wait

Opening Prayer: “Wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.  My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.” (Psalm 130:5-6)

Scripture: Psalm 130:5-6

Journal: How does God have you waiting for the Lord these days?  What does that look like?  Are you putting your hope in him?

Reflection: Eventually God leads each of us to the place where all we can do is wait for him.  It is as maddening as it is challenging, but the truth is that we can either embrace it and enter into it or we can drive ourselves crazy trying to avoid or escape it.  Which will we choose?

Pray

Closing Prayer: “O Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love, and with him is full redemption.” (Psalm 130:7)

an old clay jar

Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, I am a mess.  Fortunately, you do some of your best work in the lives of messy people.  Do that in and through me.

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:7-10

Journal: In what ways are you a mess these days?  How might God use that to reveal his love and his power?  How in touch are you with the treasure you contain?  How can you become more aware of its beauty and its value?

Reflection: I am a mess!  I always have been and will be until the day I die.  But I’m okay with that because this old clay jar contains a treasure.  And I can’t embrace the treasure if I can’t embrace its container.  The jar is somehow an essential part of the equation.  

If I never carry around in my body the death of Jesus, how can the life of Jesus ever be fully revealed in my body?  I can never fully appreciate the risen-ness of Jesus if I try to escape, or discard, my brokenness and need for Jesus.  I must somehow learn to embrace this old clay jar before I can fully appreciate, and reveal, the love and power of the Risen Jesus to a world that’s in as desperate need of him as I am.      

Pray

Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me never to hide my messiness or brokenness, because it only gives you the chance to reveal your love and your resurrection power.

alive 2024

Opening Prayer: Thank you, Lord Jesus, that the resurrection is not just a future hope, but a current reality.  Help us to let go of what is dead and dying, so that we can be alive to the risen life you invite us into.

Scripture: Colossians 3:1-4

Journal: Do you see the resurrection as more of a future hope of a current reality?  What does living the risen life with Jesus look like for you right now?  What will you need to let go of?

Reflection: Since, then, you have raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your hearts on things above, not on earthly things. (Colossians 3:1-2)

Notice that Paul says, “Since you have been raised with Christ,” and not, “Since you will be raised with Christ.”  That means resurrection life is a current reality, not just a future hope.  Because of the resurrection of Jesus, he now invites us to experience resurrection life with him.  We do this by setting our hearts and minds on things above, rather than on earthly things.  We do this by focusing on what is alive within and around us, rather than what is dead and dying.  We do this by recognizing the Risen Jesus whenever and wherever he appears to us, rather than allowing mood, whim, and circumstance to keep us from being able to see him and embrace him in his risen form.  He is the only one who is able to usher us into the life of risen-ness he invites us to.  The only question is, will we take him up on it?

Pray

Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to live in risen-ness with you today.

holy saturday 2024

Opening Prayer: O God, this day—Holy Saturday—is a day of waiting and resting.  It goes against everything within us, given all that has taken place over the last twenty-four hours, but it is what you ask us to do.  For it is what you, yourself, are doing.  Help us to enter into the Sabbath rest of Holy Saturday and wait patiently for Sunday to come.

Read: Luke 23:50-56

Reflect: The silence must’ve been deafening as they sat idly by.  Their world had stopped spinning; nothing could be done.  A forced solitude had taken hold of them, meant to accomplish eternal purposes.  Space needed to be made; space to reflect, space to grieve, and space to hope.  That’s what this day is all about.

There is a certain powerlessness to Holy Saturday that is really good for us.  We can’t produce, manufacture, or control resurrection; we can’t hasten it or hurry it along.  All we can do is wait.

Ask God to help you to stop.  Ask him to help you stop doing and to start being.  Ask him to help you to stop talking and to start listening.  Ask him to help you to stop initiating and to start waiting.

Pray

Closing Prayer: O Lord, there is still some emptying that needs to be done.  Give us the patience, the courage, the strength, and the trust to make room for that to happen.  Help us to learn how to wait for you during this holy day of waiting and resting.  Sunday will come soon enough, but there is still something you want to do in us first.  Prepare our hearts, Lord Jesus, for your resurrection.

i am weak

Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, forgive me when I live as if your grace alone is not sufficient for me.  Forgive me when I try to get from others what only you can give.  Forgive me when I act like I’m strong when I’m really weak.  Forgive me when I act like I’ve got it all together when I’m really just a mess inside.  Help me to embrace my weaknesses rather than hiding them, for only then will I see your power and experience the sufficiency of your grace. 

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Journal: Is God’s grace alone enough for you?  Is it really?  Then why do you try and hide your weaknesses instead of embracing them?

