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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.

“1974” by Amy Grant

27 Feb

“1974” by Amy Grant

We were young,
And none of us know quite what to say,
But the feeling moved
Among us in silence anyway.
Slowly we had made
Quite a change–
Somewhere we had crossed a big line.
Down upon our knees,
We had tasted holy wine,
And no one could sway us
In a life time.
Purer than the sky,
Behind the rain.
Falling down all around us,
Calling out from a boundless love.
Love had lit a fire;
We were the flame.
Burning into the darkness,
Shining out from inside us.
Not a word.
And no one had to say we were changed.
Nothing else we lived through
Would ever be same the same,
Knowing the truth
That we had gained.
Purer than the sky,
Behind the rain.
Falling down all around us,
Calling out from a boundless love.
Love had lit a fire;
We were the flame.
Burning into the darkness,
Shining out from inside us.
Stay with me.
Make it ever new,
So time will not undo,
As the years go by,
How I need to see
That’s still me.
Falling down all around us,
Calling out from a boundless love.
Yeah…
Burning into the darkness,
Shining out from inside us.
Purer than the sky,
Behind the rain.
Falling down all around us,
Calling out from a boundless love.
Love has lit a fire;
I am the flame.
Burning into the darkness,
Shining out from inside us.
Purer than the sky,
Behind the rain.
Falling down all around us,
Calling out from a boundless love. (Ohh…)
Love has lit a fire;
I am the flame.
Burning into the darkness,
Shining out from inside us.
Purer than the sky,
Behind the rain.
Falling down all around us,
Calling out from a boundless love.

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Amy Grant / Jerry Mcpherson / Gary Chapman

Dear God, my wife and I are going to see Amy Grant in concert tomorrow night. I saw a lot of Christian concerts in the 1990s, but I never saw Amy Grant in concert for some reason. And I worked for Word at the time so I sold a ton of her stuff through Christian bookstores. I met her once at a sales conference for the House of Love album, but I’ve never heard her sing.

Regardless, here I am, about to see her in concert for the first time so I have been listening to some of her old songs to just reminisce a little. It was this song that kind of struck me this week when it came on. I remember it being on the Lead Me On album. I think it was the first track. No, “Lead Me On” might have been the first track. Anyway, it really captured the emotions 18-year-old me felt at the time. I had grown up Baptist and had “accepted Jesus” possibly as many as 30 times up to that point. Effective church sermons. Revivals. Fellowship of Christian Athletes conferences. But somehow I never felt like I got it right the previous time. I wasn’t getting the formula correct. I needed to do it again.

So I remember the emotions Grant reflects in this song that she apparently wrote with her husband at the time, Gary Chapman, and Jerry McPherson. I wonder what their conversations were like as they wrote this song. Now, 38 years and a lot of life and heartache later, if they could rewrite any of it, would they? Would they change the lyrics? I think it’s prescient to have the part that says:

Stay with me.
Make it ever new,
So time will not undo,
As the years go by,
How I need to see
That’s still me.

I remember the feelings of just sinking into you and that moment of feeling a complete connection with you, but I never seemed to carry it beyond a few days. There was no discipleship. Or there was not self-discipline in my discipleship or even a real knowledge of what discipleship between you and me should look like.

So now, 38 years later since I had my experience of learning what discipleship looks like for me–or beginning to learn what discipleship looks like for me–how do I think of myself in relation to this song? Where are the friends I had then? How are they doing? I can tell you that the ones I’ve kept up with have had sorrows and struggles, but they seem to still have an active faith in you. For that, I’m grateful. My faith and discipleship are certainly imperfect, but I guess I’m at least faithfully imperfect. Maybe getting a little closer to you on more days than I’m getting farther from you on others?

