 Malankara World Journal
Volume 1 No. 20 August 26, 2011
If the Journal is not displayed properly, please click on the link below (or copy and paste) to read from web
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Table of Contents |
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Bible Readings for This Sunday Inspiration for Today: Prayer is a Relationship Word Featured: Prayer - 'Lord, Teach Us To Pray' The God Who Delights In Answering Prayer by Rev. Bryn MacPhail Living in the Present Moment by Mother M. Angelica Recommended Reading on Prayers from Malankara World The Face of Jesus Christ by Henry Morris, Ph.D. News: Orthodox Peace Fellowship Conference to Focus on Forgiveness Health: Best Way to Cook Fish for Heart Health Evangelism: The Longing After Eternity by A. W. Tozer |
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We are approaching the second Sunday after the Shunoyo Feast. Many
churches are making elaborate plans for the Eight Day lent
culminating in the nativity of St. Mary on September 8. The Syriac
Orthodox Church Lectionary specifies St. Luke 11:9-20 for Gospel
reading during the Holy Qurbana this Sunday. The analysis, commentary and over dozen sermons discussing various aspects of this week's Bible Reading is covered in Malankara World and can be seen here: http://www.Malankaraworld.com/Library/Sermons/Sermon-of-the-week_2nd-sunday-after-Shunoyo.htm Chapter 11 of Luke starts out by stating that Jesus was praying. Luke pays particular attention to prayer, more than other Gospels. In fact, if we look for the words proseuche/proseuchomai = prayer/pray in the gospels, we find:
Since Luke wrote both the Gospel and the Acts, we can attribute 46 verses to Luke that mention pray/prayer. Luke Chapter 11 is one of the most important one on prayer in Luke. The disciples come and ask Jesus to teach them how to pray. Jesus teaches them the prayer popularly known as the 'Lord's Prayer.' After illustrating the importance of persistent prayer by means of a parable, Jesus now summarizes the importance of prayer in the passage specified for this Sunday: "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Luke 11:9-10) We had discussed prayer several times in Malankara World Journal in the past. We talked about the need for praying often. We also talked about the need for persistence in prayer as shown in this passage. Most of us pray only when we are in trouble or need God for something. We get upset when God does not give us what we ask for. God, however, answers all prayers. The answer to a prayer may be Yes, No, Wait, (or sometimes a modified Yes). Yes, there are times when God tells us "No!". The Apostle Paul had a "thorn in the flesh," some kind of affliction from Satan. Paul pleads with the Lord three times to take it away, but then receives the answer, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). Paul accepts this answer, and now begins to glory in his weaknesses that Christ's power may rest on him. But Jesus assures that most of the time the Heavenly Father is anxious to listen to you. He illustrates it via a parable in Luke 11:5-8 and another related parable in Luke 18:1-8, the Parable of the Persistent Widow. So, we are encouraged to ask boldly, knowing that we can trust God. The writer of Hebrews encourages us, "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). With this issue of Malankara World Journal, we are starting to publish a full book on Prayer in Malankara World Journal. It is one of the most important classic books on intercessional prayers - 'With Christ In the School of Prayer' : Thoughts on Our Training for the Ministry of Intercession By Rev. Andrew Murray (1828-1917). The power of intercessory prayer is a great gift from God. God listens to those he loves, and works all things for their good. Murray, in his classic work, 'With Christ in the School of Prayer', calls the church to exercise that powerful gift. Murray skillfully describes the role of the Holy Spirit within the church and exhorts Christians to use the blessings God has given us. This book is a guide to living a life as a temple of the Holy Spirit. This book is divided into 31 lessons on Prayer. We will cover one lesson each week. The first lesson, viz., ‘Lord, teach us to pray’ or, The Only Teacher is in today's journal. I hope that you will enjoy reading this book in Malankara World. Rev. Bryn MacPhail, in his article, 'The God Who Delights In Answering Prayer' amplifies the concept of answered prayers. We are also bringing an excerpt from Mother M. Angelica's work, 'Living Prayers' in Today's Journal titled 'Living in the Present Moment' - an important reading on Prayer. Please take a look at the Recommended additional reading on Prayers from Malankara World. This should answer most of your questions on Prayer. In HIS Service, Editor, Malankara World |
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This Sunday in Church
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Second Sunday after
Shunoyo (the Assumption of St. Mary)
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We have greatly expanded our Sermon Resources.
