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Romans 5:6-11

08 Apr

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
Romans 5:6-11

Dear God, all of this is a wondrous mystery to me that simply requires my faith. I say that it requires my faith because there are any number of explanations for the existence of the universe, and whether people like it or not they all require some amount of faith. An atheist’s beliefs require as much faith as do mine. But there is too much evidence as I look at it to suggest that you don’t exist. Of course there is a being out there that is bigger than I can know, understand, or even comprehend. From there it becomes about relationship and interaction with that being. Jesus is my pathway to you for all of the reasons Paul mentioned above.

Am I wrong about some things in my theology? Sure. How could I not be? There is no way I can completely know you, your nature, etc. But I can use the basics of my faith to grow into. Being just a little more like Jesus, and hence a little more like you. And the closer I get to dying to myself completely the more I experience the fruits of the Spirit while I am alive. And after I die, worst-case scenario is that I’m simply gone. Best-case scenario is I’m in your eternal realm, worshipping you with the angels and the Saints.

Father, thank you for Jesus’s life, and for your revelations to the apostles and to Paul. Thank you for giving me a path to you. Thank you for taking me as I am and then transforming me into something that is more than the pile of flesh that was born into this world. Use me today. I offer my life to you as my offering of thanks, but also because I know that offering it to you will bring me to something even better both here on earth and beyond this life.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 8, 2021 in Romans

 

Galatians 2:20

07 Apr

My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20

Dear God, I’ve been thinking recently about whether or not I give you enough of the glory and credit, even in my own mind, for the good around me. Do I take the credit? Do I look at good fortune or successes and forget how I cried out to you for help? I think that even at my best, I do this to some extent, but over the last couple of days, especially as I was even giving a presentation to a local club last night, I think I was too much about me and my glory, and not enough about your glory.

Father, if I’m going to live as if it’s you who lives in me then I not only need to ask myself what Jesus would do in a given situation, but I need to actually let the Holy Spirit flow through my life and let him speak and act through me. So, Holy Spirit, I invite you to live through me today. Love through me today. Speak through me today. Be my counselor, my comforter, and my connection with the Father.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 7, 2021 in Galatians

 

Acts 2:22-36

05 Apr

“People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know. But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him. But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip. King David said this about him: ‘I see that the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad, and my tongue shouts his praises! My body rests in hope. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your Holy One to rot in the grave. You have shown me the way of life, and you will fill me with the joy of your presence.’ “Dear brothers, think about this! You can be sure that the patriarch David wasn’t referring to himself, for he died and was buried, and his tomb is still here among us. But he was a prophet, and he knew God had promised with an oath that one of David’s own descendants would sit on his throne. David was looking into the future and speaking of the Messiah’s resurrection. He was saying that God would not leave him among the dead or allow his body to rot in the grave. “God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this. Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today. For David himself never ascended into heaven, yet he said, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.”’ “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!”
Acts 2:22-36

Dear God, I read an essay from The Wall Street Journal today about how we try to water some things down about Christianity, including Jesus’s resurrection. But you can’t water down the resurrection. You can discount it. You have to deal with it. Either you believe in it or you don’t. Either these men and women were crazy, liars, or telling the truth. For liars and lunatics, they certainly were consistent in their story and went to their deaths defending the lie.

In this passage, Peter makes it very clear that the resurrection is part of the deal with Jesus. He compares him with David with Jesus, but says that while David “dies and was buried, and his tomb is still here among us…God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this.” The resurrection is real. It happened. And if we don’t believe everyone back then was telling the truth then we have to embrace the idea that they were either liars or insane. And when you start looking at what their possible motivations could be to lie about Jesus—Fame? Power? Wealth?—and realize the defense of the lie only led to torture, pain, and premature death (except for John) the idea of them lying about this across the board becomes pretty thin.

Father, my prayer tonight is that I would not water down my faith. I know that parts of my theology are wrong. The problem is that I just don’t know which parts are wrong. I do know, however, that you love me. You sent Jesus to be a bridge between my continued sinfulness and depravity and your holiness and purity. He lived. He taught. He loved. He suffered. He died. He rose again. His life changed the world. Thank you for that. Help me to hear with your ears and see with your eyes as I consider what I am to do at any given moment. All for your glory, my Lord and my God.

I pray all of this in Jesus’s name,

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 5, 2021 in Acts

 

Give Me Your Eyes – Part 2

05 Apr

Father, it’s the dark day of Easter weekend. It’s the day when your disciples and followers were in their deepest despair. They had lost you. They had failed you. They were doubting everything. They were afraid for their lives. The could not see what was going on around them. They couldn’t see their present, they couldn’t interpret their past, and they couldn’t fathom the future. They were lost in the moment, and I’m sure it was torture to them.

