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Galatians 1:3-10

05 Oct

3 May God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. 4 Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. 5 All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.

6 I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News 7 but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.

8 Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. 9 I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.

10 Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.

Galatians 1:3-10

Dear God, I wonder what the false teaching was. What was someone telling them that was wrong? The New Testament reading for today starts with verse 6, but I wanted to go back to verse 3 because I think that’s the summary of the Good News: Jesus brings you grace and peace. Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as you planned. This sacrifice rescues us from the evil world in which we live. That’s the thesis of this whole book. This is the Good News, but people are adding to it and changing it.

Of course, that is still happening today. People add a prosperity aspect to it. People use it to motivate others so they can reach for power. In a huge irony, there are those, even though they display all of the “desires of the flesh” which Paul describes in chapter 5, verses 19-21, will lead others and say they are defending you and defending those who believe in you. As if you need a rescuer and a lecherous hero. On the other side of the table, there are those who say there is no justice from you. You make no demands of us. We can just exist and you will accept us no matter what we do. I will admit that my nature draws me to this heresy more than the other. I don’t want anyone to suffer. I want to be merciful. I want you to drop any standard you might have and be merciful. But that just simply cannot be. We cannot have an afterlife in your presence full of people who are simply there without having some amount of character and willingness to submit to you.

Father, once again, I don’t want to just sit here are point to others and talk about how they are wrong and I am right. The point of sitting here with the Holy Spirit and praying to you is that I will let the Holy Spirit examine me and reveal my sin and errors to me. I’m having breakfast later with a friend who is part new believer and part seeker. He has been hurt by the church in the past, and my temptation is to make you something you’re not–a big softee. At the same time, I could also make you something you’re not the other way–a tyrant ready to destroy. The truth is, you are a God who beckons us to come to you for what Paul describes in verse 3 as grace and peace. But we do have to accept Jesus, walk the narrow path, and then, like I am doing now, leave ourselves open to conviction. None of us will get it perfect. I have sins in my life that I still commit. Some I’m aware of. Some I’m not aware of. And some I’ve just settled into and become numb to. But I ask you to show me where they are and slowly, deliberately, draw me out of them and towards yourself. And help me know how to represent you this morning to my friend.

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

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 5, 2026 in Galatians

 

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“Little Shop of Horrors”

04 Oct

**Warning: If you have not seen the movie “Little Shop of Horrors” or it’s original ending that was not released in theaters, there are spoilers ahead.**

Dear God, I was talking with my wife about how I don’t like the last eight verses of Job:

10 When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before! 11 Then all his brothers, sisters, and former friends came and feasted with him in his home. And they consoled him and comforted him because of all the trials the Lord had brought against him. And each of them brought him a gift of money[a] and a gold ring.

12 So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. 13 He also gave Job seven more sons and three more daughters. 14 He named his first daughter Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. 15 In all the land no women were as lovely as the daughters of Job. And their father put them into his will along with their brothers.

16 Job lived 140 years after that, living to see four generations of his children and grandchildren. 17 Then he died, an old man who had lived a long, full life.

If Job is a novella and not an actual biography, as many scholars suggest, I wish it stopped with Job 42:9, with Job praying for his friends. But these last verses actually seem incongruous with the rest of the book. It’s almost like they undermine the lesson the book had taught me up to that point. Specifically, that our lives are not about our comfort or success. They are submitted to you. Laid on the line for you. Prepared to suffer for you. In fact, it feels like I can list on one hand the number of biblical characters whose lives got easier after they decided to dedicate them to you. Most of their lives got much more difficult and ended tragically.

So what does this have to do with Little Shop of Horrors, the Broadway play, turned musical, turned movie? Well, I first saw it in the theaters while I was a junior in high school. It was great. I loved it. Lots of fun. The music was great. Steve Martin’s dentist was awesome. And the ending left me with the two main characters getting their happily ever after. Then, about fifteen years ago, our local community theater did the stage production of the musical. I was really excited to see it. And the cast did a great job. The two young people who played Seymour and Audrey were great. The dentist was over the top in the best way. And then we got to the show’s climax. The plant, the Audrey II (which was revealed to actually be an alien), was going to try to eat the heroes love interest, but he would save her, find a clever way to kill the plant, and then they would live out their dreams in the suburbs. But that’s not what happened. Seymour failed to save Audrey. She was dead. Then the plant killed Seymour, and replicants of itself eventually took over the world. I was stunned.