Father, I do love you. I do worship you. Even now, even in this mode of worship, I know that my worship is so inadequate for who you are compared with who I am, but this is what I can offer you in my limited mind and body. Help me to learn a little more today how to love you and how to love others. I love you, Lord, and I lift my voice to worship you. Oh, my soul, rejoice! Take joy my King in what you hear. May it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ears. (“I Love You Lord” by Laurie Klein)

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 27, 2025 in Hymns and Songs

 

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Mark 9:38-49

26 Feb

38 John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn’t in our group.”

39 “Don’t stop him!” Jesus said. “No one who performs a miracle in my name will soon be able to speak evil of me. 40 Anyone who is not against us is for us. 41 If anyone gives you even a cup of water because you belong to the Messiah, I tell you the truth, that person will surely be rewarded.

42 “But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone hung around your neck. 43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand than to go into the unquenchable fires of hell with two hands. 45 If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one foot than to be thrown into hell with two feet. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. It’s better to enter the Kingdom of God with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out.’

49 “For everyone will be tested with fire. 50 Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? You must have the qualities of salt among yourselves and live in peace with each other.”

Mark 9:38-49

Dear God, I was listening to the beginning of the Voxology Podcast this morning, and I heard them reference a new book called The Sin of Empathy by Joe Rigney. I’ve heard about interviews with Mr. Rigney on this topic before, and I didn’t agree with a lot of what he said, but when I read the Gospel reading for today from Mark 9, which actually stopped at 40, it made me think of this disagreement I have with Mr. Rigney and should I be giving him more of the benefit of the doubt since he does what he does in your name. So I went to the entire passage, read it, and thought I would spend some time with it here to see if I have perhaps been wrong about this.

First, let me say that I don’t want to spend this entire time comparing Mr. Rigney to this passage, but this is a good reminder to be gentle about him and not judge him too prematurely. Ironically, to maybe even have a little empathy and try to see the world through his lens. While he is afraid of “woke” culture, I think he and I probably define “woke” differently, and, therefore, we look at being “woke” differently. We often start off looking for the worst in people, but I can assume that as he wakes up this morning, he is a man who wants to make the world a better place today. It’s just that he comes at it through a different lens that I do. So I can love him even though we disagree and then try to use the art of persuasion to argue for the perspective of my worldview and the lens through which I see the world.

Now, back to the passage. It is interesting that the church stopped with verse 40 because there is so much more here. Why didn’t they go to the end of the chapter? Nine more verses give you a lot of information.

First, the disciples were fussed because the man was not part of the “Jesus traveling party.” They had developed quite a clique, and I think they were feeling like the cool kids with Jesus. The special ones. Where did this guy come off doing this. In fact, this story is even out of context. Mark tells it as part of the story where they disciples are arguing about who is the greatest in the kingdom, and Jesus tells them “whoever welcomes these little children in my name welcomes me…” So the very next sentence someone speaks to him after that is John saying, “Teacher, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn’t in our group.” Tone of voice is almost always lost when we read. Perhaps there was a shamed tone in John’s voice when he said this.

Then Jesus answers him, and goes on to talk about the importance of not being the cause of others sinning. Oh, how this is a scary teaching. I’m not a pastor and I only to a little teaching, but the idea that I could be part of causing someone else to sin is scary to me. And then just in my personal life, I could be a bad influence on someone, and if they justify their own sin because they see me, a Christian, doing it I could be responsible for that. It’s a pretty heavy teaching from Jesus. And I know there is mercy. I know there is grace and redemption. I just don’t want to be part of that in someone else’s life.

Father, give me your eyes. We talk about seeing the world through the lens of other people, and I think that can be a very good thing, but all of us are limited. We need to see the world through your lens–to the extent we are able. Obviously, I have limitations on how close I can get to your worldview, but I humbly submit to you that, at the very least, I know that I don’t know. Help me to be loving. Help me to be humble. Help me to be discerning when I hear bad teaching or heresy. Help me to see what is really behind it. Is it fear? Is it idolatry? Are they hungering for you and they don’t realize it? Are they simply in pain and searching for your peace? Help me to be a minister of your peace today. And give me your peace, Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 26, 2025 in Mark

 

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Matthew 22:34-40

25 Feb

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. 35 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Matthew 22:34-40

Dear God, I heard Skye Jethani on a podcast last week talk about Jesus highlighting these two commandments when only one commandment was requested. He made an interesting point. He basically said, as I interpret it, that you made people in your image so when we honor each other we honor you. There was a lot of explanation as to how he got there that I won’t go into now, but I thought it was an interesting conclusion.

