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James 1:22-25

25 May

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

James 1:22-25

Dear God, I have a lot of anticipation about today, but it starts with this time with you. Before I go too far, however, I want to stop and acknowledge the sacrifice of women and men who have given their lives serving in the military. It is a special thing they have done. And I want to not only acknowledge the Americans who have done this. I want to acknowledge everyone who died a seeminly senseless death. A death due to the evils of men. This is coming to me even as I type these words. When I think about the cause of death in war, going all the way back into recorded time, it is usually the greed of at least one person who drives the loss of life, and then they get their own people to take up their charge and then other people are forced to fight back. The human condition is tragic. Our sin is tragic. It’s amazing how awful we are capable of being to each other and how often we follow through on that capacity. It’s what happens when we make idols and we don’t make you our God. It’s what happens when we become hearers of the word and not doers. Funny how that came full circle. But before I start talking about that, once again, I want to stop and honor the people who, throughout history, selflessly gave the one earthly life any of us get on behalf of their countrymen–especially the ones who sacrificed so I can be sitting here this morning, safely in my home, praying to you.

So, yeah, what happens when we are just hearers of the word and not doers? I think about the people who were at the Rededicate America 250 rally last week. Were they hearers of the word or doers? I suspect they were largely hearers of the word. And maybe it’s unfair or even sinful for me to label them this way. Maybe I should be working with the log in my own eye before I look at the speck in theirs. Forget maybe. I should definitely do that.

I want to be a doer of your word. I want to absorb what you have for me and turn it into action. The action should always be formed and motivated in my love for you and love for others. I should be about mercy and service. I should be about learning how to worship you and love others better and then teaching others to do the same.

Father, help me to do today. Help me to not worry about the people who were at Rededicate America 250, but to instead worry about rededicating myself and then turning that dedication to you into action throughout my day. Introduce me to people you need me to meet. Love me through people from whom you need me to receive love, and give love to people whom you need to receive love from me. Help me to “do” today. Help me to live the life you have for me today.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on May 25, 2026 in James

 

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Romans 12:9-21

24 May

9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:9-21

Dear God, I think there’s something implied in verse 21 that we sometimes miss: If we don’t follow all of these verses, including 19 and 20, then evil is overcoming us. Vengeance is dangerous to the avenger. Retribution is cancerous. Bitterness and hatred are destructive. There’s a reason Jesus said hating is akin to murder. And I’ve hated. I’ve hated others. And I’ve been hated. I am hated.

This passage is a good reminder that if I am to live peacably with others I must turn loose of hate and embrace compassion, forgiveness and love. That might mean dying to my own rights. That might mean being taken advantage of. It might mean being seen as week or soft.

I’m going to be teaching a Sunday school lesson later this morning about Eli and his sons, but I wonder how Samuel saw them. AFter his vivist from you overnight, how did he see Eli, Hophni, and Phinehas? Did he hold them with contempt? Did he judge them? Did he pity them? How did you want him to feel about them? “Hate the sin, love the sinner?” Try to influence them?

Father, I have the Rich Mullins song “Let Mercy Lead” going in my head right now. Help me to let mercy lead. Help me to follow Paul’s admonition to love my enemies, abhor what is evil, and love what is good. And with everything that I do, let it be with the goal of leading others into complete relationship with you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on May 24, 2026 in Romans

 

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Romans 15:5-13

20 May

5 May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. 6 Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

7 Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. 8 Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews[b] to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors. 9 He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote:

“For this, I will praise you among the Gentiles;
    I will sing praises to your name.”[c]

10 And in another place it is written,

“Rejoice with his people,
    you Gentiles.”[d]

11 And yet again,

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles.
    Praise him, all you people of the earth.”[e]

12 And in another place Isaiah said,

“The heir to David’s throne[f] will come,
    and he will rule over the Gentiles.
They will place their hope on him.”[g]

13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:5-13

Dear God, the things the world tells me to get upset about are just things that I cannot control. Right now, it seems like everything, and I mean everything, from nearly all levels of our government are the things that are driving wedges between Christians and non-Christians alike. Whether it’s foreign policy, domestic policy, state policy, or local policy, we are in this existential crisis worrying about how to control something that we really can’t control and then we judge the people who disagree with us. I was with a man in my office the other day, and it came out that we disagreed on some political issues. I cut the discussion off pretty quickly because I knew that Satan might use it to drive a wedge between us that just doesn’t need to be there.

