I don’t ask God to bless what I do. I pray He will help me to do what He blesses.

…Bob Pierce, founder and president, World Vision

For your heart is your life, and your life can only be altered by that which is the real working of your heart. And if your prayer is only a form of words, made by the skill of other people, such a prayer can no more change you into a good man, than an actor upon the stage, who speaks kingly language, is thereby made to be a king: whereas one thought, or word, or look, towards God, proceeding from your own heart, can never be without its proper fruit, or fail of doing a real good to your soul. Again, another great and infallible benefit of this kind of prayer is this; it is the only way to be delivered from the deceitfulness of your own hearts. [Continued tomorrow]

… William Law (1686-1761), The Spirit of Prayer [1749]

Meditation:Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.”How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

Words are merely carriers of the secret, supernatural communications, the light and call of God. That is why spiritual books bear such different meanings for different types and qualities of soul, why each time we read them they give us something fresh, as we can bear it.

…Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941), Light of Christ [1944]

Only one way to get there……….GETTING IN TO HEAVEN
A man dies and goes to heaven. Of course, St. Peter meets him at the Pearly Gates. St. Peter says, “Here’s how it works. You need 100 points to make it into heaven.
You tell me all the good things you’ve done, and I give you a certain number of points for each item, depending on how good it was. When you reach 100 points, you get in.
“Okay,” the man says, “I was married to the same woman for 50 years and never cheated on her, even in my heart.” “That’s absolutely wonderful,” says St. Peter, “that’s worth three points!”
“Three points?” he says. “Well, I attended church all my life and supported its ministry with my tithe and service.” “Terrific!”! says St. Peter. “That’s certainly worth a point.”
“One point!?!!” “Well I started a soup kitchen in my city and worked in a shelter for homeless veterans.” “Fantastic, that’s good for two more points,” he says.
” Only two points!?!!” Exasperated, the man cries. “At this rate the only way I’ll ever get into heaven is by the grace of God.”
“Bingo … 100 points! Come on in!”
We often try to fix problems with WD-40 and duct tape. God did it with a nail.

I don’t know why some people change churches; what difference does it make which one you stay home from?

The Will of God will nevertake you to where the Grace of God will not protect you.

Faith is not only a commitment to the promises of Christ; faith is also a commitment to the demands of Christ.

…William Barclay (1907-1978), The Letters of James and Peter [1976]

Can we believe that God ever really modifies His action in response to the suggestions of men? For infinite wisdom does not need telling what is best, and infinite goodness needs no urging to do it. But neither does God need any of those things that are done by finite agents, whether living or inanimate. He could, if He chose, repair our bodies miraculously without food; or give us food without the aid of farmers, bakers, and butchers, or knowledge without the aid of learned men; or convert the heathen without missionaries. Instead, He allows soils and weather and animals and the muscles, minds, and wills of men to cooperate in the execution of His will… It is not really stranger, nor less strange, that my prayers should affect the course of events than that my other actions should do so. They have not advised or changed God’s mind — that is, His overall purpose. But that purpose will be realized in different ways according to the actions, including the prayers, of His creatures.

…C. S. Lewis (1898-1963), “The Efficacy of Prayer”

God is none other than the Saviour of our wretchedness. So we can only know God well by knowing our iniquities… Those who have known God without knowing their wretchedness have not glorified him, but have glorified themselves.

…Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)

Feast of Mary, Martha & Lazarus, Companions of Our Lord