asking God to enforce imprecatory prayers that are throughout the Scripture that would cause him death, that's correct."
Most of the half-hour interview on "The Alan Colmes Show" is premium programming available by paid subscription, but a five-minute clip appeared as a "top video" on the Fox News Radio website.
Drake said he didn't pray for Tiller to be murdered -- only that God would take his life by some method -- but that he "absolutely" believed that God wanted the doctor dead.
"I believe the whole Bible, Alan," he explained. "I don't just preach part of it. I don't just preach the soft, fuzzy, warm stuff where we're supposed to be nice to everybody. I preach the whole Bible."
Part of the Bible, Drake claimed, is imprecatory prayer -- words of judgment in the Psalms prayed back to God -- a practice he said the church has lost
Drake fielded calls from a few listeners, including one identifying himself as a lifelong Southern Baptist who said he was saddened to hear a minister would pray for someone to die.
"This whole concept that we're always to pray little, nice, soft, fluffy, prayers -- that we're not to pray imprecatory prayer -- has been something that just, in all honesty, that Southern Baptists have lost, and we need to regain imprecatory prayer," Drake said. "It is in the Bible, and we are proud to say as Southern Baptists that we believe the Book. You've got to believe the whole Book, brother, or you don't believe any of it."
Asked if he thinks there might be other people praying imprecatory prayers for him that might be successful, Drake said, "Well, that's certainly possible, but that's in God's hands, not in mine."
Asked if he claimed to know God's will, Drake replied: "In some cases I do. Not in all cases. I know this, that if I do die right now, I'll go to heaven when I die because I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That's why I'll go to heaven and not to hell. And the reason George Tiller went to hell when he died was not because he killed babies, as terrible as that was. If he went to hell, and I think he did -- that's God's judgment and not mine -- but if he did go to hell it's because he did not accept Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior."
Drake said he did not believe Tiller's accused killer is a pro-life Christian.
"I'm of the opinion -- and now everybody's going to say 'There goes Wiley down the conspiracy-theory road,' I'm of the opinion that somebody in the Obama camp had this guy killed."
"Who benefits the most from this man killing a doctor?" Drake asked. "We certainly don't. Pro-life people certainly don't. It hurts us. It damages us, but Obama will indeed advance it. This will be one of those crises to take advantage of, and he's already done that."
Drake said he had no evidence and admitted his opinion for now is "pure speculation."
"Everybody said [Lee Harvey] Oswald was a lone gunman, et cetera, et cetera, too," he said. "But I think we're going to find there was somebody else involved."
Drake said Tiller's murder would be a setback for pro-life Christians seeking to end abortion by legal and proper means. He said he also expects to see answers to other imprecatory prayers in the days ahead.
"God says very clearly in his Word that we are to continue to pray and he will answer our prayers," Drake said.
Sing Oldham, vice president for convention relations with the SBC Executive Committee, was unavailable for comment until late on May 4.
He said that while Drake served one year as second vice president of the SBC, he is not now nor has ever been a spokesman for the convention.
"Mr. Drake does not represent Southern Baptist actions, resolutions, or positions in his interpretation and application of 'imprecatory prayers,'" Oldham said. "Any comments made by Wiley Drake on this subject represent his personal views, not those of the Convention."
Oldham said most Baptists view the imprecatory prayers found in the Psalms as private, heartfelt conversations between oppressed people and God, and reflect confidence that God will eventually vindicate the innocent. He said they generally close with a conscious decision not to bear malice and leave final judgment up to God.
"I think it is fair to say that the vast majority of Southern Baptists reject any call to pray imprecatory prayers of death over any individual," he said.
It's nice Pastor Drake believes he is "locked in" to heaven, but he gives me yet another reason why I find it better news for Christ's righteousness to be imparted, rather than imputed to us.
via Liz Mosbo VerHage
from the Associated Baptist Press
Drake, former SBC officer, says he's praying for Obama to die
By Bob Allen
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
A former SBC vice president told Fox News Radio's Alan Colmes he is praying 'imprecatory prayer' on President Obama.