I found the theater director after the show and said, “The plant wins?!?”

“Yes, she said, “that’s how it originally happnened. They changed the ending for the movie.”

I looked it up and, sure enough, that’s what happened. They screened the original ending (see above) to test audiences, and the movie was scoring off the charts until everyone died and the plants (aliens) won. It was a looming disaster, so they changed the ending. And I’ll admit, I don’t think 16-year-old me would have enjoyed that ending. The movie’s director, Frank Oz, said that he learned that the original stage musical could get away with it because the actors can come out for final bows and the audience doesn’t have to feel like they are really dead, while a movie doesn’t give the actors that chance. When they are gone, they are gone.

I am thinking about this because I almost feel like someone added the last eight verses of Job to make people want to read it. To tickle their ears. To give them hope. And I want to be careful to not just dismiss pieces of scripture or be so arrogant as to think that I know what should be in the Bible and what shouldn’t be. But I’m just having a hard time reconciling the lesson of submission regardless of what it costs me to the abundance provided to Job after his experience. This is thought to be an ancient story from even before Noah.

The New Testament reading for the church today is from Philippians 4. One of the verses says, “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests know to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” There’s no guarantee of wealth and success here. In fact, Paul’s life got nothing but harder, all the way up to his martyrdom. So he knew about bringing petitions to you, but he also knew about how you were using him beyond what he wanted and the peace you would give in that struggle.

Father, I don’t want to pretend that my life is suffering. In fact, outside of my and my wife’s one great sorrow, it is actually quite lovely. I don’t really know what it means to truly suffer, and I know I take that for granted. But you’ve used the sorrow to form me. You’ve used the challenges in my life to form me. Help me, Lord, to not lose sight of you and you alone as my priority. Not me. Not my wants, although I have wants and I’m delighted when I receive some of them. Not the way I want things to be, although I have preferences about politics and world events that I’m delighted when I get my way. No, I want to just see you, follow you, serve you, and rest in you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 4, 2026 in Job

 

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Job 42:7-17

03 Oct

7 After the Lord had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has. 8 So take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer on your behalf. I will not treat you as you deserve, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has.” 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite did as the Lord commanded them, and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.

10 When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before! 11 Then all his brothers, sisters, and former friends came and feasted with him in his home. And they consoled him and comforted him because of all the trials the Lord had brought against him. And each of them brought him a gift of money and a gold ring.

12 So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. 13 He also gave Job seven more sons and three more daughters. 14 He named his first daughter Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. 15 In all the land no women were as lovely as the daughters of Job. And their father put them into his will along with their brothers.

16 Job lived 140 years after that, living to see four generations of his children and grandchildren. 17 Then he died, an old man who had lived a long, full life.

Job 42:7-17

Dear God, I was struck by the last sentence of verse 15 this morning: “And their father put them into his will along with their brothers.” What an interesting thing to include. Women had no agency back then–especially if this is assumed to be in a time before Noah. So the fact that the author of this story went out of their way to let us know this little detail seems like they are telling us that something new formed in Job as a result of his suffering. I did take a moment to look up some others’ commentaries on this subject, and I found this site, which did a nice job of quoting a lot of people about this one verse.

I am sitting here freshly from having visited with my wife over the breakfast table, and we were just talking about how some of our life sorrows have formed us. She was telling me about one of her dreams which seemed signficant, and that led to us talking about how she is different than she otherwise would be without our sorrow. I talked about a couple of instances this week where two different people commented about a particular aspect of my behavior, and I said that I don’t think I would be that way without the sorrow. The sorrow is awful. It’s painful. I hate it. I’d love for it to be resolved and over. I can’t imagine the delight it would bring me to have it over. But I can also see that it has formed me, and I don’t know who I would be without it. I don’t know that I would like the person I’d be without it as much as I like the person I am now.

