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The Seven Deadly Sins

14 Mar
  • Pride (Superbia): Excessive belief in one’s own abilities, often called the original sin.
  • Greed (Avaritia): Desire for material wealth or possessions, often called avarice.
  • Lust (Luxuria): Intense or uncontrolled sexual desire.
  • Envy (Invidia): Sadness at another’s good fortune or desire for their possessions.
  • Gluttony (Gula): Overindulgence or excessive consumption of food or drink.
  • Wrath (Ira): Uncontrolled feelings of anger, rage, or hatred.
  • Sloth (Acedia): Laziness, spiritual apathy, or failure to act.

Pope Gregory I

Dear God, my wife and I were just at a winery visiting about a book she’s been reading that was written in 1950 called The Feast by Margaret Kennedy. I might check it out. Apparently, it is a novel about seven people who died in an accident and each of them exemplifies one of the seven deadly sins as articulated by Pope Gregory in 590 AD. Frankly, I’ve never spent much time thinking about these seven sins as standing out as deadlier than the others. I wonder if he thought they encompass the other sins we commit much like Jesus thought the two great commandments encapsulated all of God’s other commandments.

Now I have to be careful because I’m getting a lot of this from Wikipedia’s entry for the seven deadly sins, but it was pretty interesting reading. Apparently, Pope Gregory listed them in order of importance from least to most. Interestingly, Lust was his least. Here is Gregory’s order:

  • Lust
  • Gluttony
  • Greed
  • Sloth
  • Wrath
  • Envy
  • Pride

And then Wikipedia quoted C.S. Lewis from Mere Christianity regarding pride: “Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that Lucifer became wicked: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.” Interesting.

I guess the good news for me is that my temptations are lower in the order of importance with gluttony being probably my biggest struggle. But pride. Pride is interesting because I think it’s something we all struggle with at some point. I don’t want to be anti-God–anti-You. I want to be completely submitted to you, grateful to you, dependent upon you, and humble before you and other men. I want to be able to consider my life worth nothing to me. I told my wife at the winery that I get a lot of compliments from people through my work and during the week. It can be hard to know how to deal with them. Oh, how I want to just deflect all of the glory that people might want to see in me to you.

Father, I know I’m prone to wander, and it’s mostly my pride that makes me want to wander. I’m prone to leave you and take all the credit and glory for me. I want to be important. I want to be all in all. I confess it. That’s what I want. But I also know, thankfully, that all of that is a lie. I know that I am weak. I am fragile. I am human. I am nothing. I am your servant. Like Job, like Paul, and like anyone else, my life is to be submitted completely and totally to your will. So my I remember that without you having to take things away to remind me of it. I am submitted to you, and I love you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 14, 2026 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Mark 12: 28-34

13 Mar

28 One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

29 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

32 The teacher of religious law replied, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other. 33 And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.”

34 Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Mark 12:28-34

Dear God, I love these stories where someone in Jesus’s time who has a vested interest in seeing him discredited has an open enough mind to consider that they might be wrong about him. It’s one of the things I love about Nicodemus in John’s Gospel. In the end, at the crucifixion, he sacrifices everything to care for Jesus’s dead body–just when it looked like all hope was lost. This story shows a teacher who probably had some legit concerns about this man everyone was calling the Messiah so he thought he’d throw out a test to see where his heart was.

I heard someone quote someone else as having said, “It is hard to change a person’s mind when their income depends on them not changing it.” I hope that I will be willing to change my mind when (not if) I’m proved to be wrong about something, regardless of what it costs me. Regarding politics, I’ve see people who will bend over backwards to defend their president regardless of the flaws or mistakes (and I’m talking about presidents from both sides of the aisle). I asked one woman once to name the top three things she disagreed with her preferred candidate on, and she couldn’t think of one. She couldn’t allow herself to go there. I think her idol required her to believe in them 100% or her world would fall apart.

Father, I didn’t mean for this to become a politics prayer, but it is a reminder to me that I must make you my God. And you alone. It’s what Jesus said in this, after all. And then I must love my neighbor. I must love them well. Help me to do this. Help me to count everything else as worth nothing to me, but only if I might finish the race and complete the task you’ve given me: The task of testifying to the gospel of your grace. (Acts 20:24)

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 13, 2026 in Mark

 

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Luke 11:14-23

12 Mar

14 One day Jesus cast out a demon from a man who couldn’t speak, and when the demon was gone, the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed, 15 but some of them said, “No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons.” 16 Others, trying to test Jesus, demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.