NEW YORK (ABP) -- A former Southern Baptist Convention officer who on June 2 called the death of abortion provider George Tiller an answer to prayer said later in the day he is also praying "imprecatory prayer" against President Obama.
Wiley Drake, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Buena Park, Calif., and former running mate of American Independent Party presidential candidate Alan Keyes, said June 2 on Fox News Radio he didn't understand why people were upset with his comments quoted by Associated Baptist Press from a webcast of his daily radio talk show.
"Imprecatory prayer is agreeing with God, and if people don't like that, they need to talk to God," Drake told syndicated talk-show host Alan Colmes. "God said it, I didn't. I was just agreeing with God."
Asked if there are others for whom Drake is praying "imprecatory prayer," Drake hesitated before answering that there are several. "The usurper that is in the White House is one, B. Hussein Obama," he said.
Later in the interview, Colmes returned to Drake's answer to make sure he heard him right.
"Are you praying for his death?" Colmes asked.
"Yes," Drake replied.
"So you're praying for the death of the president of the United States?"
"Yes."
Colmes asked Drake if he was concerned that by saying that he might be placed on a Secret Service or FBI watch list, and if he believed it appropriate to talk or pray that way.
"I think it's appropriate to pray the Word of God," Drake said. "I'm not saying anything. What I am doing is repeating what God is saying, and if that puts me on somebody's list, then I'll just have to be on their list."
"You would like for the president of the United States to die?" Colmes asked once more.
"If he does not turn to God and does not turn his life around, I am asking God to enforce imprecatory prayers that are throughout the Scripture that would cause him death, that's correct."
Most of the half-hour interview on "The Alan Colmes Show" is premium programming available by paid subscription, but a five-minute clip appeared as a "top video" on the Fox News Radio website.
Drake said he didn't pray for Tiller to be murdered -- only that God would take his life by some method -- but that he "absolutely" believed that God wanted the doctor dead.
"I believe the whole Bible, Alan," he explained. "I don't just preach part of it. I don't just preach the soft, fuzzy, warm stuff where we're supposed to be nice to everybody. I preach the whole Bible."
Part of the Bible, Drake claimed, is imprecatory prayer -- words of judgment in the Psalms prayed back to God -- a practice he said the church has lost
Drake fielded calls from a few listeners, including one identifying himself as a lifelong Southern Baptist who said he was saddened to hear a minister would pray for someone to die.
"This whole concept that we're always to pray little, nice, soft, fluffy, prayers -- that we're not to pray imprecatory prayer -- has been something that just, in all honesty, that Southern Baptists have lost, and we need to regain imprecatory prayer," Drake said. "It is in the Bible, and we are proud to say as Southern Baptists that we believe the Book. You've got to believe the whole Book, brother, or you don't believe any of it."
Asked if he thinks there might be other people praying imprecatory prayers for him that might be successful, Drake said, "Well, that's certainly possible, but that's in God's hands, not in mine."
Asked if he claimed to know God's will, Drake replied: "In some cases I do. Not in all cases. I know this, that if I do die right now, I'll go to heaven when I die because I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That's why I'll go to heaven and not to hell. And the reason George Tiller went to hell when he died was not because he killed babies, as terrible as that was. If he went to hell, and I think he did -- that's God's judgment and not mine -- but if he did go to hell it's because he did not accept Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior."
Drake said he did not believe Tiller's accused killer is a pro-life Christian.
"I'm of the opinion -- and now everybody's going to say 'There goes Wiley down the conspiracy-theory road,' I'm of the opinion that somebody in the Obama camp had this guy killed."
"Who benefits the most from this man killing a doctor?" Drake asked. "We certainly don't. Pro-life people certainly don't. It hurts us. It damages us, but Obama will indeed advance it. This will be one of those crises to take advantage of, and he's already done that."
