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Author Archives: John D. Willome

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About John D. Willome

I post a blog of daily devotions that are my prayer journals based on scripture.

Matthew 20:20-28

25 Jul

20 Then the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus with her sons. She knelt respectfully to ask a favor. 21 “What is your request?” he asked.

She replied, “In your Kingdom, please let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.”

22 But Jesus answered by saying to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink?”

“Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!”

23 Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from my bitter cup. But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. My Father has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.”

24 When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. 25 But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. 26 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. 28 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Matthew 20:20-28

Dear God, “but among you, it will be different. Whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave.” That’s probably what I need to hear this morning.

I need to reframe my mind. It needs to start with being yours. Your worshipper. Your servant. And then I need to carry that to my wife, my children, my coworkers, and our clients. I cannot demand any kind of respect. I just need to be your slave.

Father, I am sorry for comparing myself to others. I am sorry for thinking that I deserve something over someone else, or for getting indignant when someone else tries to advance themselves over me. That is not your way. I must decrease so that you can increase in my life. Help me, Father, to decrease joyfully and with a servant’s heart. Thank you for having so many people pray for my wife and me this week. We need it.

I pray all of this through my submission to you and faith in Jesus,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 25, 2023 in Matthew

 

1 Corinthians 5:9-11, 6:9-11

22 Jul

The above image is from Revealed: A Storybook Bible for Grown-Ups compiled and written by Ned Bustard. The image is called “The Monkey and the Bride” and was created by Ned Bustard as well.

1 Corinthians 5:9-11, 6:9-11

9 When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin. 10 But I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that. 11 I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer[j] yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people.

9 Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. 11 Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Dear God, I read this passage and then I spent some time looking at this image. What did I see?

  1. A woman bent over
  2. A monkey riding on her back as if riding a horse and using her hair as reins (the monkey is holding a banana with his/her tail for good measure)
  3. I see a broken piggybank below her
  4. There is some kind of portrayal of a round man next to the piggybank. Is this gluttony? A false god? Not sure, but it doesn’t seem good
  5. Is that a church in the backgroud, down the road? The Holy Spirit fire coming out of the top?
  6. Certainly, there is a dove representing the Holy Spirit (triangle for Trinity) offering the woman a crown

One thing I didn’t notice without Bustard’s description of the piece is that the woman is “bruised and battered by the ravaging effects of sin.” Isn’t it funny that the part of me that is still sexist expects the sinful person to be portrayed as a man and not a woman. I just don’t think about women being in sin as much as men. For example, when I think of alcoholics, I think of men and not women. My wife visits a treatment center for women once a month, and when she first started doing it I was just having a harder time thinking about the women being so flawed. What it is about me that sees men as much more flawed and sinful than women? Is it my knowledge of myself and knowing how awful I can be? How awful men can be?

Regardless, there is the Holy Spirit in the bottom of the picture, positioning himself where the woman can see him. Not flying in from above, circling the woman. Not waiting over by the church. No, Bustard put the Holy Spirit on the ground, right below her, right in her line of sight, offering her the crown that you offer to all of us and a path to your community (the church). Will she accept? Will she reject the monkey, confess the things that bring her shame and then move towards your peace? Or will she continue to walk on by, rejecting the Holy Spirit’s offer?

Father, this is the part when I try to put myself in the woman’s place. What monkeys are riding me and using my hair as reins to control me? Are they the sins of sexual immorality, greed, or idolatry? Maybe it’s the sins of lethargy and self-indulgence. Even today, I’ve had all day to spend with you, but I waited until a slow moment in the afternoon–after 4:00pm–to break from my own selfish agenda and discipline myself to sit here. But I am here now. I’m sorry it took me so long to get here. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for nudging me and bringing me in here. Thank you for the freedom you offer me from the monkeys/demons that want to destroy me and steal the joy you have for me. Thank you for…well, everything.

I pray all of this through the grace of Jesus,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 22, 2023 in 1 Corinthians, Revealed: A Storybook Bible for Grown-Ups

 

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1 John 1:6,8,10

20 Jul

So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth….If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth….If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.
1 John 1:6,8,10

Dear God, so I skipped verse 5, 7, and 9 intentionally. They are the ones we want to read. They are the opposites of these verses. We don’t like to think of ourselves and “lying,” “living in spiritual darkness,” “fooling ourselves,” or “calling [you] a liar.” No, I like to think of myself as all of the good things. But am I “fooling [myself]?” Maybe.

