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Isaiah 6:1-8

09 Feb

6 It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. 2 Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 They were calling out to each other,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!
    The whole earth is filled with his glory!”

4 Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.

5 Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.”

8 Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”

I said, “Here I am. Send me.”

Isaiah 6:1-8

Dear God, this might be the passage in Isaiah with which I am most familiar. I remember that some Christian song opened with someone reading from it about 30 years ago. I think it was Wes King. Let me look for it.

Okay, I just found it. It’s a song called “Holy” by Wes King:

“Holy” by Wes King

“In the year of King Uziah’s death
I saw the Lord, sitting on a throne
Lofty, and exalted
With the train of His robe filling the temple
Ceraphim stood above Him
Each having six wings
With two, He covered his face
With two, He covered his feet
And with two, He flew
And one called out to another, and said:
Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts”

Oy Vay Ist Mer, I am, undone
I am a man of an unclean heart
My eyes have seen the King
I’ve seen the Lord, Almighty

Holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord

I am naked beneath, the Gaze of God
My heart is shattered
For I have, seen my shame
Dust and ashes beneath His mighty throne
I am unworthy, I shudder at His feet
But with fire, He touched my lips
And took away my sin

Holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord
Holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord

He has cleansed me, I’m not what I will be
For when I see Him, I shall be as He

Holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord
Holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord

So there is no way I can ever express with my human mind just how different you and I are, Father. It’s amazing you can even hear my prayers, know my thoughts, or care about my life. What am I to you? Who am I to you? There is a huge difference between me and my dog. When it comes to understanding and abilities, I am light years ahead of my dog in comparison. But on a continuum of intelligence, on a scale of 1 to 10, my dog is a .1, I am possibly a .3, and you are 100. But in my literal world–in my little reality–here I am. I am foolish. I am unclean. But I offer what I have to you. Here am I. Send me.

Father, what would you like me to do today? I think I will visit a friend’s church this morning. I will try to bless people who made donations to our nonprofit through acknowledgments for their gifts. I will go through the money I have and figure out how you will have me use it. I will work on my Parents of the Bible project. And I will enjoy the Super Bowl with a friend. Is that all you would have me do today? Of course, I will love my wife. I will pray for my children, their significant others, and my relatives. I will reach out to some of my relatives and offer love. I will submit myself to you. Father, thank you for touching me with Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. Make me a fisher of people. Make me a lover of people with your love.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 9, 2025 in Hymns and Songs, Isaiah

 

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Hebrews 13:20-21

08 Feb

20 Now may the God of peace—
    who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus,
the great Shepherd of the sheep,
    and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood—
21 may he equip you with all you need
    for doing his will.
May he produce in you,
    through the power of Jesus Christ,
every good thing that is pleasing to him.
    All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.

Hebrews 13:20-21

Dear God, I like this blessing. I especially like the part of verse 21 where he says, “May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus…” Several months ago, instead of praying “in Jesus’s name,” as I was taught to do as a good Baptist, I started praying “in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit” to more accurately reflect how I feel when I am praying. I am coming before you “in Jesus” and then I am sitting here praying “with your Holy Spirit.” I need Jesus, my intercessor between me and you. I need the Holy Spirit to guide my prayers and to keep me from going too far afield, even though I know my prayers are imperfect and often ignorant. I am sure some of my theology is heresy. I need the Holy Spirit to be guiding me so that even the wrong paths I take will ultimately bring me back to you.

I am about to go and help serve others this morning through a volunteer activity. I ask that you please equip all of us with what we need. May you produce everything in us that is good and of you. May the fruit of your Spirit living within us pour out for others. May our work be pleasing to you, and may be pass on to those who are being served everything we have so that your good might flow from their lives as well. All glory to you, Father, forever and ever.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 8, 2025 in Hebrews

 

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Mark 6:6b-11

06 Feb

Then Jesus went from village to village, teaching the people. 7 And he called his twelve disciples together and began sending them out two by two, giving them authority to cast out evil spirits. 8 He told them to take nothing for their journey except a walking stick—no food, no traveler’s bag, no money. 9 He allowed them to wear sandals but not to take a change of clothes.

