16 They answered Joshua, “We will do whatever you command us, and we will go wherever you send us. 17 We will obey you just as we obeyed Moses. And may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. 18 Anyone who rebels against your orders and does not obey your words and everything you command will be put to death. So be strong and courageous!”
Joshua 1:16-18
68 Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. 69 We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.”
John 6:68-69
Dear God, I really like how the lectionary of many churches, including the Catholic church, will tie Old Testament passages to Gospel passages. In this case, tomorrow’s verses for the Catholic church include the verses above. There’s more to each one, but the ideas of these two sentences comparing the people’s response to Joshua’s, “Choose today whom you will serve,” with Peter’s response to Jesus’s, “Will you leave too?” is both touching and tragic. It’s touching because they believed these words with all their hearts when they said them. It’s tragic because they are all human and every one of them failed to live up to the words they spoke that day at some point or another.
Of course, I’m no different. My heart will exude with love and worship for you in one moment and then run and hide the next. When I started typing a few moments ago, I thought of the Rich Mullins song “Nothing is Beyond You,” which is based on part of Psalm 139. The first verse and chorus:
Where would I go? Where would I run?
Even if I found the strength to fly.
And if I rose on the wings of the dawn
And crashed through the corners of the sky
If I sailed past the edge of the sea
Even if I made my bed in hell
Still there you would find meNothing is beyond you
You stand beyond the reach
Of my vain imagination
My misguided piety
The heavens stretch to hold you
And deep calls out to deep
Saying, "Nothing is beyond you!"
Time cannot contain you
You fill eternity
Sin can never stain you
Death has lost its sting
And I cannot explain how
You came to love me
Except to say that
Nothing is beyond you
Father, the good news is that my faithless heart is not beyond you. The Israelites’ faithless hearts were not beyond you. Peter’s faithless heart was not beyond you. Nothing is beyond you. I’m sorry I go. I’m sorry I run. I’m sorry I fly and sail away with everything I have sometimes. I am sorry I kick against you. I’m sorry I resist you. But in this moment now, I do worship you. Well, do I? Even as I sit here, I can tell my heart isn’t 100% yours. I’m holding back today. I have my agenda of what I want to do today and what I don’t want to do. I don’t want you to get in the way of that. No, even now, I am not totally yours. I’m sorry for that too. Holy Spirit, right now, I invite you to take over my heart and make me wholly the Father’s, the Son’s, and yours. I completely submit myself in this moment to you.
I offer this prayer and my life in Jesus and with the Holy Spirit,
Every generation Blames the one before And all of their frustrations Come beating on your door
I know that I’m a prisoner To all my Father held so dear I know that I’m a hostage To all his hopes and fears I just wish I could have told him in the living years
Oh, crumpled bits of paper Filled with imperfect thought Stilted conversations I’m afraid that’s all we’ve got
You say you just don’t see it He says it’s perfect sense You just can’t get agreement In this present tense We all talk a different language Talking in defense
Say it loud (say it loud), say it clear (oh say it clear) You can listen as well as you hear It’s too late (it’s too late) when we die (oh when we die) To admit we don’t see eye to eye
So we open up a quarrel Between the present and the past We only sacrifice the future It’s the bitterness that lasts
So don’t yield to the fortunes You sometimes see as fate It may have a new perspective On a different day And if you don’t give up, and don’t give in You may just be okay
So say it loud, say it clear (oh say it clear) You can listen as well as you hear Because it’s too late, it’s too late (it’s too late) When we die (oh, when we die) To admit we don’t see eye to eye
I wasn’t there that morning When my Father passed away I didn’t get to tell him All the things I had to say
I think I caught his spirit Later that same year I’m sure I heard his echo In my baby’s new born tears I just wish I could have told him in the living years
Say it loud, say it clear (oh say it clear) You can listen as well as you hear It’s too late (it’s too late) when we die (it’s too late when we die) To admit we don’t see eye to eye
So say it, say it, say it loud (say it loud) Say it clear (come on say it clear) Say it loud (Don’t give up, don’t give in and don’t look away ’til it’s too late) Say it clear Say it loud (say it loud, say it loud)
Dear God, this seems like a good Father’s Day song. As I said a day or two ago, I think there are probably more of us who struggle with Father’s Day than sink into the joy of it. I think this son by B.A. Robertson and Mike Rutherford explains why.
