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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.

Luke 19:1-10

18 Nov

19 Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. 2 There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. 3 He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way.

5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”

6 Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. 7 But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.

8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”

9 Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

Luke 19:1-10

Dear God, I had some thoughts as I read this passage this morning.

First, they have a newly-healed blind man in tow. He is part of the entourage as Jesus entered Jericho. Did he go to Zacchaeus’s house too?

Second, putting this in political terms, there were red (or blue) people following Jesus into Jericho and then they saw him express interest in a blue (or red) person. How dare he? Doesn’t Jesus know that guy’s awful? He steals and cheats!

Third, Jesus was about the repentance of each heart. In this case, his mere presence convicted Zacchaeus about his wrongdoing. And Jesus blessed his repentance: “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

If I am to be Christlike, there are certain things I must do. First, I must search my own heart and repent. For my selfishness. For my judgment of others. Second, I need to love others regardless of who they are or what they do. And third, I need to offer your salvation to those around me. Jesus’s reconciliation between us and you, Father.

Father, it’s a big day for my place of work today. I pray that I might be more about loving others than worrying about my own needs. I trust you will take care of me and the needs I have. My prayer is that I (and the place I work) will be a blessing to everyone who comes into contact with us, whether they be a client, volunteer, employee, vendor, donor, or even a potential employee. Help my heart to be focused on you and focused on others. Then I’ll just trust you to do what needs done.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 18, 2025 in Luke

 

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Luke 18:35-43

17 Nov

35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road. 36 When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him that Jesus the Nazarene[f] was going by. 38 So he began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

39 “Be quiet!” the people in front yelled at him.

But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

40 When Jesus heard him, he stopped and ordered that the man be brought to him. As the man came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord,” he said, “I want to see!”

42 And Jesus said, “All right, receive your sight! Your faith has healed you.” 43 Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too.

Luke 18:35-43

Dear God, I’ve read this story many times over the years (decades), but for some reason I am honing in on the man’s cry, “Have mercy (pity) on me.” I was in that mode a couple of weeks ago. I really needed some intervention and healing. Not even necessarily my own healing, but in people I know. I was desperate. I was getting other people involved. I was getting others to pray. I was praying. I even fasted for a period of time. I was desperate. And yet, my desperation was probably nothing like that of this many who was living a marginalized life 2,000 years ago in a society that probably didn’t do much to accommodate him and help him live an actualized life, but probably either blamed him or his parents for his condition (John 9:2 – 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”) Was the mercy he cried for just healing, or was he looking for forgiveness of his sins too? Did he blame himself or his own parents for his condition?

Oh, that’s an interesting thought. Had this man’s blindness come between him and his parents? Was he born blind? I would think that, for their society, if someone was born blind then you couldn’t blame the baby for the sin so the blame would naturally fall on the parents. Did he blame his parents too?

Father, once again, mercy comes in and cuts out all the knots in the fishing lines of our lives. I need your mercy. I need the mercy of others in my life. There are people who hold things against me. I need mercy from them. And I need to give mercy. Help me to know what to ask when you or someone else stops and asks me, “What do you want me to do for you?” I want you to heal me. Heal me from my self-inflicted wounds and the wounds done to me by others. Heal me. Love me. And pass all of that through me so that you might give others love and mercy through my life.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 17, 2025 in Luke

 

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John 7:1-5 (And James’s Epistle)

16 Nov

7 After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He wanted to stay out of Judea, where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death. 2 But soon it was time for the Jewish Festival of Shelters, 3 and Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, where your followers can see your miracles! 4 You can’t become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!” 5 For even his brothers didn’t believe in him.

John 7:1-5

Dear God, what would it have been like to be Jesus’s little brother? Let’s say Jesus was perfect (which he was). On paper, one would think that Jesus would have been a great big brother. Always kind. Always helpful. Not teasing them or being mean. But I think anyone who things about it and has experience as a sibling knows that it would be annoying to have such a great brother that is above reproach in every way. It can be hard to come face to face with our own sin when we are in such proximity to perfection.

Then there is James after the resurrection. He came around. Was he the only one? Was this a relief to Mary. But I can’t help but notice that James is the only one who seemingly digs in on “works” when it comes to his message. In fact, I want to look at an outline of James’s letter and consider it while informed by the idea of James’s journey from Jesus tormenter to Jesus worshipper.