Verse 40 is interesting in that I’ve always seen the “entire law” part of it, but the part that says, “…all the demands of the prophets…” is important too. The prophets called for a return to you. Faithfulness to you. But they also called for benevolence and mercy for others. There is a reason that the closer I get to you the more the fruit of your Spirit grows out of me (love, joy, peace…). You encourage love in me. You are love. You are a mature, secure being. You don’t need to prove anything to anyone. So what I see coming out of you is a God at peace with his role as omnipotent creator and nothing to prove to little old me. You just want me to love.

Father, help me to love well today. We have a staff meeting this morning. Help me to love well. We have a finance committee meeting this morning. Help me to be the man you need me to be in that meeting. We have another committee meeting this evening, a board meeting tomorrow morning, and still another committee meeting after that. Help me to be everything you need me to be in all of these cases. Thank you for the prayers you answered yesterday for my relative who had a medical procedure. Thank you for your mercy. Thank you for your kindness. Thank you for loving us and caring. Help me to love others and care about them today. Help me to be part of your presence coming into this earth. And forgive me for my failures.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 25, 2025 in Matthew

 

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Mark 9:14-29

24 Feb

When they returned to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd surrounding them, and some teachers of religious law were arguing with them. When the crowd saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with awe, and they ran to greet him.

“What is all this arguing about?” Jesus asked.

One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you could heal him. He is possessed by an evil spirit that won’t let him talk. And whenever this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn’t do it.”

Jesus said to them, “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth.

“How long has this been happening?” Jesus asked the boy’s father.

He replied, “Since he was a little boy. The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.”

“What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”

The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”

When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, he rebuked the evil spirit. “Listen, you spirit that makes this boy unable to hear and speak,” he said. “I command you to come out of this child and never enter him again!”

Then the spirit screamed and threw the boy into another violent convulsion and left him. The boy appeared to be dead. A murmur ran through the crowd as people said, “He’s dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up.

Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the house with his disciples, they asked him, “Why couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit?”

Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer.”
Mark 9:14-29

Dear God, Lent is coming and I need to find what you’d like me to fast from. As I look at the end of this story and see Jesus’s statement that prayer and fasting (depending on the translation) are required for this much of your power, I feel compelled that for some of the things I want to see happen in life I must fast and pray.

Of course, there are things for me to pray about today. I have a relative undergoing a fairly important medical procedure. I pray that you will be with him and help him. Comfort him. Care for him. Use this to heal him. Make his life effective. Make his time count. Be glorified in his life. Be glorified through all of this, I pray. Help him to feel loved and cared for.

I have another friend who is struggling today. I’m not sure what exactly upset them, but I know they are deeply bothered by something. Comfort them. Heal them. Show me how to minister to them.

I have my own issues as well. I have work issues. Family issues. People in my family who are struggling and about whom I care. Help each situation. Help me. Holy Spirit, show me what to do at any given time.

Father, I’m here this morning. I’m here to worship you. I’m here to lay down my life for you. You are my God. I love you.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 24, 2025 in Mark

 

Luke 2:1-14

23 Feb
The above image is called “The Glorious Form” and was created by Chris Stoffel Overvoorde. It is from Revealed: A Storybook Bible for Grown-Ups by Ned Bustard.

2 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. 4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. 5 He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.

6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7 She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in highest heaven,
    and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

Luke 2:1-14

Dear God, this image created by Overvoorde has so much going on. And I don’t understand all of the imagery. I probably should, and I’m embarrassed to say that I don’t get it all, but he certainly put a lot in here. From the outside of the image and going in.

