President Obama’s much debated address to school children slated for this morning can now be accessed in its entirety on line. Read it for yourself here.

Check out Dr. Albert Mohler’s balanced assessment here.

Two more reasons among a couple of hundred! Happy anniversary to you both!

Ed Welch writes in his book Addictions: Banquet in the Grave:

The story of the Bible is entitled, “Whom Will You Worship?” The story of our lives has the same title. And ultimately the idols we worship are shaped by our own desires (p. 127).

Whom will you worship today? May it be said of all of us, As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15).

Here is the text I am praying for the families of our fellowship by name this week – Phil. 1:9-11:

9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

What passage of Scripture has God put on your heart to use as a basis of prayer for your brothers and sisters in Christ at OGC this week?

This from William Gurnall today:

Just as the Gospel lays the axe to strife and digs it up by its bitter roots, so it fills the hearts of men who embrace it with principles leading to peace and unity. Some of these tenets are self-denial, long-suffering, and gentleness. Self-denial prefers that another be honored before himself. Long-suffering prefers that which makes one not easily provoked. And if gentleness is pushed by a wrong, it holds the door open for peace to come in again.

May Gospel graces abound at OGC as we approach the 7th anniversary of Conciliation Sunday this coming Lord’s Day. Praise God for the corporate peace and unity He has granted us these last several years.

ONE OF TWO HUNDRED SOME REASONS!

NEED I SAY MORE!

Job 39:5 says,

Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!

Some handbreadths are briefer than others – a mere five days.

This is worth your time. My thanks to Timmy Brister.

This from 9.06.05’s journal:

I know I’m not, but I felt abandoned last night. I kept praying as I turned off the lights, “Please don’t abandon me, God.” It wasn’t a good day. I was more tired than usual. Slept until 1:00 PM. Felt nauseous most of the day. Threw up around dinner time. Tongue is still sore. Mouth is still sore. Cheeks are swollen. Lip is still scabbing. It just goes on forever. Mucous still forming. What a routine of drudgery. When will relief come? Lord, have mercy!

I am rebuked by Bonhoeffer’s final letter to his wife or betrothed. He never felt abandoned for all the support he had. I feel ashamed.

During treatment I read Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Letters & Papers from Prison. I highly recommend it to anyone traversing the twists and turns of the road called suffering.