Departure (or Apostasy)

Paul, in his two letters to Timothy, uses a Greek word with telling effect. We have the word in English as “apostasy”; it is often translated “departure.” In 1 Timothy 1:20, he tells us of two leaders who left the faith, who apostatized, Hymenaeus and Alexander. Paul then declares in 1 Timothy 4:1 that many shall depart, and the word he uses is apostesontai. Then, in 2 Timothy 2:19 Paul declares, “[L]et every one that nameth the name of Christ depart [aposteto] from iniquity.” What Paul is telling us is that life is growth; it is movement in one direction or another. Our lives are either marked by an apostasy or departure from sin, or they are an apostasy or departure from Christ. We do not stand still. The life of faith is more than words: it is growth. Time is a constant movement and departure. We can no more stand still in Christ (or against Christ) than we can remain at the age of thirty-nine forever. God has created a world of time and change, and we must therefore be forever growing in terms of His law and Word. The refusal to grow is death." --R. J. Rushdoony Taken from A Word In Season: Daily Messages on the Faith for All of Life, Volume 4, p. 39.

A Prisoner's Plea

In prison's grip, I raise my plea,

A voice in chains, longing to be free.

Beneath the weight of iron bars,

I reach for You beyond these scars.

"Pray," I whisper, my spirit's plea,

Jesus's words, a lifeline to Thee.

In realms unseen, where hope takes flight,

My Father's presence guides my night.

"Thy kingdom come," I yearn to say,

Yet struggle with words, in this dismay.

"This day, provide," my request I send,

Daily sustenance, on You depend.

"Forgive me, Lord," my heart's refrain,

As I forgive, release my pain.

"Lead not to trial," my fears impede,

Guide me through, my heart to feed.

"Your will be done," a heavy weight,

I wrestle within, an uncertain state.

Trusting You'll provide what's right,

Though surrender comes, a humbling light.

"Yours is the power," in darkest night,

Eternal hope, my flickering light.

Amen, I cry, surrender complete,

In letting go, Your grace I meet.

In prison's depths, I find release,

A burden lifted, a newfound peace.

--a Christian brother freed from an Afghanistan prison 

Midnight Hymn -- Thomas Ken

1 My God, I now from sleep awake,

The sole possession of me take;

From midnight terrors me secure,

And guard my heart from thoughts impure.

2 Blest angels, while we silent lie,

Your hallelujahs sing on high;

You joyful hymn the Ever-Blest,

Before the throne, and never rest.

3 I with your choir celestial join,

In offering up a hymn divine;

With you in Heav’n I hope to dwell,

And bid the night and world farewell.

4 Give me a place at Thy saints’ feet,

Or some fall’n angel’s vacant seat;

I’ll strive to sing as loud as they,

Who sit above in brighter day.

5 O may I always ready stand,

With my lamp burning in my hand;

May I in sight of Heav’n rejoice,

Whene’er I hear the Bridegroom’s voice.

6 All praise to Thee, in light arrayed,

Who light Thy dwelling place hast made:

A boundless ocean of bright beams

From Thy all glorious Godhead streams.

7 Blest Jesus, Thou on Heav’n intent,

Whole nights hast in devotion spent;

But I, frail creature, soon am tired,

And all my zeal is soon expired.

8 Shine on me, Lord, new life impart,

Fresh ardors kindle in my heart;

One ray of Thy all quickening light

Dispels the sloth and clouds of night.

9 Lord, lest the tempter me surprise,

Watch o'er Thy living sacrifice;

All loose, all idle thoughts cast out,

And make my very dreams devout.

10 Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow,

Praise Him all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, ye heav’nly host,

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Believers' Lullaby by Thomas Ken

All praise to thee, my God, this night, 

For all the blessings of the light;

Keep me, O keep me, King of kings,

Beneath thine own almighty wings.

Forgive me, Lord, for thy dear Son,

The ills that I this day have done;

That with the world, myself, and thee,

I, ere I sleep, at peace may be.

Teach me to live that I may dread

The grave as little as my bed;

Teach me to die so that I may

Rise glorious at the judgment day.

O may my soul on thee repose,

And with sweet sleep mine eyelids close;

Sleep that may me more vig'rous make 

to serve my God when I awake.

When in the night I sleepless lie,

My soul with heav'nly thoughts supply;

Let no ill dreams disturb my rest,

No pow'rs of darkness me molest.

*Dull sleep of sense me to deprive,

I am but half my time alive,

Thy faithful lovers, Lord, are griev'd,

To lie so long of thee bereav'd.

*Yet tho' sleep o'er my frailty reigns,

Let it not hold me long in chains;

And now and then let loose my heart,

Till it a hallelujah dart.

O when shall I in endless day

For ever chase dark sleep away,

And hymns with the supernal choir

Incessant sing, and never tire!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;

Praise him, all creatures here below;

Praise him above, ye heav'nly host:

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Tune: Tallis' Evening Hymn

*not so commonly sung of Thomas Ken's original lyrics 

Carl Linnaeus the Believer

Quotes from his journals:

Pg 18

The forest abounded with flowers...their blossoms were all closed. Who has endowed plants with intelligence, to shut themselves up at the approach of rain? Even when the weather changes in a moment from sunshine to rain, though before expanded, they immediately close.

Pg 38

Arriving in the evening...I saw the sunset apparently on the summit of a high mountain.... This spectacle I considered as not one of the least of nature's miracles. Oh Lord, how wonderful are thy works!

Pg 51

7 June

This day was a Sunday, hence we rested here all day.

Pg 53

The bill is the most remarkable thing about this bird, the avocet; it is black, bent downwards, three times longer than the head. It is all the more remarkable since it is the only species to which the Creator has given a recurved bill, which it uses like a plow in the mud, to find its food.

Pg 95

At the risk of our lives we left the harbor in a furious sea.... The waves raged, the ship was thrown between the roaring billows, my companions became seasick, the rigging burst, our hearts filled with despair and we committed our fate to God's hands....

Pg 97

by William T. Stearn

... The most influential and useful of his contributions to biology undoubtedly is his successful introduction of... two word names for individual kinds with one word for the whole group of the objects but the other word limiting the name to a single member of the group....

In all he coined usable names for roughly 4,400 species of animals and 7,700 species of plants.... Botanical names published before 1753 have no standing in modern nomenclature unless they were adopted by him....

The basis of Linnaeus's achievement was a strong sense of order....

Reared in a pious atmosphere, spared from death on his travels, always strongly egotistic, Linnaeus could excusably believe himself God's chosen instrument for revealing in an orderly way the divinely ordered works of Creation, and he did not spare himself in that task.

ISBN 0-684 15976-7

Newborns Cry in Their Mother Tongue

German researchers say babies begin to pick up the nuances of their parents' accents while still in the womb.

The researchers studied the cries of 60 healthy babies born to families speaking French and German.

The French newborns cried with a rising "accent" while the German babies' cries had a falling inflection.

Writing in the journal Current Biology, they say the babies are probably trying to form a bond with their mothers by imitating them.

(Continued)

Do Not Go Gentle

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

From The Poems of Dylan Thomas, published by New Directions. Copyright © 1952, 1953