Tag: Psalm 29

Praying from the Temple Spires

Jeff2 Comments

Today is Saturday, the twenty-first day of February, 2026, in the season of Lent. It is the Saturday after Ash Wednesday.

May the peace of the Lord be with you always!

It is the 52nd day of 2026, with 313 days remaining in the year.

Twenty days until I turn 68!

I am 24,817 days of age.

It is World Pangolin Day. Don’t know what that is?

Daily writing prompt
What is your favorite drink?
View all responses

It’s actually not so easy to answer this question, because it depends on the time of day and the source. Here’s what I mean: if we’re talking about a drink that I get somewhere else, like, for example, Sonic (which is where I’m heading as soon as I finish this blog entry), my drink of choice is a diet Dr. Pepper with peach flavor added. Yes, I said “peach.” I tried it on a total whim, once, and it is magnificent! But if I’m just opening a can at home, my favorite drink is Dr. Pepper Zero Sugar Cherry. Hands down. I prefer the zero sugar variety to the “diet” variety, in both Coke and DP. If I’m at a restaurant, I will likely order either diet Coke or Coke Zero (if they have zero). If they dare ask me, “Is Pepsi okay?” I might respond with, “Is Monopoly money okay?” And heaven forbid you EVER substitute my Coke with Pepsi and think I won’t notice.

I guess the shorter answer would have been that my favorite drink is Dr Pepper Zero Sugar Cherry. Unless it’s first thing in the morning, in which my favorite drink is coffee.

Today is an off-work Saturday for me, but I do have a prayer time at church this evening, at 6:30, and I’m still preparing for that. Since that is happening today, our traditional Bickley Burgers will be made for lunch instead of dinner, and that will happen as soon as I get back from the aforementioned trip to Sonic.

JESUS TIME

I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me! Protected by Your mighty hand, I have passed the night. Lord, I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies You have shown me. As I thank You for all the gracious protection, I think of all those who are in sorrow and tribulation, in sickness, in poverty, in shame, in anguish of soul. I beseech You, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, to comfort my brothers and sisters with the assurance of Your unchanging grace and loving-kindness. Strengthen their faith. Preserve them from misbelief, despair, and other great shame and vice. Teach them to humble themselves under Your mighty hand by recognizing Your gracious purpose to work through tribulation patience, through patience experience, through experience hope that will not make them ashamed. Help all sufferers to best their trials until at last Your kingdom comes. Deliver us all from every evil work and preserve us unto Your heavenly kingdom; in the name of Jesus. Amen. 
(Lutheran Book of Prayer, Prayer 16, Saturday Morning) 

“All praise to Thee, who safe hast kept and hast refreshed me while I slept; grant, Lord, when I from death shall wake, I may of endless light partake” (LSB 868:3). Loving heavenly Father, gracious Lord God, my strength and my solace, I begin my day with prayer, asking You to guide and direct me, cheer my spirit, and deepen my love for You, who loves me as a father loves his child. I love You because You sent Jesus to redeem me. For this I give You my heartfelt thanks, praise, and adoration. I rely on You; I depend on You; I trust You. Having You at my side, I am confident and content. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 
(Portals of Prayer, Prayer for Saturday Morning) 

Father, look upon our weakness and reach out to help us with your loving power. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. 
(For All the Saints, Saturday after Ash Wednesday, Opening Prayer) 

For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.  
(Romans 13:9-10 ESV) 

Today I am grateful:

  1. That all of the commandments are summed up in the “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 
  2. That all things are possible for the one who believes; “I believe! Help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:23-24) 
  3. That I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good; I have drunk the Living Water that wells up to eternal life 
  4. For Christ’s “High-Priestly Prayer,” in which He prayed for all of us who would ever believe, and prayed that we would be unified in His Spirit 
  5. That Christ, in resisting the third temptation of the devil, showed us that we can trust our flesh and blood to Him, knowing that He does not look down on us from lofty temple spires 
Lord, in Your mercy, hear, now, the prayers lifted up to you for all who need strength, healing, comfort, and peace. 

If you are reading this, I encourage you to stop and pray for someone, at this time. Or, if there is something on your heart, please leave a comment. What can I pray for you?

Psalm of the Day – Psalm 29 

Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,  
   ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.  
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;  
   worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.  
 
The voice of the LORD is over the waters;  
   the God of glory thunders,  
   the LORD, over many waters.  
The voice of the LORD is powerful;  
   the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.  
 
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;  
   the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.  
He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,  
   and Sirion like a young wild ox.  
 
The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.  
The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;  
   the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.  
 
The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth  
   and strips the forests bare,  
   and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”  
 
The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;  
   the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.  
May the LORD give strength to his people!  
   May the LORD bless his people with peace!  
(Psalms 29:1-11 ESV) 

Chad Bird, in Untamed Prayers, describes this psalm as the poet describing a storm. “The Lord of the storm cannot be domesticated, un-divinized into a pet deity in an idolatrous zoo. He is the Lord of the storm who speaks in thunder of his might and majesty. But he is also the Lord of peace who sends rainbows as his token of shalom. . . . 
 
“That thunderous voice of the Father announced that he would glorify his Son, his name, in the glory of the cross. There the heart of God was on cruciform display. On that day, the kol Yahweh, the voice of the Lord Jesus, spoke words that stormed the gates of hell, broke the cedars of Hades, and forever blessed his people with peace: ‘It is finished’ (John 19:30).” 

