RSS

Tag Archives: christianity

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

 
Leave a comment

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

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Matthew 5:8

19 Feb

8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure,
    for they will see God.

Matthew 5:8

Dear God, I was listening to the Slow Theology podcast yesterday, and I was really struck by their discussion of this beatitude. Blessed are the pure in heart. What does it mean to be pure in heart? Does it mean to be sinless or does it mean to humble, repentant, and guileless? It’s the latter, but so many times, in the church, we act like it’s the former. We have an intolerance for sin in each other while we hide our own sin. My favorite quote from the episode was, “The pure in heart should be known more for their God-attentiveness than their sin-avoidance.” If I draw near to you then you will draw near to me.

I was at an Ash Wednesday service last night, and, for the first time, I got ashes on my forehead. I’m 55 and I’d never done that before. I can’t remember if it was before or after (I think it was after) the ashes I was having a real moment with you before communion. Your sacrifice, Jesus, of being beaten and bleeding–suffering–and then being killed for me really hit me. I had tears in my eyes. I could only whisper the Lord’s Prayer. You did that so I could draw near to you. You took care of the sin. You just wanted me. During the repentance part of the service, I examined my heart and did my best to repent. I know I missed things. How could I not? But you know the guilelessness of my heart.

Father, the more I see you, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit by drawing near through humility, repentance, and transparency of soul, the more I will know you. I feel like I get to know you more each day. Help me to know you better today.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
1 Comment

Posted by on February 19, 2026 in Matthew

 

Tags: , , , ,

Joel 2:12-18

18 Feb

12 That is why the Lord says,
    “Turn to me now, while there is time.
Give me your hearts.
    Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.
13 Don’t tear your clothing in your grief,
    but tear your hearts instead.”
Return to the Lord your God,
    for he is merciful and compassionate,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
    He is eager to relent and not punish.
14 Who knows? Perhaps he will give you a reprieve,
    sending you a blessing instead of this curse.
Perhaps you will be able to offer grain and wine
    to the Lord your God as before.

15 Blow the ram’s horn in Jerusalem!
    Announce a time of fasting;
call the people together
    for a solemn meeting.
16 Gather all the people—
    the elders, the children, and even the babies.
Call the bridegroom from his quarters
    and the bride from her private room.
17 Let the priests, who minister in the Lord’s presence,
    stand and weep between the entry room to the Temple and the altar.
Let them pray, “Spare your people, Lord!
    Don’t let your special possession become an object of mockery.
Don’t let them become a joke for unbelieving foreigners who say,
    ‘Has the God of Israel left them?’”

18 Then the Lord will pity his people
    and jealously guard the honor of his land.

Joel 2:12-18

Dear God, I want to bring you the ashes of my life this morning and ask that you redeem them into beauty (Isaiah 61:3). I want to gather with other believers and worship you. Not only today, but tomorrow and all of the tomorrows. I just want to be yours. I see how far away I am from being yours. Truly yours. But you are patient. You love me. Jesus, you did this unbelievable thing for all of us.

I was talking to my wife this morning about how we are forged through fire, and as I start Lent, I have a couple of things I am giving up for these 40 days that will make me think about you every time I think of them. If we are forged in fire, then giving up these two things for me is about the equivalent of a candle flame. But you can still use it. Oh, use it, Father. Use it to forge something new in me that you need me to grow to be.

Father, I come here this morning simply to worship you and thank you for you loving me. I love you. I love you, Jesus. I love you, Holy Spirit. I love you my Triune God. Help me to be everything you need me to be today.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on February 18, 2026 in Joel

 

Tags: , , , ,

1 Corinthians 2:1-13

15 Feb

2 When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. 2 For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. 4 And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. 5 I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.

6 Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten. 7 No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. 8 But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. 9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
    and no mind has imagined
what God has prepared
    for those who love him.”

10 But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. 11 No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. 12 And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.

13 When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.

1 Corinthians 2:10-13

Dear God, this happens to be the New Testament reading in a lot of denominations this morning, and it fits with the rest of my morning. I’m going to be talking to a church this morning, and I’ve been turning over what I’m going to say in my head for a couple of weeks. I’ve kind of got it down into four main parts.

