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John 17:13-19

18 Nov

“Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.”

John 17:13-19

Dear God, how does Jesus pray for me? This is how. He asks that you protect me from the evil one. He asks that you make me Holy by your truth and teach me. He offers himself up for me as my sacrifice. There is a lot of love from him in this prayer.

How do I pray for others? Is this how I should pray? If I pray for my wife, children, parents or friends, would this prayer cover the important stuff? Let me try.

Father, please protect my children from the plans Satan has to steal, kill and destroy their lives. Teach them your word, which is truth. If you need me to sacrifice anything in my life for them, please reveal it to me. I offer it to you and them. I pray all of the same things for my wife, parents, extended family, friends, community and world. Protect us from evil. Teach us truth. Use me however you will.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 18, 2017 in John

 

Genesis 22:15-19

17 Nov

Gen 22:15-Gen 22:19 NIV The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed…

Dear God, this is the “My Utmost for His Highest” verse of the day, but it takes me back to the passage before it where you tell Abraham to sacrifice Isaac in the first place. Chapter 22 starts by saying that you “tested” Abraham. Is that what some of the struggles I’ve had have been? Tests? If so, I’m not angry about it–even though I’ve experienced some of the worst pain of my life the last few years. As I sit here, I’m okay with the idea with the idea that they were tests. Actually, my thought is, I hope I did okay.

You gave Abraham a promise and I believe that you tested him in this way because he had begun to put more hope in that promise than he surrendered to you. He received the promise of descendants because of his devotion to you, but then you made him put that promise on the altar. No more Isaac, no more descendants with Sarah. Only Ishmael would be left which would be something but not fulfilling the original promise. Did he need a physical reminder that you are his God? Did the last eight years of my life serve the same purpose in some way? Are some of the struggles I’m still experiencing still teaching me to look to you daily?

Father, I’m not asking for any tests, but I submit myself to whatever you have for me. I almost just typed that I can’t think of any promises you ever made to me, but that’s not true. There are times in the last two years that I’ve told friends that there were certain protections I expected from you in return for my prayers, worship, and submission. Maybe I made those protections an idol in some way. Whatever the case may be, you are my God, and I submit to whatever path you have for me.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 17, 2017 in Genesis, My Utmost for His Highest Scripture of the Day

 

Am I an “Evangelical”

16 Nov

https://thegathering.com/unfaithful-to-holy-things/

Dear God, I read the blog post I linked to above this morning, and it got me thinking (I suppose that’s what a good blog post will do). The author talked about how the word Evangelical has lost its meaning as a description of someone’s faith. He pointed out that it has not only become part of a political demographic, but it has also been saddled with the baggage of being judgmental and bigoted.

The thing that came to my mind is, as an Evangelical by the original meaning of the word, how often to I explicitly share the Good News with someone who needs it? How often do I miss Peter’s lesson in Acts when he and John are walking by the beggar and he says, “Silver and gold have I none…,” and then shares Jesus direct power with him? By the true definition of what we would like Evangelical to mean, how many real Evangelicals are left?

Father, help me to be an Evangelical. Help me to boldly share your love for others’ sake. Offer your hope through me. Let our culture redefine Evangelical back to its original definition and let that start with me.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 16, 2017 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

Psalm 119:143

15 Nov

As pressure and stress bear down on me, I find joy in your commands.

Psalm 119:143

Dear God, pressure and stress are such relative things. For someone like David (not necessarily the writer of this Psalm), he experienced a level of stress that I will never know. As king in that environment, I can’t imagine what he saw and had to live up to on a day-to-day basis. In my little life, on the other hand, I worry about the financial and operational well being of the place where I work, my own family’s financial situation, my wife, my children, my family, my friends, etc., but in comparison to others, my burden is not that bad. As I’ve taken to saying, my problems are first-world problems.

Yet, I can feel that pressure and stress. Worrying about those things I listed above can get to me. For example, I am constantly concerned about revenue at work. Will we be able to sustain our operations? I always worry about my children and I can’t imagine a day when I wouldn’t. No matter how well they are doing, they are my loves and I think of them constantly. I worry about the health and wellbeing of relatives and friends. But I am learning a little better to do a few things.

  1. Turn it over to you, lay down my yoke and pick up your cross. I’m still learning, and as I’ve told some people before, there’s a fine line between living by faith and living in denial, but I’m getting better.
  2. Being open about the burdens and sharing them as appropriately as possible helps. For example, as I’ve worried about work in the past, the more I share it with the board the better. The more I share with my wife the better I do. The more I confide in friends. The more I pray to and worship you. You get the idea. It is not good for man to be alone.

Father, I do indeed find joy in your commands because your commands are for my good. Help me to remember to be humble and bring others closer to you as I reach out to them through my own stress and pressure.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 15, 2017 in Psalms

 

1 Peter 3:18

14 Nov

Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.

1 Peter 3:18

Dear God, thank you. I’m not sure what else to do with this passage except to humbly accept your sacrifice and say thank you. Your sacrifice is what gives me, a Gentile, the privilege of sitting here this morning and praying to you. It’s what gives me hope through the darkest times, and reminds me to give of myself to others instead of only being out for myself. It’s my ultimate example for how I should consider my own life worth nothing compared with your will and what I can do to serve you.

Father, help me to live up to your gift today. Help me to love others richly, be productive in the work you have for me to do and live a life that draws others closer to you and into your presence.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 14, 2017 in 1 Peter

 

1 Peter 2:15-16

13 Nov

It is God’s will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you. For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.

1 Peter 2:15-16

Dear God, what do others see when they look at me? In my case, I almost wonder if they don’t somehow see someone who is better than I am. I get a lot of credit for my job, and I think people are prone to put me on too much of a pedestal. So I guess what I would ask on the other side of this passage is, what do I need to do to ensure that I am being vulnerable enough and showing my flaws so that my life can be useful to you in helping others?

For my part, I’ve learned more from David and Peter in the Bible than I’ve learned from Paul. I’ve learned more from the pastor who shares vulnerable stories about themselves than I’ve learned from pastors who only shared their holiness. I understand that this passage is about striving to be an example, but I have failed and will fail. I think I need to be about using those times to encourage others to deal with the flaws, tragedies, disappointments and sins in their own lives.

Father, to quote a song that I sometimes pray to you, make me a servant, humble and meek. Lord, let me lift up those who are weak. And may the prayer of my heart always be, make me a servant today.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 13, 2017 in 1 Peter

 

Colossians 1:9

12 Nov

So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.

Colossians 1:9

Dear God, complete knowledge of your will? Wow. That’s quite a request. I’m not even sure that’s something I should want. Could I handle that kind of knowledge.

But I like spiritual wisdom and understanding. I can get on board with that. I would love to have that. I think it starts with spending time each day trying to get to know the sound of your voice better and learn about you. Then I can start to have your heart as my heart as I slowly learn how to surrender my will to yours.

Father, help me to be a servant after your own heart. Help me to hear your voice. Help me to be the man, husband, father, son, brother, uncle, employee and friend that I need to be.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 12, 2017 in Colossians

 

1 John 2:15-16

11 Nov

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.

1 John 2:15-16

Dear God, so what does the world offer me? I was watching an interview with the singer/songwriter James Taylor recently and the interviewer asked him about this addictions. He had a unique answer about what gives an addiction its power over you: The key for an addict is how much of a relief the addict felt when they first discovered their drug of choice. I don’t think I’ve ever heard it put that way before. What pain did the alcohol, meth, weed, cocaine, food, pornography, etc. mask when the addict first experienced it, and how good effective was the experience in taking the pain away (albeit temporarily)?

In this context, I think that a lot of what the world offers is designed to mask pain/fear. We pursue money because we don’t want to have to worry about our needs and we want to indulge our wants. As for me, my comfort is found in food. Somewhere along the way, I found comfort in treating myself to the kinds of food that I like. Ironically, the time in my life that I had the most pain was a time that I actually dove into exercise and hyper controlling my eating. I think I felt so powerless in some areas that I actually went the other way and grabbed control of something I could. As I understand it, that is the motivation behind most eating disorders.

Father, I am an amateur in all of this in terms of knowledge, but I know enough to know that you didn’t design us to live pain-free lives in this fallen world. We are to bring our pain to you, trust you in it, and then ask what you would have us do to live you and live others. Help me to do that today.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 11, 2017 in 1 John

 

Job 37-5

10 Nov

God’s voice is glorious in the thunder. We can’t even imagine the greatness of his power.

Job 37:5

Dear God, there are times when I just do not like your plan. I’ve been disappointed in you and felt like you broke your promises to me. I’ve been confused about why you would allow this thing or that thing to happen. I’ve doubted your existence. But I’m here. I’m here this morning reading scripture and praying to you. I’m here to submit and follow. I’m here to confess and repent. Why?

I do all of this because I can’t even imagine the greatness of your power. I can’t imagine your wisdom. I can’t imagine what the world looks like from your perspective. I am sure that a housefly’s life seems important to the housefly, but it inconveniences me and annoys me so I end its life without thinking twice about it. I’m sure that our existence could look the same to you, in all of the greatness of your power, but instead you communicate with me and let me pray to you. You guide my life and listen to my pleas for my family, friends and world.

Father, I cannot imagine the greatness of your power. Elihu spoke these words to Job after Job had been through awful circumstances. That’s what makes Job a hard read. Sometimes his friends were right and sometimes they were wrong, and it’s often hard to tell which is which. But in this case Elihu is right. None of us can. And we never will–not even when we get to the other side. But I will worship you because I know you’re there and I know that, regardless of my circumstances, you truly care.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 10, 2017 in Job

 

Infringement

09 Nov

No verse

Dear God, I had an opportunity to offer someone prayer and a spiritual dimension to their current crisis yesterday, and I blew it. And it’s not like I didn’t consider it in real time. I had a guy in my office who was in need. He was scared and I was able to walk him through the process of meeting his need and comfort him a little. While he sat there, I thought, This would be an opportunity to ask him if he would like someone to pray with him. But I didn’t. I remained silent in that area and stuck to my normal script. And it’s not like I don’t work in a Christian, faith-based organization. I do. I wouldn’t be violating anyone’s civil liberties if I simply offered to pray with them. What is my problem?

Maybe it’s too much politeness. I don’t want to infringe on their spiritual privacy. By how will they ever know about the peace and joy that a life rooted in submitting to you can provide if we, as Christians, don’t infringe a little?

Father, first, I’m sorry. I’m going to try to follow up with the man today and offer him my prayer. And I’m going to be better about this. I have something that too many of our community don’t, and an awful lot of them come into my office. Help me to be what you need me to be for them.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 9, 2017 in Miscellaneous

 
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