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Posts Tagged ‘Prayer’

Downward Spiral

Posted in Bible Study, God, Holy Spirit, Holy Week, Jesus Christ, Prayer, Spiritual Growth, The Father, tagged , , , , , , , on March 30, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Judges 1-2. Having read through the Bible multiple years now, when we hit Judges, the life of the nation of Israel becomes one or two steps forward and two or three steps backwards. The Bible is one unified story that points to Jesus. But to do that, it also has to describe the reason for Jesus’ coming which is our absolute need for a savior. This is true of us as a society. It is true of me and everyone else individually. As Paul says in the seventh chapter of his letter to the church at Rome – “Woe is me… the good I would do, I don’t do; and that which I know not to do, that is what I do… who will save me from this wretched condition?” The answer is Jesus. What Paul cries out about is demonstrated through Israel in the book of Judges. Israel demonstrates this up and down nature of our humanity through a series of slides into depravity followed by subjugation leading to crying out to God for help. God raises up a leader to rescue them, followed by relative peace that eventually descends into depravity again and the whole process starts over.

There is another layer to the stories in Judges that we might easily miss. In these first two chapters, the narrator gives us a list of all the areas where the Israelites did not drive out the Canaanites who were living there. The people living in the land worshipped other gods. They sacrificed their children. They included various immoral practices into their “worship” such as cult prostitutes. The Lord had clearly said the existing inhabitants must be removed from the land or they would become a snare and trap for the Israelites. We will see this play out in ever-increasing ways through Judges.

There is a direct correlation to the life of a person when they come to Christ. We are to consistently drive out the sin habits that we have developed over our life prior to entering into the saving relationship with Jesus. It is not clean your act up to be saved. It is totally the fact that we are a new creation, and we are to live like it. Through the forgiveness we receive in Jesus and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit living in us, we can live a different life. We are to crucify the flesh or the ways of the old nature.  Every area that we do not deal with will become a foothold for the enemy. Left unaddressed, the foothold becomes a stronghold. Before long, our life will be one of domination by God’s (and ours) enemy because we didn’t deal with the sin habit when the Holy Spirit first revealed it to us.

The solution is simple. Paul shouts it out in Romans 8… Thanks be to God for Jesus! Jesus broke the power of Satan, of sin, as well as the fear of death. Starting with this reality which Jesus purchased for all humanity at the cross, we look to Him and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we reject and pull down every thought, every sin habit that we might once have embraced. We do not let them live and have dominion over us.

As we live into Holy Week this year, we see and we model Jesus’ focus on the Father and the Father’s good plan. Painful though it was, Jesus knew it was God’s way, it was the only way to save us… to save me… to save you. And as His children, He has a good plan beyond our salvation, as good as that is. He wants to sanctify us. He wants us to live in peace. He wants our lives to point to Him. So, we will set our face towards the Father, and we will drive out anything and everything in our life that would turn us away from following Him faithfully.

Help us LORD to crucify everything that is not of you. We desire to live lives surrendered. And we say yes to the active part of surrender… laying down our lives and all lesser loves to embrace you and your ways. To you be the glory faithful Lord, you who entered into Jerusalem knowing what lie before you, knowing that you did not deserve to die such an ignominious death. But you did it for us. You did it for me. Thank you Jesus.

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Promises, Promises – God the Promise Keeper

Posted in Bible Study, Bible Study, God, Holy Spirit, Holy Week, Jesus Christ, Prayers, The Father, Worship, tagged , , , , , , , on March 28, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Joshua 19-21. It was drilled into me at a young age that a person’s word was their bond. A promise was sacred and could not be broken. As I grew and experienced the world I came to realize that such a belief was not all that widely held. Lawyers proliferate partly to try and hold people to their promises and partly to try and get people out of their promises. Joshua 21:45 says, “Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.” God is a promise maker. God is a promise keeper!

