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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.

Colossians 3:12-17

10 Jun

12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in , harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Colossians 3:12-17

Dear God, I like the idea of clothing myself in “tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” I don’t always do it, but I like the idea of it. I like the idea of allowing for the faults of others, forgiving anyone who offends me, clothing myself in love, and allowing myself to be bout to others in harmony. I don’t always do it, but I like the idea of it. I like the idea of letting Jesus’s peace rule in my heart, living in peace with others, and always being thankful. I don’t always do it, but I like the idea of it.

So what keeps me from doing these things? Simply put, I think it almost always comes back to the soil of my heart and what I give the Holy Spirit to work with. Do I allow thorns to grow? Do I allow the cares of this world to distract me? What does it take to get me on my knees in front of you? Do I do it on my own, or does it take some sort of stress or tragedy to do it?

Forgiveness seems to be a theme of the last week for me. I’ve come across it in a few different places. A big one was the Bible Project podcast about it from the Lord’s Prayer, and specifically the part about forgiving others as you forgive me. Now, here it is again. It’s important to Paul as well. He knows I need forgiveness to be a part of my nature. The interesting thing to consider is that you need it to be part of your nature as well. It’s not only healthy for me to forgive, but it’s healthy for you to forgive me. Such a weird thing to consider!

Father, help me to love with your love, forgive with your forgiveness, serve others with your strength, and teach others as you teach me. Teach me through the people around me. Show me where I am wrong and doing harm. Show me what I’m doing well and need to lean into. Use my little life for your glory so that others might glorify you through the life I live. And help me to just know you better.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 10, 2024 in Colossians

 

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Matthew 7:15-20

09 Jun

15 “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. 16 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. 20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

Matthew 7:15-20

Dear God, my temptation is to start by labeling people I know, either through mass media (politicians, celebrity pastors, movie stars, etc.) or in person who are the wolves disguised as sheep, and I do think that’s important. We do need to decide to whom we should listen by looking at the fruit of their lives. It’s definitely something to keep in mind as I allow others to influence me.

However, I think one big lesson from this is that I need to be very attentive to what I am doing in my own life to develop fruit that makes me a useful person to you. Am I producing good fruit or bad fruit? Am I a source of love, encouragement, and guiding people to be reconciled to you through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus? Am I spouting bad theology? Do my words or actions lead others astray? Am I loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and in control of myself? Do I weed the soil of my heart to get rid of the thorns that are the pursuit of selfishness/wealth and the cares of this world? Do I listen to good teaching? Can I discern good teaching from bad? Can I hear your Holy Spirit–your still small voice?

Father, help me to cultivate my heart to be a good representative of you. Help me to know and speak your truth to others. Help me to discern when others are producing bad fruit and heresy. Help me to know your voice and reject anything that is not your voice. Forgive me for my sin. Forgive me for not forgiving others. Help me to forgive others. I do not want anything to take away from my worship of you, including whatever rights I might feel like I have to my pain.

I offer this to you in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 9, 2024 in Matthew

 

Habakkuk

08 Jun

Dear God, I just read all three chapters of Habakkuk. I’m not sure I’ve ever done that before. Habakkuk complains, and you respond. Habakkuk complains again, and you respond. then Habakkuk accepts your answers, appreciates you, and worships you. His final prayer starts like this:

3 This prayer was sung by the prophet Habakkuk:

2 I have heard all about you, Lord.
    I am filled with awe by your amazing works.
In this time of our deep need,
    help us again as you did in years gone by.
And in your anger,
    remember your mercy.

Habakkuk 3:1-2

Father, this is my prayer today. I have my complaints about the world. I have my requests for healing for my friends and family. I have my own anguish from broken relationships. But when I bring these to you I am reminded that you are sovereign. Nothing goes without your notice. “I am filled with awe by your amazing works.” Thank you for being you, Father. In this time of our deep need, help [your church to know how to be part of your work on this earth as in years gone by. Help us to know what that means and what that doesn’t mean. And I ask that not only you remember your mercy in the midst of your anger and frustration, but that we would remember your mercy too in our anger and frustration and exhibit your mercy to a world that needs you. Help us–help me–to take you to the people around us. Help us to offer the freedom of reconciliation with you. Help us to offer your love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, patience, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control to the world by plugging into your Holy Spirit and exhibiting those fruits ourselves.

I offer this prayer to you in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 8, 2024 in Habakkuk

 

Psalm 90:1-4

07 Jun

A prayer of Moses, the man of God.

Lord, through all the generations you have been our home!

Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God.

You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, you mortals!”

For you, a thousand years are as a passing day,as brief as a few night hours.
Psalm 90:1-4

Dear God, I love just verse 1 of this psalm by Moses: “Lord, through all the generations you have been [my] home.” What a lovely thought.

