The Desert Pilgrim

A Time Appointed

2011-12-30T11:33:00.000-05:00

I recently did this interesting study in the Word~~~~~~~
Psalm 81:3   Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.
Psalm 102:13   Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.
Isaiah 14:31 Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times.
Daniel 11:29    At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter.
Daniel 11:35    And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.
Habakkuk 2:3    For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
Zechariah 14:7    But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.

Acts 3:21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

Acts 17:26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation.

Act 17:31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

2 Thessalonians 2:6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

Re-Posting, The Brook in the Way

2011-10-09T10:12:00.000-05:00

For some reason, I feel really led to re-post this from Aug. of last year.

The Brook in the Way, Psalm 110

I want to share something I was emailing to a friend after a recent discussion. It had to do with waiting on God, and also just simply walking with Him and going along our way as He leads, not having our own agendas or plans to get to the end as we might think seems the best or fastest way. I have edited this slightly to put it in the form of a blog article, but this is basically what I wrote to my friend:
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As I was re-reading your email so I could reply to you, I was suddenly struck with a verse from Psalm 110. I have memorized that Psalm and often use it as a prayer. The last verse says, "he shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head". The concept of the Lord walking and journeying with His disciples seems to relate to "drinking of the brook in the way", in other words, as we go along. I think it also ties into the road to Emmaus somehow, but can't explain why.
I think the drinking of the brook "in the way" has something to do with how we must be in the last days (the people who are willing in the Day of His power). A moment by moment abiding, only doing what comes to us as we are walking with Him, and not going ahead of that. This will also be our means of protection. I don't know if what I am saying really expresses what I mean. But I kind of "see" it.
The coffee fellowships in open venues you mentioned are very similar to some that we have done. We aren't currently doing this right now, but have done it in the past and will do it again too, I am sure. The other day we were in a local diner eating breakfast. Right in the middle of eating, we were led to intercede in prayer for a situation we knew about, and right there we started praying just as if we had been in our own living room. I am expecting more and more of this type of thing to happen.
And the crucial part of this "drinking of the brook in the way" is its becoming the means by which the Head (that is, Christ) will be lifted up. -------------------
Susan.

Some Verses on "Hidden"

2011-10-04T07:46:00.000-05:00

Psalm 51:6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

Psalm 83:3 They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.

Isaiah 45:3 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.

Isaiah 48:6 Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare it? I have shewed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them.

1 Corinthians 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

1 Peter 3:4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

Revelation 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

Seeing Who He Is

2011-09-17T14:45:00.004-05:00

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

High King of heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

Click link below for video:
http://www.youtube.com/user/LIfeintheSpiritRadio?feature=mhee#p/u/0/bmxW0TVohfc

Hiding Place

2011-08-12T08:06:00.004-05:00

Oh Lord, our hiding place, grant us wisdom we pray Thee, to seek no hiding place out of Thee in life or in death. Now hide us in Thine own presence from the provoking of all men, and keep us from the strife of tongues. Make us meek, humble, patient, and teach us to seek peace and ensue it. --Amen.
Christina Rosetti, from Prayers Ancient and Modern by Mary W. Tileston, Aug. 12 reading.

2011-03-28T06:31:00.002-05:00

Isaiah 40:6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:

Isa 40:7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.

Isa 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees

2010-11-12T10:12:00.003-05:00

Luke 12: 1-3
In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.
Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.

Made All Things

2010-11-11T13:50:00.002-05:00

1 Corinthians 9 : 22, 23 ~~~

To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.

And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.

Biblical Hebrew

2010-09-10T16:33:00.003-05:00

I've been studying Biblical Hebrew. There are many good sites online. I picked one with audio pronunciations. It's been great and a real blessing. I learned the alphabet and can read some words. It is wonderful when I am using Blue Letter Bible, I can pull up the Hebrew for each passage and actually read the letters. These days I use Blue Letter Bible as my main concordance. I can no longer see the tiny print in my old Young's version. Shalom!!

Praying the Scriptures with Andrew Murray

2010-09-10T15:44:00.006-05:00

"I am convinced that one chief cause why some do not grow more in grace is that they do not take time to hold converse with the Lord in secret. Spiritual, divine truth does not thus become our possession at once. Although I understand what I read, although I consent heartily to it, although I receive it, it may speedily fade away and be forgotten, unless by private meditation I give it time to become fixed and rooted in me, to become united and identified with me. Christians, give yourselves, give your Lord time to transfer His heavenly thoughts to your inner, spiritual life. When you have read a portion, set yourselves in silence before God. Take time to remain before Him until He has made His word living and powerful in your souls. Then does it become the life and the power of your life." ...Andrew Murray, The Lord's Table.

Great quote, isn't it? Spend time in the Word. Develop a relationship with the Word. Don't intellectualize about it, but absorb it. Listen to audios of portions, listen with your heart. Hide it in you heart. Let the Word Speak. Let it act upon you. Let it be a sword piercing through to your inner man. Let it have the impact upon you, don't resist it. Wait on it, it may take days or weeks, but the Holy Spirit will surely bring it to your remembrance in His perfect timing.

Susan.