17 He knew their thoughts, so he said, “Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A family splintered by feuding will fall apart. 18 You say I am empowered by Satan. But if Satan is divided and fighting against himself, how can his kingdom survive? 19 And if I am empowered by Satan, what about your own exorcists? They cast out demons, too, so they will condemn you for what you have said. 20 But if I am casting out demons by the power of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you. 21 For when a strong man is fully armed and guards his palace, his possessions are safe— 22 until someone even stronger attacks and overpowers him, strips him of his weapons, and carries off his belongings.

23 “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.

Luke 11:14-23

Dear God, in the midst of great national division I can’t help but wonder about the United States in relation to Jesus’s words about a kingdom divided against itself being doomed. Yes, right now, it feels like we are doomed. And I’m ready for that because while my citizenship is in this earthly kingdom of the United States, and I want to do my part to make it as successful as it can be for those around me, I know that my real identity is in you and beyond this earthly life. My eternity with you will be so, so, so much longer than my 55+ years (I’m 55 now) on this earth. I am but a speck of dust, but I will be at least a part of your kingdom after my life here is done, even if I am the least in the kingdom, I’d rather serve there than reign in hell.

The other thing about this passage is that I need some good teaching on demon possession and exorcisms from teachers I trust. Should I be praying about this more? Should I be calling out demons more? Should I be giving credit where credit is due with demons? Am I totally underestimating demonic activity among those around me who are struggling or even in my own life? Help me to find some good teaching on this that I might understand.

Father, my family is feuding and has fallen apart, and I still don’t understand it. Please heal and unite. My community is divided. My country. My world. Don’t let this pain be wasted. Help us to use it for your glory. And guide me as I learn more and more about you and the realm of the unseen that is around me. Give me eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to discern.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 12, 2026 in Luke

 

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Matthew 5:17-19

11 Mar

17 “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. 19 So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Matthew 5:17-19

Dear God, I’m going to be doing a talk next week at a Lutheran Lenten service, and as I read this passage this morning my thought is that I don’t want to teach anything that will get me “least in the Kingdom of Heaven” status. And that can be the hard part sometimes. I’m so ignorant. We all are. Is there anyone, all the way up to Tim Mackie (one of the better Bible scholars I’ve heard) who is not teaching some foolishness at some level? I know there’s an interview today on this one podcast I listen to about women teaching in the church. This guy just wrote a book about it. I’m not sure of his conclusions, but I can’t help but wonder if he truly didn’t know and set out to find the answer, or did he set out with an answer in his mind and then find the sources to support his conclusion.

I can go back and look at old prayers I typed to you years ago and find that I disagree now with what I wrote then. Some of it was out of biblical ignorance the first time I wrote it. Some was out of naivete. Some was just a result of bad teaching I received. And maybe some of it I was actually right about back then and I’m wrong now. If anyone besides you even reads what I’m writing today, I hope they see it purely from the standpoint of someone who is trying to simply spend time with you and allow my life to be molded by you and not to get any sort of “truth” out of it because everything I write is probably riddled with errors.

Father, I will have a chance to influence people today. Help me to do it well. I will have a chance to be influenced by others. Help me to be shrewd and discerning about the opinions I allow into my head. Protect me from hate. Protect me from bitterness. Protect me from selfishness. Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 11, 2026 in Matthew

 

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“EPiC” and “Steve!”

08 Mar

Dear God, I went to the movies yesterday and saw “EPiC,” which is a collection of backstage, rehearsal, interview, and concert footage of Elvis, mainly focused in the very late-sixties/early-seventies. It was well-done. The man’s talent and charisma were amazing. He seemed to be very likeable. But I left it so sad. I sarcastically joked later, “I should have gone into music to be famous instead of what I’m doing now.” That was sarcastic because there is no part of me that left that movie theater wishing I could have changed places with him. I actually found myself wishing my life on him. How much happier would he have been?

As I thought about it later, I remembered this documentary on Steve Martin that came out a year ago called “Steve!” It was another example of watching something that just didn’t leave me feeling like I would trade my life with his for anything. He seemed so empty, even now. Like he was chasing that everlasting joy and happiness rabbit that kept just escaping him around the corner.

I think a lot of Mr. Martin’s pain is more about parental rejection and difficulty while Mr. Presley’s seemed to be more about a deal he had made with the public to give everything he had in exchange for their adoration and money. Both lives just came across as very empty.

Of course, we don’t have to be famous to have empty lives. There’s a funny line in the movie “Groundhog Day” with Bill Murray where Bill Murray is living the same day over and over again, and he poses the question to two men, “What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same? And nothing that you did mattered?” One of the men (who is drunk) replies, “That about sums it up for me.” People are living empty lives all around me. And they might blame their marriage. They might blame their job. They might blame their kids or even the government. Maybe they even blame themselves.