  • Set-up: How I started doing these prayer journals
  • Results: What happened when I started journaling through Nehemiah
  • Other examples: What happened when someone else obeyed you (starting the nonprofit where I work)
  • Call to action: How will they listen for your voice and follow you

Here’s where I’m kind of hung up. I heard a Tim Keller talk to other pastors earlier in the week where he challenged them to always bring it back to Jesus. Jesus is the part of you that reached out and brought me into right relationship with you. I can’t do this without Jesus. Jesus is the perfected me that I’m striving to be like, but who is also the savior who links me to you. In the case of my talk today, Jesus is the perfected Nehemiah. Jesus is the perfected woman who started our nonprofit. Jesus is the perfected them (the people in the sanctuary today). Jesus is the one who made the way, set the example, and is now working through the Holy Spirit to show us who we really are in him.

Father, as I go into this morning, I want to be completely dialed in on who Jesus is in all of this. I want to glorify Jesus, worship you, and help people hear your Holy Spirit and sink into it as they make moment-by-moment decisions about their lives. Help me do that. Plan through me. Speak through me. Communicate through me. Love through me.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on February 15, 2026 in 1 Corinthians

 

Tags: , , , ,

Psalm 84

10 Feb

Psalm 84

For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
    O Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
2 I long, yes, I faint with longing
    to enter the courts of the Lord.
With my whole being, body and soul,
    I will shout joyfully to the living God.
3 Even the sparrow finds a home,
    and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young
at a place near your altar,
    O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God!
4 What joy for those who can live in your house,
    always singing your praises. Interlude

5 What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord,
    who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
6 When they walk through the Valley of Weeping,
    it will become a place of refreshing springs.
    The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.
7 They will continue to grow stronger,
    and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.

8 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, hear my prayer.
    Listen, O God of Jacob. Interlude

9 O God, look with favor upon the king, our shield!
    Show favor to the one you have anointed.

10 A single day in your courts
    is better than a thousand anywhere else!
I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God
    than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.
11 For the Lord God is our sun and our shield.
    He gives us grace and glory.
The Lord will withhold no good thing
    from those who do what is right.
12 O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
    what joy for those who trust in you.

Dear God, I have a friend who died less than two weeks ago. I just found out yesterday. He was a complicated man who had a lot of hostility towards anything Christian. He was a good man who tried to be moral, but pain exuded from him. He was always negative. Always biting. He didn’t abide me ever talking about you, so I tried to be your presence to him while not using the explicit words. And he paid me the compliment one time of saying that he thought my faith was genuine. I think I was able to show him a Christian who loves you and loves others.

I know he grew up in a devout Christian home, but he had things about him they couldn’t accept and it pushed him away from both them and you. He was just so angry, but I couldn’t help but wonder if there wasn’t a reason for his anger. Some sort of trauma that happened to him that fueled his pain and hostility.

I had a dream last night about a visitation from you in the person of Jesus. It was a modern visitation. I don’t remember specifics, but my wife was there and two other people were there, although I don’t remember who they were. It was a very warm and comfortable visitation. Affirming. I don’t know what it means, but I’ll take it. When I woke up at about 3:00 I lie in bed a while and found myself praying for my friend. He’s gone and I don’t know how prayers for the dead work, but while I was praying I got a vision of Jesus praying for the people who were killing him while he was on the cross, asking you to forgive them for their sake and through their ignorance. Did that prayer help them? Absolve them? Did you forgive them?

Father, if it is possible to ask for forgiveness on behalf of this man, I ask that you please forgive him. I suspect at one point, even as a boy, he had a moment of accepting the role of Jesus in his life even though I feel certain some pain from the outside must have happened to him to drive him away from his family, the church, and you. Will you hold that against him, or will you understand? If my prayers make a difference for him, I pray that you forgive him. He didn’t know what he was doing. I pray that he might find his peace and dwell in your home, your courts, forever.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on February 10, 2026 in Psalms

 

Tags: , , , ,

Mark 6:53-56

09 Feb

53 After they had crossed the lake, they landed at Gennesaret. They brought the boat to shore 54 and climbed out. The people recognized Jesus at once, 55 and they ran throughout the whole area, carrying sick people on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56 Wherever he went—in villages, cities, or the countryside—they brought the sick out to the marketplaces. They begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him were healed.

