Today's Devotion: Psalm 25:6 (New International Version) Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old

In this Psalm, the psalmist praises the Lord for all that He has done and then asks for the Lord's protection against all evil and distress.

Today's Comments: Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made the Heavens and Earth. Somewhere this phrase sticks in the back of my mind, and for some unknown reason, I can't find where it came from. Yet, without him, we must realize that we will be unable to do anything that is good. We were born in sin, and it is only through His grace that we are alive.

Today's Devotion: Job 42:3 (New International Version): You asked, 'Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.

Job is answering God, who, in turn has been asked by Job to explain his dilemma. He acknowledges that he does not have the ability or the right to question God.

Today's Comments: Do we have a right to question God? Do we have a right to question the Bible? Some say "yes," but most say "No." Many people will acknowledge that the Bible was written for all time and that what is true in the scripture in the past is true today. Richard Hooker, who is considered the one man who has developed the definitive theology in Anglicanism, explains that God has given man scripture, reason, and tradition. It is through these vehicles that we understand the true nature of God. He suggests that even law, which was laid down by the Bible, can be changed, if the reason for the law no longer exists. One, for example, realizes that the Old Testament covenants changed because the Bible, itself, explains that a new covenant was established by Jesus. Does Hooker leave an opening, when we go back to Paul's letters and his discussion concerning the role of women in the church? We must ask ourselves, has the reason for Paul's prohibition of women taking leadership in the church significantly changed so that women might now become priests, or even bishops? Can that same reasoning be applied to the blessing of homosexual unions? Do the founders and and those influential throughout history in the Anglican Church suggest that schism between the conservative and liberal wings of the church is recommended or even warranted? This will be the subject upon which I will write a paper for my Anglican Studies Class, under the mentorship of Greg Peters, Torey Honors Professor of Medieval Theology at Biola University. I pray that the Lord will guide me in my studies, because this could be more than a paper. It could be the basis of my recommendation to our special discernment committee concerning Blessed Sacrament Episcopal Church's continued participation as a unit of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America.

Today's Devotion: John 11:26 (New International Version)
and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

These are the words that Jesus spoke to Martha when he arrived at the house of Lazarus. In response, she acknowledged her understanding that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God.

Today's Comments: Even Jesus' disciples had not realized that He was the Messiah. It would take his crucifixion and then his appearance to them after death to realize who he really was. And, we are not unlike them. We keep asking for signs, and yet there are no signs. There are no signs, not because God has failed to give them. We just fail to recognize them. The signs that he gives us are usually right there, as moments of realization in life, or perhaps a flicker of genius during moments of contemplation. Let us pray for these moments.

Today's Devotion: Ephesians 4:25 (New International Version)
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.

If we are to live in harmony, we are to live in truth. This passage is very important to our everyday living and working.

Today's Comments: Last night, I returned from Denver after spending a week at the National Veterans Training Institute in a class called Promoting Partnerships. The truth is that I did not enjoy the class very much. Some of the advice given by the one of the facilitators there was wrong. She didn't know her subject very well, and I challenged her. That didn't make me too popular with either her or the class, and during the latter part of the week, I felt somewhat left out. My question is, should I have just kept my mouth shut and accepted the mediocrity?

I am also beginning to understand another truth. It may be time to retire and accelerate my studies for Deacon. I have been feeling this way for quite a while, since I returned to the Field Office from my staff assignment. However, I think that this class clinched it. The truth is that I can no longer be excited about my EDD assignments.

Today's Devotion: Hebrews 10:23 (New International Version)
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

We are reminded that we must put our trust in God. He is our help and salvation.

Today's Comments: In one of my rare moments of actually sitting down and watching something other than the news, Jeopardy, or Wheel of Fortune, I watched a PBS documentary on the building of the railroad along the River Kwai. It was amazing what the captured soldiers suffered at the hands of the Japanese, while, at the same time, they were conscripted into slave labor, starved, and beaten. When it was over, one of the survivors said that God had delivered them. To me, that is a demonstration of pure faith. I would like to have that kind of faith.

Today's Devotion: Psalm 62:6 (New International Version)
He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

Today's lesson reminds us that our salvation is through the Lord.

Today's Comments: The course that I am currently taking is Anglican Studies, and the book that I am currently reading reminds us that, not only is salvation a personal thing, but it is corporate, as well. God created His church as a community of believers who draw strength from one another. While there are those who feel that the church is not necessary to salvation, they miss the point that God, through his apostles, founded the church so that it could help carry out his plan. Therefore, to deny God's church is to deny his plan for us.

Today's Devotion: Matthew 6:21 (New International Version)
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

In this group of verses, Jesus is talking about how we should behave. We are told that the treasures in heaven are much more important than the treasures on Earth. It is important that we live a life dedicated to Him. He will provide for our needs. That which we store up is not going to help us, when our life on Earth is over.

Today's Comments: I have not written in this blog for a while. Part of the reason is that I am very busy. The other part is that I am going through some issues that have also taken quite a bit of my time. And they may take additional time, in the future. I previously wrote about somebody whom I thought I might like to be with the rest of my life and that I was going to share a mission project with. It does not appear as though either is going to happen. Our break-up was my fault. The mission project was hers. I keep wondering why things have worked out the way that they have, but deep down, I know that God has a reason for these things happening. In the meantime, I will be thankful for the treasures that God has given me here on Earth, and I will try to give back to him as much as I can.