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About John D. Willome

I post a blog of daily devotions that are my prayer journals based on scripture.

Disciples at the Last Supper – John’s Gospel

06 Sep

Dear God, the verse of the day from Bible Gateway today was Jesus’s response to Judas (not Iscariot) at the Last Supper in John’s Gospel when he asked why Jesus was only revealing himself to them and not the whole world. I thought that was a really good question on his Judas’s part. So I decided to sit down this morning and just look at what John records the disciples asking Jesus that evening to see if I can get a feel for what that confusing time must have been like for them.

It starts after the foot washing scene and Jesus’s prediction of Judas Iscariot’s betrayal when Peter says this:

36 Simon Peter asked, “Lord, where are you going?”

And Jesus replied, “You can’t go with me now, but you will follow me later.”

37 “But why can’t I come now, Lord?” he asked. “I’m ready to die for you.”

John 13:36-37

Peter was, indeed, ready to go to battle for Jesus as is evidenced in John 18:10. He just wasn’t ready to go willingly to his death for Jesus without a fight. Jesus’s way was different.

In John 14, Jesus starts by telling the disciples he is leaving and they know the way, to which Thomas replies in verse 5, “No, we don’t know, Lord. We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?” It’s interesting to see the confusion and the complete inability for these men who knew Jesus better than anyone to understand what was happening and get their heads around this new paradigm he was laying out.

Next, it is Philip’s turn. After Jesus tells them they will know you through him, Philip answers, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” What exactly did Philip think he was asking for there? I have to tell you, the idea of seeing you with my own eyes terrifies me. I think was Philip was saying is much like the father who wanted Jesus to heal his son and when Jesus challenged his faith said, “I believe. Help my unbelief.” I think at this point, maybe Philip and the rest were getting a little rattled and he was wanting something that would help any unbelief that was creeping in. That’s just a guess on my part, but when you put that statement in context, it makes sense.

Now we are up to what I think is a great question from Judas (not Iscariot):  “Lord, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us and not to the world at large?” On one level, he is probably wanting you to reveal yourself to the world so the world wouldn’t that they, as your disciples, were crazy. This was all weird and unprecedented. And then on another level, it’s a good question. Isn’t it time for you to reveal yourself to the world as the Messiah? Isn’t it “go-time”? Of course, I know now that the plan was for you to die and rise again–and even then you were selective about who you revealed yourself to. And it was for a reason. A resurrected Jesus in the eyes of an entire society would still have elicited a paradigm of nationalism and rebellion against Rome. But that wasn’t the plan, either before or after the crucifixion and resurrection. But it’s a good question on Judas’s part.

Judas’s question sets off, according to John, as long speech by Jesus as he tries to explain to them what they need to know, but ends with them asking in chapter 16, “What does he mean when he says, ‘In a little while you won’t see me, but then you will see me,’ and ‘I am going to the Father’? 18 And what does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand.” This is one of the reasons I think it would have actually been difficult to hang out with Jesus on a regular basis had I been alive then. I get the feeling I would have been in a state of constant confusion. Although, I guess that’s not much different than I am feeling now and every day. I am always at least a little confused.

Finally, after Jesus gives them a little more explanation, although it doesn’t seem that much clearer to me than what he said before, they say, “At last you are speaking plainly and not figuratively. 30 Now we understand that you know everything, and there’s no need to question you. From this we believe that you came from God.” Frankly, I’m not sure they really understood. I think this is one of those times when I pretend to understand something because I am tired of feeling and appearing foolish.

Father, it was fun to spend a little time with Jesus’s disciples at the Last Supper this morning. Man, they were doing their best, but they were so confused! But is it any more confused than I am at any given moment. I won’t understand what you are doing in this world until after it has happened. So my job now is to ask you to give me my direction today. Show me what to do. Show me who to love. Show me how to worship you. And lead me not into temptation, including looking at political stuff and starting to fret over an idol I am tempted to create in government, but deliver me from evil.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 6, 2024 in John

 

Luke 5:1-11

05 Sep

5 One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. 2 He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.

4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”

5 “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” 6 And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! 7 A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.

