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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.

Ecclesiastes 3

12 Oct

3 For everything there is a season,
    a time for every activity under heaven.
2 A time to be born and a time to die.
    A time to plant and a time to harvest.
3 A time to kill and a time to heal.
    A time to tear down and a time to build up.
4 A time to cry and a time to laugh.
    A time to grieve and a time to dance.
5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
    A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
6 A time to search and a time to quit searching.
    A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear and a time to mend.
    A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
8 A time to love and a time to hate.
    A time for war and a time for peace.

9 What do people really get for all their hard work? 10 I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. 11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. 12 So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. 13 And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.

14 And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear him. 15 What is happening now has happened before, and what will happen in the future has happened before, because God makes the same things happen over and over again.

16 I also noticed that under the sun there is evil in the courtroom. Yes, even the courts of law are corrupt! 17 I said to myself, “In due season God will judge everyone, both good and bad, for all their deeds.”

18 I also thought about the human condition—how God proves to people that they are like animals. 19 For people and animals share the same fate—both breathe and both must die. So people have no real advantage over the animals. How meaningless! 20 Both go to the same place—they came from dust and they return to dust. 21 For who can prove that the human spirit goes up and the spirit of animals goes down into the earth? 22 So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. That is our lot in life. And no one can bring us back to see what happens after we die.

Ecclesiastes 3

Dear God, let’s face it, most everyone over 40 knows the beginning of this song from The Byrds classic, “Turn, Turn, Turn.”

I could spend a lot of time talking about the different seasons in life, but I am actually drawn to two other parts of this chapter. First, verse 11: 11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. I think my Mothers of the Bible and Fathers of the Bible series taught me that I will never be able to see what you are doing in the grand scope of things. My life is too short and my mind is too small. Naomi could never have seen that her path in life would lead to the lineage of Jesus (through Ruth and Boaz, to Obed, to Jesse, to David, to, ultimately, Jesus.) Hagar couldn’t have seen her suffering would lead to her freedom from slavery until much later in life. I can’t even figure out how taking a trip this week impacts the rest of my life. Almost nothing is known to me. And that’s okay. It’s just hard to learn to accept.

Then there is the part in verses 18-20: 18 I also thought about the human condition—how God proves to people that they are like animals. 19 For people and animals share the same fate—both breathe and both must die. So people have no real advantage over the animals. How meaningless! 20 Both go to the same place—they came from dust and they return to dust. I mentioned this the other day after I read the whole book at once and then prayed about my takeaways. Solomon (or the person writing from his perspective) has such a Solomon-centric, humancentric view of the world at this point, that he sees the only path as being self indulgence. Verses 12 and 13: 12 So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. 13 And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God. Verse 22a: 22 So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. That is our lot in life.

Whenever I think of the quiet sufferer who didn’t “live their best life now” (see Joel Osteen’s heresy) I think of the poor widow who put a couple of coins into the offering at the Temple. Jesus saw it and gathered his disciples around him to point it out and use it as a teachable moment. But there is no evidence that she ever knew he saw her. There is no evidence she ever had any more money when she died than she did that day. And there is no evidence that she ever knew that her act of worship and duty to you would be preserved as an example to billions of people over the millennia. So Solomon, I know you didn’t have her as an example yet when you wrote this, but she is my example. My life is not about me.

Father, we are on an interesting journey through Ecclesiastes. It’s a little like Job where you have a lot of people talking and saying the wrong things, including Job. Taken out of context, this could be a dangerous book. But for me the message of peace is found in 3:11: 11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. So I trust you with eternity. I trust you with my life. I trust you with my wife’s and children’s lives. My wife and I prayed for a cousin who is getting married today. I trust you with their lives as well. Be God. Don’t let one thing slip from your notice. And use every struggle to refine all of us into your children.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 12, 2024 in Ecclesiastes

 

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Ecclesiastes 2

11 Oct

2 I said to myself, “Come on, let’s try pleasure. Let’s look for the ‘good things’ in life.” But I found that this, too, was meaningless. 2 So I said, “Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?” 3 After much thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine. And while still seeking wisdom, I clutched at foolishness. In this way, I tried to experience the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world.

4 I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves. 7 I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned large herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who had lived in Jerusalem before me. 8 I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire!

9 So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. 10 Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. 11 But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.