Intensification

2010-09-03T10:37:00.004-05:00

The storm is intensifying. The characteristic of the last days is the increase and intensification of the distress of nations. The increase of darkness, the wave of increasing deceptions, and the sense of the temple being measured, but the outer court is being left out (Rev. 11). Are we in the outer court, or are we in the place of being part of the testimony of Jesus Christ. He came to bring a sword, we are seeing the dividing of many things. Where will we be found? Are we following the Lamb whithersoever He goeth? Are we willing to "let the dead bury their dead"? Are we trimming our lamps, or will we be bound to the outer court which will not be measured into the testimony?
Brothers and sisters, stay in the Word, search the Scriptures daily, hold on to that which you have, stay close to Him, return to your first love. Try all the spirits, listen only to what you know the Lord is speaking to your heart. Be very vigilant that you will discern the signs of the times and aware of the coming storm.
While pondering these matters, I was uplifted in coming across this prayer from the early church....

We beseech thee, Master, to be our helper and protector.
Save the afflicted among us; have mercy on the lowly;
raise up the fallen; appear to the needy; heal the ungodly;
restore the wanderers of thy people;
feed the hungry; ransom our prisoners;
raise up the sick; comfort the faint-hearted.
(Clement of Rome, 1st Century)

Rev 12:11 "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death."

The Brook in the Way, Psalm 110

2010-08-24T19:27:00.010-05:00

Holding On

2010-08-23T18:04:00.004-05:00

This verse jumped out at me last night. In this time of increasing darkness covering the earth and rampant deceptions everywhere, it seems this is what we are to do, earnestly seeking Him and to just hold on.

Jude 20-21----
But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
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Little Flock

2010-08-21T00:55:00.009-05:00

Lately I have been seeing something wonderful going on amongst His people. Small groups of handfuls coming together as a hidden remnant. "Come my people, enter thou into thy chambers and shut thy doors about thee, as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast....".... Isaiah 26:20. That is not an exact quote, but as close as my memory serves me right now.
I have a scattered internet group of friends in various places, and I stay in very close contact with them and they all are saying the same thing, He is leading us back to simplicity, and staying below the radar screen. A deepening of intercession for one another and a deepening sense of everything that can be shaken is being shaken and peeled away. A sense of entering the time when deception is very rampant, and I kind of see us huddled together in little enclaves, clinging to the Lord's Word. Kind of like in Malachi, chapter, 3,... those that meet together and speak of Him, one with another, and think upon His Name.
Often, it is just my husband and myself, gathered to watch and pray, and I always have a great sense of all of my internet contacts being with me, and we pray for them. Other times, we are blessed with others of this small and simple flock here in NW Georgia, often partaking of the Lord's Table together. But we are indeed a hidden away bunch, and that is the way He has planned it in this time.
"Where two or three are gathered together, there I am in the midst of them."

"The desire of our soul is to Thy Name,
and to the remembrance of Thee."
Isaiah 26:8.

The Undying Flame

2010-05-06T14:43:00.005-05:00

I am currently reading a book by T. Austin-Sparks called "The Battle for Life". I had been seeing that we are all in a battle to retain our possessions (spiritual), we are all facing onslaughts of various kinds in these days. We really need to hold fast that which we have. I was led to get this book down off the shelf and am overpowered by the depth and strength of it.

Just before this quote, he had been talking about Zechariah 4 and the two living olive trees that continually pour the oil into the pipes to the bowls on the lampstand. They are living trees, not a cistern, but oil being poured continually, ever fresh, not stored up, and maintained at full strength continually. I think this also relates to the parable of the virgins. The marginal reading in Matthew 25 reads "our lamps are going out" which gives a good sense of this necessity of the continual need of the oil.
Here is the quote, I am sure this book is available, maybe even online, just do a search for T. Austin-Sparks---

The Undying Flame (from "The Battle for Life")
p. 9---
"It is the testimony of an unfailing life, an undying life, an all-sufficient life; the testimony of a life which is not an abstract, which is not something stored up, but something which is coming all the time from an inexhaustible stream; a mighty, glorious life. As the light burns, it is a constant declaration of victory, and that a victory over death, death which would seek to quench the light, quench the flame, smother it. It burns in the mist of surrounding death, a continuous declaration that death has no power to quench it."
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Approaching Lent

2010-02-15T23:50:00.008-05:00

Thinking of the Lenten season.

Thinking of fasting.

Fasting is a form of continual prayer.

Silence is another form of fasting, fasting from our own words, our own scatteredness, our own forms of thinking, our own activities and interactions, our own busy-ness.

It is also a fasting from the words, the chatter, and the scatteredness of others.

It is a protected place, a place in His presence with an armour of protection.

It is a form of separation from the world.

It is continual prayer, with our inner life tuned to listen. The listening for what He will speak.

Our Lord kept a Holy Silence.

He only spoke what He heard from the Father.

He did not need to speak, but spoke for the sake of others. It only took three words to raise Lazarus from the dead, and even those words were not necessary except for the others who were present.

Silence is another form of love.

A respect for the solitude of our brother or sister.

A respect for what the Lord may be doing in their lives.