I was speaking with a woman in line at the post office yesterday, and we were talking about showing kindness to people who are working in a place that is understaffed. In context, we were abut 5th and 6th in line and there was only one person working the counter. I could tell he was overhearing our conversation and he seemed grateful that we were saying out loud, “Everyone is shorthanded. Be kind to those who show up.” In talking with her, I gave her a compliment. I said, “I’m going to tell you something I’ve told one of our volunteers. You’ve heard of ‘resting b**** face?’ Well, you have ‘resting joy face.'”

Father, the fruits of the Spirit include love, joy, and peace, not to mention patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Help me to exude all of these today. Not in a manufactured way, but in a way that goes back to verse 6. Help them to flow as fruit that grows in me out of my fellowship with you. And do it all for your glory so that others might be drawn to you.

I pray all of this through the grace you extend to me by Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 20, 2023 in 1 John

 

1 Chronicles 29:10-14

17 Jul

10 Then David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly:

“O Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel, may you be praised forever and ever! 11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. 12 Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.

13 “O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name! 14 But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! 

1 Chronicles 29:10-14

Dear God, I attended a Summer Adoration and Benediction of the Holy Eucharist event at the local Catholic church last night where my wife, who is Catholic, and I (who am not Catholic) attend. I have to say, it was one of the most worshipful group experiences I’ve had in a while. Just lovely. It was great to sing to you with such depth and yet softness. Those who were leading the singing had the perfect pitch to their voices. And the acoustics in that old cathedral combined with the soft, simple piano (and by simple, I mean, in the best way, what seemed to be an intentional shunning of elaborate keyboarding and just simply embracing the melody and the chords in a soft way) just invited me in to rest in your lap and sing to you. Here is the program for the evening:

With that said, this passage from 1 Chronicles was the first passage read. I thought it a very fitting beginning to the service. Great work by David here. Good, clean worship–without wishing death on his enemies. This one line didn’t stand out as much to me last night as it does tonight: Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. For David, this was him claiming your authority over him and over Israel. For me, I want to claim your authority over my life and everything over which I might have influence. Not that I have the power over anything like David did over Israel, but to whatever extent I have influence, I yield it to you.

Father, you know my aches. You know my joys. They are all yours. My life is all yours. Help me to remember that this evening as I lie down to sleep. Help me to remember that in the morning as I go to work and share your love with those around me. O Lord, whatever I have is yours.

I pray all of this through the grace of Jesus’s blood,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 17, 2023 in 1 Chronicles

 

“A River Runs Through It” by Norman Maclean

15 Jul
Norman Maclean

“Each one of us here today will at one time in our lives look upon a loved one who is in need and ask the same question: We are willing to help, Lord, but what, if anything, is needed? For it is true we can seldom help those closest to us. Either we don’t know what part of ourselves to give or, more often than not, the part we have to give is not wanted. And so it is those we live with and should know who elude us. But we can still love them – we can love completely without complete understanding.”

― Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It and Other Stories

Dear God, a friend gave me this quote to read yesterday and it brought tears to my eyes. I saw this moving about 30 years ago, but I’ve never read the book. I think I need to read the book.

I feel eluded and it both frustrates and hurts. But how much do I reject the love and help you long to give me sometimes? How often do I misinterpret what you did out of love as something you did against me? You are a good God. You are a good Father. You long to give me good gifts.

I’m watching a mother I know right now who has a special-needs child. She is aching for her child. She is doing whatever she can for him. Spending any amount of money and resources for him. That child will never understand a tenth of what she has done for him or is doing for him. There’s no way he can. What will happen one day if that child rejects the help the mother is offering? How much will that hurt her.

I am reminded of the story I mentioned a few weeks ago that Andy Stanley told about his young child who scratched the hood of his car “practicing her letters.” There was no way for her to know what that mistake cost Andy and his wife, and she had no way of repaying that mistake. She needed complete grace.

I’ve had wrongs done to me and I’ve done wrongs to others. Some debts accrued from some of the mistakes I’ve made cannot be repaid. I have no capacity to repay them. It’s impossible. And the wrongs done to me cannot be repaid. There is no way to deal with the wrongs in a just way. They simply need forgiveness.

