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Proverb 17 (NKJV) The LORD Tests Hearts 01 Better is a dry morsel with quietness, 00 Than a house full of feasting with strife. 02 A wise servant will rule over a son who causes shame, 00 And will share an inheritance among the brothers. 03 The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, 00 But the LORD tests the hearts. 04 An evildoer gives heed to false lips; 00 A liar listens eagerly to a spiteful tongue. 05 He who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker; 00 He who is glad at calamity will not...

February 17, 2018 Saturday after Ash Wednesday Reading 1 Is 58:9b-14 Thus says the LORD:If you remove from your midst oppression,false accusation and malicious speech;If you bestow your bread on the hungryand satisfy the afflicted;Then light shall rise for you in the darkness,and the gloom shall become for you like midday;Then the LORD will guide you alwaysand give you plenty even on the parched land.He will renew your strength,and you shall be like a watered garden,like a spring whose water never fails.The ancient ruins shall be rebuilt for your sake,and the foundations from ages past you shall raise up;"Repairer...

"The blameless in their walk are [God's] delight" (Prov. 11:20). Your love for God brings Him joy. Our focus so far this month has been on the joy we experience in knowing and serving Christ. Before we turn our attention to the theme of godliness, I want you to consider two additional aspects of joy: the joy of pleasing God, and how to lose your joy. Pleasing God is our topic for today. Perhaps you haven't given much thought to how you can bring joy to God, but Scripture mentions several ways. Luke 15:7, for example, says, "There will be...

“And [Peter] said to Him, ‘Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You’” (John 21:17). Since God knows all things, He knows our struggles and will help us through them. It’s comforting to know that in the vastness of the universe, I’m not lost in insignificance; God knows me personally. Have you ever wondered if He knows you’re there? Some godly people in Malachi’s time wondered that. Malachi spoke words of judgment against the wicked, but the faithful believers feared that God might forget them and that they too would be consumed by God’s wrath. “Then those...

"People ask me, 'Why pray if God is sovereign?' I respond, 'Why pray if He isn't?" -- Michael Horton As I have reflected on my prayer and devotional life and this statement, I am reminded that it isn't that we "should" pray -- as in a duty -- but we "must" pray -- as in a relationship. You and I can no more attempt to live this thing called the Christian life without prayer than we can live each second and day without breath. I have jotted down several faith lessons the Lord has reminded recently from the Scripture concerning...

Balaam’s prophecy to Balak, the King of Moab is remarkable on many levels. the fact that Balaam wasn’t even a believer is an incredible testimony to the Sovereignty of God. Truly he makes even “the wrath of men to praise Him”. The fact that He was hired by one of the bitter enemies of Israel to curse them, makes this a story about Genesis 12:2-3, which was cited several times in this narrative. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I...

Proverb 16 (NKJV) Wisdom Is Better Than Gold 01 The preparations of the heart belong to man, 00 But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD. 02 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, 00 But the LORD weighs the spirits. 03 Commit your works to the LORD, 00 And your thoughts will be established. 04 The LORD has made all for Himself, 00 Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom. 05 Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; 00 Though they join forces, none will go...

February 16, 2018 Friday after Ash Wednesday Reading 1 Is 58:1-9a Thus says the Lord GOD:Cry out full-throated and unsparingly,lift up your voice like a trumpet blast; Tell my people their wickedness,and the house of Jacob their sins. They seek me day after day,and desire to know my ways,Like a nation that has done what is justand not abandoned the law of their God;They ask me to declare what is due them,pleased to gain access to God."Why do we fast, and you do not see it?afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?" Lo, on your fast day...

"It is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me. For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus" (Phil. 1:7-8). Often the strongest and deepest relationships are forged in the crucible of Christian ministry. Undoubtedly there are people who occupy a special place in your heart. Perhaps you seldom see them or talk to them, but they are on...

