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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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The Jesus Revolution

25 Feb

Dear God, my wife and I just saw The Jesus Revolution in the movie theater this afternoon. I thought it was excellent. She did too. It was based on a Time Magazine story from June 1971. There were several disparate things that were good about it.

First, and at a most basic level, most Christian movies are not well-produced, but this one was. The production–acting, directing, cinematography, sound, etc.–was excellent. It didn’t feel like I was watching a Christian movie. It was just a movie.

Second, the basic message of people who are pursuing happiness in the world through carnal things are really just looking for you was very powerful for me. They are looking for that transcendental peace that you put in our nature to long for because only you can fill it, but they are looking for it in all of the wrong places. It really made me think about my own concern about the youth in our community. A lot of people are concerned, but they are putting their focus, I believe, in the wrong things like what the schools are doing. The problem is so much deeper and more foundational than that. What will we do to offer you to our world?

Third, the timing of this movie’s release is interesting given the revival happening at Asbury College. What are you up to? Is it something we should be sensitive to here? The rest of our country? Are you ready to short-circuit the toxicity of our evolved society and bring us to you?

Fourth, the battle against the ego. It happens to all of us. Sometimes, we start to believe our own press. Sometimes we exalt ourselves and enjoy the exultation of others and forget to decrease so you can increase through us. It has certainly happened to me. It was portrayed well in the movie too. It’s something I feel like I fight all of the time now. Every day. Success is so much fun to not only celebrate but also to use to lift me up and help me displace you with me. There were a couple of times in the movie when the main characters said “I” when they were referring to who had done something. My wife and I squeezed each other’s hands each time because we heard the same thing. They were taking glory for themselves–even in their private argument.

Finally, I got to thinking about basically what amounts to the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13), although I didn’t think of it until now. Regarding the young people (and some older) in the movie who were coming to know you, how much were they really developing their soil and giving the Holy Spirit room to grow fruit? Their hearts were not the path, where the seed was snatched away by birds. It stuck more than that. But was it the rocks that allowed the seed to spring up quickly but then die with no root? I would bet a lot fit into this category because this was me back in middle school and high school. Every time I would “accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior,” I really meant it, but I did nothing to till my soil and give you space to develop roots. The seed died over and over again. In the movie, were others like the soil with thorns? Did the cares of this world choke out the seed? I think that is where a lot of our current Christian church in America is. Power. Influence. Dogma. These are all choking out the Spirit in our churches. No, I would like to have seen just a couple of scenes of people learning to walk deeper with you in their private lives as well as their communal lives. The movie showed people moving into the same spaces to live together or going to church almost every night to sustain the fire. But what about when living together and daily church isn’t possible? We need the personal time to connect with you. I described it to my wife as “transparent time with God.” We all need to be spending quality transparent time with you.

Father, use this movie. Use Asbury. Don’t let it be wasted. Show me what to do. Show me, Lord, what to do. Move in the leaders in our community. Move in our country. Move in our world. I was thinking this morning about praying for the influencers of our children. Bring the influencers to you. Bring our children to you. Bring me to you. Bring my wife to you. And do it all for your glory and not ours.

I pray all of this under the glory of your name and because the grace of Jesus enables me to be here before you, my Triune God,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 25, 2023 in Miscellaneous

 

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Isaiah 58

24 Feb

“Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast. Shout aloud! Don’t be timid What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me. You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like reeds bending in the wind. You dress in burlap and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the Lord? “No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help. “Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind. Then when you call, the Lord will answer. ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply. “Remove the heavy yoke of oppression. Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors! Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities. Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls and a restorer of homes. “Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day. Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly. Then the Lord will be your delight. I will give you great honorand satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Isaiah 58

Dear God, this reminds me of 1 Samuel 15 when Samuel says, “To obey is better than to sacrifice…” you don’t want my piety. You simply want me to love you with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and to love my neighbor as myself. The purpose of fasting is to discipline myself into submitting to you, not just making myself feel good because I engaged in some sort of pious activity.