When I think about it from a macro level, I think the words mercy and forgiveness are what come to mind. It reminds me of the beginning of the poem “This Be The Verse”: The f*** you up, your mom and dad. They don’t mean to but they do. They fill you with the faults they had. Then they add some extra just for you...
What the child never realized until maybe when they are a parent is how much the parent loves them. How much the parent sacrifices for them. I’ve seen a mom I work with fight for her child’s brain development and health. Doctors and therapists were convinced he is autistic, but she knew there was something more and she has put him through amazing amounts of occupational and cognitive development therapy for the first three years of his life. She has sacrificed. She has taken time from work. She has spent tons of money. And now it seems to be paying off to the point that she was told last week by his developmental therapist that she was once convinced the boy was autistic, but now she doesn’t think he is. As she told me this story, I thought about how this boy will one day be a teenager and frustrated with his parents, and he won’t realize how much they’ve done for him or loved him. How can he.
I can’t really understand how much my parents have done for me over the years. I know there was a time when I was a baby that I was very sick and my mother fought for me to see the right doctors when she felt like I wasn’t getting the care I needed. She carried me and walked with me a long distance to get me where I needed to be. And yes, I have been frustrated with her over the years. And yes, I haven’t fully appreciated everything she has done. And yes, I still have some issues. But it’s okay to let mercy and forgiveness rule the day.
So, Father, I offer this prayer to you today–this Father’s Day. The only hope any of us have is if we, to quote Rich Mullins, “let mercy lead.” Help me to lead with mercy today. Mercy for my dad. Mercy for my children. Mercy for everyone around me. Help me to lead with mercy today, see each person with your eyes, and worship you throughout this day.
I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,
Why do the nations rage? Why do they plot and scheme? Their bullets can’t stop the prayers we pray In the name of the Prince of Peace We walk in faith and remember long ago How they killed Him and then how on the third day He arose Well, things may look bad And things may look grim But all these things must pass except the things that are of Him
Where are the nails that pierced His hands? Well the nails have turned to rust But behold the Man He is risen And He reigns In the hearts of the children Rising up in His name Where are the thorns that drew His blood? Well, the thorns have turned to dust But not so the love He has given No, it remains In the hearts of the children Who will love while the nations rage
The Lord in Heaven laughs He knows what is to come While all the chiefs of state plan their big attacks Against His anointed One The Church of God she will not bend her knees To the gods of this world though they promise her peace She stands her ground Stands firm on the Rock Watch their walls tumble down when she lives out His love
Where are the nails that pierced His hands? Well the nails have turned to rust But not so the Man He is risen And He reigns In the hearts of the children Rising up in His name Where are the thorns that drew His blood? Well, the thorns have turned to dust But behold the love He has given It remains In the hearts of the children Who will love while the nations rage While the nations rage
Well, where are the nails that pierced His hands? Well the nails have turned to rust But behold the Man He is risen And He reigns In the hearts of the children Rising up in His name Where are the thorns that drew His blood? Well, the thorns have turned to dust But not so the love He has given Oh, it remains In the hearts of the children Who will love while the nations rage
Dear God, this has never been one of my favorite Rich Mullins songs, but it came up on my playlist yesterday morning while I was mowing the lawn, and there was one line that caught my ear: In the hearts of the children who will love while the nations rage.
Oh, Father, where has our love gone? And when I say “our,” I mean the church. Your church. Your body. Where has our love gone? It feels like we have joined the fray with bullets and raging. With barbs. With “destroying” or “owning” each other. I’ve mentioned that I’ve been reading a memoir by Nancy French called Ghosted: An American Story. She is a ghostwriter, and she describes about ten years ago one of her jobs was to sit off camera at Fox News and feed zingers to her clients so they could “own the libs.” She is a great believer in you. Her love for you is deep and sincere. But she didn’t “love the libs” as Jesus would have commanded. She wanted to “own” them. She regrets it now. Especially since she fell out of step with the current makeup of the Republican party. Now she is the one they try to “own.” And sometimes it has worked. Sometimes, they have devastated her and her family. Of course, they claim to love and worship you too. Where is their love?
Now, before I get too sanctimonious on this topic, I could ask the same question of myself. Where is my love for those I oppose? Do I want to own them, or do I want to love them? Do I want to attack them or attract them? Do I want to fight them, or do I want to accept their attacks and meet it with love? Do I want their defeat, or do I want to comfort them? No, I make the same mistakes French describes she made. I get defensive. I get angry and then let that anger become something destructive instead of constructive.
