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1 John 3:1-3

01 Nov

3 See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. 2 Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. 3 And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.

1 John 3:1-3

Dear God, when I read this passage this morning, I thought of the Amy Grant song, “The Now and the Not Yet.”

No longer what we were before,
But not all that we will be.
Tomorrow, when we lock the door,
On all our compromising,
When He appears,
He’ll draw us near,
And we’ll be changed by His glory,
Wrapped up in His glory….

We will be like Him,
For we shall see Him,
As He is.

No longer what we saw before,
But not all that we will see.
Tomorrow, when we lock the door,
On all our disbelieving,
When He appears (holy, holy),
Our view will clear,
And we’ll be changed by His glory,
Wrapped up in His glory….

But I’m caught in between
The now and the not yet;
Sometimes it seems like
Forever and ever,
That I’ve been reaching to be
All that I am,
But I’m only a few steps nearer,
Yet I’m nearer….

No longer what we were before,
But not all that we will be.
Tomorrow, when we lock the door,
On all our disbelieving,
And He appears (holy, holy),
He’ll draw us near,
And we’ll be changed by His glory,
Wrapped up in His glory….

When He appears (holy, holy),
He’ll draw us near,
And we’ll be changed by His glory,
Wrapped up in His glory….

Source: LyricFind

I can tell I’m different than I used to be. I can tell I’m growing. But I also know what I’m “not.” And I am at least aware enough to know that there are parts that I’m “not” that I can’t tell that I’m “not.” It feels like a number that approaches zero without ever reaching zero. I’m closer, and it feels good to be closer. It feels great to be closer. But the closer I get the father away I sometimes feel because I get a clearer picture of the “not yet.”

Father, draw me one step closer to you today. I’m about to spend at least 12 hours with a good friend. Help us to sharpen each other and grow closer to you through our time together. Minister to him through me. And minister to me through him. And I have some people on my heart this weekend. Please be with them. Be in their hearts. Reveal yourself to them. Help them to choose the narrow gate. You know the specifics of what I’m vaguely saying here. Lead us, Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit, closer to the “not yet.”

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 1, 2025 in 1 John

 

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Habakkuk (Part 2)

31 Oct

1 This is the message that the prophet Habakkuk received in a vision.

Habakkuk’s Complaint
2 How long, O Lord, must I call for help?
But you do not listen!
“Violence is everywhere!” I cry,
but you do not come to save.
3 Must I forever see these evil deeds?
Why must I watch all this misery?
Wherever I look,
I see destruction and violence.
I am surrounded by people
who love to argue and fight.
4 The law has become paralyzed,
and there is no justice in the courts.
The wicked far outnumber the righteous,
so that justice has become perverted.

The Lord’s Reply
5 The Lord replied,

“Look around at the nations;
look and be amazed![a]
For I am doing something in your own day,
something you wouldn’t believe
even if someone told you about it.
6 I am raising up the Babylonians,[b]
a cruel and violent people.
They will march across the world
and conquer other lands.
7 They are notorious for their cruelty
and do whatever they like.
8 Their horses are swifter than cheetahs[c]
and fiercer than wolves at dusk.
Their charioteers charge from far away.
Like eagles, they swoop down to devour their prey.

9 “On they come, all bent on violence.
Their hordes advance like a desert wind,
sweeping captives ahead of them like sand.
10 They scoff at kings and princes
and scorn all their fortresses.
They simply pile ramps of earth
against their walls and capture them!
11 They sweep past like the wind
and are gone.
But they are deeply guilty,
for their own strength is their god.”

Habakkuk’s Second Complaint
12 O Lord my God, my Holy One, you who are eternal—
surely you do not plan to wipe us out?
O Lord, our Rock, you have sent these Babylonians to correct us,
to punish us for our many sins.
13 But you are pure and cannot stand the sight of evil.
Will you wink at their treachery?
Should you be silent while the wicked
swallow up people more righteous than they?

14 Are we only fish to be caught and killed?
Are we only sea creatures that have no leader?
15 Must we be strung up on their hooks
and caught in their nets while they rejoice and celebrate?
16 Then they will worship their nets
and burn incense in front of them.
“These nets are the gods who have made us rich!”
they will claim.
17 Will you let them get away with this forever?
Will they succeed forever in their heartless conquests?

