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Luke 10:38-42

06 Oct

38 As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”

41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:38-42

Dear God, it’s easy for all of us to compare our work to other people’s. And it’s easy for us to feel sorry for ourselves. I want to think about how much harder I work than this person or that person. But there are two flaws in that. First, there’s always someone out there working harder than me, so I need to be careful how much I should be throwing stones. Second, you taught me to work as unto you. You’re the reason I’m here this morning, praying through typing. I’m not trying to outperform anyone and earn your favor more than you might give it to someone else. I’m here because I need you. I’m here because you are forming me every day, little by little, through these prayers.

Yeah, I look at Martha here, and I want to condemn her, but am I not like her too?

Father, help me to simply work as unto you today. Help me to lead. Lead me as I lead. You know the specific needs my organization has right now. Help us to meet them. Help us to know our path forward. You know who is struggling right now with personal issues. Help them to find your path for them. Of course, you know my family. Those who are most precious to me. Heal. Love. Hold them close. Draw them into yourself. And be with my wife today as she teaches her Bible study and records her podcast.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 6, 2026 in Luke

 

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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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Matthew 24:42-51

27 Aug

42 “So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. 43 Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. 44 You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.

45 “A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. 46 If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. 47 I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. 48 But what if the servant is evil and thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ 49 and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk? 50 The master will return unannounced and unexpected, 51 and he will cut the servant to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 24:42-51

Dear God, I woke up this morning thinking about the flash floods/avalanches in Nepal and Tibet that I heard about yesterday. I realized I hadn’t prayed for them like I should. I was more intrigued by the spectacle of it than I was concerned about the hundreds of people washed away, missing, killed, or injured. But I was convicted about not having prayed for them or their families. Then when I started to pray, I didn’t know how to pray. Where do I start? Can my prayers for them really change anything? So I just started praying to the Holy Spirit, asking the Spirit to pray for them, which I’m sure he’s already doing. But just joining my little prayer with His. Father, have mercy. Jesus, have mercy. Holy Spirit, have mercy.

I’m thinking about this in relation to this verse because it’s always a challenge to be minding all the details about everything. To be praying for my wife and children. To be praying for my family and friends. My community and country. The world. And to do it all in general and specifically for things. Intercessory prayer, even for those I love the most, is usually the weakest part of my prayer life.

Father, I want to be found faithful by you, but not for my sake. I want to be found faithful in loving others for their sake. I want to be good about praying for my wife not so that you will be pleased with me, but so that my wife will experience the ultimate fullness you have for her in this life. I want the same for my son, my daughter, their significant others, their children, my wife’s and my siblings and their children, my parents, my wife’s and my aunts and uncles… You get the idea. I want to be found praying for them. I had a man tell me the other day that he prays for my family nearly every day. That amazed me. There are few people I pray for nearly every day outside of those related to me. And I don’t know that I’ll ever get where I’d like to ideally be. But I want to be better. So when I think about people, help me to remember to pray for them. And help me to know how to pray for them.

I pray this to you now, in the name of Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 27, 2026 in Matthew

 

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Matthew 17:14-20

08 Aug

14 At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”

17 Jesus said, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well.

19 Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?”

20 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”

Matthew 17:14-20

Dear God, after I read this passage this morning, and I wanted to pass judgment on the disciples, but then I thought about the people who figuratively bring their children to me for prayer. I have two friends who are pregnant and on the verge of giving birth. I have a relative whose child is in a rehab facility for addiction. I have friends whose children start another school year in a few days. I have a friend whose son is getting married in a few months. I have a relative whose son is in a war zone. I have a friend who lost a child to suicide two years ago and another friend whose daughter attempted suicide just two months ago. Then there are my own children and their significant others (and their children) who need prayer. I could go on and on. The woman whose adult son got injured a couple of years ago, has brain damage, and now struggles to be independent. The mother whose children are a complete mixed bag right now, ranging from living a good life to struggling to launch.

My point is, I get asked to pray for a lot of things for a lot of friends, and I fail. I fail to even pray. This week, I’ve prayed for about half of the children I listed above. Maybe just over half. But certainly not for all of them. Or the ones I didn’t mention. And for the ones I did pray for, did I pray the right thing? Did I pray hard enough? Did I pray intentionally enough? Did I let these parents and their children down?