Father, the nations are raging, but our nation is raging too. French described the difference between a Republican campaign rally in 2012 vs 2016. The anger and hate in 2016 vs 2012 was apparently remarkable. People arguing with security guards that they should be allowed to bring their guns in. Yelling at the press. Of course, chanting awful things about their opponent. Yes, right now, our nation is raging. Sometimes with real bullets. Sometimes with barbs of hate, superiority, and dominance. Even Rich Mullins, in a live performance of this song threw a barb at the Clintons (Rich died during Bill Clinton’s second term, so he was President when the song was recorded). It made me uncomfortable. I wondered if Rich could watch that now if he would regret it.
Father, I might have to take a principled stand at some point about political issues, whether they be local, national, or international. And it might cost me. My prayer is that, if it costs me, it be for a reason that glorifies you and sees me honoring you in my response to it. And while I’m here talking about the nations raging, I would be remiss if I didn’t bring up Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Palestine, China and Taiwan, etc. Oh, Father, please bring peace. Please bring solutions. Raise up your leadership to guide your will to be done. And be in our current elections from local sheriff all of the way up to President. Let nothing happen outside of your will, Father. And while you do that, I will worship you and not look to any outcome that I prefer as my idol.
I offer this prayer to you in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,
13 Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. 14 Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.
James 5:13-15
Dear God, this passage reminds me of the Rich Mullins song “If I Stand.” I heard him say once that he wrote it thinking about calling on you in the bad times and thanking you for the good times. Worshipping and celebrating you always.
I’ll confess that I feel a little flat this morning. It’s a Saturday morning, and while I have something planned to do at 10:30, I don’t really have anything planned today. What will I do? Will I take time to worship you? Or will I waste the day? Will I take time to thank you for everything you’ve done for me, or will I just be self-indulgent? Will I bring my hurts worries and concerns to you, or will I just feel sorry for myself?
Father, “if I stand, let me stand on the promise that you have pulled me through. And if I can’t let me fall on the grace that first brought me to you. And if I sing, let me sing for the joy that has born in me these songs. And if I weep, let it be as a man who is longing for his home.”
Good morning, Father. I’ve been doing this after my morning shower, but I think I’m going to skip showering this morning because of how my day is going to play out, so I thought I would go ahead and dive into praying to you and going through Sacred Invitation: Lenten Devotions Inspired by the Book of Common Prayer.
Of course, as is my pattern over the last 12 days, I didn’t read the PM Psalms (138 and 139). David wrote both of them, and I do notice one pattern in David that I think was a problem for him: anger. Psalm 139 is one of those great, worshipful songs. Different parts of it are often quoted. Rick Mullins wrote a song called “Nothing is Beyond You” before he died that leans heavily on this psalm. But David can’t help himself at the end. He has to lash out at his enemies: “If only you would slay the wicked, O God! Away from me, you bloodthirsty men! They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD, and abhor those who rise up against you? I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies.” In the midst of a lot of worship, but is a lot of anger.
I wonder how Jesus would have comforted David in the moment he was writing that. “No, David. Love your enemies. Your hatred is hurting you. They are my children too. They sin like you do. They have walked away. I’m waiting for them to return. Beckoning to them. Calling them. I need you to be part of that call with me. Let’s call them together. Be at peace, David. Be at peace. Remember, my rod and staff comfort you. You might be sitting at a table eating, and your enemies might be surrounding you, watching, but I am with you and they will not harm you.”
Is that how you are comforting me this morning, Father? Are you telling me that the people I might see as an enemy are simply people you want to see return to you as much as a parent wants to receive a child that has rejected them? You need me as your emissary to them. You need me to be your ambassador. Your advocate. You need me to be a lover of everyone.
With all of that said, here are today’s passages from Sacred Invitation.
AM Psalms: 24, 29
PM Psalms: 8, 84
Jeremiah 1:1-10
Mark 3:31-4:9
1 Corinthians 3:11-23
I have to admit it is kind of refreshing to shift gears from Deuteronomy and Hebrews (John was okay), and shift to Jeremiah and 1 Corinthians. I’m really interested to see what Jeremiah will say to me all these years later. I came to appreciate his role in the Old Testament and Israelite history when I did the Bible in a Year podcast with Fr. Mike Schmitz. I didn’t understand him at all before. Now, I might have 10% understanding, but I at least have a foundation upon which I can build.