The sermon collection now includes general and classical sermons. This will give a broader appeal to the Gospel Reading for the week. We
also added bible commentaries for the bible reading to facilitate study and meditation. Please check it out.
Sermons for the Second Sunday After Shunoyo (Assumption of St. Mary) |
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This Week's Features
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| Inspiration for Today: Prayer is a Relationship Word | |
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by Rev. Fr. John Brian Prayer is a relationship word; it can never be thought of in abstraction, isolated from others or from God. Unfortunately, we have reduced prayer to a private act, an occasion for selfish concern or complaint. Yet prayer is never exclusive or divisive; it is inclusive and caring. Authentic prayer is never self-serving or self-complacent; it involves a sense of compassion for all people and all creation. The whole Orthodox understanding, discipline, and teaching about prayer may be condensed into the short formula commonly known as the “Jesus prayer.” […] “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.” This brief prayer is a simple prayer and not a complicated exercise. The Jesus Prayer can be used by everyone as a concise, arrow-prayer that leads directly from our heart to the heart of God via the heart of the world. It is the realization – beyond the recitation of conventional prayers – of the power of silence. For when prayer culminates in silence, we awaken to new awareness. Then, prayer becomes a way of noticing more clearly and responding more effectively to the world within us and around us. Source: Spiritual Help |
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Excerpted From the Book: 'With Christ In the School of Prayer' by Andrew Murray
First Lesson: 'Lord, Teach Us To Pray' or The Only Teacher
... they would have told us that there were few things more wonderful or blessed that He taught them than His lessons on prayer. The disciples had been with Christ, and seen Him pray. They had learnt to understand something of the connection between His wondrous life in public, and His secret life of prayer. They had learnt to believe in Him as a Master in the art of prayer—none could pray like Him. And so they came to Him with the request, ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’ And in after years they would have told us that there were few things more wonderful or blessed that He taught them than His lessons on prayer. And now still it comes to pass, as He is praying in a certain place, that disciples who see Him thus engaged feel the need of repeating the same request, ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’ As we grow in the Christian life, the thought and the faith of the Beloved Master in His never-failing intercession becomes ever more precious, and the hope of being Like Christ in His intercession gains an attractiveness before unknown. ... we feel assured that we have but to ask, and He will be delighted to take us up into closer fellowship with Himself, and teach us to pray even as He prays. And as we see Him pray, and remember that there is none who can pray like Him, and none who can teach like Him, we feel the petition of the disciples, ‘Lord, teach us to pray,’ is just what we need. And as we think how all He is and has, how He Himself is our very own, how He is Himself our life, we feel assured that we have but to ask, and He will be delighted to take us up into closer fellowship with Himself, and teach us to pray even as He prays. Come, my brothers! Shall we not go to the Blessed Master and ask Him to enroll our names too, anew in that school which He always keeps open for those who long to continue their studies in the Divine art of prayer and intercession? Yes, let us this very day say to the Master, as they did of old, ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’ As we meditate, we shall find each word of the petition we bring to be full of meaning. True prayer, that takes hold of God’s strength, that availeth much, to which the gates of heaven are really opened wide—who would not cry, Oh for some one to teach me thus to pray? ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’ Yes, to pray. This is what we need to be taught. Though in its beginnings prayer is so simple that the feeblest child can pray, yet it is at the same time the highest and holiest work to which man can rise. It is fellowship with the Unseen and Most Holy One. The powers of the eternal world have been placed at its disposal. It is the very essence of true religion, the channel of all blessings, the secret of power and life. Not only for ourselves, but for others, for the Church, for the world, it is to prayer that God has given the right to take hold of Him and His strength. It is on prayer that the promises wait for their fulfillment, the kingdom for its coming, the glory of God for its full revelation. And for this blessed work, how slothful and unfit we are. It is only the Spirit of God can enable us to do it aright. How speedily we are deceived into a resting in the form, while the power is wanting. Our early training, the teaching of the Church, the influence of habit, the stirring of the emotions—how easily these lead to prayer which has no spiritual power, and avails but little. True prayer, that takes hold of God’s strength, that availeth much, to which the gates of heaven are really opened wide—who would not cry, Oh for some one to teach me thus to pray? Jesus has opened a school, in which He trains His redeemed ones, who specially desire it, to have power in prayer. Jesus has opened a school, in which He trains His redeemed ones, who specially desire it, to have power in prayer. Shall we not enter it with the petition, Lord! it is just this we need to be taught! O teach us to pray. ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’ Yes, us, Lord. We have read in Thy Word with what power Thy believing people of old used to pray, and what mighty wonders were done in answer to their prayers. And if this took place under the Old Covenant, in the time of preparation, how much more wilt Thou not now, in these days of fulfillment, give Thy people this sure sign of Thy presence in their midst. We have heard the promises given to Thine apostles of the power of prayer in Thy name, and have seen how gloriously they experienced their truth: we know for certain, they can become true to us too. The promises are for us, the powers and gifts of the heavenly world are for us. O teach us to pray so that we may receive abundantly. We hear continually even in these days what glorious tokens of Thy power Thou dost still give to those who trust Thee fully. Lord! these all are men of like passions with ourselves; teach us to pray so too. The promises are for us, the powers and gifts of the heavenly world are for us. O teach us to pray so that we may receive abundantly. To us too, Thou hast entrusted Thy work; on our prayer too, the coming of Thy kingdom depends; in our prayer too, Thou canst glorify Thy name; ‘Lord teach us to pray.’ Yes, us, Lord; we offer ourselves as learners; we would indeed be taught of Thee. ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’ |
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by Rev. Bryn MacPhail Scripture: Luke 11:5-13 and Luke 18:1-8 Prayer is an institution of God. Over and over again, the Bible commands us to pray. And yet, I suspect that many of us, having prayed, have wondered about whether our prayers will actually change anything. As we ponder the subject of whether or not prayer changes anything, we must be sure to bear in mind God’s character. Why would God mandate an exercise that is ineffectual? Why would God command me to do something that has no more effect than if I whistled in the wind? If prayer changes nothing, it is a monstrous absurdity that God would ordain it (Spurgeon). But, of course, because God has ordained prayer it necessarily follows that it has the capacity of being effectual. God’s institutions are not folly. Our study, this morning, of answered prayer is, therefore, an exciting exercise. It is exciting to learn from our Lord Jesus Christ that our prayers are not empty words. It is exciting to learn that prayer is the means appointed by God for carrying out His will. There is, however, a sobering aspect to our study. The study of answered prayer is sobering in that we learn that not every kind of prayer will be answered in the affirmative. We know this already from experience. We know what it is like to pray for someone who is very sick only to have them never recover. We know what it is like to pray for someone in a difficult situation only to see no change. In my study on prayer, I had hoped that I would find some secret formula to getting all of my prayers answered, but I found no such formula. But what I did find, however, was a source of tremendous encouragement to me. The Lord Jesus Christ teaches extensively on prayer and, for our purposes, we shall examine His teachings from Luke 11:5-13 and Luke 18:1-8. Jesus tells a parable about a man who needs to acquire some bread from a friend in order to offer hospitality to another friend who has arrived following a long journey. The problem facing the man seeking bread is that it is midnight. He calls on his friend asking for three loaves of bread (11:5), but the house is shut up, and the man inside explains that the family is already in bed (11:7). Studying the history of the day has led commentators to surmise that this family likely lived in a one-room house with a raised platform on which the entire family would sleep. The animals would be brought in at night and would sleep below this platform. As a result, the man inside could not get up without disturbing the entire household. There appears to be no objection to giving away three loaves of bread, but the trouble of getting up and opening the door is quite another matter (Morris, Luke, 213). The man in need of bread is not easily deterred. He refuses to go away. And where his friendship fails to sufficiently motivate the man inside, his persistence succeeds. Jesus explains, “even though he will not get up because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs” (15:8). The principle being taught, quite clearly, is that we need to be persistent in our prayers. We must not be deterred by a slow answer. Since prayer does not always yield an instant result, we are required to continue in prayer. Jesus teaches the same principle in the parable of Luke 18, where the judge who feared neither God nor man is approached by a widow seeking legal protection. For a time, the judge is “unwilling” to help, but eventually he capitulates with her request, saying to himself, “Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection” (18:4, 