Some years ago I was walking around the reception tables after a wedding I had performed. An older woman approached me with a question. Almost everyone present at this particular wedding had come from a high church liturgical tradition. In their tradition, they had sometimes weekly, sometimes monthly recited either the Apostle’s Creed or the Athanasian Creed. But apparently, she hadn’t been…
Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them.
A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.”
But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.
A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”
“Man, I am not!” Peter replied.
About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”
Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Pride Comes Before the Fall (Luke 22:31-33, 54-62)
Even though Peter insisted he would never turn on Jesus, Jesus knew better. And, sure enough, Peter did a full-fledged moral belly flop in the pool of denial by disowning Jesus three times.
The Denial of Peter by Carl Bloch (1834-1890)
“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death….”
Then seizing Jesus, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter…
Then contemplation is basically go live your life
but go live your life shaped by the reflections &
meditations—that you've done from the day
And for a while you know, at least for me, it took
time—it kind of felt like go through the steps but
you know after a while of doing it. [5:13]
It just becomes a pretty sometimes even
brief—but meaningful practice of a daily
prayerful engagement with Scripture &
I'm certain that this is exactly the kind of
thing that JESUS is doing & it's precisely
the kind of thing JESUS called HIS
followers to be doing
It's this meditating, it's hagaying on the Scriptures
—not to learn something & not just to tell GOD
what I need, but to stop & focus & not feel the
need to have to do or say anything.
But just reflect on the Scriptures & how they lead
me in to this 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗢𝗗
WHO is the SAVIOUR of us—How do you gain the
motivation to see that I need this & it's not just a
matter of like feeling guilty, or like JESUS did it
so I need to do it
• It's about a change of my desires & affections
• It's about me coming to actually believe that
I can't live adequately — if I don't have this
practice in my life.
I need it & I want it—so I'm going to focus in on it &
say no to other things that are going to get in the
way of that; & what/how do you get there?
2.1] The Way Forward
Let me let me share with you one way that has gotten
me there over the last few years. Turn to Luke 22 with
me. This is the last moment of JESUS's private prayer
that's mentioned in the Gospel of Luke.
We looked at a whole bunch already but in Luke 22
just where it begins with Judas going out to betray
JESUS & get the soldiers & hire them.
Most of Luke 22 is the Last Supper
It's the last Passover meal between JESUS & HIS
followers, the meal concludes and they leave.
Luke 22:39 | ³⁹ JESUS went out as usual to the
Mount of Olives, & the Disciples followed HIM.
On reaching the place HE said to them:
Pray so you'll not fall into temptation
JESUS knows that within 12 hours, HE's going to
be hanging on the Roman cross, & HE says pray
the moment of decision the ultimate moment
of decision your allegiance to ME is coming..
Pray that you don't fall & then HE
withdrew as HE always did about
a stone's throw beyond them
HE knelt down & HE prayed
FATHER if YOU are willing take this cup from
ME—yet not MY will but YOURS be done
This is the moment of agonized solitude, an Angel
from Heaven appeared to HIM, strengthening HIM
—being in anguish HE prayed more earnestly
• HIS sweat was like drops of blood falling to
the ground when HE rose from prayer HE
went back to the Disciples
& HE finds them doing what?
So JESUS is utterly alone now, HE has only
the FATHER's Presence with HIM that HE's
aware of—but HE's in utter solitude even
tho HE has this circle of Disciples around
HIM; they're exhausted from sorrow & so
Here you have this last moment of JESUS's prayer life
—at least this side of the Cross & resurrection & it's a
moment where HIS solitude.
• HE actually wasn't trying to be alone
• HE went a stone's throw away
But the whole point is that they would be with HIM
in mutual support—& HE finds HIMSELF completely
isolated, only the presence of the FATHER
That HE's wrestling with in an agonized prayer
the last moments of JESUS right where HE had
HIS will to do what HE thought HE should be
doing—were moments of solitary prayer
But they were also moments of abandonment of
those who were closest to HIM—& this to me, this
is profound because in a way solitude choosing to
cut yourself off from any input & relationship
• as a part of your regular practice
• that's a form of self-denial
*************************************************************
So for some of us it's very difficult to do this, & it's a
form of death almost—it's cutting yourself off, so you
identify with JESUS & HIS final moment of solitude &
so JESUS goes into this moment of solitude
*************************************************************
in agonizing prayer because HE knows that
the cross is ahead of HIM, this is a moment
where HE's going to absorb into HIMSELF
cumulative effects & HIS & the FATHER's
OWN judgment on human failure & sin &
selfishness in HIS OWN death on the cross
And it's this moment of agonizing solitude—why did
HE go & do that? The witness of all of NT Scriptures
is that HE did that as an act of love for you & for me.
JESUS went into the moment of complete
abandonment and solitude precisely as an
act of love & commitment to those who
would look to HIM in faith.
So that in their moment of solitude & death
they would have the promise of never being
abandoned.
So in these acts of solitude, that we place ourselves
into—it's a pure response to the ONE WHO is comp-
letely abandoned & isolated for me & my behalf as
an act of love.