10 “Wherever you go,” he said, “stay in the same house until you leave town. 11 But if any place refuses to welcome you or listen to you, shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have abandoned those people to their fate.”

Mark 6:6b-11

Dear God, there seem to be so many things happening around me that disappoint me. I don’t like how some things are unfolding in the culture. They concern me. And there is so very little I can do about them. That’s what I thought about this morning when I read this story. I would guess that if I had asked any of Jesus’s disciples or even Jesus himself how they felt about what they saw happening around them and unfolding in their culture, they would have been concerned too. So what did Jesus tell them to do? Go out and cast out demons and, I assume, preach repentance and reconciliation with God, although, ironically, they still did not even come close to grasping what all you had in mind through Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection.

So here I am today. I have work to do. I have a job that needs me to be loving and compassionate. I have a friend who needs some comforting today. I have a wife who needs my love and support. I have children who need my prayer. I have these writing projects I’ve felt led to, wondering what exactly I’m supposed to do next.

Father, help me to not look to the world or the culture for my comfort or my peace. It’s okay to lament. It’s okay to see things and prayerfully take action. But you are my hope. You are the only thing that is the same yesterday, today, and forever. You are the only thing in which I can rest. So I start this day just loving you. Appreciating you. Thanking you for the blessing my wife and I got yesterday and praying over it and what we are trying to pass to someone else through that blessing. Cover our actions, Father. Guide my wife and me. Care for our children, siblings, nieces, and nephews. My parents. Lord, be glorified in this earth.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 6, 2025 in Mark

 

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Psalm 1

05 Feb

Psalm 1

1 Oh, the joys of those who do not
    follow the advice of the wicked,
    or stand around with sinners,
    or join in with mockers.
2 But they delight in the law of the Lord,
    meditating on it day and night.
3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
    bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
    and they prosper in all they do.

4 But not the wicked!
    They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.
5 They will be condemned at the time of judgment.
    Sinners will have no place among the godly.
6 For the Lord watches over the path of the godly,
    but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.

Psalm 1

Dear God, my wife and I were talking about the poetry of the Book of Psalms last night, and she mentioned that Psalm 1 is a nice straightforward one that is a good entry point into appreciating the poetic imagery the words paint. So I looked at the Catholic passages of the day and then Bible Gateway’s verse of the day, and since none of those really spoke to me I thought I would double back and see what I might get out of Psalm 1 today.

So this psalm is in two parts. The first stanza, which is physically separated from the second in the New Living Translation, talks about the good person. The second talks about the wicked.

When it comes to the good person, it reminds me once again of the saying that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. I would extend that to the five things we allow to speak into our lives the most. So it could be people. My wife is the person I spend the most time with. Then there are coworkers. I don’t spend constant time with them, but I get time with them four days a week, and we share a bit with each other throughout the day. Then there are my friends. But before friends, there is the media I consume because I can’t think of any friends I spend more than an hour or so a week with, and that is only if we have lunch that week. Outside of that, it’s possibly a text here or there.

So if I am planting myself somewhere, am I a tree planted by water, am I a tree in a rainy climate that is away from the stream but still getting some nourishment, or am I planted where there is no rain and I am dependent upon the accidental rain that might drift by me to nourish me? As it relates to this passage, I believe I keep myself from getting counsel and input from the wicked, the sinners, and the mockers. But I don’t know that I’m planted by a river. I think I am probably in the area that gets pretty consistent rain, but my roots are not always getting the water they need.

Father, help me to see how I might improve where my tree is planted. How I might improve the inputs I allow into my life, the average of which influences who I am. Help me to be the positive source of your nourishment for others around me. Use me however you will. I want to be a fully nourished tree so that my life might be glorifying to you and you alone.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 5, 2025 in Psalms

 

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Hebrews 12:1-4

04 Feb

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. 4 After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.

Hebrews 12:1-4

Dear God, the part of this passage that struck me this morning was verse three: “Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people.” The irony is, those people didn’t think of themselves as sinful. They thought they were right. They thought they were in the middle of your will. They couldn’t see their legalism that actually led to lower standards not higher. What I mean by that is going back to the sermon on the mount when Jesus was saying, “You have heard it said…but I say…” He actually wanted more from them when they were thinking he was a heretic who wanted less.

