Tag: You Speak

Harrowing Hell

Jeff

Today is Tuesday, the tenth day of March, 2026, in the third week of Lent.

“May the peace of God wrap around you
As you’re held in His love
May He meet you with hope and healing and truth
As You’re held in His arms.”
(Held, Dana Miller and Megan Tibbits)

It is the 69th day of 2026, with 296 days remaining in the year.

Three days until my birthday! But today is the birthday of one of my library friends! And Thursday is the birthday of my pastor/sister/friend!

Today is International Day of Awesomeness! I think you know what to do!

Daily writing prompt
Write a letter to your 100-year-old self.
View all responses

I’m not sure how to respond to this. First, I don’t know (as does anyone) if I will live that long. Sometimes, I hope I don’t. But I’ll give it a shot.

Dear 100-year-old Jeff,
If you are reading this, you are still alive. If you aren’t, then you are much better off, because you are in the presence of Jesus. If we live to be 100, I can’t wait to see what kind of wonderful things Christ has done through us, during the next . . . um . . . (gets out calculator) 32 years. That sounds like a long time, but the last few decades seem to have happened in just a few moments.
I hope that our faith is even stronger now then it was in 2026. I hope that we have managed to memorize a lot of Scripture. Did we get the Gospel of John memorized in 2026? Do you even remember 2026? Do we still sing and play the piano? Do our fingers still work? Can we still play the guitar? Did we finally put the trombone away? So many questions!
I hope that Jesus is still “whooshing” us every few days. And I hope that love has grown stronger and stronger within our spirit and heart.

Yours truly,
68 year old Jeff
(I’m rounding up, since my birthday is in three days)

Today is as close to normal as Tuesdays are, these days. C is working from home (currently at her PT session), and I will be at the library from 4:15-8:15 tonight, in the computer center. With my awesome library friends! Celebrating one of their birthdays and International Day of Awesomeness!

JESUS TIME

Our Father who art in heaven, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. O dear Lord, You know that if the world cannot destroy Your name or Your kingdom, there are those who work day and night with tricks, fraud, and many strange conspiracies to try and do so. They encourage and support every evil intention raging against Your name, Your Word, Your kingdom, and Your children, threatening to destroy them. 
 
Therefore, dear Lord, God and Father, convert and restrain them. Convert those who have yet to acknowledge Your good will, that together with them we may obey Your will. Let us gladly and patiently bear every cross and adversity and thereby acknowledge, test, and experience Your good, gracious, and perfect will. Constrain those who seek to harm us, and turn against them their own tricks and devices, as we sing: 
 
He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made. His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends. I will give to the Lord the thanks due to His righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High (Psalm 7:15-17) Amen. 
(Lutheran Book of Prayer, Prayer 50, Tuesday Morning) 

Gracious heavenly Father, I thank You for keeping me safe through the quiet hours of this past night. As a new day dawns, help me to see, through the eyes of faith, that the challenges that might be in front of me today are not greater than the power behind me. Help me to see that everyone I engage with today was created in Your image and thus worthy of respect. If someone has a need, help me to meet that need where I am able. Enable me to trust the promise that You have the power to work all things for my good. In the name of Jesus, Your dear Son, I pray. Amen. 
(Portals of Prayer, Prayer for Tuesday Morning) 

Lord, You call us to Your service and continue Your saving work among us. May Your love never abandon us. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. 
(For All the Saints, Tuesday of the Week of Lent 3, Opening Prayer) 

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God!  
   Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!  
(Psalms 143:10 ESV) 

Today I am grateful:

  1. That God’s love will never abandon me 
  2. That He speaks to me through His Word and Spirit, and sustains me with Word and Sacrament 
  3. That the Father’s Messenger (malak) “encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them” (Psalm 34:7)(That’s Jesus, by the way!) 
  4. That there is no one like our God; our eternal dwelling place, the everlasting arms (Deuteronomy 33:26-27) 
  5. That the Word of Christ, spirit and life, has truly liberated 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?

Psalm of the Day – Psalm 34:4-7 

I sought the LORD, and he answered me  
   and delivered me from all my fears.  
Those who look to him are radiant,  
   and their faces shall never be ashamed.  
This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him  
   and saved him out of all his troubles.  
The angel of the LORD encamps  
   around those who fear him, and delivers them.  
(Psalms 34:4-7 ESV) 

From Untamed Prayers, by Chad Bird 

Christ often showed up in the Old Testament as a Messenger, malak in Hebrew. That word is sometimes mistranslated as “angel,” but just means “one who bears a message, whether that malak be human, angelic, or divine. 
 
“David says that ‘the malak of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them’ (ps. 34:7). In the Old Testament, the combination of the Hebrew words for ‘encamp’ and ‘around’ always entails a total surrounding. . . . This means that when the Messenger of Yahweh, the Son of the Father, ‘encamps around those who fear him,’ he is not simply to our right or left, but encloses us, wraps his presence around us in a circle of impenetrable defense.” 
 
So when the darkness threatens, we lift our eyes to Jesus, who encamps around is, because “Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed” (v. 5). When troubles seem come at us, we call on the name of Jesus, because “This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles” (v. 6). “Above us and below us, to our right and left, before and behind, surrounding us on all sides, is the presence of the one who bears crucifixion scars that attest to his unwavering commitment to our deliverance.” 

From My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers 

preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.  
(2 Timothy 4:2 ESV) 

“We are not saved to be ‘channels only,’ but to be sons and daughters of God. . . . the message must be part of ourselves. The Son of God was His own message, His words were spirit and life; and as His disciples our lives must be the sacrament of our message. The natural heart will do any amount of serving, but it takes the heart broken by conviction of sin, and baptized by the Holy Ghost, and crumpled into the purpose of God before the life becomes the sacrament of its message. . . . Before God’s message can liberate other souls, the liberation must be real in you.” 

I have confidence that my heart has been broken, over and over again, since last February. The message, which is Christ, Himself, is most certainly a part of me. The Words of Christ are, indeed spirit and life, as He, Himself proclaimed. I confess that I am not quite sure what Chambers means by the life becoming “the sacrament of its message.” I will have to ponder this for a bit. But I do know that His message has liberated me. That much is real.  

From The Word in the Wilderness, by Malcolm Guite 

“Begin the song exactly where you are, 
For where you are contains where you have been 
And holds the vision of your final sphere. 
 
And do not fear the memory of sin; 
There is a light that heals, and, where it falls, 
Transfigures and redeems the darkest stain 
 
Into translucent colour. Loose the veils 
And draw the curtains back, unbar the doors, 
Of that dread threshold where your spirit fails, 
 
The hopeless gate that holds in all the fears 
That haunt your shadowed city, flint it wide 
And open to the light that finds, and fares 
 
Through the dark pathways where you run and hide, 
Through all the alleys of your riddled heart, 
As pierced and open as his wounded side. 
 
Open the map to him and make a start, 
And down the dizzy spirals, through the dark, 
his light will go before you. Let him chart 
 
And name and heal. Expose the hidden ache 
To him, the stinging fires and smoke that blind 
Your judgment, carry you away, the mirk 
 
And muted gloom in which you cannot find 
The love that you once thought worthy dying for. 
Call him to all you cannot call to mind. 
 
