Do You Pray for Your Pastor?
Thank You, Father, for my time with family today. May we seek and follow Your guidance in all things. Amen.
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I’m going to pause this evening and ask, “Do you pray for your pastor?”
I’m sure you realize that just because God has placed a call on their lives to serve the church, that does not mean that we are of heartier stock than other beings that walk the face of this planet. We struggle. We get weary. We get overwhelmed. We get depressed. We can be anxious. We are human in all aspects of our lives as well.
Sometimes when I sit down to write each day, it comes readily. Thoughts populate my mind and when I type the sentences just flow onto the screen. (I want to make it very clear, that I truly believe that it is God working through His child. He has gifted me certain abilities and when I make myself available to Him, He uses me as He sees fit.)
Preparations for Sunday services are tasking – it is an investment of heart, soul, and mind. For me, journaling is made of the same components. This week on top of service preparation and writing, I also have two funerals for which to prepare. Once again, I want to make it very clear that I am not complaining – it is a privilege and an honor to do all these things…but it has nothing to do with the fact that all that work is taxing. It takes its toll on me.
It’s hard for many to understand, but pastoral ministry is not just about the physical. Having done it now for many years…watching my dad do it for many years, one has to push themselves on Sunday afternoons and even Mondays to accomplish simple tasks. Preaching and striving to have meaningful interaction with those with whom we minister, pulls at the very fibers of our beings. Again, it’s not just physical. It is spiritually exhausting.
When I preach it is not just reading off my notes. Every statement I make, every passage of Scripture I read, is not a mere action on my part. I cannot tell you how many times my mind goes out to my congregants…I wonder are they listening? Are they taking what God has given me to heart? I wonder if the way I am communicating things is hurting someone unintentionally… Am I being insensitive? Am I inadvertently hurting someone or stomping on a very sensitive part of their lives through some well-meaning illustration in an attempt to drive home a point?
Some things are strongly communicated. Others are withheld. Some things are my own and though I strive to be transparent, I don’t share some things because they would benefit no one by sharing them. It may only cause anger and division. It may unintentionally drive a wedge deeper between them and their Creator, all because I feel the need to share my opinion…
All that being said, please pray for your pastor. Pray that he or she will remain faithful in their relationship with God. Pray that they will continue to find strength in that relationship. Pray that if they stumble or fall that they, with God’s help, will stand up, dust themselves off, and continue to be determined to serve Him, to love Him with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength and that regardless of how the world treats…or mistreats them, that they will love the world as God does. (Mark 12:30-31)
Pray for your pastor…
July 24th, 2023, Mon, 8:45 pm
Shared Blessings
Weariness abounds but even in the midst of it, as the old hymn declares, “He abides”! Father, I plead that I will be greatly aware of Your abiding presence with me! Amen!
Romans 11:11-12 (<<click here to read the passage)
One thing that weighs heavily on my heart is that so-called followers of Christ place themselves above others. In today’s culture believers seem to be so full of themselves that they degrade, berate, and hold themselves to be superior to those who don’t believe. Where is the love? Where is the mercy and grace?
May we learn to humbly submit ourselves to the example of Christ Himself.
The passage of Scripture that we read today in our services was from Philippians 2:1-13. Here is a portion of it.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. v3-13 NIV
Where does our pride come from? Not from Christ, I can tell you that much…
As one example, and there are many, Paul points out that Israel stumbled and fell, but like all of us, they are not beyond redemption. One reason God extended salvation to the Gentiles (non-Jews) was to show them what they missed out on, creating a yearning within them to claim it as their own.
Verse 12 causes me to stand back and wonder just what God has in mind!
Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it. NLT
Lord Jesus may that day quickly come! What blessings will we share in?!
July 23rd, 2023, Sun, 8:47 pm
Leave Me Alone!
A storm is brewing to our west, Father. We welcome the rain and what Your creation will bring. We ask that You keep us safe in Your mighty hands. Amen.
Romans 11:1-10 (<<click here to read the passage)
Until a few months ago, I had given up using my phone when I went to bed. I’d plug it in and that was that. But then I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, my phone was what ended up helping me to normalize my breathing in order to go to sleep. (It helps to be “distracted” enough that your inhaling and exhaling even out.)
One of the things I do while lying in bed is play games on my phone. During the school year one thing that does not occur is having someone go to bed with me. Because I get up very early, I go to bed early – 9:00. Karen usually stays up until around 10:00 – I guess initially I’m “noisy” getting everything to even out breathing-wise, so the extra time ensures I’m quiet when she gets there.
Well now that we are not in school, we go to bed at about the same time. She’s a tease and likes to touch my arm or my shoulder. (She’s actually trying to get me to put away my phone because it “blinds” her.) I shouldn’t respond the way I do, but I most often tell her not to bother me. I might even say, “Leave me alone!”