The older I get the more I sink into the idea that when Jesus reiterated the great two commandments from you of us loving you with all we have and loving our neighbors as ourselves he meant it for our good, not yours. We were built to worship you and serve others. That’s where we find meaning. At least, that’s where I find meaning. And, on paper, my life might be incredibly insignificant in the whole scope of the world, but I sleep better at night when I know I’ve been able to get outside of myself, worship you, and love others.

Father, help me to carry reconciliation with you, worship of you, and then a path of working out our faith with fear and trembling with you to others. I’ve tried to offer a path of worshiping you to others lately, and I’ve been surprised how they’ve refused to do the work to take the path. The gate is truly narrow, and it’s frustrating for people no 1.) choose to get on it and walk it and 2.) blame other things for their lives not being what they want them to be. I have some friends right now who do walk the path, and the are simultaneously going through something very painful in their family. The path will be hard. The path will be painful. They will grow and be better at loving others because of the humility this path will bring them. But they will survive and grow on this path because they are walking the narrow part of it. If they were on the fringes and not walking through life with you then it might do them in. But that’s not going to be their story. So I ask that you please comfort and strengthen them. I ask that you would move and heal those they love. And I ask that you would give my wife and me eyes to see and ears to hear as we discern how you would have us love them through this.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 8, 2026 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Prayer: Orientation, Disorientation, and Reorientation

27 Feb

Dear God, while I was working out this morning I got to thinking about this talk on prayer I’m supposed to give on the 18th, and wondered what I need to consider next. That’s when this thought came to me: orientation, disorientation, and reorientation. I take it from something I heard about a few years ago by Walter Brueggemann. He was talking about the psalms, but I don’t think we have to be writing songs or poetry for our prayers to fall and the state of our hearts to be in one or more of these categories at a given time. And I think it’s important that we acknowledge this.

Okay, I just remembered a dream I had last night. I was preaching in a church and I was saying all the platitudes that churchgoers have heard all their lives. God is love. Jesus loves you. God is for you. The words were empty, and I made eye contact with a woman in the audience (I don’t know who she was) whose expression told me that I was just giving a bunch of empty words. The look jolted me out of it and I switched my talk/sermon into challenging people with practical takeaways. So I guess I need to think and pray about–make that pray and think about–what you really want people to walk about of my talk that night with. I can get up there and give them a bunch of ideas, but if they don’t walk out with a piece of you to carry with them and pursue then I’ll just be a clanging gong.

Back to orientation, disorientation, and reorientation, I think that sometimes we think we are only allowed to be oriented towards your awesomeness or reoriented after a trial, but we deny ourselves the idea of being disoriented in our lives with you. And sometimes I’ve been disoriented. I’ve had times where I’ve been disappointed in you and disillusioned by you. And the word disillusion can normally be seen as a negative word, but I think, in its best sense, it means that we had an unreal illusion that was destroyed. And I’ve had that of you to some extent at times in my life. I had illusions about what I thought I should expect from you because of our relationship. I thought you should cater to my desires a little more. And I thought my desires were noble, but even those noble desires hid idols I was trying to protect.

Idols. It always seems to come back to idols and the first commandment. Love you with everything I have and have no other gods before you. I guess part of the disorienting prayer is to find and get rid of the idols. I like that.

Father, I’ve certainly felt all three of these states of my heart. I think I’m fairly oriented right now. I’m grateful for what you have done, are doing, and will do. I have no expectations of you right now, but I know we are only one piece of bad news away from being disoriented. Like my friend who found out recently she has breast cancer. Like my friend who was in a bad car accident. Life can come at you out of the blue. So help me to use this time of orientation well and not take it for granted because I know the time of disorientation could happen at any moment, and I don’t want to let anything, even terrible catastrophe, get in the way of my relationship with you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 27, 2026 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Leviticus 19:1-18

23 Feb

19 The Lord also said to Moses, 2 “Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

3 “Each of you must show great respect for your mother and father, and you must always observe my Sabbath days of rest. I am the Lord your God.

4 “Do not put your trust in idols or make metal images of gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God.

5 “When you sacrifice a peace offering to the Lord, offer it properly so you will be accepted by God. 6 The sacrifice must be eaten on the same day you offer it or on the next day. Whatever is left over until the third day must be completely burned up. 7 If any of the sacrifice is eaten on the third day, it will be contaminated, and I will not accept it. 8 Anyone who eats it on the third day will be punished for defiling what is holy to the Lord and will be cut off from the community.

