MAC KIRK

"He saw them, failing to be what God meant them to be, failing to be what was possible within the mystery of their own personality." from the GREAT Physician. Rev. G.Campbell MOrgan. from Sunday's evening sermon series on " The Great Physician"

I place these five grand marks of the Spirit’s presence before my readers, and confidently claim attention to them. I believe they will bear inspection. I am not afraid of their being searched, criticized, and cross-examined. 1) Repentance toward God. 2) Faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. 3) Holiness of heart and life. 4) Habits of real private prayer. 5) Love and reverence toward God’s Word. “These are the real proofs of the indwelling of the Holy Ghost in a man’s soul. Where He is, these marks will be seen. Where He is not, these marks will be lacking.” ~ J.C. Ryle Could we add joining the visible Church? I would.

5th Sunday after Pentecost Galatians 5:1, 13-25 Our problem is not so much that we do not know what the spiritual harvest should be—i.e. love, joy , peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, but we can fall into the trap of saying does it really matter? If I am already a believer, what can you add to that? Simply put there is much to say for being a believer. That is where we must start in the Christian life. So the real question is what does it mean to be a believer is it not? If the fruit of the Spirit are evidences of the work of God’s grace in our hearts then that should be there in some way, shape , manner or form. AA Hodge who taught at Princeton seminary talks about this area in his little book, Evangelical Theology : “ You cannot take Christ for justification unless you take him for sanctification. Think of the sinner coming to Christ and saying, ‘ I do not want to be holy’ ; ‘ I do not want to be saved from sin’; ‘ I would like...

New every morning is the loveOur wakening and uprising prove;Through sleep and darkness kindly brought,Restored to life and pow'r and thought. New mercies, each returning day,Come down around us while we pray;Old fears are gone, old sins forgiven,New thoughts of God, new grace from heaven. If, in our daily lives, our mindsThink to bless all we meet and find,God's City will come down to the earth;Treasure untarnished, holy birth. Hear us, O God, in your dear love,Let our prayers rise to you above,And help us, this and every day,To live as truly as we pray. Words: John Keble, (19thC) adapted I especially like the part " to live as truly as we pray." That is worth memorizing ! and doing?! David McMillan.

One comment has been what stuck with me on Sunday from one of our members . " the men are not reading Scripture...." basically was the comment. Well, let us all agree with that. We all need more of God in our lives and less of the world and its temptations to draw us away from what is right and true. Of course I agree. I will start with myself. What I have found helpful through the years is a lectionary system where one reads something at least. If you wish my link, let me know. I also struggle like everyone else with this! Here is the point...some system is needed. And use the system for you that works!!!! If it is broken, fix it. If it is not, don 't fix it. Why? Because we all want to lead healthier and happier lives! And if listening to God is the key, then we should all do it starting with the ministers and Elders of the Churches. Psalm 119 tells it all. " Thy Word is a lantern to my feet and a light unto my path" That is either true or it is ...

Collect for the Renewal of Life O God, the King eternal, who dividest the day from the night and turnest the shadow of death into the morning: Drive far from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to keep thy law, and guide our feet into the way of peace; that, having done thy will with cheerfulness while it was day, we may, when night cometh, rejoice to give thee thanks; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. I like this prayer.

Today's Psalm provides some wisdom for our lives in a practical way: Psalm 119: 97-120 God's law provides instruction so that we are wiser than the aged , our enemies and our teachers! That is a lot of wisdom. Through His commandments we get understanding. " I have kept my feet from every evil way that I may keep your commandments." There is something about putting God in our lives that definitely leads us into areas of wisdom and delight. He is before us in His Word and we are kept from evil. He is our Defense and our shield. His directions are a light unto our path because they are a lantern unto our feet. As our feet go , so go our path. ( makes me think of the run on Saturday around the lake...) Have a great WED! David McMillan

God is our only Hope. -----Psalm " Turn us again O Lord God of hosts, show the light of thy countenance and we shall be whole." Psalm 80:19 God is our only Hope. Some say this or that is their only hope. If only I had this or that then I would be alright. Some even say prayer is their only hope. I value prayer and God works through our prayers that we make. I do not want to detract from that, but if prayer is our only hope we are in trouble. God is the one who controls, directs and allows all things. He is our only hope. So the Psalmist prays that God would turn His people back to them , for then " we shall be whole." What have we substituted for God Himself? In this age of instant digital communication and internet we can become fastened to that and that can be our only hope. This communication can foster our spirtual lives but it cannot be our only hope. God is our only Hope. Have a great week! David McMillan+

Perhaps I should take some time to write about my travels and time in this life. I think I have had an interesting life. Who would have ever thought I would retire as an Army Chaplain after 20 years leaving a small rural parish in North Dakota? ---I could not know that. I traveled too when I grew up since I was an Army "brat." That made me hope to not travel when I got older. But somehow I fell back into the Army through the National Guard and active duty. I do miss talking to people from all over the world in our Army. I had some great experiences. And many more to come! ---I never thought I would end up back in the Presbyterian Church. I was quite happy to stay in the Reformed Episcopal one at least in the chaplaincy. Unfortunately the REC has changed and become what we never thought it would be----a high church with much of the same problems as the Episcopal Church. The Presbyterians have stayed pretty much the same although they have forgotten good worship and...