1 Peter 5:8-11

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 5:8-11

Dear God, I was having my weekly phone call with a friend yesterday morning and I told him I had been pretty inconsistent with you this week. I have not been “alert and sober of mind.” I haven’t been “stand[ing] firm in the faith.” I kind of took you for granted this week. Frankly, I spent a lot more time thinking about college football than I spent thinking about you. Why? No good answer. I guess the truth is, I found it more interesting.

I am simply nothing without you. When will I really get that through my head? Without you there is no peace. There is no joy. Without you I am a selfish, fearful, needy, insecure, foolish man. But with you I can truly love others because you love me so much. With you I can see above the cares of this world and be at peace in you. You’re amazing. You are GOD!! Why did I find college football more interesting than you this week? Frankly, probably because it plays to my vanities and resentments. Hmm. I’ve never thought of that before. That’s a thought to ponder (as I watch my team play this afternoon).

Father, in this moment, I want to be alert and sober of mind. I want to stand firm in my faith. I know I cannot live up to that. I know that I will follow selfish desires and let them consume me at some point. Help me to see that those moments are fewer and farther between as you work on me and I learn to stay alert and stand firm.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 

Romans 11:30-32, 12:1-2

Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 11:30-32,12:1-2

Dear God, the verse of the day from Bible Gateway is The famous Romans 12:1, but it starts with “Therefore.” So what thought is Paul completing with this verse. Why am I offering my body as a living sacrifice? Well, if you go before the doxology at the end of Romans 11, verses 30-32 give us the answer. We offer our bodies as living sacrifices because of your mercy. We offer ourselves as purely as we can because we are incapable of offering ourselves as holy.

I was thinking this week about what I do, if anything, that is evangelical. How do I help bring anyone closer to you? Do I ever encourage someone who is living a Godless life to turn loose of themselves and submit to you? The answer is pretty much no. The best I offer to the people around me is a life of example. I think everyone with whom I work knows how important you are to me, but I don’t really do anything that then reaches out and invites them into a life that is permeated by the fruits of the Spirit.

Father, help me to be more sensitive to offering the amazing gift you gave me to others. Help me to be an example and then to offer that example to those who know me. Even when someone comes to me with a problem, help me to remember to first pray to you for guidance and to then encourage them to first approach you. I don’t want my short time on earth to be wasted.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 

1 Peter 1:23-24

For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. As the Scriptures say, “People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades. But the word of the Lord remains forever.” And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.

1 Peter 1:23-25

Dear God, I wonder what Peter meant by your “word.” It obviously wasn’t the New Testament. It might have been what we call the Old Testament, but that doesn’t feel likely. I think calling what we consider to be the Bible “God’s Word” is a more recent phenomenon. So what did Peter mean here?

Well, John called Jesus your “Word.” It was a unique way for you to enter the world, and Jesus’s actual words are not only your “Word,” but his actions would be too. His entire life is you speaking to us through the generations. Of course, now we consider what these first apostles and disciples wrote and left for us as the New Testament to be you speaking to us, along with what they knew as your scripture. But again, I don’t necessarily think this is what Peter is talking about here. I think Peter’s usage of this term is pretty basic–Jesus came, Jesus died, and Jesus rose again so that we might be rightly related to you.

Father, thank you for this word…your word. Thank you that Jesus did this so that I might be rightly related to you. I’m a Gentile and I have no claim to be yours except that you chose to claim me. I am sorry for taking that for granted as much as I do.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 

New Roots

Inspired by a Brené Brown interview with Bishop Michael Curry.

Dear God, I’m taking this one small comment from Bishop Michael Curry as I pray to you this morning. But first, I’m not sure what happened to me yesterday, but I’m sorry for just kind of shutting down. I had just had a week off, and it was my last Sunday before going back to work, and I just went almost into a hibernation. And I’m not totally sure it was the wrong thing to do as I get ready to start a very busy season at work, but I know I could have done more to spend some time with you, at the very least. So I am sorry for not spending some time with you yesterday.

