Reality Check
Thank You, Father, for a very productive day yesterday. My body is protesting some but it was well worth the effort. Please place Your hand upon my shoulder today, I welcome Your guidance and direction. Amen.
Lord, You pulled me to a Puritan prayer today…and it spoke to me. What it had to say wasn’t pretty but it is true too frequently in my life. Thankfully it isn’t as applicable today but it has been very much so…and not that long ago. It is comforting to know that I am not alone, others struggle, too. It is encouraging to know, too, that we can be “more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Romans 8:31-39
I read through the prayer twice and then prayed through it myself. It is well worth sharing…
YET I SIN
Eternal Father,
Thou art good beyond all thought,
But I am vile, wretched, miserable, blind;
My lips are ready to confess,
but my heart is slow to feel,
and my ways reluctant to amend.
I bring my soul to thee;
break it, wound it, bend it, mould it.
Unmask to me sin’s deformity,
that I may hate it, abhor it, flee from it.
My faculties have been a weapon of revolt against thee;
as a rebel I have misused my strength,
and served the foul adversary of thy kingdom.
Give me grace to bewail my insensate* folly,
Grant me to know that the way of transgressors is hard,
that evil paths are wretched paths,
that to depart from thee is to lose all good.
I have seen the purity and beauty of thy perfect law,
the happiness of those in whose heart it reigns,
the calm dignity of the walk to which it calls,
yet I daily violate and contemn** its precepts.
Thy loving Spirit strives within me,
brings me Scripture warnings,
speaks in startling providences,
allures by secret whispers,
yet I choose devices and desires to my own hurt,
impiously resent, grieve,
and provoke him to abandon me.
All these sins I mourn,lament, and for them cry pardon.
Work in me more profound and abiding repentance;
Give me the fullness of a godly grief that trembles and fears,
yet ever trusts and loves,
which is ever powerful, and ever confident;
Grant that through the tears of repentance I may see more clearly
the brightness and glories of the saving cross.
Amen…so be it.
Nov 18th, Fri, 6:33 am
A couple of words I had to look up
*insensate: without sense, understanding, or judgment; foolish.
**contemn: to treat or regard with disdain, scorn, or contempt.
Got Milk?
Father, today is going to be a long one, so let’s get it off on the right foot. May I hear You loud and clear.
1 Peter 2:2-3 (<<click here)
“…you must crave pure spiritual milk, so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation.”
Lord, I would think that most of us, when we were young, looked forward to growing up. We didn’t like being “too young” or “too little” to do things everyone else enjoyed. But for some reason many Christians when they are born anew spiritually stop growing after a while.
Overall children seem to be pretty gung ho to try new things. They are drawn to growth and development – it’s a challenge they savor more and more! Let’s do it again! It’s exciting… It’s an adventure! But getting older physically impacts maturing spiritually. We too readily become old fuddy-duddies. “We’re happy when we are! I’m fine where I’m at; don’t ask me to do anything else!”
Just as we expanded our minds and experiences as young people, we must do the same in regards to our spiritual development if we are to “grow into a full experience of salvation.” God, You have so much to offer. You lay before us a smorgasbord of abundant living and we are content with a bottle. Really? Milk is important to our development as an infant, but we have to move on. The author of Hebrews hits the nail on the head:
“There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.” Hebrews 5:11-14
Lord, help me to crave that which will bring me “into a full experience of salvation.” May milk no longer satisfy. Amen
Nov 16th, Wed, 10:24 am
Hand in Hand
Sometimes, Father, it is difficult to come and sit with You. I am unworthy. Being who I am, doing what I do, saying what I say, and thinking what I think… I don’t deserve what is extended to me… grace, mercy, love, forgiveness, acceptance. But me being me does not change You being You. I am so grateful that that is the case. I am even more grateful that You being You does change me being me! You are my only means of saving me from myself.
All praise to You, and You alone, Almighty God!
Lord, I am grateful, too, that You join me on my journey. You understand my weaknesses, though, in love, you do not condone them. In Your strength and wisdom, You enable me to strive to move forward. You truly are a Savior many times over. Truly You sacrificed Yourself for my salvation (for which words cannot convey my gratitude!) but every day You extend Your hand to me – to encourage me to carry on and not stop, to lift me up when I have fallen (again!), to provide me with the calm assurance that I am not alone. You love me more than I’ll ever be able to grasp and I can rest in that irrefutable reality!
All praise to You, and You alone, almighty God!
So, Lord, let us be at it. You and me, again this day moving ever forward. Guide my steps. Direct my thoughts. The past is ahead the future is before us. Onward and upward we go – hand in hand. Amen
Nov 15th, Tues, 5:29 am
Log in My Eye
May this day be Yours, Father. May You be glorified in worship, and throughout the day in all we do. Fill us, change us. Amen
1 Peter 2:1 (<<click here)
As I sit here this morning, Lord, the portion of verse 1 that jumps out at me is, “Be done with…all unkind speech.” This, to say the least, is a challenge for just about all of us. My first thought went to all the absolutely awful assault of words, from both sides, following our presidential elections – “unkind” is an understatement! But then as I was pointing a finger at others, my own fingers pointed back at me. The last several days on the road have been stressful and on more than one occasion my words have definitely been “unkind”.
Whether it’s complaining about people at work, or expressing our dissatisfaction with a family member’s actions in a derogatory manner or thinking less of someone because they don’t do or think as we think they should – it all involves “unkind speech.”
Lord, forgive me. I am guilty and have no right to point out the faults of others. Your word from Mathew 7:5 comes to mind,
“Hypocrite! first get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”
May it be so, Lord, Amen!
Nov. 13th, Sun, 6:13 am
Faded Flowers
Thank You, Father for a productive day yesterday on many fronts – preparation for Sunday, a good walk, and a good amount of wood split and stacked! Thank You for the blessing of mentally and physically being able to do what needs to be done.
1 Peter 1:23-25 (<<click here)
“The grass withers and the flower fades.
But the word of the lord remains forever.”
Lord, so much of our energies and resources are invested in the here and now but for the most part, those things are here today and gone tomorrow. We fight and bicker over things and it’s just a matter of time before they are gone…and no matter what we do, we can’t stop it.
Only one thing remains forever. There is only one thing on which we can build upon that will never go away… and that is your Word. And as Peter so wonderfully states “that Word is the Good News!” Because of Your sacrifice, Jesus, we can be “born again”, not into sin as we were at first but into life – life in You! Life that will never end!
Lord, help me to invest, not in withering grass or fading flowers, but to invest in You, in my relationship with You. And may I then invest You into my relationship with others as You have done with me. As I read yesterday, enable me to love them sincerely and deeply. If I am to impact them for You I must be genuine and I must strive to not love them superficially but down, down deep to the core of their being. Jesus, help me to reflect You in all I say and do. Amen!
Nov. 11th, Fri, 5:36 am