8 When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” 9 For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. 10 His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.

Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” 11 And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

Luke 5:1-11

Dear God, I love Peter’s initial response to Jesus’s miracle in verse 8: “Oh, Lord, please leave me–I’m such a sinful man.”

I wonder if I were to give Peter truth serum that day and ask him what he considered to be the sins in his life, what he would say. Did he consider himself sinful because he hung out with other fishermen and there was bawdy talk among them? Was he not great about keeping Jewish customs? I doubt it was this one because we know he was particular about only eating kosher things his entire life up until the Cornelius story. But it might have been. Maybe he had been with prostitutes. Maybe he cheated on his taxes. Whatever it was, he thought he wasn’t even worthy of your presence. He thought he was too far gone. He thought he was a wretch and he didn’t know that amazing grace was standing right in front of him.

So if you were to walk in this room right now and be physically present with me, what would my response be? Even though I know of your grace for me in my head, would I still fall to my knees and tell you to leave because I am not worthy of you presence? Does my heart really know that I should not be afraid in your presence? And given your words of assurance to Peter that he will be fishing for people from now on, should I now be wondering about how I’m fishing for people every day?

Father, use my life. I know I have a certain set of talents. I also have a great set of weaknesses. May your strength be made perfect in my weaknesses as I lay them and my talents before your cross and ask you to direct me. Use my life to encourage someone today. At least one person. And for the person in jail who has been on my heart for the last week, please give them the breakthrough that you want them to have.

I offer this prayer to you in Jesus, my Amazing Grace, and your Holy Spirit, my Counselor and Comforter,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 5, 2024 in Luke

 

Luke 4:42-44

04 Sep

42 Early the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them. 43 But he replied, “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.” 44 So he continued to travel around, preaching in synagogues throughout Judea.

Luke 4:42-44

Dear God, I can’t help but wonder what happened in those isolated places Jesus would go to. How did he commune with you? Did Moses and Elijah show up sometimes? Did he just step away to get some clarity? Jesus going out to an isolated place was after an evening of healing people, rebuking demons, and keeping it under wraps that he was the Messiah.

It’s interesting that after his time alone in an isolated place he told them he was sent to “preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns.” He wasn’t just there for Capernaum. He wasn’t just there for Israel. He was there for the whole world. I can also see that if he would have stayed in any one place too long, the crowds would have gotten out of control and expected the wrong things from him. He also needed to introduce himself to enough people so that after the resurrection they would remember and join The Way.

So how does this relate to me? Well, at a minimum, I need to be getting alone in isolated places to hear from you. I need to seek your heart. I need to figure out what you want me to do with my life. And not just my vocation, but my service to others, my love for my wife, children, and extended family, and my living out my faith with you. Yes, these quiet times of intentional prayer and meditating on scripture are very important.

Father, I want to hear your, but I don’t have to hear you to make these times worthwhile. I am not here expecting anything of you except the chance to draw closer to you in this moment. If you guide me to other things through these times, then let them be things that will bring you glory and not me. Let them be things that will draw others closer to yourself regardless of what it costs me. Help me, Lord, to follow Jesus’s model of shunning acclaim and simply serving you and your plan regardless of what it costs me. Help me to only use prayer, service, persuasion, and even suffering to impact the world around me.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 4, 2024 in Luke

 

Psalm 145:8-14

03 Sep


8 The Lord is merciful and compassionate,
    slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
9 The Lord is good to everyone.
    He showers compassion on all his creation.
10 All of your works will thank you, Lord,
    and your faithful followers will praise you.
11 They will speak of the glory of your kingdom;
    they will give examples of your power.
12 They will tell about your mighty deeds
    and about the majesty and glory of your reign.
13 For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.
    You rule throughout all generations.

