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Galatians 6:14

26 Nov

14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whicha]”>[a] the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Galatians 6:14

Dear God, I think I used to boast a lot more than I do now. Oh sure, I still boast, but the hubris of youth caused me to boast more when I was younger. Now, I feel very unsure about so much. It’s true when they say that the younger we are the more we feel like we have all of the answers. Right now, I feel like I have many more questions than answers.

One area where I had a lot of pride about 10 years ago was in parenting. I thought I had it nailed and figured out. Now, I have so many things that confuse me that when I see other parents struggling with their children I have zero judgment for them. I have nothing but love for them. I’ve used the example of Johnny Manziel’s parents before. They were facing a set of circumstances with their son that I cannot imagine. I know they love him and have done their best for him. They’ve made mistakes, but none more egregious than I would have made in their shoes.

I say all of this because of the verse saying that Paul only boasts in your Cross. I should only boast in the fact that I live a redeemed life because you did what you did. Otherwise, I would wake up in the morning with nothing to live for except myself. But your cross teaches me to lay down my yoke and pick yours up. Your yoke includes me serving my wife, children, friends and neighbors more than myself. In fact, even in Rotary, our motto is “service above self.” Our sin nature drives us to be self-centered, and I have had times in my life when my service was really done with the ulterior motive of getting something in return. But your free gift is eternal life through Christ Jesus (Romans 6:23). That is my example.

Father, help me to be what my wife needs. Help me to be what my daughter needs. Help me to be what my son needs. Then I grow the circle from there. My family of origin and my in-laws. My neighbors, co-workers, and friends. My community, state, and country. My world. Help me to decrease and to only boast in your Cross that redeems me.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 26, 2017 in Galatians, My Utmost for His Highest Scripture of the Day, Uncategorized

 

Colossians 2:6-7 (“Give Him Roots”)

24 Nov

Colossians 2:6-7 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

Dear God, I first heard the following song before I had children. I tried to do this as they grew up. You know how I pray for them every day. I pray your presence over them as I type these lyrics to you.

——

“Give Him Roots” by Clay Crosse

So many voices in his ear
Are they playing on his fears
It’s a bad situation
All the way around
But with a solid foundation
He’s gonna stand his ground

Take a little time
Plant the seeds
Give him reason to believe

Give him roots, and give him wings
And he’ll grow up to do great things
Let him know the joy the he brings
Teach him the value of the truth
Oh you gotta give him roots,
Give him wings

When he comes to you
And he needs your help
And he so unsure of himself
Give him vision
So he can see the Light
Let him know the difference between
Wrong and right

Share the wisdom
Of your years
There’ll be laughter
There’ll be tears

Give him roots, give him wings
He’ll grow up
To do great things
Let him know the joy
That he brings
Teach him the value of the truth
Oh you’ve gotta give him roots,
Give him wings

He should aim as high as the sky
There ain’t nothing he can’t do
If he’ll only try

Give him roots, give him wings
He’ll grow up
To do great things
Let him know the joy
That he brings
Teach him the value of the truth,
Tell him there’s nothing
That He can do

Give him roots, give him wings
He’ll grow up
To do great things
Let him know the joy
That he brings
Teach him the value of the truth
Oh, you’ve gotta give him roots,
Give him wings

——

I pray these words over my children. I am sure my parents would pray these over me and my siblings. Oh, how we all long for our children to live fulfilled lives under your glory and grace.

In Jesus’ name I pray,
Amen

 
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Posted by on November 24, 2017 in Colossians, Hymns and Songs, Uncategorized

 

Psalm 123

23 Nov

Psalm 123

A song of ascents.

1 I lift up my eyes to you,
to you who sit enthroned in heaven.
2 As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
till he shows us his mercy.

3 Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us,
for we have endured no end of contempt.
4 We have endured no end
of ridicule from the arrogant,
of contempt from the proud.

 

Dear God, wow, so this is the entire Psalm. Four verses and all about needing your mercy. Songs are normally longer than this. My prayers to you are normally longer than this. But the author here has some specific words for you.