Now, on to this concept from Bishop Curry. Basically, he was saying that as it relates to a lot of things in our lives during this pandemic–from church, to social activities, to family, to work, to school, etc.–we are like a plant/tree that has had its water source taken away or dry up. We now need to do what they do–develop new roots that will find the water we need. That starts with you. I need to figure out how to ensure I am still getting the balance of spiritual nourishment, prayer, and worship that I need. The same is true for other areas of my life as well, but let me just focus on you this morning.

It is important that I continue to tap into you. I need to be intentional and creative. I need to be innovative and self-disciplined. Otherwise, my spiritual life can wither and die just like anyone else’s. I haven’t achieved anything in life to the level that I can face all of this on my own. In fact, I never will achieve that level because I need you. I need you. I need you today as I go back to work. I need you as I meet challenges. I need you as I love my wife and family. I need you as I figure out how to respond to the world around me. I need you. And if I don’t keep my roots tapped into you then I will fail.

Father, hep me to be intentional about my pursuit of you. Help me to be exactly what you need me to be, but I know you can only do that if I a plugged into you, and I have a lot of responsibility in that. So I am sorry for not doing more yesterday to be one with you, and I commit to you that I will sacrifice myself today in an effort to be one with you. Holy Spirit, please help me.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 

Galatians 6:1-3

Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

Galatians 6:1-3

Dear God, the verse of the day was verse 2: “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.” But it’s another one that can be completely taken out of context. Verses 1 and 3 totally change the meaning of it. It’s one thing to think of my friend facing a partial leg amputation and how I might help to bear his burden. It’s a completely different thing to think about the person I’ve seen do a lot of wrong to others as well as to myself and think about how I might bear his burdens.

For privacy’s sake, I won’t get too specific about this, but it’s probably something I need to think about. For the ma I am particularly thinking about, what does bearing his burden look like? As I sit here and think about it, I think it starts with caring about his restoration and being willing to expose myself to him even though he is really angry with me. I don’t know. This is a really tricky one. In this case, because of complicating factors, I just don’t know that I am the person for the job on this one. I see that he needs to be approached, but I can also see that there is too much baggage with me for him to be able to hear anything I would have to say I just don’t think I am a voice he can hear.

This passage does, however, make me wonder how many others there are in my sphere that I need to think about bearing their burden and helping them. I wonder what/who Paul was thinking of when he wrote these words. What was the situation? How as it resolved?

Father, I do want to pray for a couple of things today. There are actually three on my heart. On the biggest level, I want to pray about the election. I know there was a debate last night, although I didn’t watch it. I’ve even done my best to stay away from the news this week. But I know that certainly something is happening in our country–and it’s even greater than who wins the election. People are angry and distrustful of one another. Satan is attacking our unity and it is working. Please guide us as a nation. Show us your path forwards. I don’t know how far down you will have to break us to bring us to unity again. The answer to that question scares me. But please help us. Then I’d like to pray for the people in the fires in California and Colorado. Home are being evacuated. Businesses destroyed. Please be sovereign in all of these situations. Provide for the firefighters and first responders. Keep them safe. Take care of the wildlife involved. And then I pray for my friend who might lose part of his leg. I pray against the infection in his leg. I know he is widowed and lives alone. Provide for him. But please spare is leg if you can. He is such a nice man. Everything I know about his is lovely. Please be a great and powerful God to him. And I guess I have one more. For the family about whom I’m thinking that needs some financial help while they face a health crisis. Please help them and love them. Show my wife and me what role you have for us to play in their lives.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 

Psalm 25:14

The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him, And He will make them know His covenant.

Psalm 25:14

Dear God, this sermon from Tim Keller was all about friendship with you. I have to say that this week has surprised me. It seems you keep pointing me to one of my least favorite books of the Bible–Psalms. Yesterday, you sent me to Psalm 88. Today, I was searching for Tim Keller sermons on YouTube and the first one that came up was this one. So okay. I get it.

Basically, the story of this sermon was friendship with you. Keller said that the concept of friendship with God is unique to Christianity (and I would imagine Judaism as well). David, in this psalm, talks in verse 14 about a unique relationship with you. You make known your covenant to us. Even the fact that you have a covenant with us is remarkable.