2 I will climb up to my watchtower
and stand at my guardpost.
There I will wait to see what the Lord says
and how he[a] will answer my complaint.

The Lord’s Second Reply
2 Then the Lord said to me,

“Write my answer plainly on tablets,
so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.
3 This vision is for a future time.
It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled.
If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently,
for it will surely take place.
It will not be delayed.

4 “Look at the proud!
They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked.
But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.[b]
5 Wealth[c] is treacherous,
and the arrogant are never at rest.
They open their mouths as wide as the grave,[d]
and like death, they are never satisfied.
In their greed they have gathered up many nations
and swallowed many peoples.

6 “But soon their captives will taunt them.
They will mock them, saying,
‘What sorrow awaits you thieves!
Now you will get what you deserve!
You’ve become rich by extortion,
but how much longer can this go on?’
7 Suddenly, your debtors will take action.
They will turn on you and take all you have,
while you stand trembling and helpless.
8 Because you have plundered many nations,
now all the survivors will plunder you.
You committed murder throughout the countryside
and filled the towns with violence.

9 “What sorrow awaits you who build big houses
with money gained dishonestly!
You believe your wealth will buy security,
putting your family’s nest beyond the reach of danger.
10 But by the murders you committed,
you have shamed your name and forfeited your lives.
11 The very stones in the walls cry out against you,
and the beams in the ceilings echo the complaint.

12 “What sorrow awaits you who build cities
with money gained through murder and corruption!
13 Has not the Lord of Heaven’s Armies promised
that the wealth of nations will turn to ashes?
They work so hard,
but all in vain!
14 For as the waters fill the sea,
the earth will be filled with an awareness
of the glory of the Lord.

15 “What sorrow awaits you who make your neighbors drunk!
You force your cup on them
so you can gloat over their shameful nakedness.
16 But soon it will be your turn to be disgraced.
Come, drink and be exposed![e]
Drink from the cup of the Lord’s judgment,
and all your glory will be turned to shame.
17 You cut down the forests of Lebanon.
Now you will be cut down.
You destroyed the wild animals,
so now their terror will be yours.
You committed murder throughout the countryside
and filled the towns with violence.

18 “What good is an idol carved by man,
or a cast image that deceives you?
How foolish to trust in your own creation—
a god that can’t even talk!
19 What sorrow awaits you who say to wooden idols,
‘Wake up and save us!’
To speechless stone images you say,
‘Rise up and teach us!’
Can an idol tell you what to do?
They may be overlaid with gold and silver,
but they are lifeless inside.
20 But the Lord is in his holy Temple.
Let all the earth be silent before him.”

Habakkuk’s Prayer
3 This prayer was sung by the prophet Habakkuk:

2 I have heard all about you, Lord.
I am filled with awe by your amazing works.
In this time of our deep need,
help us again as you did in years gone by.
And in your anger,
remember your mercy.

3 I see God moving across the deserts from Edom,
the Holy One coming from Mount Paran.
His brilliant splendor fills the heavens,
and the earth is filled with his praise.
4 His coming is as brilliant as the sunrise.
Rays of light flash from his hands,
where his awesome power is hidden.
5 Pestilence marches before him;
plague follows close behind.
6 When he stops, the earth shakes.
When he looks, the nations tremble.
He shatters the everlasting mountains
and levels the eternal hills.
He is the Eternal One!
7 I see the people of Cushan in distress,
and the nation of Midian trembling in terror.

8 Was it in anger, Lord, that you struck the rivers
and parted the sea?
Were you displeased with them?
No, you were sending your chariots of salvation!
9 You brandished your bow
and your quiver of arrows.
You split open the earth with flowing rivers.
10 The mountains watched and trembled.
Onward swept the raging waters.
The mighty deep cried out,
lifting its hands in submission.
11 The sun and moon stood still in the sky
as your brilliant arrows flew
and your glittering spear flashed.

12 You marched across the land in anger
and trampled the nations in your fury.
13 You went out to rescue your chosen people,
to save your anointed ones.
You crushed the heads of the wicked
and stripped their bones from head to toe.
14 With his own weapons,
you destroyed the chief of those
who rushed out like a whirlwind,
thinking Israel would be easy prey.
15 You trampled the sea with your horses,
and the mighty waters piled high.

