Daily Prayer

Good Thursday morning, my friends.

 

The prayer below contains the line "revive my tired spirit".  Don't you have days like that, where you are just tired of the constant battle?  And this walk of faith is certainly a battle.  But knowing that victory is already ours sure helps, doesn't it?

 

Amazing Grace and Eternal Peace to you,

Bruce

 

May all I do today
begin with you, O Lord.
Plant dreams and hopes
within my soul,
revive my tired spirit:
be with me today.

May all I do today
continue with your help, O Lord.
Be at my side
and walk with me:
Be my support today.

May all I do today
reach far and wide, O Lord.
My thoughts, my work, my life:
make them blessings
for your kingdom;
let them go beyond today,
O God.

 

(http://www.cptryon.org/prayer/special/today.html)

 

 

Bruce MacPherson macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821 You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material. If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address. Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.

 

 

Daily Prayer

Good Wednesday morning, my friends.

 

 

On Monday I posed the question: Are we the rich oppressors James refers to in his opening remarks to Chapter 5 (James 5:1-5).  That question garnered a number of interesting responses.  Here are a few: 

I feel it's sometimes a "Don't ask, don't tell" scenario. It shouldn't be, but it is. The big question is how much do I dig, looking for cases of injustice in my purchasing? Do I dig or do I just make an ethical decision when the information drops in my lap?

 

I wonder if Jesus would have offered a sacrificial dove in the synagogue / temple if He'd known that it had been raised by people born into slavery?

 

I don't know what the answer is, but I know it's easiest to just pretend that nothing's going on and keep on living life. At the same time it could be easy to swing to the other extreme and be so transfixed with injustices on the other side of the world (either real or imaginary) that you could never drink a coke or send an email or kick a soccer ball or wear a shirt without being paralyzed by guilt.

 

So, I'm not sure what the answer is...! 

 

I think you are on to something! We, the "rich" are complicit in the crime of perpetuating slave labour every time we buy products from companies / countries who permit slave labour-like conditions. I think we as Christians should fight for fair treatment of all workers. Christian faith was the motivation behind William Wilberforce's campaign to abolish slavery in England. Although that type of slavery was a much more obvious, the situation you identify is not really that much different. We are removed from the direct witnessing of it now with the "global" world we currently live in, but we are essentially saying "this practice is ok" every time we purchase products from these countries / companies. Now that I have said my two cents worth, I am more convicted about this than ever. I now need to change my buying habits.......I have to put my "money" where my mouth is! 

 

An interesting question...

I would say that, in general, you're on safe moral ground buying your firepit from Walmart. The Chinese surely do have a deplorable human rights record but the products that come from the forced labour system are a bit unlikely to find their way into the Walmart stores due to the buying power of that company as well as its fairly strict moral outlook of the corporate founders.

 

You raise an interesting point about child labour however , one of the most common misconceptions in the Western world is that so-called child labour is a horror to be stamped out at all costs. One of the unfortunate side-effects of such a point of view was seen in India during the early 1990's where a concerted effort was made to stop purchasing products made by children – thereby depriving both them and their families of any source of income. As with most blind good intentions, this one lead to desperate poverty amongst the affected individuals and the children increasingly had to turn to the child sex trade to support themselves and their families. I think I'd make an effort to end child abuse but it's an open question if the child in question who is assisting an older relative to weave clothes or to carve decorations is actually 'abused' when that practice may go back dozens of generations quite successfully.

 

 

I really appreciate the thoughtful comments and questions.  Personally, I feel we should always be prepared to ask questions about our faith and about how our life is glorifying God.  The question I ask myself when confronted with something like this is: "How will this affect my relationship with God?"

 

So – what decisions will you make today (what to buy, what to invest in, what to read, what to watch, what to say, etc.) and how will those decisions affect your relationship with God?

 

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Bruce

 

Gracious God, it is time.  It is time to make the hard decisions.

 

Sometimes I'm scared, sometimes I'm confused and sometimes I just don't want to believe that I have to make a decision.

 

Help me to trust You.  Give me strength and wisdom so that whatever happens honors my loved ones and You.

 

Thank You for hearing me and answering my prayer.

 

Amen.

 

(http://www.marypages.com/PrayerstoOurLord.htm)

 

 

Bruce MacPherson

macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821

 

You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material.

 

If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address.

 

Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.

 

 

 

Daily Prayer

Good Tuesday morning, my friends.

 

Just a simple prayer of thanks, combined with an offer of willingness to serve. May your heart align with God's as you lift this prayer this morning.

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Bruce

 

 

Thank You, Jesus, for the joyful mission which You have given me.

 May it always be Yours.

 

Your words, my heart!

Your words, my hands!