5). The man seeking bread, and the widow seeking legal protection, have this in common: Both received what they sought because they persevered in their request. As we approach God in prayer, we too need to be prepared to persist in our prayers. Very clearly, Jesus wants us to be like the friend who won’t stop knocking; He wants us to be like the widow who keeps petitioning the judge; He wants us to prevail in prayer. What is less obvious is how we are to view God based on these parables. Admittedly, many of the parables taught by Jesus instruct us by comparisons of likeness. We read the parable of the Good Samaritan and we understand that we are to be like the Good Samaritan. We read the parables about three things lost and we understand that God is like the shepherd seeking the sheep, He is like the woman seeking the coin, and He is like the father seeking the son. Read the rest of this highly informative article in Malankara World |
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by Mother M. Angelica God has given each one of us a gift greater than a thousand I.B.M. machines. It is called a Memory and everything that passes through our five senses is stored in this faculty. We can recall the odor of a fried steak smothered with onions and our mouths water. Everything we read is stored in our memory even though our recall may not bring to mind the information we desire. Many Christians are tortured by this faculty—tortured because of the guilt of past sins, resentments over old injuries or regrets over past omissions. The memory of past failures can be of great benefit in the present moment if used properly. St. Paul never forgot how he persecuted the First Christians and that memory made him humble under trials and understanding during persecutions. (Acts 22:4-5) Paul had many painful memories for he never forgot the numerous perils he endured for the sake of the Good News. (2 Cor. 11:20-29) Neither did he forget that when he was in prison no one visited him for fear of the Jews. (2 Tim. 4:16) The problems that arise from our past are not the remembrance of that past but a need for healing—a change—a transformation by which we can put on the "mind of Christ". (1 Cor. 2:16) We are not asked by Jesus to develop a kind of spiritual amnesia—a blocking—out of everything painful. We are asked however to trust Him so our sins can be swallowed up in the ocean of His mercy. We are asked to develop a spirit of compassion so we can look at any person or incident in our past through His merciful Eyes. We are asked to transform our memory through the power of His grace, to sweep it clean of all cobwebs, dirt and superfluities that keep that faculty so cluttered up there is no room for God. There are three rooms in the Temple of our souls—Memory, Intellect and Will—all three are to be returned to God adorned with the jewels of Faith, Hope and Love. The wooden structures given us at Baptism must be rebuilt into those solid materials fit for a King to dwell in. If we permit the original structure to deteriorate and fall into ruin by laziness and lack of zeal, we shall live in those ruins for all Eternity. Our memories are our own and we cannot blame anything or anyone in the past for any pain dwelling there. If we open the door to them or keep hashing over past incidents in our minds, we have only ourselves to blame. Our lack of forgiveness makes us hate and our lack of compassion makes us hard-hearted. Pride in our hearts makes us resentful and keeps our memory in a constant whirlwind of passion and self-pity. From the Agony in the Garden to His death, it is consoling to see Jesus emptying His human faculties of Himself. He gave His Will to the Father completely when He said "Thy Will be done." (Luke 22:43) He emptied His memory when He said "Father forgive them for they do not know what they do." (Luke 23:34) Like the Father, He was full of compassion and mercy and He would not permit the least resentment to enter His memory. Like Jesus, every human being has enough memories in his past to occupy his time and thoughts continually. It is not the remembrance of these incidents but the reliving of them that creates havoc in our souls. The frequent and sometimes constant rehearsing of past events can spark these evils mentioned by Jesus and move the Will to accomplish such acts. We are often the cause of our own misery and unhappiness and we run from place to place looking for relief and find none. In our effort to acquire peace of mind we do not see the real cause of our uneasiness—a lack of compassion and humility. We know that certain sins of the past create guilt complexes. Remembrances of past offenses create anger which we cling to in spite of ourselves. We are unwilling to let go and we do this in the name of truth. We justify our anger or even hatred by saying the incident was literally unjust and uncalled for. We permit the truth of the matter to be used as a means of justifying our reactions and exercising our sinful attitudes. We very neatly create burdens and impose them upon our own shoulders. Self-imposed burdens are the most difficult to release. Perhaps there is some satisfaction in reliving past situations, be they ever so painful. It makes our unkindness or hatred so justified we feel justice is being served by the uncontrolled passions ever welling up in our hearts. We can become so blind that we plead with God to lift this cross from our shoulders, while we unhesitatingly press it ever nearer. Only through the compassion and mercy of our Father can our Memory be healed of all the bitterness stored within it. Excerpted from LIVING PRAYER by Mother M. Angelica |