9 “When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. 10 It is the same with your grape crop—do not strip every last bunch of grapes from the vines, and do not pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. Leave them for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the Lord your God.

11 “Do not steal.

“Do not deceive or cheat one another.

12 “Do not bring shame on the name of your God by using it to swear falsely. I am the Lord.

13 “Do not defraud or rob your neighbor.

“Do not make your hired workers wait until the next day to receive their pay.

14 “Do not insult the deaf or cause the blind to stumble. You must fear your God; I am the Lord.

15 “Do not twist justice in legal matters by favoring the poor or being partial to the rich and powerful. Always judge people fairly.

16 “Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people.

“Do not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is threatened. I am the Lord.

17 “Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives. Confront people directly so you will not be held guilty for their sin.

18 “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

Leviticus 19:1-18

Dear God, when I read the Old Testament reading for the Church this morning, it made me think of the poster from years ago: “All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten.”

Sure, this advice isn’t exactly the same, but your commands are basically that we be good people and treat people well. It makes me wonder what kind of commands followers of Baal wrote down as from him. What does the Quran say we should do? Are there any other Gods that simply call us to be good people? It seems like what I hear about the other ancient religions of this time is that they celebrate selfishness. The god is selfish and it encourages the people to be selfish. I don’t know this for a fact, but it seems like passages like this are what set you apart from what the world is calling me to. What my idols are calling me to. My idols tell me to max out my bank accounts and keep my money for myself. My idols tell me to get my wife to meet all my needs. My idols tell me to look to my government for safety and security and my children and job for self-esteem.

Father, you tell me to just worship you and be nice. Do the right thing. Do the right thing by you. Do the right thing by others. Be on the lookout for how I might serve. And I’ll be the first to say that I miss a lot of opportunities to love you and love others. I’m sorry for that. Help me to be better today.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 23, 2026 in Leviticus

 

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Romans 5:12-21

22 Feb

12 When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. 13 Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. 14 Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. 15 But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. 16 And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.

18 Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. 19 Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.

20 God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. 21 So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 5:12-21

Dear God, would I be willing to give up sin for Lent? Not would I be able to, but would I be willing to even if I could?

My wife and I were talking yesterday about the idea of giving up lying for Lent. It was kind of a joke, but I started to think about whether or not I’d be willing to tell zero lies for the next six weeks. As I sit here right now, would I be willing to commit to total and complete honesty? No little white lies about how great of a job someone did when maybe they didn’t, or how much I enjoyed something that I thougth was meh. No selective truth about what I want someone to know and obscuring what I don’t want them to know. No lies of omission? And that’s just lying. Coveting. Hate. Lust. Not only can I give up every sin in my life, but am I willing to try?

Then there’s Jesus. Jesus denied himself and the temptations Satan threw at him, but he was also more about being one with you and he let that be the driver of who he was and the actions he took and how he thought about people than he was about disciplining himself to not sin. Going back to the quote I mentioned a few days ago, “The pure in heart should be known more for their God-attentiveness than their sin-avoidance.”

Father, Jesus was not only redemption for us and a contrast with Adam, but he was also an example for us of what it looks like to be yours. So help me to be yours today. Help me to love others well and love them through the things that frustrate me. Even the things that have hurt me. Even now as I type these things I find myself thinking about ways I’ve been hurt and getting angry. Help me to deal with this anger in a healthy way and love through it. Love beyond it. There’s an appropriateness to anger. We can use it to help us know where to build boundaries and inform our decisions for the future, but there’s no room for bitterness in it. Help me to let go of my bitterness and simply worship you through it, remembering there are plenty of things I’ve done to anger others. Going to the verses for today from Psalm 51, “Have mercy on me, O God, in your good ness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me.”

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 22, 2026 in Romans

 

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Isaiah 58:1-9a

21 Feb

58 “Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast.
    Shout aloud! Don’t be timid.
Tell my people Israel of their sins!
2     Yet they act so pious!
They come to the Temple every day
    and seem delighted to learn all about me.
They act like a righteous nation
    that would never abandon the laws of its God.
They ask me to take action on their behalf,
    pretending they want to be near me.
3 ‘We have fasted before you!’ they say.
    ‘Why aren’t you impressed?
We have been very hard on ourselves,
    and you don’t even notice it!’

“I will tell you why!” I respond.
    “It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves.
Even while you fast,
    you keep oppressing your workers.
4 What good is fasting
    when you keep on fighting and quarreling?
This kind of fasting
    will never get you anywhere with me.
5 You humble yourselves
    by going through the motions of penance,
bowing your heads
    like reeds bending in the wind.
You dress in burlap
    and cover yourselves with ashes.
Is this what you call fasting?
    Do you really think this will please the Lord?