12 So I decided to compare wisdom with foolishness and madness (for who can do this better than I, the king?). 13 I thought, “Wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness. 14 For the wise can see where they are going, but fools walk in the dark.” Yet I saw that the wise and the foolish share the same fate. 15 Both will die. So I said to myself, “Since I will end up the same as the fool, what’s the value of all my wisdom? This is all so meaningless!” 16 For the wise and the foolish both die. The wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool. In the days to come, both will be forgotten.

17 So I came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. Everything is meaningless—like chasing the wind.

18 I came to hate all my hard work here on earth, for I must leave to others everything I have earned. 19 And who can tell whether my successors will be wise or foolish? Yet they will control everything I have gained by my skill and hard work under the sun. How meaningless! 20 So I gave up in despair, questioning the value of all my hard work in this world.

21 Some people work wisely with knowledge and skill, then must leave the fruit of their efforts to someone who hasn’t worked for it. This, too, is meaningless, a great tragedy. 22 So what do people get in this life for all their hard work and anxiety? 23 Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief; even at night their minds cannot rest. It is all meaningless.

24 So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God. 25 For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him?26 God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him. But if a sinner becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away and gives it to those who please him. This, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind.

Ecclesiastes 2

Dear God, as I read this chapter this morning I thought of a friend of my dad’s. I might have his philosophy incorrect, so I don’t want to use his name. Or my dad might have misinterpreted his philosophy to me. Either way, when I read this this morning, I thought of my perception of his philosophy which is, “Make your money and accumulate your wealth in the first half of your life and then use the second half of your life doing something or multiple things that are significant for God.” He even wrote a best selling book that showed people how to use the second half of their lives effectively. I think it was mainly designed for men and women who already found themselves in a midlife crisis, and it wasn’t written for the 20-year-old who was setting out on their career.

My dad and I were talking about this book recently, and he recounted this philosophy to me again. I told him that I disagreed with it. And now, reading this passage in Ecclesiastes, I kind of know why. Even this search for significance in the second half of life is chasing the wind. It is grasping for the things Solomon is grasping for in this passage. The money and wealth sought in the first half of life are just replaced with significance and joy.

There are two great commands Jesus gave us: love you and love others. Then he gave us this amazing sermon in Matthew 5-7 that basically outlines the standard we should strive for as we live out our salvation. Part of that living out of our salvation is to reframe my life. My life is not about my significance! The sooner I come to peace with that and accept it, ironically, the happier I will be.

My wife and I were talking yesterday about how, other than the constant sorrow that is in our lives through broken relationships, we are in a very good place. We have no complaints. Basically, life is good right now. Even as she was saying the words, I wanted to look over my shoulder for another shoe that could drop. Maybe one of us will have a health issue. Maybe I’ll have an unforeseen problem at work. We could have a health issue with another family member. Really, the possibilities are endless. And I don’t want those things. I like it easy. But I hope that should calamity or headwinds come, I won’t complain to you.

Father, I’ve been disappointed with you before. But you used that disappointment to teach me these lessons. And I know I still have more to learn, and sometimes the only way I can learn them is through struggling. So I am absolutely not inviting those struggles, but I pray that when you have something for me to learn, you will give me a teachable heart that will take the lesson and worship you for the rest of my days.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 11, 2024 in Ecclesiastes

 

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Ecclesiastes 3:13, 5:18, 8:15, 9:7

10 Oct


And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.

Ecclesiastes 3:13


Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life.

Ecclesiastes 5:18


So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way they will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 8:15


So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this!

Ecclesiastes 9:7

Dear God, I read Ecclesiastes in one sitting yesterday, and this phrase kept popping up. As Solomon (again, I’m going to just assume Solomon although it could be someone speaking with his voice) considered life and its meaning, it seemed that he couldn’t get away from the idea of just finding happiness in indulgence because our lives are so small you might as well have some fun while you’re here.

There is something to be said for taking time for a little enjoyment. As I type these words, I am on the balcony of a rented condominium overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. The ocean is roaring in my ears as the beginning of the sunrise are starting to show over the tankers anchored on the horizon. My wife and I went out and had a great dinner last night. We have indulged this week, and the time to relax has been good. It’s been a luxury. I’ve needed it. She’s needed it too. So yes, I do believe there is a place for this.

