RSS

Matthew 26:1-5

14 Apr

1 When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2 “As you know, Passover begins in two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

3 At that same time the leading priests and elders were meeting at the residence of Caiaphas, the high priest, 4 plotting how to capture Jesus secretly and kill him. 5 “But not during the Passover celebration,” they agreed, “or the people may riot.”

Matthew 26:1-5

Dear God, I hope I don’t miss worshipping you this Easter like the Pharisees did. The leading priests and elders were so upset about Jesus they were not only missing the joy and celebration of the Passover, but they were literally plotting to kill someone! Wow!

I would love to sit in judgment of them, but I know that I can get distracted by other things on weeks like this as well. I can completely miss you. I can completely miss worshipping you and really sitting with what you did for us. I was listing to an old Steven Curtis Chapman song this morning that said, “I know there’s a God who knows my name…” That’s amazing. You know my name! You know me! You love me! And you made a way for me!

Father, thank you for the darkness of what we’ve decided to term as “Good” Friday. Thank you for walking into that darkness for me. Thank you for the silence of Saturday–for the work you did in a lot of hearts that day. And thank you, of course, for Sunday. That’s the reason I can be here right now.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on April 14, 2022 in Matthew

 

Matthew 21:18-22

12 Apr

In the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, he was hungry, and he noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went over to see if there were any figs, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” And immediately the fig tree withered up. The disciples were amazed when they saw this and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”
Matthew 21:18-22

Dear God, I’ve journaled on this passage before, and it’s always troubled me a little. Not because I think Jesus was wrong, I suppose. I guess it’s because it’s an indication that your creation can exhaust your good will. I would like to think that your love is without limits. That your patience is unending. But here a fruitless tree is cursed and it reminds me that you are not to be mocked. You are God. I have no rights before you. I am yours—you are not mine. I cannot control you. I give you control of me.

Father, there are some days when I wake up and my goal is to just survive my day. Please help me to go beyond that. Give me your vision for this day/week/month/year in my life. Help me to be everything you need me to be for your kingdom. That includes my family, my friends, my job, and my community. Do it all so that your kingdom might come and your will might be done on earth as it is in heaven.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on April 12, 2022 in Matthew

 

Matthew 21:12-17

11 Apr

Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!” The blind and the lame came to him in the Temple, and he healed them. The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the Temple shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David.” But the leaders were indignant. They asked Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?” “Yes,” Jesus replied. “Haven’t you ever read the Scriptures? For they say, ‘You have taught children and infants to give you praise.’” Then he returned to Bethany, where he stayed overnight.
Matthew 21:12-17

Dear God, well, if Jesus is going to get this roller coaster underway, he might as well make it count. He went in and convicted people of their sin in the temple. He healed people right in front of the leading priests. And then the children started shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David.” This was more than the leading priests could ignore. It was also more than they could ever forget. I just know they remembered this week for the rest of their lives.

Thinking about those children, I wonder what the rest of their week and lives were like. Were they jubilant on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday? Were they concerned on Thursday? Were they disillusioned and horrified on Friday? Did they have any reason to hope after Sunday?

Father, I’m not sure what I’m really aiming for this Passion week, but I do want to just notice things. Little details I might have overlooked before (like these children). So this morning I will join with them and shout out loud in my study, “Praise God for the Son of David.” Really, thank you, God, for Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, for what you have done. And thank you, Holy Spirit, for what you are doing.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on April 11, 2022 in Matthew

 

Matthew 21:1-5

10 Apr

As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. “Go into the village over there,” he said. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will immediately let you take them.” This took place to fulfill the prophecy that said, “Tell the people of Jerusalem, ‘Look, your King is coming to you. He is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt.’”
Matthew 21:1-5

Dear God, Jesus was being so intentional here. He knew where this week would end. He knew the path he would take to get there. Beyond his decision to go to Jerusalem, this is the first deliberate step he took to execute the plan you had for him. Like a roller coaster climbing that first hill before gravity takes over for the rest of the ride, the journey to Jerusalem was that hill and this event is the cresting of that hill and releasing the momentum to draw to its natural conclusion at the end of the ride.

As I sit here this morning I’m having two thoughts. First, I’m grateful Jesus did what he did. Second, I’m wondering if there are any parallels for me and my life. Are there times when you are calling me to do the hard thing and I’m unwilling? Is there something hard you’re calling me to do now that I’m missing or unwilling to do?

