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Ezekiel 24:15-19

11 Aug

15 Then this message came to me from the Lord: 16 “Son of man, with one blow I will take away your dearest treasure. Yet you must not show any sorrow at her death. Do not weep; let there be no tears. 17 Groan silently, but let there be no wailing at her grave. Do not uncover your head or take off your sandals. Do not perform the usual rituals of mourning or accept any food brought to you by consoling friends.”

18 So I proclaimed this to the people the next morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did everything I had been told to do. 19 Then the people asked, “What does all this mean? What are you trying to tell us?”

Ezekiel 24:15-19

Dear God, if ever there was a passage the demonstrated how our lives are not about us, it is this one. Perhaps Ezekiel’s wife was going to die anyway and you were just letting him know, but to dictate that he not publicly mourn her passing so that you could demonstrate to the Israelites your feelings about their indifference for you is palpable.

Ninety percent of my life is pretty soft, but there is a portion that has been hard and difficult. And I’ve tended to dwell on and complain about the 10% more than I’ve worshipped you and been grateful for the 90%. At the same time, over the last few years, I’ve tried to consider that you might be doing something in the 10% that I cannot see. Therefore, my prayer to you has been to make it count.

Father, Holy Spirit, my Comforter, my Counselor, my Convictor, my Lord, my God, I ask that you make the pain count. For my friends who are sick or suffering, I ask that you heal them, of course. Touch their bodies. Touch their souls. Touch their minds. Touch their hearts. Please, heal them and bring them close to you. And do not waste this experience. Do not waste this pain. Please, make this pain count. Make it count for my life and their lives. Use it to draw us closer to you. Use it to lead us into deeper worship of you. Use it to bring your kingdom and will into the earth. Use it for our good. Show me today what you would have me do or say.

In and through Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 11, 2022 in Ezekiel

 

2 Corinthians 9:6-10

10 Aug

6 Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. 7 You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” 8 And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. 9 As the Scriptures say,

“They share freely and give generously to the poor.
    Their good deeds will be remembered forever.”

10 For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.

2 Corinthians 9:6-10

Dear God, I was talking with a retired man last night who is putting some of his energy into nonprofit work in his retirement. He is on the board of a nonprofit and has been giving both his money and his background/experience to the organization. I spoke to another man who is still working but is doing the same thing. He is an attorney who has given a lot of free legal counsel to a nonprofit for which he is on the board.

I’m thinking about these two men because of the idea of sowing and giving back. We did not discuss their faith, but I don’t think either of them are really people of faith, but as good humans they still know the intrinsic fulfillment and joy that come from giving of themselves–giving from their surplus.

Frankly, I feel like I get too much credit from others for the work I do. I feel like I leave a lot of seeds that you’ve given me unsown. The New Testament reading today from the Catholic Church is from John’s Gospel where Jesus is talking about a grain of wheat is nothing until it dies and becomes more wheat (John 12). You have given me a lot of grain and I don’t guess I will ever perfectly sow it all in this world. I just hope I can get better and better about sowing more and more.

Father, Holy Spirit, make this another day of representing you, loving you, and worshipping you. Live through me. Love through me. And as I’m on vacation, restore me. Do the same for my wife as well.

I pray this through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 10, 2022 in 2 Corinthians

 

Luke 12:4-7

09 Aug

4 “Dear friends, don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot do any more to you after that. 5 But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he’s the one to fear.

6 “What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. 7 And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.

Luke 12:4-7

Dear God, the verse of the day from Bible Gateway is verse 6, but I lose a lot if I don’t go back and pick up what Jesus said in verse 4: “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body..” Hold it! What? I want to think of that verse just pertaining to my daily needs: bread, shelter, etc. But Jesus is talking about something on a whole other level that I as a 21st century American don’t consider.

Yesterday at lunch, I was with a group of people and there was a Chinese national at the table who is now a U.S. citizen. Someone at the table asked her what the best thing is about American and she said, “Freedom.” Then she went on to tell of the draconian restrictions on some of her family members in China over the last few Covid years. First, it made me think that those who claim China released Covid-19 on the world intentionally discount how much the virus has cost China itself. But then I thought about how we, as Americans, just have not idea what it means to suffer. We consider a mask requirement or a negative Covid test requirement is a persecution too difficult to bear. We think our churches should be exempt from restrictions for crowd gathering that any other part of society (movie theaters, restaurants, etc.) is subject to.