So where is my sin? When I am hostile towards others who I think are wrong about something, is my sin getting in the way of seeing things clearly? Is my self-righteousness causing pain and suffering for others? Should we all be asking ourselves this question more?

Father, maybe the first thing I need to recognize in myself is hostility and start looking for my sin there. Where am I hostile? What sin might be driving it? Help me to think about that throughout this day and into the future. Holy Spirit, poke me when it comes up and remind me to look for my own sin when I need to. Obviously, it’s not a sin to be angry. There can be very appropriate times to be angry. But I want to be angry when you need me to be, not when I want to be. Help me to find that line and recognize the difference when it is happening.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 4, 2025 in Hebrews

 

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Hebrews 11:8-19

01 Feb

8 It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. 9 And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. 10 Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.

11 It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise. 12 And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead—a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them.

13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. 14 Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. 15 If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. 16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

17 It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, 18 even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” 19 Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.

Hebrews 11:8-19

Dear God, I’m probably going to say something heretical here, but I don’t agree with all of the conclusions the author of Hebrews draws in this passage. First, my favorite part is the first part of verse 13: “All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it.” And I suppose there’s no point in going into the parts I disagree with…well, maybe just a little. I simply disagree with verse 19, that “Abraham reasoned if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again.” When I read that story and spend time with it, and when I put myself in Abraham’s place, and when I ask myself why you gave him that particular test in the first place, I think that Abraham had likely made an idol out of the promise, and you were using this as an opportunity to him to not only sacrifice Isaac, but sacrifice the promise. I imagine that there was a lot of repenting going on during the journey to the mountain where Isaac was to be sacrificed. I think Abraham was probably a pretty broken and repentant man by the time they reached the place and he drew the knife to kill his son and his promise.

Okay, now that I have that off of my chest, let me go back to my favorite part. They didn’t live to see the promise on this side of death. Your reality is not our reality. Our reality is not nearly as important as we think it is. My life is not nearly as important as I think it is. I’m sorry, that’s not exactly what I meant. My comfort, fulfillment, power, and influence are not nearly as important as I think they are. In fact, while my life is important for your service, my comfort, fulfillment, power, and influence are immaterial. My standing in the community. The pride I take in my children. The pride I take in my marriage. My job. All of it is worthless and eligible for the sacrificial altar. When I start to make any of it my idol I am limiting what you can do through me because I am limiting myself.

Father, give me more faith than I have. I have a friend right now who thinks we can impact immigration policy in this country from the bottom up. I have no faith for that. Should I? There are so many things in my personal life that seem hopeless. Are they? Or is it that I just need to remain faithful and wait on your timing, whether it happens during my short life or after, for your plan to be fulfilled. Most of the time, I do have faith that you are doing what needs to be done but I just can’t see it–and I might never see it. Ninety-five percent of the time, I believe it. But those 5% moments break my heart and bring me to tears. I feel sorry for myself. I hurt because I’m not getting exactly what I want. So help me to live with the faith that Abraham had that he had this promise, but he really only lived to see a small, small part of it fulfilled. I might not even get to see as much as he saw, but I know that I am grateful to be able to sit here with you now, love you, worship you, and trust in you.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 1, 2025 in Hebrews

 

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Hebrews 10:32-34

31 Jan

32 Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering. 33 Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. 34 You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever.

Hebrews 10:32-34

Dear God, I am in a position of privilege, and I have friends who are not and suffering. What shall I do? What will be my response?

This was the New Testament reading for many church denominations today including the Catholic church. As I sat down to pray to you this morning, I was trying to think of a passage where Jesus comes to someone else’s defense. Maybe the woman who anointed his feet (probably the best example). The children who the disciples tried to keep away. To a lesser extent, some of the people he healed who were harassed by the Pharisees. But then I decided to check out the Catholic church’s daily readings for January 31, and I came across this passage. It really works well.

