Keeping A Prayer Journal

As a priest, I am frequently asked how does one learn to pray better and more effectively.  For the most part, my advice is very simple. Get alone with God and listen. Often we are guilty of talking to God rather than seeking to hear from God. The truth is, God is trying to speak to us more than we are willing to listen.

To aid prayer, however, the use of a prayer journal can be very helpful. First, it aids in keeping track of the matters you desire to recall in prayer. Second, it allows you to keep a record of answered prayer. I find many times God answers our prayers, but because we only prayed once or twice regarding a matter the fact that the prayer was answered can easily slip our notice. And third, it allows us to record what God is saying to us.

This latter point is very important. If learning to listen in prayer is so vitally important, then a prayer journal is an intentional means for recording what we believe we are hearing God speak to us. Over time, I have found that these “words” from God often build on one another painting a clearer and more precise picture of God’s intention towards us in prayer. 

While it is not necessary to write down what you are praying for or hearing from God in order to pray effectively, it can provide a tremendous assist in prayer as well as provide you a record for future reflection.  If you have never journaled before, I encourage you to try it. For some more practical information on the use of prayer journals, check out this article, Prayer Journaling by Catholic blogger Teresa Polk.

The Master’s Academy of Fine Arts

If you are a homeschooling family, this is for you. The Master’s Academy of Fine Arts is a full fine arts program designed specifically for homeschoolers ages 5-18. Meeting just one day a week, MAFA’s stated purpose is

…to Glorify God through excellence in the arts, by raising the next generation to prepare the way of the Lord through teaching them Scriptural truth, artistic excellence, accountability, and discernment. In order to more fully accomplish this purpose, The Master’s Academy of Fine Arts programs are traditionally held in churches willing to share their facilities with the Academy and are targeted to the homeschool community.

Having started in the Atlanta area, The Master’s Academy of Fine Arts has grown with locations in seven states. If you live in the Covington/Conyers area, MAFA of Covington is located at Zion Baptist Church, 7037 Highway 212, Covington, GA 30016 and is under the direction of Tricia Milo. For more information about Master’s Academy, you may contact Mrs. Milo at tmilo@mafa.net

MAFA is a wonderful resource for the homeschooling family. Offering everything from art appreciation, Bible classes, drama, and band, your child or teen will be blessed to be a part of this program.

Sober Intoxication of the Spirit

If you are looking for a good book to read on the Spirit-filled life, look no further.  You have got to read Sober Intoxication of the Spirit by Father Raniero Cantalemessa. The book is, by far, one of the best practical guides and reflections on the nature of the Spirit-filled life.

    

Formerly the preacher to the Papal Household during the reign of Pope John Paul II, Fr. Cantalemessa is at the forefront of the charismatic renewal movement in the Roman Catholic Church. With keen pastoral insight, he offers up practical guidance to all how seek to live the fulness of the Spirit-filled life. Drawing from Scripture, the Fathers, and his own personal experience, Fr. Cantalemessa calls his readers to enter into the mystery of walking with sobriety the intoxication of the Spirit.  One of the best discussions in the book is the true nature of holiness and how it is important to receiving the fulness of the Holy Spirit. I highly recommend this text to our parish and to anyone who wants to read a well-balanced book on how to live the Spirit-filled life.

On Anglican Bodies and Organizations

For an interesting article on the taxonomy of the Anglican organizations in America and some history on the Charismatic Episcopal Church, you will want to read Dr. William J. Tighe’s article prepared for the Vatican entitled Anglican Bodies and Organizations. This article is available at Touchstone’s Mere Comments blogsite.

A Reading From The Apocrypha

While, we in the CEC, do not hold the Apocrypha to be Scripture; we do hold that the Apocrypha is important in terms of its historical contributions and devotional applications. The Apocrypha, having been read in the assembly from the earliest days of the Church till now, is still included in our lectionary readings for Sundays and in the Daily Office.

As an example of the wisdom and practical insight to be found in the Apocrypha, I am posting one of my favorite lessons from Ecclesiasticus 6:5-17. As you read this lesson, I think you will find it helpful and insightful as it relates to your personal relationships especially in the area true friendships.