  • Trials & Temptations (Testing of Faith and Source of Temptation):
    • Consider it joy to be persecuted for Jesus. He was seeing a lot of persecution. And this was certainly Paul’s message as well. It was towards the beginning of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount.
    • Regarding temptation, don’t think it’s you who is tempting me. Did James blame Jesus when he was younger and couldn’t live up to the example Jesus set?
  • Listening & Doing:
    • Quick to listen and slow to speak and be angry. Were these things James struggled with before the crucifixion and resurrection? Did he wish he had listened to Jesus more. Did he regret his anger and judgment of Jesus?
    • And be real. Do. Do what you tell us to do. What Jesus explicitly said to do. How much anger and rebellion did James carry around in his heart before the resurrection? I’ll bet he had a lot of self-righteous attitude as a result of being Jesus’s little brother.
  • No Favoritism:
    • Did his parents show favoritism? More likely, this is probably something he saw in Jesus. Jesus broke all the molds of traditional favoritism. Whether he liked it or not, he absorbed those lessons from Jesus even though he probably rebelled against them and resented them before the resurrection.
  • Faith & Works:
    • I wonder if he was thinking of himself pre-resurrection. Did he claim faith in you and then realize later that his faith was empty because he was also consumed with contempt for Jesus? Did he realize that the works are part of developing us. Before this section, in 2:8, he says, “If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right.” It’s possible he grew up trying to justify himself through his own practice of worship and theology and rejected the idea of serving because he saw Jesus serving. But then he realized that it’s the serving that gets us out of ourselves and brings us into a more complete version of you who designed us to be. My works aren’t for others to experience or see. They are for me.
  • Taming the Tongue:
    • How much had he struggled to tame his own tongue in the early years of his life? Even in this story from John 7 above, was is James who was goading Jesus? And how much did James ridicule Jesus to his parents, siblings, and others? Yeah, I’ll bet this admonition from James came from his own battle in this area.
  • Two Kinds of Wisdom:
    • I get the feeling James was talking about his younger self when he said, “But if you harbor envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from heave but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and ever evil practice.” Yeah, I think James is going through some self-reflection and speaking from a position of experience and overcoming here.
  • Submit Yourselves to God:
    • More self-reflection from James: “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” How many quarrels did James try to start with Jesus? How much of his own selfishness did he have to come to terms with and repent of? How convicted was he of his wrong motives.
  • Warning to Rich Oppressors and Patience in Suffering:
    • This is probably some stuff he learned from Jesus that stuck. And while I’m on suffering, this reminds me of something I heard a couple of years ago that I thought of again just yesterday. Jesus gave used for himself and gave us four tools, and four tools only, to impact the world around us: Prayer, Service, Persuasion, and Suffering. I think this idea is consistent with the contents of what James is teaching here.
  • Prayer of Faith:
    • James saw Jesus’s power, and he came to believe that it was available to us to through repentance, prayer, and service.

Father, I’ve come to appreciate James in a whole new way today. I’ve thought about the author who wrote these things and put them in the context of his life experience. How have I never done that before. I wonder if I should do that with some of the other epistles from the New Testament. Peter. John. Paul. Jude. How did their live experiences, both good and bad, affect their ministry? I think I might have found my next series. Be with me and teach me through all of this.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 16, 2025 in James, John

 

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Examen

15 Nov

Dear God, my wife and I were talking over breakfast, and as we finished she mentioned she was going to her study to do her “Examen” for the week. I’ve never done this before so I asked her to tell me about it. She told me the questions she asks herself as she reflects on her week. It sounded like a good exercise, so I decided to pray through the questions this morning. I found the following questions on a United Methodist Church website. I don’t think they are exactly the questions my wife is asking herself, but they seem like a good place to start.

  1. Are you aware of God in this moment?
  2. What are you grateful for right now?
  3. When did you experience love today?
  4. Was there an opportunity in which you missed sharing love with others?
  5. What might you learn from that? (Tell God about it.)

Am I aware of you in this moment?

That’s a good question. Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, no. But it’s a reminder that I need to be. I need to be aware that the Holy Spirit is part of me, and he is praying with me right now. You are with me. You are real. You are interested in me. You have plans for me. You have desires for me and my life. You have things you both want me to have and don’t want me to have. You get frustrated with me when I am foolish, selfish, and sinful. You delight in the few times per day or week when I get it right. You delight in the fact that I’m trying. You get frustrated with my ingratitude. You want to give me rest, but you also want me to work harder.