Your words, my voice!

 

Your words, Jesus, only Your words.

 

Let Your words go forth through me to all the world, because I so greatly desire to serve.

 

Thank You, Jesus.

 

Glory to You, Lord.

 

(http://www.secondexodus.com/html/prayers/privateprayer.htm)

Bruce MacPherson macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821 You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material. If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address. Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.

 

Daily Prayer

Good Monday morning, my friends.

 

I have been reading and re-reading James 5 this week for a Bible Study I am doing with my men's group.  The chapter starts with an ominous "Warning to Rich Oppressors":

 

Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.

 

As I read this I began to wonder – am I one of the rich oppressors?  Of course not - I don't have labourers who work for me from whom I have withheld wages.  Or do I?  

 

This weekend I put together a firepit to use in our backyard.  It is a cheapie we purchased at Walmart, and was of course made in China.  Under what conditions was it made?  I have no idea.  In this world of "globalization" are we not responsible for ensuring that the items we buy are not made on the backs of slave or child labour?  When we invest our retirement savings in mutual funds or stocks, are we not responsible for ensuring the companies we invest in are not exploiting their workers?  These are questions of stewardship – how are we managing the resources God has entrusted to us?

 

I am struggling with these questions.  And as usual when this happens, I share my struggle with all of you!  I would be interested to hear what you have to say on this.

 

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Bruce

 

Creator God, giver of life and source of our freedom,

We recognise that yours "is the earth and its fullness; the world and those who dwell in it". It is from your hands that we have received all we have…and are ...and will be.

Gracious and loving God, you call us to be the stewards of your abundance, the caretakers of all you have entrusted to us. Help us to use your gifts wisely and to share them generously.

May our stewardship be a genuine reflection of our discipleship, a tangible sign of our commitment to Christ.

We pray with grateful hearts, in Jesus' name. Amen.

 (http://bne.catholic.net.au/asp/index.asp?pgid=11140)

 

Bruce MacPherson macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821 You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material. If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address. Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.

Daily Prayer

Good Thursday morning, my friends.

 

This morning I am sending you another John Fischer article.  As usual, his (and his wife Marti's in this case) insights are thought provoking.

 

Don't give up                      

by John & Marti Fischer

  

  

"Don't give up; please don't give up." Those were the words uttered in the mind of a dying man but never heard outside his head. And for 45 minutes, two flight attendants didn't. They took turns administering CPR on the man's heart and alternately breathing air into his lungs. 45 minutes of either futility or life support - no one knew. All they knew was, the man had had a heart attack and stopped breathing while on a flight, and the pilot had radioed the nearest airport, but it took 45 minutes to go through the whole landing procedure.

  

45 minutes, sometimes sliding along the floor as the plane lurched upon impact. The landing was rough, but the women kept on. Sometimes tempted to quit, but never yielding. An emergency medical team met the plane in the airport, and with the proper machines, they were able to get a strong pulse and revive the man.

  

How do I know this? One of those flight attendants was my wife. It's one of her most memorable moments as a flight attendant, her job when I met her. And as she and her co-worker came off the plane they were greeted by applause from the passengers who waited for them so they could show their appreciation. It was Marti's fantasy come true. The only thing missing was the six o'clock news.

  

But the most remarkable thing about this story was what she found out later. She found out that the whole time they were keeping him alive, the man was semi-conscious. He could hear everything; he just couldn't open his eyes or speak. And the whole time he kept thinking, "Don't give up on me; please don't give up."

  

We all have spiritually resistant friends and relatives who appear, for all we know, to be spiritually dead. We might assume them to be in the category that Paul described as those who are not being saved, but are perishing. And yet how do we know for sure that they might not be only spiritually comatose - unable to speak, but still crying out from some place deep inside: "Don't give up on me; please don't give up."

  

That's why you never give up on anyone. Even the most resistant, obnoxious, foul-mouthed unbeliever might still be one who, deep down inside, is being saved. Don't give up on them. Spiritually breathe for them. Right up until the very end, because you never know.

  

  

  

  

John Fischer

The Catch Online

 

 Who is it that you need to not give up on?

 

 

Amazing Grace and Eternal Peace be yours,

Bruce 

 

Dear Lord, I just can't help but love You,

For You have been my dearest friend.

Before You made the world You chose me

For life in Heaven without end.

 

I freely go to church to worship,

And never have to run or hide.

When just a child I learned about You,

And had a Bible as my guide.

 

My heart goes out to all the people

Who've never heard about Your love;

Or how You paid the price to give them

Eternal life in Heaven above.

 

If they should claim You as their Savior,

Then prison cells could be their fate,

With death and torture ever looming,

From guards whose lives are filled with hate.