The Lord always keeps his promises;
    he is gracious in all he does.
14 The Lord helps the fallen
    and lifts those bent beneath their loads.

Psalm 145:8-14

Dear God, the great thing about things like this being put to song is that they stick with us more that way. For example, I know 1 John 4:7-8 because of a song I learned when I was nine years old. In this case, as soon as I read this passage this morning I thought of a song I learned over 20 years ago from the church I attended back then. I was actually able to find it on YouTube this morning. “Lord, you are gracious. You are slow to anger. Abounding in love, you are good to all.”

What a great way to pray this morning. Just worship. Lord, you are gracious. You are slow to anger. Abounding in love, you are good to all. Lord, you are gracious. You are slow to anger. Abounding in love, you are good to all. Just over and over again. I embrace those words. I appreciate those words. I wonder what that psalm sounded like when sung in the original Hebrew. The tune. How the words sounded. What exactly they said.

In the theory of psalms of orientation, disorientation, and reorientation (Walter Brueggemann), this one is definitely a psalm of orientation. This is a psalm sung by a person who is on solid footing. But then, does it have to be? Can this be a psalm of disorientation? I don’t think I’m mature enough for it to be for me, but wouldn’t it be great if I were able to get to the point that, in the middle of extreme disorientation, I was able to pray and sing these words. Lord, you are gracious. You are slow to anger. Abounding in love, you are good to all.

Father, teach me to worship you fully. Oooo, it scares me to pray those words. I’m so thick-headed sometimes that I’m afraid of what kind of breaking of my heart I would have to go through to learn that lesson completely. But I’ve given up my life. It is worth nothing to me. If only I may finish the race and complete the task you have given me. The task of testifying to your grace through Jesus (Acts 20:24).

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amens

 
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Posted by on September 3, 2024 in Hymns and Songs, Psalms

 

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Mark 7:1-23 (Part 2)

02 Sep

7 One day some Pharisees and teachers of religious law arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. 2 They noticed that some of his disciples failed to follow the Jewish ritual of hand washing before eating. 3 (The Jews, especially the Pharisees, do not eat until they have poured water over their cupped hands, as required by their ancient traditions. 4 Similarly, they don’t eat anything from the market until they immerse their hands in water. This is but one of many traditions they have clung to—such as their ceremonial washing of cups, pitchers, and kettles.)

5 So the Pharisees and teachers of religious law asked him, “Why don’t your disciples follow our age-old tradition? They eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony.”

6 Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,

‘These people honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
7 Their worship is a farce,
    for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’

8 For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.”

9 Then he said, “You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition. 10 For instance, Moses gave you this law from God: ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ 11 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 12 In this way, you let them disregard their needy parents. 13 And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among many others.”

14 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “All of you listen,” he said, “and try to understand. 15 It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.”

17 Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowd, and his disciples asked him what he meant by the parable he had just used. 18 “Don’t you understand either?” he asked. “Can’t you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you? 19 Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.” (By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes.)

20 And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. 21 For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23 All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.”

Mark 7:1-23

Dear God, I heard a really good homily yesterday title “The Floor” from Fr. Mike Schmitz on this passage. Well, it was loosely on this passage. He took a different tack on it than I had considered when I prayed about it yesterday before church. He was saying how the Pharisees had taken things that were originally developed as something people would “get” to do as part of their worship of you, and they made it a “have” to do. The ceremonial cleansing the Pharisees were admonishing Jesus’s disciples about wasn’t a “have” to, but over the years it became that for them. They became legalistic about it.

So Fr. Mike talked about what is the floor? What is the minimum we have to do to be in relationship with you. He had a list of five things Catholics believe, and, interestingly, I think I was really only down for two of them as being a “have” to. For me, even those things were rules the church has made up over the centuries (millennia?). But that made me ask myself what my floor is. I talked with my wife about it last night. Our things that each of us feel we “have” to do are different, which I think is good. You have put different things on our hearts as they pertain to us. And then, even after our conversation last night, I’ve had a couple more things occur to me as being things I “have” to do to feel close to you. So what is my floor?