And you are working in the lives of those I love most, the lives of those I care about around me, and even in my community and country. You are working in the world. You are working in the galaxy. You are working in the universe. Nothing is beyond you! You are so very big, and I am so very small. I love you.

What am I grateful for right now?

I’m sitting in a safe, comfortable house having just had a nice pancake/sausage breakfast. I so take these things for granted. I cannot seem to muster up gratitude for these things unless I explicitly sit down and think about it. I am grateful for the improvements at work. I am grateful for the amazing woman I’ve been with for over 36 years. I’m grateful for our health. I’m grateful for the children we have and the one we lost in pregnancy. My wife and I were talking about how she has experienced loss through death in a way that I haven’t. I’m grateful for the living. I’m grateful for your mercy. I’m grateful for answered prayers, both those you answer with a yes and those you answer with a no or not yet. I’m grateful for physical health and the ability to be active and exercise. I’ll cycle later this morning. I’m grateful I can do that. I’m grateful for the trip I’m about to take to Waco for a football game later today. What a little luxury in life that is afforded to me.

When did I experience love today?

Well, when I was sitting at the breakfast table and my wife walked in from having just walked the dog, she took a moment to pause and blow me a kiss from across the room while she put things away. Then she gave me a kiss when she was done. When she sat down to breakfast and I went to sit and join her while she ate, she laid down what she was looking at and welcomed my presence at the table. And we talked. She seemed to enjoy talking with me, and that made me feel loved. The day is young. I’m sure there will be more times today when I feel loved–especially by her. There are people who are precious to me who do not show me love. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. But I am grateful that this home is a place I like to be, and she makes it that way for me.

Was there an opportunity in which I missed sharing love with others?

The day is young, but I’ll say that there are two people I know who need expressions of love. One just lost a son and one is going through a significant health crisis. I meant to get by and buy a card for each of them this week, but I never did. I have to do this today! The cards must go in the mail today.

What might I learn from that?

Father, the truth is that I try to love others, but sometimes I allow things that are important to fall through the cracks. I miss opportunities to be your hands and feet in this world. I’m sorry for that. I like that you’re making me mindful of those two people specifically today, but there are others for whom I need to be praying. Relatives. People for whom relatives have asked me to pray. People I know who are suffering. Just everything, Father. There is an endless amount of need, and I can’t possibly cover it all or pray for it all, but if there is a line between what I can possibly do and what I can’t do, there is a lot of distance between me and it. So help me to get closer to that line. Help me to take all of the advantages you’ve given me and use them for your glory and to bless the people around me. Help me to see you in them and worship you as I love them.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 15, 2025 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Luke 17:20-37

14 Nov

20 One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?”

Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. 21 You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.”

22 Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see the day when the Son of Man returns, but you won’t see it. 23 People will tell you, ‘Look, there is the Son of Man,’ or ‘Here he is,’ but don’t go out and follow them. 24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so it will be on the day when the Son of Man comes. 25 But first the Son of Man must suffer terribly and be rejected by this generation.

26 “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. 27 In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all.

28 “And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot. People went about their daily business—eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building— 29 until the morning Lot left Sodom. Then fire and burning sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Yes, it will be ‘business as usual’ right up to the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day a person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. A person out in the field must not return home. 32 Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! 33 If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it. 34 That night two people will be asleep in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. 35 Two women will be grinding flour together at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.”

37 “Where will this happen, Lord?” the disciples asked.

Jesus replied, “Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.”

Luke 17:20-37

Dear God, Luke had choices about which of the Jesus stories to share. I wonder why he chose this one. Was it simply because Jesus predicted his own death and resurrection as part of it? I always find “last day(s)” and “Jesus’s second coming” stories interesting because I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with them. All I know to do is to be faithful.

I just had a thought. What would it be like if there were no mentions of Jesus coming again, a new earth, or even us going to meet Jesus in the clouds when he returns? If the New Testament was totally vacant of all of these stories, would there be any real accountability before you. Does just the knowledge that the master will return, we will meet face-to-face in some fashion, and we will be judged tether us to your reality in a way we wouldn’t be otherwise? I don’t enjoy thinking about this, but does the fact that basic knowledge of it is a piece of my foundation give my faith a strength I wouldn’t have if it were gone?