I think the important thing to remember is that the work “under the sun” is not a burden. It’s a “get to” and not a “have to.” Now there is some work that is just flat out hard. Harvesting crops. Roofing houses. But even this work can be mixed with worshipping you and submitted to you as our lives are submitted to you. Otherwise, if we carry this vision through life (the short lives we live) that our work is a burden then we will have spend so much of our lives thinking we deserve better. And no matter how much “better” we end up achieving, there will always be a happiness we never achieve.

Father, it reminds me of a VeggieTales my wife and I still joke about called Madame Blueberry. In it, our main character is in search of a happy heart. It feels like that is what Solomon is in search of in Ecclesiastes. He is trying to unwrap the mystery of the happy heart. For Junior Asparagus in Madame Blueberry, happy hearts are found in gratitude. And I think that can be true. But I think it starts even a step back from that and getting over my rights to the life, relationships, and situations I think I am entitled to. To quote Paul once again from Acts 20:24, “I consider my life worth nothing to me. If only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus have given to me. The task of testifying to the Gospel of God’s grace.” If I can truly get to that level and then do what Paul and James tell me to do in giving thanks in all things then I will find a heart that exudes love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control. Help me to get there.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 10, 2024 in Ecclesiastes

 

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Ecclesiastes 1

09 Oct

1 These are the words of the Teacher, King David’s son, who ruled in Jerusalem.

2 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”

3 What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? 4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. 6 The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles. 7 Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea. 8 Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.

9 History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. 10 Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new. 11 We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.

12 I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem. 13 I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done under heaven. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race. 14 I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind.

15 What is wrong cannot be made right.
    What is missing cannot be recovered.

16 I said to myself, “Look, I am wiser than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. I have greater wisdom and knowledge than any of them.” 17 So I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned firsthand that pursuing all this is like chasing the wind.

18 The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief.
    To increase knowledge only increases sorrow.

Ecclesiastes 1

Dear God, I’m actually going to sit down and read all of Ecclesiates (it’s been a while and I don’t remember that much about the arc of the book) before I just drop into studying it because I think I need the context of chapters 2-12 before I can get a feel for where Solomon (I’m just going to assume this is Solomon and not someone writing in his voice) is coming from in chapter 1. I say this because, for a wise person, he seems awfully naive in this chapter. He comes across as too immature. There must be more to the message he has for us than, “I’ve seen the future and all I can say is, ‘Turn back.'”

When I started reading this passage this morning, my first thought was to think he has it all wrong. He starts with a basis for his argument that is faulty. The basis is that life is about us. Our lives our about us. My life is about me. He is right that the world is just on a cycle and it keeps repeating itself with our lives just being an infinitely small part of that cycle. I can see it in the lives of the dogs I’ve owned in my life. I don’t think I can name every dog our family owned as a child, but I can break down the 54 years I’ve been on earth into eras of my pets. My childhood until 18 is one era with many dogs coming and going, but I’ll call this the “Weezer” era because there was one dog we had from the time I was five until after I left for college. Then, seven years later, my wife and I got our first dog, Darlin’. That era lasted 14 years until she aged out and towards the end of her life we got sisters from the pound, Polo and Clover. That era lasted 15 years, and now we are in the era of Evvie. Our hope is that this era will last us into our late 60s.

These dogs had meaningful roles to play in our lives. They loved us, and they gave us something to love. They didn’t really do much around the house. They didn’t earn their keep. We didn’t make any money off of them. In fact, they have all been a resource drain. They have taken time, money, and even some heartache. They angered us when they destroyed something or peed in the house. They delighted us when they played or cuddled up next to us. The sisters, Polo and Clover, fought with each other, and all of them tried to figure out how to get along with other dogs we encountered, and sometimes they failed at that too. But because a dog’s lifespan is much shorter than mine, I can see the fleetingness of life in them. I see the energy of a puppy, the learning and hunger for knowledge of an adolescent, and ultimately the fatigue of the elderly. Their memory’s live in my heart, but even those memories will die with me one day.

Is my life much different? Does it matter to me if it isn’t? I have a feeling that is the question Solomon is going to wrestle with here, and I’m here for it. If it’s not something along these lines, and the whole book is just moaning that he is not more important then I will be really disappointed.

Father, I know you have things to teach me. I know you’ve only given me one short life to live here on this earth. Help me to use it well. Help me to glorify you in all that I do. Help me to die to myself willingly, pick up my cross and follow you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 9, 2024 in Ecclesiastes

 

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Galatians 1:13-24

08 Oct

13 You know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religion—how I violently persecuted God’s church. I did my best to destroy it. 14 I was far ahead of my fellow Jews in my zeal for the traditions of my ancestors.