Mark 6:53-56

Dear God, Mark/Peter seem to be painting a picture here. I kind of picture Elvis or the Beetles being mobbed by crowds wherever they went, except instead of people just wanting to be close to their celebrity, these people just wanted to be healed or get something miraculous out of Jesus. They were desperate for hope. Fans of Taylor Swift or Bad Bunny just want to be close to power and celebrity. But what’s described here is people just wanting to be set free from pain and disability. And maybe also hoping to get a glimpse of Jesus performing a miracle.

So why am I here today? Am I just here to use you? Am I desperate to get a piece of you so I can have my life be a little better? And if I am, is that the worst thing? I mean, Jesus healed a lot of people who were motivated in this way. So were they wrong to want healing from him even though they didn’t totally understand who he was?

There’s a danger in coming to you selfishly. It become very prosperity gospel-ish. And while I shun the idea of being here because I want something material from you, I do come to you with prayers of supplication for family and friends, my world, my life, etc. But it’s determining what I should expect and not expect from you that is a little tricky. And again, why am I here? Is it to get these things, or is it because I simply love and appreciation you.

It’s also a little like my complicated relationship with donors where I work. Am I in relationship with them so they will give our clinic what I want them to give, or am I in relationship with them to love them as much as possible? I hope it’s the latter. That’s the line I try to walk.

Father, I appreciate the gifts you give, but I want you to know I’d be here even if there was nothing. The closer I get to you and become like you are calling me to be the more at peace I am. So maybe that’s why I’m here. For the peace. Regardless, I’m here to worship you, to ask your favor on those I love, and while I still don’t understand the difference my prayers make for them or myself, Jesus seemed to think it was important to bring those requests to you so I bring them to you now. For my family. For my friends. For my community, state, and country. For our leaders. For our world. For your Church. Help us to be your ambassadors in this world so that others might know you and find the narrow gate.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on February 9, 2026 in Mark

 

Tags: , , , ,

2 Kings 2:1-12

05 Feb

2 As the time of King David’s death approached, he gave this charge to his son Solomon:

2 “I am going where everyone on earth must someday go. Take courage and be a man. 3 Observe the requirements of the Lord your God, and follow all his ways. Keep the decrees, commands, regulations, and laws written in the Law of Moses so that you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go. 4 If you do this, then the Lord will keep the promise he made to me. He told me, ‘If your descendants live as they should and follow me faithfully with all their heart and soul, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.’

5 “And there is something else. You know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me when he murdered my two army commanders, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He pretended that it was an act of war, but it was done in a time of peace, staining his belt and sandals with innocent blood. 6 Do with him what you think best, but don’t let him grow old and go to his grave in peace.

7 “Be kind to the sons of Barzillai of Gilead. Make them permanent guests at your table, for they took care of me when I fled from your brother Absalom.

8 “And remember Shimei son of Gera, the man from Bahurim in Benjamin. He cursed me with a terrible curse as I was fleeing to Mahanaim. When he came down to meet me at the Jordan River, I swore by the Lord that I would not kill him. 9 But that oath does not make him innocent. You are a wise man, and you will know how to arrange a bloody death for him.”

10 Then David died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. 11 David had reigned over Israel for forty years, seven of them in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. 12 Solomon became king and sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.

1 Kings 2:1-12

Dear God, I had a few thoughts whileI read this passage this morning:

  • The author of this knew how it would end. He (I presume it was a man) knew Solomon would eventually fall away from you and become a bad king. He would marry a lot of women who had idols and he would worship their idols. So as the author is writing verses three and four, he knows Solomon won’t live up to this, Israel will be split from Judah, Israel will fall, and eventually Judah will fall.
  • David’s deathbed instructions for vengeance see so petty. Why did he never deal with Joab before? Why did he vow not to harm Shimei only to tell Solomon to kill him? It seems like an awfully heavy responsibility to lay on Solomon as he begins his reign. The first thing he is supposed to do is arrange for the deaths of two people? I don’t like that for Solomon at all.
  • I do like that David wanted Solomon to extend kindness to Barzillai. He remembered the kindnesses as well as the slights and sins.

