Thursday, December 23, 2010

David Archuleta- Silent Night

A 'freed' tongue...

"Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God."

After a certain amount of 'God mandated' silence, Zechariah acted in obedience and his tongue was freed to offer God praise and blessings...there has got to be a lesson there somewhere. 

Silence and Presence

Christmas is the Feast of Silence and Presence

"Such dispositions of faith, abandonment, simplicity, humility, detachment produce the peaceful silence in our lives which attracts the Word of God."

.
Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

The Messiah and his forerunner

Luke 1:68-79



Blessed + be the Lord, the God of Israel;

he has come to his people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty savior,

born of the house of his servant David.



Through his holy prophets he promised of old

that he would save us from our enemies,

from the hands of all who hate us.

He promised to show mercy to our fathers

and to remember his holy covenant.



This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:

to set us free from the hands of our enemies,

free to worship him without fear,

holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.



You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High;

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,

to give his people knowledge of salvation

by the forgiveness of their sins.



In the tender compassion of our God

the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,

and to guide our feet into the way of peace.



Glory to the Father, and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit:

as it was in the beginning, is now,

and will be for ever. Amen.

Morning Hymn

Of old the prophets cried aloud,


Foretelling Christ would surely come,

Theirs was the special grace to know

That man's redemption was at hand.



Hence radiates our joy at dawn,

Our happy hearts rejoice and sing,

Proclaiming now our earnest faith

In glory long since promised us.



This humble coming known to few,

Was not to judge a sinful world

But all our wounds to tend and heal,

By saving what had gone astray.



His second coming will declare

That Christ is at our very doors,

To crown all those who love Him well

And welcome them to lasting bliss.



Eternal light is promised us,

The star of our salvation shines,

Already its bright gleaming rays

Call us to keep the law of love.



Lord Jesus Christ, we seek but You,

To see You, God yet truly Man,

So that this vision blest may be

Our never-ending hymn of praise. Amen.

The prophet

Lo, I will send you
Elijah, the prophet,
Before the day of the LORD comes,
the great and terrible day,
To turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,
and the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike
the land with doom.


Our current day and age is in desperate need of prophets...those people of God who have the courage, strength and determination to speak up for TRUTH!  As a Lay Carmelite, I have a special place in my heart for the Prophet Elijah. His quiet yet powerful ways are to be imitated. He was greatly loved by the Lord and aside from Mary is the only other human being whose body was carried up to heaven.

Days of Elijah

Capturing the Day's Message! (Wednesday)

Today's message for me was about accepting God's will in life with great joy...no matter how insignificant and tedious (or maybe even painful) it may seem right then and there. Godly rejoicing goes beyond the moment and sees into the future...to what the outcome of a situation will be, even if the present looks dire. With God in control there is always something to rejoice about. Don't know what God's will in your life is? Start with your to-do list.