Father, I was writing a letter to someone yesterday whose foundation is called “Make it Count.” It made me think about all of the things that can mean. It can mean, “I have a lot of wealth, and I want to make it count for something.” Or it can mean, “If there is going to be pain, let’s make it count for good.” In my life, I’ve learned to embrace both aspects of that phrase. If there is abundance, let’s make it count. If there is pain, let’s not let it be wasted, but let’s make it count. I have a day ahead of me. It will be slower than the days I had this week. It was a really busy and stressful week. But you led me through. And now there is a particular crisis happening in a coworker’s life–the dominoes of which will ripple through the lives of others. And some are having to make some potentially life-changing decisions because of this. For each life. For each family. For each soul that is touched by this, I pray that you will be with those who are making decisions and help them to know what to do. And for those who will be affected by those decisions, I pray that you will teach, love, support, and provide. In each thing all of us experience, Father, please don’t let it be wasted. Don’t let the abundance be wasted. Don’t let the pain be wasted. Please, make it count.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 3, 2026 in Job

 

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Job 38:1-21, 40:3-7, 42:1-6

02 Oct

38 Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:

2 “Who is this that questions my wisdom
    with such ignorant words?
3 Brace yourself like a man,
    because I have some questions for you,
    and you must answer them.

4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
    Tell me, if you know so much.
5 Who determined its dimensions
    and stretched out the surveying line?
6 What supports its foundations,
    and who laid its cornerstone
7 as the morning stars sang together
    and all the angels shouted for joy?

8 “Who kept the sea inside its boundaries
    as it burst from the womb,
9 and as I clothed it with clouds
    and wrapped it in thick darkness?
10 For I locked it behind barred gates,
    limiting its shores.
11 I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.
    Here your proud waves must stop!’

12 “Have you ever commanded the morning to appear
    and caused the dawn to rise in the east?
13 Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth,
    to bring an end to the night’s wickedness?
14 As the light approaches,
    the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal;
    it is robed in brilliant colors.
15 The light disturbs the wicked
    and stops the arm that is raised in violence.

16 “Have you explored the springs from which the seas come?
    Have you explored their depths?
17 Do you know where the gates of death are located?
    Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?
18 Do you realize the extent of the earth?
    Tell me about it if you know!

19 “Where does light come from,
    and where does darkness go?
20 Can you take each to its home?
    Do you know how to get there?
21 But of course you know all this!
For you were born before it was all created,
    and you are so very experienced!

3 Then Job replied to the Lord,

4 “I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers?
    I will cover my mouth with my hand.
5 I have said too much already.
    I have nothing more to say.”

6 Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:

7 “Brace yourself like a man,
    because I have some questions for you,
    and you must answer them...

42 Then Job replied to the Lord:

2 “I know that you can do anything,
    and no one can stop you.
3 You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’
    It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about,
    things far too wonderful for me.
4 You said, ‘Listen and I will speak!
    I have some questions for you,
    and you must answer them.’
5 I had only heard about you before,
    but now I have seen you with my own eyes.
6 I take back everything I said,
    and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.”

Dear God, we are so entitled. I can’t help but wonder if all of us (Christians) shouldn’t wake up every morning and read these passages together. And I mean every morning. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to look at these words at the start of each day and remember my place in your creation. And what is my place in your creation?