So now I’m left with a need for grace extended to me. I’m left with love to offer, but, in some cases, it is not wanted. So, Holy Spirit, I’m asking you right now for some of the things I’m experiencing: What, if anything, is needed? I’ll do whatever you ask no matter what it costs me. I really will. And I ask that, if I am too close to the situation to offer assistance–if “the part [I] have to give is not wanted”–please raise up others who can meet that need. Use this pain. Don’t let it be wasted. Use it in a lot of lives. Be glorified, O Lord. Whatever it costs me, I don’t care. Be glorified, O Lord.

I humbly pray this in your Holy Name,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 15, 2023 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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“Rattle!” by Zach Williams & Steven Furtick

13 Jul

“Rattle!” by Zach Williams and Steven Furtick

Saturday was silent
Surely it was through
But since when has impossible
Ever stopped You

Friday’s disappointment
Is Sunday’s empty tomb?
Since when has impossible
Ever stopped You?

This is the sound of dry bones rattling
This is the praise make a dead man walk again
Open the grave, I’m coming out
I’m gonna live, gonna live again
This is the sound of dry bones rattling

Pentecostal fire
Stirring something new
You’re not gonna run out of miracles
Anytime soon

Yeah, resurrection power
It runs in my veins, too
I believe there’s another miracle
Here in this room!

This is the sound of dry bones rattling
This is the praise make a dead man walk again
Open the grave, I’m coming out
I’m gonna live, gonna live again
This is the sound of dry bones rattling

My God is able to save and deliver and heal
And restore anything that He wants to
Just ask the man who was thrown
On the bones of Elisha
If there’s anything that He can’t do
Just ask the stone that was rolled
At the tomb in the garden
What happens when God says to move

I feel Him moving it now
I feel Him doing it now
I feel Him doing it now
Do it now
Do it now

This is the sound of dry bones rattling
Yeah, this is the praise make a dead man walk again
Open the grave, I’m coming out
I’m gonna live, gonna live again
Open the grave, I’m coming out
I’m gonna live, gonna live again
Open the grave, I’m coming out
I’m gonna live, gonna live again
This is the sound of dry bones rattling

So I prophesied as I was commanded
And as I was prophesying, there was a noise
A rattling sound and the bones came together
Bone to bone
I look, and tendons and flesh appeared on them
And skin covered them but there was no breath in them
Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath
Prophesy son of man and sing to it”
This is what the sovereign Lord says
“Come breath from the four winds and breathe
Into this land, today live!”

Live!
Live!
Dry bones
Hear the word of the Lord!

Live! (Live!)
Live! (Live!)
Dry bones
Hear the word of the Lord!

Live! (Live!)
Live! (Live!)
Dry bones
Hear the word of the Lord!

Live! (Live!)
Live! (Live!)
Live! (Live!)

Oh, this is the sound of dry bones rattling
Yeah, this is the praise make a dead man walk again
Open the grave, I’m coming out
I’m gonna live, gonna live again
Open the grave, I’m coming out
I’m gonna live, gonna live again
Open the grave, I’m coming out
I’m gonna live, gonna live again
This is the sound of dry bones rattling

Dear God, I feel hopeless. I feel like I’m experiencing “Friday’s disappointment.” Can you really turn this into Sunday’s empty tomb? This song is so hopeful. I feel like I need to just drive with it playing in my car and sing it as loud as I can. I know this is the second time I’ve ever done a prayer journal to it, but I didn’t feel this much despair last time. Right now, I feel desperate. I feel hopeless. Is there really hope?

Then there’s my role in all of this. What do I do next? How can I go from here? I know what my human heart wants to do. What do you want me to do?

Holy Spirit, I need your counsel. I need your light. I need your help. I need you to speak to me. I need you to speak through me. I am truly empty. Fill me, please.

I pray all of this in the name of the one true God,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 13, 2023 in Hymns and Songs

 

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“Let Mercy Lead” by Rich Mullins

12 Jul

“Let Mercy Lead” by Rich Mullins

Aidan you’re young
But Aidan you’re growing fast
Me and your mom
And all the love we have
We can only take you so far
As far as we can
But you’ll need something more to guide your heart
As you grow into a man

Let mercy lead
Let love be the strength in your legs
And in every footprint that you leave
There’ll be a drop of grace
If we can reach
Beyond the wisdom of this age
Into the foolishness of God
That foolishness will save
Those who believe
Although their foolish hearts may break
They will find peace
And I’ll meet you in that place
Where mercy leads

Aidan the day
Aidan the day will come
You’ll run the race
That takes us way beyond
All our trials and all our failures
And all the good we dream of
But you can’t see yet where it is you’re heading
But one day you’ll see the face of love

Let mercy lead
Let love be the strength in your legs
And in every footprint that you leave
There’ll be a drop of grace
If we can reach
Beyond the wisdom of this age
Into the foolishness of God
That foolishness will save
Those who believe
Although their foolish hearts may break
They will find peace
And I’ll meet you in that place
Let mercy lead
Let mercy lead

Let mercy lead

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: David Strasser / Richard Mullins

Dear God, at what point do we just let go of the wrongs done to us?