He comes to harrow Hell and now to your 
Well-guarded fortress let his love descend. 
The icy ego at your frozen core 
 
Can hear his call at last. Will you respond?” 
(Malcolm Guite, Through the Gate)
 
This is Malcolm Guite’s poetic response to Dante’s journey in The Divine Comedy. As Dante and Virgil come to the gate of Hell, with that infamous inscription, “Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here,” the don’t, in fact, abandon hope, “and that is the whole point. It is hope that leads and draws them on; hope inspired by love. . . . Like Jesus, who went to the cross not for pain in itself but ‘for the joys that were set before him,’ so we are to make this journey through the memories of pain and darkness, not to stay with these things but to redeem them and move beyond them. . . . Throughout the journey into the Inferno we are shown signs that Christ has been this way ahead of us and broken down the strongholds.” As Guite writes in his poem, “He comes to harrow Hell.” And “We, who build so many hells on earth, need to know that there is no place so dark, no situation so seemingly hopeless, that cannot be opened to the light of Christ for rescue and redemption.” 
 
Guite makes note that he has been mindful “that the Inferno is really ‘in here and right now’ not ‘out there and back then’, and emphatically not, if we trust in Christ, some inevitable end awaiting us. IN that knowledge we must have the courage to expose our own personal hells to Christ and let him harrow them with us, and htat is precisely what Dante’s great poem allows us to do. . . .For all of us, somewhere within, there is a threshold or a gate beyond which we feel we dare not go, but it may be just past that threshold that our real healing and restoration needs to take place.” 

As Malcolm Guite introduces me to Dante, I find myself inspired to try to read The Divine Comedy for myself.  

O Thou who dwellest in the light that is unapproachable, while clouds and darkness are round about Thee, we thank Thee that the day is thine, the night also is thine. When deep calleth unto deep, and all thy waves and billows are around us, we recognize the voice of the Lord our God. We know that the sea is his, and that He made it; also that the storm may be changed into a calm, at his command and will. Help us, O God, to acquiesce in every turning of our lot, in the scene that moveth to and fro, in the change which proceedeth from Thyself, and is forever controlled by Thee; and, through all the storms of this world let our whole confidence be in Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
(For All the Saints, Tuesday of the Week of Lent 3, Closing Prayer, Anonymous) 

Father, I lift up praise to You, for the work of Christ on the cross, through the resurrection, and in my life all these years later. I thank You that Christ has, indeed, come into my heart and “harrowed Hell” in me. It is true that we create much of our own hell on earth, and the beauty of Christ shakes those foundations and rebuilds something greater as we embrace the treasure that is His Word. I pray that Your Spirit will continue to lead me and enable me to open up those fearful gates within myself and make them utterly open to You, that I may be fully and completely liberated from anything that would hold me back from the work that You have planned for me to do, for those “good works” that You created in advance for me to walk in.

I thank You that I have been crucified with Christ, and that I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. I praise You that the life that I now live, I live by faith in Your Son, who loves me and gave Himself FOR ME!

I thank You that Christ is everything!

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

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

CHRIST IS EVERYTHING!!!

Always in Jesus Time

Jeff

Today is Friday, the thirteenth day of February, in the fifth week of Epiphany.

May the peace of Christ dwell within you today!

It is the 44th day of 2026, with 321 days remaining in the year.

Five days until Ash Wednesday. Valentine’s Day is tomorrow. For the record, C and I don’t “observe” Valentine’s Day. We haven’t for years. And lest you think it’s me being an “old fogey,” it was most definitely a mutual decision.

Day 24,809 of my life.

It’s World Radio Day. I don’t listen to the radio much, these days. I don’t even have a subscription to Sirius/XM anymore. I pretty much stream my music playlists in the car. But I have a deep appreciation for radio and the impact it has had on my life, over the years. I still remember recording songs direct from FM radio to my monaural cassette player, back in the seventies. In fact, I still remember recording “Stairway to Heaven” the first time our local FM station played it one night. In honor of radio, I give you my favorite Rush song.

Daily writing prompt
What were your parents doing at your age?
View all responses

They were retired, and enjoying being grandparents. They had built an extra room onto the house I grew up in. My dad enjoyed reading and listening to his records, as well as categorizing and cataloging everything he owned. My mother enjoyed cross-stitching and reading. They were very active in their church for as long as they could be until my dad’s Inclusion Body Myositis disabled him.

Today is a mostly normal Friday. C is working from home and I will be at the library computer center from 9:15-6:15 (and will likely be there before this blog entry is completed, as is my custom . . . we will see). As previously mentioned, we have no plans for tomorrow. In fact, I am scheduled to work tomorrow. Maybe I will order Valentine’s Day cookies for the library staff.

JESUS TIME

“Our Father who art in heaven, lead us not into temptation. O dear Lord, Father and God, keep us prepared and alert, eager and diligent in Your Word and service, so that we do not become complacent and careless as though we had already achieved everything. We implore You by Your mercy not to let the devil sneak in and take away from us Your precious Word or stir up strife and factions among us, or otherwise lead us into spiritual and physical sin and disgrace. Grant us wisdom and strength through Your Spirit that we may bravely resist the devil and gain the victory. Amen.” 
(Lutheran Book of Prayer, Prayer 56, Friday Morning) 

Dear Lord, “Direct, control, suggest this day all I design or do or say that all my pow’rs with all their might in Thy sole glory may unite” (LSB 868:5). You have awakened me for another day of service and witnessing to Your greatness. Grant me opportunities to do so with a cheerful spirit. Give me patience and perseverance where needed. May my service encourage other Christians to witness and serve You. Keep far from me Satan and his temptation to sin. Watch over those whom I love. Guard them with Your holy angels and strengthen their faith and trust in You. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 
(Portals of Prayer, Prayer for Friday Morning) 

“Cleans us, we beseech thee, O God, and deliver us from all other fears save that fear of thy name, which is the coming among us of thy holy love. In Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.” 
(For All the Saints, Friday of the Week of Epiphany 5, Opening Prayer) 

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.  
(John 15:4 ESV) 

Today I am grateful:

  1. That, by the grace of God and the power of the Spirit, I am abiding in Christ 
  2. For strength against temptation, for there is no temptation that has come upon me that is not common to all; yet, with the temptations, there is always provided a way of escape, for He will not allow me to be tempted beyond my ability to resist 
  3. That my true citizenship is in heaven, and I seek no lasting city here (Philippians 3:20-21) 
  4. That, until the day that I reach Home, my Lord will never leave nor forsake me (Hebrews 13:5) 
  5. For the fruit of the Spirit; may I be faithful to allow it to grow and flourish within me 
  6. For the unconditional love of God; may I be faithful to make it visible to others 
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?

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.  
(Philippians 3:20-21 ESV) 

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  
(Hebrews 13:5 ESV) 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  
(Galatians 5:22-23 ESV) 

“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.”  
(Luke 6:27-28 ESV) 

Psalm of the Day – Psalm 22:1-18 

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?  
     Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?  
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,  
     and by night, but I find no rest.  
Yet you are holy,  
     enthroned on the praises of Israel.  
In you our fathers trusted;  
     they trusted, and you delivered them.  
To you they cried and were rescued;  
     in you they trusted and were not put to shame.  
 
But I am a worm and not a man,  
     scorned by mankind and despised by the people.  
All who see me mock me;  
     they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;  
“He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him;  
     let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”  
 
Yet you are he who took me from the womb;  
     you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.  
On you was I cast from my birth,  
     and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.  
Be not far from me,  
     for trouble is near,  
     and there is none to help.  
 
Many bulls encompass me;  
     strong bulls of Bashan surround me;  
they open wide their mouths at me,  
     like a ravening and roaring lion.  
 
I am poured out like water,  
     and all my bones are out of joint;  
my heart is like wax;  
     it is melted within my breast;  
my strength is dried up like a potsherd,  
     and my tongue sticks to my jaws;  
     you lay me in the dust of death.  
 