 

  1. I’m looking to you as my God.
  2. I am completely submissive to you.
  3. Please ease my pain the midst of contempt.
  4. The people who are mean to me are arrogant and proud.
  5. The end.

 

Yes, there are people in my life who have been and are still mean to me. I’ve prayed a prayer like this in the past. And some of them are still mean to me. But I can say with gratitude that you have eased my pain. It’s still there. It still hurts. But I have been able to receive your blessing and move on in so many ways.

 

Father, I pray for those who show me contempt. Love them. Break through the pain that they have that drives their contempt. If it is something that I have done to earn it, then please show me how to repent and show them how to forgive me. Help me to take my pain and turn it into grace for them and for others. Be glorified in me so that they might be drawn closer to you.

 

In Jesus’ name I pray,

 

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 23, 2017 in Psalms, Uncategorized

 

Romans 5:3-5

23 Sep

Romans 5:3-5 3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

 

Dear God, I live in an area that grows a lot of peaches and grapes. I’ve learned a couple of things about the needs of these fruits that were counterintuitive to me. Too much water is not good for them, and they need stress as they grow to make their fruit sweeter. Peaches, while they can be hurt by a late freeze, need X number of hours of below freezing over the winter in order to produce good fruit.

So what would a life with too much water and no stress look like? For example, take a child and meet every one of her needs immediately as she has them. Give her supportive friends who never turn on her or betray her. Give her perfect parents. Give her no need for money because everything she desires is instantly provided. What kind of person will that create?

So why do we pray that our trials will be removed? Why do we pray for others that their lives will be easy? Why do we clamor for Joel Osteen’s message of our best life now? We know what too easy of a life will do to us, but we pursue it because our nature is to selfishly serve ourselves.

Father, frankly, lately I have felt like my path is too easy. And as I start this month of sabbatical (Sabbath) from work, I willingly submit myself to the process you have for me now and after. Do with me what you will. Do with my children what you will. Use the strain in their lives to crush any weeds and vines that are growing and develop and nurture the seeds that have been planted over the years that are of you. Create great and wonderful fruit in them so that they will live at peace in the center of your heart.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 23, 2017 in Romans, Uncategorized

 

Isaiah 49:5-6

21 Sep

Isaiah 49:5-6 5 And now the Lord speaks—
the one who formed me in my mother’s womb to be his servant,
who commissioned me to bring Israel back to him.
The Lord has honored me,
and my God has given me strength.
6 He says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me.
I will make you a light to the Gentiles,
and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

 

Dear God, am I doing enough to restore the people of my community to you? The people of our country? The people of the world? As my wife and I were praying together this morning, I got the image of our lives being a pebble that drops in the water. Our pebble only touches the water immediately adjacent to it, but then that water touches the water next to it until the ripple goes across the pond. I prayed that my wife’s and my lives would be the pebbles and produce the ripples you need them to produce.

So what is it you have for me to do today? Whom would you like my life to touch? I have a friend who is very sick? How can my life touch hers? I have another friend who just lost her husband. How can my life touch hers? Patients will come to us today looking for help. What will you have me do in their lives? I prayed something similar to this yesterday, and then we had a woman come to us who was mourning the loss of someone close to her. She wanted counseling from a therapist for her and her daughter immediately, and we didn’t have any to offer. But you spoke to me and I was able to ask our staff member to encourage her to go to her pastor and seek his pastoral counseling. Who knows, but that you might be making this tragic loss count for your glory?

Father, give me ears to hear, eyes to see, a heart that is willing and motivated, and the wisdom to know what to do. And may it all be under your authority, done in humility, and for your glory alone.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 21, 2017 in Isaiah, My Utmost for His Highest Scripture of the Day, Uncategorized

 

Jeremiah 20

03 Sep

Jeremiah 20

When the priest Pashhur son of Immer, the official in charge of the temple of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, 2 he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin at the Lord’s temple. 3 The next day, when Pashhur released him from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord’s name for you is not Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side. 4 For this is what the Lord says: ‘I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; with your own eyes you will see them fall by the sword of their enemies. I will give all Judah into the hands of the king of Babylon, who will carry them away to Babylon or put them to the sword. 5 I will deliver all the wealth of this city into the hands of their enemies—all its products, all its valuables and all the treasures of the kings of Judah. They will take it away as plunder and carry it off to Babylon. 6 And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into exile to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.’”