I came across this song this morning, and it felt providential. If I were writing words to the newborn child of a friend, could I come up with words any better than these? Mercy. Mercy. Mercy.

We will come across people throughout our lives–family and friends–who need mercy. I need mercy extended to me because despite my best efforts I have made many mistakes. I need mercy. I need to extend mercy. I need your mercy.

Father, while I sing this song for those I love, help me to live it for myself too. Help me to let mercy lead, let love be the strength of my legs, and leave drops of grace everywhere I go. Help me to reach beyond human wisdom and into your foolishness. Thank you for foolishly saving me. And even though my heart is broken, help me to find your peace.

I pray this in Jesus’s name,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 12, 2023 in Hymns and Songs

 

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Genesis 32:22-32

11 Jul

22 During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two servant wives, and his eleven sons and crossed the Jabbok River with them. 23 After taking them to the other side, he sent over all his possessions.

24 This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. 25 When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!”

But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

27 “What is your name?” the man asked.

He replied, “Jacob.”

28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.”

29 “Please tell me your name,” Jacob said.

“Why do you want to know my name?” the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there.

30 Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.” 31 The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because of the injury to his hip. 32 (Even today the people of Israel don’t eat the tendon near the hip socket because of what happened that night when the man strained the tendon of Jacob’s hip.)

Genesis 32:22-32

Dear God, this is the weirdest story. I confess that I don’t understand your relationship with Jacob. There isn’t a whole lot that is redeeming about him. Yesterday, I prayed through the “stairway to heaven” story and how Jacob decided to essentially make a bargain with you in exchange for his worship. Now, he wrestles with someone who I’m still not convinced is you and demands a blessing from them. It’s all so weird.

So how am I weird? That’s always the question I have to ask myself–especially when I’m critical or judgmental of the biblical character. In fact, the more critical I am the more I need to figure out what it is that in me that is reacting to negatively to them. What is in me that I see in them?

I had dinner with an old friend last night. It was truly a great evening for me. I hope it was good for him too. We talked about an entire array of things. It’s always interesting to sit and try to catch someone up on my life and to get caught up on theirs. It kind of makes me see myself through different eyes, and when I say some things out loud I realize they don’t sound as reasonable (or as horrible) as they sounded in my head.

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, I want to come to you with no conditions on my end. No strings attached. Jacob was all about selfish conditions. I want to get to the point where I simply come. I come to you. “Here I am to worship. Here I am to bow down. Here I am to say that you’re my God. You’re altogether lovely. Altogether worthy. Altogether wonderful to me.

I pray all of this in submission to you,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 11, 2023 in Genesis

 

Genesis 28:10-22

10 Jul

10 Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. 11 At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep. 12 As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway.

13 At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. 14 Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. 15 What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.”

16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” 17 But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!”

18 The next morning Jacob got up very early. He took the stone he had rested his head against, and he set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it. 19 He named that place Bethel (which means “house of God”), although it was previously called Luz.

20 Then Jacob made this vow: “If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing, 21 and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the Lord will certainly be my God. 22 And this memorial pillar I have set up will become a place for worshiping God, and I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me.”

Genesis 28:10-22

Dear God, it stuns me that Jacob would see what he saw and then still have the audacity to make a deal with you. “If God will indeed be with me…then the Lord will certainly be my God.” It seems like the pledging of a tenth of everything should have been part of the deal from this point forward, not something to be negotiated.

With that being said, how many times do I negotiate with you? Do I withhold my worship when I am hurting? Do I turn my back on you when I think you are working too slowly and it’s time to get things done? It’s always been so easy for me to be critical of Jacob, but I guess there are two things about him that can encourage me. First, I’m probably more like him than I want to admit, and, second, if your mercy can extend to him then it can extend to me too.