  • I’m incredibly small. I’m 1/8-billionth of the earth’s current population. I’m 1/350-millionth of our country’s population. More locally, I’m 1/27-thousandth of our county’s population. I am small. As many people as I know and know me in our small town, when I go to the grocery store, only a handful of people know who I am. To most, I am just a stranger.
  • I am loved by you. You are capable of loving just little ol’ me. Not only that. You choose to love little ol’ me. I’m really not worthy. But not child is worthy of a parent’s love. Certainly not the way loving our children is baked into us. I’m your child, and you love me.
  • I am one of your worshippers. My response to your love and your interest in me is to worship you. Submit to you. To remember my place. And the irony is, the more I do this the more elevated I actually feel. And not necessarily in others’ eyes, but in yours and I can feel it in my own. It’s a paradox that is foolish to man.
  • I am sinful. Though I try not to, I know I frustrate you sometimes. I’m sorry. And I know you’re frustrated with me because my sin is hurting me and sometimes others. It’s getting in the way of your best for me. So, like Job, I repent and press on.
  • I am part of your plan. I’ve heard it said that your people are your Plan A to address things in the world, and you don’t have a Plan B. I think this is mostly true (I think you can do things without us), but you expect us to love our neighbors as ourselves. I heard an example on a podcast yesterday. Someone had asked this pastor, “How should I respond to a trans person who has moved into my neighborhood?” He replied, “If you moved into a neighborhood that had only trans people, and you were the only gendered heterosexual, how would you want them to treat you?” You want me to be your Plan A. And in my actions, you gave me four tools to use. The tools that Jesus used. Prayer. Service. Persuasion. Suffering. Anything outside of those four is likely outside of your idea of how I should follow your will.
  • Loving others is as much for my good as it is theirs. We have your nature. We are in your likeness. So there must be something about the love that is in you that is in us, and it is good for us to show that love as much as possible. I supposed that means it’s good for you too. Forgiveness is good for us, so it’s probably good for you.

Father, I might type these words from Job up and tape them to my bathroom mirror. I imagine it would be good to start every day reading them and remembering just who I am, and especially in relation to just who you are. You are everything you said you are in chapters 38-41 (4 chapters of letting Job have it!). I know I’ve earned that kind of ire from you before. I’m sorry. I love you. Thank you for forgiving and loving me.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 2, 2026 in Job

 

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Job 19:21-22

01 Oct


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?

Job 19:21-22

Dear God, I sometimes wonder if I am a good enough friend to others. Am I there when they need me? When I’m there, do I do the right thing? Worse yet, do I ever say anything that actually does more harm that good–especially regarding their faith in and comfort from you?

There was an episode of Ted Lasso where one person was having an emotional outburst. She was sitting and crying uncontrollably. Another character came in, asked what was wrong, didn’t get much information from there, and then intuitively just sat next to the person to be with them while they cried. It was a great example of presence without acting on the compulsion to fix.

Early in our marriage, my wife taught me a phrase that I now not only use with her, but I use it with others too: “I’m so sorry. That sucks.” Men, especially, try to fix things. That’s what Job’s friends were doing here. They were convinced that Job had sinned and earned your wrath. If he would just repent then all would be well again. Maybe even tell them what he had done. They were trying to fix him. What would Job’s journey have looked like if they had just sat with him? I think there is a scene where they do that. I can’t remember where it is in job, but I have this image of Job sitting on a pile of garbage with sores and everything on him, and the friends just sit there. I need to look that up.

Okay, here is is from Job 211-13:

11 When three of Job’s friends heard of the tragedy he had suffered, they got together and traveled from their homes to comfort and console him. Their names were Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. 12 When they saw Job from a distance, they scarcely recognized him. Wailing loudly, they tore their robes and threw dust into the air over their heads to show their grief. 13 Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and nights. No one said a word to Job, for they saw that his suffering was too great for words.

Their first instinct was a good one. “No one said a word to Job, for they saw that his suffering was too great for words.” I just read ahead to chapters 3 and 4. Job finally speaks in chapter 3 and then one of his friends replies in chapter 4. That’s what breaks the silence. The friend is wrong about some things, but he doesn’t mean to be wrong. He’s speaking out of his own ignorance. But he’s well-intentioned.

