Life In Greencastle

O Wisdom of our God Most High, guiding creation with power and love: come to teach us the path of knowledge! Come, Lord Jesus. O Leader of the House of Israel, giver of the Law to Moses on Sinai: come to rescue us with your mighty power! Come, Lord Jesus. O Root of Jesse’s stem, sign of God’s love for all his people: come to save us without delay! Come, Lord Jesus. O Key of David, opening the gates of God’s eternal Kingdom: come and free the prisoners of darkness! Come, Lord Jesus. O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: come and shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death. Come, Lord Jesus. O King of all nations and keystone of the Church: come and save man, whom you formed from the dust! Come, Lord Jesus. O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law: come to save us, Lord our God!

It's an old adage from the Bible that we should guard our hearts well.  For it is from our hearts that everything flows ... good, ill, or otherwise (Prov. 4:23).  We've seen the unfortunate truth of that statement once again as a result of the ISIS attacks in Paris and Beirut in the last week or so. For many of us in the western world, it's forced us to see what is in the hearts and minds of those associated with ISIS.  Their hearts are bent on power and terror, control and fear.  For awhile, we weren't sure what this group was, where it came from, or even what to call it.  But, the truth has been made clear, and many - myself included - have been horrified to read about how violent and how extreme their ideology is.  A grisly violence seems to be both ISIS's fuel and purpose. Unfortunately, the acts of terror that ISIS waged on the French and Lebanese citizens recently has revealed what's really in our hearts as Americans, even as Christians.  And...