We are here to be an encouragement to each other. I was thinking last night while I looked at a group of men who are in a class provided to those getting community service hours through the courts that they have the potential to be that source of support for each other. Over 10 weeks, they have an opportunity to build a community that will strongly support them. That you can use to be your presence to each other. It makes me think now that we need to be really already focusing on the idea of implanting the alumni meetings to them for after the course is over.

Father, help me to be informed for the sake of compassion but not as a way to grasp power or control. Help me to embrace and encourage every person who calls on your name, seeking them out so that you might make me stronger in you and more like you and so that I might help them to be strong in you and more like you. Help me to turn loose of the world and its outcomes, leaving that in your hands. I think about what the prayers of the common person in Germany must have been like in the 30s or in Russia in when Lenin took over. I think about the common Christian in Ukraine or Russia now. I’m just a small butterfly. Show me how to flap my wings today so that your kingdom might come and your will might be done on earth as it is in heaven.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on May 20, 2026 in Romans

 

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Romans 11:28-36

17 May

28 Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 29 For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn. 30 Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead. 31 Now they are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share in God’s mercy. 32 For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.

33 Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!

34 For who can know the Lord’s thoughts?
    Who knows enough to give him advice?
35 And who has given him so much
    that he needs to pay it back?

36 For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.

Romans 11:28-36

Dear God, this is one of those times when I’m not sure about Paul’s conclusions. I do, wholeheartedly, agree with verse 33, which I suppose is why I question verses 28-32. If your ways are so unknowable, how can Paul explain them right before that? I’m probably praying a lot of heresy here, but when I look back over the recorded history in the Bible and then think about the 1,900 to 2,000 years since then, I tend to think of everything in human history leading to Jesus. I see Abraham’s call being part of the butterfly effect that leads to Jesus being born to Mary. I mean, for you to have blessed Jacob…well, there has to be more to your choice than his nobility or righteousness. All of it needed to lead to David which led to Jesus. You put your thumb on the scale and led history right where you needed it to go. So yes, there were times when you really favored Abraham’s descendants, and because you are the true God the descendents of both Isaac and Ishmael have carried your name forward, but it feels like everything was about making sure Jesus entered the world the way he did 2,000 years ago.

How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!

I can’t pretend to know or understand any of this. I would certainly never teach it to a Sunday school class or in a Bible study because I’m probably wrong. So I come here this morning to accept the fact that I am small, ignorant, and foolish, and I have a God who is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. I worship you. I do the best that I can in any given moment. I offer my life to you.

Father, there is so much pain in the world. I’m thinking about several people in my mind right now who I know are in a lot of pain. Bless and encourage them. Show them your heart for them. Give them freedom through confession, revealing secrets that are binding them up, and redemptiive repentance. My heart hurts for them. Give them the serenity to accept the things they cannot change, the courage to change the things they can, and the wisdom to know the difference. And beyond that, give them the ability to repent before you, receive that grace, and then, in gratitude, extend grace and mercy to others. Throw off the self-pity and other ties that bind them, and help them to peacefully and joyously bask in your presence.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on May 17, 2026 in Romans

 

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Matthew 18:15-17

10 May

15 “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. 16 But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. 17 If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.

Matthew 18:15-17

This is an interesting verse of the day for Mother’s Day. It’s what Bible Gateway gave us, and I’m intrigued to know the decision behind it. Did the person who chose it have some forgiveness issues in their life?

There are a number of adult children right now who are not speaking to their parents. I’m not sure what has happened in this generation that changed things. I suspect that some of the parenting methods that were softer and gentler likely produced less respect for parents. But I am sure there are a number of parents who would welcome their children to follow Jesus’s counsel in verse 15. If an adult child has a problem with their parent, it would be better if they valued the relationship, used their words, and confronted the parent. Give the parent a chance to apologize. Give the parent a chance to explain. And give the parent grace and mercy for being a flawed person who loves them.