16 I trembled inside when I heard this;
my lips quivered with fear.
My legs gave way beneath me,
and I shook in terror.
I will wait quietly for the coming day
when disaster will strike the people who invade us.
17 Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails,
and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields,
and the cattle barns are empty,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength!
He makes me as surefooted as a deer,
able to tread upon the heights.

(For the choir director: This prayer is to be accompanied by stringed instruments.)

Habakkuk

Dear God, I’m following up on a prayer on Habakkuk I did a few weeks ago. I want to teach a Sunday school lesson on it in a couple of days, so I want to pray this morning as I get my thoughts organized for it. But I’m going to reference the prayer from October 5 to be reminded of what I worked out with you then.

I think the breakdown is pretty easy. There will be seven parts to the lesson:

  1. Introduction and set up the book. Habakkuk 1:1
  2. Habakkuk’s complaint: Habakkuk 1:2-4
  3. God’s response: Habakkuk 1:5-11
  4. Habakkuk’s second complaint: Habakkuk 1:12-2:1
  5. God’s second response: Habakkuk 2:2-20
  6. Habakkuk’s prayer: Habakkuk 3
  7. Our response

Set up the book:

First, I want to quote Walter Kaiser from the Mastering the Old Testament book that covers Habakkuk among other minor prophets.

The clearest evidence for dating the book of Habakkuk is in 1:6, which mentions the Chaldeans. This new world power had just destroyed the Assyrian capital of Nineveh in 612 B.C. It then scored a decisive victory of Pharaoh Necho at Carchemish in 605 B.C. It is likely that this book was written just before 605 B.C., for the prophet was told that God was going to do a work in his time of such magnitude that no one would believe it if they were told about it this (1:5). God would use the Babylonians (1:6), a nation that was by no means a threat or a world empire at the time, to judge Judah’s sin. This would be astonishing, to say the least.

Habakkuk’s Complaint

  • Confusing times. Has there ever been anyone, from Adam and Eve until now, who didn’t think they were living in confusing times? You, Father, are never in confusing times. You know exactly what is going on.
  • Are there any words in verses 2-4 that we think could be prayed now?
  • What kind of violence did Habakkuk know and had he seen compared with the kind of violence we have personally experienced?
  • Taking our American glasses off for a second, could this prayer be legitimately prayed by people today?

God’s response (1:5-11)

  • God tells Habakkuk to look around and be amazed. Would God’s words comfort you if you were Habakkuk?
  • We have the benefit of knowing that the Babylonian exile will last a long time and will then be followed by the Persians about 70 years later–beyond Habakkuk’s life. How do you feel about Habakkuk never seeing an answer to his prayer during his earthly life?
  • Do you think there are times we have prayers that God is answering in a way that is slower than we will have a chance to see his plan? Can we be at peace with that?

Habakkuk’s Second Complaint (1:12-2:1)

  • Habakkuk is concerned this conquest will wipe out Israel.
  • Is it really God’s plan to use evil people to correct Israel?
  • Habakkuk does not like the idea of Israel being humiliated at the hands of Pagans.
  • Are there limits to what God will allow to happen to those he loves in order to correct them and bring them back to himself?

God’s Second Response (2:2-20)

  • God gives more details about what will happen
  • Look at verse 2:4b: But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God. Do you think righteous people died in the process of the Babylonian conquest? How do you feel about the idea that righteous people died as a part of God’s plan to correct the unrighteousness of Israel as a whole?
  • The conquerors will have their day, but it will be limited. But “limited” is a relative term. We measure time in days, weeks, and months while God measures time in years, decades, and centuries. Some of the Babylonians will be born, live, and die as powerful abusers while some righteous Israelites will be born, live, and die as slaves. Is that okay?
  • Are there areas of our worldview that it is hard to have patience for God’s plan to flesh out?
  • In my translation, God says, “What sorrow awaits…” 5 times (6, 9, 12, 15, and 19) Will there be Babylonians who never experience the sorrow while alive?
  • How does that apply to now?

Habakkuk’s Prayer

  • Humble worship
  • He asks for mercy
  • He has a vision of God’s might and power
  • He has a vision of God’s ultimate salvation
  • Do you think his vision for Israel’s ultimate redemption fit into the paradigm of the redemption Jesus would bring?
  • Read chapter 3 again, but thinking about Jesus.
  • How does envisioning Jesus as God’s ultimate answer for Israel’s salvation change how you read this passage?

Our Response

  • How does today’s reading of Habakkuk impact how we see the “confusing times” we are living in today? Personal lives? Community/state/country/world?
  • Does it change how we should pray for these things?

Father, I think this is what you have for me to bring this Sunday school class on Sunday. I pray that you will guide the discussion. Guide me. Holy Spirit, move in my heart, in the hearts of the people in there, and in that room on that morning. Prepare all of our hearts now for this discussion so that each of us might be in the place you need us to be so that we can hear from you and the seeds you plant might find fertile soil.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 31, 2025 in Habakkuk

 

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Psalm 120:1

30 Oct

1 I took my troubles to the Lord;
    I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer.

Psalm 120:1

Dear God, I sat down to pray this morning, and while I started with the New Testament reading today, which is from Romans 8 about what can separate us from your love, this is the verse that came to mind. I was in bad shape yesterday morning. But my wife prayed for me. I called out to you. I think others might have prayed too. Regardless, you helped me a lot. I can’t say that the reality of things changed that much, but you strongly supported me. You loved me. You gave me a supernatural strength and hope that I hadn’t felt before.

I really don’t know who I would be now without you. I don’t know who I would be if I hadn’t started doing these prayer journals 25 years ago. I mean, if I were trying to do this stuff myself through my own willpower and strength…I think I would just be a mess. But, if nothing else, I am grounded in you. I am anchored to you. So in the midst of the storm and the buffeting waves, I have something onto which I can hold. I don’t have to turn to idols that burn and are destroyed. I have you. I have you, my Father and my God.

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, you were all really there for me yesterday. Thank you. You are there for me every day, but yesterday was a special day. I really needed you yesterday. And I really need you today, but in a different way. My own spirit is doing okay, but now I need your provision of grace, love, and mercy to be in everything we do at our nonprofit. Make it a day of mercy.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 30, 2025 in Psalms

 

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Romans 8:26-30

29 Oct

26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

Romans 8:26-30

Dear God, oh, how I need your prayers this morning. I need you to pray, Holy Spirit, beyond what my words can conjure. Beyond what my mind knows needs to be prayed. Beyond my knowledge of your will. I need you to ordain my steps today. I need you to guide my thoughts, control and designate my words, and comfort me in the process. I need your courage. I need your strength. I need your eyes so I can see. I need your ears so I can hear. I need your presence to surround me. I need your forgiveness for my failures and failings. I have let you down. I have let others down. I am sorry. Help me to not let you or others down today. Help me to do every single thing I need to do through your power and within your will. Holy Spirit, please be the presence of the Father and Jesus with me today. Please, Holy Spirit. And thank you that this happened to be the New Testament reading for the Church today.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 29, 2025 in Romans

 

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1 Peter 1:17-20

28 Oct

17 And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as “temporary residents.” 18 For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. 19 It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. 20 God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake.

1 Peter 1:17-20

Dear God, my first response to this passage from Peter was to say that I just don’t think about my eternal reward when I wake up in the morning or make my decisions about how to act or whether to worship you during the day. I just don’t think about it. Honestly, if I just lived and our souls died when we die I’d be okay with that.

But then I got to thinking about Peter’s audience. I got to thinking about the people around the world who currently suffer for you and your name. Their faith costs them pain and suffering. If that were my life, then, yes, I can see where I would need a reason to intentionally accept suffering in this present life. It’s very smug of me to say that I don’t need eternal glory or rewards to follow you because, honestly, following you in my present life not only doesn’t cost me anything but it also plays to my advantage to some extent. So in some ways, I get rewards now for living for you in my current culture.

Father, I am sorry I do not better appreciate the suffering of other Christians around the world. I don’t pray for them enough. I don’t pray for the people persecuting them at all. Perhaps it’s a lack of empathy. I had a friend tell me yesterday about a personal tragedy that I’ve experienced myself in the past. Tears came to my eyes as she told me about it. Why? Because I could empathize with her, at least to some extent. It took me back to the pain I felt, and I hope that just my ability to relate and offer heartfelt sympathy was at least a little bit of a comfort to her. So for my brothers and sisters around the world who are suffering or afraid for their lives because of their faith, I pray that they will have a great place in your kingdom. I will gladly serve them one day. I pray for their persecutors. Give them eyes to see. Stop them in their tracks. Bring them to repentance and a place where they will submit to you. Please reveal to me if there is anything I should be doing to glorify you in the lives of others today. Show me how to encourage. Show me how to love. Show me how to sympathize beyond my ability to relate.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 28, 2025 in 1 Peter

 

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“Cry the Name” by Jill Phillips (originally by Rich Mullins)

26 Oct

“Cry the Name” by Jill Phillips (originally by Rich Mullins)

I cannot hide this longing that grows
In this temple of silence and stars
But a thief in the night stole in and broke
Every chain that had bound up my heart
I cannot cling to shadows again
So here on this altar tonight
I lay every dream I’ve ever dreamt
To burn in the fire He lights

I cry the Name of the One who loves me
The Name of the One on whom I call
‘Til it roars like thunder
Rolling down these canyon walls

I cry the Name of the One who loves me
The Name of the One on whom I call
‘Til it roars like thunder
Rolling down these canyon walls

Every breath I’ve ever breathed
Was sent as a gift from on high
And with all that is left of all that is me
Up to the Heavens I cry

The Name of the One who loves me
The Name of the One on whom I call
‘Til it roars like thunder
Rolling down these canyon walls

I cry the Name of the One who loves me
The Name of the One on whom I call
‘Til it roars like thunder
Rolling down these canyon walls

The Name of the One who loves me
Name of the One on whom I call
‘Til it roars like thunder
Rolling down these canyon walls

I cry the Name of the One who loves me
The Name of the One on whom I call
Down these canyon walls

I cry out Your name
I cry Your name out
‘Til it roars like thunder
Rolling down these canyon walls

The Name of the One on whom I call
‘Til it roars like thunder
Rolling down these canyon walls
Down these canyon walls

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: David “Beaker” Strasser / Richard Mullins

Dear God, I think Rich Mullins would have liked this cover of his song. Like most people, I usually like the original more than any remakes, but this one really brings the poetry of the words alive for me.

I cannot hide this longing that grows
In this temple of silence and stars
But a thief in the night stole in and broke
Every chain that had bound up my heart

Paul talked about Jesus coming like a “thief in the night,” (1 Thessalonians 5:2) so Rich and Beaker lean into that imagery here. Our minds think of a thief in the night as a bad thing, but, well, if you know you know, right? If you know this verse then you know the depths of what Rich and Beaker are saying. So with this verse, I just get this image of someone at the end of themselves and they’ve finally submitted to you. They let you come in the window and trusted you to rob them of everything you want to take. The beauty of it is, you want to take their shame, their guilt, their vice, their selfishness… You want to take all of that and leave them with the smooth skin of a new baby. The innocence of a spotless lamb. That’s what you stole. So now that the thief (you) have made off with all of the bad:

I cannot cling to shadows again
So here on this altar tonight
I lay every dream I’ve ever dreamt
To burn in the fire He lights

At least at first, it’s hard to cling to the shadows again. Shadows come from the light, when things are there to block it. And we want those things in our hearts that will block your light. But you want to remove them so the light shines everywhere. And, at least at first, we want your light everywhere. We want the shadows gone. I just finished looking at Jonah and Nineveh. At first, the Ninevites and the King of the Assyrians wanted you and repented. They wanted to get rid of their shadows. The sad thing is, the thrill wears off and the comfort of our shadows and shame can slowly come back if we don’t walk through the narrow gate and persevere down the narrow path (Matthew 7:13-14). But let’s sit a little longer on this night that Rich and Beaker are describing. They have chosen to lay every dream they’ve ever dreamt and let them burn in the fire you light. Beautiful.

I cry the Name of the One who loves me
The Name of the One on whom I call
‘Til it roars like thunder
Rolling down these canyon walls

I know there are a lot of places with skies, stars, and canyons, but this makes me think of some moments I’ve had out at the H. E. Butt Family Foundation Ranch near Leakey, Texas. Mountaintop experiences, to be sure. Glorious. Emotional. Humbling, but in a good way. It can be hard to leave that place. So I’ll just let the poetry of these words take me back to those times. When the soil of my heart was freshly weeded. Before some thorns and weeds had crept in. Just you, me, and guiltless soil.

Father, to quote another Rich Mullins song, “Elijah,” “Sometimes my ground was stony, sometimes covered up with thorns, and only you could make it what it had to be.” Help me to weed my soil again today. Help me to go and be your ambassador in every situation I find myself in. I love you, Father. Make me what I need to be today so that you might be glorified. I want to decrease and you increase. As I teach Sunday school in an hour, I want you to move hearts. Let this be a day when we do some weeding in all of our hearts.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 26, 2025 in Hymns and Songs

 

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Jonah 4

25 Oct

4 This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry. 2 So he complained to the Lord about it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. 3 Just kill me now, Lord! I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.”

4 The Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry about this?”

5 Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 And the Lord God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah’s head, shading him from the sun. This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant.

7 But God also arranged for a worm! The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant so that it withered away. 8 And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. “Death is certainly better than living like this!” he exclaimed.

9 Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?”

“Yes,” Jonah retorted, “even angry enough to die!”

10 Then the Lord said, “You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. 11 But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?”

Jonah 4

Dear God, first, I want to apologize. When I was looking at the Assyrians in Nineveh and them being an enemy of Israel, I was suspecting you of having ulterior motives for sending Jonah to warn them of their destruction. Maybe you needed them to repent so they would be there for Israel and help her. I was trying to look at the big picture. But here it is in verse 4:11b: Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?” Answer: Yes, you should. And that should be enough for your mercy.

Is it ever the right thing to be angry about mercy? I can’t think of a time in the New Testament when looking down on mercy was the right thing to do. In the story of the Prodigal Son/Father, the older brother was angry about the mercy. He was wrong. In the story of the woman caught in adultery, a lot of people were angry at Jesus’s mercy, and they were wrong. When Jesus forbade James and John from calling down fire from heaven to destroy the Samaritan city because he had mercy on them and respected their decision to refuse him passage, they were wrong.

Rich Mullins had a song he wrote for his friend’s new son called “Let Mercy Lead.” The chorus: 

Let mercy lead 
Let love be the strength in your legs
And in ever footprint that you leave
There'll be a drop of grace
If we can reach 
Beyond the wisdom of this age
Into the foolishness of God
That foolishness will save
Those who believe
Although their foolish hearts may break
They will find peace
And I'll be you in that place
Where mercy leads

Father, I’m still haunted a bit by a question a person asked me the other night. He’s one of these people who is always saying he’s doing fabulous or terrific. We were getting out of our cars at the same time, and he asked me, “How are you doing,” and I did my normal thing of saying I’m doing “alright” with a little pensiveness in my voice. He asked what could change so that I’d be doing great. It was a good question, I suppose. I’ve thought about it since then. Why do I respond the way that I do? Why don’t I go the “Terrific!” route or the “Just fine” route? I guess it’s because I want to be authentic, and there are laments in my life. I walk with a limp, and I don’t want to hide my limp. I don’t invite everyone into my laments. I don’t broadcast them. But if a fellow sojourner wants to know what my laments are I’ll tell them. And usually when I do it helps them. What does this have to do with mercy? I don’t know. Maybe it’s because some of my laments involve me figuring out how to give mercy when it’s not requested or deserved. Some of it is me doing things I don’t want to do but you’re calling me to do, like Jonah (see yesterday’s prayer). Some of it is that I need some mercy extended to me that is not coming in the foreseeable future. So help me to be authentic, but also help me to not try to use the answer to the “How are you?” question as an opportunity to get others to feel sorry for me. That’s certainly not what I want. I am loved by you, and I am not a man to be pitied, no matter what my circumstances are.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 25, 2025 in Jonah

 

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Jonah 1:17-2:10

24 Oct

17 Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.

2 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from inside the fish. 2 He said,

“I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble,
    and he answered me.
I called to you from the land of the dead,
    and Lord, you heard me!
3 You threw me into the ocean depths,
    and I sank down to the heart of the sea.
The mighty waters engulfed me;
    I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves.
4 Then I said, ‘O Lord, you have driven me from your presence.
    Yet I will look once more toward your holy Temple.’

5 “I sank beneath the waves,
    and the waters closed over me.
    Seaweed wrapped itself around my head.
6 I sank down to the very roots of the mountains.
    I was imprisoned in the earth,
    whose gates lock shut forever.
But you, O Lord my God,
    snatched me from the jaws of death!
7 As my life was slipping away,
    I remembered the Lord.
And my earnest prayer went out to you
    in your holy Temple.
8 Those who worship false gods
    turn their backs on all God’s mercies.
9 But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise,
    and I will fulfill all my vows.
    For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.”