Father, you know some of the challenges I’m facing right now. Even this very morning, I have some challenges. Help me to share your joy with others. Help me to share your peace. Help me to be the person you need me to be as I do my best to live the life you have for me to live, warts and all.
I offer this to you in the name of Jesus, my Lord, and with your Holy Spirit, my paraclete,
15 It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. 16 They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News. 17 Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. 18 But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice. 19 For I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance.
20 For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. 21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. 22 But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. 23 I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. 24 But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.
Philippians 1:15-24
Dear God, I know that it’s easy for me to say these words because I do not experience imminent threats to my safety or even my livelihood, but this is the attitude I aspire towards. That my life should really not matter. That I am willing to suffer if it means other will be saved.
Now that I think about it, I had some weird dreams last night. I don’t remember everything, but I remember a mixture of sorrow and joy. I remember one dream where my wife had written a screenplay about our lives that had been sold into a movie. I found out by watching a trailer for the movie and recognizing the story as ours. When I asked her how much she sold our story for, she told me and I was delighted for her and for where we are now compared to the trials I had seen depicted in the trailer. Later, I know I was crying. I’m not sure why. But I was sad about something.
Of course, I do have sorrow. My heart does ache. I guess, like my dream, I have some things in my life that bring me great joy, and other things that make me very sad. It makes me think of the Rich Mullins song “The Love of God.” One of the verses says, “Joy and sorry are this ocean. It’s in their every ebb and flow. Now the Lord a door has opened that all hell could never close. Here I’m tested and made worthy. Tossed about, yet lifted up in the reckless, raging fury that they call the love of God.”
Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, today, I give you my joy and my sorrow. Both are yours. My joy comes from you and I return it to you. My sorrow is something you will comfort and refine me through. I am tested and made worthy. I’m tossed about, yet lifted up into the reckless, raging fury of your love. Thank you. Thank you.
I pray all of this grateful to be submitted to you,
Aidan you’re young But Aidan you’re growing fast Me and your mom And all the love we have We can only take you so far As far as we can But you’ll need something more to guide your heart As you grow into a man
Let mercy lead Let love be the strength in your legs And in every 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 meet you in that place Where mercy leads
Aidan the day Aidan the day will come You’ll run the race That takes us way beyond All our trials and all our failures And all the good we dream of But you can’t see yet where it is you’re heading But one day you’ll see the face of love
Let mercy lead Let love be the strength in your legs And in every 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 meet you in that place Let mercy lead Let mercy lead
Dear God, at what point do we just let go of the wrongs done to us?
I came across this song this morning, and it felt providential. If I were writing words to the newborn child of a friend, could I come up with words any better than these? Mercy. Mercy. Mercy.
We will come across people throughout our lives–family and friends–who need mercy. I need mercy extended to me because despite my best efforts I have made many mistakes. I need mercy. I need to extend mercy. I need your mercy.
Father, while I sing this song for those I love, help me to live it for myself too. Help me to let mercy lead, let love be the strength of my legs, and leave drops of grace everywhere I go. Help me to reach beyond human wisdom and into your foolishness. Thank you for foolishly saving me. And even though my heart is broken, help me to find your peace.
I turned on the evening news Saw an old man being interviewed Turning a hundred and two today
Asked him what’s the secret to life? He looked up from his old pipe Laughed and said, “All I can say is
Don’t blink, just like that you’re six years old And you take a nap And you wake up and you’re twenty-five And your high school sweetheart becomes your wife
Don’t blink, you just might miss Your babies growing like mine did Turning into moms and dads Next thing you know your better half
Of fifty years is there in bed And you’re praying God takes you instead Trust me friend a hundred years Goes faster than you think, so don’t blink
I was glued to my TV, when it looked Like he looked at me and said “Best start putting first things first”
‘Cause when your hourglass runs out of sand You can’t flip it over and start again Take every breathe God gives you for what it’s worth
Don’t blink, ’cause just like that you’re six years old And you take a nap And you wake up and you’re twenty-five And your high school sweetheart becomes your wife
Don’t blink, you just might miss Your babies growing like mine did Turning into moms and dads Next thing you know your better half
Of fifty years is there in bed And you’re praying God takes you instead Trust me friend a hundred years Goes faster than you think, so don’t blink
So I’ve been trying to slow it down I’ve been trying to take it in In this ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ world we’re living in
So don’t blink, ’cause just like that you’re six years old And you take a nap And you wake up and you’re twenty-five And your high school sweetheart becomes your wife
Don’t blink, you just might miss Your babies growing like mine did Turning into moms and dads Next thing you know your better half
Of fifty years is there in bed And you’re praying God takes you instead Trust me friend a hundred years Goes faster than you think, so don’t blink
No, don’t blink
Don’t blink Life goes faster than you think So don’t blink
Dear God, I started this on Wednesday morning, but I’ve truly been so busy I haven’t been able to get back to it. It was an incredibly busy week at work, but it was good too. Very good. I’m grateful. You answered a lot of prayers–especially for our fundraising dinner Tuesday night. My wife did the invocation for about 290 people in attendance, and part of it was leading everyone in the first verse and chorus of “To God Be The Glory.” It set the tone for the rest of the night. It was inspired, and I really felt like the Holy Spirit was among us all evening. I am humbled and grateful. Did we raise money and reach our goals? Yes. But more importantly, it felt like everyone (or at least everyone I talked to) left feeling inspired and joyful. I pray they realized from all we said and did that they understood it was you they were feeling.
I was meeting with a friend Wednesday afternoon and we were talking about his struggles and stresses at work. I asked him a question that, to my surprise, seemed to unnerve him a little. I asked, “What do you do to take care of yourself?” He didn’t have an answer for it. I talked to him a day later and it was still sitting with him. He told me the next day that he was realizing he was doing a lot of religious things but he wasn’t really paying any attention to his relationship with you.
So how does all of this relate to this Kenny Chesney song? Well, the second verse has rolled around in my head ever since I heard this song earlier this week:
I was glued to my TV, when it looked Like he looked at me and said “Best start putting first things first”
‘Cause when your hourglass runs out of sand You can’t flip it over and start again Take every breathe God gives you for what it’s worth
Especially the line, “Best start putting first things first.” I think at some point when we mature as adults we wrestle with the question of what is the first thing that I should be putting first? It made me think of the “One thing” line from the movie City Slickers:
By the end of the movie, Billy Crystal’s character decided that his “one thing” was his family. That was the most important thing to him. But I’ve learned something different over the years. And this would probably hurt some feelings to hear this, but, frankly, it isn’t fair to my family to make them my “one thing.”
I was listening to a pastor interviewed in June 2020 about surviving Covid and the pastor interviewing him asked him if he had one particular message to share with people. He said (my paraphrase), “Yes. We have made an idol out of certainty. We put our certainty in our spouse, our children, our job, our health, our economy, our government, etc. But God is the only thing that is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” At that point, as I’ve recounted here many times in the past, I started evaluating all of the things in my life that caused me angst and tried to honestly evaluate whether or not they had become idols to me. And I’ve identified a few. The U.S. military was one that I am ashamed to admit was an idol. When I hear about an advancement that another country like China or Russia has over us (like hypersonic missiles), it bothers me. Why? Ninety-five percent of the world goes to bed each night without the protection of the United States Military, and an awful lot of them are Christians and yet they are somehow able to sleep. Why is that so important to me? It’s an idol I’ve used to give me a sense of certainty. I’m sure there are more idols I haven’t identified, and I’m sorry for that.
So what’s my one thing? What is my first thing that must be put first? It’s you. It’s my relationship with you. It’s the submitting of myself to the two great commandments: Love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength and loving my neighbor as myself. To quote Curly in the City Slickers quote above, “[If I] do that [then] everything else don’t mean s***.”
Father, it’s hard to do. It’s so much easier to put my certainty and priorities on tangible things. But Billy Crystal’s character Mitch will one day learn that his family can’t be his one thing either. It’s not fair to them. If you are my one thing then you will make sure I am loving my family the way I need to. If I am listening to your Holy Spirit, then you will guide me into loving them well. Thursday morning, I was getting my haircut and your Spirit nudged me to pay for the haircut of the man behind me. Later, the barber told me that the man, who was there with his wife, was just laid off from a business that closed and he was there to get a haircut as he went out and applied for jobs. That humbled and delighted me. Not because I did something nice, but because I must have heard your Holy Spirit talking to me and I acted upon it. So I give you everything. You are my first thing that I will put first. You are my one thing. To quote Rich Mullins from his song “One Thing,” “Everybody I know says they need just one thing. But what they really mean is they need just one thing more.” Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, if I live the life of Job and you take away everything, I would hope that I could say that you are still the only one thing that I need.