A pleasant voice multiplies friends, and a gracious tongue multiplies courtesies. Let those that are at peace with you be many, but let your advisers be one in a thousand. When you gain a friend, gain him through testing, and do not trust him hastily. For there is a friend who is such at his own convenience, but will not stand by you in your day of trouble. And there is a friend who changes into an enemy, and will disclose a quarrel to your disgrace. And there is a friend who is a table companion, but will not stand by you in your day of trouble. In prosperity he will make himself your equal, and be bold with your servants; but if you are brought low he will turn against you, and will hide himself from your presence. Keep yourself far from your enemies, and be on guard toward your friends. A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter: he that has found one has found a treasure. There is nothing so precious as a faithful friend, and no scales can measure his excellence. A faithful friend is an elixir of life; and those who fear the Lord will find him. Whoever fears the Lord directs his friendship aright, for as he is, so is his neighbor also. — RSV

Here ends the lesson.

Ramblings of a Madman #28

“Jesus Christ did not say, ‘Go into the world and tell the world that it is quite right.’” C.S. Lewis, Northern Irish author and scholar, 1898-1963

This is a continuation of ROAMM #27, where I kicked around relationships. I now ponder, “How do I make a disciple?”

I have been given the command to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”.

I recently went on a hike and overnight campout with the boy scouts. During our 2 hour ride to Pine Mountain and again on the ride home I was afforded the opportunity to have discussions with some of the boys on “things of eternal value”.

This particular conversation started with “truth” i.e., is truth relative? Who holds truth? Is truth the same for everyone? This conversation of course leads to God being the ultimate truth, etc., which segued us into Jesus Christ and the need for a Messiah.

I listened, slack jawed, as the boys discussed among themselves, 4 of them, that they were pretty good kids, went to church, were scouts, did well in school, etc. and therefore really had not thought about the need for Jesus Christ as a propitiation (my word not theirs).

Jesus loved them and therefore why should they be concerned beyond that? I thought it was an excellent point. They are “good kids.” Jesus loves them. What do they have to worry about? How many “good turns” does it take to have eternal life? How many Sundays on the front row? How many mission trips? How many Bible verse memorizations? Gold stars for Sunday School attendance, being an active youth group member, or acolyte, visiting the hospice, cutting the grass, taking out the trash, not fighting with a sibling, A’s & B’s in school, the list would never stop. These are good kids. After all they are Boy Scouts and Boy Scouts are: TRUSTWORTHY, LOYAL, HELPFUL, FRIENDLY, COURTEOUS, KIND, OBEDIENT, CHEERFUL, THRIFTY, BRAVE, CLEAN, & REVERENT.

These are not disciples they are 21st century members of western churches!

This point became almost unbearable. How do you make disciples? It is not until people learn that they are lost that they see the need for salvation. How do you convince someone who sees no need for salvation that they need a savior and if they don’t need a savior why do they need to be disciples of Jesus Christ?

We must come to an understanding of the sinfulness of man. He is inherently evil, even when he does “good deeds” it is for self-gratification, to feel good about himself. Or, it may be an attempt to make himself look better than others, or for what he can get out of them. I argue that the sinfulness in man that drives him to criminal activity is the same as drives him to do good works. There is no good within us unless it be God!

I believe it is necessary to take Christians to the same place as the military does in basic training. A person has to be totally and completely broken, there is no one or nothing left for him to rely on, and then they learn to rely and count on each other. I believe we have to show people how totally broken, sinful they are. How there is no one or nothing they can count on except God, and only then do we introduce them to Jesus Christ. Because in the west we have a good life, why do I need God? I am a good person. I have a job I can pay the bills. I have a roof over my head and, if I cannot afford it, the government will jump in and give it to me. Not to mention the fact that the TV preacher keeps telling me how much God loves me. If God really loves me he won’t send me to hell, right?

But there are people in the world, not many in the U.S., that are like the woman whom Elijah came to and told her to make a cake. She relied on the Lord because first of all there was nothing left, there was not even any more food, what did she have to loose? Then this “true man of God” told her, to be faithful, she was and she used the last of the flour.

It is imperative we teach that man is without hope outside of Jesus Christ. We have to teach the doctrine of propitiation. And we must also teach the righteousness of God. In His perfect holiness He will do the right thing. His judgment will, at the end of time, put all things in order. No matter how messed up it may seem today, God will make it right. How good or bad we have been will be decided by God and God alone. Does the world understand what that means and is that what they really want?

Some will say that is trying to “scaring people into heaven.” I call it the love of God.