There are 24 people watching. Hold it, wait. I’m remembering something about 24 people in Revelation. I think I prayed about that a few weeks ago. Let me read the description Bustard has for this image. In this case, I think I probably need it to get where the artist wants me to go… Okay, I’m back. Yes, there were 24 elders in Revelation 19, as well as four beasts. So, for Overvoorde, I think all past, present, and future are present to you. You are “I am.” Sow we have the beasts and elders of Revelation. We have doves that I’m going to assume are the Holy Spirit. We have Jesus–you–in-utero. Being nurtured and developed through an umbilical cord. Fully divine (Holy Spirit impregnation). Fully human (grown by a woman’s body).

Bustard quotes Bono of U2 as part of his description. I’ll put the Bono quote here: “The Christmas story has a crazy good plot with an even crazier premise–the idea goes, if there is a force of love and logic behind the universe, then how amazing would it be if that incomprehensible power chose to express itself as a child born in shit and straw poverty?”

Father, this is an amazing story. And it has amazing people. I come to you this morning to lean into just how incomprehensible it is. You are God. You have everything. You love us. You came to us. You keep coming to us. You are the father of the Prodigal Son. You are the Prodigal Father. It is amazing that you care. That you came. That you taught. That you are so loving. And now as I go to teach the Sunday school class this morning on Joseph, create a clean heart in me. And renew my spirit. Fill me with your Spirit. Help me to inspire others to learn more about you. Inspire me to learn more about you. To hunger for you. To need you. I need you, Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit. I need you.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 23, 2025 in Luke, Revealed: A Storybook Bible for Grown-Ups

 

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1 John 4:17-19

22 Feb

And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.

Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first.
1 John 4:17-19

Dear God, there are some people I love this much, but somehow I cannot convince them of it. Somehow, they think I’m sitting here, ready to judge them even though I’ve told them my only desire is to cheer them on. I just want the best for them. But it’s like their shame for things I don’t even know about is keeping them from me.

My first thought as I write this is to question whether or not I’ve truly loved them this way because the evidence suggests that they have not experienced that kind of love from me. But my next thought is that we are the same way with you. Going back to the Garden, Adam and Eve hid from you. Not because you loved them conditionally, which you didn’t, but because they were ashamed before you.

Of course, there are others that I do live imperfectly. In fact, I live everyone imperfectly. Even those I was mentioning earlier. But if perfect love expels all fear, then I pray that you will teach me to live perfectly and to accept your perfect love.

Father, I know I’ll never do anything perfectly this side of Heaven. I just want to get better tomorrow than I am today. I want to be better today than I was yesterday. Help me learn to accept your perfect love. And help those who are self-imposing conditional love from me to see that it is really unconditional. That I am a source of unconditional love for them. Take away their fear. Heal their wounds. Be their God.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 22, 2025 in 1 John

 

Psalm 33:10-15

21 Feb


10 The Lord frustrates the plans of the nations
    and thwarts all their schemes.
11 But the Lord’s plans stand firm forever;
    his intentions can never be shaken.

12 What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord,
    whose people he has chosen as his inheritance.

13 The Lord looks down from heaven
    and sees the whole human race.
14 From his throne he observes
    all who live on the earth.
15 He made their hearts,
    so he understands everything they do.

Psalm 33:10-15

Dear God, this is the Psalm of the day for the Catholic Church. I think it is meant to be a sort of rebuke for people who look for power and presume they can do things themselves. Somehow, this morning, it is a comfort to me. It reminds me that the most arrogant of people are nothing before you. The most powerful women and men on earth are nothing before you. Yet, the meekest person on earth is everything before you. You embrace them. You love them. You lift them up. “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” “Blessed are those who mourn.”

There are people with earthly power right now who really concern me. Their hearts are arrogant and full of themselves. They feel unchecked and like they can impose their will as they see fit. And, to some extent, they can. In a worldly sense, they have incredible power. In a heavenly sense, I almost feel like you are giving them enough rope to really do themselves in. The hard part is the suffering that will happen. The awkward part for me is that the suffering will likely not be done as much by me as by other completely innocent people who are hungry and need fed or sick and need healed. Who are trying to work, but under physical attack. Who are pawns in the hands of people. That’s where my lament comes from. I lament for them.

