“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!”
Psalm 107:1, ESV
From all eternity, O Jesus Christ, you have been our Lord and our God: so did the Father will it. Yet in this, the last of all periods of time, you also had your birth; you were born of a virgin, of one who had no knowledge of any man. To redeem us from the Law, you submitted to the Law. Your purpose was to free us from the slavery to which our corruption had reduced us and to confer upon us the rank of sons.
Deliver us, now, Lord, from all that is vain; fulfill your promise and free us from sin and shame; fill our hearts with your Holy Spirit and enable us to say: “Abba, Father.”
You know how unsuitable I am. Were it not for your guidance I would have brought everything to destruction. I wish to give my heart and mouth to your service. I desire to teach your people, and long to be taught your work.
Use me as your workman, dear Lord. Do not forsake me; for if I am alone I shall bring all to nought. Amen.
***
A written prayer by Martin Luther, (b. November 10, 1483 – d. February 18, 1546) Catholic Monk, Reformer, Theologian, Writer.
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Some General Quotes by Luther:
“Faith is a living and unshakable confidence, a belief in the grace of God so assured that a man would die a thousand deaths for its sake.”
“So when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this: “I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it? For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where He is there I shall be also!”
“Either sin is with you, lying on your shoulders, or it is lying on Christ, the Lamb of God. Now if it is lying on your back, you are lost; but if it is resting on Christ, you are free, and you will be saved. Now choose what you want.”
“In our sad condition our only consolation is the expectancy of another life.”
It’s Sunday morning here in Alaska. We survived already this morning– DST, an earthquake, dog poop on the carpet, and snow, and it’s not even noon yet. (Can’t wait to see what the afternoon will bring.)
I had my appointment Friday, and my doctor was blown away. My Bell’s Palsy is diminished by about 70%. He was thunderstruck. And I believe God healed me!
There are some issues though. The BP is still affecting my eye, and the left side of my mouth. I have decided to continue the meds, and start to ease off of managing four blogs. The eyestrain isn’t going to help my affected eye.
I was able to open the service with a meditation from the Word last night at our main service. I managed to do this without a translator, or a sponge, so I survived.
Having so many praying for me, especially early this week during the acute stages was profound. Thanks for mobilizing and standing up for me in the Father’s presence. Thank you!
I like inventing new words, especially for words that have far too much mileage on them. A car runs great, but even the best autos start to have issues after the odometer goes over 200,000 miles.
So I’m purposing a new word even though I’m not quite ready to completely toss the old one yet. The new word is “Velcrocity”. I will define velcrocity as a mix of love, faithfulness and endurance. (Possible forms of this word– Walk in velcrocity, be velcroized more and more. Wasn’t that velcroful worship? And on and on.)
Just in case you’re wondering, Velcro is a fastener mostly used for clothing. It consists of two strips, one is covered in tiny loops and the other in tiny flexible hooks. The two strips ‘adhere’ when they are pressed together and separate when pulled apart.
“Velcro is strong enough that a two inch square piece is enough to support a 175-pound (79 kg) person. The strength of the bond depends on how well the hooks are embedded in the loops, how much surface area is in contact with the hooks, and the nature of the force pulling it apart.” –Wiki
Why velcrocity? Thinking about the Father God’s love for me (and others) made me start thinking about Velcro– and being “laid up” with my health sucking so poorly has helped me pray and think. And being way too curious I did a frontal assault on the internet of the sticky subject of Velcro.
The best info came from Wikipedia, of course. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velcro
The more contact between the strips of Velcro will strengthen the bond. The tighter the hook part pushes into mesh part more effort required to pull them apart. The negatives of this wonder are they have to stay clean. Lint, dirt of hair get between and can keep the strips from bonding.
As I write this, the imagery parallels what I’ve already learned from my Bible, prayer, fellowship and worship. Spiritual lessons quite often will come from what I see physically. But I need to be teachable and a whole lot more perceptive.
Focus on Jesus, and stick to the things of God. There is an adhesion needed in the Church today, and it truly starts with your heart. The covenant heart of God is that you would more and more cling to Him. He is truly tenacious, in the best use of the word.
“I will never leave you, or forsake you.”
“The Love of God endures forever.”
&
Kyrie eleison.
ybic, Bryan
(How about Velcrophobic? Velcroful? Velcrology? Velcrophobic? —and then maybe not,)
Broken Believers 