6 “No, this is the kind of fasting I want:
Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
    lighten the burden of those who work for you.
Let the oppressed go free,
    and remove the chains that bind people.
7 Share your food with the hungry,
    and give shelter to the homeless.
Give clothes to those who need them,
    and do not hide from relatives who need your help.

8 “Then your salvation will come like the dawn,
    and your wounds will quickly heal.
Your godliness will lead you forward,
    and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.
9 Then when you call, the Lord will answer.
    ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.

Isaiah 58:1-9a

Dear God, this is actually yesterday’s Old Testament reading, but I didn’t read it until after I had done my prayer journal yesterday morning. It’s so good. It’s so convicting!

Of course, the first thing I wanted to do when I read it was judge others. Judge some people who carry the Christian mantle but do not draw close to you. They come in your name, but they come with meanness, lies, and judgment in their hearts. Self-righteous and apart from you. And then I remembered that I’m no Disney Princess. Am I like this? Am I doing these things? Am I using you for my personal gain or am I sacrificing my personal gain for your glory? I don’t think I am, but reveal to me where I am guilty of these things. I just want you.

The next thing is what I noticed first when I saw these verses yesterday at a Friday Catholic mass. When I saw the part about the type of fasting you want–basically, loving others in need–I thought of the Pharisees getting on to Jesus about healing on the Sabbath. I wonder how they would have responded if Jesus had given them these verses from Isaiah at the time.

Father, none of this is about me. And it’s hard, especially as a modern American who really has no idea what it means to suffer, to know what doing these things looks like. Help me to see what it looks like to fast in the way you would have us fast. And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the funeral I’m attending later. The family is sad and struggling, but they also have some big decisions to make about the living situation and care for one of them. That process can be full of pride and conflict, or it can be full of humility and love. I pray for humility and love.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 21, 2026 in Isaiah

 

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Finding Home

20 Feb

“Chapter 10 is about ‘home,’ and about how we’re all looking for it even if we’re running from it, and the home that awaits us that we can taste and sample now. Maybe because my relationship with ‘home’ is complicated because I grew up with a tumultuous childhood. That was the one, for me that, this chapter, I don’t think I’m done with it even though I think I’m done with it.”

Hannah Miller King on The Esau McCauley Podcast, Episode “Lent After Loss: What Christian Hope Really Looks Like”

Dear God, I was listening to The Esau McCauley Podcast for this week yesterday when I heard Hannah Miller King say the quote above. It brought me to tears. I found myself in my truck, crying and repenting. This little 60-second, if that, soundbite drilled into my heart and found a piece of pain.

I have pain around home. I have loved ones who would fit this description of looking for home in the midst of running from home. And maybe they’ve found what they’re looking for out there. But seeing the home they ran from and the pain that caused brought me to tears. I found myself praying for them. I found myself praying that they would find home and find that home in you. I prayed that they would forgive their past and be healed from it. Then I was repenting for any role I played in their pain, known or unknown. I’m not a proud man. I’m humbled before you.

I suppose that’s what the Lenten season is about. Getting to know different parts of ourselves that need to be seen, repented of, and then redeemed by you. Corrected. Eliminated. And the more transparent I am with you the more humble I’m able to be with others.

While I’m here, I suppose I should think about my own search for home. What is home, anyway? I think it’s that place where you’re supposed to feel safety and rest. And let’s face it, there aren’t many places in this world, even in the houses in which we live, where many people can say they find safety and rest there. I’m fortunate that I can say I find safety and rest here with my wife but even that is fragile. We are just one illness or accident away from losing that rest and sense of safety. We are one tragedy from outside of our home that might impact us. No, if I make this house and the life my wife and I have built my source of safety and rest then it will fail me. That idol will fail me. I can’t put that kind of pressure on her. She can be a way that you provide for my emotional sense of safety and rest, but she cannot be the source of it. And I can’t be that for her.

Father, I pray for my loved ones, that they will find their home in you. If they haven’t found you then I know they’ll be searching for home and nothing they find will ever quite satisfy. This kind of plays into what I talked about yesterday with the pure in heart being able to see you. To use the quote again, “The pure in heart should be known more for their God-attentiveness than their sin-avoidance.” I pray that it would start with me. I need to be more about attentiveness to you than a puritanical lifestyle. You will drive those things out of me. I can see you doing it. So I give over any idol worship I’ve given to these loved ones. Any sense that my home is found in them. My home is in you. Help me to live that and then share that concept with others.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 20, 2026 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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