 

I must confess I sometimes wonder

If I would be as brave as they.

Would I be bold, and claim my Jesus,

Or would I try to run away?

 

I pray that You would give me courage

To share my faith with all the lost,

And help me always to be willing

To follow You, what e'er the cost.

 

By Betty Jo Mings

(http://www.krazykorner.info/10/1/lordgivemec.htm)

Bruce MacPherson macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821 You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material. If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address. Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.

Daily Prayer

Good Wednesday morning, my friends.

 

James 4:7-8 reads: "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you."

 

• Submit to God.
• Resist the Devil.
• Come near to God.

 

Oh how often I get the first two backwards.  I submit to the Devil and resist God. Then coming near to God does not even become an option.  It's like what Paul writes in Romans 7:18b-19: "For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.  For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing".  Can you relate?

 

Other times I try to resist the Devil without first submitting to God.  Once again, coming near does not happen.

 

So the key is to do these things in order – submit to God, then resist the Devil, then you will be able to come near to God.

 

There is an old yarn about an elderly couple driving in their car, she on the passenger side and he is driving.  She notices couples in other cars they meet where the woman is sitting right up beside her man (back in the days of bench seats and no seatbelt laws!).  She muses aloud,  wondering why they don't sit that way anymore.  He glances her way as he drives and says "Well, I didn't move."  And so it is with God.  If we are separated from Him – He isn't the one who moved.  Where are you sitting?

 

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Bruce 

 

Heavenly Father, I want to come closer to You.

 

I want to know You more intimately and grow spiritually.

 

I choose to put You first in my life by spending time alone with You daily.

 

Thank You for coming close to me and giving me the power to do Your will.

 

Thank You for leading me step by step, one day at a time.

 

Help me to remain in daily communion with you and live the life of love that You have called me to live.

 

Thank You for growing me up into Your Image! 

(http://www.scripturalnuggets.org/Folder5/COME%20NEAR%20TO%20GOD.htm)

 

 

Bruce MacPherson macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821 You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material. If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address. Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.

Daily Prayer

Good Monday morning, my friends.

 

Through His life, death and resurrection Jesus set an example of how we are to live as His followers. This prayer covers a lot of ground, but take your time and examine the areas of your life where you need to be following Jesus' footsteps more closely.

 

Grace to you and peace be multiplied!

Bruce

 

 

Lord,

 

Teach me your way of treating others -

sinners, children, Pharisees,

Pilates and Herods,

and also John the Baptists.

 

Teach me your way of eating and drinking,

how to act when I'm tired from work

and need rest.

 

Teach me compassion

for the suffering, the poor, the blind, and the lame.

You who shed tears,

show me how to live my deepest emotions.

 

Above all, I want to learn

how you endured your Cross.

 

Teach me your way of looking at people:

the way you glanced at Peter after his denial,

the way you touched the heart of the rich young man

and the hearts of your disciples.

 

I would like to meet you as you really are,

since you change those who really know you.

 

If only I could hear you speak

as when you spoke

in the synagogue of Capernaum

or on the Mount of Beatitudes!

 

Give me grace to live my life,

within and without,

the way you lived your life,

O Lord.

 

 --Pedro Arrupe, SJ

 

(http://www.cptryon.org/prayer/special/teach.html)

 

 

Bruce MacPherson

macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821

 

You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material.

 

If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address.

 

Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.

 

 

 

Daily Prayer

Good Friday morning, my friends.

 

This morning on my way to work I was listening to the letter of 1 John.  I heard this: 

If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?  Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. (1 John 3:17-18) 

I was pondering those words, and frankly feeling more than a little convicted as I considered people I see on the streets, news reports from Somalia and Haiti, etc. And then I heard the next 3 verses: 

This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence:  If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.  Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God (1 John 3:19-23) 

My heart was condemning me. Or was it?  Often the evil one whispers these lies in our ears so that we begin to feel unworthy.  I gotta tell you though – I struggle with the concept that "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God" (Matthew 19:24).  

 

We need to work this through carefully (and continually).  We must always be asking ourselves where are hearts truly are in any given situation for that is what indicates our motives and intentions.  We should be preaching the Gospel to ourselves every day (or even more often) – praying the sinner's prayer every day.  That is how we have confidence before God.

 

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Bruce

 

 

Heavenly Father,

 

I know that I have sinned against you and that my sins separate me from you.

 

I am truly sorry. I now want to turn away from my sinful past and turn to you for forgiveness. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again.

 

I believe that your Son, Jesus Christ, died for my sins, that He was raised from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer.

 

I invite Jesus to become my Savior and the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward.

 

Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You and to convict me when I sin.

 

I pledge to grow in grace and knowledge of you.