Father, I guess the part that really sticks with me right now, the part that I want to carry with me into my day, is the idea that I should do everything I can to love you and love others well. Help me to do that. Help me also to let go of any bitterness I have in my heart and love the people who have caused me pain. I want to be your worshipper and ambassador today.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on February 5, 2026 in 2 Samuel

 

Tags: , , , ,

Hebrews 2:14-18

02 Feb

14 Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 15 Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.

16 We also know that the Son did not come to help angels; he came to help the descendants of Abraham. 17 Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. 18 Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.

Hebrews 2:14-18

Dear God, Jesus was and is so much more than we can imagine, not less. I was talking to my wife a couple of days ago about people who water down who Jesus was. “He was a good teacher.” “He was a good man.” “He was a prophet.” But the author of Hebrews has it here. Jesus was and is this piece of you that came to be with us, to live, teach, love, correct, die, rise again, and ascend so that we might have everything we need. From redemption from Satan, to an example and lessons on how you’ve wanted us to live and who you’ve called us to be all along. To just call him a good and influential teacher or a prophet and leave it there is to overlook who he really was. In fact, I’m sure he is so much more than what I can possibly think of.

Believing in Jesus life, death, and resurrection, for me, is a little like believing in the moon landing. There’s too much indirect evidence to not believe. In the case of the moon landing, there are too many people–tens of thousands–who would all have to have kept the secret. The Russians would certainly have know and exposed the lie. The picture without the stars? Well, if they were faking a picture from the moon they’d definitely have made sure you could see the stars. In the case of Jesus, there were too many people who went to their death, without exception, for them to have died for a lie. John is the only one who died a natural death. The others were murdered for what they said about Jesus. No one disputes that the original apostles were martyred. Would they have died for a lie? Would Jesus’s brothers, who were against him before the crucifixion, have all of a sudden been leaders in the church after the resurrection if it were a lie?

Father, I know so little. I am a small man with a small mind. But I know enough to know you are more than I can understand, and I worship you. I worship you as my God, the creator of the universe and of me, and my hope for a peaceful life. Bringing you my sin and accepting your love is the wisest thing I can do and the only thing I know to do. Anything else would simply be foolish. Please keep me from being foolish today.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on February 2, 2026 in Hebrews

 

Tags: , , , ,

Zephaniah 3:1-13

01 Feb

3 What sorrow awaits rebellious, polluted Jerusalem,
    the city of violence and crime!
2 No one can tell it anything;
    it refuses all correction.
It does not trust in the Lord
    or draw near to its God.
3 Its leaders are like roaring lions
    hunting for their victims.
Its judges are like ravenous wolves at evening time,
    who by dawn have left no trace of their prey.
4 Its prophets are arrogant liars seeking their own gain.
    Its priests defile the Temple by disobeying God’s instructions.
5 But the Lord is still there in the city,
    and he does no wrong.
Day by day he hands down justice,
    and he does not fail.
    But the wicked know no shame.

6 “I have wiped out many nations,
    devastating their fortress walls and towers.
Their streets are now deserted;
    their cities lie in silent ruin.
There are no survivors—
    none at all.
7 I thought, ‘Surely they will have reverence for me now!
    Surely they will listen to my warnings.
Then I won’t need to strike again,
    destroying their homes.’
But no, they get up early
    to continue their evil deeds.
8 Therefore, be patient,” says the Lord.
    “Soon I will stand and accuse these evil nations.
For I have decided to gather the kingdoms of the earth
    and pour out my fiercest anger and fury on them.
All the earth will be devoured
    by the fire of my jealousy.

9 “Then I will purify the speech of all people,
    so that everyone can worship the Lord together.
10 My scattered people who live beyond the rivers of Ethiopia
    will come to present their offerings.
11 On that day you will no longer need to be ashamed,
    for you will no longer be rebels against me.
I will remove all proud and arrogant people from among you.
    There will be no more haughtiness on my holy mountain.
12 Those who are left will be the lowly and humble,
    for it is they who trust in the name of the Lord.
13 The remnant of Israel will do no wrong;
    they will never tell lies or deceive one another.
They will eat and sleep in safety,
    and no one will make them afraid.”