But Jesus takes all of that stuff off of the table in this story. He takes it all of the way to death and says, “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body…”

Father, Holy Spirit, as I say these words from Act 20:24, I really, really hope I mean them. Quoting Paul, “I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me. The task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” Help me to live those words, even in my conversations today.

In Jesus’s name and through his life, death, and resurrection I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 9, 2022 in Luke

 

Matthew 17:24-27

08 Aug

24 On their arrival in Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax came to Peter and asked him, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the Temple tax?”

25 “Yes, he does,” Peter replied. Then he went into the house.

But before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Peter? Do kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered?”

26 “They tax the people they have conquered,” Peter replied.

“Well, then,” Jesus said, “the citizens are free! 27 However, we don’t want to offend them, so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.”

Matthew 17:24-27

Dear God. I just realized something I’ve never seen before. I think Peter straight out lied to the temple tax collectors. Instead of calling him out on it, Jesus had a nice interaction with Peter about it. I think there are two interesting things about this:

  • Jesus obviously knew Peter felt like he was in a no-win situation if he told the truth.
  • Jesus decided this battle with the temple tax collectors was not worth fighting.

I’ve puzzled over this for a few minutes trying to find an application of this story to my life. I think what I’ve finally come to is that there is a line between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. There were two laws being broken in this story (at least in my interpretation, which could be wrong): Peter lying and Jesus and his disciples not paying the temple tax. Jesus seems to have given Peter a pass on the first one (at least directly, although he did passive-aggressively indicate to Peter that he saw what Peter did). On the second one, he explained why he didn’t feel the need to pay the temple tax.

For me, there are all kinds of things that are the letter of the law vs. the spirit of the law. I see it all of the time at the nonprofit where I work. One of the things we have to do is determine if patients are eligible for our services. There is the letter of the law that sets limits. But then there is the spirit of the law that goes back and asks why the limit was set where it is and if that person or family doesn’t qualify regardless of the actual rules.

My wife and I have some friends who are gay and in same-sex marriages. We were having dinner with one of the couples the other night. I have to admit, Father, that I do not know how you feel about this. I can justify it either way. But as we sat there at dinner, I looked at the two people, two humans, sitting across from me who seemed to be meeting needs–filling gaps–in each other’s lives. Does their love for each other grieve you? It was committed. It was monogamous. Honestly, as I sat there, I thought you were more concerned about their rejection of you as their God than you were about their relationship. So I just tried to represent you in that time and make you as appealing to them as I could without ever addressing sexual orientation. If they can get to a point where they will embrace you then I will let the Holy Spirit take it from there. After all, I have probably grieved you as much sexually throughout my life as they have, if they, indeed, are grieving you through their relationship.

Father, Holy Spirit, I pray for my friends–all of them–who are not your disciples. Show me how to love them. Show me how to draw them closer to yourself. Give them your peace. Give them your love. Use me in whatever way you see fit so that your kingdom might come and your will might be done in this world. Use me today as I get to know the strangers on this trip as well.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 8, 2022 in 2 Samuel, Matthew

 

Hebrews 11:1-2,11-16

07 Aug

Great Examples of FaithFaith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation…

All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth.Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own.If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back.But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Hebrews 11:1-2,11-16

Dear God, reading this passage this morning made me think about the Rich Mullins song, “Land of my Sojourn.” The bridge of it says, “Nobody tells you, when you get born here, how much you’ll come to love it, and how you’ll never belong here. So I’ll call you my country, but I’ll be lonely for my home.”

I guess, when it comes down to it, everything I do, right down to taking the time most days to sit down and do these prayer journals to you, is an act of faith. Well, not everything, but many things. Praying for my wife and children. Preaching. Talking about my faith with others. Leading prayer at work. Thinking of you as my provision and worshipping you. Turning loose of my own selfishness and “pursuit of happiness” (I’ll insert the word “worldly” before happiness to make my point clear) and embracing sacrifice instead. And I don’t want to sound like I do all of this perfectly, or even well. I don’t. There are plenty of moments, days, weeks, and even months and years when I am selfish and I don’t completely surrender myself to you. But the moments when I do get it right are complete acts of faith.

Father, Holy Spirit, as I pray for my wife and children, I pray in faith that you are doing exactly what you need to do to get them where you want them to be. Love them. Reveal yourself to them. Help them to each be at peace in you, surrender to you, and pursue you. Of course, I pray the same thing for myself as well. Help me to be at peace in you, surrender to you and pursue you. Help my siblings and my wife’s siblings. There is pain out there in some of those relationships. Please help them to find their peace in you. Speak to each one, including their children. Be their counselor and comforter. Inspire them. Convict them. Fill them with your love.

I pray all of this through the power and grace of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 7, 2022 in Hebrews

 

Vacations and Sabbaths

06 Aug

Dear God, I was listening to the Bible in a Year podcast from Ascension Press, and they were talking about how in Isaiah 58 he is emphasizing the Sabbath and its importance. Admittedly, I half-heartedly observe the Sabbath. There have been times in the past when I’ve said that I would be more intentional about it by not only taking the day to rest, but to also really spend some additional intentional time with you. Do I do it? No. But I intend to.

Now I’m on this luxurious vacation that will last over two weeks. As I type this, I’m overlooking a bay on the Olympic peninsula in Washington state where I can see Victoria Canada across the water. The bay is still. A private sailboat is anchored about 300 yards from me. There are tankers, cargo ships and cruise ships within view. It is sunny and the temperature is in the 60s. I say all of that to just describe what an idyllic environment I’m currently in. This is very restful, and I do feel my soul being restored. I’m not worrying about a lot of things I normally worry about.

Much like two weeks of camp helps a youth to detox from social media and electronics, and enjoy the outdoors instead, this vacation for me is possibly helping me detox from my worries at home and the, when I return a week from today, I will have a choice regarding which things I want to resume addressing and which ones I’ll decide to not pick up again. It was on a vacation nearly two years ago that I decided to stop looking at social media and my life has been better for it. Are there barnacles on my current hull that need scraped off now?

Father, Holy Spirit, please guide me in this next week. Guide me as I sit in silence. Guide me as I visit with others. Guide me as I consume media. Guide me as I hear your call.

I pray all of this through Jesus’s life, death and resurrection,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 6, 2022 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

Little Miss Sunshine (movie)

05 Aug

Dear God, I was reminded of a movie yesterday that is one of the great family dynamic movies (dysfunctional family as it may be) of all time: Little Miss Sunshine. It’s not clean. It’s profane. It shows broken people moving through a life situation together. Three generations with step children, half siblings, drug addicted grandfathers, suicidal uncles, etc. Just that sentence alone should scare me off, but it doesn’t.

We’d like to think that Christian families are different. If we love and fear you then your Holy Spirit will run all of the way through our families and make us whole, functional, loving, etc. But the truth is, for the most part, our families don’t look really that much different than this family. And this goes all of the way back to the Bible. There are very few biblical families who are much different than the family in Little Miss Sunshine. Even Jesus had a mother and brothers who thought he was crazy. David was a terrible father and husband with murder and rape among his children.

So as I think about the writer(s) of Little Miss Sunshine, the story that they were telling, and the hope to which they were trying to point us at the end, I wonder what the difference would be if the family–even one person in the family–worshipped you. Would there functionally be any difference?

My wife and I were talking last night about some of the issues in our own family and how we are living through them. And while there is not much my relationship with you can do to impact others, it can impact how I relate to others. It can impact how their actions towards me affect me. It helps me to take my eyes off of them to meet my needs and turn to you instead. I heard someone say at the beginning of COVID that we have made an idol out of certainty, but the things we try to put our certainty in will always fail us. Our economy. Our government, Our military. Our spouse. Our children. Parents. Etc. You get the idea. All of it is fragile and fallible. But you are the same yesterday today and forever. You are the only thing in which I can put my faith, and you never ever promised certainty.

Father, help me to know how to be the worshipper of you I need to be, how to be the husband I need to be, and how to be the father I need to be. Show me how to be a son, brother, uncle through my current circumstances. Show me what to do in each moment, but let it start with my worship of you.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 5, 2022 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Matthew 16:13-23

04 Aug

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

14 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”

15 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

17 Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. 18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”

20 Then he sternly warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

21 From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead.

22 But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!”

23 Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

Matthew 16:13-23

Dear God, I know I would not have answered these questions correctly. Heck, my wife and I were talking about it the other day. I know I would not even have been there. I would have labeled you (Jesus) a heretic and not given you any of my attention. We were talking about what it would take for us to believe a modern prophet was really a prophet. What would be my test?

I didn’t come up with many answers, but I suppose the fruits of the Spirit are one way to gauge it. Do they exhibit the fruit of the Holy Spirit or not? Love? Joy? Peace? Patience? Goodness? Faithfulness? Kindness? Self control? (Galatians 5:22-23)

What of the fruit that comes from following the desires of our sinful nature? Sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. (Galatians 5:19-21) Does the person have these things?