With that said, here were the five points of Keller’s sermon today (the italicized parts are not quotes, but my paraphrase of the concept):

• 13:30 Obedience necessary for friendship. Only through obedience do we become closer to the type of being Jesus is. He said that friendships between people make each person better by sharpening us against each other. Well, you cannot be made better, so the sharpening happens one way. That makes sense. There was a man who is now dead who mentored many young men. One of my criticisms of him was that he would say he wanted to be your friend, but the friendship was certainly one way. He was the dominant person in the friendship and I wasn’t interested in that kind of a relationship. But with you it’s different. First, you already have said I am good enough for you through the sacrifice you/Jesus made. And second, you are much more patient with me than I could ever imagine would be possible.
• 17:00 Justification by faith alone. If you don’t believe this then God cannot be your friend, he has to be your boss. It will be a mercenary relationship. Service for pay. 21:00 If the sermon on the mount is true then I have no hope. God saved me from the Sermon on the Mount. I had a conversation with a Catholic friend about the doctrine of once saved always saved and saved by faith vs. saved by faith and works. I was arguing the once saved always saved/faith alone side of the coin. Keller didn’t address the once saved always saved part here, but basically he said something that makes a lot of sense to me. If your friendship with me is contingent on my actions/behavior, then there is no way we can be friends. Grace is the only thing that bridges the gap between you and me. He said that he heard someone say one time that you don’t need to be a Christian to be saved, but you just need to follow the Sermon on the Mount. Keller’s response to that is, “Have you ever read the Sermon on the Mount?” There is no way I could ever live up to that sermon. As Keller put it, you saved me from the Sermon on the Mount.
• 22:15 Dynamic two-way communication. 24:45 If you want to KNOW god is speaking to you you have to go to the Bible. 26:30 Eugene Peterson said you can’t just read God’s Word, but you must respond to it. This part actually affirmed these journals I do through scripture. It started with the importance of prayer and communicating with you, but he also cautioned that if we are just doing it in our head then we can be fooled into thinking our own words are yours. He gave an example of a man who felt he heard from you that his son would grow up and be a great preacher. After his son died at a young age, he realized what he had heard wasn’t from you, but was just the pride of a father for his son. Then Keller brought out something Eugene Peterson said about responding to God’s Word. It’s not enough just to read it, but we have to process it and respond to it. I think I do that through these journals and it certainly had changed my life and my relationship with you.
• 29:00 Seeking his face. Sometimes you’ve got to feel him. 31:00 it’s one thing to know god is holy with your mind but it’s another thing to sense it and let it change you. It’s one thing to know God is love and it’s another to actually feel it in your heart. It’s not enough to have this just be an intellectual exercise. I need to make space to feel you. To worship you. To open my emotions to you. This is probably the area where I am weakest in our friendship. There’s a fine line to walk between letting emotion drive my relationship with you and controlling my emotions so that what you and I have is real. Over the last few years–especially as I have gone to more traditional churches–I have not been nearly as emotional as I should be.
• 34:00 meditate on Jesus’s death as an act of friendship. Keller opened the sermon talking about the different types of love that C.S. Lewis talked about. Eros. Agape. Philia. Storge. The friendship one, philia, is one thing you achieved with us through becoming human and living as we live. You came alongside us and saw the world from our perspective. Then you died so that there could be room for me to be who I am.

Father, thank you for your friendship. Thank you that I can even sit here on this sofa this morning and talk with you. Thank you that you care. I’ve been amazed at your attention to detail over these last 9 months (basically, this calendar year). You have shown up in the little things time and time again. Thank you.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 

Psalm 88

“A Sad Song” (Sermon by Rev. Jacqui Lirette of Fredericksburg United Methodist Church)

O Lord, God of my salvation, I cry out to you by day. I come to you at night.

Now hear my prayer; listen to my cry.

For my life is full of troubles, and death draws near.

I am as good as dead, like a strong man with no strength left.

They have left me among the dead, and I lie like a corpse in a grave. I am forgotten, cut off from your care.

You have thrown me into the lowest pit, into the darkest depths.

Your anger weighs me down; with wave after wave you have engulfed me. Interlude

You have driven my friends away by making me repulsive to them. I am in a trap with no way of escape.

My eyes are blinded by my tears. Each day I beg for your help, O Lord; I lift my hands to you for mercy.

