Message of 4-28-10
Published: Sat, 04/24/10
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Amazon.com gift cards - good for any occasion
- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00067L6TQ/?tag=christianspiritu
- - -
MESSAGE OF THE DAY
Christ is the wisdom of God; and in the knowledge of this Christ
there is wisdom for you. Not wisdom only, but life, forgiveness,
peace, glory, and an endless kingdom! Study Him! Acquaint yourself
with Him! Whatever you are ignorant of, be not ignorant of Him.
Whatever you overlook, overlook not Him. What ever you lose, lose
not Him. To gain Him is to gain eternal life, to gain a kingdom, to
gain everlasting blessedness. To lose Him is to lose your soul, to
lose God, to lose God's favour, to lose God's heaven, to lose the
eternal crown!
- Horatius Bonar
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Acts 12:24--13:5a; Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6; Jn 12:44-50
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SCRIPTURE MEDITATION
- from "Daily Bread"
http://www.preacherexchange.com/daily_bread.htm
"While they were worshiping the Lord ... the Holy Spirit said ..."
Traditionally, we refresh our homes, our gardens and our personal
appearance in the springtime. It's a good time to refresh our
dialogue with the Lord, too. Dialogue? Yes. We can easily forget
that prayer is a two-way street. We ask for things, express
contrition for our sins and sometimes even remember to give thanks.
But how often do we ask God for help and guidance, then fail to
appreciate -- or even notice -- the answer? God speaks to us through
the scriptures, through the church and through the people closest
to us: in their words and their needs, both spoken and unspoken.
"Lord, help me to see your face and hear your voice clearly
wherever you manifest yourself to me."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
AT THE MASTER'S FEET
- by Sadhu Sundar Singh
6. Fault finding critics ask, "If there is an Almighty Creator of
the world why are there defects in it, such as hurricanes,
earthquakes, eclipses, pain, suffering, death, and the like?" The
folly of this criticism is similar to that of an unlearned person
who finds fault with an unfinished building or an incomplete
picture. After a time, when he sees them fully finished, he is
ashamed of his folly, and ends by singing their praises. Thus too,
God did not in one day give to this world its present form, nor
will it in one day reach perfection. The whole creation moves
onward to perfection, and if it were possible for the person of
this world to see from afar with the eyes of God the perfect world
in which no defect appears, he too would bow in praise before Him
and say, "All is very good" (Gen. i.31).
- Section 2
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
REVIEW OF DAY
- from, "Handbook for Spiritual Directees"
http://shalomplace.com/view/hndbk-lite.pdf
Here is a practice used by many at the end of the day to see what
lessons can be learned and how God was present and active through
the day. Set aside fifteen to twenty minutes at the end of the
day for prayer and review of your day. A suggested format is
described below:.
1. Take a few moments of quiet. Breathe deeply. Ask God to help you
see yourself as you truly were during the day.
2. Look back over your day - not to see what you did wrong but to
honestly acknowledge what was going on with you and others.
* What happened? What did I do today?
* How did I feel? Why did I feel that way?
* Were my expectations and beliefs reasonable?
3. Affirm the healthy things you recognize.
4. Admit to yourself and God the unhealthy things. Ask God's
forgiveness, believe it is yours, then decide if you need to
apologize or make amends.
5. Use creative visualization to grow stronger. Honestly
acknowledge the troubling situations of the day. See and feel
yourself acting honestly and lovingly in these situations. Ask God
for the grace to help you act in this new way.
6. Close with simple awareness of the sights and sounds around you,
grateful for the good things in your life.
This process can be undertaken as a daily journal exercise or by
prayerfully reviewing your day in your own mind. I like to take a
walk before bedtime for examen. The important thing is to do it. It
is a discipline, to be sure, but a very important one.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Amazon.com gift cards - good for any occasion
- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00067L6TQ/?tag=christianspiritu
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
SHALOM PLACE PREMIUM GROUPS
- Life-long learning and formation in Christian spirituality.
Groups now open include the following:
A. Psychological Types and Spirituality
B. The Way of Christian Spirituality
C. Freedom from Codependency
D. Christian Spirituality Resources
E. Wonderfully Made (Christian Metaphysics)
F. Growing in Christ
G. Spiral Dynamics®
H. Discerning God's Will
I. Dark Night of the Soul
J. Silence, Solitude and Sabbath
K. Alpha Group -- includes all the above and all to come.
- see http://shalomplace.org/groups.html
_________________________________________________
* Web Archive: http://www.aweber.com/z/article/?dailyseed
* RSS: http://www.aweber.com/z/rss/?dailyseed