15 But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him 16 to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles.

When this happened, I did not rush out to consult with any human being. 17 Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. Instead, I went away into Arabia, and later I returned to the city of Damascus.

18 Then three years later I went to Jerusalem to get to know Peter, and I stayed with him for fifteen days. 19 The only other apostle I met at that time was James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I declare before God that what I am writing to you is not a lie.

21 After that visit I went north into the provinces of Syria and Cilicia. 22 And still the churches in Christ that are in Judea didn’t know me personally. 23 All they knew was that people were saying, “The one who used to persecute us is now preaching the very faith he tried to destroy!” 24 And they praised God because of me.

Galatians 1:13-24

Dear God, what strikes me about this passage this morning is the end in verses 23 and 24. It intimates the struggle of Christians in Syria and Cilicia of the time. They were being persecuted for their beliefs. They knew there were people they shouldn’t trust. They were pressed but not crushed (2 Corinthians 4:8). They were worshiping you. They were figuring out their faith. And then they heard about this miracle. One of the people they would have been told to fear in the past was now not only safe to be around, but was also being persecuted himself.

I think this gave these people two things. First, it showed them how powerful you are. They God they were worshiping was amazing. Second, it taught them that if someone who had worked so hard to destroy belief in Jesus had so thoroughly had his mind changed, then it must be real. Paul had an incredible testimony to share.

Frankly, everything you do really is amazing. I finally finished the A.J. Jacobs’s book, The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible. It took me a while, but I really feel like I savored it. It was interesting to see where he came to at the end of it. I look forward to listening to some of his talks about the book on YouTube now that I’ve finished it. By the end, a Jewish man who considered himself agnostic before the project ended the project still agnostic, but maybe a little less so. Here’s what he said about his belief in you at the end of his year:

“Do I believe in a traditional biblical God? Well, not in the sense that the ancient Israelites believed in Him. I could never make the full leap to accepting a God who rolls up His sleeves and fiddles with our lives like a novelist does his characters. I’m still agnostic. But in the words of Elton Richards, I’m not a reverent agnostic. Which isn’t an oxymoron, I swear. I now believe that whether or not there’s a God, there is such a thing as sacredness. Life is sacred. The Sabbath can be a sacred day. Prayer can be a sacred ritual. There is something transcendent, beyond the everyday. it’s possible that humans created this sacredness ourselves, but that doesn’t take away from its power or importance.”

Father, I don’t know where I’m really going with this prayer this morning except to say that I really appreciate the journey you have us all on. I can appreciate my own journey. It is a mixture of success and sorrow. I do know that the closer I get to you the more I have love in my heart for others and the less I judge. I also realize there is less and less I feel like I know for sure. You are so much bigger than me. Life is so much bigger than me. My job today is to simply love you and then love others. You’ll figure out the rest.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 8, 2024 in Galatians

 

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“The Sound of Silence” by Disturbed

07 Oct

“The Sound of Silence” by Disturbed

Hello darkness, my old friend
I’ve come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence

In restless dreams, I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
‘Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence

And in the naked light, I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never shared
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence

“Fools” said I, “You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you”
But my words, like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
Then the sign said, “The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
In tenement halls”
And whispered in the sound of silence

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Paul Simon

Dear God, this is a song my family had on an 8-track tape when I was a kid. I don’t know how many times I heard it, but never heard it. Hearing without listening? Paul Simon wrote it, but frankly, his and Art Garfunkel‘s delivery didn’t do it justice compared to what Disturbed did with it here. The Simon and Garfunkel version was almost too lovely. And maybe there is some poetry in the loveliness portraying such emptiness, but I am not that perceptive. I need something to bang me over the head for me to ay attention. Disturbed did that here.

And I am sure I am missing some interpretation of this song. I just read through the lyrics slowly, and I had some thoughts on what it could mean or what Simon might have been referring to. For me it’s about loneliness. There is a lot of loneliness in this song. The winger is lonely. the people are lonely. And this was written over 50 years ago. I think research shows that, as a society, we have only gotten lonelier and more isolated. The singer was right in the second to last stanza: “Fool, you do not know. Silence like a cancer grows.”

