Holy God,
Your light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
There is plenty of darkness. I see it around me, and I see it within. The sin that has covered us since Adam continues to erode the soil of the soul, and it pains me when I see what we are capable of doing to each other. The darkness is strong.
And yet, within that darkness, in the midst of night, the light shines. It has shined for years, through the lives of the saints of the church, through Moses and David and Peter and Mary and Ruth. They oriented their lives so that the glory might point to you, so that their efforts might beat back the dark, so that others may focus more on the light than the dark.
I pray, Lord, that my own life might be a contribution to the struggle between light and dark, that your light that shines so clearly in Christ Jesus might shine in me, that his love might echo from horizon to horizon, that the power of his name might be clear. May I let my life contribute to his glory, and may I one day dwell with you in unapproachable light.
Amen
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Nehemiah 1:1-4
Nehemiah 1:1-4
English Standard Version (ESV)
At times, it is appropriate to act immediately. If you hear of someone trapped by earthquake rubble, it would be inappropriate to sit down and wait for days, to discern what the will of God was.
At other times, especially when faced with a long-term situation that needs revision, it is best to stop, to fast and pray and see where God is leading. Acting immediately on impulse can be unwise. Waiting on the community and for the Holy Spirit to lead can remind us that we depend on God, that justice ultimately belongs to God. God will show us how to respond--we just have to be willing to wait on God and trust that he will light the path and lead the way forward, and then we are called to follow with courage and conviction.
May your path today be clear, and may God open our eyes to see how we are called to act in the world around us
English Standard Version (ESV)
At times, it is appropriate to act immediately. If you hear of someone trapped by earthquake rubble, it would be inappropriate to sit down and wait for days, to discern what the will of God was.
At other times, especially when faced with a long-term situation that needs revision, it is best to stop, to fast and pray and see where God is leading. Acting immediately on impulse can be unwise. Waiting on the community and for the Holy Spirit to lead can remind us that we depend on God, that justice ultimately belongs to God. God will show us how to respond--we just have to be willing to wait on God and trust that he will light the path and lead the way forward, and then we are called to follow with courage and conviction.
May your path today be clear, and may God open our eyes to see how we are called to act in the world around us
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
A Prayer for Tuesday, 5/5
Holy God,
There is such need in the world around me. There are untold stories of suffering in Nepal, including homelessness and mourning. Lives have been destroyed, families torn apart, routines disrupted, and there seems to be more despair than hope.
It goes on around the world. Civil war, strife, poverty, hopelessness, oppression, violence, homelessness... the list is longer than I can keep up with, and I never seem able to fully contemplate the realities. The numbers overwhelm and the details fade into something manageable, something distant, something to which I cannot relate.
Renew your compassion in my heart, O God, that I might weep with pain at the stories of suffering, and that I might examine my own life, my own heart, to see how I might best serve my neighbors, my brothers and sisters in this town and the next, around to the other side of the world. Forgive me, Lord, for my emotional distance from those who suffer, and guide my hands and feet, my words and thoughts, so that I might involve myself in the lives of those around me who wander through the valley of the shadow of death and might wonder if another will share their journey and remind them of the presence of God that is always near.
Amen
There is such need in the world around me. There are untold stories of suffering in Nepal, including homelessness and mourning. Lives have been destroyed, families torn apart, routines disrupted, and there seems to be more despair than hope.
It goes on around the world. Civil war, strife, poverty, hopelessness, oppression, violence, homelessness... the list is longer than I can keep up with, and I never seem able to fully contemplate the realities. The numbers overwhelm and the details fade into something manageable, something distant, something to which I cannot relate.
Renew your compassion in my heart, O God, that I might weep with pain at the stories of suffering, and that I might examine my own life, my own heart, to see how I might best serve my neighbors, my brothers and sisters in this town and the next, around to the other side of the world. Forgive me, Lord, for my emotional distance from those who suffer, and guide my hands and feet, my words and thoughts, so that I might involve myself in the lives of those around me who wander through the valley of the shadow of death and might wonder if another will share their journey and remind them of the presence of God that is always near.
Amen
Jonah 4
Jonah 4
English Standard Version (ESV)
I do this. I'm very grateful that my weaknesses aren't exposed for everyone to read about, but it's helpful for us to think about what we might learn. I think we've all done this--in the midst of the story, we focus solely on us.
Here, Jonah is worried about being embarrassed-- he thought it would help his reputation if Nineveh was actually destroyed, as though the mercy of God saving 120,000 people is not an amazing thing. Jonah wanted the story to be about him, and the people of Nineveh, well, they just didn't mean anything to him.
It's easy for us to make the story about us. We become self-centered, and dramatic things going on in the world around us are diminished in our sight if they don't involve us. We care about ourselves, and the rest of the world, and what God is doing, fades into background noise.
So a prayer for us is to take a deep breath, exhale, and then pray for God to help us see ourselves as part of a global community, where God is always at work and people, billions of them, need to see God's love and grace and mercy and peace. To that end, we pray for the people of Nepal, Nigeria, New York and our neighbors. We pray for Syria and for non-Christians everywhere. We look for evidence that God is at work and we celebrate it. We pray for the light to shine, and for our lives to reflect the glory of God into the world around us.
English Standard Version (ESV)
I do this. I'm very grateful that my weaknesses aren't exposed for everyone to read about, but it's helpful for us to think about what we might learn. I think we've all done this--in the midst of the story, we focus solely on us.
Here, Jonah is worried about being embarrassed-- he thought it would help his reputation if Nineveh was actually destroyed, as though the mercy of God saving 120,000 people is not an amazing thing. Jonah wanted the story to be about him, and the people of Nineveh, well, they just didn't mean anything to him.
It's easy for us to make the story about us. We become self-centered, and dramatic things going on in the world around us are diminished in our sight if they don't involve us. We care about ourselves, and the rest of the world, and what God is doing, fades into background noise.
So a prayer for us is to take a deep breath, exhale, and then pray for God to help us see ourselves as part of a global community, where God is always at work and people, billions of them, need to see God's love and grace and mercy and peace. To that end, we pray for the people of Nepal, Nigeria, New York and our neighbors. We pray for Syria and for non-Christians everywhere. We look for evidence that God is at work and we celebrate it. We pray for the light to shine, and for our lives to reflect the glory of God into the world around us.
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