  • The prayer journals. Spending 15-30 minutes a day in a concentrated time of prayer like this has become a have to for me. And it didn’t used to be that way. A year ago I would have said that I need to do it 4-5 times a week. But since Lent I haven’t missed a day because I know I need this time meditating on you, listening to your Holy Spirit, and learning from the bazaar thing you left us called Scripture.
  • Giving. Ten percent of our gross is a minimum. Not that we are giving away even 20%, but we try to be generous when we see needs arise. Giving 10% is a floor.
  • Intentional time in conversation with my wife at least once a day is a floor. If we are available around each other at a meal, we each make it a priority to sit with each other, even if one of us isn’t eating at the time.
  • At least one sermon/Bible teaching a week. I need to hear someone else I trust teaching me the Bible in a way I wouldn’t see on my own (this homily is a perfect example of that).
  • Communication and contact with at least one of the two male friends I have. It doesn’t even have to be a conversation, but I need to touch their lives in some way–even if it is to text about sports.
  • Avoiding sexual temptation/lust. This has to be a floor. When you look at the lists of sins Jesus and Paul talk about, it’s always on there. I must do this.
  • Exercising at least four times a week. I am mentally better when I am taking care of myself physically. I should probably make better eating habits a floor, but I haven’t chosen to do that yet. Perhaps it will be one day.
  • Doing the things I know bless my wife like fixing things around the house, managing our money and then sharing with her what our status is, doing my laundry, making the bed, etc. Even listening to things I like but I know she doesn’t care for on my headphones instead of subjecting her to it. There’s a whole set of “floor” issues for my relationship with her that are important for her to feel loved.

So then what are some of the things I “get” to do, but aren’t necessarily something I “have” to do every week?

  • Church. A lot of Christians would probably disagree with me on this one. While I feel like it is important to have a church you belong to and to be involved in that church, I don’t feel like the foundation in my life is cracking if I miss a week.
  • My extra writing projects. I get joy from writing and thinking about how to bless others, but it’s a “get” to and not a “have” to.
  • Teaching. Similarly, I enjoy taking what I get from you during my prayer journal time and sharing it with others through preaching or teaching, but those occasions happen infrequently, and, while they help me and teach me, they aren’t the floor.
  • Engaging healthily through prayer and action in my community. This is close to a “have” to because it is part of me loving others as I love myself, but it’s not something that is foundational. Well, maybe it is. It actually might belong in the “have” to list.
  • Listening to Christian music. I mix it in during the week, but I also listen to secular as well.
  • Listening to Christian podcasts. Similar to music, I mix it in, but it’s a “get” to.

There is probably a lot more. I could probably type this forever. But one of the things my wife and I discussed last night and I can even see from these two lists is how the closer we get to you some of the things that we once considered a “get” to are not a “have” to. For example, doing these prayer journals daily. I need this. I am missing it without you. Yes, you are, indeed, slowly remaking this heart of stone into your image. I’m sorry it is taking so long.

Father, I’m sorry for the times I am too selfish to keep up with my “have” to list. I am sorry for giving in to that selfishness. But I am also so thankful that you are remaking me a little bit every day. I am not the man I was five years ago. I am not the man I will be five years from now, if you are willing for me to be here that long. No, I am just a work in progress. Splintered. mal-shaped. But by reaching the floor you have given to me every day, I am slowly becoming yours. So give me this day my daily bread. And lead me not into temptation. And forgive me as I forgive others.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 2, 2024 in Mark

 

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Mark 7:1-23

01 Sep

7 One day some Pharisees and teachers of religious law arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. 2 They noticed that some of his disciples failed to follow the Jewish ritual of hand washing before eating. 3 (The Jews, especially the Pharisees, do not eat until they have poured water over their cupped hands, as required by their ancient traditions. 4 Similarly, they don’t eat anything from the market until they immerse their hands in water. This is but one of many traditions they have clung to—such as their ceremonial washing of cups, pitchers, and kettles.)