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Prayer –
Guaranteed To Succeed by Charles Spurgeon
How to Pray by
Walter W. Harms
Prayer - A Relationship by Brian Stoffregen
Pushy in
Prayer by Edward F. Markquart
Exploring a Life of Prayer by Jane E. Vennard
God’s Generous Response to Boldness in Prayer by John MacArthur
“The
Waiting Father” by Mark D. Ridley Luke emphasizes the praying of Jesus more than any other gospel. He records nine prayers of Jesus, and seven of the nine are only in his gospel. So let's let Jesus teach us about prayer. He knows about it from both ends: he prayed as a full human; and he receives and mediates prayer as God himself. There is no better teacher on prayer. |
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by Henry Morris, Ph.D. "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:6) The light that shines in the soul of a lost sinner when he first comes to know Jesus Christ can only be compared to the light that Christ called forth on Day One of the creation week. We met this God of glory spiritually when we first beheld in our hearts the face of Jesus Christ. But the face of Jesus Christ was not always deemed so glorious. We read of a time when ungodly men "did . . . spit in his face" (Matthew 26:67), then took a blindfold "to cover his face" (Mark 14:65), and finally, with a rain of terrible blows "struck him on the face" (Luke 22:64). Once His "countenance [was] as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars" (Song of Solomon 5:15), but when they finished their assault, "his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men" (Isaiah 52:14). "The face of the Lord is against them that do evil" (1 Peter 3:12), however, and the time is coming very soon when all those who have turned their faces from Him will call "to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb" (Revelation 6:16). When finally they will have seen the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ in all its consuming strength, not even the world itself could stand, "from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away" (Revelation 20:11). For those who have looked on Him in faith, however, this will not be a time of judgment, but blessing, for "they shall see his face" (Revelation 22:4). The face of Jesus Christ, fierce as devouring fire to those He must judge, is glorious in beauty and love to those who believe. Source: Days of Praise [Creation Devotional] |
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Univ. of Wisconsin professor Robert D. Enright to be keynote speaker of the
event to be held in
Madison, WI, from September 16-18, 2011.
The North American Conference of the Orthodox Peace Fellowship has chosen Madison as the location for its 2011 conference, to be held Friday, Sept. 16 to Sunday, Sept. 18. "Forgiveness: Finding Wholeness Again" is the conference theme. Robert D. Enright Ph.D., professor of educational psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will be a keynote speaker. Enright is a founding member of the International Forgiveness Institute Inc., is the author of four books including "Forgiveness is a Choice." He has appeared on "20/20" and "NBC Nightly News," and his work has been featured in TIME, McCall's Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, and the LA Times. Other speakers will include: • Erin Manian (staff attorney for the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, who will speak on the topic of forgiveness and healing as it relates to the Armenian Genocide of 1915); • David Giffey (Orthodox iconographer and member of Veterans for Peace, who will speak after a screening of "Kim's Story: Road from Vietnam" – a film about Kim Phuc, the "little girl in the photograph" of the napalm bombing of a Vietnamese village in 1972); • Rev. George Morelli Ph.D. (chairman of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese Department of Chaplaincy and Pastoral Counseling Ministry); • Judith Toy (Buddhist cleric and author of "Murder as a Call to Love"); • Rev. John-Brian Paprock (pastor of Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Madison, and author of "Neighbors, Strangers and Everyone Else"). Non-members and non-Orthodox are welcome to attend. "`Forgiveness' is a topic that has much to do with `peace," says Alexander Patico of the OPF. "Conflict between two individuals or two groups can cease, but often the seeds of future conflict are there, ready to germinate at the first opportunity. Without forgiveness, we achieve only a surface calm, not a reconciliation that is the foundation of true peace." Without forgiveness, says Patico, "inner peace remains elusive, as well. There are, however, many different ways to think about forgiveness – what it means and what conditions must exist for it to happen. The conference will explore those different conceptions, so that forgiving might become more feasible for all who take part." The event will be held at the Bishop O'Connor Pastoral Center, 702 S. High Point Road, Madison. At the end of the conference, attendees can choose to attend Sunday services at Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, 11 North 7th St., Madison. Information will be available about conference costs shortly; the organization plans to offer low-cost options for those with financial challenges or who are coming from greater distances. Reservations must be received prior to Wednesday, Sept. 14. More information is available by contacting Patico at opfnorthamerica@gmail.com or Rev. Paprock at frjohnbrian@gmail.com or 608.242.4244 The Orthodox Peace Fellowship is an association of Orthodox Christians applying the principles of the Gospel to situations of division and conflict – in the home, the parish, the community, the work place, and within and between nations. |