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”  
(John 17:20-26 ESV) 

From The Word in the Wilderness, by Malcolm Guite

And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'” And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'” And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.  
(Luke 4:9-13 ESV) 

“Temples and spires are good for looking down from; 
You stand above the world on holy heights, 
Here on the pinnacle, above the maelstrom, 
Among the few, the true, unearthly lights. 
Here you can breathe the thin air of perfection 
And feel your kinship with the lonely star, 
Above the shadow and the pale reflection, 
Here you can know for certain who you are. 
The world is stalled below, but you could move it 
If they could know you as you are up here. 
Of course they’ll doubt, but here’s your chance to prove it, 
Angels will bear you up, so have no fear . . . 
I was not sent to look down from above. 
It’s fear that sets those tests and proofs, not Love.” 
(Malcolm Guite, On the Pinnacle) 

This third temptation of Jesus takes place on the pinnacle of the temple, “representing the height of religious experience and achievement. . . . A ‘religious’ or ‘spiritual’ life can be riddled with pride and a sense of distinction, judging or looking down on others, despising God’s good creation! Such twisted religion does more damage in the world than any amount of simple indulgence or gratification by sensual people.” 
 
At this point, Guite references a Father Brown story, by G.K. Chesterton. This one is called “The Hammer of God” (interesting that I’m about to read a novel by the same name, by a Swedish author, Bo Giertz). In the Chesterton story, a curate has taken the habit of praying, not with his fellow men on the common church floor, but on the heights of the spires of the church. And, in doing so, he is “tempted to deal justice to his sinful brother by flinging a hammer down on him from those same heights.” Father Brown manages to bring the curate “down to earth,” so to speak, and to a place of repentance. Brown opines that is dangerous to pray from such a high vantage point. Wilfred misunderstands and thinks that Brown is saying that he might fall and injure himself. But Brown is speaking of the soul’s falling, rather than the body’s.  
 
“‘I knew a man,’ he said, ‘who began by worshipping with others before the altar, but who grew fond of high and lonely places to pray from, corners or niches in the belfry or the spire. And once in one of those dizzy places, where the whole world seemed to turn under him like a wheel, his brain turned also, and he fancied he was God. So that, though he was a good man, he committed a great crime. . . . He thought it was given to him to judge the world and strike down the sinner. He would never have had such a thought if he had been kneeling with other men upon a floor.'” 

Writes Guite, “Thanks be to God that Jesus, in resisting this temptation to spiritual loftiness and display, shows his solidarity once and for all with all of us, trusting himself to our flesh and blood so that we can trust our flesh and blood to him. He does not look down on us, but looks up with the humble eyes of the child of Bethlehem.” 

Oh, how I have struggled with this same syndrome, not, perhaps ever believing that I am “God,” but thinking that it is my place to “judge the world and strike down the sinner.” But, you see, we are all sinners, and I am most certainly one of the worst (I won’t argue with Paul on that, but I still see myself as pretty awful). Therefore, what grounds do I have to judge another?? God has lavished His grace on us all, equally, and “the ground is level at the foot of the cross.” So, there. I kneel on the common floor with my brothers and sisters in Christ. When we process up to the altar on Sunday mornings, to receive the glorious Body and Blood of Christ in Holy Communion, we all kneel at the same place, the same floor.

There are many ways in which we are not the same, but in the eyes of the Father, we are the same. We are baptized believers in Jesus Christ, saved by His grace, and holy in His eyes because of the blood of Christ. Therefore, we have no grounds to judge one another. There is cause for restoring one another when visible sin is committed, but that’s a subject for another day.

When I pray, I do not thank God that I am not like that guy over there, who does so and so and thinks such and such. I pray for the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to be merciful to me, a sinner. And He is. Hallelujah!

Dear Jesus, You are holy and beautiful and I thank You and praise You for all You have done for us! You have saved us; You have sent Your Holy Spirit to dwell within us and be Living Water, that we might overflow and spill out onto all who are around us, shedding Your grace and mercy on all people. And love, let us not forget to love. Because that command sums up the entirety of the Law and the Prophets. Oh, yes, hallelujah that, after all was said and done on that Mount of Transfiguration, You were left standing alone!

Let me not ever think that I am the judge of the world, and that it is my duty to “strike down sinners.” It is certainly my duty to pray for sinners (of which I am certainly one) and to spread the Gospel of peace abroad into my little world. So may I be faithful to do that. And if ever there is cause for me to have to confront a brother or sister (please don’t make me do that, Lord, I can’t stand confrontation), let it be done with the utmost humility and love, and with no attitude of judgment because I am most definitely not any better than they!

Thank You, Lord for resisting that final temptation that our enemy attempted to foist upon You. Thank You for resisting all temptations! And thank You for Your victory over sin and death that is now passed on to us who believe in You. I do believe, my Lord! Help my unbelief!

In Your precious, holy, and beautiful name, my Jesus, and in the power of Your blood and Holy Spirit, I pray; Amen!

Grace and peace, my brothers and sisters! Drink deep!

Because Jesus!! 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

In Praise of Christ

Jeff

Today is Friday, the twenty-ninth day of August, 2025, in the Season of the Church.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

It is day 241 of 2025, with 124 days remaining.

Day 24,641 of my life.

Three more days until Labor Day!