For dogs encompass me;  
     a company of evildoers encircles me;  
they have pierced my hands and feet—  
I can count all my bones—  
they stare and gloat over me;  
they divide my garments among them,  
     and for my clothing they cast lots.  
(Psalms 22:1-18 ESV) 

“But you delivered me into the world, 
Made hope the milk I drank, cradled me 
Between your elbow crook and wrist, 
Held up my head until I found my strength. 
Support me now, when troubles 
Ring me, paw like highland bulls, snort 
Steam and heave fat divots with their hooves. 
You must be near, must pick me up 
And give me strength to save my life from bitterness.” 
(Excerpt from Laurance Wieder, Words to God’s Music, Psalm 22, WANTING) 

From For All the Saints – Friday of the Week of Epiphany 5 

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 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. . . .  
 
Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.  
(Romans 13:8-10, 13-14 ESV) 

“[Writing about his conversion] In that very moment, from the absolute bottom of my soul there came together like a knot in my heart all of my past struggles and present arguments, and it caused me to break into tears. So that I would not embarrass anyone and so I could let myself go completely, I left Alypius [one of his closest friends, later bishop of Thagaste]. He knew what was happening and let me go by myself. I found myself in a garden and collapsed there under a tree, sobbing like a baby and babbling about my worthlessness. . . . As I was carrying on, suddenly I heard from somewhere a voice – like a child’s – saying softly, over and over, ‘Pick it up and read it.’ My confused mind cast about, trying to remember if these were the words to some game that children play, but I couldn’t think of any. I got control of myself and stood up. I decided that this was a direct answer to me from God, directing me to take up His Holy Scripture and to read the first chapter that I opened to. . . . Quickly I raced back to where Alypius sat and sized the Epistles of Saint Paul which I had left there. Opening it, I read to myself the first words that came to my eyes [Romans 13:13]: not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying: but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh in concupiscence. I did not need to go on; as soon as I finished that one sentence perfect truth filled my heart; confusion and doubt were gone forever.” 
(Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, Confessions, 8:12) 

What a beautiful account of Augustine’s conversion!

From My Utmost for His Highest 

“Speak, for your servant hears.” 
(1 Samuel 3:10) 

Do I only hear the voice of God during “Jesus Time?” Or am I devoted to hearing Him at all times. Just because I have heard Him say one thing to me, doesn’t necessarily mean that I will hear everything He says to me. 

If I am His “friend,” as Christ has said we are, then I should always be listening for His voice. Most of us are not good friends. I am guilty, even with my best friends, of not being a good listener. I honestly believe that is a skill that is rapidly fading in our culture. We are far too self-centered, even at our best times. I do love my friends, but do I do a good job of listening to them?  

I confess that I have had wonderfully deep conversations with my pastor friend, but then, by the time I get home, I am hard-pressed to remember what she said. Likewise, I find, with God. If I don’t keep a good record of what I hear from Him, I forget. Memory, as it seems, can be a blessing and a curse.  

“The destiny of my spiritual life is such identification with Jesus Christ that I always hear God, and I know that God always hears me (John 11:41). If I am united with Jesus Christ, I hear God, by the devotion of hearing all the time. A lily, or a tree, or a servant of God, may convey God’s message to me.” But if I am caught up in other things, I may not hear the message.  

My attitude should always be that of little Samuel, “Speak, for Your servant hears.” Now back to my initial question. Do I only hear the voice of God during “Jesus Time?” Well, the truth of the matter is that I should always be in “Jesus Time!” In fact, I am always in Jesus Time! This is a truth that my pastor pointed out to me months ago. Now, whether I recognize this, is another matter, entirely. But I am always in Jesus Time because Jesus is always with me.

Ironically, as I was going through my prayers, this morning, I prayed that God would help me to maintain childlike faith. And I had not yet read this devotional. 

Dear Father in heaven, first I am grateful for Augustine’s humble account of his own conversion. This is always inspiring to me, and I am grateful for the many writings of the fathers of our faith, which we have to look back at.

I am also grateful to be considered Your “friend,” as Christ called us, His disciples and followers. But as a friend, I confess that I have constantly failed in being attuned to Your voice at all times. The flesh prevails far too often, and, as I frequently say, there is still too much Jeff in here. I must decrease as Christ increases in my life. Please continue to mold and transform me by Your beautiful, holy Word, each day, Lord! And please keep making me more and more like a child in my faith, so that I have more and more confidence that You hear me, while I listen to You. Only let me be better at listening to You all the time, for I truly am always in Jesus Time!

I thank You so much, Lord, for everything You have done in me and for me. As I look forward to the coming Lenten season, I pray for true abiding in You, day in and day out. And, by abiding in Christ, I pray that my life would be a mirror of Christ, reflecting Him outwardly toward everyone who encounters me. May be filled with humility, Lord, as well as the ongoing fruit of the Spirit.

In holy, precious, and beautiful name of Jesus I pray, amen.

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

CHRIST IS EVERYTHING!!!

I Live for Him

Jeff

Today is Thursday, the eighth day of January, 2026, in the season of Epiphany.

May the peace of Christ surround you, today, and drive away all of your anxieties and fears.

It is day eight of 2026, with 357 days remaining in the year.

Day 24,773 of my life.

Six days until C’s hip surgery.

Daily writing prompt
What are your thoughts on the concept of living a very long life?
View all responses

It’s so funny. I don’t believe, really, in “random” occurrences. And to have this writing prompt on the third day since I had heart surgery?? I know I “just” had a pacemaker put in, but it was freaking heart surgery!! I have to keep reminding myself of that!

I don’t know, though, quite how to answer this. What is a “very” long life? I’ve lived (looks up . . . ) 24,773 days! More than sixty-seven years (almost sixty-eight!). That’s a pretty long life, but I do hope there are a few more years left.

Why do I hope for a few more years? That’s going to be answered in a few minutes, but the short version is love. I am surrounded by beauty and love, the love of God, the love of family, the love of friends, and I have so much love in my heart for all of the above. So I enjoy this life because of love. Yes, I am ready to meet Jesus! I have been ready for a while. Ready, but not in a hurry. There’s a balance there.

Today is not a normal Thursday. C stayed home, just in case I need her for anything. I’m always off on Thursday, so in that respect, it is normal.

I sent a message to the cardiologist’s office, asking when it would be considered safe to drive, because I want to go to church Sunday (if I feel up to it), and thinking I might go back to work Monday, at the library. I was told that it is, essentially, up to me, as long as I’m not taking any pain meds that impair my ability to drive (they gave me Tramadol, but I haven’t had any of that since the middle of the night Tuesday night . . . I’ve been taking Tylenol), and as long as I don’t lift my left arm above shoulder level. Good news!

Now, to just keep resting. I’m feeling pretty darned good, today.

JESUS TIME

“God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, O Holy Trinity worthy of praise, to You I offer myself with body and soul from this moment on, even unto eternity. I give You praise and thanks that You have not permitted the enemy to come and harm me in the night, but rather, through the protection of Your dear angels, I have been preserved. With what could I possibly repay You? How might I praise You for this? I will give You a shattered heart full of fear, a heart full of blood-red sins, with penitence and contrition. I do so, that You may graciously receive it and wash it white as snow with the noble blood of Your dear Son, my Redeemer. I do so, that You might hide it away in His holy, sinless wounds and thus return to me the gracious forgiveness of all my sins. Help me today and every day that I may remain in Christian readiness, for I cannot know when and how You shall come and call me away from this life, so that I may be led to eternal joy. Such things grant to me, O gracious God and Father, on account of Your dear Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.” 
(Lutheran Book of Prayer, Prayer 40, Thursday Morning) 

Omnipotent, heavenly Father, as I awake to a new dawn, I entrust my life to Your care and favor. I thank You for another day to serve You. The apostle Paul exhorts, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5); may my thoughts be fixed on You. As my body is Your temple, enable me to remember that my physical life is not my own, but is Yours. As my soul can find satisfaction only with faith in Christ, help me to bring honor and glory to Him in both word and deed. In the name of Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, I pray. Amen. 
(Portals of Prayer, Prayer for Thursday Morning) 

(Please realize that I always begin these Jesus Times in the morning, but sometimes the blog doesn’t get posted until after noon.)