Are your wonderful deeds of any use to the dead? Do the dead rise up and praise you? Interlude

Can those in the grave declare your unfailing love? Can they proclaim your faithfulness in the place of destruction?

Can the darkness speak of your wonderful deeds? Can anyone in the land of forgetfulness talk about your righteousness?

O Lord, I cry out to you. I will keep on pleading day by day.

O Lord, why do you reject me? Why do you turn your face from me?

I have been sick and close to death since my youth. I stand helpless and desperate before your terrors.

Your fierce anger has overwhelmed me. Your terrors have paralyzed me.

They swirl around me like floodwaters all day long. They have engulfed me completely.

You have taken away my companions and loved ones. Darkness is my closest friend.

Psalm 88:1-18

Dear God, this was a really nice sermon this morning. You’ll remember that I’m starting each day of this vacation listening to a sermon before I do anything else. I found this one from our local United Methodist Church in Fredericksburg, Texas. I decided to browse through their recent sermons and I saw this one from Jacqui. I know her and I’ve never heard a bad sermon from her (and the title intrigued me) so I listened. I was not disappointed. She did a great job with it.

So I’m just sinking into the idea that she pointed out: There are not many Psalms like this one where it starts sad and it ends sad. There is not resolution. There’s no offer of joy at the end of the journey. The description at the beginning of the psalm says, “A psalm of the descendants of Korah.” I am not completely sure who they were. The might have been Levites going back to Exodus 6, or they might have been from a different Korah more recent than that. But whomever they were, it seems they knew about suffering.

I am always careful when I talk about my own suffering because I know that the worst of the problems I have are still first-world problems. I don’t know what it means to suffer. I don’t know what it means to not be able to protect my wife and children when they are in my home. I don’t know what it is like to not know where my next meal is coming from, where I will sleep tonight, etc. I haven’t had to go through the death of a child, spouse, or even parent. To be sure, I know people in my own sphere who have in the past or are currently experiencing these types of suffering. The closest I have come is the loss of a child to miscarriage (still one of my worst experiences) and parenting struggles and broken relationships with children. And those were brutal. All of them drove me to my knees and had me in prayer. But they were also seasonal. Yes, in the middle of them they felt like they would never end, and, to some extent, the pain of them still follows me, but they were for a season. There are some lives where this is valley will be the rest of their life.

I’d say the big thing you convicted me about is that I can be too dismissive of other people’s mental health issues. At one point in the sermon she talked about dealing with anxiety and she marveled at people who don’t have it all of the time. Well, I guess I’m one of those people. Even in the midst of people struggling in this pandemic and the heaviness it creates, I’ve been known to say often: “It’s a marathon and not a sprint.” “We need to toughen up.” “We are soft.” “The church is soft.” But I forget that some people can’t will themselves to get there. They are struggling in ways that I don’t understand and I need to just take a moment to sit with them and let them know they aren’t alone. And, as Jacqui mentioned, it is okay to let it be hard.

Father, I’m sorry for missing opportunities you gave me to be your comfort to people. I’m trusting that your plan was beyond my fallibilities and allowed for my shortcomings. Give me eyes to see, ears to hear, and patience to sit alongside. And when my valleys come, I will trust you. I’ve certainly been through valleys. I remember unemployment and crying out to you (yelling at you?). So know the pain of uncertainty, and I am sure I’ll experience it again. Thank you for being faithful to your people in all things.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 

1 Peter 4:12-19

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

1 Peter 4:12-19

Dear God, we are so soft. I am so soft. Even as I type this right now, I’m sitting on the balcony of a nice condominium watching the waves of the ocean roll in. The sun is rising. The sound is constant and relentless. In fact, the sound is something I can simply do nothing about but just give into it and make it a part of my life. I’m going somewhere with this, I promise.

I’ve decided to start each day of this week of vacation listening to a sermon. I’ve been a little too much in my own head lately with scripture and I need to hear some pastoral teaching. I think it’s good to have a balance. I need that personal time in scripture so that the Holy Spirit can speak to me directly, but I also need to have someone else speak your words to me.