A couple of years ago, a local pastor encouraged his parishioners to consider not giving something up for Lent, but to instead consider taking up an activity that glorifies you. Maybe service. Maybe worship. Maybe prayer. Whatever it is, make it a worshipful add-on to your life instead of a ritualistic denial of something. That’s pretty much what I’m trying to do this year. I’ve pitched something that I think will bring me closer to you, and then the fruit of that will take care of itself.

Father, Isaiah’s words for Israel are likely the same thing you would have to say to the American church today: “Obey me before you have to sacrifice.” There’s a lot in here about loving the poor and oppressed. Help me to go that more and more. For your glory, oh Lord.

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Holy Spirit, have mercy,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 24, 2023 in Isaiah

 

Proverbs 17:9

20 Feb

Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.
Proverbs 17:9

Dear God, this plays on yesterday’s passage out of Leviticus and it is so true. Forgiveness. It’s a fascinating thing. It’s most difficult when the forgiveness is not sought by the offending person. The person who doesn’t say they are sorry. They might not regret doing something that I think they did wrong. I’ll be frank, God. That person can be hard to forgive. But what happens if I don’t? What are the consequences if I don’t let it go and forgive? Does it hurt them, or does it hurt me? The answer is that it hurts me much more than them.

That doesn’t mean that I don’t set boundaries to keep a chronic offender from hurting me. But I also have to let go of the anger and hurt they’ve caused.

The other thing that is interesting is the difference between when the offending person is my child vs. anyone else. When it is my child, the forgiveness is so, so easy. It really doesn’t matter what the child has done. I will always have a hug waiting for them. It kind of reminds me of the George Strait song “Love Without End, Amen.”

Father, thank you for loving me. Thank you for forgiving me so readily. Thank you for guiding me. Thank you for teaching me to love and forgive. Help me to be an example of this to others so that your kingdom might come into this world.

I pray this through the mercy you grant to me through the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 20, 2023 in Proverbs

 

Romans 8:28-30

17 Feb

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
Romans 8:28-30

Dear God, you really do work it all for my good. Even the pain. It forms me. It breaks me, and then if I allow you to you mold me, fill me and use me. And when you are using me and I am submitted to you then that is where I find my peace.

There is a song by Garth Brooks, “The Dance,” that so completely encapsulates the pain I carry in my heart that I literally cannot hear it without having tears stream down my face. What I think is brilliant about it is that it expresses gratitude for ignorance: “And now, I’m glad I didn’t know the way it all would end, the way it all would go. Our lives are better left to chance. I could have missed the pain, but I’d have had to miss the dance.” Honestly, the pain I feel now makes the memories sweeter. At least I think it does. I know the memories comfort me. And now the pain forms me. Maybe it makes me more useful to you. I know it focuses my prayers and makes them very intentional.

Father, I trust you that you are working all of this for my good. Make it for the hood of others around me as well. Make it for the hood of your will being done and your kingdom coming in earth as it is in heaven. Make this pain count. Don’t let it be wasted.

I pray this in the name of the one, Triune God,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 17, 2023 in Romans

 

2 Corinthians 12:8-10

16 Feb

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:8-10

Dear God, I have been completely overwhelmed and stressed this week. Too much to do. Too little of me to do it. It’s been oppressive. I’ve been exhausted. And losing a week to COVID last week and then losing two employees to COVID this week didn’t help.

But then I was listening to a friend’s podcast last night and I was reminded that being at the end of ourselves is actually a good thing because that is when you can truly take over and do it better than I could have done it alone. It’s also when I stop taking credit and acknowledge that all of the good around me happens from you.

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, I offer you my coworkers for whom I am concerned. Some are facing some significant personal problems. Some are getting over illness. Help all of us to completely lean into you and upon you. Help me to bring you into the workplace. I pray for the volunteer who texted last night that she was heading to the hospital in San Antonio. I don’t know what is happening with her, but I pray over her body. I pray that you will strengthen and comfort her mother and family. Give them answers for her. And help me know how to truly lean into you today and turn things over to you.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 16, 2023 in 2 Corinthians

 
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