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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.

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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Matthew 17:24-18:1

02 Oct

24 On their arrival in Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax came to Peter and asked him, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the Temple tax?”

25 “Yes, he does,” Peter replied. Then he went into the house.

But before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Peter? Do kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered?”

26 “They tax the people they have conquered,” Peter replied.

“Well, then,” Jesus said, “the citizens are free! 27 However, we don’t want to offend them, so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.”

18 About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”

Dear God, this is another one of those stories that has a context that can be lost because of artificial chapter and verse breaks. Matthew didn’t put the break at chapter 18 there. He intended the stories about the Temple tax and the “greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven” question to be read together. The phrase that links them is at the beginning of chapter 18: “About that time…”

So Jesus is making a point in chapter 17 that the Temple leaders of the day are not treating Jesus like the son of God–your son–that he is. They are treating Jesus like an outsider. Just like anyone else. And it’s a fight Jesus isn’t interested in having with them at that moment. Really quick, there’s also a slight intimation in 17:25 that Peter lied to the collectors about Jesus paying his tax. Or at least spoke confidently about something of which he wasn’t sure. Either way, the whole situation sparked a thought in their minds: Jesus will be the top of the food chain in the Kingdom of Heaven. What will the hierarchy look like after that? And How will I fit into it?

I was listening to a story this morning on this week’s Holy Post podcast about gorillas getting too much screen time at zoos around the country. Apparently zoo guests are showing the gorillas videos of themselves and the gorillas are enjoying it a lot and not acting as much like gorillas anymore. They want to see the videos of themselves. One of the Holy Post hosts mentioned that we were spreading our human narcissism to them. They likened it to when the crowd cam goes around a stadium at a sporting event and puts people on the big screen and the people go nuts when they see themselves. We have this deep-seated need in our hearts to know we matter. And I think a lot of us get preoccupied with the future, and especially the end of times future, because we are primarily concerned with how we fit into it. If I get wrapped up in trying to figure out Revelation and the end times, it is probably a lot closer to the root of the disciples question here than I might be comfortable with.

Father, help me to get over myself. Help me to love. Help me to guide people into your presence. Help me to be full of you so that you might overflow into the lives of those around me. Use me however you will. I expect nothing in return. I am yours. You are my God. If you give me scraps from the table (Matthew 15:27), it is still more than I deserve.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 2, 2024 in Matthew

 

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Luke 9:51-56

01 Oct

51 As the time drew near for him to ascend to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival. 53 But the people of the village did not welcome Jesus because he was on his way to Jerusalem. 54 When James and John saw this, they said to Jesus, “Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up?” 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them. 56 So they went on to another village.

Luke 9:51-56

Dear God, I think I want to look closely at verse 53 this morning. The Samaritans at that time made a huge mistake. All they saw was a rabbi wanting to stay there on his way to Jerusalem for the Passover. How dare this Jewish snob (probably their view of him) use them while he looked down on them! Their pride, anger, and hurt led them into a bad decision.

How much does that still happen today? I was listening to the Voxology Podcast for this week yesterday. They were talking about the culture war and how Jesus would fight it, leaning on what he said during the Sermon on the Mount. It made me think about the controversial Olympics opening ceremony where drag queens simulated a dinner that was controversial. When many Christians saw it they were indignant and let their displeasure be known. In this story today from Luke, the people who were mad remind me of the Samaritans who told Jesus he wasn’t welcome there and also James and John who were ready to call down fire on them for their insolence. Samaritans: How dare he?!? James and John: How dare they?!?

Father, help me to see all of this with Jesus’s eyes. Help me to see those drag queens with Jesus’s eyes. Help me to love them. Help me to love anyone who comes across my path today. Let it start with the children I’m about to read to at the school. Use me this morning in your kingdom. Use me at work. Use me in my family. Use me for my wife. Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 1, 2024 in Luke

 

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Philippians 1:9-11

30 Sep

9 I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. 10 For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. 11 May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.

Philippians 1:9-11

Dear God, I need to pray for this more for my friends who are Christians: that your love through them will overflow more and more, and that they will continue to grow in knowledge and understanding. For my relative who chose to follow you back at Christmastime. For my three closest friends. For my wife. For my coworkers who worship you and call on your name. I could go on and on. There are so many. And this is a good place to start as I pray for them. That your love will overflow through them more and more.

A pastor friend calls this having leaky buckets that will just drip you and your presence everywhere they go. I guess I might modify it that the buckets won’t be leaky as much as the love will just slosh over the top as they move through their days. That the love will overflow. And that they will grow in knowledge and understanding of what you are doing in the world around them and how you would have them interact with it.

Father, as for myself, help my bucket to overflow. Help me to access you to the point where your love is flowing through me and sloshing over the sides onto everyone I encounter. Love generously through me. Love mercifully through me. And help me to know how to interact with the world around me. How to interact with challenges at work. How to interact with challenges in family. How to interact with the news I hear. Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, teach me, please. Bring me into complete oneness with you.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 30, 2024 in Philippians

 

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Numbers 11:24-30

29 Sep

So Moses went out and reported the Lord’s words to the people. He gathered the seventy elders and stationed them around the Tabernacle. And the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. Then he gave the seventy elders the same Spirit that was upon Moses. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But this never happened again.

Two men, Eldad and Medad, had stayed behind in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but they had not gone out to the Tabernacle. Yet the Spirit rested upon them as well, so they prophesied there in the camp. A young man ran and reported to Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!”

Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ assistant since his youth, protested, “Moses, my master, make them stop!”

But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them all!” Then Moses returned to the camp with the elders of Israel.
Numbers 11:24-30

Dear God, I wonder if I could consider this attitude “sibling rivalry.” This is the Old Testament reading for many churches today. The Gospel reading in Mark 9 has the apostle John doing something similar in verse 38 when he tells Jesus he saw someone casting out demons in Jesus’s name and John told him to stop because he wasn’t part of their group. And this is after John witnessed the Transfiguration earlier in Mark 9. It’s also immediately after Jesus got onto the disciples about arguing over who would be the greatest in your kingdom. How could they do this?!?

And of course, this is when I look at myself and think about how I do this. I want to be considered to be the best Christian. I want to be more devout than someone else. I want to be wiser. I want to be more Christlike. I want to be more Godly. Me, me, me. Funny how I was praying yesterday about selfish ambition vs. humble ambition. I think this reveals my selfish heart.

I remember a few weeks ago, I was thinking about a man in our town who is very Godly. He is a humble, gentle spirt. Probably the most gentle man I know. He exudes your wisdom, peace, and presence. For anonymity for anyone reading this, I won’t list his job here, but he is not a church pastor and yet he might be the most Christlike person I know here. The reason I bring him up is because when I thought about him a few weeks ago, and I was thinking about him in this way, I felt a pang of jealousy in me. Now, if I am responding sinfully like Joshua and John, then I guess that at least puts me in good company, but it is still sin. It is still selfish ambition. I want to be known as the best Christian. Sure, I might now want credit for deeds I do, but for who I am, I want to be known as the best. So sad.

Father, I really do appreciate this man. And the most beautiful part about his is that he probably wouldn’t even think of himself in this way. I know he has struggles in his life. I know he is trying to figure out your call on him on a daily basis just like I am. I know he gets confused in difficult situations. I’m not saying he is Jesus. In fact, what I’m saying is that he is absolutely not Jesus, but he is humble enough to know that, pursue you with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength and then love others as himself. The fruits of your Spirit exude through him because of this attitude. I repent that I, for even one moment, felt jealous of him. That I had any thoughts of him that were not pure appreciation and admiration. I am sorry for thinking I have to be anything than your child who loves you, worships you, and surrenders his life to you.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 29, 2024 in Numbers

 

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Mark 9:30-37

28 Sep

Leaving that region, they traveled through Galilee. Jesus didn’t want anyone to know he was there, for he wanted to spend more time with his disciples and teach them. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies. He will be killed, but three days later he will rise from the dead.” They didn’t understand what he was saying, however, and they were afraid to ask him what he meant. After they arrived at Capernaum and settled in a house, Jesus asked his disciples, “What were you discussing out on the road?” But they didn’t answer, because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, “Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.” Then he put a little child among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not only me but also my Father who sent me.”
Mark 9:30-37

Dear God, Catholic or not Catholic, Christian’s could do a lot worse than to listen to Fr. Mike Schmitz Sunday Homilies. I listened to the one from last Sunday this morning and it was quite good. What stuck with me is the difference between humble ambition and selfish ambition. He said selfish ambition requires sold preservation and self defense along the way while I achieve my goals. Then he looked to C.S. Lewis in his book The Screwtape Letters to describe humility. Apparently Lewis described it as the person responsible for building the greatest chapel in the world walking in and being just as pleased with it as of someone else had built it. Humble ambition is about your call on me and my life. Selfish ambition is about my call on my life.

It made me think about the facility expansion and corresponding capital campaign we are going to do at work. If I approach donors with selfish ambition then it will be an icky process. However, if I approach them with humble ambition then I will be giving them a vision of what I believe your call to be and inviting them to participate.

Father, I want my life to be one of humble ambition. That is to say, I would love to not care about any admiration I receive. I confess to you that I do, indeed, care. I do, indeed, like glory. But I confess that right now and offer you my life, my heart, and my ego. My utmost for your highest!

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 28, 2024 in Mark

 

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Praying for the unprayed for

27 Sep

Father, you convicted my wife and me about something this morning. We were talking about someone we love who can sometimes frustrate us, and we realized that while we sometimes throw them into our prayers when we pray for different groups of people together, we haven’t actually intentionally prayed for this person much at all, if at all. And this person has some of the most hurt from childhood of anyone I personally know. I can see why they would have a lot of issues. And that knowledge helps me be more tolerant of them, but do I actually intentionally pray to you on their behalf? No.

So, I’m here this morning to pray for this one person. You know who they are. They need your love. They need your healing. They need you. They need to know what it is to lay down their life, take up your cross and follow you. They need to know that you are what life is about, you are there for them, and you are waiting to surround them with love and shower them with all of the acceptance they never received. Heal their wounds. Fill in the gaps of their heart. Cover them with a sense of your presence. Help them to seek you and know you. Draw them in so they can begin to have your Spirit and the fruits of your Spirit grow out of them. Show me the role you have for me to play in their life. Raise up people in their life who can be your hands and feet to them. Your words and counsel. Your comfort.

Father, there are so many I know who need this exact prayer. I have two or three others’ names going in my head right now. Be that God to them. Love them. Show me how to love them on your behalf. Let your kingdom come and your will be done on earth, through us, as it is in heaven.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 27, 2024 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 
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