A listening instead of storming in.

A non-possessiveness of those things the Lord may speak to us, not having to force others to hear, unless we are led by the Spirit to share.

A keeping and a hiding of His word in our hearts.

Speaking only as we are led to speak by the Holy Spirit.

The freedom to not have to talk because others require it.

The freedom to say what we are given to say.

The enlargement of spirit that stillness, and quietness creates within.

"Be still, and know that I am God." ~Psalm 46:10

(Photo taken this week in NW GA as we approach Lent)

2010-02-12T15:59:00.003-05:00

“We all know that only one thing will please and honour Thee – earnest asking for Thy Spirit, earnest searching for Thy truth, earnest longing for Thy help and guidance. We also know that even these can only be Thy work in us. Wake us up, O Lord, that we may be awake!” ... prayer of Karl Barth from “Deliverance to the Captives”, p. 43.

Snow

2010-01-09T21:04:00.005-05:00

Psalm 147~~~

He sendeth forth his commandment [upon] earth: his word runneth very swiftly.
He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes. He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold.
He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow,
[and] the waters flow. (vs. 15-18)

Photo, recent snow in NW Georgia

Speaking to Hearts

2009-12-05T15:43:00.004-05:00

I have been pondering the prayer of St. Teresa of Avila, hundreds of years ago,.... she prayed that if she would not be able to speak to people in such a way as to cause them to become "mad" for God, (that is to be set on fire for God), then she asked that He would not let her speak at all.

I am relating this to what our Lord said about coming to cast fire into the earth and how greatly He desired that it would be enkindled.

Lord, keep this concept in all of our hearts.

Hidden Life

2009-09-22T12:55:00.002-05:00

“Those whose hearts are locked up with Jesus walk this earth in the present age as princes in disguise. They move around in the temporal duties of life like private detectives in a distant and unfriendly nation. They are breathing prayers, and thinking thoughts, and nursing hot fires of love, and ruminating on vast and amazing events that stretch over coming times and distant worlds. They are silently loading themselves up with a divine dynamite, that Daniel and Jesus both tell us will sone day grind the kingdoms of this present world to powder. Their joys are hidden, for it is written ‘that a stranger doth not enter meddle with it’. And their sorrows, also, are cloistered in the ear and bosom of God, for they know they need not look to the people of the world, and not even to the people of the church, for heart-felt sympathy; and so, like venturesome pioneers, they leave the crowded walks of life and traverse the great, solitary mountains, and take up claims on new and unexplored territory, and hold communion with the unseen God, and are more at home amid the great snowy mountain peaks of the divine perfection, then with the crowds that live only for the flesh and time.
The saints are called in Scripture ‘the hidden ones’. Their life is doubly hidden, in the Son and in the Father. God says to them, ‘call unto me, and I will show you great and hidden things’. Their life is constantly fed by secret prayer…..... God is working, as it were, by stealth, in this present age, and moves softly amid the affairs of life, as if shod with wool.”
… George D. Watson, ‘The Heavenly Life’.

Our Focus

2009-07-22T12:40:00.005-05:00

I was thinking about the verse in the Song of Solomon - "Draw me, we will run after Thee." I am stressing the "me" and then the "we". If we maintain our focus and single eye on the Lord and nothing else, (beholding Him as in 2 Cor. 3), then others will also be drawn to seek Him. This reminds me too. of what the Lord tells us in John, that believing on Him is our true work.
And St. Seraphim of Sarov says that if we abide in His peace, then many others will come to salvation through our peace.

The Mass Media

2009-07-09T09:11:00.005-05:00

I have a strong sense that the mass media/popculture idolatry is coming to its fulness and a point of no return.
We need to find that place in the wilderness where we can flee from it. I am not speaking of a literal wilderness, I am certainly too old to live off of the land, but the true meaning of what that wilderness is in our inner life and our spiritual reality. I am speaking of the wilderness of that hiding place and inner chamber such as Isaiah 26:20 or Ps. 91 or Rev. 12. The place where we will be protected from all this deception and intrusion into our minds.
I pray we will all be able to come to a deeper insight and pursuit of that place apart from all the madness going on these days.

Inner Life, a quote from Tozer

2009-02-16T16:20:00.005-05:00

"A German philosopher many years ago said something to the effect that the more a man has in his own heart, the less he will require from the outside; excessive need for support from without is proof of the bankruptcy of the inner man.

If this is true (and I believe it is) then the present inordinate attachment to every form of entertainment is evidence that the inner life of modern man is in serious decline. The average man has no central core of moral assurance, no spring within his own breast, no inner strength to place him above the need for repeated psychological shots to give him the courage to go on living. He has become a parasite on the world, drawing his life from his environment, unable to live a day apart from the stimulation which society affords him."

.....from "The Root of the Righteous" by A.W. Tozer, published in 1955.

God Has Spoken

2009-01-16T10:56:00.005-05:00

A Prayer of T. Austin-Sparks~~~
Lord, Thou who readest all hearts, how reticent we are to add words.
Thou hast spoken, and Thou hast spoken more than we can carry out in a lifetime.
Why Lord?
And so our need is very real,--great, --a matter now of capacity, God given;
to receive, to be able to receive.
O Lord, help us at this time in this very real need,
to speak, to hear, to further profit.
Around us there is help, O Lord, around us Thy help at this time.
For Thy Name's Sake, Amen.
1966.

