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Collect for Mass of the Day (Thursday after Ash Wednesday)

07 Mar 
Prompt our actions with your inspiration, we pray, O Lord
And further them with your constant help
That all we do may always begin from you
And by you be brought to completion

Collect for Mass of the Day (Thursday after Ash Wednesday)

Dear God, I accidentally did the wrong day yesterday. I skipped a day in Restore: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation. I did today’s yesterday. Oops. So let me back up and get yesterday’s meditation.

I remember 23 years ago, after having been inspired to leave a safe job to venture out and follow you blindly, listening to another guy talk (or maybe I read it) and he was talking about being in the middle of your will. He said that there was a moment in his life when he had followed you faithfully, and he knew that he knew that he knew he was doing something weird but he was doing exactly what you wanted him to do. It’s what he said next that stuck with me: “Knowing I was in God’s will in that moment made me not want to cross the street if I thought it wasn’t in his will.”

Knowing your will is hard because my will can be a powerful influencer over me. I can justify just about anything I want as being your will. I recently purchased a new vehicle and part of how I justified it to myself was that we were selling our old vehicle, which ran fine, really cheap to a sweet family that could use it. Surely that was in your will, right? Well, I don’t know, but I sure used that to justify it to myself whenever I had misgivings.

To quote Sister Miriam from the book: “During Lent, the Lord is calling us to something very intimate–far beyond the mere surface of ‘praying more’ or ‘giving up dessert.’ He is calling us into union with him in the heart. This is why we must allow the Lord to prompt our actions with his inspiration and further them with his help. We are not making the journey of Lent on our own or from our own will. We are being led by the Lord as the Holy Spirit led Jesus out into the desert.”

Father, lead me today. There were a couple of times yesterday when I felt you answering my prayer from yesterday morning about sharing the piece of you I know with others and receiving that piece they know back from them. You are good. You are so good. There is so much of you to know. Help me to know you just a little better today, and lead me into the center of your will, whether I end up there intentionally or accidentally.

In pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 7, 2025 in Restore: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation

 

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Psalm 30

06 Mar

Psalm 30

Thanksgiving for Recovery from Grave Illness

A Psalm. A Song at the dedication of the temple. Of David.

1 I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up
    and did not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
    and you have healed me.
3 O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol,
    restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.

4 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones,
    and give thanks to his holy name.
5 For his anger is but for a moment;
    his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
    but joy comes with the morning.

6 As for me, I said in my prosperity,
    “I shall never be moved.”
7 By your favor, O Lord,
    you had established me as a strong mountain;
you hid your face;
    I was dismayed.

8 To you, O Lord, I cried,
    and to the Lord I made supplication:
9 “What profit is there in my death,
    if I go down to the Pit?
Will the dust praise you?
    Will it tell of your faithfulness?
10 Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me!
    O Lord, be my helper!”

11 You have turned my mourning into dancing;
    you have taken off my sackcloth
    and clothed me with joy,
12 so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
    O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

Dear God, a psalm of reorientation. That’s what this is. I thought about Walter Brueggemann’s classifications for psalms as I read that this morning, and also as I saw the heading for this psalm the compiler of Psalms provided. Things were good, then they were bad, now they are good again because you provided. I was oriented, I was disoriented for a time, and now I am reoriented in a wiser, better position that I was before the disorientation. I’ve lived this psalm. I am still living it in some ways. In some ways I am oriented. There are parts of my life that are disoriented, and I still can’t make sense of them. And then there are areas in which I am reoriented and wiser than I was before. I suppose that is the journey I will continue to be on as long as I am here.

Sister Miriam James Heidland, the author of Restore: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation focused on verse 10 today: “Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me! O Lord, be my helper.” That is the cry of a lot of hearts right now. It is the cry of people in war zones. It is the cry of victims of domestic abuse, human trafficking, the poor, the sick, parents, etc. It is the cry of so many.

Here is a quote from Sr. Miriam’s entry for today on this verse that resonates with me: “Each person’s relationship with Christ is unique and unrepeatable. As God loves each of us in a way he loves no other person, so too we love God in a way that no one else loves God. The shape of our heart is precious to him; he knows the distinct contours that belong to us alone.”