Father, I don’t want to be smug when I see Bible characters struggling. I want to use their struggle as something I can identify with. I want to use them as an example–even if it is a bad example–to submit myself to you so you can help make me who you have for me to be. I was watching a video yesterday on how to repair cane webbing for a chair. They talked about soaking the cain in water so you can stretch it and work it into place. I want to be soaked in Jesus and the Holy Spirit so you can stretch me into the shape you need me to be ini. And I pray for these children. When I’m done typing, I’ll mention them each to you by name. Be with each of them. Soak them. Love them. Encourage them. Draw each of them into yourself. Use whatever they are going through in life to bring them into complete relationship with you. Set them free and grow your fruit within them. For your glory, Father.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 8, 2026 in Matthew

 

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Isaiah 33

07 Aug

A Message about Assyria

33 What sorrow awaits you Assyrians, who have destroyed others[a]
    but have never been destroyed yourselves.
You betray others,
    but you have never been betrayed.
When you are done destroying,
    you will be destroyed.
When you are done betraying,
    you will be betrayed.
2 But Lord, be merciful to us,
    for we have waited for you.
Be our strong arm each day
    and our salvation in times of trouble.
3 The enemy runs at the sound of your voice.
    When you stand up, the nations flee!
4 Just as caterpillars and locusts strip the fields and vines,
    so the fallen army of Assyria will be stripped!

5 Though the Lord is very great and lives in heaven,
    he will make Jerusalem[b] his home of justice and righteousness.
6 In that day he will be your sure foundation,
    providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.
    The fear of the Lord will be your treasure.

7 But now your brave warriors weep in public.
    Your ambassadors of peace cry in bitter disappointment.
8 Your roads are deserted;
    no one travels them anymore.
The Assyrians have broken their peace treaty
    and care nothing for the promises they made before witnesses.[c]
    They have no respect for anyone.
9 The land of Israel wilts in mourning.
    Lebanon withers with shame.
The plain of Sharon is now a wilderness.
    Bashan and Carmel have been plundered.

10 But the Lord says: “Now I will stand up.
    Now I will show my power and might.
11 You Assyrians produce nothing but dry grass and stubble.
    Your own breath will turn to fire and consume you.
12 Your people will be burned up completely,
    like thornbushes cut down and tossed in a fire.
13 Listen to what I have done, you nations far away!
    And you that are near, acknowledge my might!”

14 The sinners in Jerusalem shake with fear.
    Terror seizes the godless.
“Who can live with this devouring fire?” they cry.
    “Who can survive this all-consuming fire?”
15 Those who are honest and fair,
    who refuse to profit by fraud,
    who stay far away from bribes,
who refuse to listen to those who plot murder,
    who shut their eyes to all enticement to do wrong—
16 these are the ones who will dwell on high.
    The rocks of the mountains will be their fortress.
Food will be supplied to them,
    and they will have water in abundance.

17 Your eyes will see the king in all his splendor,
    and you will see a land that stretches into the distance.
18 You will think back to this time of terror, asking,
“Where are the Assyrian officers
    who counted our towers?
Where are the bookkeepers
    who recorded the plunder taken from our fallen city?”
19 You will no longer see these fierce, violent people
    with their strange, unknown language.

20 Instead, you will see Zion as a place of holy festivals.
    You will see Jerusalem, a city quiet and secure.
It will be like a tent whose ropes are taut
    and whose stakes are firmly fixed.
21 The Lord will be our Mighty One.
    He will be like a wide river of protection
that no enemy can cross,
    that no enemy ship can sail upon.
22 For the Lord is our judge,
    our lawgiver, and our king.
    He will care for us and save us.
23 The enemies’ sails hang loose
    on broken masts with useless tackle.
Their treasure will be divided by the people of God.
    Even the lame will take their share!
24 The people of Israel will no longer say,
    “We are sick and helpless,”
    for the Lord will forgive their sins.

  1. 33:1 Hebrew What sorrow awaits you, O destroyer. The Hebrew text does not specifically name Assyria as the object of the prophecy in this chapter.
  2. 33:5 Hebrew Zion; also in 33:14.
  3. 33:8 As in Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text reads care nothing for the cities.