A Help in Prayer

2009-01-15T11:18:00.004-05:00

My heart desperately wants to go to the beach. I have not been in over 6 years. It is the only place on earth I really want to be. I would probably be the same way about the desert, (I have never actually been to one, but the ocean has the same effect on me). Being a desert pilgrim is something that is an inward reality for me, though I have never had the opporunity to experience a natural desert.

The ocean speaks to me of the vastness of our Lord, and also His silence, and the silence we enter into in deep prayer.
I set this old beat up watercolor I did many years ago in the window opposite where I sit in the bed to pray. I noticed the light was coming through it and keeps changing as the day goes on. This makes the painting somehow "alive". Anyway, it has given me a great uplift. So, I am sharing this photo. I wish you could see how the light moves through the painting.

Four Hundred Years of Silence

2008-12-24T15:57:00.004-05:00

Christmas Eve, 2008

I was thinking recently of the four hundred years of silence that lies between the book of Malachi in the Old Testament and the first advent of our Lord Jesus Christ. In keeping with that, I would like to post a portion of a letter I received in 1990. I was cleaning out some old files and came across this. It was written in a letter to me from George Moreshead who spoke at a home fellowship meeting we went to in the Altanta area. Although this is 18 years old, the message is vitally relevant to our current times.
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"Given the spiritual level of the Body of Christ, with the consequent immaturity prevailng among older as well as younger believers, can we hold out for..... and does the Lord look for.... anything more than the Malachi condition, which pertained, apparently, all during the last 400 years--at the very least--before the Lord's first coming.

'Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other,
and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance
was written in His presence concerning those who feared
the Lord and honored His Name.' .....Mal. 3:10.

May it not have been to the members of just such an unformed fellowship of His lovers and expectant ones in Jerusalem with whom Simeon and Anna were related and to whom Anna 'spoke about the Child'.... as to those 'who were looking forward to the redemption of Jeruslaem'. Lk. 2:38 ?

If we allow our minds unwittingly to form a preconceived pattern or image of what we expect to see dwelling in and with our groups....and then, thereafter even unconsciously, continually measure our groups over against that preformed concept of what we believe the Lord is working for among us, may we not run the risk of ending up somewhere out in left field and also missing the Lord's goal.... and of straining in the flesh to achieve what can be attained only in and by the Spirit .... as with the Galatians. (3:3)?

Could it be that the Lord is asking and expecting at the moment no more than our simple gathering together.... as those who love Him supremely and want nothing more than Himself.... just to talk of Him and share what he has given us of Himself either from the Word, or from our other reading, or through some personal, practical experience on the job or in the home (and even perhaps at times just being there as a channel for His Life to flow through.... and out into the room and into the spirits of the others present for their uplifting and quickening)-- a Malachi scenario in this time preceding the Lord's second coming? Would He have us to reduce down to something of a zero condition together-- a coming down to ground floor, as it were-- and from there, without care or preconception as to what and when and how He will take us higher up corporately, let His Life draw us and beget among us just that form and expression of Himself that will issue organically from the growth of His Life in and among us ("Behold the lilies of the field: they toil not, neither do they spin......)"
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Inspiration in Prayer

2008-10-20T13:26:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I took some time out and went to this special place near my home. I have not stopped thinking about this place since then. It became a place of refuge for me as an inward reality. I have received strength in the Lord from being there. Click on the photos for a larger view.

What of the Night?.....Isaiah 21

2008-10-02T15:34:00.007-05:00

In Isaiah chapter 21, we have the question--- Watchman, what of the night? This is preceded by the statement, The Burden of Dumah. Dumah in Hebrew means 'silence'. So... in a sense you could say that this is the burden for silence. I was reminded of a quote from Malcolm Muggeridge that goes something like this......
"The media has tried to become the Logos". ( And he said this many years ago!)
For some time now, I have had a sense of foreboding about the internet. I know the Lord is using it in spite of the corruption, and I have made many close connections through the internet, even things that have led to fulfilling what I believe is God's will for my life, but at the same time, I am also seeing that at some point, believers will have to reject the media. The commercialization of media is tied in with the merchandising of mystery Babylon. I have already rejected television, several years ago being literally unable to watch commercials, putting them on mute for a long time, finally giving up television altogether, sensing that the commercialization was the true evil of it.
My only source of news and current events is the internet and some radio. Yesterday while looking at a news story on an online news source, as I was trying to read an article, a figure of a man walked out of an advertising box and walked across the screen on top of the story and walked back into the ad box, seeking to draw my attention to the ad. Something in that struck me as really evil. Not only evil, but as if the gall of the media has come to a fulness. If it were possible, I think the advertisers would send hologram figures into our living rooms. And indeed, something like that may exist eventually, if this thing goes far enough.
....end part one, (I hope to write more on this subject)......