Father, I pray for the mothers today who miss their children. And the children who miss their mothers. Perhaps they miss them through death. Perhaps they miss them through physical distance. Perhaps they miss them through estrangement. Whatever the case may be, if there are those who mourn, I pray that you will bless and comfort them. If there are those who are poor in Spirit, I pray that they might know you and your kingdom. And for the children and/or parents who have walked away from relationship because of hurt, I pray for personal healing. Grow them into the men and women you’ve called them to be. Oh, and while I’m here, I know a mom whose son is deployed in the Navy off the coast of Iran. Protect her son. Comfort her. Let this be over soon.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on May 10, 2026 in Matthew

 

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Genesis 4:25

08 May

25 Adam had sexual relations with his wife again, and she gave birth to another son. She named him Seth, for she said, “God has granted me another son in place of Abel, whom Cain killed.” 

Genesis 4:25

Dear God, I don’t think we spend enough time with Even and Adam and the impact the Cain and Abel story had on them as individuals and as a couple. Now, I understand that Adam and Eve might be representative of the first people. I’m not going to argue any of that here. I’m going to work with what the author of Genesis gives me–what you give me–and you gave me this story to consider.

Parenting involves a lot of pain and disappointment. I think of the parents I know who are struggling with their adult children. Drug addiction. Suicide. Estrangement. Imprisonment. Mental illness. Drug overdose. And then I think back to when their child was born and them holding that baby. How happy they were. How everyone celebrated. Even in the poorest of circumstances, there is joy. And then life sometimes happens. Parents fail and make mistakes. The child is sometimes exposed to things over which the parents have no control. Then there’s just free will. Personality. Temptations. Illness. Addiction. Life really is this huge gamble, and none of us has any idea of how it will turn out.

In the case of Eve and Adam, their first-born killed their second-born. What kind of pain did this cause? Well, there’s no way I can imagine the pain. We know it was there. We know that there must have been some level at which they blamed themselves. Maybe they blamed each other. But there was pain.

Thankfully, Seth seems to have turned out okay. In fact, it says in the next verse that is was during his lifetime that people began to worship you by name. What an interesting thing to say.

Father, I know there will be a lot of women in pain over the next few days. Fathers too. And then there will be children who are in pain because of a lost mother or a mother that hurt or abandoned them in some way. I know some of these moms. I know some of these children. I pray that you will use all these instances of pain to help us to dig into you. Lean into you for comfort. Take your comfort and carry it to others. Learn how to worship you and love others better.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on May 8, 2026 in Genesis

 

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James 5:1-6

06 May

5 Look here, you rich people: Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you. 2 Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This corroded treasure you have hoarded will testify against you on the day of judgment. 4 For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. The cries of those who harvest your fields have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

5 You have spent your years on earth in luxury, satisfying your every desire. You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and killed innocent people, who do not resist you.

James 5:1-6

Dear God, I came across this passage this morning as I logged into Bible Gateway, and I had a few thoughts.

First, I’m coming off of a fundraising dinner from last night at which there were many wealthy people, and I needed them to donate to our cause. So my initial reaction to this was to be defensive of them: “Hey, they care about people and love their neighbors! Take it easy there, James.” I used to work for a different organization over 20 years ago and depended upon donors, and I remember one of the founding board member resenting wealthy people. She was hostile toward their wealth. I remember try to tell her that without their wealth we wouldn’t be able to do the work we were doing. The same is definitely true now. I appreciate the wealth of the people who were able to give at significant levels last night. I ask you to please help this exchange between our nonprofit and them be a blessing and joy to them that is multiplied many fold over the value of the gift they gave. I ask that it be a conduit to you helping them to work out their faith with fear and trembling. Show me how to be part of your blessing to them.