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” 
(John 6:35 ESV) 
How sweet are your words to my taste,  
sweeter than honey to my mouth!  
(Psalms 119:103 ESV) 

Today I am grateful:

  1. For more than I could ever write! 
  2. For the Bread of Life that sustains me from day to day, and on into eternity 
  3. For His Word, sweeter than honey to my mouth, a lamp to my feet and a light to my path 
  4. That I am alive and awake, this morning – what a gift it is to be alive!!! 
  5. For love, love, love and more love, from Jesus, from family, from friends . . . I’m surrounded by beauty and love! 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
  6. Life, life, life!!!! 

Breathe it in, soak it up . . . what a gift it is to be alive!!!! 

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?

Today’s Psalm will be in a separate blog post, today, in order to reduce the already too long length of this one.

The following is from For All the Saints, January 8th

All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?” But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” So Moses cried to the LORD, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” And the LORD said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the LORD by saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”  
(Exodus 17:1-7 ESV) 

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 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. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.  
(Colossians 1:15-23 ESV) 

The above passage reduced me to tears, this morning.

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.  
(John 7:37-39 ESV) 

“What, then, was God to do? What else could He possibly do, being God, but renew His Image in mankind, so that through it men might once more come to know Him? And how could this be done save by the coming of the very Image Himself, our Saviour Jesus Christ? Men could not have done it, for they are only made after the Image; nor could angels have done it, for they are not the images of God. The Word of God came in His own Person, because it was He alone, the Image of the Father, Who could recreate man made after the emage.  
 
In order to effect this re-creation, however, He had first to do away with death and corruption. Therefore He assumed a human body, in order that in it death might once for all be destroyed, and that men might be renewed according to the Image. The Image of the Father only was sufficient for this need.” 
(Athanasius, On the Incarnation) 

King of Heaven, Jesus Christ, we render thanks unto You, that from among Jews and Gentiles You have gathered unto Yourself a church, and have prepared praise unto Yourself out of our mouths. Keep us in that heavenly wisdom which You have revealed unto the wise. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may reverently seek You and Your kingdom. Help us to follow after Your Word as our miraculous guiding star. Cause us to confess Your Holy Name before friend and foe. Govern us by Your Holy Spirit, that the Christian joy kindled in our hearts may ever increase. Hear our sighings and our prayers. Accept the offerings which You have Yourself given us, the gold of faith, the frankincense of prayer, and the myrrh of our contrite hearts. Save us from all shameful paths of sin, and let Thy good Spirit lead us in paths of pleasantness. After this life, grant us all to attain that great New Year, the jubilee of everlasting life: then will we be praising Thee and the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, forever and forever. Amen. 
(Closing Prayer, adapted from J.K. Wilhelm Loehe) 

The following is from My Utmost for His Highest – Does My Sacrifice Live? 

When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.  
(Genesis 22:9 ESV) 

I have said for a number of months, now, that I am ready to die for Christ. And when I first said that, my pastor said, “that means you’re ready to live for Him!” Chambers speaks to the truth of that today. (And it has become quite evident to me that it was the perfect time to decide to re-read this great devotional book.)  

What God wants from us, says Chambers, is to be willing to be identified with the death of Christ “so that I may sacrifice my life to God.” And while he doesn’t quote this verse, he does use the phrase “living sacrifice.” 

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  
(Romans 12:1 ESV) 

We always (especially as we get closer to Lent) think that God just wants us to give things up. As I grew up Baptist, I was always hearing the “don’ts.” Don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t dance, don’t play cards (for some reason, dominos were okay?). Don’t, don’t, don’t. Why? Because, that’s why! 

But Christ doesn’t really demand that kind of “sacrifice” from us. We aren’t asked to give things up just for the sake of giving them up. “God nowhere tells us to give up things for the sake of giving them up. He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having – viz., life with Himself. It is a question of loosening the bands that hinder the life, and immediately those bands are loosened by identification with the death of Jesus, we enter into a relationship with God whereby we can sacrifice our lives to Him. 
 
“It is of no value to God to give Him your life for death. He wants you to be a ‘living sacrifice,’ to let Him have all your powers that have been saved and sanctified through Jesus.” 

And this is where I find myself today. Yes, I am willing to die for Christ. But more importantly, I have identified with HIS death, that I may live in abundance for Him! I am not so much “giving things up” as I am sacrificing myself, my life, that it might be lived for Him, because He is the thing worth having! Christ is everything! And as a man sitting here realizing the truth that he just had HEART SURGERY, that is more real than it has ever been, my brothers and sisters! What a gift it is to be alive! 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜I am surrounded by beauty and love! 

And finally, from Everyday Gospel, by Paul David Tripp

“Our covenant-keeping God is a God who speaks to us. In his words we find comfort, assurance, and direction.” 

In Genesis 26, God speaks to Isaac and assures him that the covenant given to his father Abraham is now passed on to him. 

The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; settle in the land that I shall show you. Reside in this land as an alien, and I will be with you, and will bless you; for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will fulfill the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven, and will give to your offspring all these lands; and all the nations of the earth shall gain blessing for themselves through your offspring, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”  
(Genesis 26:2-5 NRSV) 

Isaac did not earn this. It is entirely grace, given to him. In the same way, God speaks to us, telling us that we have been blessed with a covenant that we have not earned, but is entirely because of the work of Someone else. He speaks to us through His Word.  

Says Tripp, “Every bit of wisdom I have comes from the words of his book. I found my identity in the words of his book. I was drawn to put my trust in him because of the words of his book. I have meaning and purpose right here, right now because of the words of his book. I have found peace during times of trial because of the words of his book. I have future hope because of the words of his book. My life has been rescued, empowered, and defined by the words of his book.” 

I can echo Tripp’s words, here. I, too, have been wondrously blessed by God’s Word. His Word is Life! 

All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.  
(2 Timothy 3:16-17 NRSV) 

Dear Jesus, I thank You and praise You for my life. You have saved my life continuously, for many, many years. You saved it in my Baptism in 1967. You saved it again, last year, when You began this amazing transformation in my spirit. And You literally saved it this week. Once again, “Thank You” doesn’t seem to be enough. And I really don’t have adequate words. “All I can offer is praise upon praise for the grace upon grace I’ve received.” But I offer my life, which is already Yours.

I offer my life so that I can LIVE for You. It seems quite obvious that You are not ready for me to die for You. But I have identified with Your death, per Galatians 2:20, because the life that I do live, now, I live by faith in You; it is no longer I who live, but You who live in me! And all because You gave Your life FOR ME!

Thank You, thank You, thank You, Jesus!! Thank You, thank You, thank You!! I’m breathing it in and soaking it up, because I am truly surrounded by beauty and love! What a gift it is to be alive!

Thank You for speaking to me through Your Word, Lord! Your Word is truth, Your Word is Life!

In Your most holy and precious name, Amen!

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

Because Jesus!! 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

Dangerous Grace

Jeff

Today is Thursday, the twenty-eighth day of August, 2025, in the Season of the Church.

May the peace of Christ surround you, today, and guard your hearts and minds!

It is day 240 of 2025, with 125 days remaining.

Day 24,640 of my life.

Four more days until Labor Day.