7 You deceived me, Lord, and I was deceived;
you overpowered me and prevailed.
I am ridiculed all day long;
everyone mocks me.
8 Whenever I speak, I cry out
proclaiming violence and destruction.
So the word of the Lord has brought me
insult and reproach all day long.
9 But if I say, “I will not mention his word
or speak anymore in his name,”
his word is in my heart like a fire,
a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;
indeed, I cannot.
10 I hear many whispering,
“Terror on every side!
Denounce him! Let’s denounce him!”
All my friends
are waiting for me to slip, saying,
“Perhaps he will be deceived;
then we will prevail over him
and take our revenge on him.”

11 But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior;
so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.
They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced;
their dishonor will never be forgotten.
12 Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous
and probe the heart and mind,
let me see your vengeance on them,
for to you I have committed my cause.

13 Sing to the Lord!
Give praise to the Lord!
He rescues the life of the needy
from the hands of the wicked.

14 Cursed be the day I was born!
May the day my mother bore me not be blessed!
15 Cursed be the man who brought my father the news,
who made him very glad, saying,
“A child is born to you—a son!”
16 May that man be like the towns
the Lord overthrew without pity.
May he hear wailing in the morning,
a battle cry at noon.
17 For he did not kill me in the womb,
with my mother as my grave,
her womb enlarged forever.
18 Why did I ever come out of the womb
to see trouble and sorrow
and to end my days in shame?

 

Dear God, I love this chapter! How great is this? The Old Testament reading for the Catholic church today was Jeremiah 20: 7-9, but I needed all 18 verses to get the real feel of it. Jeremiah is ticked off at you. He hates being the messenger. Why him? Where is his reward for his love and devotion to you? Verse 9 reveals his real problem—his very soul cannot deny what you have for him to do: “But if I say, ‘I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,’ his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.”

I love this conflict within one of the great men in the history of the world. I love that he so desires to not be persecuted. I love that he is angry about it. I never see that anger in Paul. Or Peter. Or John. I actually see it in Jesus a little, and I see it in Job when everything really falls apart. But Jeremiah articulates the conflict within himself very well.

How many times have I been angry with you—or at a minimum, disappointed in you—after feeling punished for doing what I felt was the right thing? There have even been times when I couldn’t bring myself to come back to you in these prayer journals. I even stayed away from them for over three years at one point. But my love for you is too great. “[Your] word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.”

I am going to have a dinner with a friend whom I dearly love. I’ve been trying to reach out to him lately and, so far, he hasn’t wanted my help or counsel. I am hopeful that tonight will be a time when he will allow me to be your messenger. I don’t fear being rejected by him like Jeremiah was by Pashhur, but I am afraid of being shut out of a life that I know is in need of good counsel from a friend.

Father, I have been a prophet without honor on a lot of fronts. More family than anywhere else. But I will accept that fate. I choose not to curse anyone because of my birth. You have, indeed, been very good to me. And even if my personal life were in terrible turmoil, I would like to think that “[Your word [would be] in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones.”

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 3, 2017 in Jeremiah, Uncategorized

 

Anxiety

02 Sep

This isn’t going to be a typical post. I’ve been thinking about something I thought I would put down on “paper” so I can kind of think it out.

I woke up yesterday morning earlier than I should have. I was experiencing something I don’t normally face–anxiety. As I lie there in bed, I was anxious about everything. From work and different challenges there, to my children as they are now both living away from home as young adults, to my and my wife’s families of origin and different hurdles they are facing, to my own bank account (which doesn’t make sense because it’s probably in the best position it’s ever been in).