We are about a quarter of the way into reading the Bible in a year. It was way back in the early part of Genesis that God made the promise to Abram that He would give to his descendants the land of Canaan. That was about 600 or so years prior to today’s reading. Needless to say, some of God’s promises have a long timeline. Fortunately, they also do not have an expiration date. We most often think in terms of days, weeks, and years. The LORD, who exists outside of time, but created time for our sake, moves on a grander and more spectacular scale when time is concerned. There is a term used for Jesus’ birth that captures God’s use of time… “in the fullness of time”. When all the conditions had been met, it was time for God’s ultimate promise to be met.  Jesus… God in the flesh… God walking among humanity… God demonstrating how to live… and how to die… Jesus our redeemer kinsman… Jesus, our Lord and our God! Jesus, the ultimate promise keeper. The ultimate promise kept.

As we enter Holy Week, I will deviate from posting about the daily reading through the Bible to look at Jesus and Holy Week. This week is the annual remembrance of the penultimate week in all of history. From Genesis 3:15 through the last verses of Malachi in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was inspiring the writers to point to Jesus and this week that occurred some 2000 years ago. And since that time, all of history has been shifted because of the resurrection and the reality that death has been conquered, the Holy Spirit has been given to the Church, and Satan’s domination of humanity has been broken. Many of the LORD’s great promises have been fulfilled. And we rest in the sure and certain knowledge that those that remain are coming. For it is true… not one word of all the good promises that the LORD has made will fail to come to pass. God is a promise maker. God is a promise keeper.

Come Lord Jesus. Use us to keep your promises. Inspire our words and actions to perfectly align with you and your good work in the world. Transform hearts, minds, and lives through your Holy Spirit and your people walking in a living faith. Jesus, it is in your Name that we pray!  

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The LORD Was With Him

Posted in Bible Study, Genesis, God, Prayer, Responsibility, The Father, Trials, tagged , , , , , on February 24, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Genesis 38-40, The LORD Was With Him. It would have been easy for Joseph to give up and throw the towel in at numerous points along the way. In yesterday’s reading his brothers first sought to kill him but were turned away at the last minute by the oldest brother, Reuben, and they sold him into slavery instead. Today we see him serving as a slave for a decade before he is lied about and thrown into prison. He had taken the high moral ground with his master’s wife only to have her turn on him when he wouldn’t have sex with her. Talk about being punished for doing the right thing. And then in prison, he interprets the dreams of two of the king’s servants only to have them forget him when they have a chance to put in a good word for him. (I guess we can give the baker a pass since the interpretation he got coming true wasn’t exactly memorable in a positive way!)

Jacob / Israel, Joseph’s father, had a number of occasions through the years where the LORD spoke to him to direct his steps. We don’t get that kind of insight into Joseph. Scripture doesn’t describe God speaking to him in the same way. What we do see is the phrase “the LORD was with him” four times in today’s reading and then we see both natural and supernatural gifting that sets Joseph apart from others. Joseph’s actions are primarily on the up and up. We don’t see the deception and manipulation that characterized his father’s life as a young man. Instead, he is the recipient of “harm” because of deception and manipulation. What is beautiful to see, and a character trait to emulate, is that he did not stop trusting in the LORD who was with him. Even in the “unfair” situations he kept finding himself, he continued to rely on the LORD who was with him. And in the readings thus far, God has already used him to bless others. I can’t wait to see what the LORD does next with this kind of faith.

LORD, Joseph’s faith is impressive. I can only imagine the times he was mistreated and the temptation to despair. Yet you remained with him and he continued to put his trust in you. I can picture the head jailer remembering Joseph’s comments about you leading him to bring the cupbearer and baker to Joseph so that you could provide the interpretation of their dreams. LORD, help us to have such faith. A faith that endures adversity.  A faith that paints a picture of you because of how we live and the words we speak. And may others be blessed in coming to know you because we freely shared the LORD who is with us.

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Wisdom to Stay Silent

Posted in Genesis, Holy Spirit, Prayer, tagged , , , , , , on February 24, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Genesis 35-37, The Wisdom to Stay Silent. I have come to realize, through painful lessons of opening my mouth when it would have been best left shut, that there is great wisdom to staying silent and only speaking when it is appropriate. Mark Twain is credited with the saying, “best to be quiet and thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt.” There are a few times when this might have applied for me, but I am speaking of something a bit different. Having walked with the LORD for many years now and having experienced His grace and gifts in some pretty amazing ways, I have not always been as wise in talking and sharing about those gifts as I should. In fact, God’s blessings are wonderful to receive, but they do not all fall on us equally or at the same time. There is common grace which is available to every living being. But God will bless us beyond common grace, and it is often gifting to support our calling. The problem is that God’s gifts are received by us while we are still in the process of being sanctified. I don’t know about everyone else, but I know that I still have areas where pride, impatience, and greed have somewhat of a hold. And like Joseph, sometimes we can talk about things in a way or at a time that is not the wisest choice.

