RSS

Pressed but not crushed

15 Jul

Dear God, over the last couple of days, I’ve spent a lot of time delving back into some stuff that was important to me back in the 90s. One is the music of Rich Mullins. The other is a book called The Tale of Three Kings. The latter is a simply written book looking at King Saul, King David, and Would-be King Absolom.

I was in my 20s back then and life looked very different to me. I have scars now that I didn’t have then. I have some wisdom that was learned by being pressed but not crushed (2 Corinthians 4:8-10). It seems, however, that I laid enough foundation in my faith to have kept me here, praying to you. For that, I’m very grateful.

And now I’m watching my kids enter their 20s. One of the hardest things to do as a parent is let them grow and walk in the path you have for them when it looks so different than the path you had for me. I remember when they were in high school and telling a friend that I don’t know what it looks like to “turn my children over to God.” I’m still not where you draw that line as the parent of a teenager. It’s easier for me to find now, although I do find myself tempted to intervene.

I’m re-reading The Tale of Three Kings and the basic thesis of the book is that you used Saul and his treatment of David to mold David into your king. The suffering David experienced at Saul’s hand made him a better king than he ever would have been on his own. As I look at my life, sure, I’ve suffered at times, but I still have enough perspective to acknowledge that my suffering has not been beyond what I could bear, or close to what others have suffered. But I can say with certainty that it was the low times that taught me the most about loving you.

Father, help me to keep from getting in the way of anything you are teaching my children. As I bless them and turn their paths over to you, help me to have faith in you that it’s all okay. Like the father who cried out for his child, my words to you are, Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. (Mark 9:24)

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on July 15, 2018 in 2 Corinthians, Mark

 

Tags: ,

Romans 12:3-5

13 Jul

3 Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.  Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
Romans 12:3-5

Dear God, I have some confessions this morning. I was given a really great award this last week—one of which I’m really proud. A couple of years ago I would never have imagined that they would choose me for it, but my first confession is that this year, with some of the things with which I’ve been involved in the community, I thought I might have a shot at it and I wanted it. So that’s my first confession. I wanted the award I got and I would have been disappointed if I hadn’t gotten it.

Second, I confess that I like the attention. You know me well, and you know that I love to be admired. It is a huge vice for me. I’m getting better—I can feel myself getting better about needing it—but it’s still an issue for me.

Third, there’s a part of me that is tired and nervous that I will allow myself to slump after receiving the recognition. Or worse, that I will make my activities about the recognition instead of about giving you the glory and honor for everything I do, and following your lead and seeking your blessing.

Father, I’m a mess, but you provided me one really gracious thing in this. The award was actually awarded to another person in addition to me, and he is such a great guy. If I put pen to paper, I would say that he is more deserving than I am. I just appreciate and respect him so much. So it is humbling to be honored in this way for doing things that I’ve done out of obedience to you. It is humbling to be put in the same category and league as this other man. My trick is to embrace everyone around me and the vision you have given to all of us as your body. I cannot do everything. I am certainly not good at everything. I need you. I need my wife. I need my children. I need my parents, in-laws, and siblings. I need my friends, my church, and my community. I am just a part, and one unfortunate thing about the role I usually play is that it often gets recognition that other parts don’t get. So help me to be mindful of all of this and to always remember that it’s all about you.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on July 13, 2018 in Romans

 

“Make My Life a Prayer to You”

13 Jul

“Make My Life a Prayer to You” by Melody Green

Make my life a prayer to you
I want to do what you want me to
No empty words and no white lies
No token prayers. No compromise

I want to shine the light you gave
Through your son you sent to save us
From ourselves and our despair
It comforts me to know you’re really there

Well I want to thank you now for being patient with me
Oh, it’s so hard to see when my eyes are on me
I guess I’ll have to trust and just believe what you say
Oh, you’re coming again, coming to take me a way

I want to die and let you give
Your life to me so I might live
And share the hope you gave to me
A love that set me free

I want to tell the world out there
you’re not some fable or fairy tale
That I’ve made up inside my head
You’re God the son. You’ve risen from the dead

Oh, I want to thank you now for being patient with me
Oh, it’s so hard to see when my eyes are on me
I guess I’ll have to trust and just believe what you say
Oh, you’re coming again, coming to take me away

I want to die and let you give
Your life to me so I might live
And share the hope you gave to me
I want to share the love that set me free

 

Dear God, this song is just great. The lyrics are really a perfect prayer.

I was lying in bed right after I woke up and I read the verse for the day from Bible Gateway (Phil 2:9-11) and, frankly, it really didn’t do anything for me. So then I started looking at YouTube to see if there was anything interesting there while I kind of killed a little time before getting out of bed. As it turned out, a live video of Keith Green playing this song came up and I watched it. I hadn’t heard this song in a long time. He introduced it by saying that his wife wrote it, and it was really something to be able to sing your wife’s song. It made me think I should probably look for opportunities to read my wife’s poetry out loud–even if it’s just for me.

So I listened intently to the words and sang along (I’ve known this song since the 80s). Like I said, it really is a perfect prayer.

Make my life a prayer to you, I want to do what you want me to

Of course. My life as a living prayer. If that were to happen at a 100% level, what would that look like?

No empty words, and no white lies

How much of my communication with others throughout the day is just empty, thoughtless words? I don’t know that white lies are a problem, but certainly empty words are.

No token prayers, no compromise

Yes. I want my prayers to be meaningful, thoughtful, and consistent. I want to live a life that is completely surrendered to you and does not look out for myself.

I want to shine the light you gave through your son you sent to save us from ourselves and our despair. It comforts me to know you’re really there

That’s what it’s all about. When people see me, they should see you and they should see something that they want in them.

Oh I want to thank you now for being patient with me. Oh, it’s so hard to see when my eyes are on me.

Yes. You are patient. You are loving. You expect a lot from me, but you know better than I do the journey I am on in discipleship. If I can turn my eyes from myself to you then I will be able to see a lot more around me.

I guess I’ll have to trust and just believe what you say. Lord, you’re coming again. Coming to take me away.

I have very little thoughts about you coming back in rapture form during my living life, but I will say that I have every confidence that you’ll be there to take my soul when my earthly time is done.

I want to die and let you give your life to me so I might live. And share the hope you gave to me. A love that set me free

Again, this is a song about just getting over myself. I can only imagine what was going through Melody Green’s mind when she wrote this, but I know it must have been a beautiful moment between the two of you.

I want to tell the world out there you’re not some fable or fairy tale that I’ve made up inside my head. You’re God the Son, you’ve risen from the dead.

I am so weak and talking about who you really are and boldly proclaiming you. But may that come as I continue to learn to make my life a prayer to you.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on July 13, 2018 in Hymns and Songs

 

Tags: , ,

Matthew 4:3-4

12 Jul

During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Matthew 4:3-4

Dear God, as I read this passage this morning and asked myself what thoughts come to mind when I read it, the first thought that came into my mind is that I’m so sorry you had to go through this. Living on earth and the struggles. Fasting for 40 days. Dealing with Satan in this way. Of course, brutal crucifixion. And it was partly for me. I’m really sorry you had to do that.

But as I now continue my journey, one of my jobs is to live by your bread. Not the communion bread (eat this in remembrance of me), but by the scripture prepared for me and the still small voice that speaks to me. Both must be run through a discernment filter. I can’t always trust my interpretation of scripture, and I cannot always trust the voices inside my head. But awareness and discussing my thoughts in community help to mitigate any selfish interpretations that will deceive me.

Father, thank you for everything you’ve done. Everything Jesus had has done. Everything the Holy Spirit has done. My life is small and my time on earth is short. Help me to make the most of the opportunities you put in front of me.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
1 Comment

Posted by on July 12, 2018 in Matthew

 

Philippians 3:4-11

11 Jul

…though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more! I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!

Philippians 3:4-11

Dear God, knowing Christ and becoming one with him. That’s the goal.

It makes me think of the best people I’ve ever known. None of them had to tell me how great they were. None of them told me about other people’s weaknesses and put them down. At their funerals, they are the kind of people about whom others say, “I never heard them say a negative thing about anyone else.” Those are people who know what grace is and have become completely comfortable in renouncing their own self-righteousness and embracing knowing Jesus and becoming one with him.

Father, move me closer to that today. Move me closer to being a builder and not a destroyer. Help me to reject the lie of self-righteousness and embrace the idea that my hope is built on nothing more or less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.

I pray all of this through the power of His name,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on July 11, 2018 in Philippians

 

Philippians 1:6

10 Jul

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

Philippians 1:6

Dear God, I can feel myself getting better. Not that I am becoming a better and better person, but I am learning to lean more on you throughout the day when I run into struggles. I can think of two specific examples of tiles at work recently when I came up against something that flummoxed me, I prayed to you about it in real time, and you brought me an answer. There was no brilliance on my part. In both moments, I was scared and frustrated, and I silently talked to you about needing your help and intervention. In one case, you gave me the words to say. In another you actually gave me some small miracles in answer to my prayer.

I still have so much growing to do, but it is awfully nice to feel like I am maturing in you at least a little. Of course, I’ve been pursuing you as a discipline Christian for over 30 years so one could make the case that I’ve hardly grown at all over that time. But again, I’m grateful that I at least feel like I’m making progress, and I’m grateful that that progress is learning to lean more on you and less on me.

Father, I want get to the point where every breath I take is in communion with you. It’s hard to imagine ever getting there. And I have to wonder what kind of person I’d be like to live with if I got to that level. But I trust that any growth I have in you will bring me closer to my wife and who you need me to be for her, not push us apart. So today is another day. Bless the work of my hands, but do it for your glory’s sake and because it’s the work you want done.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on July 10, 2018 in Philippians

 

Ephesians 3:19-21

09 Jul

May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3:19-21

Dear God, so experiencing your love as much as possible will “make me complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” So what do I need to do to experience your love?

I was talking to a friend lately about how she experiences a lot of shame about things. Some of the things she did. Some of them she didn’t or they weren’t her fault. But according to her she just carries shame. She told me about some things she did as a teenager about 30 years ago that still make her feel bad. Now she sees her own teenager doing a lot of the same things and she sees it from the adult’s perspective and it makes her feel even worse. In reading this passage, I suppose there is a level of accepting your love and grace that is part of experiencing it. She is repentant, so that’s not the last step. Repentance is the first step, but accepting the grace must be done as well.

Father, help me to fully embrace the grace you have for me and to then extend it to others. I read some comments online the other day about a piece on judging others and someone said, “Judge not lest he be judged. Fine. Judge me because I’m going to judge others.” How foolish. Father, please don’t judge me. Please forgive me. That is the cry of my heart. And then fill my vessel with love so that others might be drawn into your power.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on July 9, 2018 in Ephesians

 

“Living Dangerously In the Hands of God”

08 Jul

“Living Dangerously in the Hands of God” by Steve Camp

How easily Jesus is forgotten
Amid the comfort of my life
How the flames become a flicker
And faith a brilliant disguise
Oh, Sundays become a holiday
Prayer an empty exercise
And the cost of real devotion
Seems so foreign to my life

Oh, to gladly risk it all
Oh, to be faithful to His call
Abandoned to grace
But anchored in His love
Living dangerously in the hands of God

Our Lord, He is a hiding place
His hold is strong and sure
Though the storms may rage around me
In His love I stand secure
So let me live like I believe it
And though my faith is prone to fail
Though I cower under trial
By His grace, I shall prevail

Oh, to gladly risk it all
Oh, to be faithful to His call
Abandoned to grace
But anchored in His love
Living dangerously in the hands of God

There’s safety in complacency
But God is calling us out
Of our comfort zone into a life
Of complete surrender to the cross
To live dangerously
Is not to live recklessly but righteously
And it is because of God’s radical grace for us
That we can risk living a life
Of radical obedience for Him

You’ve got to walk on
For the Lord, He walks with us
You’ve got to walk on
Oh, though it costs you everything
You’ve got to pray on

For the eyes of the Lord
Move to and fro throughout the earth
That He may strongly support those
Whose hearts are completely His

Oh, to gladly risk it all
Oh, to be faithful to His call
Abandoned to grace
But anchored in His love
Living dangerously
Are you living dangerously
Oh, we ought to be living dangerously
In the hands of God

Are you living dangerously
In the hands of God

Dear God, as I get ready to preach later this morning, I feel like this song holds the key to the message you want me to deliver today. I’m preaching to a church in peril. It is hard to come in as a once-a-month preacher and feel like I am doing them any good. Is  there anything I can possibly say today that will have an impact? Will I leave them with words from you? Am I preaching to an audience of one (you), or is there just one person in the audience this morning who will hear a word from you? I cannot waste this opportunity. 

I want to reference multiple parts of this song this morning. I have some time, so I’m going to try to sink my teeth into this song and see how it might apply to the sermon I’ve already prepared.

“…And faith a brilliant disguise…”

One thing I’ve known about myself for a while is that sometimes my faith in you can become more a philosophy by which I live my life rather than a relationship that draws me into pure and true worship. Worship in my words and from my heart, but also worship in how I live my days, relying on you for directly and strength. One of the real dangers is that I put up such a veneer of “faith” that I use it to mask how empty my life is.

“…the cost of real devotion seems so foreign to my life…”

Some would look at my life and see someone who does a lot of giving, but have I really allowed my devotion to cost me what you’ve called me to give up? The answer to this question might be yes, I am doing exactly what you’ve called me to do. But I also know there are times when I subconsciously throw up walls and don’t allow myself to go down a road that might lead to suffering, even if it might be you calling me down that road.

“…though the storms may rage around me, in His love I stand secure…”

I heard a pastor a couple of weeks ago talk about the disciples in the boat with Jesus when there was a big storm and Jesus gave the “Peace, be still” command to the wind and ocean. He said of Jesus talking to the disciples afterward that he didn’t tell them there was nothing to be afraid of. Instead he asked, “Why were you afraid?” Storms are going to come in my life. “In [your] love I stand secure. So let me live like I believe it. And though my faith is prone to fail.”