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If you're eating your way to better heart health by having fish once or twice a week, you should make sure it's baked or boiled, instead of fried, dried or salted. Why? Fish that is baked or boiled packs a bigger punch of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, according to a study from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. And for women especially, it's a good idea to cook the fish using a low-sodium soy sauce or tofu. "It appears that boiling or baking fish with low-sodium soy sauce [shoyu] and tofu is beneficial, while eating fried, salted or dried fish is not. In fact, these methods of preparation may contribute to your risk," study author Lixin Meng said in a news release from the American Heart Association. "We did not directly compare boiled or baked fish versus fried fish, but one can tell from the [risk] ratios, boiled or baked fish is in the protective direction, but not fried fish." The study: The team followed 82,243 men and 103,884 women in Los Angeles County, California and Hawaii to assess the source, type, amount and frequency of dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids. The study participants included blacks, whites, Hispanics, Japanese and native Hawaiians who were between 45 to 75 years old and had no history of heart disease. The results: During the nearly 12 years of follow-up, there were 4,516 heart-related deaths among the participants. Among men, those who ate the most omega-3 fatty acids (about 3.3 grams per day) had a 23 percent lower risk of cardiac death than those who ate only 0.8 grams per day. "Clearly, we are seeing that the higher the dietary omega-3 intake, the lower the risk of dying from heart disease among men," Meng explained. Among women, the link between omega-3 fatty acids and a lower risk of cardiac death wasn't as apparent; however, the study found clear heart health benefits for women who consumed greater amounts of shoyu and tofu. "My guess is that, for women, eating omega-3s from shoyu and tofu that contain other active ingredients such as phytoestrogens might have a stronger cardioprotective effect than eating just omega- 3s," Meng said. The study was presented at the American Heart Association's annual meeting in Orlando, Florida. Source: Joykutty, Detroit See Also:
Seven
Heart-Friendly Foods
Happiest People Less Likely to Have Heart Disease
Study: Monthly fasting may help heart |
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by A. W. Tozer He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts.. - Ecclesiastes 3:11 We take it for granted and we are not surprised at all about the eternal nature of God but the greater wonder is that God has seen fit to put His own everlastingness within the hearts of men and women.... I believe that this is the truth about our troubles and our problems: We are disturbed because God has put everlastingness in our hearts. He has put a longing for immortality in our beings. He has put something within men and women that demands God and heaven--and yet we are too blind and sinful to find Him or even to look for Him!... Men and women need to be told plainly, and again and again, why they are disturbed and why they are upset. They need to be told why they are lost and that if they will not repent they will certainly perish. Doctors and counselors will tell troubled men and women that their problems are psychological, but it is something deeper within the human being that troubles and upsets--it is the longing after eternity! "Lord, we long for eternity, but there is so much commotion, activity, and noise in our world that that longing is too often drowned out. Help me to break through that madness with the message of Christ today. Amen." Source: Insight for Leaders [A.W. Tozer Devotional] |
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What is the secret to a long and happy marriage? Here are 25 of them.
1. Compliment more. Criticize less.
(Source: CNN, Redbook, Romancestuck.com, Halife.com) See Also:
Being Happy is a choice
Be Happy With What You Have
How Do You Build Positive
Relationships? |
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Eleven people were hanging on a rope, under a helicopter. 10 men and
1 woman. The rope was not strong enough to carry them all, so they decided that one had to leave, because otherwise they were all going to fall. They weren't able to choose that person, until the woman gave a very touching speech. She said that she would voluntarily let go of the rope, because, as a woman, she was used to giving up everything for her husband and kids or for men in general, and was always making sacrifices with little in return. As soon as she finished her speech, all the men started clapping . . |
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