The truth is, it’s hard to know anyone behind closed doors. Anyone can put on a show. Jesus could have been putting on a great show for everyone publicly, but then behaved a different way behind closed doors.

Father, Holy Spirit, I don’t know that I’ve really resolved anything here this morning except to say that I am pretty sure I wouldn’t have believed in you if I had been there 2,000 years ago. I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry for your sake and the deservedness you have to be loved and worshipped. I’m sorry for my sake that I would have missed you and if you showed up today I might still miss you. Show me how to love you. Show me how to love others. Show me how to not miss you when you show up in my life and teach me to be discerning so I do not listen to false prophets as well.

Through Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 4, 2022 in Matthew

 

Jeremiah 31:1-7

03 Aug

1“In that day,” says the Lord, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people. 2 This is what the Lord says:

“Those who survive the coming destruction
    will find blessings even in the barren land,
    for I will give rest to the people of Israel.”

3 Long ago the Lord said to Israel:
“I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.
    With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.
4 I will rebuild you, my virgin Israel.
    You will again be happy
    and dance merrily with your tambourines.
5 Again you will plant your vineyards on the mountains of Samaria
    and eat from your own gardens there.
6 The day will come when watchmen will shout
    from the hill country of Ephraim,
‘Come, let us go up to Jerusalem
    to worship the Lord our God.’”

7 Now this is what the Lord says:
“Sing with joy for Israel,
    Shout for the greatest of nations!
Shout out with praise and joy:
‘Save your people, O Lord,
    the remnant of Israel!’

Jeremiah 31:1-7

Dear God, I first read this passage from the daily Catholic readings, and they changed a key word in verse 2. They personalized it to the original Israel/Jacob. They made it sound like you were talking through Jeremiah directly to Jacob. Every other translation I looked at, including the New Catholic Edition, New Revised Standard Catholic Edition, New American Standard 1995, New International Version and New Living Translation (shown above), has you addressing the people of Israel.

But I want to go back and consider, for just a moment, that the Catholic reading today was also right. That you were addressing the son of Isaac from thousands of years before. Before the exile. Before the split between Judah and Benjamin and the rest of Israel. Before the bad kings. Before Solomon, David and Saul. Before Samson and Gideon. Before Joshua and Moses. Before slavery in Egypt. I’m thinking about the man who stole his brother’s birthright and blessing as the first born. The guy who worked for Laban to get Rachel (while acquiring Leah at the same time). The guy who thought his son Joseph had been killed, only to find he was alive and very well in Egypt. The guy who repented to his twin brother Esau in order to save his own life at the hands of Esau. Let’s say for a moment that the words in these verses are meant for him specifically as he lives with you in the afterworld.

The conclusion I came to is that, having watched history play out over the next few thousand years, I’m sure he was overwhelmed by how little the things he obsessed over day to day mattered while some of the more inconsequential things he considered while he was alive ended up reverberating through history–not the least of which was agreeing for his family to go to Egypt for food during the famine.

Father, Holy Spirit, all of this makes me think about how simultaneously small my life really is while also realizing that the smallest decisions might just ripple through time. It’s the butterfly effect, but submitted to you. So I guess the best thing to pray today is that you will grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things [you want me to change] and the [discernment] to know the difference. And help me to continue to just let go of the things that I think define me when what defines me is only you.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 3, 2022 in Jeremiah

 

James 1:27

02 Aug

27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

James 1:27

Dear God, in the midst of James 1, this sentence seems a bit random. Out of the blue, James mentions widows and orphans. Not letting the world corrupt me makes sense, but the widows and orphans is interesting. I think this verse, combined with Stephen and six others being put in charge of caring for widows and orphans in the early church (Acts 6:1-6). I’ve always remembered this whenever I’ve heard about a widow in need and tried to do things for them when I learn of the need. I hope someone does the same for my wife should I die first.

It’s also a reminder that you really want us to be about loving others. We are here to be your hands and feet. We are your Plan A and you don’t have a Plan B.

Father, Holy Spirit, please show me if there is anyone today, even in the midst of our vacation, to whom you want me to be a servant. I’m sitting here thinking of some of the times in the past when my wife and I were able to be a specific blessing to someone in a desperate situation. But for every one of those examples, I am sure there are a hundred that I missed. So nudge me when I need nudged. Give me ears to hear and eyes to see.

I pray this through Jesus life, death, and resurrection, submitted to your will over mine,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 2, 2022 in James

 
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