Second, I had a slightly more horrifying thought: “What if James is talking to me?!?” While I don’t consider myself wealthy, there are any number of people I know who would think of me in that way. And by just about any measure in this world, I am in the upper percentile of wealth. So how do I stand up to James’s admonition here? Am I counting on my money (verse 3)? Does our organization pay the staff fairly (verse 4)? Do we do what we can to bring hope and mercy to your world? Do we glorify you in our work? Do I hold back my personal wealth at the cost of helping those you call me to help?

Father, I have a job to do today. It is to love and minister to those who participated in our event last night. Love them well through me. Give me the vision and enthusiasm to focus on them and your love for them. Use their interactions with us to draw them closer to yourself. Be glorified in all of this. The other job I have to do is to lead our organization in service to our community. Help me to do that well. I want to be better at that. Please lead me to the correct staff that you have to work with us (I’m thinking about three positions I’m trying to figure out right now). Please show me the way.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on May 6, 2026 in James

 

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Hebrews 11:1-6

01 May

11 Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. 2 Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.

3 By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.

4 It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith.

5 It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—“he disappeared, because God took him.” For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God. 6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

Hebrews 11:1-6

Dear God, is it faith that has me sitting here at 6:00 in the morning right now? Is that why I’m here? Honestly, it doesn’t feel like I’m here by faith. Maybe at one point in my life when I was little I was leaning a little more on faith, but I don’t think even then. I’ve always know of you. I’ve always been told about you. If anything, maybe there were some years in high school, as I reflected on other myths that had been taught to me by my parents or society, when I wondered if you were real. I read through Josh McDowell’s Evidence that Demands a Verdict as an apologetics for your existence and who Jesus was and is. However, as I sit here right now, after almost 40 years of following you as closely as I’ve known how, it doesn’t feel like there is any faith involved at all. I believe because of what I’ve seen and the evidence in my own life and the lives of others. You are there. I know it.

Going back to yesterday’s prayer, I think my failure of imagination comes in the area of really knowing who you are. You’re simply more than my little brain can get my head around. The world you created and how all of this works is more than I can understand. No, believing in you isn’t my problem. Faith isn’t my problem. Talking to others about your existence isn’t even really a problem. My problem is that I know I underestimate who you are and that does you a disservice in how I worship you and how I share you with others.

Father, please help me with my imagination in this area. Give me some kind of glimpse into who you are. And thank you. Thank you for the God I know and thank you for the God I don’t know. The words of Jesus in John 4:23-24 just came to mind: 23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. I honestly can’t know all of your truth. I don’t think so anyway. So I guess I need you to teach me how to worship you more with the Holy Spirit. I need to Holy Spirit to envelop me in my worship so that he might help my worship of the Father, Jesus, and that same Holy Spirit be what you need it to be for my good and growth. I’ve said, “Teach me to pray,” in the past. Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, teach me to worship.

I pray this in Jesus name,

Amen

 
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Posted by on May 1, 2026 in Hebrews

 

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Ephesians 3:14-4:4

30 Apr

14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

4 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.

Ephesians 3:14-4:4

Dear God, the verse of the day from Bible Gateway was Actually Ephesians 4:15 (15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.), but I wanted more context so I kept backing up. As is common, you can’t just quote a sentence or two from Paul and get the context, so I ended up going back to chapter three to find the beginning of the thought. I think starting at 3:14 kind of gets me there even though it starts with a reference to “this.” “This” is referring to Gentiles and Jews worshipping you together and his plan for Jesus to carry out his plan. So with all that setup, I want to spend some time with these verses.

I love the passion of Paul in verse 14. He falls to his knees when he thinks of “this.” There aren’t many times I just fall to my knees in awe of you. I’m sorry, and I feel ashamed to say that, but it’s true. To some extent, I’ve lost my awe of you. Even now, as I sit here, I don’t think I have enough awe of you. I think too much of myself in your presence. I think to much about what I can take from scripture as opposed to what you are teaching me and giving me through scripture and the still, small voice of your Holy Spirit. Is this act of praying to you in this moment an act of worship or just an intellectual exercise of mind?