St. Brendan and our Feathered Friends

2008-05-14T13:01:00.004-05:00

"On the approach of the hour of vespers, all the birds, in unison, clapping their wings, began to sing a hymn, `O Lord, becometh Thee in Sion, and a vow shall be paid to Thee in Jerusalem' (Ps. lxiv.); and they alternately chanted the same psalm for an hour; and the melody of their warbling and the accompanying clapping of their wings, sounded like unto a delightful harmony of great sweetness.

Then St Brendan said to the brethren: `Take bodily refreshment now, for the Lord has sated your souls with the joys of His divine resurrection. ' When supper was ended, and the divine office discharged, the man of God and his companions retired to rest until the third watch of the night, when he aroused them all from sleep, chanting the verse: `Thou, O Lord, wilt open my lips;' whereupon all the birds, with voice and wing, warbled in response: `Praise the Lord, all His angels, praise Him all His virtues.' Thus they sang for an hour every night; and when morning dawned, they chanted: `May the splendour of the Lord God be upon us,' in the same melody and measures their matin praises of God. Again, at tierce, they sang the verse: `Sing to our God, sing; sing to our King, sing wisely;' at sext: The Lord hath caused the light of His countenance to shine upon us, and may He have mercy on us;' and at none they sang: `Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell in unity.' Thus day and night those birds gave praise to God. St Brendan, seeing all this, made thanksgiving to the Lord for all His wonderful works; and the brethren were thus regaled with such spiritual viands until the octave of the Easter festival.".....source, The Celtic Christianity e-Library, photo from FreeFoto.com

Pentecost 2008

2008-05-13T15:19:00.004-05:00

We minister at a local retirement center in our area on Sundays and it has turned into a wonderful expression of praise and prayer. This past Sunday the service for Pentecost was particularly blessed with a sense of unction. I wanted to share a picture of me as I prepared before the service with you.

A Message from One of His Creatures ??

2008-05-01T15:14:00.002-05:00

On a recent drive through the Cloudland area of NW GA, I actually saw one just like this crossing the highway and heading into the woods. A sighting like that is quite rare. I did a little research on Mtn. Lions and found that they are solitary in nature. I keep pondering on this.................

Come Apart a While

2008-05-01T15:11:00.002-05:00

A place that is a part of my everyday. It is my own backyard.

Surrender

2008-01-13T07:45:00.000-05:00

I recently began re-reading a very old copy I have of a biography of Francois Fenelon and came across something that really spoke to me. The quote is in the introduction of the book.

"Consider your life as a perpetual perishing and lift up your mind to God above all whenever the clock strikes, saying, 'God, I adore your eternal being. I am happy that my being should perish every moment so that every moment it may render homage to your eternity.'"
.........Jean-Jacques Olier.

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The Scattered

2007-10-10T14:54:00.000-05:00

I was listening to an audio sermon by T. Austin Sparks and he mentioned how 1 Peter is written to the "scattered". I was thinking how much that speaks of the way it is now.
He was also going into the concept of the church being "one new man" (Eph. 2:15) in the earth, and though we are scattered, we always recognize those of a like spirit, and that is what proves we are only one man (i.e, The Body of Christ is one).
I keep hearing "one Lord, one faith, one baptism". This verse keeps resonating in me.

A Favorite Photo

2007-10-01T15:43:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite photos (taken by a friend).

Pilgrimage

2007-09-29T12:59:00.001-05:00

Song of Solomon, first chapter, verse 14 ---

"My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi."

Engedi - This is the place where David was sheltered in the caves. Spurgeon says that all locations in Song of Solomon are out of the way places.
None of these places are "Jerusalem". In other words they are all temporary sojourning places. Perfect picture of the pilgrim state.
From my journals, Aug. 2, 1991.
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<(((><

The Wilderness

2007-04-03T11:17:00.000-05:00

I have been thinking about Revelation chapter twelve, and the woman (Church) fleeing into the wilderness where she is sustained. I often think about the part that says that the earth helps the woman and swallows up the flood that is after her.
Sometimes you just have to go out and be in the wilderness, so yesterday I took a drive in the countryside. I have been resting in the spiritual help I received from this drive all day today.

Link to a Great Article

2007-01-16T13:49:00.000-05:00

After a long absence due to serious writer's blockage, I just wanted to share a really good piece from one of my favorite blogs, The Pen of the Wayfarer. The subject is true worship and it really spoke to my heart.
Go here to see this piece.
I had to make the link the hard way, by typing it in. If anyone could tell me how to link a post directly, I would really appreciate it.
Would also appreciate your prayers regarding this blog, I really hope to get back to writing.
"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart,
be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer."
....Psalm 19:14.

Saint Pachomios

2006-04-25T20:11:00.000-05:00

Here is an excerpt from a really good article about St. Pachomios (a.d. 390). To read the whole thing, go to:

http://www.stpaulsirvine.org/html/orthodoxy.htm
(Scroll to the bottom of the page for the link to the article.)

