New Year celebration and entertainment

Kierkegaard comments on New Year celebrations:

"We all make noise on New Year's Eve because we are trying to drown out the macabre sound of grass growing over our graves. We keep time with our clocks instead of hourglasses. This adds to the delusion, because the hands of a clock go round and round, giving us the impression that our time goes on forever. Hourglasses constantly remind us that for each of us -- time is running out!"

A photo-blogger named Flesheater writes some incisive thoughts on entertainment. He says that entertainment is a counterfeit protector:

I watch T.V. when I'm afraid, to numb my mind and forget my fears. I have horrible fears that creep in when I stop entertaining myself. I believe society has trained us to run to entertainment rather than running to G-d and facing our fears with Him on our side.They've trained us to ignore real life and substitute their entertaining faux realities...

Our society is built on a grand delusion. We can not deal with reality without G-d, and since we want no part of G-d we must seek ways to escape reality. This is why we built entertainment, this is why our world revolves around something that is meaningless in its core, because it distracts us from having to deal with reality and therefore from having to call out to G-d for help...

Entertainment will not help you grow it will only choke the life out of you. Entertainment can only cover your fears up for so long. G-d brings true freedom, He has conquered death, He will take your fears and replace them with love and joy.

Selah.

"I can tell you how much God you have by how much entertainment you need." - A.W. Tozer

"Now the (seeds) that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity." Luke 8:14

Selah.

Who hast all created

Dost thou in a manger lie?

Words: Jean Mauburn, 1494; trans. Elizabeth Charles, 1858
Tune: Mauburn

Dost thou in a manger lie,
who hast all created,
stretching infant hands on high,
Savior, long awaited?
If a monarch, where thy state?
Where thy court on thee to wait?
Royal purple, where?
Here no regal pomp we see,
nought but need and penury:
why thus cradled here?

"Pitying love for fallen man
brought me down thus low;
for a race deep lost in sin
came I into woe.
By this lowly birth of mine,
sinner, riches shall be thine,
matchless gifts and free;
willingly this yoke I take,
and this sacrifice I make,
heaping joys for thee."

Fervent praise would I do to thee
evermore be raising;
for thy wondrous love to me
thee be ever praising.
Glory, glory be for ever
unto that most bounteous Giver,
and that loving Lord!
Better witness to thy worth,
purer praise than ours on earth,
angels' songs afford.

Selah.

Jefferson on the current state of affairs

Don't talk about what you have done or what you are going to do.

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.

When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe.

The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.

Selah.

An eve of light: holy night

Merry Christmas to each of you, as you carry your burdens and pray your prayers, and trust, even as you walk through the darkness... light dawns for you! Alleluia!

Be blessed this night, this holy day!

Alleluia!

Amaze us with promises

A prayer for the fourth week of advent

Oremus, Dec. 22

The world is waiting restlessly for you, Lord, to come.
Reward us who wait for you
with surprises we cannot anticipate.
As Mary was astounded by Gabriel's announcement,
so also amaze us with promises beyond our comprehension,
even with responsibilities we fear to accept.
Come, Lord Jesus, come!

Speak the word to us
that the power of the Holy Spirit will come upon us
that we may fulfill all you have called us to be.
Come, Lord Jesus, come!

In these final hours of waiting,
prepare us to plumb the depths
of your incarnation's mystery.
Come, Lord Jesus, come!

Enable us to bear the fruits of repentance,
lest the outward celebrations of Christmas
not be enacted with the inward reality of faith each day.
Come, Lord Jesus, come!

Inhabit us continually with your Living Word,
as for centuries you have filled your people with transforming love.
Come, Lord Jesus, come!

So satisfy the cravings of the human heart,
that, having seen the great things come to pass,
your people may glorify you and give you praise.
Come, Lord Jesus, come!

God of grace,
your eternal Word took flesh among us
when Mary placed her life at the service of your will:
Prepare our hearts for his coming again;
keep us steadfast in hope and faithful in service,
that we may receive the coming of his kingdom,
for the sake of Jesus Christ the ruler of all,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.

Selah.

Behold: All the gates of heaven unfold!

Gabriel's message does away

Words: Piae cantiones, 1582; trans. John Mason Neale (1818-1866)
Tune: Angelus emittitur

Gabriel's message does away
Satan's curse and Satan's sway,
out of darkness brings our Day:

So, behold,
All the gates of heaven unfold.