Community is so important. I was with a man Saturday who was talking about his wife’s enjoyment of the graveyard shift at work because she is an introvert. He is a retired pastor, and she probably developed a great need for personal space after having felt like living in a fishbowl for so many years. But I wonder over the last 15-20 years if the percentage of people who self-identify as an extrovert has dropped as we sink further and further into our silos.

So, what am I doing to make sure I am in community? Am I isolated? Am I known? Do I know others, for their sake and for mine? It’s important. We need each other. Even the Bible recognizes this as it tells the story in Genesis 2:18 that you decided it wasn’t good that Adam was alone. And animals weren’t enough. He needed another person. As a mate, he needed a complementary person who would fill the gaps in him. But he ultimately needed others as well. He needed to be a dad. I’m sure he eventually had friends. And it was probably friends that helped him and Even through the tragedy with Cain and Abel. I’m going down a rabbit hole here, but you get my point. You know we need each other, but I think our insecurity and tendency to worship ourselves and make our need for certainty our idol tends to drive us away from others who will rub up against us, wear off our rough edges, and help us to live out the two great commandments that are for our benefit: to love you and love others.

Father, I am not only in community for myself. I’m in community for the others in that community as well. Make me a good member of that community. Help me to be vulnerable. Help me to speak when I talk. Help me to listen when I hear. Use those around me to form me, and use me in the lives of others as you see fit. That includes my wife, my children, my family, and others around me. Don’t let anything be wasted, Holy Spirit. Give me ears to hear and listen. Give me eyes to see and perceive. Give me a voice that is considered and directed by you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 7, 2024 in Hymns and Songs

 

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Mark 10:1-16

06 Oct

10 Then Jesus left Capernaum and went down to the region of Judea and into the area east of the Jordan River. Once again crowds gathered around him, and as usual he was teaching them.

2 Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with this question: “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife?”

3 Jesus answered them with a question: “What did Moses say in the law about divorce?”

4 “Well, he permitted it,” they replied. “He said a man can give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away.”

5 But Jesus responded, “He wrote this commandment only as a concession to your hard hearts. 6 But ‘God made them male and female’ from the beginning of creation. 7 ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, 8 and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, 9 let no one split apart what God has joined together.”

10 Later, when he was alone with his disciples in the house, they brought up the subject again. 11 He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery against her. 12 And if a woman divorces her husband and marries someone else, she commits adultery.”

13 One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.

14 When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” 16 Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.

Mark 10:1-16

Dear God, I wonder how much of Jesus’s typical day on earth was spent with him just putting his face in the palm of his hand out of frustration. The two stories here are completely separate, but a theme is Jesus having to teach and correct things that had been generationally taught to the Pharisees, disciples, and everyone else in between.

In the first case, it was 1.) dealing with the skepticism of the Pharisees (which I don’t blame them for. I’d have been skeptical too) and 2.) having to correct an errant perspective on what marriage is. And I have to say that I do not know exactly what a first-century Pharisee thought marriage was, but it apparently wasn’t going back to the one basic fact that you built us for each other. You built us to humbly love and serve each other. You built us to fill a need each of us has that is part of our human condition (the perfectly created human condition, not the fallen human condition). Yes, there are times when we hurt each other. Yes, there are times when divorce has to happen because of the actions of one of the spouses over the other. But there are other times when both people are just failing to live up to what you’re calling us to do. To fill the need in our spouse that you call us to fill. I am here for her and to build up your daughter. She is here to build up your son. Yes, we each have calls on our lives. And one of my jobs is to make sure she has everything she needs to fulfill the call(s) you put on her. And one of her jobs is to help me fulfill the call(s) you put on me. To discern when one of us needs to sacrifice for that call. That is what you intended. So later when Jesus says a divorced person who remarries commits adultery, he is pointing his finger at the person who was not wronged through adultery or abuse by the other and recognizing the sin they are committing.

Then there is the disciples scolding parents for bringing their children for blessings. It’s hard for me to imagine the celebrity entourage aspect of Jesus walking around, but it makes me wonder if the disciples acted as his gatekeepers and how they made decisions on who got through the gate. Maybe they only let the really sick and lame through the gate. I don’t know how they drew the line, but they obviously didn’t respect the idea that parents were just wanting a blessing for their children from Jesus. They must have seen that as a frivolous use of Jesus’s (and their own) time. But Jesus pointed out that he loved these children, that the adults have something to learn from these children, and he wanted to bless these children. I’ve asked this before, but I can’t help but wonder what became of these children. How did their lives play out after having been blessed directly by Jesus.