Father, I get to be faithful to you today. It’s a “get to” and not a “have to.” I get to worship you. I get to love others. I get to work. Help me, Lord, today. Help me to love the people who will come into my path. Help me to work as unto you. Help me to keep myself pure. Holy Spirit, guide me, comfort me, teach me, love through me, and show me how to have extreme mercy for wrongs done to me because you have given me so much mercy.

I pray this in Jesus and with the Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 14, 2025 in Luke

 

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Ephesians 6:10-12

13 Nov

Photo of Northern Lights as observed in Fredericksburg, Texas, by Ron Sutton.

10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:10-12

Dear God, there is so much more to this place that what we can see. As I sit in my study right now, there is so much more to this room than what I can see. When I die and some of the mysteries are revealed to me, I am going to be simply blown away. Blown away!

I thought of this yesterday when a friend, Ron Sutton, sent several images he took from outside his home of the Northern Lights that were “visible” from South-Central Texas. I put “visible” in quotes because we couldn’t see any of this with our naked eyes. For Ron, this was only visible with a very slow shutter speed on his camera.

It made me start thinking about everything happening around me right now in the spiritual world that I cannot see. That’s what made me think of this Ephesians passage on spiritual warfare below. Then I went and searched other passages about not being able to see what you see. Here are some examples:

2 Kings 6:12-17

13 “Go and find out where he is,” the king commanded, “so I can send troops to seize him.”

And the report came back: “Elisha is at Dothan.” 14 So one night the king of Aram sent a great army with many chariots and horses to surround the city.

15 When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. “Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha.

16 “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” 17 Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.

Then there’s this one:

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

And one more for good measure:

Hebrews 11:1-2

11 Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. 2 Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.

Father, there is so much happening I cannot see. Whether it is the spiritual warfare going on around me, the plans you have that there is no way I can comprehend them, or simply the little things you are doing to ordain my steps and impact your world through me. There are also bad things I cannot see. I can’t see the devastating impact of my sins upon others. I hate to think about that. I also often miss the pain others are in and how you might be calling me to love them or help them. Help me in all of this, Father. Help me to love others and love you well. And even if I can never see what is around me on this side of life, help me to at least understand there are things I cannot see and to be humble before you in the knowledge that I am simply not as strong, smart, or whatever as I think I am.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 13, 2025 in 2 Corinthians, 2 Kings, Ephesians, Hebrews

 

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Luke 17:11-19

12 Nov

11 As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. 12 As he entered a village there, ten men with leprosy stood at a distance, 13 crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

14 He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.

15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” 16 He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.

17 Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed [saved] you.”

Luke 17:11-19

Dear God, I think I want to spend some time with the other nine. What we call how they responded to their healing? Maybe the exuberance of ingratitude? They were just so excited, they were probably running to the priests. They were probably thinking about seeing their families and friends who had been estranged from them. Maybe even a wife and children. My wife and I used to have this saying after either of us had been sick and then were feeling better: “It just feels so good to feel good again!” Well, these men were not only feeling bad, but they had been abandoned and isolated. Their exuberance in their healing accidentally led to ingratitude.

Since I’m not Disney Princess (see this link for explanation), I can recognize myself in the nine ungrateful but healed lepers. Probably my biggest one is that I am ungrateful for food. I’ll pray before a meal when I’m with someone else, but I almost never do it alone. And when I’m praying, a lot of times I forget to thank you for the food. I’ve lived in a place of excess when it comes to food my entire life. I’ve never wanted for food. And I’ve never wanted for enough money to go and buy the food I need in a store that 99.9% of the time had all of the food I would need readily available (the other .9% was Covid). Never. It’s almost shameful how I’ve never wanted for food. Am I grateful to you for the food and the money to buy it? I try to be, but the truth is that I’m arrogantly ungrateful.

The nonprofit where I work experiences great success with fundraising. We are in a capital campaign right now, and we’ve almost raised the entire goal, over 70% of which came from two foundations, two bequests, and a COVID-related payroll tax program from the government. Am I really grateful to you for this?

