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Wednesday at the prayer meeting, Pastor Thacker read Psalm 109, which was challenging in an unexpected way. The language used in this Psalm may shock us. But the Psalms should inform our worldview and prayer life. In an era of soft Christianity, the Psalms can do much for our backbone. Here’s David praying against his (and God’s) enemies in Psalm 109:
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When he is judged, let him be found guilty, 
And let his prayer become sin. 
Let his days be few, 
And let another take his office. 
Let his children be fatherless, 
And his wife a widow. 
Let his children continually be vagabonds, and beg; 
Let them seek their bread also from their desolate places. 
Let the creditor seize all that he has, 
And let strangers plunder his labor.
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What is your reaction to these words? Do you recoil against such language? Are similar words readily on your lips regarding God’s enemies; your enemies? As I prayed Wednesday for a situation where Christ’s enemies seek harm, I was searching for words that did not readily come, even after reading Psalm 109. So the challenge before us is this: spend time in the Psalms and be bold to pray the words God has given us. And when we pray as God has demonstrated to us and shape our lives after this pattern, we will find abundant blessing and strength of faith!
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Me writing the SMRC Weekly Perspective

Being Challenged By the Psalms

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As you will recall, my friend, Paul Vaughn had been scheduled for a hearing on January 10 following his arrest for his pro-life activities at an abortion clinic. As was perhaps expected, the date for the hearing was pushed. Less expected (by me, anyway) is that the hearing was pushed out by a year. The new date is January 16, 2024! So on the legal front, Paul and his family will wait in some sort of limbo for the next 12 months before it is known what reprisal there may be.
We may rightly lament the injustice and Paul’s right to a speedy trial that is not being particularly well observed, but in the providence of God, this may allow for some action in some other places. Paul was contacted by the House Judiciary Committee, asking about his availability for a phone call as they investigate the DOJ’s enforcement of the FACE act.
While Paul was actively looking to stay out of legal trouble, now that it is upon him, Paul has said, “not my will, but yours, Lord.” He asks that we pray for God’s leading and direction regarding this call and further proceedings with the House Committee.
And so, as we rightly celebrate the overturning of Roe v. Wade, let us continue to pray for the ongoing pro-life battle, and those who are on the front-lines. God has clearly provided the opportunity for Paul to testify for life, and he will surely provide for Paul and his family as they walk through this situation. And may glory be to God whatever the outcome!
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Pro-Life Justice

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Here at St. Mark, we are celebrating the miracle of new life that God brings to our midst with the safe arrival of Cohen James Bryan, and Thea June Carman.
God is so good to our congregation and our mothers and fathers for the gift of these precious little ones. We love little children, and that is why I often say we are pro-life in more ways than one. For while we oppose the taking of unborn life, we also support our mothers, pray for them, encourage them, and love them. To be fully pro-life is to love these precious little lives, to bring them to the waters of baptism, to bring them to the Lord’s table to be nourished with Christ’s body and blood, to instruct them in the ways of the faith, and to pray for them as they grow, that they may one day also be warriors for life.
As we now begin to see the lives of these little ones, and as they grow in the faith, look to them to be instructed in your own faith (even as we already do with all the little ones around us now). Remember Matthew 18: “Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, ‘assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.’”
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The SMRC Weekly Perspective

New Birth and Pro-Life

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The holidays have come to an end, the decorations are coming down, the diets are… well, maybe not back on track, but many of us feel the urgent need to get back to some, let’s say, simpler foods. Perhaps new resolutions have been made for the year, and it may be that you’re feeling a little down, what with all the fun and excitement in the rear-view mirror.
But be encouraged! Christmastide culminated in Epiphany on January 6th, which we celebrate today. But what is Epiphany? It is the celebration of Christ revealed to the Gentiles in the visit of the Magi. Isaiah makes reference to this in chapter 60:2–3:
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For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.
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This is the glory of the coming of Christ. For, from the Jews comes the salvation of all people, Jew and Gentile alike. And, as Paul later expounds in Romans 11 where he uses a tree to illustrate His people, we Gentiles were then grafted into that tree so that there is now neither Jew nor Greek (Gentile), for we are now one in Christ, and Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3). This is what we celebrate today. Praise be to the incarnate Lord Jesus Christ!
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The SMRC Weekly Perspective Written by Yours Truly

The Meaning Behind Epiphany

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Our church year begins today as we usher in the season of Advent. How fitting, now as we turn our attention to that expectant and watchful season, that we do so here in the U.S. on the heels of our season of Thanksgiving. While Thanksgiving is not a church calendar holiday, it is a good and right celebration when we gather with friends and family to give thanks for all our Lord has done for us. And while we are, of course, thankful for all things, especially during Advent we remember and are thankful for the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He took on flesh and blood for us, His people. As we enter Advent, the Book of Common Prayer has these words for us to use in our own prayers:
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ALMIGHTY God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious Majesty, to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.
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Recall the words of Jesus from John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” And we now walk in the light because of the incarnation of the light of the world.
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