There are 25 more days of summer left. Yesterday’s high reached 93, one degree above the forecast. Today’s high is predicted to be 98, as the dog days of summer give us one more desperate gasp. I sincerely hope that today will be the last day that high. But you never know. The record high for this date was 107, in 2011. The average high over the next ten days is now 86.5, down almost three degrees from yesterday. Today is the highest forecast temp in that ten days, and tomorrow is the only other day where it is projected to reach 90 or higher. And Sunday’s high?? 78!! Whee!!

Daily writing prompt
What daily habit do you do that improves your quality of life?
View all responses

The answer to this question results in the blog that you are currently reading. The blog, itself, is not the answer to the question. It is the “Jesus Time” that I have in the morning and evening that is the answer. For a long time, it was just in the morning. I’m not sure, exactly, what prompted me to begin having a time at night, as well, but I am glad that I did. So, first thing in the morning, after I get up (after I make my coffee, and, if I am first up, I feed the various animals inside and outside our house), and then the last thing I do before going to bed, is to spend time with Jesus.

Now, as my pastor noted a few months ago, I am always in “Jesus Time,” so these times might be better referred to as “concentrated” Jesus Times, or “intentional” Jesus Times. Whatever. They are times of concentrated Scripture reading, meditation, and prayer, as well as listening to various hymns to guide me. These times have most definitely improved my quality of life, and continue to do so.

Yesterday was an okay day, as S was feeling sick, and C wasn’t feeling great, either. At one point, I wasn’t feeling so hot, either, but I don’t know if that was real or just the power of suggestion. Either way, I took NyQuil before going to sleep, last night, and I feel fine, today. C was feeling better when she got up for work, and S didn’t have any fever, this morning (it was low-grade, yesterday and last night, around 100).

Otherwise, today is a normal Thursday. C is at the office, and I am off work. I did have to take Mama to see her cardiologist, this morning, so that is why this is a little late getting posted.

I really have nothing else on my agenda today.

JESUS TIME

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Thank You for being with me during the night, for keeping me safe, and for helping me get a good night’s rest. Now that I am about to begin another eventful day, I am thirsty for refreshment from Your Holy Word. I remember what You told the woman of Samaria at the well: “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). Please give me this living water so that my soul will be refreshed and renewed as You so desire. In Your name I pray. Amen. 
(Portals of Prayer – Prayer for Thursday Morning) 

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.  
(Ephesians 4:32 ESV) 

Today I am grateful:

  • For Your living water, Lord, that You constantly pour into me 
  • That You hear and answer prayer 
  • For this command to be kind to one another; may we be faithfully obedient, Lord, forgiving one another just as You have forgiven us 
  • That in the silence of my heart, You speak, and it is there that I will know You and You will know me (Audrey Assad – “You Speak”) 
  • That true freedom comes in submitting to the authority of God
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?

Blessed be the LORD!  
For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.  
The LORD is my strength and my shield;  
in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;  
my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.  
 
The LORD is the strength of his people;  
he is the saving refuge of his anointed.  
Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!  
Be their shepherd and carry them forever.  
(Psalms 28:6-9 ESV) 

“Oh Christ, 
help me to know You are near. 
I can suffer pain, 
rejection, 
the loss of many precious things – 
but if You are silent; 
if Your voice is lost to me, 
I don’t know if I can bear it. 
 
For as long as I can remember, 
You have spoken to me – 
in whisper, 
ache, 
and tear; 
in wind and word: 
a language of the heart. 
Without that tethering thread 
I would be utterly lost – 
a cave-dweller, 
a stranger to the light. . . . 
 
Have mercy, Lord. 
Comfort me. 
Speak.” 
(Excerpt from Sheltering Mercy: Prayers Inspired by the Psalms – Psalm 28: Wind and Word) 

O LORD, I love the habitation of your house  
and the place where your glory dwells.  
(Psalms 26:8 ESV) 

Jesus, I pray that You would, indeed, liberate me from the noise inside my own head. 

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

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.  
 
But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.  
(Acts 16:25-40 ESV) 

And [Jesus] called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”  
(Mark 7:14-23 ESV) 

“In his explanation of the commandments, Luther begins every one with these words, ‘We should fear and love God and . . . ‘ 
 
“It is perhaps well known that there are some Christians today who maintain that Luther made a mistake in this. They strike out the ‘fear’ and say that we should love God, nothing more. 
 
“But when the people of our superficial generation have read the Bible as thoroughly as Luther did, they will see that Luther was right also in this. 
 
“He has seen clearly that love to God does not exclude fear, but that they mutually strengthen each other. 
 
“He has seen that there is something about love which is to be feared. He has seen that there something about grace which is dangerous. He has seen the risk connected with grace, yea, that in the last instance nothing is more dangerous than the grace of God. 
 
“It is part and parcel of the risk connected with life as a whole. 
 
“The greater the good in life, the more dangerous it becomes to us, if we misuse it. And since the grace of God is life’s most precious good, grace is more dangerous than anything else in the world, if we misuse it. 
 
“The psalmist saw this more than two thousand years ago when he said, ‘Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputes not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile’ (Psalm 32:2). 
 
“This is the precipitous chasm which runs along the narrow way to the very end – to our dying breath. As long as a Christian is watchful and keeps his eye on this chasm, he will continue to live in ‘fear and trembling,’ as the apostle admonishes us to do.” 
(Reading IV: Ole Hallesby, Under His Wings) 

My God, I pray to You, desperately, this morning, that You would truly silence the noise and chaos in my own head. For it is there where our enemy tries his hardest to derail me and defeat me. But he cannot win, because Jesus wins, always. So in the silence of my heart, Lord, You speak to me, and it is there that I will truly know You and You will know me, as You already do. You know me, Lord, more intimately than I know myself. And I embrace this truth, Father, for I would hide nothing from You.

Jesus, I ask You to make me a better image-bearer. I ask You to make me a window through which all who intersect my life can glimpse Your beautiful, infinite, love for them. That is the desire of my heart, and, as far as I know, the goal of my life. For You have poured into me for these past six months; poured into me until I overflow. Even as I type these words, I can feel in my own heart, this love welling up, getting ready to overflow, yet again. Help me to know how to channel this love into action, into outward love for others.

Teach me to live, Spirit, as You inhabit me, Your temple. Teach me to walk and live in the country of salvation, as all around me, people are living and walking in the country of death. But You are calling us into a different country. As the writer of Hebrews says multiple times, we are seeking a homeland, “a better country,” We have “no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.”

As each day passes, my Lord, I am more and more homesick for this homeland, this city, which I have yet to see. I pray that You bring our longing to pass, Lord! But while we remain in this lesser country, help us to live there in Your light, and to be Your light, shining on all around us, showing Your steadfast love that never fails to all around us.

And as the reading shows us, this morning, may we never forget to fear You, Father, and to operate properly in Your dangerous grace.

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

Grace and peace, friends!

Crammed Full

Jeff

Dear Lord, by the end of the day, I can spend time evaluating just how the day went. Did I actually accomplish all that I set out to do with the day? Did I miss anything that You desired that I do for You with my time? If there was something that did not get completed, is it something I could do tomorrow? Every day is a gift from You and is important. Yet daily, I mess it up. Thank You for Your forgiveness, mercy, and grace. Every day is the day my Lord has made, and in it I will rejoice and give praise to You, my Lord and my God. I am happy to be one of Your dear children. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 
(Portals of Prayer – Prayer for Wednesday Evening) 

“The one who stays in my love 
Who takes his life and gives it up 
He is the one who has enough 
Oh, he has everything” 

It is good to give thanks to the LORD,  
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;  
to declare your steadfast love in the morning,  
and your faithfulness by night,  
to the music of the lute and the harp,  
to the melody of the lyre.  
(Psalms 92:1-3 ESV) 

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.  
(Colossians 2:6-7 ESV emphasis added) 

For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.  
(Colossians 2:9-10 ESV) 

This passage has been on my heart since the end of last week. I have been filled in Christ. What does that mean? I’ve looked at some other versions. The KJV uses the word “complete,” there, which seems to fit. But when I look up the Greek text (I’m no Greek scholar, but I have a good Bible program on my PC), the word is “pleroo.” That is G4137 in Strong’s. It literally means (and I swear I am not making this up) “to cram.” It also says that it can mean “level up.” Say what?? Okay. In parentheses next to that, it says “(a hollow),” so I get it. You’re filling up a hollow place, say, in your field and making it level. 