5 So the Pharisees and teachers of religious law asked him, “Why don’t your disciples follow our age-old tradition? They eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony.”

6 Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,

‘These people honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
7 Their worship is a farce,
    for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’

8 For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.”

9 Then he said, “You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition. 10 For instance, Moses gave you this law from God: ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ 11 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 12 In this way, you let them disregard their needy parents. 13 And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among many others.”

14 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “All of you listen,” he said, “and try to understand. 15 It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.”

17 Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowd, and his disciples asked him what he meant by the parable he had just used. 18 “Don’t you understand either?” he asked. “Can’t you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you? 19 Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.” (By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes.)

20 And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. 21 For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23 All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.”

Mark 7:1-23

Dear God, I have a few thoughts about this passage. Let me say the probably least important one first. I am always amazed at how the New and Old Testaments focus on sexual immorality. This isn’t something that came with the sexual revolution in the 1960s, and everyone was chaste and pure before then. In Jesus’s list in verses 21 and 22, he not only says sexual immorality, but also adultery and lustful desires. of the 13 things listed, three of them are sexually-related. So this is obviously an area that you intended for such good that our sinful hearts are prone to take and pervert. If Jesus were to say, “You have heard it said, do not lie with a man as you lie with a woman, for that is detestable (Lev. 18:22), but I say…” how would he complete that sentence? I think it would be to show all of the heterosexuals how we have perverted sex into something you never intended. So that’s the least important thing I have here.

The other part that caught me this morning was his Isaiah quote:

‘These people honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
7 Their worship is a farce,
    for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’

I think of the puritanical people I know in our community and on a national stage and I wonder what their real prayer lives are like. Do they spend time in prayer? If they do, what is their heart like?

And then that takes my judge-y heart to myself. How do I honor you with my lips but still allow my heart to be far from you. When I go to church this morning, will my worship be a farce?

Father, help me to examine my heart while I am at church this morning. My sitting here and judging others will not do me any good. But when I pray to you, I need to examine my own heart and figure out which things on Jesus’s list I allow to be in my life and separate me from you. Create in me a clean a pure heart, oh, God.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 1, 2024 in Mark

 

1 Corinthians 1:26-29

31 Aug

26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. 27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 29 As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

1 Corinthians 1:26-29

Dear God, I was talking to a friend yesterday about doing these prayer journals and how sometimes when others read them they tell me that they think I am a little hard on myself or ask if I’m okay. I always tell encourage them to spend some time writing down their prayers before you and do their best to honestly examine their own hearts before you. I think they will find that it is impossible to sit before you in an earnest manner and not feel a need to repent before you and find the things in their actions, thoughts, or attitudes that need corrected. And it’s a good thing. It’s quite therapeutic.

That’s what I thought of when I read verse 29 from 1 Corinthians 1 this morning: As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God. No, I do not boast in myself. Oh, I’m tempted to. I’m tempted to point out to people how great of a person I am. How smart I am. How good I am at this, that, or the other. When I guest preach or sing a Sunday school class, I have to spend a lot of time in prayer about my ego and my motives for teaching or preaching. On my way to the church, one of the songs I always sing is Casting Crowns’s “Nobody“: I’m just a nobody trying to tell everybody all about somebody who saved my soul. Ever since you rescued me, you’ve given me a song to sing. I’m living for the world to see nobody but Jesus.

Father, be with me today. For every person I interact with, make me the man you need me to be. Love them through me. Love me through them. Teach me through them. Make me an instrument of blessing to the world, but not for my glory–for yours. Oh, Father, today, I am just a nobody trying to tell everybody all about somebody who saved my soul.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 31, 2024 in 1 Corinthians

 

Answered Prayer

30 Aug

Dear God, I just want to come to you this morning and thank you. I thought about going to look for a verse that could express what I’m feeling. Probably the closest would be a worshipful psalm of reorientation. One where David or someone else was really worried about something and then you answered the prayer in a completely unusual way. That’s how I feel this morning. I’m so grateful.