Father, one of the reasons I like to be around other Christians is that I get to know they God they know. And I get to share with them the God I know. The piece of you that I feel like is unique to me. The pieces of you that is unknown to me, but they can share. Thank you for…well, everything. Thank you for everything, Father. Thank you for everything, Jesus. Thank you for everything, Holy Spirit. May I use everything you’ve given me to honor you and take the piece of you I know about to others.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 6, 2025 in Psalms, Restore: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation

 

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Wisdom 11:21-26

05 Mar

21 For it is always in your power to show great strength,
and who can withstand the might of your arm?
22 Because the whole world before you is like a speck that tips the scales
and like a drop of morning dew that falls on the ground.
23 But you are merciful to all, for you can do all things,
and you overlook people’s sins, so that they may repent.
24 For you love all things that exist
and detest none of the things that you have made,
for you would not have formed anything if you had hated it.
25 How would anything have endured if you had not willed it?
Or how would anything not called forth by you have been preserved?
26 You spare all things, for they are yours, O Lord, you who love the living.

Wisdom 11:21-26

Dear God, my wife and I have decided to use a Lenten devotional book together called Restore: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation that a friend gave her. Since she’s Catholic and her friend is Catholic the books is Catholic as well. I’m actually interested to see what kinds of things might be outside of my experience. What scriptures from the Catholic Bible will be new. In this case, we are starting off with something from Wisdom. Okay. I’m in. What do you have for me this morning from Wisdom?

When I read this, I think about your restrained power. I saw a YouTube video yesterday of actors being asked, “If there is a heaven, what do you hope God says to you when you arrive?” In it, Dustin Hoffman leads off by quoting Robert DeNiro in saying, “If there is a God, he’s got a lot of explaining to do.”

My thoughts immediately went to Job and your words to him starting in chapter 38. Who are we to question you. You owe me no explanation. You owe me nothing.

But then I also thought about kind of my age-old questions when people complain about how you work: “How would you prefer God act?” Do we want you to smite and kill evildoers? Well, what if my sins put me on the wrong side of that line? Do we expect you to stop all natural disasters and question why you didn’t make the earth completely stable and safe for us? That doesn’t seem reasonable. Do we want you to eliminate all illness? I don’t think we want to never die. That doesn’t make sense. Do we want you to eliminate all injustice and harm we do to each other like human trafficking, war, etc.? Maybe that should be our responsibility. I guess I would ask Mr. Hoffman and Mrs. DeNiro what you have to answer for and how they would prefer you handle it.

Father, there is a lot of anger in people out there, and I’m sorry it gets misdirected at you. I know that is Satan’s plan, and it’s a good plan. And I know I’ve blamed you for things. There have been times when I haven’t liked how you get things done. I haven’t liked your plan. But you are my God. I am your creation. You owe me nothing. I owe you everything. And yet, as Wisdom puts it here, you show such restraint! You overlook my sins so I have a chance to repent. You could smite the whole lot of us, but you don’t. Thank you, Father. And thank you for the reconciliation you gave to all of us through the journey of Jesus. The entire journey of a piece of you. From before creation to this moment, you made a way for all of us. You made a way for me. You have done more than I could ever have asked you to. I love you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

P.S. I forgot to read the commentary for this passage from the book. The first paragraph is important: “Here we begin, dear friends. Ash Wednesday. Our foreheads are marked with the blackness of death while the words ‘Repent and believe in the gospel’ or ‘Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return’ are spoken over us.” That’s a nice humble reminder of our place in this world and your creation as well. Why do any of us think we deserve your goodness. We don’t. You freely give it. You freely love us. But it’s not something that you owe us. So here I am to worship you with nothing to offer but the life you gave me.

 
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Posted by on March 5, 2025 in Restore: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation, Wisdom

 

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Mark 10:17-28

04 Mar

17 As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good. 19 But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’[e]”

20 “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”

21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

22 At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” 24 This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard[f] to enter the Kingdom of God. 25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”

26 The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.

27 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”

28 Then Peter began to speak up. “We’ve given up everything to follow you,” he said.

Mark 10:17-28

Dear God, Peter reveals in verse 28 that they all had the same question this man had: What must I do to inherit eternal life? The same is true today. This can be a preoccupation for some. It can be what everything is all about. Why do I worship God? So I can have eternal life. Why do I do nice things for others? Go to church? Because I think there is a carrot for me at the end of it. There is eternal bliss. Power.

So why am I here this morning? Is that my goal? Am I trying to check a box and justify myself to you like Peter did in verse 28? Or am I just here to worship the God of the universe? Am I here because this is where I find peace, comfort, and direction for my life? Like most things in my life, the majority of the time I am here for the right reasons, but I know there are times when I’m here because I’m trying to justify myself before you.