I confess to you that I am not in their desperate situation, but I am just as blind. I have something in my life that is concerning me, and I feel like you are calling me to address it. How do I do it and do no harm?

Fifteen months ago, I had something that was really on my heart, and, while I was at a retreat, I felt the Holy Spirit really urge me that it was time to assess it. I had to take some responsibility and not passively sit back and watch the train wreck that I saw coming. I prayed. I asked for your guidance. And it turned out, in retrospect to be the right thing to do. The last year would have been much more difficult for not only the person who concerned me, but also for their loved ones if I hadn’t. I didn’t know that at the time. I didn’t know the ramifications of my actions. I just knew you were calling me to act.

Now, I’m in a situation where I am trying to discern between the Holy Spirit’s call and my own heart’s desire. And maybe they are one and the same. But I have to be careful on this one because there is a lot of my personal emotion wrapped up in it. I have to be careful.

Father, I know you intentionally keep me on a need-to-know basis. If I knew the future it would change how I respond to the present. If I had known how 2020 would unfold for the person you laid on my heart 15 months ago, it would have impacted what I did. As I look back now, I think I did exactly what I was supposed to do, and, for that, I am grateful. So please lead me in that same way. Help me to not see everything you see. I know better than to ask for that. No, I ask that you help me to see what you need me to see. And I don’t know that I’ll be able to look back on it a year from now and see things wrapped up in a nice, neat bow like they are with the other situation, but if I can just move forward in your Spirit and with your wisdom and leading that will be enough or me. At least I think it will. How about this? I pray that you will guide me through seeing exactly what you want me to see, responding exactly how you need me to respond, and then living in peace knowing you will is being done beyond what I can see.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 5, 2021 in Miscellaneous

 

Isaiah 52:13-15,53:5-12

31 Mar

See, my servant will prosper; he will be highly exalted. But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man. And he will startle many nations. Kings will stand speechless in his presence. For they will see what they had not been told; they will understand what they had not heard about…

But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people. He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave. But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord ’s good plan will prosper in his hands. When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.

Isaiah 52:13-15,53:5-12

Dear God, they had no idea what this would actually look like. They couldn’t recognize Jesus in this when they saw it. And even if someone had pointed it out to them, they would probably have rejected that this was the “messenger” Isaiah mentioned. Why? Because we simply cannot see the reality happening around us in real time. We cannot see what you are doing.

I have a tricky thing to confront right now with another person, and I don’t know how to do it because I don’t know what is really going on. To quote myself from the last paragraph, I cannot see the reality that is happening around me in real time. I don’t know what’s going on in the other person’s heart. I can’t parse my concerns for them from my own ego and the things it desires. My vision is distorted by my own sinful nature. I cannot see this situation with your eyes, but I really want to.

Father, give me your eyes for just one second. Give me your eyes so I can see. And then give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 31, 2021 in Isaiah

 

1 Timothy 2:5-6

29 Mar

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 2:5-6

Dear God, I’m not sure if this goes with this passage or not, but I heard a sermon yesterday that left a couple of things resonating with me.

The first: There is a difference between being a believer in Jesus and a follower of Jesus. There are plenty of Americans who “believe” in Jesus but are not true “followers.” Unfortunately, they do not see the difference. It’s another way of putting the phrase that occurred to me several years ago: Some people have Christianity as their philosophy, but they aren’t following God. When I think about this, I think about the people who identify as Christians and yet stormed the capitol building on January 6. Those people were working through a process of self-righteous anger, but they were not following anything Jesus ever taught.

The second: Temptation will lead us in two areas–gratification and protection. Those two areas are terrible leaders and will cause us to do bad things.

I guess there was a third thing he said that caught my ear. If you have a God that will put up with you just deciding you can sin because he will forgive you later, then you have a weak God who can be hoodwinked and fooled. I’m adding this part to what he said, but when I repent later, I also need to repent and turn from that attitude as well.

So going back to this verse, I am so grateful for Jesus, my mediator. I am grateful for the love you give me, a foolish, foolish man. I am grateful for your forgiveness even when I treat you like you are a fool. I’m sorry when I follow the terrible leaders of gratification and protection. I’m sorry for sometimes acting like a believer and not a follower. I’m sorry, Father. I’m truly sorry.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 29, 2021 in 1 Timothy

 

“Truth Be Told” by Matthew West

26 Mar

https://youtu.be/j4wYkS8Z3Io

“Truth Be Told” by Matthew West

Lie number one you’re supposed to have it all together
And when they ask how you’re doing
Just smile and tell them, “Never better”
Lie number 2 everybody’s life is perfect except yours
So keep your messes and your wounds
And your secrets safe with you behind closed doors
Truth be told
The truth is rarely told, now