There are twenty-four days of summer left. We actually hit 100, yesterday, two degrees higher than predicted, which was two degrees higher than the prediction. And it was our ninth day of triple-digit temperatures for 2025. There are some who might debate that with me, and say that this is not the “official” record, but frankly, Scarlett . . . you know the rest. It’s the report for where I live. I don’t live at the DFW Airport, which is close to twenty miles away from my house. This is the “official” temperature for my zip code.

Anyway . . . Today’s predicted high is only 84 degrees! The record high for this date was 105 in 2020. The average high over the next ten days is now only 85.6, and there are no days at 90 or higher!

Daily writing prompt
How are you feeling right now?
View all responses

That’s the most vague writing prompt I’ve seen, thus far. I’m actually feeling pretty good, this morning, though. There are things going on that are threatening my peace, but during last night’s Jesus Time, I believe that was dealt with. As long as I can remember who I am trusting for everything, all will be well.

Today is a normal Friday. C is working from home, and I am at the library computer center from 9:15-6:15. S is still not feeling well, but I think her fever has stayed away. C feels okay, except for her head and hip hurting. She’s really getting tired of pain.

JESUS TIME

Light of the world, a new day has dawned, and I seek Your blessings as I begin. Move me forward with energy and hope, and help me see what You wish to reveal today. Make me a good friend to those who need one, just as You are the friend to all sinners, hearing our sorrows, sharing our joys, and carrying our burdens. Thank You for those who encourage me in big and small ways, and show me how I can share the light of Your love with all who need it. Keep me from sin, for I will be tempted; forgive me when I fail, and direct me in Your ways. Trusting in You, Jesus, I pray. Amen. 
(Portals of Prayer – Prayer for Friday Morning) 

“Oh, how gracious is the God who came to us 
How wonderful and righteous is His love 
Our Jesus 
Oh, through the suffering and the hatred of the cross 
He gathered every hope we thought was lost 
Our Jesus” 

Humans are satisfied with whatever looks good;  
GOD probes for what is good.  
Put GOD in charge of your work,  
then what you’ve planned will take place.  
(Proverbs 16:2-3 MSG) 

Today I am grateful:

  • That You, Jesus, are a friend to sinners, hearing our sorrows, sharing our joys, and carrying our burdens; may we be faithful to let You carry those burdens by walking in Your easy yoke 
  • That You look for what is good, and will do whatever is for Your glory, which will be for our good 
  • That my job (and my joy) is to obey Your commands; Your job is everything else 
  • That You are above me, below me, around me, and within me 
  • For You, Jesus, the radiance of the glory of God; You are everything to me 
Lord, in Your mercy, hear, now, the prayers lifted up to you for all who need strength, healing, comfort, and peace. 

If you are reading this, I encourage you to stop and pray for someone, at this time. Or, if there is something on your heart, please leave a comment. What can I pray for you?

“God, I want my life to be lived for Your glory. In moments where it’s difficult for me to surrender my plans to You, please help me to focus on Your vision for the future. I want all of my work and anything I do to point others to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.” 
(Verse of the Day Prayer, You Version Bible app) 

God, I open my heart anew to You, this morning, that Your love, the life of Jesus, and the breath of the Holy Spirit would quicken within me a greater affection for You and Your ways. 

Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,  
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.  
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;  
worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.  
 
The voice of the LORD is over the waters;  
the God of glory thunders,  
the LORD, over many waters.  
The voice of the LORD is powerful;  
the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.  
 
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;  
the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.  
He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,  
and Sirion like a young wild ox.  
 
The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.  
The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;  
the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.  
 
The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth  
and strips the forests bare,  
and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”  
 
The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;  
the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.  
May the LORD give strength to his people!  
May the LORD bless his people with peace!  
(Psalms 29:1-11 ESV) 

“Living Word, 
enthroned upon grateful praise, 
seen and unseen – 
creation testifies to Your glory: 
all made through You and for You, 
who are before all things, 
and in whom all things hold together. 
I marvel to think that I, 
one with unclean lips, 
have seen the King. . . .  
 
Father. 
Son. 
Spirit: 
Living Word – 
Above me. 
Below me. 
Around me. 
Within me. 
Strengthen my heart today; 
lead me in the path of peace. 
Amen.” 
(Excerpt from Sheltering Mercy: Prayers Inspired by the Psalms – Psalm 29: Living Word) 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.  
(John 1:1-4 ESV) 

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 
(Colossians 1:16-17 ESV) 

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,  
(Hebrews 1:3 ESV) 

And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”  
(Revelation 4:8 ESV) 

The following is from For All the Saints – Friday of the Week of Pentecost 11

Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.  
(Acts 17:1-4 ESV) 

And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.  
(Mark 7:24-30 ESV) 

In our reading for today, William Barclay writes of how the word “dog” was used, by the Jews, as an insult to the Gentiles. However, he also makes note that Jesus used a diminutive of the word, which made it softer, referring to “the little pet lap-dogs of the house.” And in the Greek language, these diminutives “are characteristically affectionate. Jesus took the sting out of the word.” We can’t see the tone of voice that He used, in the text, but it appears that He was speaking gently, with affection, perhaps even with a smile on His face. He did not shut the door.  