From "The Spiritual Father in the Pachomian Tradition"

by Fr. Steven Peter Tsichlis

"The Man of Scripture - The Scriptures play a large role in the development of Pachomian spirituality. The place of the Scriptures in his approach to the Christian life may be seen from the following passage which describes his early formation as a monk under Palamon: When he (Pachomios) started reading or recited God's words by heart, he did not do it in the fashion of many other people, but he strove to comprehend it himself, each and every thing through humility, gentleness and truth, according to the Lord's word, "Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart (Matthew 11:29)."

It is clear from this passage that Pachomios not only read the Scriptures, but he also knew portions of the Bible "by heart" and could recite them from memory. This is not an altogether unusual achievement in fourth century Egypt. Bishop Aphou of Oxyrhnychos, an eremitic (hermit) Bishop who was a contemporary of Pope Theophilos of Alexandria (385-412 A.D.), required of each candidate for ordination to the Diaconate a minimum knowledge of Scripture comprised of twenty-five Psalms, two of Paul's letter and part of a Gospel-- all by heart.

What is unusual in this passage is the way in which Pachomios reads the Scriptures: he seeks to interiorize them, to make them a part of his being. He approaches the sacred texts as a way of life, i.e, only one who lives the content of the Scriptures-- "humility, gentleness and truth"-- can understand their meaning. For him, "the Holy Scriptures pointed the way to eternal life with terseness of expression", they "are signs for us" and it is through the benefit of these signs that we have come to know that the fathers of our time are their (the Apostles) children and imitators, so that it may become known to us and to the coming generation, to the end of time, that Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever. The Scriptures, in their terseness of expression, delineate the contours of continuity in the tradition, and it is precisely the interiorizaiton of the Scriptures which makes the spiritual father an embodiment of the true tradition."
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Many thanks to Fr. Tsichlis for this article. I hope the link works!
~Desert Pilgrim

What to Remember

2006-04-25T19:57:00.000-05:00

From Psalm 137, "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning."

Take "Jerusalem" to mean the heavenlies, or the things that are above. Watchfulness (attention or focus) is the key to the spiritual life. Being watchful can be taken to mean not forgetting about something. Another familiar verse to go along with this is from Isaiah 62, "I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, (margin "the Lord's remembrancers"), keep not silence, And give Him no rest, till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth."

In other words, there are those called to hold the Lord in their memory constantly. Therefore, watching is tied to the memory, and spiritually speaking, I believe you have to make a choice to retain the Lord in your memory or thoughts, and not to be in a state of forgetfulness of Him.

I believe Scripture is admonishing us to not be forgetful of the higher life or our Lord.

Another thing to remember:

I believe "remembrance" of our mortality is one of the key things in the spiritual life. I always go back to the verses, "Lord teach us to number our days, that we might apply our hearts unto wisdom", Psalm 90:12; and also, "Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. James 4:13,14.

I believe it is a foundation of wisdom to keep our mortality always before us. It keeps us directly in the present moment, and also saves us from many projections of "big ideas" or visions for the future, that may not be led of the Spirit.

In 1989 I had a suspicious test result, that proved to be benign, but I was unable to find that out for about three weeks. For some reason there were complications with tests results and the doctors were uncertain about it. I really came face to face with my mortality during that time. The Lord really used it to shake me profoundly, and I came out of it in a new place. I count it as a great blessing looking back on it.

On another note, there is another side to this. There can be a really good forgetfulness. From Isaiah 43:18, "Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old, Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth..." And where would we be without the divine forgetfulness of our sins? For He has said in His covenant promise, ".... their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." Hebrews 10:17.
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~Desert Pilgrim

Fifth Century Prophecy

2006-02-09T13:04:00.000-05:00

Prophecy of St. Nilus, + + +
a Fifth Century Hermit

After the year 1900, toward the middle of the 20th century, the people of that time will become unrecognizable.
When the time for the advent of the Antichrist approaches, people’s minds will grow cloudy from carnal passions and dishonor and lawlessness will grow stronger. Then the world will become unrecognizable. People’s appearances will change, and it will become impossible to distinguish men from women due to their shamelessness in dress and style of hair.
These people will be cruel and will be like wild animals because of the temptation of the Antichrist. There will be no respect for parents and elders; love will disappear, and Christian Shepherds, Bishops and Priests will become vain men, completely failing to distinguish the right-hand way from the left. (Didache)
At that time the morals and traditions of the Christians and of the Church will change. People will abandon modesty, and dissipation will reign. Falsehood and greed will attain great proportions, secret deeds and murder will rule in society.
At that future time, due to the power of such great crimes and licentiousness, people will be deprived of the grace of the Holy Spirit, which they received in Holy Baptism, and equally of remorse.
The Churches of God will be deprived of God-fearing and pious shepherds, and woe to the Christians remaining in the world at that time; they will completely lose their faith because they will lack the opportunity of seeing the light of knowledge from anyone at all.
Then they will separate themselves out of the world in holy refuges in search of lightening their spiritual sufferings, but everywhere they will meet obstacles and constraints.
And all of this will result from the fact that the Antichrist wants to be lord over everything and become the ruler of the whole universe, and he will produce miracles and fantastic signs.
He will also give depraved wisdom to an unhappy man so that he will discover a way by which one man can carry on a conversation with another from one end of the earth to the other.
At that time men will also fly through the air like birds and descend to the bottom of the sea like fish. And when they have achieved all this, these unhappy people will spend their lives in comfort without knowing, poor souls, that it is deceit of the Antichrist. And, the impious one! - he will so complete science with vanity that it will go off the right path and lead people to lose faith in the existence of God in these hypostases.
Then the all good God will see the downfall of the human race and will shorten the days for the sake of those few who are being saved, because the enemy wants to lead even the chosen into temptation, if that is possible. Then the sword of chastisement will suddenly appear and kill the perverter and his servants.
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Storehouse of the Inexhaustible

2005-12-12T13:11:00.000-05:00

From the Philokalia, Vol 4.