Father, you are my God. I worship you. My life is worth nothing to me (mostly). At least, I want my life to be worth nothing to me. If the reality is that I lived this one life on earth and I used it to worship you and love others and there is no eternal reward at the end of it, then I’m okay with that. It’s not about me anyway. It’s about you. I don’t know what being with you one day will be like. “I can only imagine.” But I trust you that, if that is what you have for me, then it will be an existence that transcends everything I can know now. And I recognize that I will be the least in your new earth. But I welcome that if it means I get to keep worshipping you. So, for however many days I have left on earth, I offer then to you with no reservations or regrets. Prepare my heart today for Ash Wednesday and the Lenten season. Be glorified through me.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 4, 2025 in Mark

 

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Isaiah 55:8-9

03 Mar

8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
    “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so my ways are higher than your ways
    and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8-9

Dear God, this kind of goes back to what I was praying yesterday about comparing who you are to us by comparing who we are to dogs. And the distance between you and us is infinitely greater that the distance between me and a dog, but it’s at least a metaphor I can get my head around a bit.

The interesting thing is that, while your ways are far beyond anything I can imagine, I am on a journey of discovering just a little more of you each day. Learning how to love you. Learning how to love others. Learning how to choose to not be cruel or mean out of spite. Learning to forgive.

I thought this morning about something that I heard someone say back when I was in school. Maybe high school. They were talking about mathematics and how mathematicians had come up with different formulas for solving different problems. But what they said that stuck with me was, “It makes you wonder: Is mathematics something we create to solve problems, or is it something that already exists that we are discovering?” That’s you, God. You aren’t something I’ve created, but you are certainly something that I am discovering just a little more each day.

Father, I have some friends who are afraid and frustrated right now. Afraid for their children. Afraid for their parents. It might be health-related. It might be addiction. It might simply be bad choices. So I offer each situation up to you in prayer. Be a powerful healer. Be a powerful God. Draw them into yourself. Don’t let this pain be wasted. Make it count. Make it count for your glory. Help me to be the mean you need me to be in each situation I encounter. Help me to be an agent of your love, grace, and mercy. Help me to encourage others to draw closer to you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 3, 2025 in Isaiah

 

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Luke 6:37-42

02 Mar

37 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”

39 Then Jesus gave the following illustration: “Can one blind person lead another? Won’t they both fall into a ditch? 40 Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.

41 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 42 How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

Luke 6:37-42

Dear God, I’m not sure I’ve ever put the whole “blind leading the blind” part of this speech by Jesus with the part about not judging people, but it’s right in the middle of it.

What a weird God you are! Don’t you realize you have all of this power you could use to just zap any of us or anything? Everything. In my head, I’m going back to the illustration a local pastor did a couple of Christmases ago about the incarnation when he compared humans on earth to a planet of ravenous dogs who needed saving. As I sit and think about your love and mercy to us, I think about my wife’s and my dog. She is not the smartest we’ve ever owned, but she’s awfully sweet. And we are sweet to her even though we have all of the “power” in the relationship. We love on her. We greet her warmly in the morning. We take her out for walks. We take her to the park. We feed her regularly and even pick up her poop, whether she poops in public or in our yard. We lie on the floor with her and cuddle with her. We will bring her onto the sofa and cuddle with her there too. And for the first time with all of the pets we’ve owned, we will take her on trips with us. We want her with us. We love her. Yes, we have all of the power in our relationship. Yes, we could be cruel to her, and we have nothing compelling us to be extra good to her beyond it being illegal for us to be abusive to her, not feed her and not give her an opportunity to go to the bathroom. But we are comfortable with ourselves. We have nothing to prove. And we know that our home will be more harmonious–we will be more harmonious–if we show her the love she deserves as our pet.

So, in a weird way, that is you with us. Yes, you put this world in motion and we are living in it, but that’s not enough for you. You want to know us. You want to be kind to us. And as much as I get frustrated if other dogs are aggressive with her or mean to her at the dog park–or if she is the same way with them, which is almost never–you get frustrated with me when I am mean to someone, judgmental, or even blind and leading them astray out of my ignorance and am acting out of my judgment that they need my ignorant “wisdom” to improve their life.

Father, I get to talk about the nonprofit where I work this morning at a church. Ostensibly, I’m going there to inspire them to give money to us for our work, but I want it to be more. I want to help bring people out of their ignorance when it comes to the opportunity to love their neighbors. So give me your words for your people this morning. I am too ignorant to know what they need. I am just a little person who touches a little piece of our society that most of them don’t touch. Help me to share that piece of your creation with them, and use involvement with our work to bring them joy.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 2, 2025 in Luke

 

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“Trees We’ll Never See” by Amy Grant

01 Mar

“Trees We’ll Never See” by Amy Grant

Good sweet earth
Sleeves rolled up and hands buried in the dirt
I can see you there in one of dad’s old shirts
Showin’ me how life’s supposed to work

Good straight lines
You need seed and sweat and soil and sweet sunshine
And once those roots take hold, you’ll be just fine

It’s a beautiful design
It just takes love (love) and faith (faith) and grace, a little time

We’re all sons and daughters, just ripples on the water
Tryna make it matter until our time to leave
One day, they’ll carve your name in stone
And send your soul on home
‘Til then it’s prayin’ for rain and pullin’ up the weeds
Plantin’ trees we’ll never see

First day of spring
The whole world’s wakin’ up and turnin’ green
And everything connects to everything

It’s a beautiful design
It just takes love and faith and grace, a little time

We’re all sons and daughters, just ripples on the water
Tryna make it matter until our time to leave
One day, they’ll carve your name in stone
And send your soul on home
‘Til then it’s prayin’ for rain and pullin’ up the weeds
Plantin’ trees we’ll never see

Statues fall and glory fades
But a 100-year-old oak tree still gives shade

We’re all sons and daughters, just ripples on the water
Tryna make it matter, until our time to leave
One day, they’ll carve our name in stone
And send our souls on home
‘Til then it’s prayin’ for rain and pullin’ up the weeds
‘Til then it’s prayin’ for rain and pullin’ up the weeds
Plantin’ trees we’ll never see

Trees we’ll never see

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Michael White / Marshall Altman

Dear God, well, I would have lost the song-selection BINGO I wanted to play last night, coming up with the songs I thought Amy Grant would play for her concert. She did nothing from her first three albums, which really surprised me (“Old Man’s Rubble,” “My Father’s Eyes,” “Walking Away with You”). But some of the songs she released since I followed her career closely were lovely. This is the one that really struck me.

So much of my life–of every life–is about the seeds we plant that we never see the fruit from. And some of those seeds die. Some fall on the path. Some on the rocks. Some in the vines and thorns. But for those seeds that find the good soil… Well, that fruit can be stunning.

I remember when my kids were young and I would pray that the good seeds we were planting would find good soil and grow. Perhaps I should have prayed against the bad seeds we planted. That they would land on the path or in the rocks. But I still pray for the good seeds my wife and I tried to plant. That some of them are still in there. Still growing. Maybe dormant. Maybe I can’t see it above the soil. Not that I don’t see tons of good fruit in their lives and I know you had us have a role in planting. Especially my wife. She’s such a great woman. And our children have amazing and wonderful strengths. Oh, Father, continue to love them and grow them into people who are wholly yours. For their significant others. For the people around them who invest into their lives. I pray that you will live in and speak through all of them. Fill them all with your Spirit.

Father, I might not live to see all of the fruit from the seeds my life has planted. Both the good fruit and the bad fruit. That’s what the weeding is about, I suppose. I certainly made mistakes. I continue to make them. But my heart is to worship you with everything I have, love others, and then that will be enough for me. I don’t have to see the fruit. I don’t have to see the results. In fact, that is zero chance I will know all of the effects of my life. That’s good. Because it’s not about me. It’s about you. Grant 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.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 1, 2025 in Hymns and Songs

 

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2 Timothy 1:5-7

28 Feb

5 I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you. 6 This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

2 Timothy 1:5-7

Dear God, “…fan into flames the spiritual gift God Gave you…” That is where my head is this morning. Frankly, it reminds me of what I was taking about yesterday with Amy Grant’s song “1974.” Ostensibly singing of the day of her conversion almost 15 years before, she was hoping the passion that night wouldn’t fade. I guess I’ll get to see at least a little of how she is doing tonight when we see her in concert. Of course, she will show the audience what she wants to show the audience, but I think even what she wants to show us will speak volumes about her and where she is now. Will she be vulnerable and share her weaknesses and struggles? Will she just put on a plastic “Jesus loves us” faith? Will it be somewhere in between. I’m expecting somewhere in between, which I think will be appropriate. We don’t deserve to know all of her struggles, but I do think there is strength for us if she shares with us the fact that it hasn’t all been rosy over the last 51 years, since 1974.

So going back into fanning the flames. And what are my spiritual gifts. I feel like these daily prayer journals are key to be keeping the embers of the fire going. The provide a foundation for the fire to ensure it doesn’t go out. At the same time, what do I do extra to fan the flame? Am I doing enough? Am I putting myself in a position to be inspired and challenged by fellow Christians, good teachers, and opportunities to serve others? I think those are the ways for me to fan this faith. It’s not enough for me to be here praying to you. And it’s not enough to do those other things and not pray regularly. I need it all.

Father, help me to know how to love you and love your creation, starting with the woman you created for me to share my life with. Help me to know how to love everyone around me. Show me what to do and what not to do. For those who are most precious to me, I pray that you will pour yourself into them. I pray that they will feel your love and your peace. I pray that they will be in a position in their lives where you Spirit will grow in them and produce the fruit you designed us to produce. Do it for their sakes and not mine. Be glorified in all our lives.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 28, 2025 in 2 Timothy

 

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“1974” by Amy Grant

27 Feb

“1974” by Amy Grant

We were young,
And none of us know quite what to say,
But the feeling moved
Among us in silence anyway.
Slowly we had made
Quite a change–
Somewhere we had crossed a big line.
Down upon our knees,
We had tasted holy wine,
And no one could sway us
In a life time.
Purer than the sky,
Behind the rain.
Falling down all around us,
Calling out from a boundless love.
Love had lit a fire;
We were the flame.
Burning into the darkness,
Shining out from inside us.
Not a word.
And no one had to say we were changed.
Nothing else we lived through
Would ever be same the same,
Knowing the truth
That we had gained.
Purer than the sky,
Behind the rain.
Falling down all around us,
Calling out from a boundless love.
Love had lit a fire;
We were the flame.
Burning into the darkness,
Shining out from inside us.
Stay with me.
Make it ever new,
So time will not undo,
As the years go by,
How I need to see
That’s still me.
Falling down all around us,
Calling out from a boundless love.
Yeah…
Burning into the darkness,
Shining out from inside us.
Purer than the sky,
Behind the rain.
Falling down all around us,
Calling out from a boundless love.
Love has lit a fire;
I am the flame.
Burning into the darkness,
Shining out from inside us.
Purer than the sky,
Behind the rain.
Falling down all around us,
Calling out from a boundless love. (Ohh…)
Love has lit a fire;
I am the flame.
Burning into the darkness,
Shining out from inside us.
Purer than the sky,
Behind the rain.
Falling down all around us,
Calling out from a boundless love.

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Amy Grant / Jerry Mcpherson / Gary Chapman

Dear God, my wife and I are going to see Amy Grant in concert tomorrow night. I saw a lot of Christian concerts in the 1990s, but I never saw Amy Grant in concert for some reason. And I worked for Word at the time so I sold a ton of her stuff through Christian bookstores. I met her once at a sales conference for the House of Love album, but I’ve never heard her sing.

Regardless, here I am, about to see her in concert for the first time so I have been listening to some of her old songs to just reminisce a little. It was this song that kind of struck me this week when it came on. I remember it being on the Lead Me On album. I think it was the first track. No, “Lead Me On” might have been the first track. Anyway, it really captured the emotions 18-year-old me felt at the time. I had grown up Baptist and had “accepted Jesus” possibly as many as 30 times up to that point. Effective church sermons. Revivals. Fellowship of Christian Athletes conferences. But somehow I never felt like I got it right the previous time. I wasn’t getting the formula correct. I needed to do it again.

So I remember the emotions Grant reflects in this song that she apparently wrote with her husband at the time, Gary Chapman, and Jerry McPherson. I wonder what their conversations were like as they wrote this song. Now, 38 years and a lot of life and heartache later, if they could rewrite any of it, would they? Would they change the lyrics? I think it’s prescient to have the part that says:

Stay with me.
Make it ever new,
So time will not undo,
As the years go by,
How I need to see
That’s still me.

I remember the feelings of just sinking into you and that moment of feeling a complete connection with you, but I never seemed to carry it beyond a few days. There was no discipleship. Or there was not self-discipline in my discipleship or even a real knowledge of what discipleship between you and me should look like.

