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2 Peter 1:4-11

15 Mar

And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins. So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:4-11

Dear God, there is this interesting fine line we walk in this life, and I think maybe it comes down to a simple concept: meaninglessness/meaningfulness. I watched a movie last night that seemed to revolve around this idea. Everything, Everywhere, All at Once was an interesting look at what people use to find meaning in this world. Now I would say that the lesson of Job is that the only real meaning for our lives is serving you. It’s about being in relationship with you and then being used by you in the world. That’s where I find my meaning and where I find my peace. You are my God, and I worship you.

What I saw in the movie last night was a lot of meaninglessness and despair. I’m not sure any of the characters knew what they were living for. Frankly, it was hard to watch. And even the resolution at the end didn’t really answer the meaninglessness question. Maybe that’s why I didn’t like it as much as everyone else did. By the end, it felt like they got past the bad hump in front of them, but I am not sure anything really changes.

I was talking recently with a friend who is having marital issues. He went through a separation from his wife recently, the reconciled and things were in a honeymoon phase for a while, but now they seem to be settling into their old, pre-separation patterns again. It makes me think of the U2 song, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”

Father, beyond anything else in my life, I really do find my peace in you. I find my meaning in you. You’ve given me work to do today. And should my life end today, it’s okay because it’s been lived for you and you did with my time here what you wanted. It’s not about my bucket list. It’s not about what I did or didn’t accomplish. It’s about what use I was to you in this whole scheme of time. And some would read this and say how sad it is, but I would counter that those people haven’t put their lives in perspective. In the billions and billions of human lives that have been lived over the thousands or tens of thousands of years, mine is just one. It’s so small. And that’s okay. Because one day I will be one of those souls in heaven, worshipping you. I pray that others I know might find the peace that I’ve found through your love, your grace, your acceptance, and your plan for my life.

I pray this under the authority of my Triune God,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 15, 2023 in 2 Peter

 

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Romans 8:26-30

13 Mar

26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

Romans 8:26-30

Dear God, I have something that I don’t want to share specifically in this forum, but you know what is on my heart. It needs a lot of concerted prayer. Holy Spirit, you’ve put this on my heart. I’m just not sure what to do with it. You’re calling me to be open to something, but I don’t know what. On the one had, I want to be like Peter right now and just decide something needs to be done and do it (see Matthias in Acts 2). But I don’t want to get ahead of you like I think Peter did (my personal opinion is that Paul was the intended replacement for Judas and Peter jumped the gun). I feel like you’re telling me that there is a need here, but this is a moment to be prayerful and watchful. I need to pray about what to do and then listen carefully for your timing to act on it.

As I look at these verses today, I’m reminded of the Holy Spirit’s role in my life. Counselor. Comforter. Healer. Intercessor. He is your presence in me and around me. He is you, Father, and you, Jesus, with me. The Holy Spirit is the one Jesus said he would send after his ascension into heaven. Holy Spirit, you are praying for me above my ignorance. You groan for me and my situations. You are pleading for me in harmony with the Father’s will. And even when things look bad, I trust that the Father’s will is that the world would move into complete harmony with himself. This might not happen in my lifetime. I measure things in days, weeks, and months, while the Father measures time in years, decades, and centuries. So I am ignorant and don’t know for what I should pray, but I trust that the Holy Spirit is taking my prayers and guiding them into your perfect will.

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit. Guide me. Give me ears to hear. Give me eyes to see. Give me discernment. Give me your vision for what you want me to do. Keep me from foolish impetuousness, but also don’t let me allow fear or reluctance to drive me into inaction. Make my path straight and hold my hand as I walk it.

I pray all of this under your authority and submitted to you,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 13, 2023 in Romans

 

John 4:4-42

12 Mar

4 He had to go through Samaria on the way. 5 Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. 7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” 8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.

9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”

10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”

11 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”

13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

15 “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”

16 “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.

17 “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied.

Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— 18 for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”

19 “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. 20 So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”

21 Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

25 The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

26 Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!”

27 Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do you want with her?” or “Why are you talking to her?” 28 The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, 29 “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” 30 So the people came streaming from the village to see him.

31 Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus, “Rabbi, eat something.”

32 But Jesus replied, “I have a kind of food you know nothing about.”

33 “Did someone bring him food while we were gone?” the disciples asked each other.

34 Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. 35 You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. 36 The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! 37 You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true. 38 I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.”

39 Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!” 40 When they came out to see him, they begged him to stay in their village. So he stayed for two days, 41 long enough for many more to hear his message and believe. 42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Dear God, I listened to a really good homily this morning from Father Mike Schmitz on this passage. If there was an overall message to the homily, it was to see the person over seeing the group. Jesus didn’t see a Samaritan. He saw a woman. When the other Samaritans came, he didn’t see Samaritans, but individuals instead.

It reminded me of Hagar in Genesis 16:13 when she is pregnant with Ishmael, runs away, and you showed up to encourage her. From then on she called you the God who saw her. She was hopeless, but she knew you saw her and you gave her hope. The same is true for this woman at the well.

So there is a group of people right now who are frustrating me. And what frustrates me isn’t their hearts for doing what they think is right. I think, if asked why they are doing what they do they would give you a good reason. It’s the what they are doing that concerns me. Their tactics seem more destructive than constructive. It doesn’t feel like they are solving problems, but instead just creating more issues for good people. And what’s my response to them? Well, I tend to treat them as a group and resist them as a group instead of engaging them as individuals. But I’ve been feeling led by you to maybe engage with one of them as an individual and build a constructive relationship that can be about your mercy and love. Maybe we can find common ground and pursue making a difference in ways we can agree upon. It reminds me of the time you led me to reach out to someone else a few months ago. I was upset with you about the prompting, but I did it anyway and now I can see that it was a good thing.

Father, help me to overcome my pride, my sinfulness, and my judgmental attitude. Help me to see beyond the surface. Help me to know how to reach out to those whom I frustrate as well. I’m sure the group that frustrates me is frustrated by me and those who are likeminded with me. It’s all division. It’s all Satan’s plan. Father, let me be part of you thwarting Satan’s plan in whatever way you want to use me. And protect me in this. I know I’m setting myself up for attacks when I do this. Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, please be with me. Do it for the glory of your kingdom.

I pray all of this in your Holy Name,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 12, 2023 in John

 

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Genesis 37:3-4

10 Mar

3 Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph—a beautiful robe.4 But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him.

Genesis 37:3-4

Dear God, if there is room in your plan for Jacob to be this bad of a father then there must be hope for the rest of us. Nobody’s perfect. Nobody’s the perfect parent. I’m not the perfect parent. I wasn’t when they were younger, and I’m not now that they are grown. Sometimes this weighs on me. It’s not that I didn’t do my best. I really did. I tried to do it well, but, at the end of the day, there was no way I was ever going to do it perfectly. I remember holding my oldest child for the first time and literally thinking, “Well, at least so far I haven’t screwed anything up.” I hadn’t had a chance to yet. But I’ve certainly made my share of mistakes since then.

One thing I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older is the importance of giving grace to people who don’t live up to your expectations. Even now, there is a group of people in our community with whom I am at odds. Their actions really frustrate me, and I’m sure my actions have frustrated or offended them. I think the key for all of us is to recognize the motivations on each side and that they are not sinister. I might disagree with their conclusions. I might disagree with their tactics. But I also recognize that they don’t wake up in the morning thinking, “How can I be mean or do something bad today?” No, they are probably waking up with a passion and wondering how to bring it to life. I hope they recognize the same of me.

I link these two things together (the parenting angle and the community activism angle) because they both just require grace. They require people to look beyond what is perceived on the surface and realize that there is a loved child of God on the other side who is likely just doing their best to make the right decisions as they perceive them. That is true for parents and children as well as community members trying to solve problems.

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, please give me grace. Give me grace for those who are frustrating me. Whether they be family, coworkers, friends, or just people I know either locally or through the media only. Even politicians. There is only so much influence my little life can have. Don’t let me waste it on something that doesn’t bring you glory and your kingdom coming to earth and your will being done on earth as it is in heaven.

It’s through the redemption of Jesus I pray to my Triune God,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 10, 2023 in Genesis

 

“On Call” by Gary Thomas

09 Mar
Excerpt from Simply Sacred, a collection of devotions by Gary Thomas

This was an interesting story from Gary Thomas about being impacted by an injustice but not 1.) knowing how to respond and 2.) not hearing a leading from you on how he himself should respond. There are times I feel the same way, such as the war in Ukraine. What am I personally supposed to do about that? If I’ve ever felt your nudge to move, I’ve tried to respond, but I really have nothing to offer except asking you to move.