But I’m a gamer, y’all! So “level up” has a whole different meaning. And I think it fits, if you will indulge me. In Christ, I have been “leveled up!” Yes!  

Nevertheless, I think I prefer “cram.” I am crammed full of Jesus. 

And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.  
(Luke 11:9-10 ESV) 

“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;” 
(Luke 6:37 ESV) 

“You liberate me from my own noise and my own chaos 
From the chains of a lesser law, You set me free . . . 
 
In the silence of the heart, You speak 
In the silence of the heart, You speak 
And it is there that I will know You 
And You will know me 
In the silence of the heart, 
You speak, You speak” 

And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.  
(1 Kings 19:11-12 ESV) 

“It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”  
(Deuteronomy 31:8 ESV) 

. . . but Christ is all, and in all.  
(Colossians 3:11 ESV) 

Father, I need to be daily more aware of the fact that I am filled with the fullness of Christ, who is filled with the fullness of You. This truth is one of those that I think is described by Psalm 139:6. “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.” But I can still praise You for something, even if I don’t quite grasp it. And I do not have to grasp it in order to believe it. Even so, I echo the prayer of the father of the demon-possessed boy: “I believe! Help my unbelief!”

Help me, O God, to be abounding in Thanksgiving as I walk in Christ. I try to be, and it is a daily task of mine to give thanks and to express my gratitude to You for things. But I pray that Your Spirit would guide me to more and more thanksgiving as I get closer to You.

Help to live in the truths of Scripture and to live in such a way that proves that Your Word is true. Help me to always be asking, seeking, and knocking. This doesn’t mean that I am eager to get “stuff,” but it means that what I am eager to do is prove You; to show the world that You are real through the miracles that You produce in me.

May I also live in love and compassion toward all people, Father, and not be judgmental toward anyone. Speak to me, Lord, in the silence of the heart. As I lay down to sleep tonight, I pray that You speak to me in the quiet of the night . . . teach me during my dreams.

Let me never be afraid, for it is You who go before me and You who dwells within me; outside of me, inside of me, You are hear, Lord, and I am Yours forever.

Christ is all and Christ is in all. Christ is everything.

Grace and peace, my brothers and sisters!

Your Presence Is Life

Jeff

God, I come to You at the close of this day, knowing that I can praise You wholeheartedly, no matter what this day has brought to me. Whether I had a pleasant day or a difficult one, I can praise You for Your unending goodness and love. I praise You for sending Your Son to die for my sins and for Your promise of eternal life. Forgive me my sins this day. Thank You for promising to always hear my prayers. Be with me now as I prepare for sleep. Calm my heart and mind in the security of Your provision and will for my life, knowing that You are in control and that I am in Your strong hands. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 
(Portals of Prayer – Prayer for Thursday Evening) 

“You give with no conditions 
Your love is calling out to me 
I will say yes, I will say yes 
Yes, to You, my King 
Lord, without hesitation 
I’ll follow wherever You lead 
I will say yes, I will say Yes 
Yes, to You, my King” 

I love the LORD,  
because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.  
Because he inclined his ear to me,  
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.  
(Psalms 116:1-2 ESV) 

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.  
(Galatians 4:4-7 ESV) 

“O God, You have prepared for those who love You such good things as surpass our understanding. Cast out all sins and evil desires from us, and pour into our hearts Your Holy Spirit to guide us into all blessedness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.” 
(Enduring Grace: A Church Year Journal, Year C – Proper 7, The Collect) 

But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God.  
I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.  
(Psalms 52:8 ESV) 

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.”  
(John 15:1 ESV) 

“Lord, 
Your presence is life to me: 
joy of my heart; 
strength of my soul. 
Amen.” 
(Sheltering Mercy: Prayers Inspired by the Psalms – Psalm 75: The Times of Your Knowing) 

And that was the perfect way to close out my Jesus Time for tonight. “Lord, Your presence is life to me.” For it truly is. I could not bear the thought of not being in the presence of Jesus, and I know that I am in His presence 24/7. And that is life.

“In the silence of the heart, You speak 
In the silence of the heart, You speak 
And it is there that I will know You 
And You will know me 
In the silence of the heart 
You speak, You speak 
In the silence of the heart 
You speak, You speak” 

Lord Jesus Christ, I praise You because You are life to me. I live to be in Your presence daily. I long to be in Your real presence for all eternity. I long to see Your face, to gaze upon Your beauty. You speak to me, daily, through Your Word, and through the words of others as well, Lord, and I pray that You never stop doing that.

And I say, “Yes,” my Lord! Yes, to my King!

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

Grace and peace, my brothers and sisters!

Praise Wells Up

Jeff

Gracious Father, thank You for being with me this day. Thank You for answering me every time I called and for giving me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayers! I confess to You my sins of this day—the times I did not love You with my whole heart or love my neighbor as myself. Enable me to offer right sacrifices as I emulate Jesus, who came not to be served but to serve. Thank You for Your assurance of forgiveness. “In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8). Help me to put my trust in You. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 
(Portals of Prayer – Prayer for Wednesday Evening) 

“Blessed are you, O Lord our God, king of the universe, who led your people Israel by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night: Enlighten our darkness by the light of your Christ; may your Word be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path; for you are merciful, and you love your whole creation, and we, your creatures glorify you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” 
(For all the Saints – Evening Prayer) 

Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; 
 keep watch over the door of my lips!  
Do not let my heart incline to any evil,  
to busy myself with wicked deeds 
 in company with men who work iniquity,  
and let me not eat of their delicacies!  
(Psalms 141:3-4 ESV) 

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,  
and to the Holy Spirit;  
as it was in the beginning,  
is now, and will be forever.  
Amen. 

“You are the Helper and Guide, You are the fire inside 
You, there is none who’s more worthy 
Glory be to the Father, glory be to the Son 
Glory be to the Spirit, God is Three-in-One 
As it was in the beginning, it will be at the end 
Glory be, glory be, amen” 

“When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.” 
(Leviticus 19:33-34 ESV) 

“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” 
(Luke 6:32-36 ESV) 

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 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 13:8-10 ESV) 

The following is an excerpt from Sheltering Mercy: Prayers Inspired by the Psalms

“Father God, 
 praise wells up in me— 
an uncontainable joy  
at the thought of Your 
 kindness and care;  
favor and fellowship; 
 the light of Your life  
Upon me.  
Around me.  
Within me. 
 
May I walk in that Light:  
a picture of saving grace,  
that others might taste and see  
that You are good  
and worthy of all praise. 
 
May they join in Your eternal song,  
and with all created things  
sing the glories of Your grace. 
 
You are sovereign over all— 
all nations Your possession;  
all peoples Your heritage; 
 the kingdoms of the world  
dust on the scales  
to the God who inhabits eternity.” 
(Psalm 67: Praise, Praise, Praise) 

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.   
(1 John 3:1 ESV) 

“O God, from whom come all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works: Give to us, your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, that our hearts may be set to obey your commandments; and also that we, being defended from the fear of our enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God forever. Amen.” 
(For All the Saints) 

Indeed, Lord, the praise wells up in me, just as the above prayer says. My joy is utterly uncontainable, at times. It bubbles up; it overflows. But it is more than joy. For You, O Lord, have opened up my heart and poured the love of Jesus into it, to the point that it has overflowed. My love for my wife and my family has exploded in the last four months, Lord! I cannot believe what I feel; I cannot describe what I feel; there are no words that are adequate.