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, I am not making anything an obstacle to me worshipping you today. That’s what Jacob was doing. Even after his vision, he needed an excuse to not worship you. He wasn’t ready. I want to be ready. I want to be your worshipper, your ambassador, and your child. Thank you for giving me that opportunity through Jesus.

I pray all of this in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, my Triune God,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 10, 2023 in Genesis

 

Acts 1:6-14

09 Jul
The above image is from Revealed: A Storybook Bible for Grown-Ups compiled and written by Ned Bustard. The image is “Ascension (after “It is Well with My Soul”) by Wayne Forte.

6 So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”

7 He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

9 After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. 10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”

12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, a distance of half a mile. 13 When they arrived, they went to the upstairs room of the house where they were staying.

Here are the names of those who were present: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the zealot), and Judas (son of James). 14 They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.

Acts 1:6-14

Dear God, as with most of the other pictures I look at from this book, I’ve read the passage (there’s a typo in the book, by the way. The title on the page says it goes through verse 18, but it is really 14), and I have some thoughts. But first I want to take my recent reading of the passage and look to see what the artist, Wayne Forte, put in his image for me to see:

  • Jesus with his arms open wide
  • The dove/Holy Spirit above him (I think that’s what it is)
  • The two angels who speak to the disciples in the story are pictured with trumpets as Jesus ascends.
  • The unraveling scroll is a bridge. Or is Jesus floating and the scroll is representing Jesus being “The Word?”
  • Is the scroll transparent and the white marks are clouds?
  • The white marks below the scroll look like hills (like the hill Jesus ascended from)

Okay, I just read Bustard’s description of the image, and it mentions something I thought about but didn’t say: “This print about the departure of Christ alludes to his return: the dove descending from heaven (as he did at the baptism of Christ), the angels blowing trumpets of judgment, and the ‘clouds be rolled back as a scroll,’ as it says in the old hymn (referencing Revelation 6:14).”

So now back to what I noticed when I read the story for myself.

  • They were still linking all of this to Israel’s liberation and return to power/glory. That’s really something. That was a concept that was really baked into their psyches. They seemingly couldn’t break free from it. They really, really wanted to overcome being trod upon. Because this was such a big deal to even these close followers of you who knew you intimately, I guess it makes sense that it should be so baked into our collective consciences as well. In our country, we have those who have the power who will do absolutely everything they can to keep it. We also have those who want that power and will do what they can to take it. And it’s nearly all of us. It’s the Christian church, the atheists, the socialists, the right-wing conservatives–everyone. Everyone is going for that power. We want to make sure our country has the most power in the world (economically, militarily, and politically), and we want to make sure our “group” is the one wielding that power, both within the country and outside of it.
  • Jesus doesn’t admonish them for thinking about the restoration of Israel, but simply says that they’ll never know when.
  • Jesus goes a different direction and tells them about the Holy Spirit coming. I have to say, there are times when I wonder, given the Trinity, if the three of you aren’t so intertwined that “praying in Jesus’s name” isn’t also “praying in the name of the Holy Spirit and the Father” as well. Hence some denominations start and end their prayers with, “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” When Jesus comes into my heart (as a Baptist would say), is that more accurately represented as the Holy Spirit coming into my heart? Is there a difference?
  • Jesus sends them to Jerusalem, all of Judea, Samaria (did I hear that right–the Samaritans?), and the ends of the earth (hold it, what?!?).
  • The angels (I’m assuming they are angels) told them Jesus would return the same way he left (hence Forte’s depiction of a scene that could represent either Jesus’s ascension or return).
  • The place where they were was only about half a mile (a Sabbath’s day journey) from where they were staying.
  • The remaining 11 were with other disciples plus Mary, Jesus’s mother, and Jesus’s brothers. The other disciples included women.
  • They spent a lot of their time in prayer. I wonder what kinds of things they prayed for. Were they following the “Lord’s Prayer” template Jesus taught them? Were they praying for clarity of mission, protection from persecution, and daily provision?

Father, as I think about this, I think the lessons I’m leaving with are that I need to not worry about power/influence (they are idols), not worry about trying to understand you or your plan (ignorance is my ally), and simply worship you, spending time in prayer. Help me to do all of these things. And going back to what I prayed about earlier this week, help me to embrace the tools you have given me to impact the world: prayer, service, persuasion, and suffering.

I pray all of this in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 9, 2023 in Acts, Revealed: A Storybook Bible for Grown-Ups

 

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