Father, guide me. Direct me. Give me courage. Give me serenity. Give me wisdom. And forgive me.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on April 10, 2022 in Matthew

 

The Day Before Passion Week

09 Apr

Dear God, I decided to go through all four gospels this morning and see what they record Jesus as being up to the day before the Triumphant Entry and Passion Week. Tomorrow is Palm Sunday so it seemed fitting to try to spend some time with Jesus today–the day before. He’s been through a lot at this point, and he knows where he’s going. He has been through the Transfiguration and visited with Moses and Elijah, perhaps even receiving clarity and encouragement from them. He has rebuked James and John for wanting to kill a bunch of Samaritans for not letting him stay in his town. And now it’s all come down to this.

Matthew and Mark actually record Jesus’s activities fairly similarly. They talk about him healing some blind men. because “Jesus had compassion on them (Matthew 20:34).” Mark 10 is more specific and identifies him healing Bartimaeus. I suppose they wanted us to know that Jesus was still having compassion on people and healing them as he prepared for his Passion.

Luke actually gives us a the story of Zacchaeus as Jesus enters Jerusalem but leaves out the blind men (Luke 19). Luke wants us to know that Jesus was still in the mode of extending grace and forgiveness as he entered his last week.

Finally, and true to form, John gives us a whole different perspective. He tells us about a specific scene in Bethany when Mary (of Mary and Martha fame) showed extravagant love to Jesus by taking our some expensive perfume and pouring it on his feet. One last act of genuine worship before the week began. I wonder if John didn’t appreciate Mary’s gift more in retrospect as he told the story of the fair-weather fans who lined the streets with their palm branches. What Mary gave cost her a lot. What they gave cost them very little.

Father, do I give anything that costs me? How selfish am I? Am I willing to stop and extend your power in the midst of my own strife like Jesus did in Matthew and Mark? Am I willing love someone else through their immorality and show them your grace? Am I willing to give all that I have for all that you are? In all of these areas, am I willing to give you my utmost for your highest? As always, the answer is that I am not nearly the man I aspire to be in these areas. If you’re grading on a curve, then I compare pretty well with people around me, but that’s a steep curve. The truth is, my righteousness is rubbish. Please speak to me and give me ears to hear your voice, your direction, and your conviction.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on April 9, 2022 in John, Luke, Mark, Matthew

 

Tags: ,

Luke 13:11-13a

07 Apr

11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. 12 The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

13 “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land…“

Luke 13:11-13a

Dear God, I don’t think we sit with the father in the parable (you) enough. We don’t know how much time passes between verse 13 and verse 20 (“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.”), but it was long enough for a famine to set it and drive the boy to his knees, so it was presumably a long time. And you sit there and wait for so many of us. You just wait, and wait, and wait.

There’s a lot that happens while we wait in situations like this. There’s a lot of second-guessing–at least there is for humans. Is there second-guessing on your part too? There’s sorrow. Mourning. Anger. Frustration. There’s pain. To think of the pain that you expose yourself to is incredible. I know the pain I’ve felt, and it must be insignificant compared to what you feel and on a much broader scale. What a mess life can be.

Father, going off of what I prayed yesterday and combining it with this prayer and scripture today, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on April 7, 2022 in Luke

 

The Serenity Prayer

06 Apr

Dear God, as my wife and I were praying together this morning, this is the prayer (from AA) that came to mind. I don’t know exactly how my prayers for you to act impact your ability, willingness, or decision to act or change course, but I do know that the more I know you–the more I pray to you–the more it changes me. I don’t know if this quote is truly from C.S. Lewis, but in the movie Shadowlands, his character tells a friend, “I don’t pray because it changes God. I pray because it changes me.”

So Father, please grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. There is so much I want to change, but I am humbled by my inability to change any of it. That humility drives me to my knees. Sometimes I’m on my knees before you and sometimes I’m on my knees feeling sorry for myself. But if I try to put my energy into changing what I cannot affect then I am being a fool. So I need to serenity from you to let go. I need the serenity of you to forgive myself. I need the serenity from you to move on in other directions. Then there are times when action is required but it can be scary. I don’t want to get out of my comfort zone and challenge or confront. Speak to me when those times present themselves and give me the courage when I need it. Give me the wisdom I need to know the difference between your call to wait and your call to act.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

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

 

Tags: ,

Isaiah 43:16-19

03 Apr

“I am the Lord, who opened a way through the waters, making a dry path through the sea. I called forth the mighty army of Egypt with all its chariots and horses. I drew them beneath the waves, and they drowned, their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlewick.

“But forget all that— it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”
Isaiah 43:16-19

Dear God, while I haven’t been as consistent about journaling lately, I have been spending time listening to scripture, reading scripture and listening to Christian content. And that’s all good and well, but I find that these are the times that end up speaking the most to me. It’s about me actively participating in our time and not passively taking it in.