Truly, Father, what I am feeling is impossible. Except it’s not, because it is there; it is true. It is real. It is “realer” than anything I have ever felt in my entire life. All because of Jesus. All because, for reasons that only You know (and, honestly, I don’t care what the reasons are!), on February 17, You decided to break me, melt me, and remold me into a vessel of love and honor, and I am grateful beyond measure.

God, I have said, “I love you” more times to more people in the last four months than I have in my entire life, I think. And I 100% meant it! So yes, Father! Praise wells up in me! Joy overflows! and it works its way out in service and in love and in care for others. Sometimes (perhaps too often, I don’t know) it works itself out in tears. I have shed more tears in the last four months, but they have not been sad tears. Never have they been sad tears. They have been tears of joy; tears of overwhelm; tears of love.

I love You, Lord! Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I love You! I love my family; I love my Jesus family; I just love.

And so I ask You, Father, to keep doing this; I ask that this love keep being poured in, because it overflows, so it must be refilled, constantly. Let the fountain flow, never ending, never stopping, so that others might taste and see that You are good, Lord. Because You are good; ultimately, You are the only good, and the source of good; there would be no good if not for You. You are good, and You are worthy of praise. Glory be!

My God, I cannot wait to join that eternal song around Your throne, surrounded by the glass sea, as multitudes from every tribe, race, nation, and tongue sing, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God almighty!!” Hallelujah, and amen!

Grace and peace, my friends. And love. I love you! 💜💜💜💜💜

Christ is Everything!

Beautiful Things

Jeff6 Comments

Today is Monday, the ninth day of June, 2025, in what I have decided (after consulting with a friend and pastor) to call the Season of the Church. Some call it Ordinary Time, some refer to it as the Season after Pentecost. I like “Season of the Church,” so that’s what I’m going to call it. I will not be counting weeks, however, as this season lasts from now until the beginning of Advent.

May you experience the peace of the Lord in your soul, today!

It is day 160 of 2025, with 205 days remaining

Day 25,560 of my life

I was intrigued by the daily prompt again, today, so I decided to answer it.

Daily writing prompt
If humans had taglines, what would yours be?
View all responses

If I had a tagline, it would be the same as the tagline for my blog. “Filled with His goodness, lost in His love,” which is a line from one of Fanny Crosby’s most popular hymns, “Blessed Assurance.” I have always loved that hymn, but it has really become significant to me this year.

Yesterday was a fantastic day. S and I had a great morning at church, with a good worship service, and then C and I went out to a show at Casa Manana, in Fort Worth. We saw a production of Cats! They added a little “Cowtown charm” to the show, with the choreography featuring some Country-Western dancing at times. It was great fun. Here are some pics.

After the show, C and I stopped by McD’s for our afternoon meal for the family. I guess it was “dinner,” but we didn’t have lunch, so whatever. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing.

Today is an off day for me (I now work every other Monday), and C was working from home, but her work computer is dead, so she’s having to head up to the office to either get it working or get it replaced. Hopefully, she will be back home soon. (It is about 8:45 at this paragraph.)

JESUS TIME

Starting out a little differently today, because I stumbled across this hymn while reading another blog that I follow.

“I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
(Luke 18:14 ESV)

Today I am grateful:

  • for the wonderful day that we had yesterday, so joyful
  • for Jesus’s teaching in the above parable (read Luke 18:10-14); may we all strive to be more like the “tax collector”
  • that You, Jesus, continue to inspire beautiful music in people, that we might worship You more
  • that my life is a gallery of the “artwork” of God’s grace and that He has lit me up! (Again, you’ll have to read the blog to get this)
  • for the “full assurance and understanding of the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” . . . and in whom “the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Colossians 2)
  • that Jesus makes beautiful things out of the dust that is us

O Lord, Your Word is flawless, so I begin this day worshiping You in the splendor of Your holiness. O God, help me understand the promises You’ve made to be gracious to me, and that You rise to show me compassion. I don’t deserve any of Your promises, but because You are rich in mercy, I am delighted to do Your will! Guiding Holy Spirit, You remind me that I am dead to sin but alive to God. Stir up that calm brook of Your wisdom in me this morning into a flourishing fountain of faith so I speak to others readily about Your saving grace. Instill in me the courage to pray boldly, like Daniel. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
(Portals of Prayer – Prayer for Monday Morning)

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?

O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
(Psalms 51:15 ESV)

You satisfy me till I am quiet and confident
In the work of the Spirit I cannot see

Speak to me, Lord Jesus, in the silence of my heart.

The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.
(Psalms 9:9-10 ESV)

Arise, O LORD! Let not man prevail;
let the nations be judged before you!
Put them in fear, O LORD!
Let the nations know that they are but men!
Selah.
(Psalms 9:19-20 ESV)

“O LORD, make me know my end
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting I am!
Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!”
Selah.
(Psalms 39:4-5 ESV)

Answer me, O LORD, for your steadfast love is good;
according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
Hide not your face from your servant; for I am in distress;
make haste to answer me.
Draw near to my soul, redeem me;
ransom me because of my enemies!
(Psalms 69:16-18 ESV)

Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,
and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
For by me your days will be multiplied,
and years will be added to your life.
(Proverbs 9:7-11 ESV)

I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD,
the praises of the LORD,
according to all that the LORD has granted us,
and the great goodness to the house of Israel
that he has granted them according to his compassion,
according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
For he said, “Surely they are my people,
children who will not deal falsely.”
And he became their Savior.
In all their affliction he was afflicted,
and the angel of his presence saved them;
in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;
he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
(Isaiah 63:7-9 ESV)

When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.”
(Luke 11:29-36 ESV)

“Almighty, eternal Son of God, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, thou who art the eternal Word and Image of the Father, our Mediator and Redeemer, who died for us and rose again, with all my heart I give Thee thanks, for thou didst take upon thyself the nature of a man and became my Deliverer, didst suffer physical pain, didst die and arise again. And now thou art pleading for me. I beseech thee, look graciously upon me and have mercy, for I am alone and in need. Through thy Holy Spirit increase in me the light of faith, help me to overcome my weakness; guide, protect and make me pure. In thee do I put my trust, O Lord; let me never be ashamed. Amen.”
(For All the Saints – Monday After Pentecost, Closing Prayer, Philip Melanchthon)

The following is from New Morning Mercies, by Paul David Tripp.

“For sin, forgiveness; for weakness, strength; for foolishness, wisdom; for bondage, deliverance–such is the way of the grace of Jesus.”

For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
(Colossians 2:1-15 ESV)

Tripp calls this passage from Colossians “a gallery of God’s grace,” and I find that I agree with him. As I was reading this, I found myself thinking, “Wow!” and “Yes!” and “Amen!” quite a bit.

Then Tripp talks about his wife’s art gallery. Which seems strange, right? But he describes the process by which new art is delivered and displayed and lit up. I won’t go into all of that, but after everything is displayed, he said that he and his wife sometimes stand across the street at night and look at the beautiful, lit, displays through the window. But then she turns off the lights, plunging the gallery into darkness. He said he always thinks, “No, no, these paintings should never be in the dark.”