Reflection:

i am weak

if God’s power

is best displayed

in weakness

then why do we

go to such lengths

to hide ours

from each other

doesn’t that keep

us from being able 

to see him work

Pray

Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, give me the strength and the courage and the grace to live as if your grace was sufficient for me.

a pure heart

Opening Prayer: “Create in me a pure heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”  For unless you cleanse me, I will never be clean; unless you wash me, I will never be pure.

Read: Psalm 51:1-10

Reflect: In the life of the Spirit, we see through the eyes of the heart.  Therefore, if our hearts are not pure and clean, our seeing is twisted and distorted.  The mess within us skews our vision and keeps us from seeing things—our world, ourselves, and our God—as they really are.

That’s why the words of this ancient prayer are so important: “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”  It’s also why Jesus tells us: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” (Mt. 5:8) For only when our hearts are pure, will our eyes be clear enough to see him accurately.

Thus, a daily purifying is necessary.  “Cleanse me with hyssop and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow.”  Each day we must confess and repent.  Each day we must turn from our sinful, broken, and self-consumed ways of being and seeing, and ask God, once again, to create in us a pure heart.  He is the only one who can do that.  We can’t clean it up ourselves.  God is the only one who can rid us of all that distorts, hinders, and deforms us, so that we can be made clean, whole, and new.

Pray

Closing Prayer: “Cleanse me with hyssop, O God, and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow.”

it's time

Opening Prayer: O God, what will you do to conquer the fearful hardness of our hearts?  Lord, you must give us new hearts, tender hearts, sensitive hearts, to replace hearts that are made of marble and of bronze.  You must give us your own Heart, Jesus.  Come, lovable Heart of Jesus.  Place your Heart deep in the center of our hearts and enkindle in each heart a flame of love as strong, as great, as the sum of all the reasons that I have for loving you.  O holy Heart of Jesus, dwell hidden in my heart, so that I may live only in you and only for you, so that, in the end, I may live with you eternally in heaven.  Amen. ~St. Claude La Colombière

Scripture: Mark 1:15-16

Journal: What does “It’s time” mean to you right now?  What is God calling you to?  What is your response?  What does repent and believe look like for you these days?

Reflection: “The time has come.  The kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent and believe the good news.” (Mark 1:15)

O God, I sense that you are calling me deeper and deeper into the heart of Jesus these days, to become more and more like him.  I’m not exactly sure what I’ve been waiting for, but it’s time!  It’s time to surrender to you in a whole new/deeper way.  It’s time to know your love and affection at levels I’ve only dreamt about.  It’s time to take another step toward you and away from me.  Give me the strength and the courage and the grace to do so.  Help me, O Lord, to not delay.  It’s time!

Pray

Closing Prayer: Forgive me, O Lord, that my life is still mostly about me rather than about you.  It’s time to change that.  It’s time to truly repent and believe the good news.  Help me to take that step. 

a severe companion

Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, forgive me when I resist, or run away from, sharing in your sufferings.  If it was through your sufferings that you were “made perfect” (Heb. 2:10), why would I expect it to be any different for me?  Help me to be willing to do, or to go through, whatever it takes to become more like you.

Scripture: Philippians 3:10-11

Journal: What does it do within you to see pain and anguish as a severe companion, which God uses to make you more like himself?

Reflection: “I am still quite anxious; I still have real attacks of anguish and sleeping is still a real problem. But I am quite, quite aware that this pain is given to me to purify my heart, to deepen my love for Jesus and to give Him every inch of my being. Whereas in the past the anguish seemed quite disruptive and often paralyzing, now I experience it a little more as a severe companion who wants to show me the narrow road. Once I have found that road and walk safely on it, the anguish might leave me, but right now I am trying simply to accept what the Lord gives me and trust that He knows when, how and where to give me new peace and new joy.” ―Love, Henri by Henri Nouwen

Pray

Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for the severe companion of suffering and anguish; they form and mold me like nothing else can.  Give me the strength and the courage and the grace to be willing to do, or to endure, whatever it takes in order to become more like you.

 

lent is coming

 

If you are looking for a companion for Lent (for yourself, your family, your friends, your staff, etc.), my Lenten devotional guide Journey to the Cross is available on Amazon.  Spread the word.  This year, Lent begins on February 14 (Ash Wednesday).

you prepare a table before me

Opening Prayer: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.” (Psalm 23:5)

Scripture: Psalm 23:5-6

Journal: What do these two verses stir up in you today?  How does it make you feel that God has prepared this specific place (day) for you?  How does that impact the way you live it?

Reflection: “I have prepared this table before you in the presence of your enemies.  It is no surprise to me that you find yourself here.  It is as intentional as it is purposeful.  I am doing a beautiful work in you.  I will use it all—even the work of your enemies—to invite you into a more intimate friendship with me.  I anoint your head with oil because you are my dearly loved and greatly honored guest.  I have been saving you a place right beside me all along.  Come to my table, be with me, and enjoy me as I enjoy you.  Come to the place where your cup will always be filled to overflowing with my goodness and my unfailing love.”