Isaiah 33 (New Living Translation)

Dear God, I think it’s important to point out this is from the New Living Translation because they gave a footnote for verse one that says they took the liberty of inserting “Assyrians” in place of destroyer. I’m sure they had a good reason for doing this, but it’s an important note because when I read it this morning, I immediately thought of Isaiah and Hezekiah in 2 Kings 19 when the Assyrians are threatening to attack and Isaiah tells Hezekiah, after Hezekiah has sought your help and favor, to not worry about it. It’s also important to remember that is was the Assyrians who conquered the other tribes of Israel and sent them into exile. And they were the Ninevites whom Jonah hated so much.

Going back to my desire to not believe in “Disney Princess Theology,” I want to look at myself and/or my country critically ask where I/we might be the bad guy in the story. What if I’m Assyria and not Israel? What if my country is Assyria and not Israel? Is there a warning for me in here? Obviously, there is. I think especially for our country. For the last 10 years a good number of us have been striving for greatness and power–both as individuals and as a nation. We want to exert influence and make people near us cower. I mean, for some reason we’ve made an enemy of Canada. How does that happen unless we’ve made an idol out of this greatness, power, and influence we seek? We’ve even stopped a lot of our foreign aid and benevolence, claiming we must serve ourselves first. We are learning firsthand how limited our great military power actually is in Iran and Ukraine. As a nation right now, are we really any different that Assyria here?

Okay, I’ve pointed fingers at others enough. What about me? Do I love more than I judge? Do I serve more than I expect others to serve me? Are your fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control growing in me, or are the thorns and weeds of this world choking them out?

Father, give me eyes to see today. Help me to recognize my Assyrian tendencies. And give our nation eyes to see. Help us to see that in our desire to enforce faith on our fellow citizens and even the world, we are actually doing it exactly the opposite way you called us to do it: through prayer, service, persuasion, and suffering. When we call for revival, let it start with our own self-examination and repentance.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 7, 2026 in Isaiah

 

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Isaiah 38:1-8

17 Jul

38 About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.’”

2 When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Remember, O Lord, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing what pleases you.” Then he broke down and wept bitterly.

4 Then this message came to Isaiah from the Lord: 5 “Go back to Hezekiah and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will add fifteen years to your life, 6 and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. Yes, I will defend this city.

7 “‘And this is the sign from the Lord to prove that he will do as he promised: 8 I will cause the sun’s shadow to move ten steps backward on the sundial of Ahaz!’” So the shadow on the sundial moved backward ten steps.

Isaiah 38:1-8

Dear God, you know that Hezekiah means a lot to me. I think it was three years ago (4?) that you encouraged me with the story of him from 2 Kings 18-19 when the Assyrians were attacking and you spared him and Jerusalem from defeat. I had a tall task in front of me, though not nearly as dire as his, and you comforted me with his miraculous experience through your power.

Now, I look at him in this story and I see a man about to die. I’m curious as to why you saved him. While I am sure he wept because he didn’t want to die, I notice that he didn’t ask you that he might be healed and live. It seems you just decided to do it. And knowing the rest of the story, he ended up having a son in those 15 years who would grow to be a bad king. I can’t help but wonder why.

But your ways are a mystery to me. I am a fool. I am not even playing two-dimensional checkers compared to your 3-D chess. I’m having a conversation with a potential dentist for our clinic. I’ve been looking for about eight months. About a month ago while I was praying about it I had the thought (from the Holy Spirit?) that perhaps the person you have for our position isn’t ready yet. And now this situation appears to be unfolding in a providential way. Help me to be wise with it today. Help me to discern your will.

Father, I give this day to you. I have some specific jobs I need to do. Help me to do them well. Our graduation from last night ended up getting canceled by the floods in our area. Please be with the men and their families. Help them to continue to seek you without the immediate closure that graduation night usually provides. Help us to reschedule the graduation soon for their sakes.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 17, 2026 in Isaiah

 

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Psalm 121

22 Jun

Psalm 121

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.

1 I look up to the mountains—
    does my help come from there?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth!

3 He will not let you stumble;
    the one who watches over you will not slumber.
4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel
    never slumbers or sleeps.

5 The Lord himself watches over you!
    The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
6 The sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon at night.

7 The Lord keeps you from all harm
    and watches over your life.
8 The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
    both now and forever.