This morning, I decided to give a pastor I know of from Nebraska a try. I found this message on suffering from September 27, and it as good. He set the context for Peter’s words in this passage. Christians were being brutally persecuted and murdered at this point. He indicated that Peter was only two years away from being crucified upside down when he wrote these words. Suffering for this audience was at a 10. It just didn’t get any worse than their experience. So what’s my problem?

I was in Walmart two days ago talking with a woman I know and she and I were talking about the current restrictions with the pandemic (which, at this point, are pretty limited–I think we are just down to wearing masks and limited capacity at some places and public gatherings). Our temptation was to complain and I finally said, “We are so soft.” I’ve said this several times over the last seven months, but the “Greatest Generation” didn’t become that way because of the Roaring 20s. They became that way because of how they responded to the 30s and the 40s. Well, this isn’t nearly as bad as that was, but we can use this to make us stronger. You can use this to make us stronger, more sensitive to our neighbors in need, and more dependent upon you. You can use this to renew our churches and our prayer lives.

Father, first, thank you. Thank you for how you’ve provided for my wife and me and for the work I do. This has really been an amazing year, and I can testify to your provision and kindness. Help me to remain faithful to you in it and not take your kindness for granted. You are an amazing God. Thank you also for this vacation. My wife and I are very tired, but we are tired for different reasons. But we need this. We need you. So thank you for this week. Help us to get what we need. Second, I pledge to you that I will do my absolute best to follow you, worship you, and give myself and any accolades that I receive to you. I will decrease so that you can increase. I will accept my lot in life. Please use it all. Use me, my suffering (if that’s what I want to call it)–better said, use any pain that comes my way to mold me into the man you need me to be and bring you glory. And bring revival to your church through all of this, and that starts with repentance. Revive us again!

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 

Psalm 27

Of David

The Lord is my light and my salvation — whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?

When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall.

Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.

One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.

For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.

Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord.

Hear my voice when I call, Lord; be merciful to me and answer me.

My heart says of you, “Seek his face! ” Your face, Lord, I will seek.

Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Savior.

Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.

Teach me your way, Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.

Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations.

I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord .

Psalm 27

Dear God, this is another instance of a verse meaning something different in isolation than it does when taken as part of the whole. The “verse of the day” from Bible Gateway was the last one. And that’s a good one. “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Wait, wait, wait. It takes courage to wait (a lesson Saul learned when he didn’t wait for Samuel). It takes strength. That’s good stuff. But what was driving these sentiments from the psalmist (David)?

In this case, David is talking a lot about actual war. He sounds nervous and maybe even a little afraid. It makes me think of the line from Hamilton that gets repeated over and over again: “I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory. Is this where it gets me?” But David throws this one line in here that covers every possible outcome:

One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.

Father, there are some days when it feels like everything is stacked against me. People. Circumstances. Challenges. And it’s possible I might fail. I don’t know how it will end on this earth, but I have complete faith for what happens for eternity. So I will wait on you. I will be strong and courageous and wait.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 

Psalm 19:12-14

But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression. May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Psalm 19:12-14

Dear God, here’s another verse (14) that is often taken out of context. And there’s nothing wrong with saying the words of that verse, but when you add the part about having unknown sin in my life and the the sins I knowingly commit, it gives even more meaning to verse 14. This isn’t just a declaration of intent, it is part of repentance. It is the turning, setting my face to the wind (I love the imagery of that phrase) and intentionally setting about ensuring these words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart will be pleasing to you. And you are not only my God and my rock. This is about repentance and you are my redeemer as well.

The meditations of my heart will often drive the words of my mouth. I was with some friends last night, and, well, it’s an election time and I noticed a meanness in them about one of the candidates. I could recognize it because I’ve had meanness about particular candidates in the past too, but for the most part I feel like I’ve gotten past a lot of it. I’m concerned and I have my opinions, but it feels like my opinions are becoming less and less important to me. On the other hand, there are some in my life towards whom I do feel legitimate and self-destructive anger. Do I allow my heart to meditate on that anger? Does that anger come out in my words? And I a terrible ambassador for you (in every way) when I do this? The answer to all of those questions is yes.

Father, I sin willfully and unknowingly. I am sorry for them all. I repent from them. May these words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen