THE MYSTICAL ORDER MINISTRIES
FROM THE DESK OF THE PATRIARCH AND PRESIDING PRELATE
Sir Godfrey Gregg D.Div
THEE we adore, eternal name!
And humbly own to thee,
How feeble is our mortal frame,
What dying worms we be!
Our wasting lives grow shorter still,
As days and months increase;
And every beating pulse we tell
Leaves but the numberless.
The year rolls round and steals away
The breath that first it gave;
Whate’er we do, where’er we be,
We are travelling to the grave.
Dangers stand thick through all the ground,
To push us to the tomb;
And fierce diseases wait around,
To hurry mortals home.
Great God! on what a slender thread
Hang everlasting things;
The eternal states of all the dead
Upon life’s feeble strings!
Infinite joy, or endless woe,
Depends on every breath;
And yet how unconcerned we go
Upon the brink of death!
Waken, O Lord, our drowsy sense,
To walk this dangerous road!
And if our souls be hurried hence,
May they be found with God!
Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires are known, and from whom no secrets are hidden: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of Your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love You and worthily magnify Your holy name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
O Lord our God, who is always more ready to bestow Your good gifts upon us than we are to seek them, and Who is more willing to give more than we desire or deserve: help us so to seek You that we may truly find You, so to ask that we may joyfully receive, so to knock that the door of Your mercy may be opened for us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
This is the third month of the year already and my question to you is: What have you accomplished so far? We may be still working for our daily bread and you should. That means you have a roof over your head, food on your table, clothes to wear and most of all you would have put your offerings in church. But have you accomplished anything for the past two months?
Have you ever witnessed the Word to a lost soul? Have you won anyone to the Lord? What have you done with Jesus called the Christ? I trust by now you understand what I am talking about. God has called us and given each of us a talent, some got more than one. Are we appreciative of the tokens we received? well, I am not a Bishop so it does not matter how the church-run. I am just the leader and so I will be till I die. Let the Bishop do his work, he has the big name. You are so wrong, but with every name or title, there is a great responsibility. Moses was the Leader, but Joshua was the mouthpiece for Moses. How often do you hear the Head of State of a country speak? It is always the Prime Minister who speaks for his or her Government. To every talent, there is a measure that goes along with it. Not all are called to be a baptizer but we are all called to witness the word of God. Daniel alone saw the vision. Saul alone saw the light and heard the voice. The others did not, you see the operations of God are beyond our eyes. Balaam did not see the angel, but the donkey did. My God, it is time that we open our eyes and look past the flesh and try to see Jesus and worship Him alone. O, God let the words of our hearts and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in Thy sight O Lord our strength and redeemer.
This is a new month and we are preparing for the traditional season of lent. Many will be parading in the carnival festivals and then go before God to fast and pray. Aren’t we tired of fooling ourselves that you cannot put new wine in old vessels? Or we cannot serve God and man at the same time. There is a season for everything and as a Christian, you are called out and separated and we are commissioned not to touch the unclean things.
Our lights must shine before men so that they may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. The Scripture tells us “Wherefore come out from among them and be separated.” This is not a joke it is serious business but to each his own.
May we continue to find common ground to make this world a better place and the places we worship more productive. Let us lift our standards and strengthen the links we have within the fold. It does not matter the house of prayer, but in everything let us give thanks to Almighty God.