10 Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach.

Jonah 1:17-2:10

Dear God, let’s just jump right into this.

  • “Now the Lord had arranged…” – We’ve closed the scene with the sailors and they’ll not be heard from again. But you already had this worked out for Jonah. The sailors thought he was dead. Jonah thought he was being thrown to his death, and he’d rather have had that death than go to the Assyrians in Nineveh. But you weren’t going to let him off that easily. To quote Washington in the musical Hamilton, “Dying is easy, young man. Living is harder.” But you had made this plan “Jonah-proof.” It is so comforting to know that your plans are “John-proof” too. Even in the midst of my sin and mistakes, you have already made arrangements for my foolishness.
  • 7 “As my life was slipping away, I remembered the Lord. And my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy Temple.” – It turns out that he did want to live. He wasn’t ready to repent. He just asked for mercy over his life. But did you answer his request for his sake or for yours? You had a plan and he was part of it whether he liked it or not. In that moment, he might have thought you were loving him and rescuing him–and maybe you were–but you also had something you needed him to do. I note, there’s no repentance in here. He doesn’t regret running from you. It’s more like Cain when you banish him after he killed Abel and he says, “My punishment is more than I can bear.” (Genesis 4:18)
  • 9 “But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.” – He relents, but he doesn’t repent. There’s a fine line there, but it is definitely a line. He agrees to fulfill his vows to you because you are God and he is not, but he never repents. I would love to sit here and judge him 2,800 years later, but maybe I need to consider how I’m doing in this area. Are there place in my life where I relent to your will, but I do not repent or joyfully submit to you? If there are, please open my eyes to see them.
  • 10 Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out onto the beach. – I’ll confess that this is a weird story, but I have no reason to doubt it except for the fact that it’s unreasonable to believe it. But I believe all kinds of unreasonable things, but I wholly believe them. At the end of the day, I could argue with someone vehemently about this whole “big fish” aspect of this story and it wouldn’t take away from the lesson the story teaches.

Father, I guess I can think of one way I’m like Jonah. I can think of something in my life that I do grudgingly. I’m doing it, but I don’t want to do it. And here’s the thing. I have a feeling that the doing of it will not only bless others, but somehow you’re going to bless me in the process. I think we’ll see by the time we get to chapter 4, Jonah refuses to participate in the blessing you have for him in sending him to Nineveh. It wasn’t only for the Assyrians. It was for him too. But he missed it. Help me to not miss you and the growth into being Christlike you have for me.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 24, 2025 in Jonah

 

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Jonah 1:4-16

23 Oct

4 But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart. 5 Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship.

But all this time Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold. 6 So the captain went down after him. “How can you sleep at a time like this?” he shouted. “Get up and pray to your god! Maybe he will pay attention to us and spare our lives.”

7 Then the crew cast lots to see which of them had offended the gods and caused the terrible storm. When they did this, the lots identified Jonah as the culprit. 8 “Why has this awful storm come down on us?” they demanded. “Who are you? What is your line of work? What country are you from? What is your nationality?”

9 Jonah answered, “I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.”

10 The sailors were terrified when they heard this, for he had already told them he was running away from the Lord. “Oh, why did you do it?” they groaned. 11 And since the storm was getting worse all the time, they asked him, “What should we do to you to stop this storm?”

12 “Throw me into the sea,” Jonah said, “and it will become calm again. I know that this terrible storm is all my fault.”

13 Instead, the sailors rowed even harder to get the ship to the land. But the stormy sea was too violent for them, and they couldn’t make it. 14 Then they cried out to the Lord, Jonah’s God. “O Lord,” they pleaded, “don’t make us die for this man’s sin. And don’t hold us responsible for his death. O Lord, you have sent this storm upon him for your own good reasons.”

15 Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once! 16 The sailors were awestruck by the Lord’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him.

Jonah 1:4-16

Dear God, I want to stop before verse 17, when we first hear about the big fish. If the story were to just stop here, it would still be interesting. Man runs from God. God kills man through storm. Gentiles worship God when they are saved through miraculous end to storm. The end. So I want to sit with that for a second. I want to sit with Jonah and his willingness to die rather than go to Nineveh. It’s almost as if he kind of wants to die, but he’s just not willing to throw himself overboard (which was an option). He wanted some other Gentiles to do the dirty work for him.