Dear God, what exactly is your role in protecting me? When do you extend your “protective shade” (verse 5) and when do you allow life to run its course in my life? What are you doing that I can’t see? I know I will have ultimate safety and live in your glorious presence beyond this current life, but what are you doing now? How do your angels come into play?

Honestly, I feel like I’m missing something when it comes to praying about angels and what they are doing around me. My wife will say a Catholic prayer to Michael the Archangel about safety. Is that appropriate? Should I be more praying to you/Jesus/Holy Spirit about assigning an angel in general? Is Michael even omnipresent so that he could hear my prayers? So many questions. I’m so ignorant.

Father, you know my heart. I want to simply live for you today. I want to do good work. I want to have constructive conversations with people–especially when there is conflict involved. Help me to follow you moment to moment. If I could pray for protection for anyone, it would start with my wife. Protect her soul, mind, heart, and body. Defend her, Father. My children and their significant others. I pray that my son and his wife would have a day that further develops what you’re doing in each of their lives. For my daughter and her boyfriend, that you would guide them clearly and intentionally on the path you have for them. Love all of them. Heal all of them. Be glorified in all of our lives. There are so many other family and non-family members on my mind. You know who they are. Oh, Father, love them beyond what my feeble prayers call on you to do. Holy Spirit, pray in a way that I’m just incapable of.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 22, 2026 in Psalms

 

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Luke 11:11-13

13 Jun

9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

11 “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? 12 Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! 13 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

Luke 11:11-13

Dear God, the Luke telling of Jesus’s words are the verse of the day for Bible Gateway. I noticed an interesting thing in verse 13, so I wanted to compare it with the similar passage in Matthew 7:

7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

9 “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! 11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

This morning, I noticed that Luke 11:13 specifies the Holy Spirit as the gift you gift while Matthew 7:11 says “good gifts” rather generically. It feels like Luke was being more intentionally specific. Which did Jesus say? Well, I’m sure he said all of this Sermon on the Mount stump speech more than once and the words might have changed from time to time, but I think I’m going to sit with the idea that the good gift you gift is the Holy Spirit. It’s the Holy Spirit that guide my other requests. My desires. My wants. Honestly, the closer I get to you through communion with the Holy Spirit and through Jesus the less I need. The less I want. The more I see things are not about me.

Now that’s easy to day for an American with a new car and a garage in a nice home to put it in. But there’s always more I could covet. There’s always more I could want. Honestly, Father, I want for nothing because of your presence. My life is really quite something. Something to be envied. Not necessarily from a material possessions standpoint, but in the areas of peace. Man, it sounds like I’m bragging here. I don’t mean to be. I’m just grateful.

Father, please continue to hone my selfishness and wants down to nothing. Help me to focus more on my desires for others and their provision than I focus on my own. Help me to love others today. Help me to embrace the Holy Spirit’s presence. Oh, Holy Spirit, follow me today. Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, forgive me of my sins, and help me to recognize my unforgiveness of others and to turn it into forgiveness. Do all of this for your glory.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 13, 2026 in Luke, Matthew

 

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“One Hundred Three” – Antioch Music – James Mark Gulley

29 May

“Psalm 103”

VERSE 1 
Father full of love 
You have not dealt with us 
according to our sins 
Father full of love 
You have shown mercy 
mercy for Your children 

For You know that we are merely 
dust in the wind 
And You know that we are weary 
from this world that we live in 

PRE-CHORUS 
But You are strong and You are mercy 
Great are You here in this place 
You are love and You're forgiving 
You've turned this world around 
by the pouring of Your grace 

CHORUS 
Bless the Lord O my soul 
Bless His holy name all the earth 
Bless the Lord O my soul 
You are worthy You are worthy 

VERSE 2 
Father full of love 
You wrap us up in grace 
crown us with compassion 
Father full of love 
You heal our sicknesses 
every single one 

BRIDGE 
You are worthy of blessing and honor 
Glory and power wisdom and thanks 

#AntiochMusic

Dear God, I started singing along with this song this morning, and I just go overwhelmed with worship for you. It was almost too much. In fact, I found myself having to throttle it back a little. Oh, how I do love you. I do need you. There are times when I get upset at myself for not praying to you more in supplication, but I think one of the reasons I struggle with intercessory prayer is that I don't necessarily think of you as this great "hander out of favors in the sky." You are God. I'm here. Yes, I need help with my family. Yes, I need help with my work. Yes, our community, state, nation, and world need help. We need you. I need you. But what I really need, above all, is relationship with you. I want to be more like David in purusing and wanting to know you, as opposed to Saul who just wanted to revere you. Yes, I revere you, but I want to know you, be known by you, and worship you. 