I say I’m fine, yeah I’m fine oh I’m fine, hey I’m fine but I’m not
I’m broken
And when it’s out of control I say it’s under control but it’s not
And you know it
I don’t know why it’s so hard to admit it
When being honest is the only way to fix it
There’s no failure, no fall
There’s no sin you don’t already know
So let the truth be told

There’s a sign on the door, says, “Come as you are” but I doubt it
‘Cause if we lived like it was true, every Sunday morning pew would be crowded
But didn’t you say the church should look more like a hospital
A safe place for the sick, the sinner and the scarred and the prodigals
Like me
Well truth be told
The truth is rarely told
Oh am I the only one who says

I’m fine, yeah I’m fine oh I’m fine, hey I’m fine but I’m not
I’m broken
And when it’s out of control I say it’s under control but it’s not
And you know it
I don’t know why it’s so hard to admit it
When being honest is the only way to fix it
There’s no failure, no fall
There’s no sin you don’t already know
So let the truth be told

Can I really stand here unashamed
Knowin’ that you love for me won’t change?
Oh God if that’s really true
Then let the truth be told

I say I’m fine, yeah I’m fine oh I’m fine, hey I’m fine but I’m not
I’m broken
And when it’s out of control I say it’s under control but it’s not
And you know it
I don’t know why it’s so hard to admit it
When being honest is the only way to fix it
There’s no failure, no fall
There’s no sin you don’t already know
Yeah I know
There’s no failure, no fall
There’s no sin you don’t already know
So let the truth be told

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Matthew West / Andrew Pruis

Dear God, I’m going to wait a bit before I post this one. I’m writing it on Friday morning, but I won’t post it until this evening. Why? Because I have a surprise for someone today. This month marks 40 years of sobriety for someone special to me. I bought him a 40-year chip to give him when I see him later today. Something tells me that this anniversary is more important to me than it is even to him. I don’t know, that might not be true, but I do know that it’s important to me.

I was there 40 years ago when he brought his addiction to alcohol to you. He admitted his life had become unmanageable, he was powerless over alcohol and he need you to restore him to sanity. And while I’m grateful that he has bee free from the perils of alcohol and what it does to your mind and body over the last 40 years, I think the real gift it gave me was an 11-year-old boy seeing a man being willing to admit he was powerless. A man being willing to be vulnerable. A man who purposefully displayed his weakness that day and then the subsequent 40 years. He has been able to minister to countless people over the years because he admitted his weakness to himself, to you, and to the public.

This song is a more generic version of that idea. Of course, humility applies to more than addiction. I applies to every sin because all of us have committed every sin. By the standard Jesus set, we have all murdered, committed adultery, stolen, etc. But it’s the person who admits their failures to others who has a chance to be a blessing.

I was talking with a friend this morning who is a recovering alcoholic. He talked about a disappointing thing that work that made him want to justify having a drink. I think his last drink was about 15 months ago, but he knows he’s only one drink away from a real problem. He asked me to pray for him.

Then I have myself. I certainly have my insecurities. I have the things I covet. I was listening to a Christian podcast this week that talked about the young man who killed the women at the Asian spas. One of the topics was how Christian men carry around a lot of shame about their sexual desires. In this case, the young man claimed he was trying to rid himself and other men of the sexual temptation the Asian women are. Of course, that is sick and absolutely wrong. I can’t help but wonder if a church culture that was more open to discussing these things would have helped him a little more. As it is, his home church has now disowned him as someone who is not in good standing with them. Obviously, he will spend the rest of his life in jail (as he should), but isn’t this when he needs them the most?

Father, I want to start by thanking you for the earthly father you gave to me. Thank you for his example of humility. Thank you for his sobriety. Thank you for his failed humanness. If he was perfect then I would be miserable trying to live up to him. But he is flawed, just like me. Thank you that he can admit that. I hope my children see that I’m willing to admit my failings as well. Then I want to pray for my friend from this morning. Guide him through this day, moment by moment. Help him to cling to you. And for your church, use messages like this song to convict us and bring us to repentance before you.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 26, 2021 in Uncategorized

 

Ephesians 5:21-27

25 Mar

Out of your reverence for Christ, be supportive of each other in love. For wives, this means being devoted to your husbands like you are tenderly devoted to our Lord, for the husband provides leadership for the wife, just as Christ provides leadership for his church, as the Savior and Reviver of the body. In the same way, the church is devoted to Christ, let wives be devoted to their husband in everything.