Drake said he had no evidence and admitted his opinion for now is "pure speculation."
"Everybody said [Lee Harvey] Oswald was a lone gunman, et cetera, et cetera, too," he said. "But I think we're going to find there was somebody else involved."
Drake said Tiller's murder would be a setback for pro-life Christians seeking to end abortion by legal and proper means. He said he also expects to see answers to other imprecatory prayers in the days ahead.
"God says very clearly in his Word that we are to continue to pray and he will answer our prayers," Drake said.
Sing Oldham, vice president for convention relations with the SBC Executive Committee, was unavailable for comment until late on May 4.
He said that while Drake served one year as second vice president of the SBC, he is not now nor has ever been a spokesman for the convention.
"Mr. Drake does not represent Southern Baptist actions, resolutions, or positions in his interpretation and application of 'imprecatory prayers,'" Oldham said. "Any comments made by Wiley Drake on this subject represent his personal views, not those of the Convention."
Oldham said most Baptists view the imprecatory prayers found in the Psalms as private, heartfelt conversations between oppressed people and God, and reflect confidence that God will eventually vindicate the innocent. He said they generally close with a conscious decision not to bear malice and leave final judgment up to God.
"I think it is fair to say that the vast majority of Southern Baptists reject any call to pray imprecatory prayers of death over any individual," he said.
It's nice Pastor Drake believes he is "locked in" to heaven, but he gives me yet another reason why I find it better news for Christ's righteousness to be imparted, rather than imputed to us.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Prayer for EBC Honors Chapel, May 20, 2009
Father,
You sent your Son Jesus, your Living Word
To bring us forgiveness and truth,
And He gave us His Spirit to make us holy.
Through them we come to know and love You,
And enter into Your life together.
Help us to worship You,
One God in three Persons,
Not only by declaring
You sent your Son Jesus, your Living Word
To bring us forgiveness and truth,
And He gave us His Spirit to make us holy.
Through them we come to know and love You,
And enter into Your life together.
Help us to worship You,
One God in three Persons,
Not only by declaring
but by living out our faith in You.
We thank you for this college,
and all here who serve you,
who have been Christ to us,
We thank you for this college,
and all here who serve you,
who have been Christ to us,
who have equipped us,
and have directed us toward your Kingdom.
Now we pray that you might complete
The good work which you have begun in us
By giving us
Diligence to seek you,
Patience to wait for you,
Hearts to meditate on you,
Wisdom to perceive you
Eyes to behold you,
Intelligence to understand you
And lives to proclaim you.
Bless those who come in
And bless those who go out,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
By Him, with Him, in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
May all glory be yours, Almighty Father, now and forever.
Amen
and have directed us toward your Kingdom.
Now we pray that you might complete
The good work which you have begun in us
By giving us
Diligence to seek you,
Patience to wait for you,
Hearts to meditate on you,
Wisdom to perceive you
Eyes to behold you,
Intelligence to understand you
And lives to proclaim you.
Bless those who come in
And bless those who go out,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
By Him, with Him, in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
May all glory be yours, Almighty Father, now and forever.
Amen
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
A Puritan's New Year's Prayer
Today's Worship Quote of the Week:
O LORD,
Length of days does not profit me except the days are passed in thy presence, in thy service, to thy glory.
Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides, sustains, sanctifies, aids every hour,
that I may not be one moment apart from thee,
but may rely on thy Spirit
to supply every thought,
speak in every word,
direct every step,
prosper every work,
build up every mote of faith,
and give me a desire
to show forth thy praise,
testify thy love,
advance thy kingdom.
I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year,
with thee, O Father, as my harbor,
thee, O Son, at my helm,
thee, O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.
Guide me to heaven with my loins girt,
my lamp burning,
my ear open to thy calls,
my heart full of love,
my soul free.