Father, I have a lot to learn. I have so much to learn. My knowledge of you is steeped in my own selfish perspective, bad teaching from generations of errancy, and then a mix of actual knowledge of you through good teaching and times like this. Too often, I cannot tell what is right and what is wrong. So I am sorry for when I am wrong. I am sorry when I say things to other people that are wrong and I cause them to stumble from my bad teaching. I am sorry when I hurt your daughter, the woman I married 32 years ago. I am sorry when I don’t give her everything she needs to be the woman you created her to be. And I am sorry when I miss the mark on who you call me to be. But I bring you an earnest heart. I bring you a heart that wants to love you and love others. Thank you for the gift of Jesus and that that is enough for you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 6, 2024 in Mark

 

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Thomas Merton Prayer

05 Oct

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does, in fact, please you. And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I will do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will I trust you always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. Amen.

Thomas Merton

Dear God, I came across this prayer last night. It was apparently a favorite of an old family friend who recently passed away. It expressed thoughts I’ve often felt but didn’t quite have the words for. It made me just want to sit with it a bit and talk with you about it.

I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end.

There are a lot of times when I am praying that the song “Lord, I Don’t Know” from the Newsboys will come to mind. The chorus starts, “Lord, I don’t know where all this is going or how it all works out.” Frankly, no one knows where they are going. Not one of us. None of us see the road ahead. Not one of us. We have not idea where our road ends. Not one of us. And we do not see where our neighbor’s road ends either. And yet we spend so much time thinking about the future. I spend so much time thinking about how things will work out for me and my loved ones. What will happen with the election? If this person wins or that person wins, what will happen? Frankly, it’s simply not within my purview to focus on that. What will happen at the end of life for my wife and me? Which of us will have to go on without the other? What will happen if I run out of money before I die? What will happen in my children’s lives? My nieces and nephews?

Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.

Life is a bit of a fog. My mind is a bit of a fog. From the moment all of us are born, we are operating under some level of delusion. We think we have needs we don’t have. We are afraid of things we don’t need to be afraid of. Then we grow and are raised by parents, relatives, friends, teachers, etc. who are living in as much of a fog as we are. Sometimes they teach us wrong things. We have biases. We have secret fears, and we will take shortcuts and sin to protect ourselves. And then we take all of that into the world. I take my confusion and apply it to life.

I’m about to put this set of prayer journals out from the prayers I did to you over biblical characters who were parents. I made a lot of assumptions in there. Some of them might be wrong. I get an idea to do something like put this thing out. Maybe that’s the wrong thing to do. Twenty-two years ago, I felt you call me to quit my job and set out in search of the career you had for me. I felt very much in the middle of your will at that moment. I remember reading something from someone at the time who talked about following your will and they said something to the effect of, “When I did this and absolutely knew I was in the middle of God’s will, after that I was afraid to cross the street if it wasn’t in God’s will.” But how do we know? I make all kinds of decisions every day that may or may not be in your will. I don’t intend to get outside of it, but I do.

My wife told me this week about a project she’s working on, and she told me she realized she had never asked you before she decided to do it. Yeah, I probably wouldn’t have either. I don’t stop and ask for your input on these things nearly often enough.

But I believe that the desire to please you does, in fact, please you. And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.

I do believe that earnestness goes a long way. I suppose I have to believe that. If I don’t think you look at my genuine love for you and, instead, look only on my actual actions and decisions then there is no hope. When my children were little, if they did something wrong but it was for the right reason then it was a lot easier to overlook. If, however, it was intentionally malicious then there was hopefully a lesson to be learned about motive, integrity, and empathy. Even being here this morning, praying before you, I have a long day ahead. I am having breakfast with a friend in a couple of hours. I’m working a water booth at a festival after that. Then I’ll do other things and talk to other people. I have all kinds of opportunities to be dishonoring to you and to get outside of your plan. But I can tell you right now that my desire is to simply love you and represent your presence in this world through my little life.

And I know that if I will do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.