Pray

Closing Prayer: “You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies.  You honor me by anointing my head with oil.  My cup overflows with blessings.  Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23:5-6, NLT)

the illusion of control

Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you that you are in control, and I am not.  Help me to surrender to your will and your way, to your plans and your agendas, rather than clinging to my own.  Empty me of everything that is not you. 

Scripture: Luke 18:22-25

Journal: In what ways do you try to control your life?  What would it look like to operate out of surrender rather than control?  What do you need to be emptied of in order for that to happen?

Reflection: “One thing you still lack.  Sell all that you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow me.” (Luke 18:22)

Control is an illusion.  Which makes it absurd that we spend so much time and energy trying to achieve it or maintain it.  Oh sure, we might think at times when things are going along well that we are steering the car, but nothing could be further from the truth.  We’re merely wearing ourselves out trying to manage, manipulate, and control that which is unmanageable, impervious, and uncontrollable. 

It’s like one of those rides at the amusement park where the car is on rails and the steering wheel is not even connected to anything.  Yet we keep turning the wheel, trying to convince ourselves that our futile efforts are somehow influencing our direction.  Why not just let go and enjoy the ride?  Why fight it?  Why not embrace it?  God is in control, and we are not.  We just need to trust him.      

Following Jesus is about surrender, not control.  And surrender always involves an emptying.  Emptying myself of whatever it is that I may be full of at the moment.  Because when I am too full of me, there is no room for Him.  A cup that’s already full can receive no more; it first must be emptied.  If I am preoccupied with myself, it is impossible to then be occupied by God. 

That’s probably why the rich young ruler walked away sad.  It’s also probably why it’s so hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of God; they have so much more to let go of.

Pray

Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, forgive me when my life becomes full of me and leaves no room for you.  Help me, O Lord, to surrender my plans and agendas, my hopes and my dreams, my hurts and my pains, and even my need for control.

 

storms

Opening Prayer: Forgive me, Lord Jesus, for letting the storms overwhelm me when you have promised to take care of me.  Help me to have a deep trust in your unfailing love.

Scripture: Matthew 14:32-33

Journal: What storms are in your life right now?  How is God asking you to trust him?  How can you not let circumstances get the best of you?

Reflection:

“And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.” (Mt. 14:32)

 

                        storms

at the mercy of the wind and waves

is not how you intended this life to be

circumstances were never meant to dictate

only a deep trust in an unfailing love

can give us a firm place to set our feet

even when everything around us is in chaos

 

“But I have stilled and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.” (Ps. 131:2)

“Let actual circumstances be what they may, keep recognizing Jesus, maintain complete reliance on Him.” ~Oswald Chambers

Pray

Closing Prayer: Leave us in awestruck, joyful wonder, Lord Jesus, at the way you work in our lives—even amid the storms.  You alone can turn them from fearful, chaotic places, into sources of life and beauty and amazement.  But, in the meantime, while the storm continues to rage, give us a deep faith in your unfailing love, so that can be certain that you will take care of us as the waves continue to batter and the winds continue to blow.

 

dwelling

Opening Prayer: “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1)

Scripture: Psalm 91:1-2

Journal: Who or what are you dwelling in these days?  How can you dwell in the shelter of the Most High so you can rest in the shadow of the Almighty?  Will you?

Reflection: Dwelling is super important.  That’s because it does not just involve a physical activity but is a state of being.  When you dwell somewhere—or with someone—you are not just physically present, but you are also mentally present, emotionally present, and spiritually present as well.

The Hebrew word for “dwell” is yāšaḇ, which means to sit down or to reside in.  Thus, dwelling is about staying.  It is about living with and in.  It is a word that’s used over a thousand times in the Old Testament, which shows us how important it is.  That’s because who or what you dwell in determines so much about the state of your existence. 

If you dwell in the shelter of the Most High, you will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  Dwelling in God always results in a soul at rest, regardless of your circumstances.  And a soul at rest is a soul that’s the very best, God-breathed, version of itself. 

But if you dwell in someone or something else, you are in for a rocky ride.  You will always live at the mercy of who or what you are dwelling in.  If I have a tendency to dwell in my fears, anxieties, and insecurities—which I do—then it will have a horrible effect on my quality of life, not to mention the quality of my relationships.  But if I am able to dwell in the shelter of the Most High, I am able to live out of his love rather than out of my need.  

Who or what I’m choosing to dwell in at any given moment is what matters most.  But dwelling in the shelter of the Most High does not come easily, it takes practice.  It doesn’t just happen automatically.  We must learn how to arrange and cultivate our lives in such a way that we are continually turning and returning to our God.  Praying the words to this ancient and beautiful prayer is a good place to start. 