Then there are the things that are potentially in the realm of me being able to address it, but I cannot do it all. You aren’t calling me to do it all. You didn’t call everyone to head up rebuilding Jerusalem–just Nehemiah. You’ve put me in a position of being able to do some things behind the scenes, and I’ve been able to even just jump right in and be part of getting something done. When I’ve done all of these things, I’ve tried to do them under your call and leadership, but sometimes I fail. Sometimes I act impetuously when you haven’t called me to act. And sometimes I miss the opportunity when you’ve prompted me to do something.

Father, help me to be intentional about everything I do and I don’t do. Help me to bring more and more to you in prayer. Help me to have serenity when there is something going on that bothers me that I cannot change. Don’t let me make that thing my idol. Help me to keep my eyes on you and trust you. When it’s time to act, give me courage to do it as unto you and not as unto man. And please give me wisdom and discernment as I listen for your voice.

I pray all of this in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 9, 2023 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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2 Corinthians 1:3-7

08 Mar

3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. 4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 5 For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. 6 Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. 7 We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us.

2 Corinthians 1:3-7

Dear God, there is a lot on my mind this morning, and I wanted to make sure I woke up early so I could really spend some concerted time with you at the beginning of a day that has the potential to be difficult. Specifically, there is a meeting at the end of the day that has the potential to be controversial and even confrontational. I intended to spend most of my time this morning praying over this meeting. Praying that your Holy Spirit will be in it. Praying that you will use it for your good and the ultimate good of everyone in our community. Praying that you will use it to heal and truly reveal yourself to everyone there. Praying that, if you need it to be painful, that you will make the pain count. And I do pray all of this. I pray over this meeting, that you will truly bring your presence in there and that you will enter this world so that your kingdom comes and your will is done through our meeting today. Give me an open mind that will listen for your Holy Spirit to speak to me. Give the others in the meeting–most of whom I know call on you as their God–to do the same.

But reading this verse of the day from Bible Gateway this morning, made mem also think of all of my coworkers who are struggling. Some have sick relatives. Some are grieving loss. Some are facing their own physical ailments. Some have children who are struggling. Then I read this passage from Paul and, although he is referring to comforting each other through religious persecution, it can also refer to us comforting each other through our shared burdens. You comfort us. We then know how to pass comfort on to others. We suffer and one of the side effects of the suffering is that we learn to empathize with others. It’s why you put us in community, whether it be through church, family, work, or just a good friend group. You put us in community so that we might be part of ministering to each other.

Father, help us to all comfort each other today. Help us to know how to love others. For all of the staff at work, give us eyes to see and ears to hear our coworkers, our patients, our volunteers, and our donors. Help us to see beyond facades and discern what is happening under the surface. Help us to also see that we are not alone as we face our own struggles. Help us to be exactly who you need us to be for your kingdom’s sake.

I pray this through Jesus,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 8, 2023 in 2 Corinthians

 

Daniel 9:4-6

06 Mar

I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: “O Lord, you are a great and awesome God! You always fulfill your covenant and keep your promises of unfailing love to those who love you and obey your commands. But we have sinned and done wrong. We have rebelled against you and scorned your commands and regulations. We have refused to listen to your servants the prophets, who spoke on your authority to our kings and princes and ancestors and to all the people of the land.
Daniel 9:4-6

Dear God, my wife told me a story this evening about John Michael Talbot speaking at an event she attended last night. He mentioned a time in his life when he felt the burden of his sin after an experience of dying briefly during a heart event and feeling the weight of it in that small moment between life, death, and then back to life. He said he spent months really repenting through his sin.

Regarding this passage, I remember when I was listening to the Bible in a year podcast last year and the priest focused on Daniel repenting in this passage for not only himself, but the people as well. He owned the corporate sin for himself. He repented.

My wife is Catholic and last week was a “reconciliation” service that was scheduled for lent. It’s a time for Catholics to confess their sins to a priest and then receive dispensation and penance instructions. It’s not the worst tradition I’ve ever heard of.

Recently, watching the Jesus Revolution movie, I experienced once again the power of repentance. The freedom felt from that first exposure to you and the grace of Jesus. Repentance is powerful.

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, I’ve repented so much for things that I think I’m beyond the “high” of repenting, but I am certainly not past the peace it brings. The peace your forgiveness brings. It breaks my heart when anyone rejects you because they see you as the great Rule-Maker in the sky, just waiting for us to break your rules. The truth is, the rules serve a function and purpose. Like for our own children. We don’t just make rules for rules’ sake. We make them to guide and protect them from things they may or may not see. So as for me, I’m sorry for the things I do. I’m sorry for the selfish, unfaithful, insecure things I do. Help me to find my joy only in you and the things you call me to. Help me to be your example of repentance and grace for others. Help me to be your salt in this increasingly saltless world.

