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Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - How to Persuade Your Heart
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - How to Persuade Your Heart
by SPCK - John Goldingay
How to Persuade Your Heart Psalm 103 Some years ago I went through one of those periods when God didn’t seem to be real. I don’t mean I was going through some intellectual questioning, though I have done that at other times, but rather that I didn’t feel that God was there. I wou…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 95: 1, 8, 10
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 95: 1, 8, 10
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 95. 1, 8, 10 This psalm begins with a fanfare and ends in the plagal cadence of a sung ‘amen’. There could hardly be a greater contrast between beginning and end. At the start the heart is rejoicing; by the finish the heart is indicted for its erring and straying like a stu…
With My WholeHeart - Postscript to the Psalms
With My WholeHeart - Postscript to the Psalms
by SPCK - James Jones
Postscript to the Psalms Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. This verse (Psalm 51.6 kjv) does not come with the word ‘heart’ in the psalm version of the Book of Common Prayer but for me it has been at the cent…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 54:6
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 54:6
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 54:6 In the world of the psalms the worship of God involved the offering of gifts. These were signs of the worshippers’ dedication to God. There were rules about the quality and purity of the offerings and the sacrifices. As we draw near to God in our searching after him we…
Letters by a MODERN MYSTIC - The letters 19 April 1930
Letters by a MODERN MYSTIC - The letters 19 April 1930
by SPCK - Frank C Laubach
The Letters 19 APRIL 1930 This conscious, incessant submission to God has proven extremely difficult, and I have surrendered for the past few days. And today and yesterday I saw evidences of the result. In an effort to be witty, I have said biting things which have hurt the feeli…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 51:10, 17
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 51:10, 17
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 51:10, 17 Repetition is a feature of the life of prayer as we can see in the psalms. Yet again the plea for forgiveness comes with ‘Make me a clean heart’. There is a particular religious psyche that is obsessed with sin. There’s also a psychological condition where the pat…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 78:9, 37, 73
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 78:9, 37, 73
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 78:9, 37, 73 This psalm is a saga of the heart. Read it all to get the full and turbulent story of one heart in pursuit of the other, the divine and the human. It spans generations. It shows that the faithlessness of one generation does not mean that God will abandon the ne…
Simply Jesus - Stories that explain and a message that transforms
Simply Jesus - Stories that explain and a message that transforms
by SPCK - N T Wright
Stories that explain and a message that transforms Jesus, as we saw, had one particular method of explaining what was going on. As part of his campaign, he told stories. Not just any old stories. These stories were, for the most part, not ‘illustrations’, preachers’ tricks to dec…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 33:11, 14, 20
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 33:11, 14, 20
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 33:11, 14, 20 This psalm comes to a crescendo with a psalm of praise to the heart of God. His word is true, his works are faithful, he loves justice, he’s made the earth full of goodness and oceans full of treasure. These are just some of the signs of the providence that fl…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 34:1, 18
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 34:1, 18
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 34:1, 18 Contrition comes in many guises. A bogus one is betrayed by the little word ‘if ’, for example, ‘I’m sorry if you feel so upset.’ This apology is qualified. It transfers responsibility away from the culprit and on to the victim. Instead of taking the weight of the …
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 32:12
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 32:12
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 32:12 This psalm with its final verse offers hope to us all because the ‘true of heart’ at the end of the song are none other than the unrighteous at the beginning! When we become aware of the call of God to commit our life or to give ourselves more wholeheartedly we can ho…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 27:15-16
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 27:15-16
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 27:15-16 With these words I began to come to terms with the news that I was to have major heart surgery. All of us have our own stories of confronting something we dread, and then feeling faint. Ever since doing biology at school I had been squeamish and nervous about the i…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 7:10-11
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 7:10-11
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 7:10-11 For the righteous God: trieth the very hearts and reins. My help cometh of God: who preserveth them that are true of heart. The character of God feels to me at times as if it were kept under a soundproof blanket. Just as well! He shudders in indignation at the unjus…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 119: 10-11
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 119: 10-11
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 119. 10, 11 It is one thing to think a thought, it is quite another to bury it and hide it in the heart. Years ago people would learn verses of the Bible off by heart; sadly this is no longer in vogue educationally. Pity! We deprive ourselves. Memorizing a verse, meditating…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 119:111-112
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 119:111-112
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 119:111, 112 The word of God comes to us in several ways. Supremely in Jesus who was ‘the Word made flesh’ (cf. John 1.14). Without the Bible Jesus is a contentless word. It is Scripture that gives substance and meaning to his life, death and resurrection. Jesus’ own atti…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 94:15, 19
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 94:15, 19
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 94:15, 19 The heart is scarred by sorrow when we see the casualties of injustice. Righteousness is both personal and social. It speaks of and to an individual’s dealings with others; it also refers to structures and systems that emerge from and affect the whole of society. …
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 105:3, 25