Family Altar

I was blessed as a child to live in a home with two devoted Christian parents.

Needless to say it was a different time and in today's world not all families can practice the routine we followed.  But just to be clear: it is important for each family to make time for devotions within the home and insofar as possible that time should include all family members.

Our day started with gathering at the breakfast table where we partook together of God's provisions for the start of our day.  As soon as the dishes were cleared we all sat in the living area for "family altar."

A portion of scripture would be read aloud.  Each member of the family, even the youngest who could read, had a turn at reading. We discussed the verses read, Mama or Daddy leading but all were included and each person was encouraged to offer thoughts or questions.  Then we talked about the things we would address to the Lord in prayer. We all knelt at our respective places and in turn each person would pray aloud.

Following the devotional period the individual family members went about the beginning of his or her daily duties:  Daddy to work, Mother to the kitchen to make preparations for the maintenance of the home and the family's well-being, the children off to school or off to play depending on the age and the season of the year.

Whatever traditions are built and maintained in the home it is my opinion that none is more important to the spiritual health of the family and its members than is the "family altar," a cohesive devotional time.

Image: preparedtoanswer.org

Bedtime Chapel at St. Mattress

This was Saturday afternoon just before the total whiteout.  What you can't see in the pictures is the wind, about 70 kph.

Setting this to auto-post, going to bed, and pulling the covers over my head.  Think I may not look out in the morning.

Heavenly Father, keep us safe and warm.  Oh, Lord, hear our prayer.

Runup to Christmas

Christmas stories are heart-warming, they are touching, and even if tear-inducing, they tend to exude happiness. Christmas is a season of joy, the celebration of God's gift to His children.

But not all Christmas stories are happy, and so it has been even from the day of Christ's birth.  Who has not reflected on the fate of the innkeeper who, through no fault of his own, had to turn the couple away?  We hear the angel chorus whose anthem rings down through the ages, "Gloria in excelcis Deo," the chorus heard by the shepherds on the hills surrounding Bethlehem, What joy!

And yet come from somewhere afar, rich men seeking the newborn king and bearing expensive gifts.  Seeking, of course, in a logical and prudent manner, they are the ones who break the news to Herod that a king has been born in Israel.  And though they complete their mission, find the king, and worship him, they have set in motion a series of events which cost the lives of countless babes, a most unhappy twist to the course of events introducing our Redeemer.  And though God spared Jesus from Herod's slaughter of the innocents, Christ ultimately died, too, a sacrifice as a one-time, all-time means of salvation for mankind.

Through  Christ's death and resurrection we may stand before God, for Jesus bore our iniquity and sits today in intercession for us at God's right hand.

Now that is a happy Christmas story!

Advent, Second Sunday

<sup>Luke 1 (CEB) Song of Zechariah

67</sup> John’s father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied,

“Bless the Lord God of Israel
    because he has come to help and has delivered his people.

He has raised up a mighty savior for us in his servant David’s house,
     just as he said through the mouths of his holy prophets long ago.
 He has brought salvation from our enemies
    and from the power of all those who hate us.
 He has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
    and remembered his holy covenant,
         the solemn pledge he made to our ancestor Abraham.
He has granted  that we would be rescued
        from the power of our enemies
    so that we could serve him without fear,
         in holiness and righteousness in God’s eyes,
            for as long as we live.
 You, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,
    for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.
 You will tell his people how to be saved
    through the forgiveness of their sins.
 Because of our God’s deep compassion,
    the dawn from heaven will break upon us,
     to give light to those who are sitting in darkness
    and in the shadow of death,
        to guide us on the path of peace.”

First Sunday in Advent: The Gospel

²⁵ And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

²⁶ Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

²⁷ And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

²⁸ And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws nigh.

³⁴ And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.

³⁵ For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.

³⁶ Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

Luke Chapter 21

Consider the lilies of the field...

  ...how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. --Jesus of Nazareth

God has assured us that our every need will be supplied, food, raiment, and whatsoever we need.  God never promised us that every desire would be satisfied.  He said our need would be supplied.

This week I heard a televangelist say we are to tell God exactly what we want.  When we receive it we have no doubt that it was a provision from God.  This is the sort of testing which is both self-serving and God-limiting.  He knows our every need.   It is my belief that when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, he gave them a model of a sincere prayer which we should emulate.

"Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by Thy name.  Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us .  Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever."

Thus to approach God in prayer, we recognize and honor His place and His holiness.  We plead for the coming of His kingdom; we submit our will to His will.  We ask only for provision for the day.  We ask for forgiveness of our sin against our fellow-man; and we commit to forgive those who have wronged us.  We ask for shielding from temptation and deliverance from evil; then we reiterate our recognition of God for who He is, the Supreme Being, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, and worthy of all honor and glory.

I have lived in Indiana more than a half-century.  I am not totally unobservant.  Thus it is that I developed an algorithm for predicting the emergence of the "resurrection lilies," or "naked ladies."  These plants, about which I have written earlier, sprout long, lush, green leaves in the spring.  These leaves mature quickly and soon die down, leaving virtually no evidence of  their existence.  The bulb then lies dormant for many weeks until *ta da* overnight the naked flower stem erupts from the earth and in another day or so the bloom begins.

I predicted bloom by July 27 this year.  I missed by three days.  The picture was taken on the twenty-sixth.  Do you suppose the excessive heat of this summer had anything to do with my "miss"?

The colors are quite faithful to the reality, but the picture itself has been digitally warped to make the border for this post. Unaltered pictures may be viewed by following the link above.