Father, full of love. You have not dealt with me according to my sin. Father, full of love, you have shown me mercy and mercy for all of us. You know that I am merely dust in the windn. You know I am weary from this world. But you are strong, and you are mercy. Great are you here in his room right now. You are love. You are forgiving. You turned this world around by the pouring out of your grace. Help us know how to live into that. And let me close by saying, bless the Lord, oh my soul. Bless his holy name, John. Bless the Lord, oh my soul. You are worthy, Father. You are worthy. 

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen
 
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Posted by on May 29, 2026 in Hymns and Songs, Psalms

 

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1 Samuel 1:9-18, 24-28, 2:11

21 May

9 Once after a sacrificial meal at Shiloh, Hannah got up and went to pray. Eli the priest was sitting at his customary place beside the entrance of the Tabernacle. 10 Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord. 11 And she made this vow: “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the Lord, his hair will never be cut.”

12 As she was praying to the Lord, Eli watched her. 13 Seeing her lips moving but hearing no sound, he thought she had been drinking. 14 “Must you come here drunk?” he demanded. “Throw away your wine!”

15 “Oh no, sir!” she replied. “I haven’t been drinking wine or anything stronger. But I am very discouraged, and I was pouring out my heart to the Lord. 16 Don’t think I am a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow.”

17 “In that case,” Eli said, “go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him.”

18 “Oh, thank you, sir!” she exclaimed. Then she went back and began to eat again, and she was no longer sad.

24 When the child was weaned, Hannah took him to the Tabernacle in Shiloh. They brought along a three-year-old bull for the sacrifice and a basket of flour and some wine. 25 After sacrificing the bull, they brought the boy to Eli. 26 “Sir, do you remember me?” Hannah asked. “I am the very woman who stood here several years ago praying to the Lord. 27 I asked the Lord to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. 28 Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life.” And they worshiped the Lord there.

211 Then Elkanah returned home to Ramah without Samuel. And the boy served the Lord by assisting Eli the priest.

1 Samuel 1:9-18, 24-28, 2:11

Dear God, I’ve been thinking a lot about what I’m going to teach for Sunday school this Sunday, and I think I’ve found it. As I’ve asked you about what I should do, it seems like Eli has been bubbling to the surface. But before I go any further in this prayer, I want to stop and thank you for the rain. It has rained overnight here the last two nights, and it has been wonderful. Thank you. We need it. We are helpless without it. We need you to provide it. Thank you for your goodness and for sending rain. We treat your earth foolishly. I treat your earth foolishly. Yet you are good. Thank you.

Back to Eli. I noticed this morning when I read these verses that the first thing we see him do is make a mistake. He’s not an especially perceptive person. He was quick to judge Hannah when he saw something he didn’t understand. And then he just kind of blanket-blessed her prayer request while having no idea what she was asking. She could have been asking you to kill Peninnah for all he knew. So Eli was already not the best when we met him. But Hannah didn’t let that stop her from fulfilling her vow to you. She offered up Samuel to you even though some people would have said it was a mistake because, well, we’ll find out in the next verses tomorrow that Eli didn’t have such a great track record in raising boys.

So the questions for me are 1.) how do I prejudge situations without fully understanding them, and 2.) how do I allow conventional wisdom to get in the way of what you’re calling me to do? The answer to the first one is ALL of the time. I prejudge situations without fulling understanding them ALL of the time. The answer to the second one is SOME of the time. There are times when I will make a quick decision based on worldly wisdom and let it get in the way of what you’re calling me to do, but there are other times when I am able to look beyond what logic dictates should be done and can mercifully see what your Spirit might be urging me to do.

Father, I give everything to you this day. Help me to see what you have for me to see. Help me to hear what you have for me to hear. I need your discernment, wisdom, and perception. Help me to do that. And help me to do the job you have for me to do this day. I still have so much to do at work. Help me to do it well and for your glory–not mine.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on May 21, 2026 in 1 Samuel

 

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