I pray all of this under the grace afforded to me through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 6, 2023 in Daniel

 

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Do you feel loved?

05 Mar

Dear God, I was listening to a podcast this morning, and they were talking about the revival at Asbury over the last month. Reportedly, it started with the person up front asking, “Is there anyone out there who doesn’t feel loved by someone?” Eighteen people apparently came forward and stayed to worship and pray after the others left, and then the others came back when they heard that the worship and prayer were still going on.

Hearing this story immediately made me think about my children. If they were in a similar gathering, would they count themselves as people who feel unloved or would they have been in the group that left and then maybe returned later? I know I hope they feel loved by my wife and me, but, frankly, I really don’t know. I know we’ve done everything we can to show them love, but have they experienced that, or have seeds of doubt been planted in their minds over the years that have grown into them feeling unloved by us?

I will say this about our son. Leading up to the first time we met his girlfriend, she asked him what he thought we would think of her. He told us he told her, “All my parents are going to care about is that I’m happy and that you are good for me.” I told my wife later that that was the greatest compliment he might have ever given us. He knew we didn’t care about how anything looked on the surface. All we cared about was what we saw as best for him.

Of course, I have to go next level on this. Even if both of my children do feel loved by my wife and me, our love is obviously imperfect. How can it not be? But your love is perfect. It is everything. It’s amazing, in fact, that you bother to love us at all!

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, I want to pray for my children today. Help them to know in the depths of their hearts that their parents love them because we really do. We root and cheer for them. We hurt with them when they hurt. We are willing to sacrifice what we want for their best. But also help them to really understand our limits as humans. That we fail. That we make mistakes. That we are imperfect. And that you are there, above all. They happen to have parents who really love them, but they also have a God who isn’t interested in punishing them or coming down hard on them. You too want the best for them. You root for them and cheer for them. You hurt with them when they hurt. You were willing to sacrifice for their best. Do something in their lives this very day, raise up someone or something in their lives today, that will be your voice and help them to know that you are there and you love them so much.

I pray all of this for your glory in this world through my children,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 5, 2023 in Miscellaneous

 

Isaiah 55:8-9

04 Mar

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,so my ways are higher than your waysand my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:8-9

Dear God, this where I just have to lean into trust. There are aspects of my life I simply don’t like. Yes, 80% of my life is really as good as I could imagine it, but I have 20% that brings me great pain, worry, and hurt. I don’t understand why it is the way it is. I don’t understand if I’m supposed to be doing something different. I don’t know why. But when I sink into despair I remember the essence of these verses in Isaiah: You are doing things I can’t see or don’t understand, and you’re doing them for reasons I can’t possibly comprehend.

It made me think of a Twila Paris song from the 80s called “Do I Trust You.”

“Do I Trust You, Lord?” By Twila Paris

Sometimes my little heart can’t understand
What’s in Your will, what’s in Your plan.
So many times I’m tempted to ask You why,
But I can never forget it for long.
Lord, what You do could not be wrong.
So I believe You, even when I must cry.

Do I trust You, Lord?
Does the river flow?
Do I trust You, Lord?
Does the north wind blow?
You can see my heart,
You can read my mind,
And You got to know
That I would rather die
Than to lose my faith
In the One I love.
Do I trust You, Lord?
Do I trust You?

I know the answers, I’ve given them all.
But suddenly now, I feel so small.
Shaken down to the cavity in my soul.
I know the doctrine and theology,
But right now they don’t mean much to me.
This time there’s only one thing I’ve got to know.

Do I trust You, Lord?
Does the robin sing?
Do I trust You, Lord?
Does it rain in spring?
You can see my heart,
You can read my mind,
And You got to know
That I would rather die
Than to lose my faith
In the One I love.
Do I trust You, Lord?
Do I trust You?

I will trust You, Lord, when I don’t know why.
I will trust You, Lord, till the day I die.
I will trust You, Lord, when I’m blind with pain!
You were God before, and You’ll never change.
I will trust You.
I will trust You.
I will trust You, Lord
I will trust You

I will trust You.
I will trust You.
I will trust You
I will trust You.
I will trust You, Lord.