When I look at verse 16, do I look to you to empower me with inner strength from your Spirit? I love the image of you, Jesus, making your homein my heart and my “roots growing down into God’s love and keep[ing me] strong.” I hope I’m doing that. If I truly understand how wide, long, high, and deep your love is, then I will be in awe of you.

Skipping ahead to chapter 4, this is where I really wanted to go. I didn’t expect to feel so much from the end of chapter three there, but you’ve given me a lot to think about. What struck me when I first read these verses this morning was Ephesians 4:2: Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. I was listening to an interview with a man this morning who has been through a spiritual journey with you. He started out as a worshipper. He was a celebrity who embraced you and the Evangelical Church embraced him. But as time went on, the rejected him because of some of his social justice opinions. When he realized they were so at odds on some of these areas and he was convinced they were wrong about them, he started to question what else they might be wrong about. That was the beginning of a transformation of his faith. When asked about where he is now, he said he’s more comfortable with “nuance” than he was before. He understands there are some gray areas where we don’t have to agree to worship you.

That’s what I thought of when I read Ephesians 4:2-3: 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. Satan’s Plan A is to divide us. It’s a great plan because it really plays into our insecurities. It plays into my insecurity and self-pity. It plays into all of our insecurity and self-pity. When I’m not willing to forgive someone, it’s usually because I’m hanging onto my rights and not thinking about what your best is for that other person–maybe at my expense.

Father, help me to love with nuance. Help me to allow for others’ faults as they will hopefully allow for mine. Refine me. Help me to really see you as you are–as much as I humanly can. I don’t know that I’ll ever fully grasp how in awe of you I should be, but I know my roots can grow deeper into you. Help them to grow deeper into you. I love you and I thank you for loving me.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 30, 2026 in Ephesians

 

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Job 19:21-27

29 Apr


21 “Have mercy on me, my friends, have mercy,
    for the hand of God has struck me.
22 Must you also persecute me, like God does?
    Haven’t you chewed me up enough?

23 “Oh, that my words could be recorded.
    Oh, that they could be inscribed on a monument,
24 carved with an iron chisel and filled with lead,
    engraved forever in the rock.

25 “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives,
    and he will stand upon the earth at last.
26 And after my body has decayed,
    yet in my body I will see God!
27 I will see him for myself.
    Yes, I will see him with my own eyes.
    I am overwhelmed at the thought!

Job 19:21-27

Dear God, I am reminded in this passage why I had such a hard time with Job the first time I read it and tried to journal through it. One simply cannot read Job in snippets. It must be ingested as a whole book. The verse for today was just verse 25:“But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last. That verse makes Job sound like he’s worshipping you in what he’s saying, but he’s actually complaining in this whole section. How could you have turned on him. He admits that you live and that he will see you for himself one day after he has died, but until then he’s going to complain about you punishing him for wrongs he thinks he didn’t do.

But I do want to sit in this moment of frustration (and sin) with Job. You’ll let him know in chapter 38 just what you think of his complaints. But for the moment, he’s frustrated. And I’ll admit, I’m in probably my most frustrating stage of work right now. I’m looking for some answers with staffing, and I’m not finding them. I need your help. I need your guidance. I need you to bring the right people to us to help us help our patients. I need you to give me ideas, insights, and wisdom. I need you to make my path straight. I’m not complaining. I’m not saying that I’m suffering. And I’m grateful for what you’ve done for us to help us plug the gaps. But you know we are struggling right now to really reach our potential because of staffing, and I need you to guide us all.

There have been times in the past when I felt really let down by you, but you brought me through those times, and you were more gentle with me then than you were with Job starting in chapter 38. You sent me a former preacher who simply told me, “It’s hard when we are disappointed with God.” I was disappointed with you, but my expectations were misinformed.

Father, as I sit here now, I think about friends who have lost children to death. Friends who are widowed and lost their spouses too young. Friends who have lost family members to estrangement. The pain in my own life. And I don’t blame you for any of those, including allowing them to happen in the first place. This is life. It is our life. All you’ve told us is that you will walk with us. So walk with me today, as you walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden. Speak to me. Comfort me. Provide for me. And help me to worship you well.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 29, 2026 in Job

 

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