“Great is our Lord, and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite” (Psalm 147:5). God knows everything, and so He knows our sin. Our time in history has been called “the Information Age.” Computers work around the clock storing the glut of information from all branches of knowledge. And this flood of data is growing bigger all the time. Without the help of advanced technology, we could process and interpret only a tiny fraction of it. In contrast, God is omniscient; He knows everything. Our Scripture for today says, “His understanding is infinite.” Isaiah asks, “Who has directed the Spirit...

And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times. Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the Lord hath kept thee back from honour. And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord, to...

At the 4 p.m. Saturday Vigil Mass at St. Mary Church here, Fr. John Blewett recites the prayers with his back to the congregation. Only occasionally does he turn around to face the worshipers gathered on this typical Wisconsin winter afternoon of 9-degree temperatures. Blewett is accompanied by three altar boys (the parish prohibits girls from serving). His hands are neatly folded in the formal prayer position. At Communion, there are no lay ministers to dispense the sacrament. There is no small-talk banter among the congregation about the weather or football. The Mass is preceded by a half-hour recitation of...

Key words: Proverb 15 (NKJV) A Soft Answer Turns Away Wrath 01 A soft answer turns away wrath, 00 But a harsh word stirs up anger. 02 The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, 00 But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness. 03 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, 00 Keeping watch on the evil and the good. 04 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, 00 But perverseness in it breaks the spirit. 05 A fool despises his father's instruction, 00 But he who receives correction is prudent. 06 In the house of...

February 15, 2018 Thursday after Ash Wednesday Reading 1 Dt 30:15-20 Moses said to the people:"Today I have set before youlife and prosperity, death and doom.If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God,which I enjoin on you today,loving him, and walking in his ways,and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees,you will live and grow numerous,and the LORD, your God,will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy.If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen,but are led astray and adore and serve other gods,I tell you now that you will certainly perish;you will...

God will perfect His work in you "until the day of Christ Jesus" (Phil. 1:6). Someday God will glorify and reward every believer. For Christians there's an element of truth to the bumper sticker that reads, "Please be patient, God isn't finished with me yet." We aren't what we used to be, but there's much to be done to make us all He wants us to be. Yet God's work within us is so sure and so powerful, Scripture guarantees its completion. Pondering that guarantee led Bible expositor F.B. Meyer to write, "We go into the artist's studio and find...

"Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength. . . . They will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary” (Isaiah 40:31). Relying on God’s power gives us confidence to live as Christians. What should be our response to God’s power? First, we should worship Him. Our response should follow what God told Israel: “The Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm, Him you shall fear, and to Him you shall bow yourselves down, and to Him you shall sacrifice” (2...

Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said: He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open: How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side,as the trees of lign aloes which the Lord hath planted,and as cedar trees beside the waters. He shall pour the water out of his buckets,and his seed shall be in many waters,and his king...

Proverb 14 (NKJV) The Ways of Life and Death 01 The wise woman builds her house, 00 But the foolish pulls it down with her hands. 02 He who walks in his uprightness fears the LORD, 00 But he who is perverse in his ways despises Him. 03 In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride, 00 But the lips of the wise will preserve them. 04 Where no oxen are, the trough is clean; 00 But much increase comes by the strength of an ox. 05 A faithful witness does not lie, 00 But a...

There is a crisis of worship in our land. People are staying away from church in droves. One survey indicated that the two chief reasons people drop out of church are that it is boring and irrelevant. If people find worship boring and irrelevant, it can only mean they have no sense of the presence of God in it. When we study the act of worship in Scripture and church history, we discover a variety of human responses to the sense of the presence of God. Some people tremble in terror, falling with their faces to the ground; others weep...

February 14, 2018 Ash Wednesday If the blessing and distribution of ashes take place outside Mass, it is appropriate thatthe Liturgy of the Word precede it, using texts assigned to the Mass of Ash Wednesday. Reading 1 Jl 2:12-18 Even now, says the LORD,return to me with your whole heart,with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;Rend your hearts, not your garments,and return to the LORD, your God.For gracious and merciful is he,slow to anger, rich in kindness,and relenting in punishment.Perhaps he will again relentand leave behind him a blessing,Offerings and libationsfor the LORD, your God. Blow the trumpet in Zion!proclaim...