I don’t like bullies, but I am also not necessarily good at spontaneously responding to them. I need a plan. Yesterday morning, a friend was in tears. They told me they had been in a local shop and a customer told them they better get out because ICE was coming for them, and then they called my friend a racial slur. My friend happens to have been born and raised here, has a college degree, and works in a job serving the community. They are a great person by any measure. While they cried, all I could do was cry with them and speak truth into them. All of the good things I know about them and how much they mean to the community and to individuals they love. Frankly, I was surprised at my own tears, but I was actually grateful for them. I was grateful to know my heart is still capable of empathy.

Then that left me with the question for them and for me: What do we do the next time we experience something like that? For them, the next time someone does something similar to them. For me, as a privileged white man in the middle of Texas who will probably not experience racial discrimination on that scale, when I witness it. What will I do? And is there anything else you want me to do in the meantime? Is there a way I can make this pain count and not let it be wasted?

That takes me back to this passage. The author of Hebrews is talking about persecution because of you, but persecution is persecution. Even if my friend had been exactly what this person was purporting them to be–undocumented–it would have been no justification for that behavior. Those words. That venom. Verse 33 says, “…and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things.” That’s me now. How do I help others? What price am I willing to pay? What am I prepared to do when, not if, I see this happen to someone? How much will I risk for them?

Father, we are so precious to you, and yet we see throughout all of our known history, human life is cheap to us. While there are natural disasters and diseases that kill us before old age can, too many people die at the hands of other humans. It’s incredible. As an American, I can sit here on this side of the world and not think about the human suffering and mass deaths in Israel, Gaza, Ukraine, Russia, different parts of Africa, etc. They are just numbers in my mind. I’ve become numb to it. But now that I can put a name and a face to the human suffering, it hurts to see human life, the human life you’ve created and love so much, treated so cheaply. Help me to see each soul around me. Help me to love the abused and the abuser. Help me to know how to love the soul that is scared and help the soul that is so lost that they feel the need to inflict pain on another soul. And help me to lean into you. My heart hurt yesterday. I was sad. I was angry. I still am. But help me to be exactly who you need me to be for your kingdom’s coming into this world’s sake as well as my own.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 31, 2025 in Hebrews

 

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Mark 9:33-37

29 Jan

33 After they arrived at Capernaum and settled in a house, Jesus asked his disciples, “What were you discussing out on the road?” 34 But they didn’t answer, because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest. 35 He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, “Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.”

36 Then he put a little child among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not only me but also my Father who sent me.”

Mark 9:33-37

Dear God, why is greatness our default position? I mean, really, at the time, those disciples were just a few of the hundreds of millions of people who were probably in the world. Now, I am one of 7-ish billion people on this world. And I’m just a human. Jesus even said as great as John the Baptist was, he is less than the least in your kingdom (Matthew 11:11). So, there are 7-ish billion people currently on this earth who are less than the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. I am just one of those 7-ish billion and I am not a great or powerful one. I live in the United States, and we think a lot of ourselves, but we only make up about 5% of that 7-ish billion. And not even a powerful person in this country. I’m just a man in a small town. And these twelve men to whom Jesus was talking were small men until they hitched their wagon to Jesus’s train, and Jesus decided it was time to humble them a little.

What I take from this is quite the inverse of what the disciples felt that day. First, it is the reality of how small I am, but second it the fact that I am truly that small and yet you love me so much. How can that be? You love your creation. You love me. You not only say you love me. You show you love me. You show you love others as well. Just this last Sunday, my wife and I decided to go to an early lunch on a whim. We then randomly picked a restaurant we maybe go to once every two or three months. One block away, at just the right time, we saw a woman from our church walking in the drizzle with one of her daughters. The woman was actually going to be part of an upcoming church service which started in 13 minutes and she was four blocks away. We were able to pick them up and take them to the church. I could see the stress in her eyes, making the best of a difficult situation, but it certainly felt like a divine appointment for us to be in that place at that moment. You cared about this woman. You cared about the church service. You cared about the little girl. And you used my wife and me. All of us so small, and yet you cared.