The woman, being a Greek, “had a gift of repartee; and she saw at once that Jesus was speaking with a smile. She knew that the door was swinging on its hinges.” The custom of the day, being that people ate with their hands, was to wipe their hands on a piece of bread and throw that bread to the house dogs. This is the context of her next statement, “I know the children are fed first, but can’t I even get the scraps the children throw away?” Jesus looked at her and loved her. “Here was a sunny faith that would not take no for an answer, here was a woman with the tragedy of an ill daughter at home, and there was still light enough in her heart to answer with a smile. Her faith was tested and her faith was real, and her prayer was answered. Symbolically she stands for the Gentile world which so eagerly seized on the bread of heaven which the Jews had rejected and thrown away.” 
(Reading IV: William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Mark) 

“Give me, O Lord, a steadfast heart, 
which no unworthy affection may drag downwards; 
give me an unconquered heart, 
which no tribulation can wear out; 
give me an upright heart, 
which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. 
Bestow on me also, O Lord my God, 
understanding to know you, 
diligence to seek you, 
wisdom to find you, 
and a faithfulness that may finally embrace you, 
through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.” 
(Closing Prayer, Thomas Aquinas) 

Jesus, all glory and honor goes to You! I pray for a steadfast heart, just as Aquinas prayed. Let no unworthy affection drag me down, Lord; let no trial or tribulation or circumstance wear this heart out; let no unworthy purpose distract it from my purpose. You have worked miracles in my heart, Lord, and You continue to do so. Let nothing bring this down; let nothing tear me away from You, Jesus. You are everything and must remain so for me.

I pray for more knowledge of You, through the Scriptures and through Your Spirit within me. I seek Your face, Lord, as directed by Your Word. I thank You, Lord, that You were made available to us Gentiles, else we would be eternally lost. I praise You that there is enough You for everyone.

I long for the day when I will join in with the angels of heaven in praising You for all eternity. Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ where I lie, Christ where I sit, Christ where I arise,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
Salvation is of the Lord.
Salvation is of the Christ.
May your salvation, Lord, be ever with us.
(The prayer of St. Patrick)

Grace and peace, friends.

The Voice of the Lord

Jeff

Today is Wednesday, January 31. 2018. Day 21,874.

Last day of January. My least favorite month begins tomorrow. 57 days until Opening Day.

Terry Kath, born on this date in 1946 (died 1978), said, “But then there was Hendrix, man. Jimi was really the last cat to freak me. Jimi was playing all the stuff I had in my head. I couldn’t believe it, when I first heard him. Man, no one can ever do what he did with a guitar. No one can ever take his place.”
BrainyQuote

The word for today, from Dictionary.com, is fenestrated, an adjective which means, “having windows; windowed; characterized by windows.”

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL AND PRAYERS
All Scriptures are from the ESV unless otherwise noted

A Psalm of David.
Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. 
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness. 
The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over many waters. 
The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty. 
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon. 
He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox. 
The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire. 
The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. 
  The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, “Glory!” 
The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever. 
May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!
Psalm 29

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
1 John 4:7

(From The Business of Heaven, C.S. Lewis)
No Half-Way House

“There is no half-way house and there is no parallel in other religions. If you had gone to Buddha and asked him ‘Are you the son of Bramah?’ he would have said, ‘My son, you are still in the vale of illusion.’ If you had gone to Socrates and asked, ‘Are you Zeus?’ he would have laughed at you. If you had gone to Mohammed and asked, ‘Are you Allah?’ he would have first rent his clothes and then cut your head off. If you had asked Confucius, ‘Are you Heaven?’ I think he would have probably replied, ‘Remarks which are not in accordance with nature are in bad taste.’ The idea of a great moral teacher saying what Christ said is out of the question. In my opinion, the only person who can say that sort of things is either God or a complete lunatic suffering from that form of delusion which undermines the whole mind of man. If you think you are a poached egg, when you are looking for a piece of toast to suit you, you may be sane, but if you think you are God, there no chance for you.We may note in passing that He was never regarded as a mere moral teacher. He did not produce that effect on any of the people who actually met Him. He produced mainly three effects–Hatred–Terror–Adoration. There was no trace of people expressing mild approval.” (What Are We To Make of Jesus Christ?)

Father, I pray that we, as your Church would ascribe to You the glory due Your name. May we truly worship You “in the splendor of holiness.” Thank You for the power of Your voice, that brought everything we see into being. This morning, as we observe the wonder of a lunar eclipse, may we be reminded of the beauty of Your creation and the incredible power that created our universe. Then remind us of who Jesus is. Remind us that He is no “moral teacher,” that that opinion of Him is not even rationally possible. He is God and man together, and he is Lord. May we worship Him as such.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you. Psalm 33:22

Grace and peace, friends.

That At the Name of Jesus

Jeff

“Never above you. Never below you. Always beside you.”~~Walter Winchell
(BrainyQuote)
This, by the way, is how I would define marriage. I believe it is the kind of marriage that Christi and I have had for going on thirty-one years, now.

Today’s word of the day, from Dictionary.com, is abstemious, “sparing or moderate in eating and drinking; temperate in diet.” Unfortunately, I have not been able to accomplish this trait.

Today is Love Your Pet Day. At our house, we do that every day. But maybe today, we’ll get them a special treat. Yes, I said “them.” Don’t ask.

I got off work at 3:30 yesterday!! I know, right? We had all the receiving finished, my work queue was empty, so the manager said we could go home early. On a Friday!! It was glorious. Christi had left early for a mammogram appointment (everything was fine, she was told), so I called in an order at O.C. Burger, and she picked it up on her way home. We were eating dinner and watching TV shows before 6:00PM. Unheard of!

Today is the day we make the big switch from ATT/DirecTV to Charter. The installer is supposed to be here between 1 and 2 this afternoon. One thing I need to do before he (why do I assume it’s “he?”) arrives is to go through the shows that we record and make a list so that we don’t forget any with the new system. I just hope everything works the way it’s supposed to.