Zephaniah 3:1-13

Dear God, the verses for the Catholic church this morning are just 12 and 13. When I read them, it made me think of a group of people I heard about recently called the Essenes. Apparently, they fancied themselves as a sect of Jews who were holding true to your law and preserving who you are to the Jewish people in the midst of what they saw as ungodliness. And they were doing this about 100 years before Jesus. I think they are thought to have preserved the Dead Sea Scrolls. I’ve even heard it suggested that John the Baptist might have been following in their ways as he lived int he wilderness and tried to bring Israel back into true devoutness to you.

One thing that really comes across in this passage is your exasperation with Israel. It made me wonder if you get exasperated with me. I hope not. I mean, I’m not here to keep you from being exasperated with me. I’m not here to check off the box so that some big bad God in the sky won’t come down on me in fury and anger. I’m here because I love you and you make me better. It’s my love for you and worship of you that makes me hope I don’t exasperate you with my foolishness.

And then I swing around and think of my exasperation sometimes. The hurt that has been caused to me by others. How do I respond to that? Do I respond in anger and impatience, or do I offer mercy? Am I what you need me to be for them, or does my own agenda start to get in your way?

Father, please reveal to me any ways in which I might be exasperating you today. Whether it be by my own actions, or by how I respond to others. If I am getting in the way of your plan in any way, please show me plainly so I can correct it. Show me where I need to improve. Teach me to love.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on February 1, 2026 in Zephaniah

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Mark 3:22-30

26 Jan

22 But the teachers of religious law who had arrived from Jerusalem said, “He’s possessed by Satan, the prince of demons. That’s where he gets the power to cast out demons.”

23 Jesus called them over and responded with an illustration. “How can Satan cast out Satan?” he asked. 24 “A kingdom divided by civil war will collapse. 25 Similarly, a family splintered by feuding will fall apart. 26 And if Satan is divided and fights against himself, how can he stand? He would never survive. 27 Let me illustrate this further. Who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger—someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house.

28 “I tell you the truth, all sin and blasphemy can be forgiven, 29 but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. This is a sin with eternal consequences.” 30 He told them this because they were saying, “He’s possessed by an evil spirit.”

Mark 3:22-30

Dear God, what struck me from this story this morning was the part about the strong man (verse 27). It made me think of Philip Yancey and the recent revelations about struggles he’s had. It then makes me think about myself, for I am no Disney Princess. At some point, Mr. Yancey apparently allowed something into his “home” that he didn’t bind up. Instead it bound him. It would be easy for me to look at him with righteous indignation and judge him for his moral failing. But that is the foolish thing to do. What I need to do is ask the question, What do I allow into my “home” that might bind me up?

There are all sorts of ways Satan can come into the temple of my body and start to wreak havoc. It can be obvious stuff like pornography and lust. But sometimes, while tempting, that is too obvious. Probably the more dangerous things I can let in are insecurity and helping myself to have more self esteem by putting others down. I can let anger, even righteous anger, fester into bitterness if I don’t prayerfully figure out your call on my life to address it. I can let coveting what others have for things I want that I can’t afford turn into greed. I can let fear turn into idolizing “certainty” and build idols that are apart from you that I think will bring me peace.

So what do I need to do to make sure the Holy Spirit, my strong man in my heart, is not bound up, but flourishes and has complete access to protect every area of my heart? First, it starts with prayer times like this. Honest inspection of my heart and allowing you to explore it with me. What am I doing and where am I failing? Search me, oh Lord! What am I allowing into my “home” or heart? What am I inviting in that might either strengthen your access to my heart or hinder it? Give me eyes to see and ears to hear. And then what am I doing to fulfill your commandments of loving you with everything I have and loving my neighbor as myself? Show me, Father, how you are calling me to worship you and to serve others.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on January 26, 2026 in Mark

 

Tags: , , , ,

← Older posts
Newer posts →