This is where faith comes in. When I did my “Parents of the Bible” series, one of the things that became very clear is that no one knew how things would turn out. Hagar didn’t know how things were going to play out for her and Ishmael. Naomi didn’t know how things would turn out after losing her husband and sons. Zechariah and Elizabeth didn’t know how things were turn out for John the Baptist and Jesus. And I have zero idea what is happening on the road I’m on right now. But I am trusting you that this road for me, my wife, my children, and others I love is the right road for your plan. It’s all I have. Atheists would say I am using my faith as a crutch, and perhaps I am. But you are a crutch I’ve reasoned myself towards. You’re an educated crutch. And it’s ironic that the closer I find myself growing to you the more I feel the fruit of your Holy Spirit growing in me. But yes, even when I am in the valley of the shadow of death, I am trusting this is the path for me, and that you have made it resistant to whatever mistakes I make.

Therefore I will I trust you always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

Speaking of the valley of the shadow of death, here it is in the prayer. This part about you never leaving me to face my perils alone reminds me of the poem “Footprints in the Sand.”

One night I dreamed a dream.
As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,
One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
especially at the very lowest and saddest times,
there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.
“Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,
You’d walk with me all the way.
But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.”

He whispered, “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you.”

Father, there are times when I really need you to carry me. And there are other times when I am ready to put my feet down and get to work. As I enter this week of vacation, I think there is a little of both ahead of me. I could use some carrying and comfort. But I also think this might be an opportunity to make some progress on some personal things you’re asking me to do. But it all starts with me being here in your presence, with a heart that is flawed but earnest. With a life that can be selfish but repentant. With a heart that is afraid, but learning to trust you. Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. All that I am, for all that you are.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 5, 2024 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Job 38:1-21, 40:1-5

04 Oct

38 Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:

2 “Who is this that questions my wisdom
    with such ignorant words?
3 Brace yourself like a man,
    because I have some questions for you,
    and you must answer them.

4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
    Tell me, if you know so much.
5 Who determined its dimensions
    and stretched out the surveying line?
6 What supports its foundations,
    and who laid its cornerstone
7 as the morning stars sang together
    and all the angels[a] shouted for joy?

8 “Who kept the sea inside its boundaries
    as it burst from the womb,
9 and as I clothed it with clouds
    and wrapped it in thick darkness?
10 For I locked it behind barred gates,
    limiting its shores.
11 I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.
    Here your proud waves must stop!’

12 “Have you ever commanded the morning to appear
    and caused the dawn to rise in the east?
13 Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth,
    to bring an end to the night’s wickedness?
14 As the light approaches,
    the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal;
    it is robed in brilliant colors.
15 The light disturbs the wicked
    and stops the arm that is raised in violence.

16 “Have you explored the springs from which the seas come?
    Have you explored their depths?
17 Do you know where the gates of death are located?
    Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?
18 Do you realize the extent of the earth?
    Tell me about it if you know!

19 “Where does light come from,
    and where does darkness go?
20 Can you take each to its home?
    Do you know how to get there?
21 But of course you know all this!
For you were born before it was all created,
    and you are so very experienced!

40 Then the Lord said to Job,

2 “Do you still want to argue with the Almighty?
    You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?”

Job Responds to the Lord

3 Then Job replied to the Lord,

4 “I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers?
    I will cover my mouth with my hand.
5 I have said too much already.
    I have nothing more to say.”

Job 38:1-21, 40:1-5

Dear God, this might be one of my favorite things in the whole Bible. I remember the first time I tried to read Job on my own I had a really hard time because some of the things Job, his wife, and his friends were saying seemed so reasonable. Why had things gone so poorly for him? Didn’t he deserve better? The whole thing is like a petulant child throwing a fit and then you coming in and setting the child straight. And Job was really suffering, so I’m not trying to make light of that or his complaining. I get it. I’m a complainer too. I can get roughed up a little and then feel sorry for myself. But we rarely see you deal with someone one-on-one like this in real time. We don’t see you bluntly correct an individual like this. We’ve seen you speak through the prophets and warn groups of people. We’ve seen you correct Moses for an act of disobedience. But to see you just let Job have it for three chapters is really quite something.

