Author Archives: John D. Willome

²² Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he went, always pressing on toward Jerusalem. ²³ Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?”

He replied, ²⁴ “Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail. ²⁵ When the master of the house has locked the door, it will be too late. You will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Lord, open the door for us!’ But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ ²⁶ Then you will say, ‘But we ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ ²⁷ And he will reply, ‘I tell you, I don’t know you or where you come from. Get away from me, all you who do evil.’

²⁸ “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, for you will see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, but you will be thrown out. ²⁹ And people will come from all over the world—from east and west, north and south—to take their places in the Kingdom of God. ³⁰ And note this: Some who seem least important now will be the greatest then, and some who are the greatest now will be least important then.”

Luke 13:22-30

Dear God, Jesus represents this as being a much more stringent process than I would. You’re talking about locked doors and people pleading for it to be opened. In this case, he’s also talking in verse 27 about those who thought they were yours and yet still do evil.

I was telling someone earlier today that whenever there are people with whom I disagree it almost never happens that one side knows they are wrong or acting out of any negative or evil ambitions. Both sides think they are on the side of right. Now, there are exceptions to this rule, but I’m sure that even in the Ukraine/Russia situation, Russia feels totally justified in its actions which those of us on the other side see as reprehensible.

There is currently conflict in our community, and I am in it to some extent. In fact, today I am taking a pretty public stand through something I wrote that will probably be in the local newspaper. It did my best to make my opinion clear, delineate it from the opinions of others, but not assign motives to the other side’s actions. While I am not a fan of what they are doing or what they even believe, there is not a part of me that doubts why they are doing what they are doing. They think they are protecting others. They think they are defenders of the weak. I disagree with their conclusions as to what is right and wrong and how they are going about making their opinions known and trying to influence local policy, but I do not doubt their desire to do what they see as good.

So that brings me back to Jesus’s words here about not knowing people who thought they were known. I almost feel like one of the disciples sitting around the table at the Last Supper after Jesus said someone there would betray him. “Is it me, Lord?” “Surely it isn’t me.”

Father, help me to examine my heart. Help those with whom I disagree to examine their hearts. Help us to see where we are wrong. Where we are not loving you with all our hearts and loving our neighbors as ourselves. Help us to see how we have assigned bad motives to actions with which we disagree and simply respond to the actions themselves. Help us to treat each other with as much love as possible. Fill me with your peace. Make me an instrument of your peace. Do it all for your glory. Help me to decrease so you can increase.

I pray this through the right Jesus’s life, death and resurrection gives me to come to you,

Amen

“I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning! I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished. Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other! From now on families will be split apart, three in favor of me, and two against—or two in favor and three against.
Luke 12:49-52

Dear God, my first thought when I read this passage this morning was, “Mission accomplished!” It feels like it’s all burning right now. It feels like the division has happened.

I’ve always seen this as you/Jesus being the one to instigate the division. You were the provocateur. But I wonder if it isn’t the world that gets so frustrated with your disciples that they are the provocateurs and the disciples are simply living their lives in peace. It can be very frustrating for a person who is not at peace to encounter someone who is at peace. It’s as if they are asking, “Why are you not as bothered as I am?” “Why are you not as scared as I am?” “Why are you not as insecure as I am?” As a disciple, the trick is to keep my branch truly connected to you and be close enough to your Holy Spirit so that the moment I start to slip into a worldly perspective I can recognize it and cling to you even harder.

Holy Spirit, please be with me. Guide me. Comfort me. Counsel me. Teach me. Convict me. Live through me so that others will be drawn to you. Do it all for your glory so that I am giving my utmost to you for your highest.

I pray this through Jesus, my Lord,

Amen

Then someone called from the crowd, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me.” Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”
Luke 12:13-21

Dear God, I had someone ask me an interesting question today: “How do you know if you are a Christian?” She had been discussing it in a Bible study with two other women. I returned her question with a question. I asked her, “What do you mean by your question? Do you mean, ‘How do I know I have my fire insurance [will get into Heaven]’, or do you mean, ‘How do I know if I am a Christian right now in my life?'” Then we talked a while about those two answers.

I’m thinking about that now because of the last line in verse 21: “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” My answer to the second question was that being a Christian happens in a few steps. Step 1 is to repent before you and ask Jesus life, death, and resurrection to cover my sins. There are other steps beyond that involving discipleship, prayer, Christian community, etc. Those are important to maintaining a Christian life that is as an ambassador for you in the world. No good ambassador ignores the will of that which she or he represents. And you have to know the will of the one you represent through relationship, study, and communication. So that’s all important. But none of it can happen unless I first submit to your Lordship, ask for your forgiveness through Jesus, and then turn from my selfish life and into you.

Father, I don’t know what kinds of stores I will have in this life. Right now, I have some equity in my home, retirement accounts and savings. I have life insurance to benefit my wife should I die. I have practically no debt. So, yes, I have stored up some treasures. And my goal isn’t so that I can one day retire into a life of luxury. Frankly, there isn’t enough there for that. But it is there for the day when I am too old to be of value doing work that will bring enough financial return to support my wife and me. I hope there’s enough for that. But I am comfortable that I’m at least in relationship with you. Sure, I don’t worship as much as I should. I realize that I miss the opportunities to be your ambassador all over the place. However, I’m here, giving you my utmost for your highest. And doing it as humbly as I can. Thank you for the grace I need so that you can be here to meet with me.

I pray this through the forgiveness afforded to me through Jesus,

Amen

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

² He said to them, “When you pray, say:

“‘Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
³ Give us each day our daily bread.
⁴ Forgive us our sins,
    for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.’”

⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; ⁶ a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ ⁷ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ ⁸ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

⁹ “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Dear God, a couple of days ago I asked you for something fairly boldly while praying with my wife. It’s been a couple of years of silence on this issue, but I felt compelled to pray about it that day. Then, I was surprised later that day when my wife contacted me and told me there had been a breakthrough. I immediately thought back to my prayer with her that morning. Are you moving? Did the Holy Spirit prompt me to pray about it? What could be next?

When my wife and I pray together nearly every day, we pray for a lot of things and a lot of people. Some of it feels hopeless. Some of it feels like a waste of time. And some of it feels like simple duty. I love these people, and although it feels hopeless to pray for it I have a duty to pray for them. So I pray. I don’t quite understand how my prayers work. I don’t know how much they change you/your mind, how much they empower your Spirit and/or angels to work, or how much they just change and shape me. According to this passage, my prayers have the potential to actually change your mind and move you into action. That seems amazing to me. I can see them inviting your power into a situation and increasing it. I can see them changing me and my heart. But to get you to change course? Is the fate of the world really dependent upon what your people ask for in prayer?

Father, I guess the prayer today is that you would teach me to pray. I’ve never been as good as my wife at intercessory prayer. I wonder if you are calling me to be better at it. So, Holy Spirit, lay something on my heart for which I should pray at an intense intercessory level. And if it moves you into action where there would otherwise have been no action, so much the better, but use it to speak to me and grow my heart towards yours.

I pray this through Jesus, my Lord,

Amen