“…to live dangerously is not to live recklessly, but righteously…”

If I will wake up every morning and seek you, repenting for my mistakes and embracing you in worship then righteous living will lead me exactly where you need me to be. I will make mistakes. I will miss opportunities. But the Holy Spirit will move me as I work out my faith with fear and trembling. I will be drawn to you. I will be moved. 

“…abandoned to grace, but anchored in His love…”

Father, I am abandoned to your grace because it is my only hope. But my abandon does not just allow me to foolishly live my life, taking advantage of your love. My grace and my life and anchored to you. You are guiding me and leading me. You are calling me in every moment. I fail at home with my wife. I fail with my children. I fail at work. I don’t have a right to that failure. That failure is mine and I own it. BUT there is a grace. There is grace in your plan, but if I am going to be at all tolerable in any area of my life, I had better set my anchor straight into you and hold on. I must learn to draw deeper and deeper into you so that I might really understand what to do in any given moment and others might be blessed by my life.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on July 8, 2018 in Hymns and Songs

 

Tags: ,

2 Corinthians 12:2-10

06 Jul

I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know—only God knows. Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell. That experience is worth boasting about, but I’m not going to do it. I will boast only about my weaknesses. If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:2-10

Dear God, I think the key to this passage isn’t the part about the third heaven or the thorn, but the phrase, “to keep me from becoming proud.” Oh, how pride is a downfall for so many.

As I prepare for my sermon this Sunday, I’ve been thinking about David and what his life might have been if Samuel had never anointed him king. Would he have avoided some of the sins of his life? Might he have been the next “judge” of Israel after Samuel? But with being king comes a lot of power and pride.

I certainly know pride can be something for me, and goodness knows I have the flaws, vices, and “thorns” to help keep it in check, but it’s still a continuous struggle.

Here’s a confession. I’ve been jealous of some people who are my age lately. I learned of three people lately who have done some amazing things in their careers and it’s made me feel less than. I thought about this last night. It’s as if I’m thinking the life you’ve lead me on isn’t good enough for me. I’m sorry for that. The only reason I would want to trade for those lives is power and prestige. The vanity of those jobs is the only thing about them that attracts me, and it really reveals how shallow and selfish I can be.

Father, thank you for where you’ve lead me. Thank you for forgiving my foolishness. Thank you for overlooking my weaknesses and my missed opportunities. Thank you for forgiving my sin. As I turn my eyes upon you and look full in your wonderful face, the things of earth do grow strangely dim in the light of your glory and grace.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on July 6, 2018 in 2 Corinthians

 

The Most Popular Verses

05 Jul

Dear God, I’m a devoted reader of Fred Smith’s weekly blog, and I enjoyed what I read this morning about The Soil of Partial Truth. In it, he listed the five most popular verses in the Bible. This is the order in which he listed them. I don’t know if it is by popularity or not. I’d be surprised if it was. They were:

  • Jeremiah 29:11 – …”For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “Plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope…”
  • Psalm 23:4 – Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, the comfort me.
  • Philippians 4:13 – I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
  • John 3:16 – “For God so love the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
  • Romans 8:28 – And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Instead of looking at the meaning of each verse and going into whether or not they are out of context (for example, the Jeremiah 29:11 is REALLY out of context if you read that verse alone), I want to talk to you about why we are drawn to these specific verses and what it says about what we need from you.

With the Jeremiah verse, I think it means that our psyche needs to know that you are in charge and that things are going to work out well. Now, while you are, indeed, in charge, working out “well” is a relative term and needs the broader context. But our human hearts want to know that our circumstances are going to work out well for us.

The verse from Psalms is about addressing our fears. we need your comfort during the times that we are afraid–especially of death. Whether it is our death or the death of another, we need your comfort when we are afraid. And that’s okay.

Philippians 4:13 is about leaning on you and looking to you for our strength. It’s a good one and a good reminder that we need you. The Isaiah 40:31 about those that wait on you will mount up with wings like eagles is a good one for this sentiment too.

I love the John 3:16 one because it is actually right in the middle of Jesus’ rant to Nicodemus. He’s trying to explain being born again and gets on a roll. I actually enjoy this whole speech more than just this verse. But in the end, Jesus is convincing an unbelieving Pharisee to believe.

And the Romans 8 verse brings us back to the need to know that it’s all going to be okay. I think the danger here is that we know that sometimes those who love you suffer, and we are looking at these verses and hoping that the suffering will happen to someone else and not us.

Father, I think, at the end of the day, we are just looking for your comfort, your strength, and your reassurance. We need to be reassured that you are there, we have access to you, and that, at least on the other side of death, there is hope. It would probably be good for me to sit down and some point and talk about my favorite scriptures/stories of the Bible. I wonder what looking at that collection of passages would reveal about me.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on July 5, 2018 in Jeremiah, John, Philippians, Psalms, Romans

 
← Older posts
Newer posts →