In this case, I read this passage yesterday as part of the church’s readings for the day, and I was drawn to it. One thing that strikes me about it is that, in fact, I seem to forget about what you’ve done in the past too often. You’ve done amazing things for me, and still I doubt. On the other hand, there are times when I can worship an idyllic time in the past and try to return to that glory. Much like our country with World War II. That was a great, hard-fought victory, and we have not only taken credit for it (away from you, I might add), but we have also tried to live in the “greatness” (however we choose to define that) of that time and tried to replicate it now. Politicians have literally clung to it as a mantra. Let’s go back. Let’s live that greatness again. But that’s not what you’re calling the Israelites to do through Isaiah in this passage. You want to do something new that is even greater than your past glorious victories.

Several years ago, my wife and I were at a retreat and I heard you say something to me through the story in Haggai about the rebuilding of the temple. They were trying to duplicate Solomon’s Temple and you told them that you had a new Temple for them to build–a different Temple. I told my wife that I heard your Spirit telling me that I was trying to recapture a time in my life when things were at their apex. All of my actions were pointed towards making things the way they once were. But you told me that you had something new for us to build. It would be different, but better. We’ve tried to build that over the last few years. I pray that we are doing the right things because sometimes the evidence I see with my eyes tells me I’m doing it wrong. But that’s not what faith is, I suppose. Faith is believing in what I cannot see and rejecting man’s wisdom and embracing yours.

Father, I pray that you will guide me today. Keep me in this moment. Keep me only on today. Give me ears to hear and eyes to see. Make me slow to speak and intent on listening. Help me to discern and understand beyond what my mind would normally understand. Help me to learn what I don’t know and do what I didn’t know I should do. Make it all for your glory, regardless of what it costs me.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on April 3, 2022 in Isaiah

 

1 Timothy 2:1-6

28 Mar

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.
1 Timothy 2:1-6

Dear God, I guess this would be a good time to pray for everyone. Pray for Putin, Zelensky, and everyone in Ukraine and Russia. Pray for world leaders in general. They need you. We need you. I hate not only the death, but the terrorization of people. The trauma. The devastation. There are 9 refugees (3 women and 6 children) living in our small town right now and we are looking at different ways to help them, but given everything that is wrong in their lives there is so little we can do. Their husbands/fathers are home in Ukraine fighting.

Father, this is one of those times when I need the Holy Spirit to pray with moanings to deep for understanding. Holy Spirit, move in the hearts of those who are making decisions. Give the Ukrainians success on the battlefield and end this war quickly. Let the world survive this conflict without it escalating further. Help us all to be drawn to you.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on March 28, 2022 in 1 Timothy

 

Psalm 1:1-3

27 Mar

Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with the mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.

Psalm 1:1-3

Dear God, I came across a translation of this well-know passage this morning in the Steven Purcell book Even Among These Rocks: A Spiritual Journey. But he didn’t have these words. He had a translation from somewhere between the 8th and 3rd centuries, B.C.

Certainly, verse 1 is the most different, but it does kind of fit. I guess the ultimate goal in being Christlike is that point where you are beyond greed (I’m not there yet), beyond hatred (I’m not there yet), an no longer nourish illusions (I’m not 100% sure what the translator means here, but I don’t think I’m there yet either). I also like the next part: “But they delight in the way of grace and keep their hearts open day and night.” Nope, not there yet either. I’m closer today than I was yesterday. I’m closer this year than I was last year. I’m closer now at 52 than I was at 42.

I was reading an article last night from Christianity Today about deconstructing faith. That’s become a hot button topic lately and I don’t want to do into it too deeply here, but there were a couple of quotes from the author, Kirsten Sanders, that stood out to me:

“Truth about God isn’t always easy, however. Faith that begins in earnest commitment sometimes must advance through a period of slow questioning, of confusion, of switchbacks and labored ascent.”

I wasn’t thrilled when I first learned that my knowledge of God would always be incomplete. I felt, for a time, unmoored. Like many seminary students, I had been praying for years to a God who I had pictured as being just like me, only larger, through difficult days of uncertainty and loneliness. I loved that God and know that he loves me. Rather than only feeling closer to the God I loved, I learned that there was a clear limit to what I could know. I would need to learn to love God in the dark.

I think there is an inherent discomfort for all humans in just how small and insignificant we are. There is a limit to our abilities–a limit that you do not have. You are omnipotent, and we are not. You are omniscient, and we are not. I think the key to being at peace and sinking into a life beyond greed, hatred, and illusions is getting to a point of complete surrender that we are simply not you and there is a part where we need to accept our ignorance and sink into your grace.

Father, help me get better today at getting beyond greed, replacing hatred with grace and mercy, and rejecting illusions. I confess that I will not get all of the way there today. I’m sorry for that. But help me to at least move along in my journey.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on March 27, 2022 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

Tags: , , ,

← Older posts
Newer posts →