 

My greatest purpose in life is to follow your example and do Your will for the rest of my life.

 

In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Bruce MacPherson macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821 You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material. If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address. Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.

 

 

Daily Prayer

Good Thursday morning, my friends.

There is a song by the band "Downhere" called How Many Kings.  Here are the words of the chorus:

How many kings, stepped down from their thrones?

How many lords have abandoned their homes?

How many greats have become the least for me?

How many Gods have poured out their hearts

To romance a world that has torn all apart?

How many fathers gave up their sons for me?

Only one did that for me

Only one did that for me.  And for you.  And for all.

 

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Bruce

 

 

Thank You, Jesus, for becoming incarnate.

 

You could have remained forever in the beauty and glory of your Father's home but You freely chose instead briefly to visit with us, to live as a humble man, and above all to suffer Your Passion, taking upon Yourself the pain of all our sins, in agony on the Cross giving Your Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity to the Father to reconcile us with Him and open His kingdom for us.

 

You bore all the pain, we got all the gain.

 

What awesome love!

What magnificent love!

 

Thank You, Jesus.

 

Glory to You, Lord.

 

(http://www.secondexodus.com/html/prayers/privateprayer.htm)  

 

Bruce MacPherson

macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821

 

You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material.

 

If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address.

 

Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.

 

 

 

Daily Prayer

Good Tuesday morning, my friends.

 

One of my favourite Proverbs is:

 

Create in me a pure heart, O God,

   and renew a steadfast spirit within me (Proverbs 51:10)

 

Something I read recently made me love it even more.  The word rendered "Create" in this passage is the same one used in Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth".  It denotes creating something out of nothing, not fixing something that already exists, an action only God could do.  

 

If I am to have a new heart, it will not be made from healing the damaged one I now have.God will create a brand new, pure heart in me that will be able to love in a way I could not even imagine right now.  And that is so much more than I have been praying through this scripture.  His thoughts are indeed higher than mine. 

 

Could you use a heart like this?

 

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Bruce

 

Father, like the Psalmist, I pray that You will teach me Your way and that I will walk in Your truth. 

 

Give me a pure, undivided heart that I may fear Your name. 

 

When I'm tempted to compromise my faith help me to remember that You want a pure heart, one that is not trying to serve both God and man. 

 

I want Your favor more than the approval of others, so help me to stay true to Your principles and reject that which contradicts or lessens the full meaning of Your spoken truths. 

 

In Jesus name I pray.  Amen.

(http://www.dailyencouragement.net/archives/2009-10-13.htm)

Bruce MacPherson macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821 You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material. If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address. Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.

Daily Prayer

Good Monday morning, my friends.

 

1 Peter 4:8-9 says "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling."

 

Rosemary and I love to have people over to our house – we enjoy entertaining.  But I learned something this weekend – "entertaining" is not the same as "hospitality".  Entertaining is something we do to impress our friends or bosses.  Hospitality is something done in love.  The word "hospitality" comes from a Latin word that means "Lord of strangers".  Well, we haven't invited too many strangers to our home for a meal lately.  Maybe it's time to rethink how we open our home to others.  And do it "without grumbling"! 

 

Amazing Grace and Eternal Peace be yours,

Bruce 

 

I saw a stranger today.

 

I put food for him

in the eating-place

 

And drink

in the drinking-place

 

And music

in the listening-place.

 

In the Holy name

of the Trinity

He blessed myself

and my family.

 

And the lark said in her warble

Often, often, often

Goes Christ

in the stranger's guise.

 

O, oft and oft and oft,

Goes Christ

in the stranger's guise.

 

Celtic Rune of Hospitality

(http://www.visitdunkeld.com/celtic-blessing-prayers.htm)

 

 

 

Bruce MacPherson

macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821

 

You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material.

 

If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address.

 

Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.

 

 

Daily Prayer

Good Thursday morning, my friends.

 

No sermon this morning, folks (I can feel your disappointment from here J ) just this wonderful prayer of St. Augustine.  Sing it in your heart today.

 

 

Grace to you and peace be multiplied,

Bruce 

 

Look upon us, O Lord,

and let all the darkness of our souls

vanish before the beams of thy brightness.

 

Fill us with holy love,

and open to us the treasures of thy wisdom.

 

All our desire is known unto thee,

therefore perfect what thou hast begun,

and what thy Spirit has awakened us to ask in prayer.

 

We seek thy face,

turn thy face unto us and show us thy glory.

 

Then shall our longing be satisfied,

and our peace shall be perfect.

 

Augustine, 354 - 430

 

(http://www.faithandworship.com/early_Christian_prayers.htm)

  

Bruce MacPherson macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821 You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material. If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address. Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.