I think Rachel and Justin are supposed to come over this evening to eat and hang out. That’s always fun. Other than that, we don’t have a lot planned today.

There are 44 days, 2 hours, and 58 minutes until Opening Day of baseball season.

On this date in 2003, a fire broke out in a Rhode Island nightclub, killing 100 people and injuring almost 200 more. The fire was started by an unapproved pyrotechnic display put on by the band Great White. You can read the store at History.com.

Today’s birthdays include

1902–Ansel Adams, American photographer
1906–Gale Gordon, American TV and radio actor, Mr. Mooney on The Lucy Show
1924–Gloria Vanderbilt, American clothing designer
1925–Robert Altman, American film director, Mash
1926–Richard Matheson, American author, I Am Legend, What Dreams May Come
1927–Sidney Poitier, American actor, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, A Patch of Blue
1929–Amanda Blake, American actress, Gunsmoke
1934–Bobby Unser, American racing driver
1936–Larry Hovis, American singer/actor, Sgt. Carter on Hogan’s Heroes
1941–Buffy Sainte-Marie, Canadian singer
1946–J. Geils, American guitarist, J. Geils Band
1946–Sandy Duncan, American singer and actress
1948–Jennifer O’Neill, Brazilian-born actress, Summer of ’42
1950–Walter Becker, American guitarist, Steely Dan
1951–Randy California, American guitarist, Spirit
1951–Edward Albert, American actor, Butterflies Are Free
1954–Patty Hearst, American socialite
1960–Joel Hodgson, American comedian, Mystery Science Theater 3000
1963–Charles Barkley, American basketball player
1966–Cindy Crawford, American model
1967–Lili Taylor, American actress, The Conjuring, The Haunting, Mystic Pizza
1967–Kath Soucie, American voice actress, Rugrats, Dexter’s Laboratory
1967–Kurt Cobain, American musician, Nirvana
1978–Lauren Ambrose, American actress, Six Feet Under
1983–Justin Verlander, American baseball player

Randy California was a guitarist, singer, and original member of the rock group Spirit. He was born on this date in 1951, and passed away in 1997. Here is their song, “I Got A Line On You.”

William Wallace Lincoln, P.G.T. Beauregard, Frederick Douglass, Max Schreck, Percy Grainger, Chester Nimitz, Walter Winchell, Kathryn Kuhlman, Dick York, Ferruccio Lamborghini, Burt Lancaster, Gene Siskel, Ty Longley (oh, the irony), Hunter S. Thompson, Sandra Dee, and Curt Gowdy are among notable deaths on this date.

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL

(From Praying With the Psalms)

The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.
The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.
May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!
Psalm 29:5-11

David the psalmist uses metaphors of thunder, lightning, earthquake, and storm, some of the most powerful forces in nature, to describe God’s word: “in such a way the world of nature becomes a parable of the world of grace.”

“God, your commanding voice in Jesus stilled storms on Galilee and quieted hurricane fears in disciples’ hearts. Now train me in trust so that I may put aside my timidity and embrace your might word with robust faith. Amen.”

(From Daily Guideposts 2016)

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom. Proverbs 11:2

In today’s reading, Jeff Japinga writes of an encounter that changed his way of thinking about service. He has a friend who is a pastor of a small church in Brooklyn. The membership is around fifty people, but on evenings when they serve up a hot meal to homeless people, over two hundred might show up.

Jeff was on hand one day when a local food-surplus organization delivered three tons of fresh green beans to the church. Three tons. Can you even imagine how many green beans that is?? Jeff is 6’5″ and says that the stacks towered over him. As volunteers came and went, cooking for the night’s dinner and bagging fresh green beans, Jeff found himself next to an actor “who, in a few hours, would be performing his role in a Broadway play.” Jeff inquired as to how it felt taking bows at the end of a play with all of the applause. “‘Actually, I get more satisfaction from working here,’ he said, ‘because it’s not about people saying thank you to me for something I’ve done. It’s about me saying thank You to God through what I’m doing. that’s what gives me the deepest satisfaction.'”

Jeff has adjusted his thinking because of this encounter. It is not about doing good deeds and being recognized for them. “It’s about intentionally asking how I might use part of my skill that day to say thank You to God.”

It takes great humility to serve in this way, but I have come to believe that it is the best way. I always cringe when we applaud people for their works of service. This is not why we should be serving, not for men’s applause. Consider what Paul says about Jesus Christ in the famous hymn from Philippians 2.

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:1-11

Father, continue to teach me this humility. Let the offering of my “good works” to you be enough. I don’t need the recognition or applause of men. Let my heart be such that everything I do, I do for you in humility and grace. And never, ever let me fall into thinking that I am repaying you for the infinite grace that you have lavished on me.

Come, Lord Jesus!

Grace and peace, friends.

Let All of Life Be Prayer

Jeff

“The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.”~~Rabindranath Tagore
(BrainyQuote)

Today’s word of the day, from Merriam-Webster, is astrolabe, ” a compact instrument used to observe and calculate the position of celestial bodies before the invention of the sextant.”

Today is Chocolate Mint Day. Ooh, and I still have some Girl Scout Thin Mints left!