He that comes despised shall reign;
he that cannot die, be slain;
death by death its death shall gain:

So, behold,
All the gates of heaven unfold.

Weakness shall the strong confound;
by the hands, in grave clothes wound,
Adam's chains shall be unbound.

So, behold,
All the gates of heaven unfold.

By the sword that was His own,
by that sword, and that alone,
shall Goliath be o'erthrown:

So, behold,
All the gates of heaven unfold.

Art by art shall be assailed;
to the cross shall Life be nailed;
from the grave shall hope be hailed:

So, behold,
All the gates of heaven unfold!

Alleluia!

Selah.

Though I unworthy be

My spirit longs for thee

Words: John Byrom (@1692-1763)
Tune: Amen Court

My spirit longs for thee
within my troubled breast,
though I unworthy be
of so divine a guest.

Of so divine a guest
unworthy though I be,
yet has my heart no rest
unless it come from thee.

Unless it come from thee,
in vain I look around;
in all that I can see
no rest is to be found.

No rest is to be found
but in thy blessèd love:
O let my wish be crowned,
and send it from above!

Selah.

Come, and by Thy love's revealing

Light of those whose dreary dwelling

Words: Charles Wesley (1707-1788)
Tune: Pleading Savior

Light of those whose dreary dwelling
Borders on the shades of death,
Come, and by Thy love's revealing
Dissipate the clouds beneath;
The new heaven and earth's Creator,
In our deepest darkness rise,
Scattering all the night of nature,
Pouring eyesight on our eyes.

Still we wait for Thine appearing;
Life and joy Thy beams impart,
Chasing all our fears, and cheering
Every poor benighted heart:
Come, and manifest the favor
God hath for our ransomed race;
Come, Thou universal Savior,
Come, and bring the gospel grace.

Save us in Thy great compassion,
O Thou kind, pacific Prince;
Give the knowledge of salvation,
Give the pardon of our sins:
By Thy all-restoring merit
Every burdened soul release;
Every weary, wandering spirit
Guide into Thy perfect peace.

Selah.

When oceans vast their depths reveal

When oceans vast their depths reveal

Words: Morgan Rhys (1716-1779) translated by Edward M Powell (1852-1928)
Tune: Wiltshire

When oceans vast their depths reveal
And moons have ceased to wane,
The Lamb who died and rose again,
On Zion's hill shall reign.

His glorious Name must long endure
When suns have ceased to shine,
And through eternity the saints
Will sing His praise divine.

As countless as the drops of dew,
Or sand upon the shore,
Are blessings which the ransomed have
In Him for evermore.

Let every other name recede,
His Name alone extol;
In Him reserved, there is the grace
To satisfy my soul.

Selah.

Bethlehem: The place where God’s love broke in

Where love breaks in

This is what happens when God’s power breaks in: darkness is cast out. The power of evil spirits is broken and driven away. The Holy Spirit creates a pure atmosphere, one of unity and of peace.

The little stable in Bethlehem was a place where God’s love broke in. While on earth, Jesus expected God’s kingdom to break in. His expectation was that light must break in upon this darkened earth. He saw that death had heaped up a barrier so that light could not come into life on earth. Therefore he sacrificed his life so that in the area of death an opening might be made; so that there might be a rift in the layer of gloomy fog around the earth – an opening through which the light of God could come in. If a house has even only one window where the sun shines in, it can no longer be dark inside the house.

If Jesus opens a breach in death then God’s kingdom comes down to this earth. This was the faith that the early Christian church had when they waited for the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. They were determined to wait until the flame of the Spirit, like the star over Bethlehem, should come down at this one place. And this did happen; it came.

From the place where a stream enters, it pours out into the entire world. Where love breaks in, all other forces yield. Jesus was victorious on the cross, not by a greater force, but by a greater power – the power of love – in comparison with which all force is nothing. No human force is able to achieve anything in comparison to the power of love.

The birth of Jesus is the in-breaking of the power of love.

Eberhard Arnold

His is the radiance of thy dawn

Begin the day with God

Words: Horatius Bonar (1808-1889)
Tune: Dominica

Begin the day with God:
He is the rising Sun,
His is the radiance of thy dawn,
His the fresh day begun.

Sing a new song at morn;
Join the glad woods and hills;
Join the fresh winds and seas and plains;
Join the bright flowers and rills.

Awake, cold lips, and sing;
Arise, dull heart, and pray;
Lift up, O man, thy heart and eyes;
Brush slothfulness away.

Cast every weight aside;
Do battle with each sin;
Fight with the faithless world without,
The faithless heart within.

Look up beyond these clouds,
Thither thy pathway lies;
Mount up, away, and linger not,
Thy goal is yonder skies!

Selah.

When rising floods my soul o'erflow

O Thou to whose all-searching sight

Words: Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf (1700-1760) translated by John Wesley (1703-1791)
Tune: Abends

O Thou to whose all-searching sight
The darkness shineth as the light,
Search, prove my heart; it pants for Thee;
O burst these bonds, and set it free!

Wash out its stains, refine its dross,
Nail my affections to the Cross;
Hallow each thought; let all within
Be clean, as Thou, my Lord, art clean.

When rising floods my soul o'erflow,
When sinks my heart in waves of woe,
Jesu, Thy timely aid impart
And raise my head, and cheer my heart.

Saviour, where'er Thy steps I see,
Dauntless, untired, I follow Thee;
O let Thy hand support me still,
And lead me to Thy holy hill!

Selah.

A meditation from 2012: Scoffers in the last days

A deliberate ignoring of truth

This week I went to see the movie 2012. People streamed out of the movie, commenting on trying to find a safe place to live -- maybe in Africa? Himalayas?

These thoughts may be natural and understandable, but they are not accurate. Nor ultimately salvific. Salvation is not by means of "a safe place" or billion dollar seat on a postmodern Ark. Salvation is all about the inner recesses of the heart, in relation with the Lord of eternity.

Listen to the words of Scripture:

First of all you must understand this, that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lusts and saying, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!’ They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and by means of water, through which the world of that time was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the godless.

But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed. [2 Pet. 3:3-10].

A hard heart says, "Let me spend whatever I must spend to live somewhere 'safe,' but let me not change my way of life! Let me not change my focus, let me not change my heart -- no!"

But a heart softened by grace and yearning for God says, "Lord, teach me your ways. Set me right with you, so that I will be ready for you, whenever that day may come!"

Selah.

Why these ages of delay?

Come, Lord, and tarry not

Words: Horatius Bonar (1808-1889)
Tune: Huddersfield

Come, Lord, and tarry not;
Bring the long-looked-for day;
O why these years of waiting here,
These ages of delay?

Come, for Thy saints still wait;
Daily ascends their sigh;
The Spirit and the bride say, Come;
Wilt Thou not hear the cry?

Come in Thy glorious might,
Come with the iron rod;
Scattering Thy foes before Thy face,
Most mighty Son of God.

Come, and make all things new;
Build up this ruined earth;
Restore our faded paradise,
Creation's second birth.

Come, and begin Thy reign
Of everlasting peace;
Come, take the kingdom to Thyself,
Great King of Righteousness!

Alleluia!

Selah.

The love that draws us nearer Thee

O Lord and Master of us all

Words: John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892)
Tune: Tallis Ordinal

O Lord and Master of us all,
Whate'er our name or sign,
We own Thy sway, we hear Thy call,
We test our lives by Thine.

Thou judgest us: Thy purity
Doth all our lusts condemn;
The love that draws us nearer Thee
Is hot with wrath to them.

Our thoughts lie open to Thy sight;
And, naked to Thy glance,
Our secret sins are in the light
Of Thy pure countenance.

Yet, weak and blinded though we be,
Thou dost our service own;
We bring our varying gifts to Thee,
And Thou rejectest none.

Apart from Thee all gain is loss,
All labour vainly done;
The solemn shadow of Thy Cross
Is better than the sun.

Our Friend, our Brother, and our Lord,
What may Thy service be?
Nor name, nor form, nor ritual word,
But simply following Thee.

We faintly hear, we dimly see;
In differing phrase we pray;
But, dim or clear, we own in Thee
The Light, the Truth, the Way!

Selah

Why Baptists aren't big in Alaska

There's a reason they are called Southern Baptists! :-) lol, enjoy!

Thanksgiving prelude

Enjoy, friends! :-)