The Apostle Paul, in today’s passage, is answering the question has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? v1 He gives an emphatic, “No!”, but goes on to say that a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace—his undeserved kindness in choosing them.
They were faithful, but it was through God’s kindness…not by their good works that God’s grace was extended to them—free and undeserved. vs5-6 NLT
So, does this apply to us? Yes, it does.
My Life Application Study Bible notes state that, “the hearts of the rest were hardened” v7 – those who did not remain faithful – and the hardening of their hearts was God’s punishment for their sin. It was a confirmation of their own stubbornness. In judging them, God removed their ability to see and hear and to turn from sin; thus, they would experience the consequences of their rebellion. Resisting God is like saying to him “Leave me alone!”
Though we may not think it is so, the statement – “Leave me alone!” is, in essence, a prayer, and because God is always and everywhere present, his answer to that prayer might be to agree and make that person [us] less sensitive, more hardened to him. The very possibility of that happening ought to keep us asking God specifically for ears that really hear and eyes that really see openness and responsiveness to him.
May that be our prayer to avoid hardness of heart – God, may we have ears that really hear and eyes that really see openness and responsiveness to You. Amen.
July 20th, 2023, Thurs, 7:00 pm
Flashlight Tag!
It has been a day full of many things, the mundane, the planned, and the unexpected – some more trying than others. Help us, Father, to work our way through them all, following after Your will and wisdom. Amen.
Romans 10:16-21 (<<click here to read the passage)
In Middle School, my dad pastored in Mason, Ohio. We lived at the head of Jefferson Drive and our home stood on a double lot, I think. There were a lot of kids in our neighborhood and our place was the designated spot for flashlight tag!
Play would begin after dark and the old willow in the far corner was our base. We would all start there and the person that was it would count to 100 and then slip out in pursuit of the others. The object was to get back to base without being caught in the beam of the flashlight.
I was often “it” and loved it – I’m pretty sure they loved me being “it” because I was very good at my job and could creep up on them without them even knowing I was there! We had such a good time!
This fun memory came to mind as I read through today’s passage. Verse 20, in particular, triggered my recollection.
“I was found by those who did not seek me;
I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.” NIV
In our childhood game, we were trying not to get caught, but God showed Himself for who He is over and over again. Unfortunately, God’s chosen people – the Israelites – refused to see. It was their dream…their hope but when the reality of all their hopes and dreams stood before them embodied in Jesus of Nazareth, they refused to believe.
So, God – as He had proclaimed in millennia past – “was found by those who did not seek me; He revealed myself to those who did not ask for Him.”
We must be careful ourselves. Though God has been found by us, it is only by His grace and mercy that we have done so. Verse 17 reads,
So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. NLT
That’s one of those verses that I distinctly remember learning from the King James Version in my youth and it reads,
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. NKJV
It is a gift. May we manage and may we cherish it well. Amen.
July 19th, 2023, Wed, 8:26 pm
Beautiful Feet?
Thank You, Father, for the kindness of others. We were blessed with the gifts today of an honorable man. Bless him for his willingness to share. Amen.
Romans 10:14-15 (<<click here to read the passage)
Recently I happened to be visiting an elderly woman in a care facility. Her daughter was there as well and while there did a beautiful thing for her mother – she trimmed her fingernails…but then she trimmed her toenails!
It needed doing and I understand that the foot doctor is to visit in the next couple of weeks, but she took the time and effort and humbly accepted a daunting and unpleasant task. At the same time, she did it knowing that her mother, being in the advanced stages of dementia, would not remember nor acknowledge that act of love.
The mother’s feet were anything but beautiful. The daughter’s feet on the other hand were radiantly beautiful – and in regard to her, I’m not speaking of the appendages on the end of her legs.
The last part of verse 15 of today’s passage says,
“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” NIV
Now the daughter didn’t verbalize good news, but she most definitely lived out the Good News that she has within her heart.
James, the brother of Jesus, said,
But prove yourselves doers of the word [actively and continually obeying God’s precepts], and not merely listeners [who hear the word but fail to internalize its meaning]… James 1:22a AMP
Living out our faith is extremely important – if we don’t “walk the talk”, as they say, people won’t listen to anything we have to say, but we must also freely share verbally what God is all about…what He has done and is doing in our lives.
We are to be purveyors of hope…and love…and peace. We are God’s earthly ambassadors. He doesn’t have to use us, but He chooses to use us. We are the way in which He predominantly communicates with the world…at work, at school, in our families…you name it, you are there for a reason – to spread God’s love to a world desperately in need of it.
Get those beautiful feet out there and get busy!
July 18th, 2023, Tues, 7:08 pm