We made a decision last night to postpone the Galveston trip we had planned for April. The house we rented is available for a week in October, shortly after our anniversary, so we plan to move our vacation days to that week. The reason for this is that my mother’s radiation treatments will, more than likely, not be completed in time for the April trip, plus, she may be really tired, still from all of the going back and forth to Weatherford for the treatment. Everyone involved has been consulted, and all agree that this is a good plan. Then we will move our yearly anniversary trip to Glen Rose to November, for Christi’s birthday.

It’s Friday!! And I am working next Saturday, so I will be taking this Monday off, so . . . three day weekend! Which doesn’t quite make up for having pretty much no weekend next week. We have a PAT meeting at church next Sunday, so I will be busy both Saturday and Sunday. But then, there are only two more weeks until our March Glen Rose weekend, for my birthday. Good times.

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL

(From Praying With the Psalms)

Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over many waters.
The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
Psalm 29:1-4

We who believe in Christ are able to hear something “to which others are deaf: the voice of God.” No, we don’t (usually) hear an audible voice. We hear the voice of God in a “wide range of sound: from the ‘still small voice’ that calms the heart, to this thunderous boom that inspires awe and wonder.”

“I don’t hear enough of what you say, Lord. Cure my partial deafness so that I may attend to your deep, authoritative word resounding through the world in stormy majesty. Amen.”

(From My Utmost For His Highest)

Today’s reading is “The Initiative against Drudgery.”

Arise, shine . . . Isaiah 60:1

If we sit around waiting for God to help us, it likely won’t happen. “God helps those who help themselves” is not a biblical statement, but is frequently misquoted as one. The truth is that God helps those of us who cannot help ourselves. Nevertheless, we cannot just sit and wait, most of the time. Yes, there are times when we must do nothing but wait. But these times are not the norm.

Whenever God inspires, we must “do the thing and not lie like a log. If we will arise and shine, drudgery becomes divinely transfigured.”

How we perform the tasks of drudgery is a great indication of our character. “Drudgery is work that is far removed from anything to do with the ideal–the utterly mean grubby things.” Consider the act of Jesus in John 13. He bent down and washed the feet of a bunch of fishermen. “It requires the inspiration of god to go through drudgery with the light of god upon it.” Have you ever watched a saint do something in such a way that it almost becomes holy? It might be something totally ordinary, but once we see them do it, it is different forever. “When the Lord does a thing through us, He always transfigures it.”

This all goes hand-in-hand with a quote from today’s Daily Guideposts reading. “All of life can be prayer if you let it.”

Father, teach me to let all of life be prayer. Show me the holiness in the commonplace, the divine in the drudgery. In this way, let me worship you without ceasing, in every moment of my life.

Come, Lord Jesus!

Grace and peace, friends.

A Bruised Reed; A Smoldering Wick

Jeff

Good morning. It is Wednesday, April 8, 2015. Hump Day!

Today’s Word of the Day is pillaloo. Now, that’s a right British sounding word, if you ask me! What it means is, “Expressing distress, sorrow, or grief: ‘oh!’, ‘alas!’, ‘woe!’, etc.” Or, as a noun, it means, “An utterance of ‘pillaloo’; a cry of distress, a howl. Hence: an outcry, a noisy disturbance or altercation; uproar.” So I guess this could be considered a “pillaloo?”

Today is Zoo Lovers Day. Now, I do love the zoo, however, I feel that this is another one of those “holidays” that should be set aside for a Saturday or Sunday. If I wanted to go to the zoo today, I would have to take a day of PTO.

Today is my mother’s birthday! Happy birthday to Bonnie Bickley!! She was born on this date in 19-mumblemumble. I’m certainly not going to tell you how old she is! I will call her later. I’m not going to call them at 6:00 AM. 😀

Hey, the Texas Rangers won last night!! They defeated the Athletics 3-1, with Primps Fielder going 2-3, with 2 RBIs. Well done! Colby Lewis got the win, and Neftali Feliz got his first save of 2015. The Red Sox are back in action tonight, continuing their series with Philly at 6:05 CDT. The Rangers are still in Oakland for two more games, so tonight’s game will, once again, start at 9:05 PM CDT. Ugh.

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL

The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.
May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!
Psalm 29:9-11

(From Knowing Jesus)

Today’s reading is “Jesus, Gentle Servant.”

But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him. Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all and ordered them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:
“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory; and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”
Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?”
Matthew 12:14-23

The passage from Isaiah that Matthew chose to quote to describe Jesus was originally about Cyrus, the Persian ruler. Cyrus was God’s servant, and, “as ancient conquerors go, he was not cruel and vindictive.”

We can also learn much from the context of this quote from Isaiah. If there ever was a time when Jesus would have been justified in losing his temper, it most certainly would have been those times when the Pharisees were attacking him, and, in this case, seeking to kill him. But Jesus “simply withdrew from the conflict and kept on healing the sick, while admonishing them not to talk about what he had done.” His response is a perfect fit for the prophetic passage used to describe him. “He was God’s gentle Servant, refusing to retaliate and crush his enemies.”

It is important to note that, in our belief system, our theology, Jesus IS God! He is fully divine, yet fully man, a truth that is pretty much impossible to comprehend. Yet, when he left heaven to accomplish our salvation, “he humbly assumed the role and character of a servant.” When he was baptized, and again, at the transfiguration, the voice of the Father affirmed him as “my beloved Son.” He was fully empowered by the Holy Spirit for his life and ministry. “In the end, he offered himself on the cross by the Holy Spirit and he was raised from the dead by the Holy Spirit.”

The Isaiah quote also speaks of the fact that Jesus did not “strive and shout in the streets like a demagogue.” The word for “cry aloud,” or “cry out,” could equally refer to “barking dogs, cawing crows, obstreperous drunks, and rowdy theater audiences.” (“Obstreperous” means “noisy and difficult to control.”) Jesus shunned such antics; he “refused to scream and shout and demand his own way.”

The last two metaphors used by the prophet were the “bruised reed,” and the “smoldering wick.” “The reed might barely stand and the wick may be giving its last flickers of light, but Jesus did not stomp on the reed or pinch the wick.” These are people who need the encouragement of Christ; his “joy, peace, satisfaction, and purpose in life.” How often to we quench the hope of someone like this?

Jesus never treated the weak with contempt. How often do we do that? Jesus helps to restore them. The gentleness of Christ replaces despair with hope.

Isaiah looks distantly into the future and sees a time when Jesus will bring “justice to victory.” He will bring “justice, peace, and hope to the nations.”

The way in which Jesus conducted himself is our path to take as his disciples. “The Creator, Sustainer, and Savior of the world took the gentle road, not the ruthless road, to establish his kingdom. He wins our hearts because he is gentle. His followers must emulate him, gently touching the bruised reeds and flickering wicks of this world.”

Father, I am convicted by today’s reading. Help me to ponder this truth about Christ throughout this day, especially when difficult circumstances confront me. I failed in this respect last night in our Huddle group, but I pray that I have learned something valuable from it. Help me to emulate the nature of Christ today and every day.

I pray for this day. I pray that you would bless my mother on this, her birthday, and give her a sense of inner peace and tranquility today. She is your daughter, I know this well. Take care of her and bring blessing to her today and every day. I pray for our travel to work and home, today, that it will be safe and smooth. Thank you for your protection each day. I pray that Christi’s work day will be productive and free from anxiety. Help both of us to stay focused today. I pray for Stephanie, that she will have a blessed day, and that she will feel your grace and love today. Teach us all your ways, that we might walk in your truth. I pray, also, for Rachel and Justin, that you would bring blessing to them, provision, and protection, giving them whatever they need most for this day. Give us this day our daily bread.

May your will be done, on earth, as in heaven.

How do we respond when people attack us, or even simply disagree with us? How do we treat those who are weak and/or needy? Do we trample on the bruised reeds and blow out the smoldering wicks? May we all emulate the gentleness of Jesus.

Isaiah 42-3

Grace and peace, friends.

Praying for Enemies

Jeff

Good morning. Sadly, it is only Tuesday, April 7, 2015. 161 games left!! (Just kidding . . . I won’t count down every game of the season. At least not here.)

Today’s Word of the Day is savage man. “In outdoor shows, pageants, masques, etc.: a person dressed in greenery, representing a wild man of the woods.” Also, in “Heraldry. A figure of a wild man, typically represented as naked and wreathed with greenery and depicted as a supporter of a coat of arms.”

Today is No Housework Day. I don’t think that needs any explanation.

Yesterday, I felt a little off, from my morning prayer time, all the way until I got home in the evening. I can’t really explain it, but, oddly, Christi said she felt the same way. Hopefully, today will be better.

Fortunately, the Red Sox were not at all “off,” yesterday. They pounded Cole Hamels and the Phillies (along with five other pitchers) for five home runs (including Hanley Ramirez’s 9th inning grand slam) and 8 runs to defeat the Phillies 8-0. The Rangers did not fare so well on Opening Day, as they were nearly no-hit by the A’s, and lost 8-0. Yovani Gallardo was, apparently, not impressive in his first outing for Texas. In the AL East, Baltimore and Toronto also won, with NY and Tampa losing. In the AL West, Houston, Oakland, and Seattle won, with Texas and LA losing. There are fewer games today, as some of the teams who played yesterday (Boston included) take the day off.

Tonight is my Huddle night. I don’t remember and “homework” given to us for this week.

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL

A Psalm of David.

Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over many waters.
The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.
The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
Psalm 29:1-8

(From Solid Joys)

Today’s reading is “What It Means to Pray for Your Enemy.”

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
Matthew 5:44

“Prayer for your enemies is one of the deepest forms of love, because it means that you have to really want that something good happen to them.”

It is possible to do “nice things” for your enemies and not have a desire for things to go well for them. But when we pray for them, we are more deeply in the presence of God, and God knows our hearts. We are also interceding on their behalf, before God. In short, when we pray for our enemies, we are asking God to do good things for them.

Take, for example, the words of Jesus, as he hung on the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)

Or the words of Stephen, as he was being stoned to death: And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7:60)

This is more than a call to just do nice things for our enemies, like greeting them or helping them when they have needs. This is a call for us to want the best for them, “and to express those wants in prayers when the enemy is nowhere around.”

We should, above all, desire their salvation, along with their presence in heaven. So, we should pray as Paul prayed for the Jews, “many of whom made life very hard for Paul,” Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. (Romans 10:1)

Father, I am convicted by this reading today. Although I have no true “enemies,” at least not in the sense that Paul did, there are still people who make life difficult for me, and I should be praying to you on their behalf, asking for good things to happen to them. May your Spirit lead me in this direction, going forward. Teach me your way, that I may walk in your truth, even, and especially, in this are of praying for my enemies.

I pray for this day, that our travel to work will be smooth and safe. I pray for Christi’s day, that there be no stress/anxiety, and that her work will go smoothly. I pray for Stephanie, that her heart would be full of your love for her, and that she would show that same love to others. May your life shine through my life as I work today, that I might display the Gospel in all things that I do. I pray for my parents, that you would give them strength and hope today, keeping them in your care. I pray for Rachel and Justin, that you would open doors for their future as they seek a path forward. Provide for them whatever they need most today.

Your grace is sufficient.

If you can’t imagine desiring good things for the people you dislike the most, you aren’t following Jesus.

Grace and peace, friends.

Cut It Off

Jeff3 Comments

It’s Friday morning, June 29. Tomorrow is the last day of June. We have next Wednesday off, because it’s July 4! It will be nice to have a day off, but I’ve never been fond of the mid-week holiday.
Today is “National Camera Day.” So get out there and use a camera today. Phones don’t count. I tell you what, though…some people are taking some pretty good pictures with their phones, these days.
On this date in 1967, Jayne Mansfield died in a car crash. On this date in 2003, Katherine Hepburn died at age 96. And, on this date in 1613, the Globe Theater burned down. It was the theater where most of Shakespeare’s works premiered.

As this week grinds to a close, we’ve had friends in the hospital, having surgery. We’ve had friends with their friends and family endangered by wildfires in Colorado. Apparently, there’s been a hurricane in Florida? I barely even knew about that. One friend is struggling with his job. There is a lot to be praying about. I’m going to go ahead and get to the devotional, now.

Father, I pray that you would teach me something this morning that will lead me down the path to intercessory prayer. Keep my spirit focused.

Today, I’m reading Psalm 29. This one is simply a psalm of praise, extolling the power of the “voice of the Lord.”

Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over many waters.
The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.
The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.
May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!

My Utmost For His Highest

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. Matthew 5:30

Does Jesus speak literally here? I must believe that he does not, otherwise, we would see a lot of people walking around with no hands and no eyes. “There are many things that are perfectly legitimate, but if you are going to concentrate on God you cannot do them.” If there is anything that is hindering us from following God, we must “cut it off.” There are many things in this life that are not sinful. Yet some of those things must be sacrificed if we are to focus our attention on God and follow his ways. One trap, though, that we fall into as believers is that we tend to think that those things are the same for all of us. This is not necessarily so. “See that you do not use your limitations to criticize someone else.” I’ve run across some very godly people who see nothing wrong with having a beer. I know others who have said that they could never worship with someone who drinks alcohol. Which attitude is better? The second is trying to impose his own values on all Christians. If alcohol is something that you believe that God is keeping you from, then, by all means, don’t imbibe. However, if you feel that it’s okay to have an occasional drink, by all means, do so. But neither one should criticize the other! And neither one should flaunt their belief in front of the other. But this is not about whether it’s okay to have a beer with dinner. (Frankly, I can’t stand the stuff.) It’s about what God wants from our lives. And if there is an activity that keeps ME from following him properly, then I need to “cut it off and throw it away!” ME…not you. It has nothing whatsoever to do with you. This has only to do with me. You have to decide for yourself what those things are. I cannot decide for you; you cannot decide for me. The result, though…if we follow him…can be seen in verse 48. You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Father, I praise you this morning for the power of your voice. It is your voice that called the universe into existence. You said, “Let there be,” and there was. “You spoke the words and all the worlds came into order…” Your voice can be so powerful that it breaks rocks and trees in half, yet so gentle that it causes a doe to give birth. Your voice has spoken in my heart, Lord. It spoke to me years ago and said, “Come to me.” And it continues to speak as it says, “Draw closer to me and pray.” Your voice calls me “son.” Your voice even calls me “friend.” May I always be able to hear your voice.
And, as I do so, may I heed what you tell me regarding things in my life that I need to curtail in order to follow you more closely. Show me things in my life that must either decrease or stop altogether. If there is anything in my life that is distracting me from the ministry that you would have me do, give me the wisdom and strength to “cut it off and throw it away.” But may I never be guilty of trying to force that thing on someone else, Lord. In this matter, we are all individuals before you, even though, together, we make up the body of Christ.

I lift up Bart and Summer to you as they continue to recuperate. May their recovery be quick and full. I pray for both that the surgeries accomplished what they needed to and that their healing will be complete. I also lift up the people in Colorado who are affected by the fires. Some have lost their homes. Some have miraculously had their homes spared. Nevertheless, they are all still in your hand of protection. Comfort those who have lost property with the knowledge that you are still with them, and, ultimately, that is all we need. Would I still think that if it were my home that burned? I pray so. I desperately pray so.

As I work through the leadership of our church, today I lift up Bill Lytle. He is an elder and has been faithful in leading the setup ministry for those of us who faithfully meet on Saturday mornings to transform the school cafeteria and stage into a place of worship for Sunday morning. I pray for his strength and courage as he continues in this ministry, and pray that you will give him the power of the Spirit as he continues in his leadership role. Give him, along with the other elders, your wisdom as you show them which direction you want our church to go.

I pray for this day. I pray that Christi will feel better today. She seems a little better, but still not feeling great. I pray for Stephanie today, who is also not feeling 100%. i pray that we will all feel like making it to the gym tonight for our workout. Keep us focused on our health, Lord, but not to the detriment of our spirits. Spiritual health is always more important than physical health. I pray that you give us a good work day today. It’s been a pretty good week in that regard. I pray that it will close out well.

Your grace is sufficient.

What’s hindering me from walking with God? Sounds harsh, but I need to “cut it off and throw it away.”

Grace and peace, friends.