I tried to let go. I tried to rationally talk my way out of the issues. But I was locked up. I was anxious. I couldn’t go back to sleep. I got up and did my prayer journal. It was about Ruth and how God provided for her and Naomi through Boaz. I tried to consider that Ruth had faced more trials than I am facing now. Anyone living in the Houston area today (and I know people who live there) would probably trade places with me in a second. Nothing was helping.

As I finished getting dressed for work, the idea occurred to me that some things can only come out through prayer and fasting. So just after I decided I should probably fast for the day my wife came in and told me that she had decided to go to a 7:30 Friday morning worship service at our church. I’ve never gone with her to one of these before, but I decided that sounded like a great idea. I had prayed. I was listening to Christian music. But some corporate worship sounded like a great idea.

Our small town in Texas was founded in 1849. Our church has two sanctuaries. The “Old Church” was built in 1861. The “New Church” was built in 1908. Friday morning services are apparently done in the Old Church. My wife had to tell me that when I tried to go into the New Church. Here’s a picture of the church when it was new in 1863.

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I was kneeling in church and praying through my anxiety (much of it foolish anxiety) when I looked up to the ceiling. I looked around the room. I thought of the early settlers. I thought about their daily lives and how hard they must have been. Their vulnerability to drought, hostile Native Americans, disease, etc. They had no means of accumulating a lot of money. They were a community of Germans, here less than 15 years, struggling to start a new life, and in the midst of their struggle they had not only come together to build a church, but they had built a big, beautiful church. The rock and other materials were not easy to find and gather. I imagine that it wasn’t easy to build given the technology of the day and the fact that their numbers were in the hundreds and not thousands. How did they face their challenges? Would any of them have been in bed early in the morning, lie there and just worried about things, or would they have gotten up, put their face to the wind, and gone to work? Is there one of them that wouldn’t look at my situation (the job I have, the house where I live, the car I drive, the money I have in the bank, etc.) and laugh at the idea that I am anxious about anything?

I left that service completely refreshed and renewed. The Holy Spirit had spoken to me and inspired me, not by the sermon or the contents of the service, but by introducing me in a new way to a remarkable group of people who lived by faith, hard work, and perseverance 150 years ago. Not one of them ever imagined that they would inspire someone sitting in that room in the year 2017.

Later that evening, my wife told me about a podcast she had heard where a sociologist described the generalized characteristics of the different generations (e.g. Baby Boomers have these traits, Generation X these traits, Generation Y, Millennials, etc.). They apparently don’t have a good label for the current teens, but they have some interesting observations (and these are all broad generalizations so there are many exceptions to these descriptions). Here is a list of what she told me:

  • For reasons I still don’t understand, a larger percentage of them do not have a driver’s license by spring of their senior year in high school (70% now vs. 90% in previous generations).
  • Politically, they tend to be more Libertarian in their desire to get the government out of their lives. “Don’t tell me who I can marry, what I can smoke, etc.”
  • They are hardworking, with the feeling that the world isn’t going to take care of them so they are going to have to go out and take care of themselves.
  • They avoid joining groups. Religiously, this means that they are skeptical of organized religion. But they love small community with just a few friends.
  • They are more prone to interacting with their community through technology rather than face-to-face. They will sit isolated in a room and visit with people through devices rather than in person.
  • They experience a lot of anxiety.

I thought that last one was interesting. Psychologically, I think there is something about our current society and how we are now entering the world through social media and what the electronic news shows us that is leading us to more anxiety. Here are some thoughts I have as to why, but they are only my opinion:

  • When we look at social media, we only see the best of our friends’ lives, but when we compare ourselves to them, we use our reality, not theirs. And this isn’t a criticism of only putting the good parts of your life on social media. It’s not appropriate to air your dirty laundry out there like that. I’m just saying that as readers we need to remember that there is more to each life than we read about on a computer/phone screen.
  • When we look at news (regardless of your source), we are seeing articles that were written as “click bait” and not what someone thinks we need to know. This makes the stories more opinionated (usually negative opinions) than fact-relating.
  • When we argue or disagree with people, our disagreements are more vitriolic because it is easier to be confrontational typing our anger than it was in the old days when our only option was face-to-face.
  • More money means more problems. Money brings all kinds of unexpected problems that are too numerous to list here, but there is a belief among those who struggle month to month that having more money would solve all of their problems. It would solve some of them, to be sure, but it wouldn’t solve all of them. In fact, it creates problems that would surprise you.
  • When we are physically isolated from people and have too much time left alone with our own thoughts, we rarely lead ourselves in a healthy direction. We were not built to be alone.