Father, help me to love and also do no harm. Help me to know when to be present, when to be silent, and when to speak. And if it is time to speak or act, please, please keep me from hurting more than I help. Keep me from hurting at all. I want to be your ambassador in any situation. I want to be part of your kingdom coming into the world. I want to be used by you to be the hands and feet you need to do your will in this world. At a minimum, I want to do no harm, but at a maximum, I want to be exactly who you need me to be. And I suppose I should pray for myself when I feel like Job too. Help me to accept your comfort. Help me to let go of needing to “understand” and just ask you what you have next for me. I want to always find my peace and comfort ini you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 1, 2026 in Job

 

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Job 9

30 Sep

Job’s Third Speech: A Response to Bildad

9 Then Job spoke again:

2 “Yes, I know all this is true in principle.
    But how can a person be declared innocent in God’s sight?
3 If someone wanted to take God to court,
    would it be possible to answer him even once in a thousand times?
4 For God is so wise and so mighty.
    Who has ever challenged him successfully?

5 “Without warning, he moves the mountains,
    overturning them in his anger.
6 He shakes the earth from its place,
    and its foundations tremble.
7 If he commands it, the sun won’t rise
    and the stars won’t shine.
8 He alone has spread out the heavens
    and marches on the waves of the sea.
9 He made all the stars—the Bear and Orion,
    the Pleiades and the constellations of the southern sky.
10 He does great things too marvelous to understand.
    He performs countless miracles.

11 “Yet when he comes near, I cannot see him.
    When he moves by, I do not see him go.
12 If he snatches someone in death, who can stop him?
    Who dares to ask, ‘What are you doing?’
13 And God does not restrain his anger.
    Even the monsters of the sea are crushed beneath his feet.

14 “So who am I, that I should try to answer God
    or even reason with him?
15 Even if I were right, I would have no defense.
    I could only plead for mercy.
16 And even if I summoned him and he responded,
    I’m not sure he would listen to me.
17 For he attacks me with a storm
    and repeatedly wounds me without cause.
18 He will not let me catch my breath,
    but fills me instead with bitter sorrows.
19 If it’s a question of strength, he’s the strong one.
    If it’s a matter of justice, who dares to summon him to court?
20 Though I am innocent, my own mouth would pronounce me guilty.
    Though I am blameless, it would prove me wicked.

21 “I am innocent,
    but it makes no difference to me—
    I despise my life.
22 Innocent or wicked, it is all the same to God.
    That’s why I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’
23 When a plague sweeps through,
    he laughs at the death of the innocent.
24 The whole earth is in the hands of the wicked,
    and God blinds the eyes of the judges.
    If he’s not the one who does it, who is?

25 “My life passes more swiftly than a runner.
    It flees away without a glimpse of happiness.
26 It disappears like a swift papyrus boat,
    like an eagle swooping down on its prey.
27 If I decided to forget my complaints,
    to put away my sad face and be cheerful,
28 I would still dread all the pain,
    for I know you will not find me innocent, O God.
29 Whatever happens, I will be found guilty.
    So what’s the use of trying?
30 Even if I were to wash myself with soap
    and clean my hands with lye,
31 you would plunge me into a muddy ditch,
    and my own filthy clothing would hate me.

32 “God is not a mortal like me,
    so I cannot argue with him or take him to trial.
33 If only there were a mediator between us,
    someone who could bring us together.
34 The mediator could make God stop beating me,
    and I would no longer live in terror of his punishment.
35 Then I could speak to him without fear,
    but I cannot do that in my own strength.

Job 9

Dear God, years ago, I tried to go through Job in my typical, small-chunks-at-a-time way. I found myself so confused. I knew Job’s friends were wrong, but they didn’t sound wrong as I read what they said. I knew Job was wrong, but he didn’t sound wrong. This passage is an example of what I’m talking about. Job knows you’re God. He knows he can’t begin to argue with you or try to make sense of you. At the end of the chapter, he talks about needing a mediator between himself and you. I’ll get to that later. But first I just want to sit with the idea that he just feels abandoned by the God he thought he knew all these years. Betrayed might be a better word. He feels like your unreasonable anger has turned against him, and he is angry with you. Ultimately, he would love to take you to court to get some justice from you because he’s not feeling it.

This is the Old Testament reading for the Catholic church today, and it’s ironic because it comes on a morning when I was listening to a report about a program called “Life Surge” that has come under some scrutiny recently. Apparently, they are trying to sell wealth under the guise of selling you. The report played one pitch where they were talking about making a lot of money through doing things the right way. I couldn’t help but think, “I wonder if they think the poor widow Jesus saw putting her two coins in the offering should have just taken their class to not be poor anymore. Should she have just worked harder and smarter? Then Jesus would have taken those two coins and turned them into wealth for the rest of her natural life.”