The thing that helped me turn the corner on this was the Introduction of a commentary on Job by David McKenna from the Mastering the Hold Testament series (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, General Editor). In it, he listed the six levels of faith as developed by James Fowler and his book The Stages of Faith. Quoting McKenna:

  • Intuitive-projective faith is associated with a child’s faith, based upon fantasy.
  • Mythical-literal faith is the family faith of the early school years, which is sustained by moral rules and either/or thinking.
  • Synthetic-conventional faith is an adolescent faith that conforms to the tradition of the community and creates the “kind” of person of faith whom it models or rejects.
  • Individuative-reflective faith is the faith of the young adult who is capable of critical thinking, independent reflection, and dialectical reasoning.
  • Conjunctive faith is a mid-life and old-age faith that integrates self-identity with a comprehensive world view to see the order, coherence, and meaning of life in order to serve and be served.
  • Universalizing faith is the rare faith of a world citizen who incarnates a transcendent vision into a disciplined, active, and self-giving life.

According the McKenna, Job opens with him and his friends at the synthetic-conventional level of faith. They all believe the same thing about you and part of that belief is the idea that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. Frankly, it is probably where the disciples are when they first meet Jesus. It is evident by this story from John 9:1-2: 9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” Jesus told them that neither is true: “3It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.” So Job and his friends start here, but the road of suffering take Job all of the way to universalizing faith.

I’ve gone deeper down the rabbit hole on this than I intended, but I just love it so much. A book that totally confused me and eluded me was brought to life by McKenna and his application of Fowler’s work. One thing I notice about Paul is that he seems to get to this level of faith very quickly. In Acts 20:24 he says that his life is worth nothing to him. He only lives to complete the task you have given him. Then he goes on to suffer and see the opportunity in it without complaining. And there was amazing opportunity in Paul’s suffering. I am probably sitting here this morning because of Paul’s suffering.

Father, first, I don’t know what suffering is. I have sorrows. I have things that bring me to tears. But I have not truly suffered. So I want to just start by acknowledging that I mainly speak of this out of ignorance and from an academic standpoint. Watching Job go through real suffering and then be so chastened by you is also very sobering. And I don’t want to invite suffering. I’m not stupid. But I do, right here, right now, submit my life to you. It is worth nothing to me. If only I may finish the race and complete the tasks you give me. Help me to know exactly what those tasks are.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 4, 2024 in Job

 

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Psalm 27:7-8A, 8B-9ABC, 13-14 (Catholic Daily Reading for October 3, 2024)

03 Oct

R. (13) I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
Hear, O LORD, the sound of my call;
have pity on me, and answer me.
Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
Your presence, O LORD, I seek.
Hide not your face from me;
do not in anger repel your servant.
You are my helper: cast me not off.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.

Psalm 27:7-8A, 8B-9ABC, 13-14

Dear God, this is the psalm that the Catholic church paired with this passage from Job 19:21-27:

21 “Have mercy on me, my friends, have mercy,
    for the hand of God has struck me.
22 Must you also persecute me, like God does?
    Haven’t you chewed me up enough?

23 “Oh, that my words could be recorded.
    Oh, that they could be inscribed on a monument,
24 carved with an iron chisel and filled with lead,
    engraved forever in the rock.

25 “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
    and he will stand upon the earth at last.
26 And after my body has decayed,
    yet in my body I will see God!
27 I will see him for myself.
    Yes, I will see him with my own eyes.
    I am overwhelmed at the thought!

It seems to apply to me today because I spontaneously had a good cry this morning. I talk often to you about the constant sorrow in my life. Well, I was listening to a secular song from P!NK this morning called “Who Knew?” The final verse says, “That last kiss I’ll cherish until we meet again. But time makes it harder. I wish I could remember. But I keep your memory. You visit me in my sleep. My darling, who knew?” The song can be interpreted in many ways. The obvious interpretation is that it is sung by a lover who was abandoned. But she wrote it for a friend who died by suicide. For me, it is about my sorrow over broken relationships over which I simply have zero power. So as I shaved this morning, I played this phrase of the song about five times and just cried. I feel the tears coming up even now.

Then I sat down to look at scripture this morning, and I saw Job’s sorrow. Then I saw this psalm from David. There are sorrows in this life. There are things I cannot understand. You use my life in ways I cannot understand. You use sorrows in my life and in the lives of others to form me. I’m not saying you cause the sorrow, but I do pray that you help me to not waste the sorrow. Use it for the good of your world and for me. Not my personal wealth or anything like that. Just my formation into the man you need me to be. The man you are calling me to be. And do the same for those who are in these broken relationships with me. Don’t let this be wasted on them either. Love them. Heal them. And bring your glory into this earth through these things. I come to you as Job did at the end of the book. My life is worth nothing. Use me as you see fit.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 3, 2024 in Job, Psalms

 

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