"When someone says something that edifies his fellow beings, he speaks out of the goodness stored up in his heart, since he himself is good, as the Lord confirms, (Luke 6:45). No one can devote himself to theology and speak about what pertains to God unless so empowered by the Holy Spirit; and no one when inspired by the Spirit of God says anything contrary to faith in Christ, (1 Cor. 12:3). But he says only what is edifying, only what leads others to God and His kingdom and restores them to their original nobility, bringing them to salvation and uniting them to God. And if "the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each to the degree that is profitable", (1 Cor 12:7), this means that anyone enriched with the wisdom of God and blessed with spiritual knowledge is inspired by the divine Spirit and is a storehouse of the inexhaustible treasures of God. p. 167, Philokalia, Vol. 4. ************************

May the Lord grant us the grace to be a storehouse for the edification of our brothers and sisters, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Desert Pilgrim.
"The Kingdom of God is not meat not drink, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost." Romans, 14:17.

2005-11-23T01:13:00.000-05:00

A Prayer of Saint Isaac of Syria, ....worthy of memorizing.

"Hold me worthy, O Lord, to behold your mercy in my soul before I depart from this world, may I be aware in myself at that hour of your comfort, along with those who have gone forth from the world in good hope.
Open my heart, O my God, by your grace and purify me from any association with sin.
Tread out in my heart the path of repentance, my God and my Lord, my hope and my boast, my strong refuge, by whom may my eyes be illumined, and may I have understanding of your truth, Lord.
Hold me worthy, Lord, to taste the joy of the gift of repentance, by which the soul is separated from co-operating with sin and the will of flesh and blood. Hold me worthy, O Lord, to taste this state, wherein lies the gift of pure prayer.
O my Saviour, may I attain to this wondrous transition at which the soul abandons this visible world, and in which new stirrings arise on our entering into the spiritual world and the experience of new perceptions."

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The transcendancy of the spiritual life is brought out very profoundly in this prayer, so opposite of the hustle and bustle I experienced today while out and about. I pondered if anyone thought on things such as these.
My prayer......Lord, may I connect with this prayer in such a way to be a point in this world that this may reach others. Maybe I will never know if I have or not, but may your servants enter in and remain in this place.

Desert Pilgrim.

Life Together Under the Word

2005-11-17T21:12:00.000-05:00

I have taken the title from a phrase in "Life Together" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Here are a few excerpts from his very profound description of true Christian community, p.18 and following:

"I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries", Zech. 10:9. According to God's will, Christendom is a scattered people, scattered like seed "into all the kingdoms of the earth", Dt. 18:25. That is its curse and its promise. God's people must dwell in far countries among the unbelievers, but it will be the seed of the Kingdom of God in all the world.
" I will......gather them, for I have redeemed them...and they shall return", Zech. 10:8, 9. When will that happen? It has happened in Jesus Christ, who died "that he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad", John 11:52, --and it will finally occur visibly at the end of time when the angels of God "shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other", Mt. 24:31. Until then, God's people remain scattered, held together solely in Jesus Christ, having become one in the fact that, dispersed among unbelievers, they remember Him in the far countries.
......So between the death of Christ and the Last Day it is only by a gracious anticipation of the last things that Christians are privileged to live in visible fellowship with other Christians. It is by the grace of God that a congregation is permitted to gather visibly in this world to share God's Word and Sacrament. Not all Christians receive this blessing. The imprisoned, the sick, the scattered lonely, the proclaimers of the Gospel in heathen lands, stand alone. They know that visible fellowship is a blessing. They remember, as the Psalmist did, how they went "with the multitude....to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday", Ps 41:4. But they remain alone in far countries, a scattered seed according to God's will. Yet what is denied them as an actual experience, they seize upon more fervently in faith. Thus the exiled disciple of the Lord, John the Apocalyptist, celebrates in the loneliness of Patmos the heavenly worship with his congregations "in the Spirit on the Lord's Day", Rev. 1:10.......This is the heavenly fellowship, shared by the exiles on the day of his Lord's resurrection.
.....The resurrection of the dead will bring about the perfected fellowship of God's spiritual-physical creatures.
.....It is easily forgotten that the fellowship of Christian brethren is a gift of grace, a gift of the Kingdom of God that any day may be taken from us.....It is grace, nothing but grace that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren.
......No Christian community is more or less than this. Christian community is only this. We belong to one another only through and in Jesus Christ....
What does this mean?.......that a Christian comes to others only through Jesus Christ.
.....When one person is struck by the Word, he speaks it to others. God has willed that we should seek and find His living Word in the witness of a brother, in the mouth of men. Therefore, the Christian needs another Christian who speaks God's Word to him. .......He needs his brother solely because of Jesus Christ.
And that also clarifies the goal of all Christian community.....as such, God permits them to meet together and gives them community. Their fellowship is founded solely upon Jesus Christ and this "alien righteousness". All we can see, therefore, is the community of Christians springs solely from......justification of man through grace alone.....this alone is the basis of the longing of Christians for one another.
....A Christian comes to others only through Jesus Christ. Among men there is strife. "He is our peace". .......The way is blocked by our own ego.......Only in Jesus Christ are we one, only through Him are we bound together....." (end of the quote from Bonhoeffer.)
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As we contemplate what Bonhoeffer wrote, let us pray that the Lord will grant us vision from these Scripture passages, and that we will "seize upon" these fervently in faith~