I heard someone say one time that, when you read the Bible, almost none of the characters’ lives got easier as a result of following you. Abraham. Jacob (well, maybe Jacob). Moses. Jonathan. David. Elijah. Elisha (well, maybe Elisha). Jeremiah. Mary and Joseph. All twelve disciples. Paul. The list goes on and on. Life got harder. Almost always. Even for David becoming king. His life would have probably been easier and even more faithful to you had he not been anointed by Samuel.

So we come back to Job, and he feels betrayed by you. He has grievances, but he has no mediator. I had a time in my life when I didn’t feel betrayed by you, but I certainly felt disappointed and let down. Things didn’t turn out the way I thought they should in my family, and I was disappointed that you didn’t keep it from happening. But then I learned that you had never made the deal I thought in my head you had made. I invented that deal. All you ever said was that if I walked with you, you would walk with me. In fact, much like Jesus plainly telling the disciples that he would die and rise again and they didn’t hear it, I can look at scripture and see all kinds of examples of times when Jesus and others warned me that my thinking was wrong, but I couldn’t hear it. I chose not to because it didn’t fit the narrative I was looking for.

So back to the mediator Job mentions at the end. I have two thoughts.

  • I take Jesus for granted. I take for granted the fact that I can sit here with you this morning. With your Holy Spirit teaching and comforting me. Without that mediation, you would not be able to stand my presence. But here I am, communing with you because Jesus links us.
  • The mediation Jesus gives simply brokers your forgiveness of me. It doesn’t earn me anything other than the privilege of walking with you and the opportunity to give your Holy Spirit good soil in my heart in which the fruit of your Spirit can grow. It doesn’t change you except that it makes me tolerable–no, loveable–no, tolerable to you. I was going to change it to loveable, but for some reason, I’ve always been loveable to you. I’m your child, and you love me. You want me. But without my mediator, you just can’t tolerate me.

Father, I have another full day in front of me. Be glorified in it. Be glorified in me and through me to others. Love others through me. Let your kingdom come into this earth through me. Let your will be done on this earth through me. I have to say, right now, the path I’m on is pretty easy. Other than a constant sorrow, nearly every other area is much more than I deserve. Even if all of the good were to go away and tragedy were to befall me in a few or multiple ways, help me to always remember Job. The lesson from Job isn’t patience. The lesson of Job is learning the hard lesson that my life is worth nothing to me. If only I can finish the race and complete the task you’ve given me. The task of testifying to the good news of your grace (Acts 20:24).

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 30, 2026 in Job

 

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John 3:1-15

29 Sep

3 There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. 2 After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”

3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”

5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. 7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

9 “How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.

10 Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? 11 I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. 12 But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.

John 3:1-15

Dear God, I intentionally stopped before verses 16 and 17 because they are so well known, and I wanted to set the context for them.

Of course, this is one of my favorite stories because it contains one of my three favorite Bible characters–Nicodemus. He was the outlier Pharisee. The one who went to Jesus with earnest questions, listened and learned with an open heart, and then followed him (secretly) to the cross. And it starts here. Going to Jesus in the night. Probably partly out of self-preservation and partly because he wanted to visit with Jesus alone. I wonder if John got this story from Nicodemus years later because, according to this text, it seems like Nicodemus and Jesus were alone for this conversation.

And Jesus is throwing some weird things at Nicodemus. I’m trying to hear these words as if I were hearing them for the first time. I’ve heard the phrase “born again” so many times, that it’s almost lost meaning. Like if I wwere trying to define a word I use all of the time. But for Nicodemus, he was confused and didn’t understand.

When I think about being “born again,” I think about the idea that we still need fed and nourished in that new life. When a baby is born, she or he is not automatically set. They must be nourished and cared for. Loved. Taught. Fed. Disciplined. The same is true for a new Christian. And even as an adult, the same is true for me. I must have housing and food. I must have relationships and community. In today’s world, I must have transportation. And I’m still growing and learning. It hasn’t stopped.

Father, I have a lot in front of me today. I prayed with my wife earlier that you would help me learn how to lean into you instead of leaning on myself. I want to be able to look back on today and offer it all to you with joy. I want to feel like a lot of people experienced your love today. I want you to be glorified in all that I do. Make the path for today very straight and walkable–in your power and your power alone.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 29, 2026 in John

 

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1 Corinthians 2

28 Sep

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. 14 But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. 15 Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. 16 For,

“Who can know the Lord’s thoughts?
    Who knows enough to teach him?”

But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 2

Dear God, I think the more spiritual maturity we gain the more we get comfortable with no understanding. Some however, including some who are friends, work so hard to understand. One of the things I think about are my friends who work so hard to understand the end times. What will you do? When will you do it? How will it impact me? They get so distracted by these questions, I think they forget to live now. To hone themselves into your image. They worship you well, but sometimes they are distracted from loving others.

Once again, however, as I throw stones at others, I am compelled to stop and ask myself how I might be distracted from loving others. Am I doing what you call me to do? Am I worshipping you well? Am I loving those who are in my path, or even near my path, and I need to go out of my way for them?

Father, help me to remember to speak clearly and lovingly to those who need you. And to those who are growing in you, to challenge them with higher and deeper thoughts. I’m around all kinds. I have some in my life who are just learning about you. I have some who are growing and have further growing to do. I have further growing to do as well. And let me say a special prayer for a friend who is struggling. You and I both know who he is. He has marital struggles. I think he has some depression. But I don’t see him sharing about it. I don’t see him living. I just see him as surviving. Help him and his wife to be healed. Help him to live. And help his wife to live too.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 28, 2026 in 1 Corinthians

 

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“Does Prayer Change God’s Mind” – Slow Theology Podcast

27 Sep

Dear God, I listened to this podcast a couple of days ago, and the question alone is one of those things that I figure is an unsolveable mystery. Do my supplications change your mind? Do they empower you? Do they make you stronger? Do they influence you? Here are some random thoughts I’ve had of things I’ve heard or read over the years:

  • I remember a scene from the movie Shadowlands. It is about C.S. “Jack” Lewis and the lost of his wife Joy. Anthony Hopkins is playing Jack, and a friend is trying to comfort him and talking about prayer. Friend: “I know how hard you’ve been praying. Now God is answering your prayer.” Lewis: “That’s not why I pray, Harry. I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time. Waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God, it changes me.” I’ve never forgotten that. But is that how it works?
  • I thought of Jesus’s parable about the persistent Widow. I think, in fact, this might be the most important thing I’m about to say–of course it is. It’s from Jesus:
    • 18 One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. 2 “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. 3 A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ 4 The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, 5 but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’” 6 Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. 7 Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”
  • This seems to contradict what Lewis said in Shadowlands. It seems that Jesus thinks we can influence you with our persistence. Jesus thinks you are moveable. Or is that what he’s really saying?
  • I think about the book by Frank Peretti called This Present Darkness. I don’t think there is any–and I mean ANY–theological/biblical basis for this, but when were were seeing the spiritual warfare in this book, your angels would get strong when they were fighting them demons when the Christians were praying. The prayers were some kind of power infuser that loosed your power through them–kind of like Popeye and his spinach. Your people prayed and your angels got stronger. I have no idea where he got that, but I can tell you it’s had an influence, right or wrong, on my prayers.
  • I think about Jesus in John 14 telling us whatever we ask for in his name, you will do for us.
    • 12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. 13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. 14 Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!
  • But here’s the last one I will bring up. The time you told Jesus, “No.” The time you didn’t answer his request. But there was a key to it. It was a key that Job learned by the end of his story: Not my will, but your will be done. Luke 22:
    • 39 Then, accompanied by the disciples, Jesus left the upstairs room and went as usual to the Mount of Olives. 40 There he told them, “Pray that you will not give in to temptation.” 41 He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” 43 Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. 44 He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.