*************************************************************
And in my better moments—which aren't that many
— my heart is melted into a desire to want to be in
solitude with my SAVIOUR.
*************************************************************
That's how I get there.
I don't know how you need to get there.
But it seems to me that it's only going to happen
when we see that we need this practice.
We need it in our lives to actually fully function
as as human beings & as followers of JESUS.
Meditation and Solitude P1,2 | Tim Mackie [Psalm 1:2]
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. Mark 10:45
Can you even imagine the love Jesus has for us?
Love so deep He gave us all of Himself.
He willingly came to earth, subjecting Himself to human life where hunger, thirst, and pain dwell.
He walked everywhere, dealt with constant questions, and ungrateful recipients.
His…
“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat.
“But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail.
“So when you have repented and turned to Me again, strengthen your brothers.”
~ Luke 22:31-32
OBSERVATION:
Simon (Peter)'s faith never failed him.. Jesus prayed that it wouldn't...
His will or his strength in himself did, though, in his denials... his giving in to "self preservation" and fear...
...his sin...
But he did repent and turned away and back to Jesus, and was able to strengthen his brothers...
...not in his ability, but in his repentance and Jesus's forgiveness and strength...
That's what his story is all about... what about mine?
APPLICATION:
Be prepared for a "sifting"
Pray that my faith will not fail - despite my disobediences...
Repent and turn to him again...
Strengthen my brothers - and sisters -
Give Him the glory and thanks...
PRAYER:
Father God - forgive my weakness in the face of temptations - thank You for the faith that reminds me confess and return to Your way, to Your Spirit's continual presence and reminders and guidance - and for Jesus's prayer for Peter, knowing his denial was at hand... may I not be too self-confident and self-absorbed to deny You and deny my denials, and may I strengthen those around me with the story of my repentance and Your forgiveness... In Jesus's Name, and for Your glory and honor and praise...
As always, yours always, in all ways... because of Him and what He's done and is doing and will do...
album & song: red (taylor's version) ; 22 (taylor's version)
summary: the umich men’s hockey team celebrate their favorite girl’s birthday or y/n made the captions to her birthday posts for the boys
pairings: umich hockey x reader, ethan edwards x reader
warnings: idk, tbh
notes: welcome to my nhl x taylor swift event! i'm kicking it off with '22' because i love this song. i hope you guys are excited and please keep requesting, i love reading them and you guys come up with things i never would of on my own. each player has a picture related to their and the reader's friendship, the lyric their caption is about, and a miscellaneous one (except for ethan and reader). add yourself to the taglist ➺ taglist!
red masterlist | nhl x ts masterlist | nhl masterlist | main masterlist
'It feels like a perfect night
To dress up like hipsters
And make fun of our exes'
luca.fantilli
liked by yourusername, edwards.73, adamfantilli, and 14,302 others
luca.fantilli 'it feels like a perfect night, to dress up like hipsters, and make fun of our exes'
happy birthday to this amazing girl! can't believe you dragged me into half of these things, so grateful. love you 💜
⤷ rutgermcgroaty yeah, i don't know what was in that food, but is not good this morning
edwards.73 I'm glad I didn't get anything
markestapa I should've picked ihop
✧༺✎༻∞
'It seems like one of those nights
This place is too crowded
Too many cool kids'
markestapa
liked by yourusername, dylanduke25, nick_moldenhauer, and 7,408 others
markestapa 'it seems like one of those nights, this place is too corwded, too many cool kids'
we're too cool for karaoke anyways. this girl has has been there for me for everything and I hope she gets everything she has ever dreamed of. love you, girly 🩵
yourusername we need a redo for 'ironic' because we were nailing that until someone got us kicked out
⤷ rutgermcgroaty @/yourusername I don't know what you're talking about
user01 who is this chick anyways?
nick_moldenhauer my eardrums still hurt from your singing
✧༺✎༻∞
'It seems like one of those nights
We ditched the whole scene
And end up dreaming, instead of sleeping'
dylanduke25
liked by yourusername, tyler__duke5, tj_hughes13, and 4,170 others
dylanduke5 'it seems like one of those nights, we ditched the whole scene, and end up dreaming, instead of sleeping'
so, if you guys were wondering where we ended up last night... happy brithday to this extroadinary, wonderful, amazing human being. thank you for taking me on a journey last night 💚
⤷ dylanduke5 @/edwards.73 @/yourusername ask your girlfriend
⤷ yourusername @/edwards.73 I actually have no clue
tyler__duke5 bro, you weren’t joking when you said her birthday was always wild
✧༺✎༻∞
'I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling 22
Everything will be alright if you keep me next to you
(I gotta have you)'
edwards.73
liked by yourusername, rutgermcgroaty, tj_hughes13, and 39,983 others
edwards.73 'i don't know about you, but i'm feeling 22, everything will be alright if you keep me next to you'
happy birthday to the best girlfriend ever. thank you for not only putting up with me but everyone else that seems to follow me. i hope you had the best day and i can't wait to spend more days like this with you. i love you. ❤️
lhughes_06 please tell me you guys didn't make that cake
⤷ yourusername @/lhughes_06 I think I'd be dead if they did, lu
✧༺✎༻∞
'You don't know about me but I'll bet you want to
Everything will be alright if we just keep dancing like we're 22
(I gotta have you)'
yourusername
liked by edwards.73, lhughes_06, adamfantilli, and 22,133 others
yourusername 'you don't know about me, but i'll bet you want to, everything wil be alright if we just keep dancing like we're 22'
this was defienetely a birthday for the history books. thank you to everyone who made this birthday the best day ever.
