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Please…

November 2, 2010 / Seán / 4 Comments

I have never heard anyone pray like that…

He was a stranger to me, a seasoned gentleman of years. But his prayer sent chills up and down my spine.

And it wasn’t because he chose words of special depth or gravity. A child would have prayed as such. It was the way he said one word: please.

I wish you had been there to hear it, because I hardly know how to make it graphically representative. We were praying together, just he and I and one other in a room full of Doctors all doing the same thing.

But when he asked for the Holy Spirit, he didn’t ask like we normally do.

He begged as though his heart would break. As though he would die without it…

“Please–

Pleeeeeeease…”

I stand not as a judge of the hearts of men, but if I have ever been sure of anything, I am sure of this: If anybody gets the Holy Spirit, he will.

“If you will find time and voice to pray, God will find time and voice to answer.”

Against All Odds…

October 12, 2010 / Seán / 2 Comments

I have just 4 words–

Faith is the Victory.

And Faith is simply Trust, plus Obedience.

Simple Gospel

August 12, 2010 / Seán / 0 Comments

Here’s the simple gospel according to the saltshaker.

Herein is Love.

Jesus, shake me up, and pour me out…

Almost Home

August 10, 2010 / Seán / 4 Comments

Isaiah 66

Victory! At long last…

A fitting finish for the “Old Testament Gospel.”

The last page closes on a people that shall remain as long as God’s name does… Because His name is written on their hearts and in their foreheads. There is no more death, no more war, no more anguish…

“For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream… As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”

______________________________

But before you throw down your sword, let me gently remind you that our final chapter has not yet come. We are almost home, but as yet our work is still war and anguish. Our duty is still the laying down of our lives.

There can be no victory where there is no fight…

Eternal Weight of Glory,

make us strong.

Happiness

August 9, 2010 / Seán / 0 Comments

Isaiah 65

Once again the click of black dress shoes on the floor breaks the silence in my office just before midnight.

Once again the bag goes on the floor, the Blackberry on the desk, and the boarding passes folded in my coat pocket go in the wire trash can in the corner. All is well…

And once again I first drift off to sleep, and then wake up again, exceedingly happy…

Because I have seen salvation come…

I have watched cheeks first pale, then glow.

I have watched empty eyes fill with tears of hope.

I have watched faces turn to the sun like flowers on a spring morning.

Ahh yes, this is happiness.

And the fact that it is my happiness, is a gift of grace undeserved…

“Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart…” Isaiah 65:14

I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil… [Jn. 17]

None Stronger.

July 28, 2010 / Seán / 1 Comment

Isaiah 47-52

Gone for 5 days, home for fleeting moments, gone for 12 days.

We’ll see if I have internet this time…

I have a lot to be thankful for. The last 5 days were spent in the Gila wilderness with my family, 10 miles beyond nowhere. I’ll upload more photos sometime…

Every moment was loaded… But especially memorable were the silent times accented by Isaiah, and Christ’s Object Lessons. If I didn’t have to get some sleep before rolling out of here for my early flight tomorrow, I’d write more… But I just have time for one of my very favorite lines–

“The Lord hath made bare His holy arm…”

As if to prove to all the world that there is none stronger.

Like, none. End of discussion.

Another little secret

July 21, 2010 / Seán / 0 Comments

Isaiah 45-46
Before the guy even knew God’s name, he had a promise. God was to anoint him, and then go before him knocking down stone walls, breaking iron gates, and setting the kings of the earth on their faces… And this guy was a heathen!
He had a little secret though… God had his right hand, and he had God’s. (45:1)
How much more shall we have power over our enemies when we choose above all to place and leave our hand in God’s… (46:3-4)
Oh, why do we ever do otherwise?

Ashes

July 19, 2010 / Seán / 0 Comments

Isaiah 44

Yes, they’re what we’re made of. But our sights should be so much higher…

Instead, amongst the ashes of our human solutions come to naught we still search for direction, seemingly unconscious of the light above and before us. Like the poor man of Isaiah 44:46, we chop down a tree, start a little fire, cook a bit of lunch, and say: “Aha, I am warm…” Yes, for just this one moment…

Don’t get me wrong, we must turn to ashes… But then what?

When it was all over he scraped up the residue and made a god. We make plans, set standards, and formulate our norms… And then we wonder why we’re still not satisfied.

How can we be?

Oh Jesus, teach us to look only to You…

Poured Out

July 18, 2010 / Seán / 0 Comments

Isaiah 42-43
Sometimes the flickering of hope is oh, so faint… Let me never carelessly neglect it, or ruthlessly snuff it out…
“A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.” Isaiah 42:3
Wow, what a weekend… Once again, hundreds of people to love, and new burdens to lift before the throne of Merciful Father. The Spirit has certainly been here, and I for one am determined more than ever to live the poured-out life…
After all, though we be few, we are called and chosen.
“Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.” (Isa. 43:10)

Providence at it’s best…

July 18, 2010 / Seán / 0 Comments

Isaiah 41
I love that word– Providence.
It’s ultimate power giving of itself… And that, provision more than sufficient.
There is no promise that we will never lack… Indeed, if we never lacked, there would be no need for a promise. No need for Power. No need for Grace…
We will lack. We must thirst…
But we need remain thirsty only for a moment. Just long enough to recognize our need… And then, Providence kicks in.
And not with a little glass of water either…
“When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.”
(Isaiah 41:17-18)
Where there is thirst, He creates a river…