And to husband, you are to demonstrate love for your wives with the same tender devotion that Christ demonstrated to us, his bride. For he died for us, sacrificing himself to make us holly and pure, cleansing us through the showering of the pure water of the Word of God. All that he does in us is designed to make us a mature church for his pleasure, until we become a source of praise to him–glorious and radiant, beautiful and holy, without fault or flaw.

Ephesians 5:21-27 (Passion Translation)

Dear God, I’ll be reading these verses in front of those gathered on Saturday to see my niece marry her fiancé. On the one hand, these are incredibly beautiful verses about the love between a husband and a wife as well as our love relationship with you. On the other, those who are paranoid can see this as dangerous, un-woke propaganda.

The part about husbands leading wives can be very controversial. What is often missed by those people, however, is the commands for the husbands. It’s a tall ask.

  • Live up to the standard of Jesus himself.
  • Sacrifice yourself completely to make your wife holy and pure.
  • Cleanse her through showering her with your Word.

If I can live up to that, there is probably not much my wife wouldn’t want to do for me. But it has to be done in humility as well. Done in a showy or demonstrative way will only serve to make her feel condemned and inferior. The opposite of what Jesus did was make those who loved him feel condemned.

Father, even this evening, help me to be exactly what you need me to be for my wife. Each couple who brings their marriage before you gets to figure out how they will live out these verses. For me, I think what you keep getting me to learn just a little more each day is that my life as a husband and as a father is more about what my wife needs from her husband and my children need from their father than about what I need from them. I’m still not there. There are still things I tend to think I deserve from the relationships I have with them, but there is nothing I deserve. You have already given me more than I deserve. I just pray that my actions will lead those I love into closer relationship with you regardless of what it costs me.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 25, 2021 in Ephesians

 

James 1:12-15

24 Mar

God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.

James 1:12-15

Dear God, what does it look like to patiently endure testing and temptation? In think, in this context, James isn’t talking about gluttony, lust, drunkenness, etc. I think the context here is extreme religious persecution. Being patient as people who persecute me test my faith. Being strong as they tempt me to reject you. So it’s a marathon and not a sprint. Settle in. Be patient.

Then, verse 15 brings a whole different bit of insight: “And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.” Sin being allowed to grow is an incredibly insidious thing. It can ultimately destroy me and those I love. My life is a garden that must be constantly tended and weeded. It is spring time right now. The grass is coming out, but so are the weeds. I I allow them to grow unfettered, they will completely mess up the landscaping we are trying to cultivate.

I was thinking on the way home about the balance of worship/meditation/studying/contemplation. A life full of just one or two of any of these things will not be full. If I study about you, but never worship you, will I really know the God I’m studying. If I worship, but never study, will I know the God I’m worshiping? There is a balance that involves my heart, mind, body and soul. All four must touch you if I’m going to have a shot at knowing you.

Father, this has been a little disjointed, but I want you to know I love you, I’m grateful for you, and I want to know you more. Please guide me on this path, and please heal the wounds on my heart so that I can let go of my self-pity and completely worship you without getting my own selfishness and insecurity in the way.

In Jesus’s name pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 24, 2021 in James

 

Ephesians 6:10-12

23 Mar

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:10-12

Dear God, when I read this passage this morning it reminded me of a line in the Hunger Games: Catching Fire when they told the main character to “remember who the real enemy is” while she is in the arena. In this case, the real enemy isn’t the people she is fighting in the arena, but the person (the system) who put her in the arena. That makes the strategy from moment to moment different. That calls for a totally different calculus.

In our case, the one who put me here (you) is not my enemy, but there are forces unseen who want my destruction. If none of that were true and all of reality was what I can interpret with my five senses then the calculus would be to achieve everything I can for myself and for those I love. However, that is not the reality. The reality is that none of this is about me. It’s all about you and the more I give of myself–the more I die to myself and take up your cross–the happier I am.

I read through an article today about a hospice chaplain who was sharing the top three regrets people had at the end of their lives. Here they are:

  1. I did not live the life of my dreams.
  2. I did not share my love.
  3. I did not forgive.

While Satan might want us to focus on the first one and have us look back on our lives with regrets in not chasing down all of our personal dreams, I believe it is part of how you designed us that leads to the second two. You didn’t tell us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves because you need us to, but because it is what is best for us and how we are built. You didn’t say we should pray that you would forgive us as we forgive others because you were holding your forgiveness hostage, but because you know we need to extend forgiveness in order to live.

Father, help me to see what is of you in this world and what is of Satan. I know I believe his lies all of the time. I believe them because I want them to be true. I want to be able to indulge my selfishness. I want to be able to chase my own dreams and protect what I have. I want so many things for myself. But You didn’t design me that way. You designed me to worship you and love others. That’s how my life is complete. Help me to live that complete life.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 23, 2021 in Ephesians

 
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