"But ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling...." Heb. 12:22 - 24.
and Hebrews 13:14, "For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come."

From 2 Peter 3: 12, 13~ "Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat....
Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."
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"He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." Rev. 22:20

~Desert Pilgrim

Inspiration from another Blogger

2005-10-13T12:51:00.000-05:00

I was inspired recently from the Blog of Abbamoses to get my copy of "The Confessions of St. Augustine" off the shelf. The very first paragraph spoke to me very profoundly. I would like to share it with someone, so here goes:

"Great art Thou, O Lord, and greatly to be praised: great is Thy power, and Thy wisdom infinite. And Thee would man praise; man, but a particle of Thy creation; man, that bears about him his mortality, the witness of his sin, the witness that Thou visitest the proud. Yet would man praise Thee; he, but a particle of Thy creation. Thou awakest us to delight in Thy praise; for Thou madest us for Thyself, and our heart is restless until it repose in Thee."

And St. Augustine also says in another place of our Lord:
".....bringing age upon the proud, and they know it not..."

That is the way of natural man, they will not (cannot) look upon their own mortality; and yet they bear it with them in their very bodies, daily testifying to the reality of it as the aging process continues. But they will still (even in very old age) say, "if I ever die......." Fortunate are those who through some (unfortunate) event, such as Katrina, are forced to look at it directly, and don't turn away from what it has to say to them, considering what Holy Scripture admonishes us to consider...................

"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom."
Ps. 90:12.

"Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell and get gain; Whereas ye know not what shall be in the morrow, For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, if the Lord will, we shall live, and do this or that.
James 4: 13-15.

For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone: and the place thereof shall know it no more.
Psalm 103: 14,15.

For all flesh [is] as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away."
1 Peter 1:24.

And not only are our own bodies witnesses of mortality, but the Apostle Peter speaks of the temporal nature of all of creation when he says....

"seeing then, that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?....
Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."
2 Peter 3:11-13.

As we ponder these things, may we come into greater wisdom and knowledge of Him.....
...Amen.
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As I am new to the blogging world, I would appreciate someone letting me know how to put links on my page. I have tried unsuccessfully to figure it out.
As I am able, I will post things as I feel I have something worthy of sharing.
I have browsed around and found many blogs on spiritual matters that I am enjoying reading.
"Thou will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee."
Isaiah 26:3.

The Spirit of Adoption

2005-10-09T22:24:00.000-05:00

Galatians 4:6, 7 .... "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ."

Lately I have been reading the Letters of St. Antony (b. around 250 a.d.), and this has impressed me.....

"For as many as are set free by His dispensation, are called the servants of God. And this is not yet perfection, but in its own time it is righteousness, and it leads to the adoption of sons. And Jesus our Saviour understood that these were near to receiving the Spirit of Adoption, and that they knew Him, having been taught by the Holy Spirit; and He said to them, "Henceforth I will not call you servants, but brothers and friends: for all things that the Father hath taught me, I have made known unto you and taught you." (Jn. 15:15). Therefore, being made bold in mind, since they knew themselves and their intellectual substance, they have voice and said, "Even though we have known Thee after the flesh, yet now we know Thee so no more." (2 Cor. 5:16) And they received the Spirit of Adoption, and cried out saying, ...
"We have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but we have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry Abba, Father." (Rom. 8:15). Now therefore, O God, we know what Thou has given us - that we are children and heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. (Rom. 8:17)."

I am reading the Derwas Chitty translation, (the italicized emphasis is mine). The way St. Antony has tied the verses together is very profound...seems like it sort of leaps forth from verse to verse in in a sort of ecstatic sense...servanthood not yet being perfection or full communion, but leading to sonship (those come to full age) which leads to intimate knowledge of the Father. See John 17:3.
St. Antony mentions the Spirit of Adoption quite often, and if my memory serves me correctly he could not read, but listened with intent to what was read to him*, ...so... this passage must spring forth from the depths of his heart...................
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*Footnote.. from The Life of St. Antony by St. Athanasius...."And he was constant in prayer, knowing that a man ought to pray in secret unceasingly . For he had given such heed to what was read that none of the things that were written fell from him to the ground, but he remembered all, and afterwards his memory served him for books."