I guess my first question would be to ask why you chose Jonah. He doesn’t seem particularly likeable. He runs from your request. He is resting peacefully while the sailors are scared. If the crew had been Jewish, would he have cared more? Was he just indifferent about all Gentiles and hostile towards the Assyrians? Yeah, it’s hard for me to understand why you chose Jonah in the first place. It seems like you could have picked someone else.

So you picked Jonah, but he was a bitter mess. So you decide to correct him through these other people. I wondered for a moment why you didn’t just strike him personally until he knuckled under. You could have given him leprosy or something like that. But then again, you knew how hard his heart was, and you knew that he would sink, even to death, before he obeyed you. So you set up a situation that was simply so miserable for him that, while he never will quite repent, he will agree to obey.

Then there are the men who are seemingly moral men. They don’t want to just kill a man on the “chance” (playing off of the idea that they cast lots) that it will end the storm. They are willing to look at all of the solutions available to them before they get to their last resort: throwing Jonah overboard.

Jonah gives them the solution. He doesn’t confess his sin, but he does acknowledge that this is between you and him and has nothing to do with the sailors. I wonder if they hoped he would just throw himself overboard. I’m sure at least a few of them did. I would have if I were them.

Their human efforts to survive are proving to not be enough, so they chunk Jonah into the sea. He will surely die. But when Jonah path finally diverges from theirs, you leave them alone. Did you do it to save them, or were you indifferent? I’d like to think that you didn’t cause Jonah to run, but you made the pain count and used the situation to impact these men’s lives. I wonder how those changed lives that day flowed into history.

Father, show me if there are ways I’m obstinately not obeying you. Reveal to me whether or not I have a hard heart. As I get closer to you I can feel less and less hate in me. I’m grateful for that. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t any left. Help me to love as you commanded me to love. Help me to obey when you command me to do something I don’t want to do. Give me ears to hear you. Give me eyes to see. Give me a heart to love. Grow your fruit in my life so that others my see me and join the path that goes through the narrow gate.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 23, 2025 in Jonah

 

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Jonah 1:1-3

22 Oct

1 The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.”

3 But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.

Jonah 1:1-3

Dear God, I’m teaching on Jonah coming up. I was inspired by the Catholic Old Testament readings a couple of weeks ago, so I’m going to do Jonah one week and Habakkuk the next for the two weeks I’m teaching. So I thought I’d go back and spend some more time with these stories and marinade in them a bit as I put together my lessons.

With that said, I’m stopping quickly in the narrative this week because I have two things that strike me in these three verses.

  1. Why did you even care about Nineveh and its repentance in the first place.
  2. I didn’t appreciate Jonah’s run from you until I looked at a map and figured out where he started from, where he went to, and where you were sending him.

So, why Nineveh? They were Assyrians. They were the capital of Assyria. They Assyrians were Israel’s biggest Gentile enemy at the time. What were you doing? The truth is, I don’t know. I’m not sure if there are other examples of you sending prophets to Gentiles in the Old Testament, telling them to repent. Okay, I just Googled it, and apparently Obadiah and Nahum got this kind of assignment as well. I’ll need to read those later to see if there is a similar thread. My initial wondering was a more strategic one than just about your mercy. “Maybe you were softening their hearts towards Israel through their repentance before you and worship of you.” But hey, maybe you just loved them. I’ll need to look into this more.

The next is simply Jonah’s run. I didn’t understand that Tarshish was on the Atlantic side of the Spanish coast.

He might have gone to Joppa and just said, “How far does this boat go?” I also didn’t appreciate how far away Nineveh was from Jonah’s home. He really, really didn’t want to help these Gentiles.

The biblical commentary I was reading pointed out that Jonah didn’t believe you were for non-Israelites. Gentiles need not apply for your mercy or grace. Isn’t it funny how our nature is to be so tribal? What is it in your insecurity that drives us to want to separate ourselves from others?

Father, this was a good start. I’ll look into Obadiah and Nahum a little more today and get their stories. But in the meantime, keep me loving others. Help me to love my “enemies.” Help me to be willing to give my life for all.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 22, 2025 in Jonah

 

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