God gives Joseph two prophetic dreams. As the next to youngest son, he is very low in the pecking order of a house full of boys. Yet his dreams suggest superiority over his brothers (and even his parents!) Right there is when the alarm bells of pride should go off, and silence and contemplative prayer would be a good response. Instead, Joseph blurts out his dreams in the middle of the family meal (okay, I added the family meal part, but he makes sure everyone knows how special he is). His dad had already made Joseph a bit of a pariah among the boys by treating him with special affection. By bragging about his dream, Joseph unwittingly sets the stage for a being kidnapped and trafficked by his brothers. God, being sovereign and outside of time, knows all this is going down and He will work through it to bring those prophetic dreams to pass. I can’t help but think that silence and waiting on God’s timing would have resulted in a much less painful ascension for Joseph.

Father, our prayer is simple today. Help us to be silent when that is called for. Help us to speak when that is appropriate. And LORD, give us the wisdom to know the difference between the two.

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Mis-taking God’s Promise

Posted in Bible Study, Genesis, God Stories, Marriage, Prayer, tagged , , , , on February 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Genesis 16-18, Today’s reading is full of God showing up and making promises. When God shows up in visible form it’s called a theophany. God had Abraham and Sarah in the center of His grand plan. Changing their names was a major event that creates a bonding and a sense of ownership that demonstrates God’s Lordship in their lives.

My conscience was pricked as I read Sarai’s attempt to fulfill God’s promise on her own. How many times have I taken a clear promise or prompting of the Lord and ran with it without waiting upon the Lord. Too many. But this is the beautiful thing, God still fulfilled His promise to Sarai, in His timing. While it would be better to obey perfectly, the Lord still works with us through our mistakes to bring about a maturing of our faith and obedience. Which is just another reason He is worthy of our worship.

Father, thank you that you play the long game in training us in faith. That you continue to work with us through our mistakes and impatience is so wonderful. Your grace is truly amazing. We submit to your loving correction anew today. We desire to live faithful and we know you are bringing this about day by day. To you be the glory.

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Restoration

Posted in Bible Study, God, job, Prayer, tagged , , , , , , on February 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Job 40-42, Job’s long requested interview with God ends today and to say it went differently than Job had in mind would be a significant understatement. The LORD’s response to Job is exactly what Job needed to hear. God lovingly puts Job in his place by articulating His place. Job “the Righteous” is properly humbled. There was nothing wrong with Job’s actions before calamity befell him. The only area where Job needed correction was in his heart where pride had taken root. Like an undiagnosed disease, Job’s pride had to be brought to the surface and dealt with. And God did.

Look at the amazing ripple effect of Job’s calamity. Job had a personal encounter with the LORD and it changed him. Job had his pride brought into view and he was humbled and repented. Job’s friends were rebuked by God, they were humbled, and they repented and apologized to Job. Job forgave and then Job interceded for them. If we stopped right there with right relations between God, Job, and Job’s friends restored, it would be a win, win, win. But God, in His overflowing generosity, restores Job’s family line and restores material blessings upon him. The author emphasizes how over the top this is by pointing out the blessings upon Job’s daughters. Within the intensely patriarchal society of the day, this shouts of God’s goodness and generosity. God sees the big picture. And in His wise and loving way, He always draws those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose, into closer fellowship with Himself and with His family.

LORD, I thank you for Job and the picture you give us of this man and his journey into deeper fellowship with you. I can’t help but marvel at the transformation in Job through these 42 chapters. It seems Job knew about you and tried hard to honor you at first, but by the end, Job came to truly know you and that made all the difference. LORD, help us to know you, to learn from you, to grow to be like you, following the leading of your Holy Spirit more and more. Do what you need to do to crush pride and whatever else might be present in our heart that hinders our relationship with you and others. We love you LORD and we give ourselves to you this day.