I pray all of this through the grace of Jesus through the blood he shed for me,
Dear God, I used to sing these three songs to my children at bedtime when they were little. I just want to sing them to you by typing out all of their lyrics before I go to be tonight.
“I Will Sing” by Rich Mullins
I will sing for the meek For those who pray With their very lives for peace Though they’re in chains For a higher call Their mourning will change in laughter When the nations fall
In spirit poor, In mercy rich They hunger for your righteousness Their hearts refined into purity Lord, let me shine for them Lord, let me sing Lord, let me shine for them Lord, let me sing
“First Family” by Rich Mullins
My folks they were always The first family to arrive Seven people jammed into a car That seated five There was one bathroom To bathe and shave in Six of us stood in line And hot water for only three But we all did just fine
Talk about your miracles Talk about your faith My dad he could make things grow Out of Indiana clay Mom could make a gourmet meal Out of just cornbread and beans And they worked to give faith hands and feet But somehow gave it wings
I can still hear my dad cussin’ He’s working late out in the barn The spring plantings are coming And the tractors just won’t run Mom, she’s done the laundry I can see it waving on the line Now they’ve stayed together Through pain and the strain of those times
Talk about your miracles Talk about your faith My dad he could make things grow Out of Indiana clay Mom could make a gourmet meal Out of just cornbread and beans And they worked to give faith hands and feet But somehow gave it wings
Now they’ve raised five children But one winter they lost a son But the pain didn’t leave them crippled Only scars that made them strong
Never picture perfect Just a plain man and his wife Who somehow knew the value Of hard work, good love, and real life
Talk about your miracles Talk about your faith My dad he could make things grow Out of Indiana Clay Mom could make a gourmet meal Out of just cornbread and beans And they worked to give faith hands and feet But somehow gave it wings
“The Love of God” by Rich Mullins
There’s a wideness in God’s mercy I cannot find in my own And it keeps this fire burning To melt this heart of stone Keeps me aching with the yearning Keeps me glad to have been caught In the reckless raging fury That they call the love of God
I have seen no band of angels But I’ve heard the soldiers’ song Love hangs over them like a banner Love within them leads them on To the battle on the journey And it’s never gonna stop Ever widening their mercy And the fury of His love
Oh, the love of God! Oh, the love of God! The love of God!
Joy and sorrow are this ocean It’s in their every ebb and flow Now, the Lord a door has opened That all hell could never close Here I’m tested and made worthy Tossed about, yet lifted up In the reckless raging fury That they call the love of God
Father, I pray these songs over my wife, me, our children, and their significant others tonight.
Rich Mullins performing “Doubly Good To You,” a song he wrote but was originally released by Amy Grant
“Doubly Good To You” by Rich Mullins
If you see the moon Rising gently on your fields If the wind blows softly on your face If the sunset lingers While cathedral bells peal And the moon has risen to her place
You can thank the Father For the things that he has done And thank him for the things he’s yet to do And if you find a love that’s tender If you find someone who’s true Then thank the Lord He’s been doubly good to you
And if you look in the mirror At the end of a hard day And you know in your heart you have not lied And if you gave love freely If you earned an honest wage And if you’ve got Jesus by your side
You can thank the Father For the things that he has done And thank him for the things he’s yet to do And if you find a love that’s tender If you find someone who’s true Thank the Lord He’s been doubly good to you
Dear God, this is just a great song. Nice and simple. a reminder to count our blessings. The end.
Ah, but then there is the rest of the story. Rich Mullins wrote this for his own wedding that never happened. He lost the “doubly good” about which he was singing. Of course, Rich never experienced having children. I can attest that there can be windows in life when your marriage and kids are all great at the same time, and it really feels like even a “triple” goodness. But then those windows pass and things don’t play out like you hope. How will I respond?
I spent some time last week while I was sick pouring over old pictures of my wife and kids. Those pictures always encourage me. They remind me that there was legitimate goodness at one time. That my mind hasn’t imagined it. No, the photos didn’t capture the pain between the smiles. There are holes in the story for which I don’t know the content. But it really does help me to lean into the pain of the current loss I feel from no longer having that sense of “triple goodness” and embrace the life you e given to me now.
So, Father, thank you for the things you have done and the things you’ve yet to do. Help me to be your complete servant today.
I pray all of this under your authority and in your name,
Emails to God 