Psalm 51:17 — from biblegateway.com
17 My sacrifice, O God, is[a] a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.
On 08/02/2021,
in faith, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion,
by Daniel Christian
On 07/30/2021,
in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion,
by Daniel Christian
Job 38:1-11
The Lord Speaks
38 Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
2 “Who is this that obscures my plans
with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone—
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels[a] shouted for joy?
8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 when I fixed limits for it
and set its doors and bars in place,
11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;
here is where your proud waves halt’?
On 07/26/2021,
in faith, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion,
by Daniel Christian
Psalm 33:20-22 NIV — from biblegateway.com
20 We wait in hope for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
21 In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
22 May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
even as we put our hope in you.
Psalm 34:22 NIV — — from biblegateway.com
22 The Lord will rescue his servants;
no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.
On 07/18/2021,
in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, religion, society,
by Daniel Christian
Psalm 10:1-6
1 Why, Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises.
3 He boasts about the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.
4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
5 His ways are always prosperous;
your laws are rejected by[b] him;
he sneers at all his enemies.
6 He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”
He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”
On 07/07/2021,
in faith, geography / geology, global / globalization, health, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion,
by Daniel Christian
Psalm 18:30 — form biblegateway.com
Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”
On 06/30/2021,
in Daniel S. Christian, Emotion, faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, society,
by Daniel Christian
From before the birth of Jesus Christ:
32 “He is not a mere mortal like me that I might answer him,
that we might confront each other in court.
33 If only there were someone to mediate between us,
someone to bring us together,
34 someone to remove God’s rod from me,
so that his terror would frighten me no more.
35 Then I would speak up without fear of him,
but as it now stands with me, I cannot.
From DSC:
Jesus Christ IS that mediator. Thank you LORD!
On 06/29/2021,
in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, society,
by Daniel Christian
A Mesmerizing Aerial Timelapse Captures the Undulating Patterns of Sheep Herding Near Haifa — from thisiscolossal.com by Grace Ebert
Aerial Sheep Herding in Yokneam from Colossal on Vimeo.
Aerial Sheep Herding in Yokneam from Colossal on Vimeo.
On 06/22/2021,
in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion,
by Daniel Christian
Psalm 91:1-4 — from biblegateway.com
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.[a]
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
On 06/08/2021,
in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion,
by Daniel Christian
A “popcorn prayer” from DSC:
Thank you LORD for your mercy, forgiveness, grace, and love. Thank you for providing for us and for sustaining us. Thank you that you are extremely creative and detail-oriented. Thanks for your patience with us — especially with me.
I’m also grateful for the running clean water that we have access to…and for air conditioning, for food in the cupboard, for our refrigerator/freezer, the washing machine and other amenities such as reliable electricity and internet access. Thanks for the freedoms that we enjoy here in the United States.
Have mercy upon us LORD. I/we need you…big time. Don’t give up on the work of your hands.
On 06/05/2021,
in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion, society,
by Daniel Christian
John 3:17 — from biblegateway.com
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
On 05/17/2021,
in faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion,
by Daniel Christian
Romans 11:33-36 — from biblegateway.com
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and[a] knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”[b]
35 “Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?”[c]
36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
On 05/15/2021,
in faith, hearts -- matters of the heart, music, relationships, religion, United States,
by Daniel Christian
Hear a Harlem Choir Rejoice Again — from nytimes.com by Tariro Mzezewa
This article features music. For the best experience, turn your sound on.
On 04/30/2021,
in Daniel S. Christian, faith, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, religion,
by Daniel Christian
Job 19:25 (NIV) — from biblegateway.com
On 04/04/2021,
in Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, faith, future, hearts -- matters of the heart, India, Michigan, religion, student-related, UK, United States, youth,
by Daniel Christian
On 04/01/2021,
in Daniel S. Christian, faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, history, relationships, religion,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
In my senior year at college, it was on a Maundy Thursday that I came out of one of the deepest, loneliest deserts that I’ve been in during this lifetime. I’ve been in others, but not like that one. In the fall of my senior year, I had to see if all of this faith stuff was a hoax. So I went into a 7-8 month time in the desert. I questioned the LORD’s existence. Everyone felt a million miles away…even my closest friends. The LORD felt a million miles away too. After having three good years on the court, the sport that I played in college did not go well — at all. I couldn’t wait to get off the court.
But as it turned out — and looking in the rearview mirror — I could see that He was at work. How I saw myself, the LORD, and the world changed that year. My identity changed that year.
On that Maundy Thursday, I went to the Alice Millar Chapel on NU’s campus. Normally, I would have been with my family, but they were away that year. I was sitting alone, in the back of the church…it was dark. I watched the pastor get down on his knees, reach for a wet towel, and wash the feet of a dozen or so people from the congregation. The pastor was doing what Christ had done to His disciples, many years prior.
All of the sudden, the many years’ worth of singing the doxology around the family table came flooding back into my mind. And what I can only describe as a sort of full-body warmth came over me. I have never doubted the LORD’s existence since that time. It was nice to be out of the desert.
(My pastor at that time, Rev. David Handley, used to say that the Holy Spirit was active on Maundy Thursday…and I believe it. 🙂
All that said, I hope that once we make it through Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, that those of you who celebrate Easter have a great one this year!
Thank you LORD for your love, grace, forgiveness, patience, gentleness, and kindness. Thank you for your creation. Thank you for your provision. Thank you for our work. Thank you for running, clean water. Thank you for all the food and drinks we have. Thank you for roofs over our heads and clothes on our backs.
2 Corinthians 5:17-19
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
And from Isaiah Chapter 53:
Isaiah 53:3-6
He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. –
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.