For the last few days…heck, if I really think about it, the last few months, I have had a stressor at work that has weighed on me. It started to come to a head this week. I prayed to you. My wife prayed about it. It was very heavy on my heart. And then, yesterday, you took a pin to the balloon of pressure that was building up in me and just pricked it. PFFFFFFFFFFFFF! The air went out. I was so relieved. It felt like 1,000 lbs. had been lifted off my shoulders. I found new energy for my work. In fact, I’m even up early this morning to go to work and get the day started. That’s how I’m feeling. I don’t think I even realized the extent to which this situation was weighing me down.

The neat thing is that you answered the prayer in one of those weird, unexpected ways. It kind of came out of the blue through a situation I didn’t expect. I even, to some extent, violated a personal code I have in how I talk about others or represent others in the workplace in a spur of the moment conversation because it felt like the thing to do at the time, and I think it was your Holy Spirit directing me because it seems to have made all the difference in the world. And then yesterday, you sent the sweetest couple to encourage me. They did it separately. The husband first and then a few hours later the wife. But it was so refreshing. After the husband talked to me, I called my wife and told her about the highlight of my week from that conversation with the husband. Then I was talking to his wife a few hours later and she gave me the same affirmations, but even more so because she told me how things had changed as a result of what you had done the day before. She revealed what you’re doing to me.

Finally, as my wife and I prayed together last night, thanking you for not only answering the prayer but for you doing it in a completely unique way, I started to pray about another seemingly immovable obstacle in our lives. A mountain that is bigger than I can ever imagine being moved. One that we have prayed about for going on 15 years now. And I started to cry because I know, I know that one day you will answer that prayer in a way that is going to blow my mind. I might not be alive on this side of heaven to see it. I’m not basing my faith on my own gratification in this life. I am simply trusting your timing, praying that your will is being done, and believing that you will, indeed, move this mountain. Yeah, as we prayed about the first thing, I just started to cry about the day I will be praying a similar prayer of worship and thanksgiving about this other thing.

Father, I suppose I should not only thank you again for what you did this week, but also go ahead and thank you for what you are doing in this other issue, even today. Thank you for even caring about my little life and these things that are so small to you but so big to me. I think about a small child whose toy breaks and they are devastated. To the adult it’s not big deal, but to the child it is everything. I still remember a time when I was eight years old and my parents were separated. My dad was living in a different town about 20 miles away, and he was going to run a 10K. My brother and sister and I were going to try to run it with him during one of our visitation weekends and he got us registered. I remember the packet with my t-shirt, number, and the safety pins to attach the number to my shirt. Somehow I lost the safety pins, and I was panicked. I still remember that fear of absolute panic. Now, as an adult, I know that safety pins are literally a dime a dozen and that was no big deal, but as a child I was devastated. I remember begging you in prayer that I would find them, and we didn’t even go to church at that point. But even though I never found them, I know if an adult had been there that day or I had admitted to the adult they safety pins were lost, they would have either helped me look or comforted me and explained that they will have a whole bowl full of safety pins at the event so there is nothing to fear. The problem would have been small to that adult. So small. Just like my human life here in my small town is not a significant part of the things you are contending with (war, crimes against humanity such as human trafficking, etc.), but you love me and you are interested in me. You are amazing, God. Thank you!

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 30, 2024 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

Galatians 3:24-29

29 Aug

24 Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. 25 And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.

26 For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. 28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.

Galatians 3:24-29

Dear God, Paul wanted to really make his point here. He said it in verse 23: 23 Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed. But apparently, as he wrote it, he decided he needed to articulate it a little more clearly.