I had a pastor ask me one time why we were created. My response was “for the pleasure of God”. He remarked that sounded perverted. I responded that it only sounds perverted to man, because the pleasure of God is perfect; it is the most wonderful thing there is. Just as God put my family together for each other’s pleasure, so is our relationship to be with God. It is only perverted when it is not done according to God’s design. God’s design is perfect, he is holy and righteous and without him “what a worm am I”.

God give me strength, the courage and the words to make disciples, for without you there is no hope.

I was born to fight devils and factions. It is my business to remove obstructions, to cut down thorns, to fill up quagmires, and to open and make straight paths. But if I must have some failing, let me rather speak the truth with too great severity than once to act the hypocrite and conceal the truth. ~ Martin Luther

Introducing “The Ramblings of a Madman”

It is my delight to have one of our parishoners contributing to St. Andrew’s Journal. For a long time know, whenever something is burning on his heart, he will journal his thoughts, meditations, and opinions in a personal journal he delightfully calls, “The Ramblings of a Madman.” Ever so often, I am privileged to read or hear something from this private journal. His ramblings are everthing from thought-provoking to humorous, but they are always insightful. It is for this reason I have asked him to begin sharing some of his thoughts and meditations on St. Andrew’s Journal. Enjoy! Comments welcome.

Article brought forward from old journal.  First posted December 13, 2006.

The Subtle Ways of Heresy

What is heresy? Simply put it is a doctrine or belief which undermines the non-negotiable truths of the Christian Faith. What are these non-negotiables? Well, the best place to start is with the Apostles Creed and Nicene Creed. The things held in these two creeds are non-negotiable. Change any one of these Biblical statments of faith and you have changed the Gospel.

For example, the Creeds teach us that we believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit i.e., the Trinity. With out going into the depths and history of this most important doctrine, it is important to note that the reality of the Trinity is at the very heart of our Faith. For this reason, when we pray, we often conclude our prayers by saying in the name or through the action “of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” emphasizing the truth that we believe in one God revealed in three persons.

I bring this to your attention because at a recent Protestant wedding I was stunned to hear a prayer supposedly invoking the Trinity actually undermining this very truth. The minister, I believe sadly unaware, concluded His prayer by praying in the name of God the Father, of the Holy Spirit, and of His son Jesus Christ. Sound alright? I disagree. The construction of the sentence actually emphasizes the divinity of the Father but leaves the divinity of the Holy Spirit and the Son in question. What is even more curious is that the place of the Holy Spirit and the Son are inverted in this rewriting or reworking of the ancient Trinitarian invocation.

Here is the problem. Such a reworking of the Trinitarian formula, which has been spoken for generations to not only invoke the fulness of the Godhead in our prayers but to teach the Church this all important revelation of the Divine Trinity, now opens the door to those who would believe or teach something less than the Gospel.

Note some of the following false inferences which could be drawn from this invocation. To begin with, this invocation implies that neither the Holy Spirit or Jesus are divine and even if they are they are not equal to the Father. This, of course, leaves open the possibility that the Holy Spirit may very well be more of a force than a person and the Jesus more of an adopted son than “the son” of God. Add to this that the inverting of the the Son and the Spirit in the invocation calls into question the priority of the Son in God’s plan of salvation. Yet it is the Son, according the the Scripture, that sends the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Spirit who testifies to the Son.

Did the minister intend to call into question the divinity of the Son and the Spirit? I don’t think so. But to the unitiated and unlearned in the faith, such prayers prayed repeatedly over time can take on a life of their own shaping one’s very understanding of the faith. Dom Gregory Dix in his book The Shape of the Liturgy has said, “change the liturgy and in seventy years you will change the culture.”

Suffice it to say, I believe such a reworking of the Trinitarian invocation is a “subtle” undermining of orthodox Christianity. Heresy is not always so blatant and easily recognized. More often than not, it is subtle in it’s approach taking advantage of God’s people who out of lack of knowledge of the Bible and of the ancient Christian faith succomb to unexamined innovation and the demand for “enlightened relevance.”

What do we do? Stay in the Word and learn the Faith handed down to us by the Fathers.

Godly Seed - A Reflection on the Heels of “Sanctity of Life” Sunday

Article first posted January 29, 2007.  