Give me thy grace to sanctify me,
thy comforts to cheer,
thy wisdom to teach,
thy right hand to guide,
thy counsel to instruct,
thy law to judge,
thy presence to stabilize.
May thy fear be my awe,
thy triumphs my joy.
—Arthur Bennett, editor. THE VALLEY OF VISION: A COLLECTION OF PURITAN PRAYERS AND DEVOTIONS. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Banner of Truth Trust, 1999 (first published in 1975), p. 112. ISBN 0-85151-228-3.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Prayer for a Happy Death
a Prayer written by Cardinal Newman.
O my Lord and Savior, support me in my last hour by the strong arms of Thy sacraments, and the fragrance of Thy consolations. Let Thy absolving words be said over me, and the holy oil sign and seal me; and let your own body be my food, and Thy blood my sprinkling; and let Thy Mother Mary come to me, and my angel whisper peace to me, and Thy glorious saints and my own dear patrons smile on me, that in and through them all I may die as I desire to live, in Thy Church, in Thy faith, and in Thy love. Amen.
My Jesus, mercy.
Bad news from three fronts today, including word from Steve that A. is even weaker now, constantly wracked with pain and immobile on the sofa. He visited her this afternoon, and she gathered enough strength to ask her mom to leave the room so she could talk one on one with Steve.
"Pastor, will Jesus take care of M. (her son) if I die?"
"Yes, A. Jesus loves little children, and He will care for M."
"Then please pray for me to die."
So he did. And so I am praying, as well:
Father, please open the door for A. so that she might be released from her suffering and find rest in Your arms. May she pass quickly and gently from this world, and as she does, please comfort her family and provide a way for M. to remember her fierce love for him. May You be glorified through her death, even as she glorified You in her life.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Today is the Feastday of St. Thomas
Happy Feastday of St. Thomas! In honor of the Angelic Doctor:
Learn about St. Thomas:
G.K. Chesterton's St. Thomas Aquinas
St. Thomas Aquinas, at the Catholic Forum
Think with St. Thomas:
Thomistic Philosophy Page
"Believing is an act of the intellect assenting to the divine truth by command of the will moved by God through grace."
"Hence we must say that for the knowledge of any truth whatsoever man needs divine help, that the intellect may be moved by God to its act. But he does not need a new light added to his natural light, in order to know the truth in all things, but only in some that surpasses his natural knowledge."
Laugh with St. Thomas
The Five Ways of Proving Santa Claus
Is God made of Soap?
Get your own St. Thomas Action Figure
Pray with St. Thomas
Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen.
Most loving Lord, grant me a steadfast heart which no unworthy desire may drag downards; an unconquered heart which no hardship may wear out; an upright heart which no worthless purpose may ensnare. Impart to me also, O God, the understanding to know you, the diligence to seek you, a way of life to please you, and a faithfulness that may embrace you, through Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen.
Creator of all things,
true source of Light and Wisdom,
lofty source of all Being,
graciously let a ray of Your Brilliance
penetrate into the darkness of my understanding
and take from me the double darkness in which I have been born,
sin and ignorance.
Give me a sharp sense of understanding,
a retentive memory,
and the ability to grasp things correctly and fundamentally.
Grant me the talent of being exact in my explanations,
and the ability to express myself with thoroughness and charm.
Point out the beginning,
direct the progress,
help in the completion.
Through Christ, Our Lord.
Sing with St. Thomas
Pange Lingua
Sing, my tongue, the Savior's glory,
of His flesh the mystery sing;
of the Blood, all price exceeding,
shed by our immortal King,
destined, for the world's redemption,
from a noble womb to spring.
Of a pure and spotless Virgin
born for us on earth below,
He, as Man, with man conversing,
stayed, the seeds of truth to sow;
then He closed in solemn order
wondrously His life of woe.
On the night of that Last Supper,
seated with His chosen band,
He the Pascal victim eating,
first fulfills the Law's command;
then as Food to His Apostles
gives Himself with His own hand.