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God Whispers

Posted in Bible Study, God, Holy Spirit, Prayer, Priorities, Spiritual Growth, Worship, tagged , , , on January 14, 2026| Leave a Comment »

1 Kings 19:9-13, God Whispers. Interestingly, after writing this morning’s devotional, I joined our church’s 21 Days of Prayer online. I am traveling for work so I can’t be there in person. Jason, one of our pastors, did the lead in and used these verses to encourage us to be quiet and ask the LORD to speak to us as we meditated on Psalm 122. I was arrested by these verses, particularly the fact that there was a wind, an earthquake, and a fire that came before the whisper.

So many times, I can’t hear the LORD because of the wind, earthquake, and fire. The social media feeds, the never-ending news cycle, how my favorite sports team is doing, even the emotionally charged conversations I have in my head trying to figure out how to resolve a conflict, these are wind, earthquake, and fire. I cannot necessarily shut out all of these, but I can choose to place myself where I am ready to hear. I can choose to shut the doors where many of these enter in to steal my attention.

Like the psalmist said, “I quiet my soul like a weaned child”. I think this imagery is intentional. As we mature, we no longer have the same needs of an infant in the faith, yet we will never lose the need to sit quietly with our heavenly Father and receive from Him what we truly need. And many times, it comes as a gentle whisper…

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Arguing with God

Posted in God, Prayer, Spiritual Growth, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 9, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Job 21-23. It was freeing for me when I realized I didn’t need to act pious before God. As I grew in our relationship, recognizing that His love and forgiveness were way bigger than my sin and assorted stumbles in life, I became able to stop trying to be righteous. It made any perceived distance between us shrink and I began to understand what it meant to “walk with God”. And instead of striving and trying to act right against the current of the world, my fleshly desires, and the temptations of Satan, my heart and my mind became more desirous of pleasing my faithful Lord. Doing what brings joy to Him became my desire. Because I knew He loved me unconditionally AND knew all that I thought, it became totally fine to talk it out when I was unhappy, confused, angry or any other emotion that I had attempted to stuff when I was trying to act righteous.

I recognize this in Job today. He is ready to argue with God. We know He doesn’t have the whole picture and some of Job’s assumptions are not correct, but I am encouraged because He never loses faith in God. He may be ready to challenge God that He has made a mistake in punishing him, but He does not lose faith that God is there or that He will listen to Him. While very limited in the New Testament, lamentations are a common theme in the Old Testament. As many as 60 of the Psalms are considered lamentations and there is even one whole book that is a collection of distressed heart cries to God called Lamentations. Being honest with God, even if it is an argument we are going to lose, is the path to greater intimacy with the Lover of our soul.

Father, thank you, that we can be real with you. We do not need to hide how we feel. Beyond the fact that there is nothing we can hide, there is truly more mercy, grace, and love readily available to us, that we can only receive when we let down our guard and let you in. That you gently, lovingly, pursue us, encouraging us to open up, is truly a great gift. Even when we don’t fully understand what’s going on, we put our trust in you. You are faithful and true. Blessed be the Name of the LORD, our God! Amen!

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Dichotomy

Posted in Bible Study, God, Jesus Christ, Romans, Salvation, Spiritual Growth, The Father, worldview, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 30, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Psalm 79-81, Romans 1. Paul’s letter to the Romans is a beautiful treatise on the difference between life without God versus the transformed life in union with God. This first chapter provides a 30,000-foot view of this dichotomy where Paul is setting the table for what is to come.

Life can be parsed into three phases – transgression, transaction, and transformation. Transgression is the first phase and sadly, many people never leave this phase. Romans 1:18-32 describe life in the transgression phase – broken, sinful, and separated from God.

The transaction phase is when we hear and receive the Gospel – the good news of Jesus Christ. Romans 1:1-5 touches on the heart of this transaction which Paul will elaborate on over the coming pages. In this phase God exchanges our sins for Jesus’ righteousness in an act of ultimate mercy and grace. He changes our heart, our direction, and our ultimate destination.