But let’s get more personal. My wife. My wife is amazing. She is kind, generous, smart, thoughtful, loving, faithful in her worship of you, and an overall “great hang.” I enjoy her so much. And she and I are both remarkably healthy, not having to even take any prescription medications well into our 50s. Am I grateful for this? Do I really thank you for these things? I see the pains in my life, and I lament them (and they are lamentable), but they could be so much worse. I see people facing much more difficult situations that I am. Do I thank you for the good you have done for me and those I love, and do I pray enough for those who have difficult situations? Does my gratitude for my situation drive me into deeper prayer for others who are not as fortunate, or do I callously go through my day?

Father, the truth is that I should probably spend every moment of my day in thankful prayer to you. There is no way I can thank you enough! You know the challenges I have in front of me. Help me to face them with the love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control you are growing in me through my worship of you. Give me what you need me to have to love you. And I pray for others who are struggling. I’m running some of their names through my head right now. Love them. Provide for them. Comfort them. Show me how to love them. There is pain in this world. Make this pain count. Don’t let it be wasted. And use me and the place I work as an instrument of your peace.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 12, 2025 in Luke

 

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Luke 17:7-10

11 Nov

7 “When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, ‘Come in and eat with me’? 8 No, he says, ‘Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later.’ 9 And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not. 10 In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’”

Luke 17:7-10

Dear God, some of what Jesus says seems so contradictory. At times it seems like he is talking about servant leadership, the last shall be first, etc. Then at other times he looks at them and says something like this.

As I think about it, what I’m seeing is that all of us, whatever position of leadership we are in, need to be humble and have a servant’s heart. If we are a leader, we are there to be the best we can be for those who follow us. If we are servants, we are to do our best to make our leader/boss/master look good. Never, in any event, is it about us. It’s always about us worshipping you and loving them.

We are having a volunteer appreciation dinner tonight, and we will have both staff and volunteers there. I was thinking about it this morning and stressing over the evening, some of the logistics, etc., when I felt you remind me, “Just love them.” And that’s it. Love them. Love all of them. It was almost 20 years ago the first time I came to this organization’s volunteer appreciation dinner. I hadn’t even started working for the organization at the time. But it was the night I met a lot of people who would become precious to me. Many of them have passed away now, but a lot of them are still living and a few will even be there tonight.

Father, give me a heart of celebration today. Yes, there are problems around me, but I want to consider it all joy. Each moment and its problems are just the next moment. Help me to move through these collective moments. Guide me with your Holy Spirit. I worship you. I praise you. Help me to take the love you have for me and spread it to those around me. And make the path before me, that seems very complicated, straight.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 11, 2025 in Luke

 

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Psalm 139:1-12

10 Nov

Psalm 139

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

1 O Lord, you have examined my heart
    and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
    You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
    and when I rest at home.
    You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
    even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
    You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too great for me to understand!

7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
    I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
    if I go down to the grave, you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
    if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
    and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
    and the light around me to become night—
12     but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
    Darkness and light are the same to you.

Psalm 139:1-12

Dear God, I am grateful for your love. I am grateful to be known by you. I am grateful that I cannot hide from you. I’m grateful to know you see my sin–to be freed from the idea that I need to hide things from you. I might cling to my sin. I might deny it’s there and not want to let it go. But I know there’s no point in trying to hide it from you. There’s great freedom in that.

The gospel reading today is from Luke 17 and includes verse 3b-4: “If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive. 4 Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive.” I accept your rebuking. I accept your forgiveness for my foolishness, hard-heartedness, and my unwillingness to always refuse other gods before you. Thank you for that. Help me to give this forgiveness to others–70 X 7.

Father, I want to quote the Rich Mullins song “Nothing is Beyond You,” which is based on Psalm 139: “Nothing is beyond you, you stand beyond the reach of my vain imagination. My misguided piety. Heavens stretch to hold you, and deep calls out to deep saying, ‘Nothing is beyond you.’ Time cannot contain you. You fill eternity. Sin could never stain you. Death has lost its sting. And I cannot explain how you came to love me, except to say that nothing is beyond you. Nothing is beyond you.”