So now I am part of the “way of faith in Christ.” That is what you offer me. I can know you through Jesus. I can understand you at least a little through Jesus. Abraham is my ancestor too. And I am an heir to the promises made to him. What are those promises? Well, the one I will claim is that I am reconciled to you. I am in relationship with you. I can follow you, worship you, obey you, and live my life for you. And then I can follow the example of Jesus. I can take the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) seriously. I can be merciful and peacemaking. I can hold myself to the higher standard of not hating, coveting or lusting because they are the same as murder, theft, and adultery. I can turn loose of worrying, and not just about food and clothing, but about politics, money, etc. I can truly love others as I want to be loved. And thanks to the reconciliation through Jesus, I can legitimately love you with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Father, thank you for grafting my branch onto your vine. Thank you for making me a son. Thank you for this amazing generosity. You don’t owe me one thing, but you give your love so generously. I am grateful for you. I love you. Forgive me for my failings. I don’t mean to. I really don’t.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 29, 2024 in Galatians

 

Galatians 5:19-23 – Toxic Masculinity vs. Healthy Masculinity

28 Aug

19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Galatians 5:19-23

Dear God, you know that I love the show Ted Lasso. It has a ton of worldly stuff in it, but what I discovered pretty early on is that the thing that makes the main character and then the show itself so compelling is that he exhibits most of the fruits of the Spirit that Paul lists in Galatians 5:22-23. In my opinion, he has all but peace. The neat thing is that Ted’s exuberance of these traits begins to rub off on the other characters to the point that they are honored. When I watch young people react to the show they are delighted by the atmosphere Ted creates throughout.

So I was watching a YouTube video this morning on “Healthy Masculinity” as it relates to Ted Lasso. I got to thinking about it before the video even started. Just seeing the title and knowing that I liken Ted to an exhibiter of the fruits of the Spirit Paul calls out, I wondered if Jesus wasn’t a picture of “Healthy Masculinity.” That’s when my head started to swirl a little: So if Jesus is healthy masculinity, how would the Bible define toxic masculinity? That’s where Galatians 5:19-21 come in.

It’s pretty simple, really. A health man (and woman) is loving, joyous, peaceful, patient, good, kind, gentle, faithful, and in control of themselves. I don’t know how much deep thought Paul put into this list when he wrote it, but it is a great list.

On the other side, a toxic man (and woman) is sexually immoral (interesting how the first three revolve around this same theme), idolatrous (this one deserves more attention than it gets because it can be so subtle and stealthy), into mysticism, hostile, argumentative, jealous, temperamental, selfish, divisive, and not in control of themselves–looking for other things to ease pain.

I was in a safety training yesterday where we went through ways to deescalate dangerous people and situations at work. It made me think a lot about the types of people over the years who have concerned me at work. They visibly had the hostile, argumentative, jealous, and temperamental traits. Behind the scenes, they probably had several of the others. When I think about the apostles who were around Jesus, they exhibited a lot of the negative traits at one time or another. Peter could be temperamental. James and John could be selfish and divisive. Judas was selfishly ambitious. But Jesus was there showing them and even me to this day how to be a healthily masculine man.

Father, there is a national organization in our area that claims you as their head, but the fruit that I see from them in of the world. They idolize power. They are divisive. They are selfish. And I can struggle with some of these things as well. I’m not saying I don’t. I just know I am doing my best to recognize those things and repent of them. So for those who are out there, whether they are in this organization, with this organization in spirit (lowercase s), or supportive of them in some way, but they claim to call on you, please help them to recognize the fruit of the flesh they are allowing to grow. Help them to open their eyes and see the difference between what Jesus wanted us to be and what Judas wanted us to be. If Judas had been setting the agenda for Jesus, I cannot help but think it would have looked a lot like Christian Nationalism. Why? Because it has all the hallmarks of toxicity, whether masculine or feminine. And if my eyes are blind t certain things about myself that need to be revealed to me, please let me know. I am sorry for my sin. I am sorry for the things I give in to that are in verses 19-21. I’m not perfect. I’m not there yet. But I am grateful to be on this journey with you.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 28, 2024 in Galatians

 

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