If you were to go to any one of the Germans in the picture above and tell them you are anxious about your life, they would be surprised. They surely would have been surprised at me yesterday morning. And I don’t have some great prescription for our society to follow so that we can leave anxiety behind. But I can tell you that I found a path out yesterday by praying to my God, taking the day to fast and pray (confession: I broke the fast after 6 p.m.), and then tapping into the inspiration that a bunch of German immigrants left for me 150 years ago.

 
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Posted by on September 2, 2017 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories, Uncategorized

 

Ruth 2:1-13

27 Aug

Ruth 2:1-13

Now there was a wealthy and influential man in Bethlehem named Boaz, who was a relative of Naomi’s husband, Elimelech.

2 One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go out into the harvest fields to pick up the stalks of grain left behind by anyone who is kind enough to let me do it.”

Naomi replied, “All right, my daughter, go ahead.” 3 So Ruth went out to gather grain behind the harvesters. And as it happened, she found herself working in a field that belonged to Boaz, the relative of her father-in-law, Elimelech.

4 While she was there, Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters. “The Lord be with you!” he said.

“The Lord bless you!” the harvesters replied.

5 Then Boaz asked his foreman, “Who is that young woman over there? Who does she belong to?”

6 And the foreman replied, “She is the young woman from Moab who came back with Naomi. 7 She asked me this morning if she could gather grain behind the harvesters. She has been hard at work ever since, except for a few minutes’ rest in the shelter.”

8 Boaz went over and said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Stay right here with us when you gather grain; don’t go to any other fields. Stay right behind the young women working in my field. 9 See which part of the field they are harvesting, and then follow them. I have warned the young men not to treat you roughly. And when you are thirsty, help yourself to the water they have drawn from the well.”

10 Ruth fell at his feet and thanked him warmly. “What have I done to deserve such kindness?” she asked. “I am only a foreigner.”

11 “Yes, I know,” Boaz replied. “But I also know about everything you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband. I have heard how you left your father and mother and your own land to live here among complete strangers. 12 May the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge, reward you fully for what you have done.”

13 “I hope I continue to please you, sir,” she replied. “You have comforted me by speaking so kindly to me, even though I am not one of your workers.”

 

Dear God, there is something to be said for just being a nice guy. There is something to be said for empathy. Boaz didn’t realize it, but his actions in this moment were being recorded for all time. History was watching, and we found him faithful. He is now an example to us on how to treat someone who is less fortunate than us.

Ruth, of course, is an example as well. She didn’t realize history was watching her too. She didn’t know that, 5,000 years later, I would be sitting here on a Sunday morning before church thinking about her faithfulness to Naomi and her perseverance in the face of hardship.

So what will I do today? What kind of an example will I be to anyone who might take note of my life. What kind of servant will I be for you?

Father, give me the strength to remember that every moment of my day counts. That doesn’t mean that I have to be in action every moment of the day to be found faithful, but it does mean that I need to be about worshiping you in my thoughts, words, and deeds. Thank you for the people in the Bible who were found to be faithful to you in their daily lives. I always think of the widow that Jesus saw putting the two coins in the offering. Help me to do all of this, and to do it in the humility that comes from the recognition that I am your grateful servant.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 27, 2017 in Ruth, Uncategorized

 

Ruth 1:1-18

25 Aug

Ruth 1:1-18

1 In the days when the judges ruled in Israel, a severe famine came upon the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah left his home and went to live in the country of Moab, taking his wife and two sons with him. 2 The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife was Naomi. Their two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. And when they reached Moab, they settled there.