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 10, 2025 in Psalms

 

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“Slippery Pearls” by Charlie Peacock

09 Nov

“Slippery Pearls” by Charlie Peacock (with a little Ashley Cleveland on BGV)

What you hold back from the minute
The minute will lack
If you don’t claim it from the hour
Then the hour takes it back
All our wants will pass quickly
What remains is our need
And mama don’t make no medicine
That’ll cure that disease

Nothing is certain here in this world
You drop all your treasures
Just like slippery pearls
Oh, it’s hard to find a handle
On the things that you see
‘Cause they slide right through your fingers
Just like slippery pearls

What you don’t lock up inside your heart
The world will consume
Might slip right down the throat of greed
Or through the floorboards in your room
There’s two thieves namеd pain and pleasure
Neithеr one is true
You ransom your flesh to save your bones
Then they come and take those too

Nothing is certain here in this world
You drop all your treasures
Just like slippery pearls
Oh, it’s hard to find a handle
On the things that you see
‘Cause they slide right through your fingers
Just like slippery pearls

They don’t make a map, no, to guide you
Through the badlands of the soul
You could lose yourself to blind conceit
Or to the hunger for control
Try to guard it all from the elements
And still gonna fall apart
‘Cause the world outside don’t pose no threat
Like the darkness in our hearts
Hey…

Nothing is certain here in this world
You drop all your treasures
Just like slippery pearls
Oh, it’s hard to find a handle
On the things that you see
‘Cause they slide right through your fingers
Just like slippery pearls

Dear God, I was trying to find a scripture to move me this morning, and nothing was really coming to mind. Frankly, I’ve been praying so much about some certain things in my life that I’m almost a little burned out on praying (is that okay to say?). My solution was to go to my Christian playlist on my phone, hit shuffle and see what came up first. This was it. I think this song is 30 years old. I remember when the album came out in 1995 and I lived in Dallas for a year. I’ve listened to every song on the Everything that’s on my Mind album by Charlie Peacock several times, including this one, but I don’t think I ever paid attention to the lyrics on this one before. I spent a little time with them, and I found conviction.

Waste. That’s what I got. I am guilty of wasting a lot of minutes. And those minutes turn into hours. and by the end of the month, the hours probably turn into days. I probably wasted days every month and as much as a month a year. So that’s the first verse. And I never appreciated the poetry of that verse. It’s really great:

What you hold back from the minute
The minute will lack
If you don’t claim it from the hour
Then the hour takes it back
All our wants will pass quickly
What remains is our need

Then the second verse talks about not treasuring what’s important.

What you don’t lock up inside your heart
The world will consume
Might slip right down the throat of greed
Or through the floorboards in your room
There’s two thieves namеd pain and pleasure
Neithеr one is true
You ransom your flesh to save your bones
Then they come and take those too

I don’t feel as guilty on this one. I think my head is in pretty much the right place when it comes to what I treasure, what I guard, and what I disregard. But again, the poetry of this song is really strong. I like it.

They don’t make a map, no, to guide you
Through the badlands of the soul
You could lose yourself to blind conceit
Or to the hunger for control
Try to guard it all from the elements
And still gonna fall apart
‘Cause the world outside don’t pose no threat
Like the darkness in our hearts

Was it the apple that tempted Adam and Eve, or the darkness in their heart that they didn’t completely trust you? They had some amount of hunger for control. We all do. It’s hard to be helpless. I have a need for certainty, and the faith you want me to put in you can seem contrary to that need because sometimes your plan is neither obvious to me or has things play out the way I selfishly want them to.

Nothing is certain here in this world
You drop all your treasures
Just like slippery pearls
Oh, it’s hard to find a handle
On the things that you see
‘Cause they slide right through your fingers
Just like slippery pearls

I didn’t plan this, but the first line of the chorus echoes that last paragraph: “Nothing is certain here in this world.” I look for a handle so I can control (see verse 3: “Or to the hunger for control“) what is going on around me. But sometimes, even like now, I’m reduced to asking you to simply show me the next step I am to take. I don’t know where the narrow path leads, and it may very well lead down to a dark valley. Mine is not to know the destination. Mine is to know the path you have for me to take regardless of what it costs me.

Father, I’m involved in a challenging situation right now, but my prayers yesterday were for everyone’s best. I want the best for every person involved. I don’t want to take the easiest path for me. I want to be your blessing to others. I want to be your presence. I want to take every action that you want me to take. And I want to not act when you are calling me to simply be still. I want to be exactly who you need me to be today. Help me to be that.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 9, 2025 in Hymns and Songs

 

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