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Twila Paris

Father, I don’t know what I would do without my faith in you. I know some would call it a crutch. That’s an insult. You are more than that. Using you as a crutch means it’s still about me. It’s NOT about me. I don’t use you as a crutch. I simply throw myself upon you and trust that you are working for purposes higher than my purposes in ways I cannot see. And then I trust that. I trust you. And if I’ve wasted my life trusting you and none of this is true, then I still won’t regret a thing because trusting you and living life the way you created me to live it has brought me more peace than anything else ever could have. It’s brought me more joy. It’s brought me more love. All of the fruits of the Spirit. To quote another song but changing the meaning slightly, God, if loving you is wrong then I don’t want to be right.

I offer this prayer to you through the grace and power of Jesus,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 4, 2023 in Hymns and Songs, Isaiah

 

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“Shine Jesus Shine” by Graham Kendrick

26 Feb

“Shine Jesus Shine” by Graham Kendrick

Lord, the light of your love is shining
In the midst of the darkness, shining
Jesus, Light of the world, shine upon us
Set us free by the truth you now bring us
Shine on me, shine on me

Shine, Jesus, shine
Fill this land with the Father’s glory
Blaze, Spirit, blaze
Set our hearts on fire
Flow, river, flow
Flood the nations with grace and mercy
Send forth your word
Lord, and let there be light

Lord, I come to your awesome presence
From the shadows into your radiance
By the blood I may enter your brightness
Search me, try me, consume all my darkness
Shine on me, shine on me

Shine, Jesus, shine
Fill this land with the Father’s glory
Blaze, Spirit, blaze
Set our hearts on fire
Flow, river, flow
Flood the nations with grace and mercy
Send forth your word
Lord, and let there be light

As we gaze on your kingly brightness
So our faces display your likeness
Ever changing from glory to glory
Mirrored here may our lives tell your story
Shine on me, shine on me

Shine, Jesus, shine
Fill this land with the Father’s glory
Blaze, Spirit, blaze
Set our hearts on fire
Flow, river, flow
Flood the nations with grace and mercy
Send forth your word
Lord, and let there be

Send forth your
Send forth your word
Lord, and let there
Send forth your word
Send forth your word
Lord, and let there be light

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Graham A. Kendrick

Dear God, ever since seeing the Jesus Revolution movie yesterday, I’ve been thinking a lot about it. As I said last night in my prayer, I’ve had a lot of disparate thoughts.

What’s been on my heart a lot today is not only the youth in our community, but also the difference in the way some Christians see to help them. There is a very passionate group that wants to focus on every single thing the school is doing that might influence children. From curriculum, to counseling, to policies, etc. They (and I say “they” because I am not one of them) think this will protect our children. But I’ve thought a lot about this today. I cannot think of a single revival in our country that started with a movement of the government or other authorities. Never has it been legislated from the top down. Even thinking back into the Bible stories, it’s always suffering that brings us into repentance. It’s always suffering that brings us to you. The only example I can think of off of the top of my head that might be an exception is the preaching Jonah did in Nineveh. I don’t know what exactly the Ninevites were experiencing to make their hearts so ripe for your message through Jonah, but they were radical in their response.

Now, I look at our children and I keep thinking back to the movie yesterday when they talked about the hippies looking for you, but they were looking in all of the wrong places. From drugs, to promiscuity, to any other type of experimentation, they were looking for something to fill their “God hole.” The same is true for today. I think of what revival would look like if it were to work its way through our school, and it would put any agenda for controlling the library books, the counseling program, etc. to shame. Even students are smart enough to know when to reject something after they have found the truth. In fact, they are probably better at that than adults are.

That leads me to this song. It was the closing song in the church I attended this morning. The lead into the chorus that Graham Kendrick wrote starts with “Shine on me.” It starts with us as individuals. Then, to borrow Kurt Kaiser’s words from “Pass it On,” “It only takes a spark to get a fire going.” So, Father, this is my prayer today: “Shine, Jesus, Shine. Fill this land with the Father’s glory. Blaze, Spirit, Blaze. Set our hearts on fire. Flow, river, flow. Flood the nations with grace and mercy. Send forth your Word, Lord, and let there be light.” Let it start in my home. Let it be in my community. Let it be in my state. Let it be in my country. Let it be in my world. Let is start with what you’re doing in Asbury. Let this movie be your fuel. And let this be the start of something amazing. Let this pain of the pandemic over the last three years, the toxicity of social media, and the idolatry the church has adopted for government and power count. Let it bring us, bring me, to repentance. And then teach us discipleship so that your church might bring your will into the world from the bottom up.

I pray all of this through the name of Jesus, the author and perfector of my faith,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 26, 2023 in Hymns and Songs, Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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