Father, I am in my mid-50s. I likely have no more than 30 to 40 years left this side of the death divide. And I have zero idea how those 30 to 40 years will play out. Honestly, I’m hoping it’s closer to 30 than 40. At the same time, it could be today. I have no idea. In fact, I am going to a funeral today for a friend who was my age. We just don’t know. My point is, I have a limited amount of time to leave a mark on this world. Help me to do it well. Let it start by worshipping you. Let it continue by serving others. To quote a song, “Make me a servant, humble and meek. Lord, let me lift up those who are weak. And may the prayer of my heart always be, ‘Make me a servant. Make me a servant. Make me a servant, today.'”

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 21, 2025 in Psalms

 

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Joseph

20 Feb

Dear God, I am preparing my Sunday school lesson for this week, and I want to spend some time going over the things I’ve learned about Joseph over the last 24 years, since I first wrote God, Family, Job: In that Order?: A Study of Joseph, Jesus’s Earthly Father. Of course, my interest in Joseph started when I was at a retreat, and I started looking for a biblical man I wanted to emulate as a faithful worshipper of you, a husband, and a father. The list was short. Ultimately, I landed on Joseph and the Prodigal Son’s father. Since the Prodigal Son’s father was a representation of you, I ended up with Joseph. And I’ so glad I did. I’m so glad he was there to be Jesus’s earthly father. I’m so glad his example is there for me to follow.

When I think about Joseph off of the top of my head, here are my thoughts on an outline. Please guide me as I think about this, Holy Spirit:

  • His first decision: Divorce her quietly.
    • This decision would cost him and make him vulnerable
    • You needed Joseph to make this decision for your plan to work
  • He believed the dream and acted on it.
    • He married Mary but did not “consummate” the marriage
      • Did doubts ever linger?
  • He had to find a place for them to stay in Bethlehem
    • With family? In a tent outside of town? We don’t know.
    • What were their conversations like during the journey and before the birth?
  • The baby is born.
    • Had to improvise a difficult situation
      • Helping Mary made people unclean
      • Needed a better place but couldn’t find one
      • Doubts? What am I doing here? Was the dream real?
  • The shepherds.
    • Affirmation that this was all real! I cannot underscore this enough. If there were any doubts, the shepherds removed them.
  • The Temple (Simeon and Anna).
    • More affirmations.
    • Simeon’s warning to Mary.
  • The Wise Men
    • They created more problems than they solved.
    • More affirmations some months later.
  • The Dream and Escape to Egypt
    • Believing the dream
    • Survivor’s guilt?
    • Starting a new life? Gifts from the Magi?
    • Living in Egypt
  • Time to go home
    • More dreams.
    • Couldn’t return to Bethlehem because of Herod’s son. Ended up in Nazareth.
  • Lost in the Temple
    • He’s gone!
      • Where could he be?
      • Did Herod’s son, Archelaus, get him?
      • What were the conversations with Mary like for those three days of searching (four days of him being missing)?
    • Found!
      • He’s in the Temple and amazing people
        • Was this a surprise to Joseph and Mary? Had they already been amazed by him? When did Jesus start to display his knowledge and come into his mental maturity?
      • How inadequate did Joseph feel in raising your son?
  • Presumed dead
    • Sad that Joseph wasn’t around to comfort and help Mary during Jesus’s ministry.
      • Brothers and sisters seem to have been a hinderance
      • Would Joseph have been a hinderance too?

Father, there is so much for me to learn from Joseph. The least of which is that he, ultimately, considered his life nothing to him, even before his angel visit. He made a huge sacrifice just in his decision to divorce her quietly. I was just reminded of the scene in the first Captain American: The First Avenger movie when Steve Rogers, before the super serum, throws himself on a grenade to save everyone else, revealing the character the doctor was looking for in the man who would get this great power. That’s Joseph. Before you have him this great responsibility, even then, we are allowed to see his amazing character. Oh, Father, help me to be a man like that.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 20, 2025 in Luke, Matthew

 

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1 John 4:7-12

19 Feb

7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

1 John 4:7-12

Dear God, is your love really brought to full expression through me? I know it should be, but is it? When people see me, do they see you? Am I that tuned into you?