On Sunday, January 21st, Churches across the country celebrated “Sanctity of Life” Sunday. “Sanctity of Life” Sunday, for those who may not know, is observed by churches to pray for the pre-born who have been victims of legalized abortion and to call God’s people to continue to be a prophetic voice calling our nation to repentance and to renounce the practice of abortion. It is a very important observance for God’s people in the ongoing struggle to save the unborn and to promote the “sacredness” of human life.This year, while preparing to deliver my annual “sanctity of life” message at St. Andrew’s, God began to stir my heart to address another concern intimately related to the struggle for the preservation of life. In so doing, He led me to the following passage, Malachi 2:15a.

But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks a godly offering.

What is the message God had me address? Here it is in a nutshell: God desires godly seed not just seed!Since the Roe vs. Wade decision which legalized abortion-on-demand in our country, the Church has been waging an ongoing battle to preserve human life - the life of millions of innocent children. Just so you know, over 40 million babies have been aborted since 1973. The struggle is real. And it can be said, to varying degrees, the Church has fought long and hard to preserve the seed of human life.

But…God desires more of us. He desires a “godly seed.”

You see, we are not just to fight to save the seed of human life, we must be committed to help nurture the seed we save. The question before us is this: “We are ready and willing to enter the public arena to fight for a policy to save human life, but are we ready and willing to roll-up our sleeves and provide the care and nurture needed to raise up a godly seed?”

Last October 2006, my heart was first awakened to the need to raise a godly seed when I was priviledged to attend an adoption fair in Atlanta. As I listened to the statistics given of children in state care and the need to find good foster and adoptive parents, the Holy Spirit began to speak to me about the neglected seed that was in the state system. I remember thinking to myself, “I am more than willing to write my congressman, protest in the streets, and make donations to pro-life endeavors to save an unborn child, but am I willing to commit myself to raise a child in need to be a godly man or woman?”

And here in lay the challenge not only to me but to all God’s people who are engaged in the struggle for human life. God, I believe is attempting to say to us, “it is not enough to save the seed it must be nurtured to become godly seed.” To fail to do so, is to fail to complete the mission.

Consider the following:

1. James 1:27 tells us that “pure and undefiled religion” which pleases God is to take care of the widows and orphans in their distress.

2. Psalm 68:5 tells us that God is a “father to the fatherless.” The term fatherless in Scripture is the more common term for the orphan. A good word study is to look up all the references to the word “fatherless” in Scripture. You will find time and again that God is especially concerned for the needs of the fatherless and warns emphatically that God’s people should never mistreat them or neglect them.

3. Psalm 68:6 also tells us that God delights to take the “solitary” and place them in families. He is committed to finding the fatherless a home.

4. Genesis 1:7 tells us that all life is sacred for we are made alive by the very breath of God. Malachi 2:15 confirms this by stating that we have a portion of the Spirit given to us at conception. And just as the child in in the womb is holy and sacred, so is the child who finds himself abandoned, fatherless and motherless.

5. Note that John 1:12-13 and Romans 8:15 remind us that we who are in Christ were once all orphans and that through the redemptive work of Christ, God the Father has adopted us as His sons and daughters. In fact, consider this, the largest adoptive family in history is the Church. Who better to take on this issue of the abandoned and abused than the Church?6. Finally, consider what one child saved not only from abortion but from abandonment can accomplish. Just look at Moses, who was adopted by Pharoah’s daughter and saved from death. And our Savior, Jesus, who like Moses was preserved from Herod’s slaughter of the children in Bethlehem. It was Joseph, his adoptive father, who carried him to safety and helped Mary raise Him. Through Moses, God saved a nation. Through Christ Jesus, God the Father enables all mankind to be saved.

I do not know what God intends for all of us to do with this word. For some, I pray, you will be stirred to explore adoption. For others, I pray, you will consider being a foster parent. For others, I pray, you allow God to show you how to partner with area agencies and programs to support and impart into the lives of the children in your community who, out of neglect, abandonment, or abuse, find themselves in State custody needing someone to share with them the love of God.

According to statistics from State of Georgia website, just in the State of Georgia alone there are over 15,000 children in State custody. 85% are in State custody for severe neglect, 11% for physical abuse, and 5% for sexual abuse.

Vine and Branches

Check out Vine and Branches of Hickory Flats - a full service florist shop serving the Canton area. Vine and Branches is owned and operated by Kurt and Janice Wheeler. Kurt is the rector of Christ the Redeemer CEC in Canton. Next time you need a florist give them a call.