Then there is the transformation phase where our lives become aligned with God’s will over time. I can’t help but jump ahead to Romans 12:1-2 as I think about this. It follows the transaction where we lay down our old lives and say yes to Jesus as Savior and Lord. This transformation is our lives becoming increasingly aligned with Jesus. In one place it is called putting on the “mind of Christ”. It is where our habits are changed from being dictated by self and the world’s ways to becoming directed by the Word of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit. It is a time of partnership with the deep working of the Holy Spirit in us to bring about a total transformation of how we think, speak, and act.

The Gospels give us a clear picture of Jesus – who He is, what He did while in the flesh, and what the life He calls us to looks like. Acts describes this glorious giving of the Holy Spirit who indwells us as redeemed children of God. We see how the Holy Spirit works within the gathered body of Christ as a group as well as in individuals who are in the transformation process.  In this letter to the Romans Paul connects the dots between these three phases, reaching back to the beginning of the story in Genesis through the Gospels, into the time of the book of Acts, and, under the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, all the way to us as we read his words today.

I love the book of Romans because it articulates the path I have been walking on for 40+ years. When I read it it’s like looking at the map to check my location, my destination, and to correct where I may be a little off. It is a gift from the Lord to lead us home and to help us finish strong!

Lord, thank you for all the saints who have gone before us. Today as we launch into the letter you inspired Paul to write, we thank you for the wise words that help us on our journey in faith. Your plan for us is good and we desire to walk it out with constancy and purpose. Take what we read, the circumstances of our lives, and the needs within us and bring about your perfect will. We want to become more like Jesus today. We want to shed whatever vestige of our old self that might rise up so that the new creation in You might be revealed. We want to please you in word, in deed, and even in our thoughts. Lord God, you are our God, you are our hope, you are our All in All. Blessed be your Holy Name!

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Psalm 73-75, Acts 28:1-16. Tunnel Vision.

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on July 28, 2025| Leave a Comment »

It is easy to lose sight of the big picture. Sometimes we never even consider the big picture. A common feature in the lament psalms is this seeming fixation on the wicked and those who oppose the psalmist – whether it is David, Asaph, or an anonymous writer. A “woe is me” and “why aren’t you doing something God” attitude is actually captured throughout these psalms. It used to bother me, but now I’m glad they did. They were real and they show the starting point for realization and return. When they realize they are focused on the wrong thing, the temporary thing, and they return their focus on God, the entire picture shifts.

Hidden in our hearts is this echo of Eden. God created a place for us to dwell with Him in perfection. Everything was good. Anything that was needed was provided. Intimacy with Love Himself was the center point of this idyllic existence. There was only one thing that was forbidden – the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Yet, with a little prompting from the serpent, Eve and Adam became enamored of the forbidden. Love for God and intimacy with Him fell to second place as desire for this forbidden thing became their primary desire.

The Psalmist, probably correctly, observes those who flaunt God and His commands, and He is incensed. But with this observation comes a desire not unlike Adam and Eve in the garden. The current prosperity of the wicked and the seeming lack of response from God stirs up envy that is every bit as damning as the arrogance of the wicked. Allowed to continue, this tunnel vision would have brought about the downfall of one called to be faithful in all circumstances.

Thanks be to God, He is near at hand. He allows the wicked to prosper for a little while that they might realize their need for Him and turn. He allows us to see this, not to tempt us, but to encourage us to turn our eyes, our hearts to Him in trust, to look at the bigger picture. God’s past faithfulness is just one piece of the big picture we can look to as reminders that God is good and He will make all things right. The Temple itself was a magnificent reminder of God’s promises fulfilled and His presence among His people.

Today I look at the big picture and I see God’s hand at work in every direction. For the child struggling mightily right now – Father draw her near and let her see the big picture. For the long career nearing an end – let the finish be strong and honoring to you. For the brother’s and sister’s I worship and pray and do life with – Lord continue to mold us and shape us. You are so good, so faithful, so present – help us to see with eyes of faith so that we grow deeper and stronger in You. Accomplish your good and perfect will in us and through us this day. Jesus, it is in your wonderful Name that we pray.

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