MAC KIRK

  We are at home today praying and worshipping using the Book of Common Prayer, 1928.  Lovely quiet morning with the birds, the grass watering , and a slow morning of devotion and prayer. DAILY MEDITATION | JULY 30, 2023 Claim Your Peace I really wish you an ever deeper peace. I know that that peace quite often lives underneath the turmoils and anxieties of our heart and doesn’t always mean inner harmony or emotional tranquility. That peace that God gives us quite often is beyond our thoughts and feelings, and we have to really trust that peace is there for us to claim even in the midst of our moments of despair.  ‌   ‌ "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."  ( use the KJV would be better-d) 1 PETER 5:7 (NIV)

  Hope  ( Romans 8) "There are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have grown hopeless about them. "- Clare Boothe Luce The Dying Boy Bits and Pieces, July, 1991 The school system in a large city had a program to help children keep up with their school work during stays in the city's hospitals. One day a teacher who was assigned to the program received a routine call asking her to visit a particular child. She took the child's name and room number and talked briefly with the child's regular class teacher. "We're studying nouns and adverbs in his class now," the regular teacher said, "and I'd be grateful if you could help him understand them so he doesn't fall too far behind." The hospital program teacher went to see the boy that afternoon. No one had mentioned to her that the boy had been badly burned and was in great pain. Upset at the sight of the boy, she stammered as she told him, "I've been sent by your s

  The Soils and the Seeds  - Matthew 13    " But he that received  seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understands it; which also bears fruit, and brings forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty , some thirty."  vs. 23 1.Good ground- kalós – beautiful, attractively good; good that inspires (motivates) others to embrace what is lovely (beautiful, praiseworthy); i.e. well done so as to be winsome (appealing) All of us who are here I trust are trying to be this so that we can lead holy and happy lives here and be fit for the life to come.  " We draw people to Christ not by loudly discrediting what they believe, by telling them how wrong they are and how right we are, but by showing them a light that is so lovely that they want with all their hearts to know the source of it."  Madeleine L 'Engle ---the distractions are out there for us.  Dr. Mike Bechtle in his book asks how can we " keep positive perspective in the tough situations? -Becom

 Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30   Relief and Rest for the Soul     I had been searching all week through the Scriptures ( in particular the Gospel for today),  and then while I was refilling the bird feeder with seed on Sat morning, it hit me.  Who is the Head of the Church?  Who do we go to with our concerns, our problems and our difficulties?  Hmmmm....that is our problem...Listen to the ARP confession of faith, ch 25 for this : " The catholic or universal church, which is invisible, consists of the  whole number of the elect that have been, are, or shall be gathered into  one, under Christ the head thereof; and is the spouse, the body, the  fullness of him that filleth all in all. Eph. 1:10, 22-23; Eph. 5:23, 27, 32; Col. 1:18"    Eph 1:22-23 " And has put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the Church....which is His body" ---Our Lord talks about this after passing judgment on the unbelieving towns. v 20-24 of Matt 11. The Reformed