3 Then Elimelech died, and Naomi was left with her two sons. 4 The two sons married Moabite women. One married a woman named Orpah, and the other a woman named Ruth. But about ten years later, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion died. This left Naomi alone, without her two sons or her husband.

Naomi and Ruth Return

6 Then Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had blessed his people in Judah by giving them good crops again. So Naomi and her daughters-in-law got ready to leave Moab to return to her homeland. 7 With her two daughters-in-law she set out from the place where she had been living, and they took the road that would lead them back to Judah.

8 But on the way, Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back to your mothers’ homes. And may the Lord reward you for your kindness to your husbands and to me. 9 May the Lord bless you with the security of another marriage.” Then she kissed them good-bye, and they all broke down and wept.

10 “No,” they said. “We want to go with you to your people.”

11 But Naomi replied, “Why should you go on with me? Can I still give birth to other sons who could grow up to be your husbands? 12 No, my daughters, return to your parents’ homes, for I am too old to marry again. And even if it were possible, and I were to get married tonight and bear sons, then what? 13 Would you wait for them to grow up and refuse to marry someone else? No, of course not, my daughters! Things are far more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord himself has raised his fist against me.”

14 And again they wept together, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye. But Ruth clung tightly to Naomi. 15 “Look,” Naomi said to her, “your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. You should do the same.”

16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!” 18 When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said nothing more.

 

Dear God, this story reminds me of Nicodemus and the crucifixion. Ruth had seemingly hitched her wagon to the wrong train. Naomi misinterpreted the loss of her husband and sons as your raised fist against her (verse 13). But in this case, you had a plan for Ruth down the road. You had a plan for Israel. You had a plan for David and his lineage that needed Ruth and Boza to come together.

Ruth, for her part, simply showed devotion and persevered ahead, even in the midst of tragedy. She eschewed the logical path for one that was seemingly foolish. Love and devotion—doing the right thing—won out over selfishness and conventional wisdom.

Nicodemus was the same way. He was a closet Jesus follower, and yet, when he had the most to lose in front of his fellow Pharisees—when the person in whom he had put his faith had died—it was at that moment that he stepped out and let his heart override his mind.

Father, help me to do what is right at any given time regardless of the consequences. Help me to know when to reject conventional wisdom and simply press on towards your goal and rest in your voice leading me. Help me to glorify you in every way so that, when others might think I am being foolish, I will be at peace in knowing that, even if I made the wrong decision, I did it for the right reason.

And to close, here is a little Rich Mullins:

Lord, you’re leading me
With a cloud by day
And then in the night
The glow of a burning flame
And everywhere I go I see you
And everywhere I go I see you

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 25, 2017 in Ruth, Uncategorized

 

Revelation 3:14-20

14 Aug

Revelation 3:14-20 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”
Dear God, last night’s meeting with our group from church was probably one of our best from a standpoint of really getting into what people believe about specific theological issues. While everyone there attends the same church, and most grew up in that church (or at least that denomination) I think some of the people around the circle articulated for the first time what they believe about submission to you, repentance, and salvation. There were some misunderstandings of what other denominations believe. There was some self-realization that people had about their own misgivings about what they believed. 

As for me, my own feeling is that I have me theology, philosophy, and even feelings about all of that, but at the end of the day I’m not sure enough about topics like infant baptism and confirmation vs baby dedications and person decisions. What I know is that you want me to repent of my sin, accept Jesus’ Lordship over my life, and submit to and worship you. 

Father, I give you that. First, I am sorry. Our church repeats a penitent prayer every week. It is good and I confess my sin now. I am grateful that Jesus did what he did and continues to do what he does. I accept your Lordship and example over my life. I give you my worship as my Redeemer and my God, and I accept the yoke you have for me in exchange for the yoke I actually deserve. 

In Jesus’ name I worshipfully pray,

Amen  

 
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Posted by on August 14, 2017 in Revelation, Uncategorized

 
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