Ben Zornes

Living and Dying to Show the Preciousness of Christ

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Prayer Changes Our Priorities

Prayer Changes Our Priorities

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prayer - ben zornes - blog - May 19, 2016For several years I’ve followed a sort of liturgy for my times of private prayer. I’ve found it so helpful in organizing and prioritizing my thoughts, and keeping me focused during my prayers. However, it provides the flexibility for pressing needs, limited time, and a purposefulness in the discipline of prayer!

Recently, what with a new baby, new town, new job, new schedule, new studies, etc. I’ve found that private prayer has been a casualty of all these changes. I do pray continually (1Thes. 5:17), but dedicated times of prayer have been less often.

However, despite my limited time for private prayer and trying to figure out where it fits in all the “newness” of my life, I’ve been refreshed by having a pre-decided commitment to pursuing private prayer and study; and even more than that, a biblical template of sorts, to guide my praying. I happened across this “template” many years ago now, and have continually returned to it as a model for how to structure my times of prayer. It comes from Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s biography, which is fabulous and I highly recommend it. He organized prayer this way, drawing from the Psalms and from the Lord’s Prayer:

“I ought not to omit any of the parts of prayer–confession, adoration, thanksgiving, petition, and intercession.

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Not Going Away

Not Going Away

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Yesterday at Ellerslie, I sat at a lunch table with some of the students and they had just watched the documentary “Blood Money,” Marlé-55which exposes the financial greed at the back of the whole abortion mill. One of the students asked, “So what do we do practically, so that it isn’t just a rush of emotion, but that we actually see a change on this issue?” I thought it was a great question and, as I’ve thought a bit more about it, here’s my expanded answer.

The “pro-life” tent is a big tent, with many different faiths and creeds underneath it. I have no issue linking arms with like-minded conservatives who desire to see this atrocity abolished; however, for the Christian, this issue is more than just a political issue. This is an idolatry issue, at its heart. Molech has become the god of our nation, and those who are faithful to Jesus Christ, must recognize the apostasy at the root of the abortion discussion. So, here are a few things I think we need to do and remember.
First, we need to adopt the attitude which William Wilberforce had towards the abolition of the slave trade and apply it to abortion. In short, without fail he brought a bill before Parliament year in and year out until he succeeded in overthrowing the British slave trade. In essence, we need to say, “We are not going away on this issue.”
Now, I’d like to address different groups and what they ought to be doing. [Read more…] about Not Going Away

The Horsepower of Olive Oil

The Horsepower of Olive Oil

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David’s words from the 20th Psalm speak just as forcefully today as they did all those long centuries ago: “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses.” The ancient empires often measured their greatness and power in horses and chariots. Horses and chariots equated to strength in battle, mobility, and superiority of resource and wealth. Thus, it is no wonder that the Psalmist points out that some place their confidence in their horsepower; we haven’t come very far have we?

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Ben Zornes