Cross Way Publication's Newsletter for July 2010

Cross Way Publications Monthly News

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 Poem of the Month
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This was one of the final pieces of poetry composed by Jerry before he went home to be with the Lord. Please keep his family in prayer these upcoming weeks as we celebrate his memory and his ministry, and as we continue to mourn his absence.

The Journey Home
By: Jerry R. Hoffman

Is there joy in the journey I'm taking?
Do I live in the power of love?
Am I always on God's grace depending,
On this journey to heaven above?

Just over pain's mountain love becons,
Just across that tumultuous sea,
Tears are vanquished forever and ever,
Where my Lord waits in splendor for me.

Every peril, each day I encounter,
As I traverse this sorrowful place;
Will increase the great joy that awaits me,
When I look on His wonderful face.

His words "Welcome home!" will refresh me,
I'll be filled with the love from His smile;
When my journey, at last, finds its purpose.
Then we'll sit and we'll talk for a while.

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Scripture of the Month
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Psalm 80:3-7 (NKJV)

3  Restore us, O God;
      Cause Your face to shine,
      And we shall be saved!

4  O Lord God of hosts,
      How long will You be angry
      Against the prayer of Your people?

5  You have fed them with the bread of tears,
      And given them tears to drink in great measure.

6  You have made us a strife to our neighbors,
      And our enemies laugh among themselves.

7  Restore us, O God of hosts;
      Cause Your face to shine,
      And we shall be saved!

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Quote of the Month
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"O Most Glorious God, in Jesus Christ, my merciful and loving Father; I acknowledge and confess my guilt in the weak and imperfect performance of the duties of this day. I have called on Thee for pardon and forgiveness of my sins, but so coldly and carelessly that my prayers are become my sin, and they stand in need of pardon."

 From a prayer of George Washington

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Notes From Cross Way
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1. A warm thank you to Gabriele Embry, Sharon Howell, Laurie Jenkins and Linda Reich for their continued financial support to this ministry. Also, a special thank you to Elaine Robinson, who is the newest member of Our Macedonian Faithful. We are truly blessed by your generosity.

2. Last July, Jerry Hoffman, founder and administrator of Cross Way Publications went home to be with the Lord. With the help of his brother and his children, the Cross Way Publications ministry has continued. This year will mark some changes in the look of the site. We will be unable to legally continue Cross Way Publications as a business, so we will be dedicating the website as a memorial to Jerry, and we will keep it up and running for as long as we are financially and technically able. We will keep you updated as changes are made, but the Poet Pages and how poets are able to interact with each other will be staying the same.

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This Month's Devotional Thought
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Our text this month, from Psalm 80:3-7, begins and ends with the prayer of the psalmist for restoration from the "God of hosts", who will bring salvation when He causes His face to shine upon them. The grace and favor of God is all that is needed for our salvation, for by His grace He turns His face to us with the purpose of turning our faces to Him. His look of favor is the cause for our look of faith.

In Psalm 80:4-6 the psalmist expresses the urgency of this need for restoration and favor. There was sin that needed to be dealt with and as long as it was going unchecked, there was great sorrow and strife among His people. God is identified as the One who brought the sorrow and created the unrest while at the same time refusing to turn an ear to the people's prayers. God was angry with their sin, but strangely enough, He was also angry with their prayers. The question of verse 4, as it was written in the Hebrew, might better be translated: "How long will you smoke against the prayer of your people". The use of the word "smoke" conveys the idea of the fuming smoke of anger. Borrowing from this descriptive language, we might conclude that the smoke from the vile incense of polluted prayers was being cut off by the smoke of God's holy wrath against those prayers.

God is not apathetic toward prayer. Prayer will either please Him, (Proverbs 15:8), or stir His wrath, (Psalm 80:4). There are prayers that God is angry with, and on some occasions, instead of helping us by answering our prayers, He may very well discipline us because of our prayers. Prayer can "become sin"; (Psalm 109:7). The word "sin" means to miss the mark and to pray sinfully is not only to miss the mark, but to never reach the target. It is a serious thing to deceive ourselves into thinking that we are doing something good, when in fact it is doing no good at all, and what's worse, God is angry with that very thing we think is good.

What kind of prayer angers God? Psalm 66:18 states: "If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear." And from Isaiah 51:1-2 we read: "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear." From Scriptures like these, "... we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him." (John 9:31). We cannot hide a cherished sin behind a well spoken word of prayer. God sees right through it and such hypocritical prayer and pretence of devotion angers Him. On the other hand, even the most awkward and imperfect prayer, from a sincere and repentant heart, will catch His attention and incline His ear.

We are to "continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving", (Colossians 4:2). Do we have an earnest vigilance in our prayer life? Effective prayer requires vigilance: vigilance in our walk - seeking and doing the will of God; while there is vigilance in our talk - spending that quality time with Him in prayer. We are to be prepared for prayer at all times so as to be in constant communion with God. We are to be consistently offering up an expression of worship, a word of thanksgiving, a confession of sin, a prayer for guidance and help, or an intercession for the needs of others; but we dare not forget who it is we are speaking to. Our prayers are not to be idle, thoughtless, haphazard, unfocused, and irreverent ramblings. Prayer to the Holy One is to be done in a holy manner. We dare not lose that true sense of who He is, and so we must be concerned with the manner in which we pray, (Ecclesiastes 5:2); as well as the motives for our prayers, (James 4:3); and the moral standing we have before the Lord, when we pray, (I Peter 3:12). Prayer is a holy encounter with God that is to be taken very seriously.

Philip Hoffman