When Christ receives us to himself,
above green pastures and mountain elm.
Where snowbound peaks are specks, starlights,
the Bride, prepared, bejeweled, shall shine.
Her fervent hope, by Abba arranged,
shall be fulfilled when trumpets blaze,
and she is taken quicker than sight
makes comprehend...
Matthew 26:31-34
31 Then Jesus told them, "This very night
you will all fall away on account of me,
for it is written: " 'I will strike the
shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will
be scattered.'
32 But after I have risen, I will go ahead
of you into Galilee."
33 Peter replied, "Even if all...
Matthew 10:32-33 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven."
Will Jesus deny you before God the Father if you buckle under the pressure of being...
“Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous...
And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall...
From 1 Timothy 1:6-7
5 The goal of this command is love,
which comes from a pure heart and a
good conscience and a sincere faith.
6 Some have wandered away from these
and turned to meaningless talk.
Sometimes, in tomes of seeking minds
we find how far the erudite
can stray from love, that life...
Few of us expect the news to be fair as most journalists are left leaning and even Fox sometimes is guilty of titillating its readers with conservative views that are off base. Such errors and omissions in political stories are not what I am talking about here. Instead, a historical focus on how...
Have you been asked, "Is Jesus your Lord and Savior?" What does that mean?
What is the motive of those asking the question?
What is the meaning of the word Lord?
Resource:
https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxVFy18BPLH63btFn9ljzDon1ZOMJRp1-4?si=GrZVDJwQbkEO-qZz
“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 ESV)
One of the dangers of teaching on such small...
Do you believe the purpose of the law is to help us live as Christians?
Does the law help us overcome sin?
Do our attempts to obey the law result in God's blessings?
Can we live holy lives obeying the law?
Resources:
The Proper Use of the Law
The Proper Use of the Law
Die to the law...
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting...
Doorways
Ever since I was a child I have always loved doorways. They represent mystery, a different world that perhaps could be explored. It is like a package that is wrapped and just waiting to be opened; a gift.
We have some pretty large doorways here in the Monastery. Slowly we are having...
Praying with Mary
My soul magnifies the Lord
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
Because He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaid.
I was talking with a wonderful guest we had here for a retreat last week. We talked about many things and one of the subjects she brought up was the...
1 Corinthians 1:2
[2] To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
What is required to become a Saint of God?
Are works...
“And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword...
“But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.” (Titus 2:1 ESV)
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our...
You are not obeying the commands of Jesus or the Law of God. Why?
1. The Law's standard is perfection.
2. The Law was amplified by Christ.
3. The Law stirs up sin.
4. The Law is based on man's self-effort.
5. The Law is a ministry of condemnation and death.
Resources:
You Don't Love God...
Dealing With Being Sick
I have often said that there is no real meaning to the word “mature adult’ for me. We are a mixture of being centered, scattered, loving, hateful faithful, and being faithless. How we deal with this merry-go-round that we call life tests us to respond in one way or...
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the...
“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule...