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,
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,
22 But if we stay tight wit Godʼs Spirit, he give us plenny love an aloha fo everybody. He make us guys stay good inside. He make our hearts rest inside. He help us wait fo da odda guy an stay cool. He help us tink good bout da odda peopo, an like do good kine stuff fo dem. He help us do wat we promise. 23 He help us make nice to peopo an do um wit good kine heart. He help us stay in charge a ourself. No mo rules dat say you no can do all dat kine stuff.
Galatians 5:22-23
Dear God, I had never heard of this Bible translation before last night. How interesting. First, I never knew there was this English-based creole language spoken in Hawaii. Then, obviously, I never knew there was a Bible done for those who speak it. How marvelous! I would have thought that they would just read a traditional American English (as opposed to British, Australian, South African, etc.) version, but this is a little more like reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finnby Mark Twain. I can read it, but it takes me a little longer to roll through the pronunciations and then interpret them as intended.
So one of the first things I did when I heard about it was go to some of my favorite Bible passages. Namely, Acts 20:24 and Galatians 5:22-23. The way it stated Galatians really touched me. I found that it’s incredibly inefficient when compared with the other translations. The traditional English translations use approximately 30 words to describe the fruits of the Spirit while the Hawaiian Pidgin uses 100. But the descriptiveness of “love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control” are lovely.
Love – Plenny love an aloha to everybody.
Joy – Stay good inside
Peace – Hearts rest inside
Patience – Wait fo da odda guy an stay cool
Kindness – Tink good bout da odda person
Goodness – Like do good kine stuff fo dem
Faithfulness – Do what we promise
Gentleness – Make nice to peopo an do um wit good kine heart
Self-Control – Stay in charge of ourself
I love it.
Father, there are so many ways to unlock the depths of what you want me to know. Thank you for the young man who introduced me to this translation last night. Thank you for the faith you have put in him and what you are doing for his father and family through him. He is remarkable. Be with him. Strengthen him. Protect him. I know he will struggle. I know he will suffer. We all do. Hold him close and show him your path for him. And show me your path for me as well.
I offer this to you in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,
11 Dear brothers and sisters, if I were still preaching that you must be circumcised—as some say I do—why am I still being persecuted? If I were no longer preaching salvation through the cross of Christ, no one would be offended. 12 I just wish that those troublemakers who want to mutilate you by circumcision would mutilate themselves.
Galatians 5:11-12
Dear God, verse 12 actually made me chuckle this morning. Paul’s exasperation was funny. I wonder if he could have a do-over, if he would like to take that part of the letter out so that it wasn’t here for me to see 2,000 years later. But that’s part of the beauty of the Bible and how you chose to communicate with us. It was written by real people with real emotions.
It is interesting to see what they were 1.) persecuting Paul for and 2.) then trash-talking him in the opposite direction. So the Jewish people were mad that he was both saying that Jesus was the path to salvation through the cross and resurrection, and that he had absolved the Gentiles from needing to be circumcised to come into the completed Jewish faith. Then there was another group of people who were accusing him of the opposite. Apparently they were saying that Paul was preaching salvation through means other than the death and resurrection of Jesus and requiring men to be circumcised. Satan figured out a way to get both sides to call Paul a heretic, or to at least teach false doctrine using Paul’s name.
Division is an amazing thing. I’ve said for a long time that it is Satan’s Plan A and it’s such a good plan that he rarely needs a Plan B. I was talking with someone the other day and saying that our country is so divided that we cannot even agree on a common enemy when there is a threat. I thought at least we could gather around fighting COVID and the pandemic, but that only divided us more. I guess there is just something in our sin nature that loves to feel wronged and avenge ourselves in some way.
Father, help me to simply let go of my rights, do my best in any given moment, and then embrace what follows. I’ll admit I get riled up by certain people. I was reading a political flyer last night that upset me. The messaging was so–well, awful. Sowing fear. Sowing hate. Just so someone could get into an office they want against another person who probably agrees with them on 95% of the issues. It’s a primary. They are from the same party. But they choose to differentiate themselves from each other by trying to make me afraid. Father, walk with me today. Make me an instrument of your peace. Even for those who are against me or the things I might be trying to do through my service to you in our community. Give me wisdom. Give me discernment. Give me love. Help me to not be part of divisiveness.
I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,
11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. 12 When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile believers, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. 13 As a result, other Jewish believers followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.
14 When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions?
15 “You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles. 16 Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.”
17 But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not! 18 Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down. 19 For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God. 20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.
Galatians 2:11-21
Dear God, I have like three thoughts running through my head when it comes to this passage.
Peter could probably be a bit of a pain to people with his impetuousness, so it’s interesting to think of someone else who could probably bit much for other people being a bit much for Peter. I would imagine that Peter and Paul were difficult for each other, but they worked through it through your mercy and example.
Biblical characters were not always right. My wife and I were talking about this yesterday. I think there are times when they make mistakes that they aren’t necessarily called out for their mistakes. Some more obvious (to me) than others. For example, I think Paul was your ultimate replacement for Judas, but Peter was impetuous and cast lots for Matthias. Paul and Barnabas had a huge argument over John Mark, and I’m not sure which of them was right or wrong in that one, but it feels like Barnabas had a better spirit about it than Paul did. David said many things in Psalms that I don’t think Jesus would have supported.
Verse 20: My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. If I could ever get this verse right and really live it then, well, I don’t know what would happen. There is a lot happening in this verse, and I think my personal life has only scratched the surface of it.
Father, help me to get a look at what it means truly not live, but let Jesus live in me. Help me to know what it looks like to “live n this earthly body by trusting Jesus.” Let everything I do today be informed by the example Jesus gave me. Jesus is the author and perfector of my faith. Thank you. I almost tried to type other words after thank you, but words fail. Thank you!
I pray to you this morning through Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,
Dear God, I want to say thank you for my wife. She’s amazing. She left just a little bit of you everywhere she went yesterday. A local business lost the husband of the couple that owns it (I mentioned this yesterday), and she was able to send their manager whom she knows well a column she wrote about that man almost nine years ago. He told her how much it blessed him and everyone he shared it with at the business. She mentored a fifth-grader grader at the local elementary school. She lead singing at our church last night for the Last Supper service (some call it Maundy Thursday, but Catholics don’t for some reason). She went to the funeral of a friend’s mother and got to love on that friend. She even went out of her way to give me a lovely compliment. Thank you for her and for living so beautifully through her.
Psalms 22, 95 – The tone of these two psalms is so different. It’s interesting that they are paired together this morning. Psalm 22 expresses so much pain while Psalm 95 calls us to worship. It made me wonder about what was going through Jesus this morning nearly 2,000 years ago. If he had written a psalm that morning (it’s not like he could have, but if he had), what would he have said. What words would have described what was in his heart? Maybe this same type of mixture–anguish and worship.
Psalms 40, 54 – Thinking of Jesus’s betrayal from Judas, but also the men who purported to be your representatives through the temple, Psalm 54 is set up with, ” A maskil of David. When the Ziphites had gone to Saul and said, “Is not David hiding among us?” Then David says in the psalm, “Strangers are attacking me; ruthless men seek my life–men without regard for God.” Oh, how sad this betrayal must have been for him. Abandoned. Alone–even from you. Alone maybe for the first time in his existence–on earth or before earth. Oh, my Jesus. Thank you.
Genesis 22:1-14 – I’ve never liked this story as a comparison with what you did with Jesus, giving us your only son, because I don’t think your instructions to Abraham about Isaac have anything to do with what you did with Jesus, EXCEPT, this morning I noticed that maybe the ram with his horns stuck in the thicket is the Jesus figure here. Maybe Isaac is my sin, and I am sentenced. In verse 22:8, Abraham says, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” Then in verse 14, Abraham calls that place, “The LORD Will Provide.” Yes, you did provide, Father.
John 13:36-38, 19:38-42 – You are in a place where I cannot yet go, but you have left your Holy Spirit here with me to walk with me, comfort me, teach me, guide me. Thank you. As for Nicodemus helping Joseph care for Jesus’s body, I still think it is one of the most beautiful acts of love and self-sacrifice I’ve ever seen.
1 Peter 1:10-20 – I’ll confess I’m not really feeling this passage this morning. It doesn’t seem to fit as much with where my head is right now. I’ll just say that I love that Peter was who he was, experience what he experienced, made the mistakes me made, learned the lessons he learned, repented of his mistakes and sins, and lived an amazing bold life for you. What a great example!
Father, I offer this day to you. Thank you for the Friday that was so good for me and so tragic for you. I am yours.
I pray all of this in the name of Jesus, my Lord, and with your Holy Spirit who resides in me,
Dear God, I actually finished a book yesterday. You know I don’t spend tons of time reading whole books, but this one had some theology in it that I suspected I would disagree with (and I was right). I read it because some people I respect really liked the book so I wanted to be informed as to what it was saying and the arguments it made. I am hopeful that i will be able to discuss it with my friends so that they can explain what they see in it that I don’t, and then maybe I can share some of my perspective. Maybe neither of us are all right or all wrong. Where can we learn from each other? I pray this will go well.
While I am thinking about prayers, I just learned that a friend is expecting triplets. Oh, please protect the women I know who are currently pregnant (there are three of them). One is imminently due, the triplets are due this summer and one is due in September. Please be with all of them. Be with their babies. Be with the fathers of the children too. Protect their lives. These are all wanted children. Wrap them all up in your love. Bring yourself into their lives. Help them to all seek you.
And while I’m praying for others and the health of others, I have another couple friend where the wife is struggling against cancer. Oh, Father, have mercy. Oh, Jesus, have mercy. Oh, Holy Spirit, have mercy. Heal. Comfort. Strengthen. My prayers seem so feeble. I believe. Help my unbelief.
And then I have a friend who is really struggling with his marriage. Speak to him. Guide him. Guide his wife. Be with their children. Marriage can be hard. Bring people to them who can be your words, your comfort, and your joy.
Finally, I have another unpleasant project to do today. I’ll keep it vague as I type here, but you know what I mean. Help me to learn from it, change from it, and be more loving after having experienced it. Bring good from it, please.
Psalms 66, 67 – These are just two nice, straight ahead, worshipful psalms. The first one made me think of the song “Shout to the Lord.” The second one reminded me of “The Blessing” which really touched me when different people from the UK recorded it for the world. I know that text is actually from Number 26, but this psalm starts that way as well. In fact, I just kept it running while I type this. I remember 2020 as such a surreal time. Scared. At home. A sense of isolation. Significant problems to solve. Prayer walks around our local hospital. Changes to how we functioned at work. But there were beautiful expressions of your love like this song as well. If those who are hurting in the world had only seen these types of expressions of your love during that dark time, how would they have responded to you and to your Church? But too many started fighting for the Church’s rights to assemble, not wear masks, or whatever else they decided to be angry about. It did nothing to be your witness to this world or comfort it during a scary time. Instead, the Church just looked like any other group looking for power and influence.
Psalm 19, 46 – Just a few lines from Psalm 19 that touch me this morning: The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The things you have given us to do. The “rules” to obey. They aren’t arbitrary. They aren’t for your kicks so that we will be good rule followers. They are for us. Following them leads us to joy in our hearts. They make us wise. They give us light. The other line from Psalm 19 that is great is, “Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults.” And then, “Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me.” I know I have faults that are hidden from me. I know I have sin I commit that I don’t think is sin or I don’t want to admit is sin. Holy Spirit, please continue to work with my heart.
Jeremiah 14: 1-9, 17-22 – What is the best way to bring a nation to repentance? That seems to be the question Christians are asking each other. Some are answering that we need to be a force for repentance. We need to force those who are doing what we think are wrong to repent and agree with us. Others will say that we need to completely love and accept everyone and then let you work on their hearts individually. Still others say we need to just work on ourselves in the church and become as Christlike as possible and then let the church grow organically from there. Personally, I agree with some of those perspectives more than others.
Mark 8:11-21 – The yeast of the Pharisees. I started to write what I think it is, but then I deleted it. What exactly do I think the yeast of the Pharisees is? I’ve already admitted that, had I been there at the time, I would not have believed Jesus was the Messiah. So does that mean I have their yeast in my heart too? First, Jesus was critical that the Pharisees had become so legalistic that they couldn’t see what you were calling them to do at any given time–particularly in loving others and having mercy. They were superior. Harsh. Egotistical. Judgmental. Hateful. Jesus said that we should not judge. We should serve our neighbors and love them as ourselves. We should forgive easily. We should humble ourselves.
Galatians 4:21-5:1 – I’ve got to say, I don’t care for Paul’s analogy here. Hagar was ultimately freed, as was Ishmael. I need someone more educated than me to explain this to me theologically. I think Paul is encouraging them to be free from their sin, selfishness, and shame through Jesus. That’s great. I don’t like the Hagar and Ishmael comparison, but maybe I’m wrong and that’s just me because I came to like Hagar when I read closely about her in Genesis.
Father, I offer this fourth Sunday of Lent to you. Help me to accomplish the things you have for me to accomplish. Do it for the good of my soul, the good for the souls of those I love, and for your glory.
16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.
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!
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.
Galatians 5:16-26
Dear God, as much as I love Galatians 5:22-23 about the “Fruits of the Spirit” I cannot believe I haven’t seen this image in Bustard’s book yet. But I have to tell you, before even reading anything about the image or studying the image too closely, the title that the artist, Kreg Yingst, gave it has my mind spinning: “Still Life with Fruit.”
Normally, a painting or photograph of a bowl of fruit is called a “still life.” So it would be called a “still life of fruit.” But Yingst subtly changed the of to with and it makes a big difference for me. Instead of the word “fruit” relating to the apple on the table or the painting on the wall behind the man in the picture, the fruit are the nine items Paul lists in Galtians 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control. The “still life” portrayed in the image is the man. Him being an example of a “still life” is due to the Holy Spirit, as referenced by the dove outside the window descending, him studying your Word (presumably a Bible) laid out before him, and the “fruits” of the Spirit exuding from his hands. The man is making himself still and at the same time the Spirit is meeting him and making him even more still.
So that’s my take on the image. Let’s see what Bustard has to say. Bustard’s words:
Followers of God do not pick one fruit over another to exhibit in their lives. For example, a person may want to say they have faithfulness and joy but simply can’t muster forbearance and self-control. For the Christian, such selectiveness is unacceptable. The fruit of the Spirit is a unified process. Over time, a life truly lived in the Spirit will produce the fruit. Speaking of fruit, a title such as the one for this print generally refers to a picture like the one hanging over the man’s left shoulder. But this still life incorporates a man, a Bible, an apple, a cup of coffee, and a descending dove. These symbols (along wit the words protruding from the man’s fingers) suggest that a life of prayer, study, and waiting on the Spirit–that is, a still life–leads to a person becoming transformed into the Fruit that God desires.
So I think I got that one pretty close to the way Bustard saw it. That’s kind of affirming and refreshing. But the truth of the concept is the important thing.
Psalm 46:10 has this important pull quote from you:
“Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.”
In the rest of the psalm, the psalmist(s) point out everything you are, but then he/they give us these words from you and they start with “be still.”
Father, it is hard sometimes for me to simply be still. And when I am still, I’m not really still. It’s a lazy still that uses distraction to check out the way some people use alcohol or drugs. So as I go into this day, give me the vision for the right kind of stillness, and the strength and self-discipline to embrace it. Let my life be a portrait of a “Still Life with Fruit.”
I pray all of this in Jesus and with the Holy Spirit,
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.
Galatians 5:24
Dear God, what are the “passions and desires” of my sinful nature?
I was listening to a sermon this morning, and the pastor was talking about greed. He referenced the story in Luke where a man shouts out to Jesus to make his brother share inheritance equitably, and Jesus turns it into a teachable moment about greed (Luke 12:13-21). And now I just came across this verse.
I was thinking yesterday about something a man I know told me years ago. It was a self-perceived sin he had committed and continued to struggle with, and the shame from it drove him away from you. I don’t know what made me think of it yesterday, but I was thinking that what he struggled with is something that most men and women deal with at some point. And while it is not your best for us and it is something we need to wrestle with, it does not make him unique. And yet Satan used the shame of it to drive him from you. And, to this day, Satan has won that battle and is winning the war with this man. He still rejects you because you are the “rule maker,” and the best way for him to deal with breaking the “rules” isn’t to turn loose, accept your forgiveness, and press on into the life you have for him. No, it’s just to get rid of the rule maker and pursue his own passions.
Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, I can be greedy. I can be selfish. I can be all kinds of things. And I wrestle with those. But it’s not so that you won’t be mad at me. It’s because I’ve learned over the years that they don’t lead to happiness. They are not conducive to giving your Spirit room in my life to grow and produce the fruit Paul talks about in Galatians 5:22-23 (the two verses preceding today’s verse). So I give you my sin. I nail it to the cross. I will then pick up Jesus’s cross, the cross of a many sacrificed for me, and follow you. I know from experience that that is the only effective way to live my life.
I pray all of this under your holy Lordship and through Jesus’s life, death, and resurrections,
I see a hand reaching out to help me But I don’t understand all of your ways You are still the Potter and I am just the clay And though I know at times I am too proud To reach for You, to help me out And if I waited on myself to get it right I would be waiting here forever
Your grace is never going to change Your faith will always remain Your love is the same yesterday, today, and forever
I see a world looking for an answer but I don’t know what for When will we realize that we’re sinners in the hands of a loving God who came And died and wants to set us free Oh how he longs to be with you and me And if we waited on the truth to change We would be waiting here forever
Your grace is never going to change Your faith will always remain Your love is the same yesterday, today, and forever
Songwriters: Brian Holland / Freddie Gorman / Lamont Herbert Dozier
Dear God, this is almost a continuation from yesterday’s prayer. It plays off of Hebrews 10:31
31 It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
When I read this for the first time this week a few days ago, it made me think of the line in the second verse of this song that says, “We are sinners in the hands of a loving God who came and died to set us free.” I believe this line from the song is also a twist on the sermon by Jonathan Edwards in the 1740s called “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”
Reading the Wikipedia description of this sermon, I found this diary entry from pastor Stephen Williams, who was in attendance:
[B]efore the sermon was done there was a great moaning and crying out through the whole house — “What shall I do to be saved?” “Oh, I am going to hell!” “Oh what shall I do for a Christ?” and so forth — so that the minister was obliged to desist. [The] shrieks and cries were piercing and amazing. After some time of waiting, the congregation were still, so that a prayer was made by Mr. Wheelock, and after that we descended from the pulpit and discoursed with the people, some in one place and some in another. And amazing and astonishing: the power [of] God was seen and several souls were hopefully wrought upon that night, and oh the cheerfulness and pleasantness of their countenances that received comfort. Oh that God would strengthen and confirm [their new faith]! We sang a hymn and prayed, and dispersed the assembly.
I bolded part of his diary because that is probably the most amazing thing I’ve seen in myself and others when they come to faith in Jesus and accept your grace through him: “cheerfulness and pleasantness of their countenance that received comfort.” I’ll be frank, Father. I don’t know how I feel about threatening people with hell in order to get them to accept you, but I do know that whenever anyone makes that decision regardless of the motive, the relief and forthcoming joy after that relief is palpable.
So back to this song, for the last two days I’ve had it going in my head when I woke up in the morning. It’s been nice, and I’ve liked it. So I thought I would look at it a little and spend some time with it this morning in your presence.
Here’s the first verse again:
I see a hand reaching out to help me But I don’t understand all of your ways You are still the Potter and I am just the clay And though I know at times I am too proud To reach for You, to help me out And if I waited on myself to get it right I would be waiting here forever
So I truly don’t understand all of your ways. I never will this side of heaven. I can’t figure out the future. I can’t dictate what will happen in the next moment, much less the following years. Sure, I can influence by my actions, but there is no way I can see how the dominoes will fall. I also know that I cannot undo all of the things I’ve done wrong–to you or to others. I simply need grace and to learn from those mistakes so I won’t do it again.
I see a world looking for an answer but I don’t know what for When will we realize that we’re sinners in the hands of a loving God who came And died and wants to set us free Oh how he longs to be with you and me And if we waited on the truth to change We would be waiting here forever
This is just kind of an exasperated moment. I think the writer is even exasperated with himself. He uses the collective “we” in the second line. But we do. We pursue happiness. We pursue self-fulfillment. We pursue peace. We pursue what essentially turn out to be the fruits of your Spirit, but we try to grow them by planting our seeds in rocks and thorns. In fact, I really enjoyed the Apple TV+ show Ted Lasso, and a lot of people who watched it loved it. It finally occurred to me that it was teaching pursuing the fruits of the Spirit. The problem is that it was doing it apart from you so it needed a contrived television script to pull it off. People are hungering for your fruit. They just don’t want to humble themselves and risk losing themselves. What they do not realize is that surrender brings them to a freedom through which they can find themselves.
Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, my Triune God, I give you all my praise and worship. Thank you that your grace is never gonna change and your will always remain, and your love is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