For the last couple of nights I have spent the night in my parents’ home. They have only lived here seven years so it is not the home of my childhood or anything. In fact, there is really not much even in their furniture or decorations that is familiar to me. The homes of my childhood are long gone. But I don’t miss them. Right now, it’s been a couple of nights, so I miss my wife and even our dog, but I don’t even miss my actual house. My “things.” They are not my home. You are my home. The life you have given to me is my home. I don’t know. When I saw that line this morning it just struck me. You have always been and always will be my home. If home is where my heart is, then you will always be my home, and my wife will be my home as long as either of us are alive this side of death. Oh, thank you. And I mean that. Thank you.

Father, I want to close by praying for a friend and his wife. Yesterday, I prayed for a relative with a health situation. That was pretty minor to what I heard about last night, and it broke my heart. My friend’s wife is potentially dangerously ill. It’s one of those illnesses that it’s hard to see how my faith and prayers can match up. Yesterday’s situation was, while significant, small enough for my prayers. Today, I feel like the dad who wants Jesus to heal his son, and he tells Jesus, “I believe. Help my unbelief.” Right now, for this friend and his wife, I believe, but please help my unbelief. I know in addition to the physical struggle that lies ahead, they are also scared and sad. I would be too. Oh, Holy Spirit, join with us in prayer. Moan for us. Moan for her. Moan for him. Speak to the Father through your moaning. Be the God who heals and bring glory to your name through the healing. Be the God who comforts and bring glory to your name through the comfort. Be the God who counsels and bring glory to your name through the counsel. Be the God who sees (see Hagar) and help them to feel seen by you. Be the God who affirms (see Mary with the shepherds’ visit) and encourages, and help them to feel your affirmation, love, and encouragement. Be the God who teaches, and help them to learn just how big you really are and how much you really love them and how much you are calling them to know how to sink into your being. Do not waste any of this experience. She is too precious to have this not count for all of your glory and their growth. Oh, Father, raise up people around them who will love them with your love.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 7, 2024 in Psalms

 

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Ephesians 3:16-21

06 Jun

I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 3:16-21

Dear God, the metaphor that seems to work over and over again to describe our discipleship is agricultural. There is Jesus’s parable of the different soils. There is the Fruit of the Spirit. In this case, Paul talks about our roots growing down into your love to keep us strong.

The trick with all of these agricultural analogies is that we have to do the work. We have to tend our soil. We have to fertilize the seeds planted in us. We have to get rid of the thorns and stickers.

To some extent I do that, but not enough. Although I’ve come to a good place of not making the outcome of the November elections an idol (either by who will win or who will not win), I still allow some of the venom of even those with whom I agree seep into me by giving them an audience. I don’t do it much, but sometimes I listen. Sometimes I watch. Sometimes I read.

I was talking with someone last night about a rumor they heard about the Pope cursing. They had just heard the rumor and used it as something with which they could accuse the Pope. First, I was able to find the story and the explanation of what happened. Then I asked the person, why would the Pope have dropped an Italian f-bomb during a blessing? Then I asked, what do you think the motivation is for the person who is pushing that narrative?

I could go on and on about misinformation on one side of things that I disagree with, but there is misinformation on the side of things that confirm my biases as well. Oh, how I need to guard my heart. Oh, how I need to weed my soil. Oh, how I need to ensure my tree is planted by streams of living water. Oh, how I need to do what I can to allow my roots to grow deep into you and your love!

Father, as I sit here this morning, I have a family member going through a common but still risky medical procedure today. Love him today. Love him through the doctors. Love him through the nurses and even those who check him in at the hospital. Love him through his wife. Love him through me and his family. Hold him close. Heal him. Give him strength. Help him to use his life for you and whatever you’re calling him to do and be.

I offer this to you in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 6, 2024 in Ephesians

 

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1 Thessalonians 5:12-13

05 Jun

12 Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. 13 Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. And live peacefully with each other.

1 Thessalonians 5:12-13

Dear God, I have to say that I’m grateful you didn’t call me to be a church staff or pastor. And I want to repent to you right now for not…well, there is the controversy in our town I mentioned a couple of days ago, and my response to it has been less than what you would expect from me. There has been some hubris on my part. Especially given that I am so ignorant as to what you would have to say about this. So let me start by saying that I am sorry to you for some of the things I’ve said this week. Help me to be an edifying person. Holy Spirit, reveal my inner insecurity to me and show me how you are making be to be better and more Jesus-like.

Pastors have a very difficult job. I was listening to the Voxology Podcast this week and, at the beginning, they were answering a listener’s question about the use of titles in the church and whether that was appropriate. Did calling someone a pastor or reverend sent them up in a superior position to others around them. The ultimate answer was (and I think I’m characterizing this correctly) that it is appropriate for pastors to carry that designation because of the responsibility that is on them to guide the people around them, but they just need to be careful to not use power over but power with the people they lead. It can seem like a fine line, but it’s an important distinction.

Father, help me to honor everyone today. Friends. Family. Coworkers. Those who like me. Those who don’t like me. Those who cooperate with me and those who stand against work I do. Help me to honor everyone and see them with your eyes. I have some important meetings today in which we will be making hard decisions. Guide me in that. Holy Spirit, be very present in each room. And for the one patient coming today who will need extra physical assistance, please provide for us as we try to help him.

I offer this prayer to you in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 5, 2024 in 1 Thessalonians

 

1 Chronicles 29:10-20

04 Jun

10 Then David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly:

“O Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel, may you be praised forever and ever! 11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. 12 Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.

13 “O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name! 14 But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! 15 We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace.

16 “O Lord our God, even this material we have gathered to build a Temple to honor your holy name comes from you! It all belongs to you! 17 I know, my God, that you examine our hearts and rejoice when you find integrity there. You know I have done all this with good motives, and I have watched your people offer their gifts willingly and joyously.

18 “O Lord, the God of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, make your people always want to obey you. See to it that their love for you never changes. 19 Give my son Solomon the wholehearted desire to obey all your commands, laws, and decrees, and to do everything necessary to build this Temple, for which I have made these preparations.”

20 Then David said to the whole assembly, “Give praise to the Lord your God!” And the entire assembly praised the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and they bowed low and knelt before the Lord and the king.

1 Chronicles 29:10-20

Dear God, the thought that came to my mind as I read this story this morning was how “the people” need leadership. In this case, they needed David to lead them. To lead them to you. To lead them in worship. In sacrifice. They could not and would not have gotten there on their own. They needed David. Thankfully, David knew enough to really love and adore you. To worship you. And then the importance of getting his countrymen to worship you as well.

I have people in my life who look to me for leadership, particularly in my work. I’m in a position to lead there. But there are also some community groups who look to me as well. Not that I am at the top of the food chain in those groups, but I certainly have a leadership role. Oh, how I want to do it well and for your glory. How I want to bring others into worship of you through my life.

Father, help me to lead at work today. Help me to reach out and love my family today. Help me to be the man you want and need me to be for your kingdom to come and your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. And if you want to inspire me through the leadership of someone else, please open my eyes to hear your voice and see your actions in them. Use them to guide me into the middle of your heart. I want to know you better, Lord.

I offer this prayer to you in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 4, 2024 in 1 Chronicles

 

Proverbs 15:1-4

03 Jun

15 A gentle answer deflects anger,
    but harsh words make tempers flare.

2 The tongue of the wise makes knowledge appealing,
    but the mouth of a fool belches out foolishness.

3 The Lord is watching everywhere,
    keeping his eye on both the evil and the good.

4 Gentle words are a tree of life;
    a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.

Proverbs 15:1-4

Dear God, I’m about to go into the office for the first time in over a week. I don’t know what I am walking into today. What, if any, conflicts happened while I was gone? What problems arose? Maybe it was all good, and it will be a smooth day. Whatever the case may be, I want to go into this day with your eyes, your thoughtfulness, your compassion, and your love.

One of the big things I want to do today and every day is be the person Solomon describes in these first four verses of Proverbs 15. There have been times (many times) in the past when I have been too quick to speak and been too harsh. It was rarely the right thing to do. I have made tempers flare with harsh words. I have belched out foolishness. I have crushed spirits. Wouldn’t it be nice if, from this day forward, I was to be know as a person who only builds up and nourishes others’ souls? If I deflected anger and helped lower it in others? If interactions with me left people simply wanting to know more of you? If my words sprung up your tree of life in others?

Father, make me mindful of my words all day, all week, and then into the rest of my life. But it starts here. Help me to be an encourager. But most important, help my life be a catalyst for others to come and know you.

I offer this to you in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 3, 2024 in Proverbs

 

Hebrews 9:27-28

02 Jun

27 And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, 28 so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.

Hebrews 9:27-28

Dear God, it is interesting that this is the verse of the day for Bible Gateway while it is close to the New Testament reading for the Catholic church (Hebrews 9:11-15). For the Catholic church, today is the Feast of Corpus Christi, the Body of Christ. All of their verses of the day tie in Exodus 24 when Moses is talking about the blood of the sacrifice covering the Israelites, the Hebrews passage, and then Mark 14 when Jesus talks about his body and blood in the bread and the wine. I don’t know how the Bible Gateway people pick their verse of the day, but I noticed this one actually lined up pretty closely.

I prayed about this yesterday, but it’s still been on my heart. I just don’t know so much. One of the reasons I decided not to be confirmed Catholic was because I did not believe in the act of transubstantiation. And maybe I’m right. And maybe I’m wrong. And maybe I just hope that this isn’t one of those dealbreakers over which I will find myself on the other side of the cutline from fellowship with you. I want to be in communion with you. I want to experience communion itself. But if I do not believe the same thing about the Eucharist that Catholics believe then I know that they do not want me to take the sacrament with them. And that makes sense to me. I respect that.

I guess I’m saying all of this because I’m about to go and visit that mainline denomination church this morning that is going through the conflict over LGBTQ+ ordination I mentioned yesterday. I feel compelled to be there. Mainly to show love. I guess, in some way, I am passively lending my opinion that it’s not important we agree on this one issue anymore than it is important we agree on pre-marital sex, the ordination of women or divorced people, etc. There are only really a few things in Christianity, as far as I can tell, are definitely non-negotiable. The rest is working our faith out with you with fear and trembling, asking you to examine our hearts and purify us, and bring us to both repentance where needed and then complete worship of you and love for others.

Father, I honestly don’t know what Jesus would do if he were here this morning. I’d like to think he would be comfortable in any worship environment that elevated you and Lord of all. I’d like to think he would be comfortable at the Catholic church, the mainline church I mentioned, the new church that is starting today, or any other Christian church in town. He might even be comfortable in some of the churches that aren’t Christian, but they think their hearts are earnestly pursuing you. I don’t know. Help me to be Jesus this morning to the world around me. Help me to treat everyone with love.

I offer this prayer to you in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 2, 2024 in Hebrews

 

Revelation 21:1-4

01 Jun

21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

Revelation 21:1-4

Dear God, I just doublechecked this to see, but I rarely do any prayer journals on Revelation. Here’s my confession that you already know: I don’t care. And I realize I could be wrong to feel this way. There are several things regarding parts of modern Christendom that I don’t care about. I don’t care about going to modern Israel and the Holy Land. I don’t have an interest in watching The Chosen. And I don’t care about end-times prophecies. Jesus told us several times to not worry about tomorrow, but keep our focus on today. And I believe it. I mean, I’m glad to know that there will be a time when you will come and live among us. There is great hope in this passage. I’m very glad to know it. But I feel zero need to understand it and completely comprehend what it will mean or when it will happen.

I was talking yesterday morning with a friend, and he mentioned that his pastor is doing a series on Revelation. From the sound of it, his pastor and I would disagree about how it will play out. He believes in a pre-tribulation rapture while I don’t. But here’s the secret (in my opinion): It doesn’t matter! I can be completely wrong and he can be 100% right (which I don’t believe any of us are 100% right), but it won’t change the outcome. When I die, it’s all going to play out the way it’s going to play out. Jesus was pretty clear that there will be a sorting, but the cut-line is a little vague. Well, that’s yours to answer, not mine. He said that there will be people who think they are one side of the cut-line or the other, only to be surprised to find themselves on the other side of it. I hope that’s not me. I hope I’m on your side of that line.

I think one thing that has helped me to turn loose of needing to be right is the fact that I’ve attended Catholic Church with my wife for the last 13 years. There are many things about Catholic doctrine with which I disagree. But I’ve realized over that time how little it matters because the Catholics I know there, for the most part love you as much as any group of Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and non-denominational Christians I’ve known. Should a priest have to be male and celibate? Should I have to confess my sins to a priest for absolution? Does the bread and wine actually transubstantiate into the body and blood? I don’t think so, but what do I know? At the end of the day, they believe in Jesus’s fully human, fully divine life; death; and resurrection, and the fact that it reconciled us to you. Everything else is opinion that I’m comfortable living with them in disagreement.

Father, I just don’t have to be right about things like I used to be. And that’s good because I’m probably wrong about an awful lot. I can find example after example in the New Testament of people who were wrong but thought they were right. The apostles in Acts 11 when they were mad at Peter for baptizing Cornelius. Paul and Barnabas in Acts when they fought over John Mark’s inclusion on their journey. The Jewish leaders when they persecuted Jesus and the apostles. James and John when they wanted to call down fire on the Samaritans. So please forgive me of my foolishness and hubris. Also forgive me for holding others to a standard that none of us can reach. I know there is a new church starting in our community tomorrow solely because it is splitting from a mainline denomination that started to allow LGTBQ+ people to be ordained. In this situation, both sides feel strongly about what it means to be Christlike. At least one side is wrong (perhaps both are). So I pray your blessing over the original church, that they will follow you and bring your kingdom into this earth and let your will be done here as it is in heaven. And I pray for this new church, that you will use this to be a blessing to this community, regardless of the reasons they started it. Use the pain. Don’t let it be wasted.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 1, 2024 in Revelation

 
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