So now, 38 years later since I had my experience of learning what discipleship looks like for me–or beginning to learn what discipleship looks like for me–how do I think of myself in relation to this song? Where are the friends I had then? How are they doing? I can tell you that the ones I’ve kept up with have had sorrows and struggles, but they seem to still have an active faith in you. For that, I’m grateful. My faith and discipleship are certainly imperfect, but I guess I’m at least faithfully imperfect. Maybe getting a little closer to you on more days than I’m getting farther from you on others?

Father, I do love you. I do worship you. Even now, even in this mode of worship, I know that my worship is so inadequate for who you are compared with who I am, but this is what I can offer you in my limited mind and body. Help me to learn a little more today how to love you and how to love others. I love you, Lord, and I lift my voice to worship you. Oh, my soul, rejoice! Take joy my King in what you hear. May it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ears. (“I Love You Lord” by Laurie Klein)

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 27, 2025 in Hymns and Songs

 

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Mark 9:38-49

26 Feb

38 John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn’t in our group.”

39 “Don’t stop him!” Jesus said. “No one who performs a miracle in my name will soon be able to speak evil of me. 40 Anyone who is not against us is for us. 41 If anyone gives you even a cup of water because you belong to the Messiah, I tell you the truth, that person will surely be rewarded.

42 “But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone hung around your neck. 43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand than to go into the unquenchable fires of hell with two hands. 45 If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one foot than to be thrown into hell with two feet. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. It’s better to enter the Kingdom of God with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out.’

49 “For everyone will be tested with fire. 50 Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? You must have the qualities of salt among yourselves and live in peace with each other.”

Mark 9:38-49

Dear God, I was listening to the beginning of the Voxology Podcast this morning, and I heard them reference a new book called The Sin of Empathy by Joe Rigney. I’ve heard about interviews with Mr. Rigney on this topic before, and I didn’t agree with a lot of what he said, but when I read the Gospel reading for today from Mark 9, which actually stopped at 40, it made me think of this disagreement I have with Mr. Rigney and should I be giving him more of the benefit of the doubt since he does what he does in your name. So I went to the entire passage, read it, and thought I would spend some time with it here to see if I have perhaps been wrong about this.

First, let me say that I don’t want to spend this entire time comparing Mr. Rigney to this passage, but this is a good reminder to be gentle about him and not judge him too prematurely. Ironically, to maybe even have a little empathy and try to see the world through his lens. While he is afraid of “woke” culture, I think he and I probably define “woke” differently, and, therefore, we look at being “woke” differently. We often start off looking for the worst in people, but I can assume that as he wakes up this morning, he is a man who wants to make the world a better place today. It’s just that he comes at it through a different lens that I do. So I can love him even though we disagree and then try to use the art of persuasion to argue for the perspective of my worldview and the lens through which I see the world.

Now, back to the passage. It is interesting that the church stopped with verse 40 because there is so much more here. Why didn’t they go to the end of the chapter? Nine more verses give you a lot of information.

First, the disciples were fussed because the man was not part of the “Jesus traveling party.” They had developed quite a clique, and I think they were feeling like the cool kids with Jesus. The special ones. Where did this guy come off doing this. In fact, this story is even out of context. Mark tells it as part of the story where they disciples are arguing about who is the greatest in the kingdom, and Jesus tells them “whoever welcomes these little children in my name welcomes me…” So the very next sentence someone speaks to him after that is John saying, “Teacher, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn’t in our group.” Tone of voice is almost always lost when we read. Perhaps there was a shamed tone in John’s voice when he said this.

Then Jesus answers him, and goes on to talk about the importance of not being the cause of others sinning. Oh, how this is a scary teaching. I’m not a pastor and I only to a little teaching, but the idea that I could be part of causing someone else to sin is scary to me. And then just in my personal life, I could be a bad influence on someone, and if they justify their own sin because they see me, a Christian, doing it I could be responsible for that. It’s a pretty heavy teaching from Jesus. And I know there is mercy. I know there is grace and redemption. I just don’t want to be part of that in someone else’s life.

Father, give me your eyes. We talk about seeing the world through the lens of other people, and I think that can be a very good thing, but all of us are limited. We need to see the world through your lens–to the extent we are able. Obviously, I have limitations on how close I can get to your worldview, but I humbly submit to you that, at the very least, I know that I don’t know. Help me to be loving. Help me to be humble. Help me to be discerning when I hear bad teaching or heresy. Help me to see what is really behind it. Is it fear? Is it idolatry? Are they hungering for you and they don’t realize it? Are they simply in pain and searching for your peace? Help me to be a minister of your peace today. And give me your peace, Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 26, 2025 in Mark

 

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