Then he writes this: “If you’re God’s child you are a gallery of his glorious grace. The walls of your heart have been festooned with the gorgeous artwork of redemption: wisdom for the foolishness of sin, power for the weakness of sin, forgiveness for the guilt of sin, and deliverance from the bondage of sin. Grace means that beautiful things are being done for you and happening within you. Yet I have this concern–for many believers, the artwork is there, but the lights are out in the gallery. These believers simply don’t see or fully understand the stunning beauty of what they have been given in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. And because they don’t see or understand that grace, they neither celebrate it nor live in the light of its majesty. So they give way to weakness when power is at their disposal. They give way to foolishness when they have been personally connected to the One who is wisdom. They hide in guilt when they have been fully forgiven. They surrender to addiction when they have been given freeing grace. Their hearts have been decorated with the artwork of grace, but the lights are out in the gallery.”

This is heartbreaking to consider. I give thanks to God, in Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit, that, this year, He lit up my “artwork,” and it has stayed lit!! Hallelujah!! But I know people who seem to fit what Tripp is talking about, here. Yes, I believe they know Jesus. But the lights aren’t very bright in them. But this doesn’t come out of a place of judgment! It comes from a place of prayer that God would light them up again! It also does not come from a place of pride! Because I did nothing; God did it all! I have nothing about which to be proud, other than that God did the work in me.

My God, I thank You so very much for lighting up my “artwork” in February and keeping it lit. There are times when the darkness threatens, but Your Spirit always prevails over my enemy. Sometimes I look in my heart and my mind and think it’s a really dark place in there, but it’s not, because the light of Christ always brightens me up, because You have called me out of darkness into Your marvelous light!! Praise Your holy name, my Lord!!! 💜💜💜

I praise You that I have been buried with You, Jesus, in Baptism, and raised through faith in the powerful working of the Father, who raised You from the dead. I praise You that I, who was dead in trespasses and sins, have been made alive together with You, and that all of my trespasses have been forgiven, even the ones that have not yet been committed. My debt has been cancelled, nailed to the Cross along with You, as You disarmed the “rulers and authorities and put them to open shame!” Oh, hallelujah, my Savior!! I love You, Jesus. You are beautiful and marvelous!

I pray for anyone whose light has been dimmed by trials, tribulations, or circumstances, or who have allowed sin to creep in and obscure the light. But the light is always victorious, and darkness shall not overcome it! “It only takes a spark . . . ” The tiniest flicker of light defeats the darkness, Jesus, and You are much more than a tiny flicker. You are all of the light! You are THE LIGHT! And I love You!!

Thank You, thank You, thank You!!!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen!

Thank You, Jesus, for making a “beautiful thing” out of the dust that is me!

Grace and peace, friends!

Wash me! Cleanse Me!

Jeff4 Comments

God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—my words aren’t enough to tell You all the things I want to share. I don’t know how to express all the worries of my heart, the stresses in my life right now. Preserve me from fear and doubt, for I know that You have plans to provide for me and for the people I love. My joys and hopes, too, seem too big for words. There are such wonders in my life, Lord, and I know they all come from You. Help me hold onto them with appreciation for Your blessings and look forward to Your will as my future unfolds. It’s all in Your hands. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
(Portals of Prayer – Prayer for Saturday Night)

In the silence of the heart, You speak
In the silence of the heart, You speak
And it is there that I will know You
And You will know me

Indeed, my Jesus, speak to me in the silence of the heart, tonight. I wait for You; I listen for You; I love You.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!

For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment.
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
(Psalms 51:2-10 ESV)

“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.”
(Isaiah 1:18 ESV)

For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
(Hebrews 9:13-14 ESV)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
(1 John 1:9 ESV)

There’s a common thread in all of these Scriptures, something very important to know; something crucial to our faith in Christ. We know the truth that we are all sinners. We know (or at least we should know) that “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Of course, that is not the end of the sentence is it?

But what is are the first two words of David’s prayer to the Lord in Psalm 51:2? “Wash me!” David does not say, “God, wait a minute while I clean myself up.” David, fully and completely desperate in the knowledge of what he has done, runs to God, covered in his filth, and pleads with God to “wash me! Cleanse me!” “Purge me, wash me!” “Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me!”

Who does the actions in this prayer? I will give you a hint. Not David!

There is an often-quoted verse in Paul’s little letter to Titus. Actually, several verses.

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
(Titus 3:4-7 ESV)

God saved us, by washing us and renewing us, pouring out the Holy Spirit on us through Jesus Christ, and then justifying us by His grace!

All of the actions . . . every . . . single . . . one . . . are done by God!

So don’t ever let anyone tell you that you have to clean up your act before you come to Jesus! We become disciples the moment we are baptized into Christ. We don’t start becoming disciples at our baptism, and then hope we get there before we die. We are disciples! God does the washing, God does the cleansing, God does the saving.

I just had a thought. (Careful, it’s in a strange place.) You know that verse that says, “Be still and know that I am God?” I dare say none of us remember being bathed by our mothers when we were babies. But a lot of us remember trying to bathe our babies. How hard is it to bathe a squirming baby?

So think about it this way. God is trying to wash me clean, but there I go running around trying to do some works so that I can earn His grace. I’m a squirming baby. I know this analogy falls apart the moment we start letting our children bathe themselves. Because God never lets us do that. He doesn’t have to, because He has cleansed us from every sin that we have ever done, and every sin that we haven’t yet done. But seriously . . . it’s hard to wash a moving target. Be still. Know that He is God, and let Him do the washing. You will always miss a spot. And guess what. You can only get into heaven spotless.

“Never have You left me.
Never have I been forsaken.
Though dread grips me;
though strength fails me;
I remember
Your faithfulness.
Your kindness.
Your goodness.

I am a child of God,
Maker of Heaven and Earth;
what power does fear have over me?

I am broken,
but I will praise You.
I am given over to death for Your sake,
that Your life may be manifested in me
as I share in Your sufferings
and in Your comfort,
until all is made new.
Amen.”
(Sheltering Mercy: Prayers Inspired by the Psalms, by Ryan Whitaker Smith and Dan Wilt – Psalm 56: When Strength Fails)

By Thy mercy, O deliver us, good Lord!

Thank You, Father, for washing me. Thank You, Father, for cleansing me. Thank You for not making me clean myself before coming to You. Your mercy is amazing, Father! I know that I could never have made myself worthy of what You have done for me. And did nothing. Back on February 17, Lord, I wasn’t really expecting anything. I wasn’t working toward anything. I mean I was having some good Jesus Times, and I know I was getting closer to You, “by Thy mercy.” But when Your might hand of deliverance started working on me, I did nothing. I did nothing to deserve it, nor did I do anything to accomplish it. All I could do was sit and let You do it.

I could have run, I guess. But I’m not even sure of that. You had a purpose, Lord, and You still do. I’m not sure You would have allowed me to run. I wasn’t really given a choice in the matter. You didn’t ask me, “Hey, Jeff, do you mind if I deliver you from fear?” You just did it. And maybe the choice was made by me just being there, being willing to let You do it. But You did the work; You acted on me, Father, and I am eternally grateful that You did.

Now, I pray for all who are stuck in a trap of trying to work or earn the grace that You give to us freely. I pray that You deliver them from this need, and teach them that You do give the grace freely, and the only work we do comes after that, when we are enabled to do the work that You have given us to do. I also pray for preachers who speak falsely and try to get people to think they have to clean up their act before they come to You. May the free and clear message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ be preached in every pulpit tomorrow morning, Lord! I pray that You shut the mouths of every preacher who tries to preach anything differently.

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

Now may the grace of his forgiveness,
which blooms evergreen for all his children,
work powerfully in us, changing us into
better image-bearers of Christ and
more faithful servants of our king.
(Every Moment Holy, Vol 1)

Grace and peace, friends.