Words of wisdom from a friend

A wise and good friend of mine, Chris Webb, wrote the following words. They meant a great deal to me, and I thought you might benefit from them, too. You can find more posts like this one at Chris's blog; click here to visit. Meanwhile, I pray that your soul be fed and your heart be blessed by these thoughts of Chris's.

O Almighty God,

who alone canst order

the unruly wills and affections of sinful men;

Grant unto thy people

that they may love the thing which Thou commandest,

and desire that which Thou dost promise;

that so, among the sundry and manifold changes of the world,

our hearts may surely there be fixed,

where true joys are to be found;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Book of Common Prayer (1662),

Collect for the Fourth Sunday after Easter

This is a beautiful and remarkable prayer; if you look at it carefully you find it's a prayer that we might be given grace to pursue grace. Our unruly wills and affections are constantly being enticed away from God. But if you, Lord, transform us by grace to genuinely long for a life immersed in you--to desire your commands and promises--then we will become open to the gracious gift of Christ, in whom all true joys are found. In fact, grace will fix our hearts on Jesus, who is full of grace and truth.

A man once told Jesus, "I believe - help my unbelief!" It may be that you want to say, "I need grace--give me the grace to long for grace!" If so, this might be your prayer today.