Jesus really wanted to be spared from what was about to happen. That’s one way I know his divinity didn’t protect him from the pain. He was sweating blood. While still submitting to you, he was still pleading with you. I wonder if this scene shouldn’t be the model of my prayers. It’s a model of fitting what we want into the box of what you know we need.

So can my prayers change your mind? Can they strengthen you? Can that spur you into action in a way that you wouldn’t have otherwise acted? I think the answer is vague and ultimately not understandable with my limited human mind. I think our prayers are largely about forming us and our relationship with you. You are our Father, and you want us to communicate with you. So when I see the ambulance drive by and I say a prayer for the victim they are going to help. When my coworker texts me at 8:00 on a Saturday evening and says her daughter is in the ER and my wife and I pray for her daughter. When I am at a football game and a player is knocked out for several minutes and I pray for him while the physicians work. When I pray for Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Iran, Palestine, the President, my wife, my children, my family, my friends, my work…what are those prayers doing? Well, first, they are forming me. They are growing my compassion and love. They are encouraging me to care about others and worship you. And as far as you’re concerned, the best I can figure is that there is something in my relationship with you that is happening for you in your timelessness that I just can’t understand. You are interested in loving me in the moment in time where I am currently existing, and you are interested me loving you. You want to give me those good things, but you also know the structure of the whole world, the time it is experiencing, the events that are happening, and how they will fit together. When a butterfly flaps its wings in the southern hemisphere, you don’t figure out how it will cause a storm in the northern hemisphere. You already know. You don’t chew your nails, as I heard someone put it once. You don’t fret. You know how all this goes and works out.

Father, I’m here to worship you right now. I’m here to pray. I’m here to be formed. I’m here to be changes. You know the pain I have. The pain my wife has. We even talked a little about our pain this morning. Help her to heal. Help me to heal. Bring your peace. Bring your love, and I’ll bring you the little bit of love that I have to give. My love compared to yours feels like a preschool child bringing home an art project for their parent. It’s ridiculous and imperfect, but it’s made with good intentions. And it’s yours. Thank you for it being enough. And in the meantime, I’ll keep praying until I’m on there other side. Then you’ll teach me how to exist there as well.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

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

 

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1 John 2:1-6

25 Sep

2 My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.

3 And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. 4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. 5 But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. 6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.

1 John 2:6

Dear God, there are a lot of politicians right now claiming to know you, but their fruit suggests otherwise. I live in Texas, and the Republican and the Democrat running for Senate both claim to know you. One of them seems to exhibit bad fruit but proports to share more of my theology and belief about you. Whether he follows that theology or not is another story, but his words align more with me in some areas of moral code. The other has seemingly good fruit, and claims to love and know you. The problem with him is that some of his words indicate he and I have differences in opinion on some areas of moral code.

Some people tell me that I cannot possibly vote for one because his spoken moral code is bad, regardless of the seemingly good life that he leads. His opponent will vote more in line with my moral values regardless of whether or not he lives by them. Others will tell me I cannot vote for the other because he because, regardless of what he says, his actions are so far against any fruit that would grow from you that he cannot be trusted. His corruption is absolute and complete. You don’t get good people in politics by voting for bad people.

I am discussing this issue because of the passages above. Which of these men knows how to repent? Which one is a “liar and is not living in truth”?

And now I turn the question to myself. How am I doing? Forget the politicians. I have one vote, a very small sphere of influence, and I can wrestle with it all I want but at the end of the day my vote won’t move the needle. No, my eyes need to be focused on any logs that are obscuring them before I start dealing with other people’s specks. Do I obey your commandments? Do I repent well when I realize I’ve sinned? A couple of days ago, I told you I had made a mistake in talking with a friend and given him a false idol to worship. I not only repented to you, but I repented to him as well. I hope I’m good at this.

Father, give me eyes to see, ears to hear, and a discerning heart. Help me to love. Help me to worship you well. Help me to represent you to the world so that others might find the narrow path and find your light, peace, and joy–regardless of their circumstances.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 25, 2026 in 1 John

 

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