the team, thank you for allowing me into your hockey family. 💙💛
Ethan, thank you for the past three years, I don't know how we ended up as parents to these knuckleheads but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love you, my love ❤️
A Lord's Supper Reformation Will Lead to An Expansion of House Churches
A Lord’s Supper Reformation Will Lead to An Expansion of House Churches
My prediction–your milage may vary.
As we read the book of Acts and the Pauline epistles, one of the things that becomes clear is that the Lord’s Supper seems to have been both pivotal and problematic for the health of the early church’s life together. It also seems to have been far different than almost all contemporary practice in the local churches of any tradition. The images below hint at a…
Let me let me share with you one way that has
gotten me there over the last few years, turn to
Luke 22 with me.
It's the last moment of JESUS's private prayer
that's mentioned in the Gospel of Luke.
We looked at a whole bunch already, but in Luke 22
just where it begins with Judas going out to betray
JESUS & get the soldiers and hire them.
Most of Luke 22 is the Last Supper
It's the last Passover meal between JESUS and HIS
followers—right as meal concludes & they leave
Look at Luke 22:39
Luke 22:39 | ³⁹ JESUS went out as usual to the
Mount of Olives & the Disciples followed HIM
It says JESUS went out as usual to the Mount of Olives
& HIS Disciples followed HIM on reaching the place HE
said to them, pray that you'll not fall into temptation.
…………………………………………………………………………..………..
JESUS knows that a moment—HE knows within
12 hours HE's going to be hanging on the Roman
Cross & HE says pray the moment of decision
the ultimate moment of decision you guys of
your allegiance to ME is coming pray
…………………………………………………………………………..………..
That you don't fall & then HE withdrew as HE always
did—about a stone's throw beyond them, HE knelt
down & HE prayed FATHER if YOU are willing take
this cup from ME, yet not MY will—but YOURS be
done. This is the moment of agonized solitude
—an Angel from Heaven appeared to HIM
strengthening HIM, being in anguish
HE prayed more earnestly, HIS sweat was like drops
of blood falling to the ground—when HE rose from
prayer HE went back to the Disciples
& HE finds them doing what?
So JESUS, HE's utterly alone now.
HE has only the FATHER's presence with HIM, that
HE's aware of—but HE is in utter solitude even tho
HE has this circle of Disciples around HIM.
They're exhausted from sorrow & so you hear you
have this last moment of JESUS's prayer life
—at least this side of the Cross & resurrection and
it's a moment where HIS solitude, HE actually was
not trying to be alone.
HE went a stone's throw away—but the whole point
is that they would be with HIM in mutual support &
HE finds HIMSELF completely isolated
......................................................................................
Only the presence of the FATHER that HE's wrestling
with—in an agonized prayer, the last moments of
JESUS right where HE had HIS will to do..
......................................................................................
What HE thought HE should be doing were moments
of solitary prayer—but they were also moments of
abandonment of those who were closest to HIM.
And this to me so profound because in a way solitude
—choosing to cut yourself off from any input and all
relationship is a part of your regular practice
......................................................................................
That's a form of self-denial—so for some of us it's very
difficult to do this—& it's a form of death almost, it is
cutting yourself off so that you identify with JESUS and
HIS final moment of solitude.
......................................................................................
And so JESUS goes into this moment of solitude in
agonizing prayer because HE knows that the cross
is ahead of HIM.
This moment where HE's going to absorb into HIMSELF
cumulative effects—HIS & the FATHER's own judgment
on human failure & sin & selfishness in HIS own death
on the cross
And it's this moment of agonizing solitude:
Why did HE go & do that? Why did HE do that?
And the witness of all of the NT Scriptures is that HE
did that as an act of love for you & me—JESUS went
into the moment of complete abandonment—and
solitude precisely as an act of love & commitment
to those who would look to HIM in faith
So that in their moment of solitude and death, they
would have the promise of never being abandoned
So in these acts of solitude we place ourselves into
it's a pure response to the ONE WHO is completely
abandoned & isolated for me & my behalf
As an act of love & in my better moments—which
aren't that many, my heart is melted into a desire
to want to be in solitude with my SAVIOUR.
That's how I get there.
I don't know how you need to get there, but it
seems to me—it's only going to happen when
we see that we need this practice.
We need it in our lives to actually fully function
as human beings & as followers of JESUS.
Thank you
Prayer Practice Lead to Maturity P1,2,3,4,5,6 | Tim Mackie [Psalm 1:1-5]