Father, there are a lot of people who need your care today. There are a lot of small people who are powerless and insignificant in the world who are scared. I really can’t imagine what that fear would be like. Some of them are children. Some of them are adults. Some of them are the elderly and even the infirm. I don’t know what to do to minister to them. To comfort them. Then there are those who aren’t targeted, but could be assumed to be part of them and are nervous about being attacked. Then there are those who aren’t targeted, but they are related to the targeted. All of us so small. All of us so insignificant in the grand scheme of things. But all of us so loved by you. I don’t know where all of this is going, but I pray that you will guide me in it. And love and comfort your people. And for those who aren’t yours, use this pain to make them yours. Don’t let this pain be wasted. Use it for your glory.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 29, 2025 in Mark

 

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John 4:1-26

28 Jan

4 Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them—his disciples did). 3 So he left Judea and returned to Galilee.

4 He had to go through Samaria on the way. 5 Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. 7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” 8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.

9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”

10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”

11 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”

13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

15 “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”

16 “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.

17 “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied.

Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— 18 for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”

19 “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. 20 So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”

21 Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 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.”

25 The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

26 Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!”

John 4:1-26

Dear God, as I sat here this morning and was trying to focus on verses 23 and 24 and decipher what I thought it meant, I had this incredible thought come to me: I am so ignorant. If Jesus were physically here with me in this room, I wouldn’t even try to interpret this passage. I would just worship him. Well, I know the Holy Spirit is in this room with me. There could very well be an angel or two here as well. And demons. There could be demons. In light of yesterday’s scripture and prayer, I don’t know what is going on with the powers and principalities of this world. But I just all of a sudden had this incredible sense of humility before you. Who am I to even try to interpret Jesus’s words as preserved by Luke 2,000 years ago? I just need to worship.

Even as I typed this out, it hit me that maybe that is exactly the point Jesus was making in verses 23 and 24. Maybe that is the kind of worshipper you are looking for. Someone who will embrace the omnipotent, omnipresent God that you are, understand part of your nature is here with me now, and simply worship you with as much honesty, transparency, and humility as I can possibly muster.

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, my Triune God, I love you, I worship you, and I thank you. I’m sorry for my selfishness and sin. I’m sorry for my lack of faith. I’m sorry for my fear. I’m sorry for the times you call me to act, and I fail to act. I’m sorry for the times you ask me to love people, and I fail to love them. I’m sorry for the times I feel sorry for myself and fail to see the good you are doing or have done. I bring all of that to you, lay it before you, ask that you continue to cleanse me, and offer this day to you. We have a staff meeting this morning at which we are going to be making some big decisions. Help me to lead in that. Let your Holy Spirit be among us. Guide us. There is pain happening right now among our staff and the clients we serve. There is fear. Don’t let that pain be wasted. Make it count. Make it all count for your good and your glory.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 28, 2025 in Luke

 

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Ephesians 6:10-12

27 Jan

10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:10-12

Dear God, with my limited mind, it can be so hard for me to remember this. I look around me and I think I am just fighting the bad ideas or idolatrous behavior in others. I think I am confronting their sin. Of course, I ignore my own bad ideas, idolatrous behavior and sin most of the time because I like my bad ideas, idols, and sin. I don’t want to get rid of those. But I need to remember that I am not fighting others, per se. I am not fighting my own nature either. There is a bigger evil happening in your world, and I need to engage it through engaging deeper and deeper with you. Then you will give me your eyes to see others for who they really are: your loved children. You will give me eyes to see my own bad ideas, idols and sin. You will reveal to me opportunities for me to repent before you and love, love, love.

So how do I do this? Paul continues in verses 13-18:

13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

Your truth. Your righteousness. Peace offered through Jesus. Faith. Embrace my salvation. Engage the Holy Spirit.

Father, walk with me today as I do these things. Give me your eyes to see. Give me your ears to hear. Give me your heart to love. Give me your wisdom and discernment so that I will know how to act proactively and then react to everything happening around me. Give me your peace so that others might be drawn to you through me. And I pray for the couple we met yesterday. I pray for my wife. I pray for my children and their significant others. My parents. My siblings and in-law siblings. My nieces and nephews. My coworkers. My friends. The people the place I work serves–all of them. Find each life. work in each person. Bring glory to your name. Let everything that has breath praise you.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 27, 2025 in Ephesians

 

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