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http://christianaudio.com/free_download.php
This concludes today's infomercial.
Showing posts with label presence of God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label presence of God. Show all posts
Monday, June 1, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
aware
Earth is crammed with heaven,
and every common bush afire with God,
but only he who sees
takes off his shoes.
-Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Listen...
...or read
We believe that the world God created is good. That he creates people in his image, and that no amount of darkness can erase that divine imprint. Because we believe that all of life is sacred, we look for God's fingerprints everywhere. We celebrate the divine in the daily, pursuing lives of hope, gratitude, and worship. God invites everyone, everywhere into this way of life, and we believe it is the best possible way to live.
-Mars Hill Directions: Upward (Celebration)
and every common bush afire with God,
but only he who sees
takes off his shoes.
-Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Listen...
...or read
We believe that the world God created is good. That he creates people in his image, and that no amount of darkness can erase that divine imprint. Because we believe that all of life is sacred, we look for God's fingerprints everywhere. We celebrate the divine in the daily, pursuing lives of hope, gratitude, and worship. God invites everyone, everywhere into this way of life, and we believe it is the best possible way to live.
-Mars Hill Directions: Upward (Celebration)
Monday, March 16, 2009
Patrick's Breastplate
This is a prayer passed down from the very beginnings of Celtic Christianity. The legend says that when Patrick and his missionary companions were traveling to preach to a pagan Irish king, God warned Patrick in a dream that a group of druids would be waiting to ambush and kill the missionaries. At this time, druidic mysticism was the religion of power, and a core belief they held was that the druids could shape-shift. While Patrick and his friends continued their journey, they chanted this prayer. When the missionaries neared the waiting druids, God transformed them into a group of deer and they walked past the ambush safely. I'm sure you can see the significance in this, just like when God used Moses' miracles to intentionally defy the Egyptian belief system and show who the true God is.
Celtic Christianity grew up with very little outside influence from the rest of Christianity. Patrick was a British shepherd boy in the outer reaches of the Roman Empire, who was kidnapped when he was young and had little formal training before almost single-handedly spreading the Gospel through Ireland. And during the time that Christianity was birthed in Ireland, it was dying in Rome while the empire was ransacked and splintered. If you want to kno wmore about that, I'll let you borrow Thomas Cahill's book "How the Irish Saved Civilization". This little prayer will give you a glimpse into the way the Celtic Christians viewed the world and God.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth and His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.
I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In preachings of the apostles,
In faiths of confessors,
In innocence of virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.
I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.
I arise today through the power of God:
God's might to comfort me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to lead me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's Heavenly Host to save me
from the snares of the devil,
from temptations to sin,
from all who wish me ill,
from near and afar,
alone and with others.
May Christ shield me today
against poison and fire,
against drowning and wounding,
so that I may fulfill my mission
and bear fruit in abundance.
Christ be with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.
Celtic Christianity grew up with very little outside influence from the rest of Christianity. Patrick was a British shepherd boy in the outer reaches of the Roman Empire, who was kidnapped when he was young and had little formal training before almost single-handedly spreading the Gospel through Ireland. And during the time that Christianity was birthed in Ireland, it was dying in Rome while the empire was ransacked and splintered. If you want to kno wmore about that, I'll let you borrow Thomas Cahill's book "How the Irish Saved Civilization". This little prayer will give you a glimpse into the way the Celtic Christians viewed the world and God.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth and His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.
I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In preachings of the apostles,
In faiths of confessors,
In innocence of virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.
I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.
I arise today through the power of God:
God's might to comfort me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to lead me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's Heavenly Host to save me
from the snares of the devil,
from temptations to sin,
from all who wish me ill,
from near and afar,
alone and with others.
May Christ shield me today
against poison and fire,
against drowning and wounding,
so that I may fulfill my mission
and bear fruit in abundance.
Christ be with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
with or without you
From my Celtic Daily Prayer book this morning:
In Your presence there is an absence
silencing my greatest fear.
It is with You that I know the essence
of what is life, now that You're near.
It is in the absence of Your presence
that I rekindle my desire;
and it is when I am without You
that I burn, an inextinguishable fire.
In Your presence there is an absence
of all that preys upon my mind;
for my heart's desire's before me,
and I leave all else behind.
It is in the absence of Your presence
that I have learned to be apart.
It is without You that I am with You;
for You are the Joy within my heart.
-Janet Rimmer
In Your presence there is an absence
silencing my greatest fear.
It is with You that I know the essence
of what is life, now that You're near.
It is in the absence of Your presence
that I rekindle my desire;
and it is when I am without You
that I burn, an inextinguishable fire.
In Your presence there is an absence
of all that preys upon my mind;
for my heart's desire's before me,
and I leave all else behind.
It is in the absence of Your presence
that I have learned to be apart.
It is without You that I am with You;
for You are the Joy within my heart.
-Janet Rimmer
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
sacred
So have you ever noticed how we treat some things a s sacred and others as normal. Who doesn't act different in the WPC chapel than the Furnace Coffee House? It's so deep in us that we don't even think of it. (By the way, I thought of this while I was walking from school over to an open church building so that I could get some quiet and pray for a bit...)
And have you ever noticed how you can "feel" God more in the chapel than in the coffee house? Or am I the only one?
Now we all know and say that God is everywhere, but we go to places designed to connect with God. We ask God to come to us. Why do we do this? Is it just habit? Does God really physically come to a certain time and place? Is it just the only way of putting into words our desire to be in fellowship with God?
But then why do some places feel different? You know, those holy, sacred places that demand hushed voices and focused hearts and cell phones on vibrate. Is God really more present there? Are we more aware? Is it because of expectations, or past experiences? Or is it that God is worshiped often there and there is a resonance of his presence? And some times during a worship service everyone is like "Man God just showed up and it was powerful" and other times it isn't like that. Are we all somehow more aware of God and other times we collectively are disengaged?
Please take a second and think about this and pray about it, and then leave a comment with your thoughts. Cause this is something I am genuinely wrestling with right now. I don't just want a theologically correct answer, ya know? What do you think?
And have you ever noticed how you can "feel" God more in the chapel than in the coffee house? Or am I the only one?
Now we all know and say that God is everywhere, but we go to places designed to connect with God. We ask God to come to us. Why do we do this? Is it just habit? Does God really physically come to a certain time and place? Is it just the only way of putting into words our desire to be in fellowship with God?
But then why do some places feel different? You know, those holy, sacred places that demand hushed voices and focused hearts and cell phones on vibrate. Is God really more present there? Are we more aware? Is it because of expectations, or past experiences? Or is it that God is worshiped often there and there is a resonance of his presence? And some times during a worship service everyone is like "Man God just showed up and it was powerful" and other times it isn't like that. Are we all somehow more aware of God and other times we collectively are disengaged?
Please take a second and think about this and pray about it, and then leave a comment with your thoughts. Cause this is something I am genuinely wrestling with right now. I don't just want a theologically correct answer, ya know? What do you think?
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