What does loving others look like? Well, what does it look like when you love me? For that, I guess it goes to the story of the Prodigal Son. When the younger son wants to leave, you let him walk away. When he returns you celebrate with no questions asked. When the older son experiences jealousy you console and comfort. In all of these cases, it’s not about you. It’s not about them hitting your standard for the standard’s sake. It is about you wanting what you know is best for them. You know that the younger son is better off when he is at home and not pursuing empty selfish desires. You know that the older son will be better off when he decides to love his brother and accept him.

So when I look to loving others, what I am doing is wanting the best for them regardless of what it might cost me. If it is my wife, I want to love and support her in the things I perceive you are putting into her life. Now, if it is something that I perceive will take her away from you I will say so, but if it seems to bless her then I want that for her no matter what it costs me. Father, help me be willing to pay that price. If my children decide to pursue a path that costs me everything then I want to love them and bless them to pursue that path. If I think it is unhealthy for them and I am asked I will share my thoughts, but if they don’t then I don’t want to get in the way of anything you have to teach them (or me) through the process. Frankly, I don’t know what is your best for them. All I have to offer them is my unconditional love. The same is true for my coworkers, friends, and even just acquaintances or those you put in my path and sphere of influence. Father, help me to see all of this with your eyes. Help me to love each soul I encounter as much as I care about the existence of my own soul.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 19, 2025 in 1 John

 

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Luke 6:20-26

18 Feb

20 Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said,

“God blesses you who are poor,
    for the Kingdom of God is yours.
21 God blesses you who are hungry now,
    for you will be satisfied.
God blesses you who weep now,
    for in due time you will laugh.

22 What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man. 23 When that happens, be happy! Yes, leap for joy! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, their ancestors treated the ancient prophets that same way.

24 “What sorrow awaits you who are rich,
    for you have your only happiness now.
25 What sorrow awaits you who are fat and prosperous now,
    for a time of awful hunger awaits you.
What sorrow awaits you who laugh now,
    for your laughing will turn to mourning and sorrow.
26 What sorrow awaits you who are praised by the crowds,
    for their ancestors also praised false prophets.

Luke 6:20-26

Dear God, by almost any measure, I am not to be pitied. I have a relationship with you and a life that makes it fairly easy to carve out discipleship time with you. Just spending time with you and getting to know you. I have a good marriage to a really good woman who is kind and patient with me. I have a job that not only pays our bills, but is good work. Important work for loving others. Speaking of bills, my bills are paid. I have money in the bank. I have friends. I have men and women who are positive influences on me and who speak your wisdom into my life. My children are seemingly healthy and living successful, independent lives in committed relationships with significant others. We are all healthy. Yes, there are things within what I just mentioned that bring me sorrow or concern, but compared with 99% of the world, I am absolutely not to be pitied.

So that makes me wonder about this passage. Should I be concerned? Is it a problem that I’m not poor, hungry, or weeping (although there are times when I do weep)? Can diamonds be made with no pressure? Can strong steel be made with low heat? And when the heat comes, do I delight and rejoice in it? If I take a stand for you among those who mock you (I’m thinking about one friend in particular who is disdainful of Christian faith) and they ridicule me, do I welcome that and delight in it or do I soft pedal my faith around them so as to not inflame their anger towards me?

Father, I am going to spend some time over the next few days with this mini sermon from Jesus. It is largely similar to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, but not completely. Help me to glean some nuances from it that I might have missed from Matthew. Perhaps the way Luke put it will shed a new light on something you need me to understand. Speak to me. Inspire me. Love through me.

I give you all of me, in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 18, 2025 in Luke

 

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