Word-made-Flesh, the bread of nature
by His word to Flesh He turns;
wine into His Blood He changes;
what though sense no change discerns?
Only be the heart in earnest,
faith her lesson quickly learns.
of His flesh the mystery sing;
of the Blood, all price exceeding,
shed by our immortal King,
destined, for the world's redemption,
from a noble womb to spring.
Of a pure and spotless Virgin
born for us on earth below,
He, as Man, with man conversing,
stayed, the seeds of truth to sow;
then He closed in solemn order
wondrously His life of woe.
On the night of that Last Supper,
seated with His chosen band,
He the Pascal victim eating,
first fulfills the Law's command;
then as Food to His Apostles
gives Himself with His own hand.
Word-made-Flesh, the bread of nature
by His word to Flesh He turns;
wine into His Blood He changes;
what though sense no change discerns?
Only be the heart in earnest,
faith her lesson quickly learns.
Tantum Ergo
Down in adoration falling,
Lo! the sacred Host we hail;
Lo! o'er ancient forms departing,
newer rites of grace prevail;
faith for all defects supplying,
where the feeble senses fail.
To the everlasting Father,
and the Son who reigns on high,
with the Holy Ghost proceeding
forth from Each eternally,
be salvation, honor, blessing,
might and endless majesty.
Amen. Alleluia.
Lo! the sacred Host we hail;
Lo! o'er ancient forms departing,
newer rites of grace prevail;
faith for all defects supplying,
where the feeble senses fail.
To the everlasting Father,
and the Son who reigns on high,
with the Holy Ghost proceeding
forth from Each eternally,
be salvation, honor, blessing,
might and endless majesty.
Amen. Alleluia.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Epitaph for 2007
"For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him."
Philippians 1:27-29 TNIV
This would make a good epitaph for 2007, in my opinion. What will be the one for 2008?
Lord, this year continue to help me to learn how suffering can be a gift, for Jesus' sake. I confess I've been pretty thick headed and slow to do what I can to relieve the suffering of others around me. Please fill me with your hope in 2008, so that I might do a better job of this, and be more eager to receive all that you have in store for me
...for what I want is to want nothing less than You.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Obituaries and appraisals
In his NYT obit/appraisal of Luciano Pavarotti, Andrew Tommasini wrote:
"Yet ultimately, for all that Mr. Pavarotti gave to opera, it’s hard to avoid feeling that he never completely fulfilled his potential, that he squandered some of his awesome talent by letting his enablers turn him from a hard-working artist into an overindulged and sometimes clownish superstar"
Someday it will be our Lord, and not Andrew Tommasini, who judges us. That will both be good and bad! What if this is His appraisal of me?
"Yet ultimately, for all that Beth Bilynskyj gave to Me, it’s hard to avoid feeling that she never completely fulfilled her potential, that she squandered some of her gifts by letting her enablers turn her from a hard-working Christian into an overindulged and sometimes clownish woman."
As Paul would say, Me genoito!
Lord,
Forgive me for playing fast and loose with gifts you have given me. Give me the discipline to develop them for You.
Forgive me for enabling others not to be all You intended. Help me to recognize their gifts, and if I cannot be part of their development, get myself out of Your way.
Form me so that I will no longer be stinkingly self-indulgent, but a sweet-smelling sacrifice to you.
May the world consider me a fool, but help me to discover and live your Wisdom."
In Jesus' name, and for His kingdom,
Amen.
Required Reading:
- James
- Revelation 2-3
- "Leaf by Niggle," a short story by J.R.R. Tolkien
- John Donne, "A Hymn to God the Father'
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Prayer for the Church
Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
This is the prayer appointed for the week, from the Divine Hours.
It is appropriate not just for VCC but for our entire denomination in light of Glenn Palmberg's retirement.
This is the prayer appointed for the week, from the Divine Hours.
It is appropriate not just for VCC but for our entire denomination in light of Glenn Palmberg's retirement.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
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