Pray

Closing Prayer: “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1)

the work of God

Opening Prayer: O God, help me to trust you, even when things don’t work out quite like I’d planned.

Scripture: John 9:1-5

Journal: What is using these days to display his work in your life?  What is he up to?  How is he (or could he) use that work to transform your life? 

Reflection: “But this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” (John 9:3)

We are a people who continually ask, “Why?”  Whenever something goes wrong—or right, for that matter—we want to understand the reason for it.  We are hell-bent on assigning blame or taking credit, whichever it may be.  Who knows, maybe that makes us feel more in control somehow.

The problem is that life is not always that cut and dried.  It is not always as black and white as we want it to be.  Therefore, in the absence of a compelling cause and effect, we make up reasons for why certain things have happened.  Someone has to take the blame when things don’t turn out the way we think they should.

“Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  There must be a reason, right?  Someone must’ve done something to someone for this situation to have turned out this way.  All the while, scared to death that if this can happen to him or her, it could happen to anyone—even me.  Tell me how to avoid these things happening in my life, please!

But Jesus doesn’t appease the crowd.  He doesn’t offer an easy solution.  He simply tells them to trust that in all things God is at work.  “Horrible things are going to happen in this life, things that cannot be explained by a simple cause and effect relationship.  They are simply the result of living in a fallen, broken world.  But know this: I am always at work.  The things that happen in this life can serve to display the work of God if you are willing and open and receptive to them.”

So, the next time something happens in your life that you don’t understand, the next time something unwanted or unwelcomed crashes into your neatly ordered existence, do not look for someone to blame, but hold onto the fact that God can use whatever it is to display his work in your life and in his world.  Just remember these words: “This happened so that the work of God might be displayed in your life.”

Pray

Closing Prayer: O Lord, my God, you are Lord and I am not.  You can, and will, use all the things of this life to mold and shape and transform me into the person you dreamt me to be, even the hard things.  Help me to trust in you.

you anoint my head with oil

Opening Prayer: Only you, O God, can anoint us with the oil we need to make our cup overflow.  Help us to come to your table rather than the table of the world.

Scripture: Psalm 23:5

Journal: What “table” do you typically go to in order to have your head anointed and your cup overflowing?  How is that working for you?  Will you let the Lord anoint your head today?

Reflection: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.” (Psalm 23:5) What a beautiful invitation!  God, our Good Shepherd, invites us to his table, the table he has prepared for us, to join him in an intimate and soul-nourishing meal.  It is a table of love, it is a table of joy, it is a table of abundance.  It is a table where our cup constantly overflows with the goodness and life and love of God.

And whenever we come to this table, he does something incredible.  He anoints our head with oil.  This anointing is one of great love and affection.  To anoint someone’s head was a gesture of hospitality and esteem, of honor and respect.  When someone’s head was anointed, it meant that they were a special guest at the table.  Anointing was a symbol of joy, abundance, and refreshment of heart—which all leads to an overflowing cup. That is the life God wants for us and with us.

Unfortunately, many of us run to other tables to try and find the life and the love and the worth and the value that only the Lord can give.  The result of this is not abundance, but scarcity.  Human honor and affection has its limits; God’s does not.

So don’t run around from table to table trying to find the love and the value that only God can give.  Instead, come to his table, the one he prepared for you.  Taste of his great affection.  Receive his fragrant anointing and allow your cup to overflow with his life and his love.

Pray

Closing Prayer: O Lord, anoint my head with oil today, so that I can know my true value and worth.  Then I can be an instrument in inviting others to the table that overflows with your life and your love.

epiphany, 2024

Opening Prayer: Lord, you are always showing up in our lives and our world; give us eyes to see it and a heart to receive it.

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-11

Journal: What is consuming your heart and mind these days?  How is that hindering your life with God?  Is your life too full of other things to actually be able to see God when he appears?  How will you go about being sure that when God shows up in your life, you will be able to see him?

Reflection: Did you ever wonder why the Magi and the shepherds were able to notice God showing up in the world, and the kings and rulers and leaders were not?  Is it because the people in positions of power and influence were just too busy to notice?  Were they too consumed with their own kingdoms to pay attention to God’s?  Were they too distracted by what they were up to, to care about what God was up to?

 I guess the moral of the story is: Don’t get so consumed with your life and your world and your struggles that you lose sight of God.  That is the surest way to miss what he is up to.

Pray

Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, epiphany is all about seeing you.  Help us to do just that.  Help us to live our lives in such a way that when you do show up, we notice.

the yes of the soul

Opening Prayer: Yes, Father!  Yes!  And always Yes! ~Francis de Sales

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1:17-22

Journal: What is your “yes” these days?  Where are you sensing God’s yes?

Reflection: "Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus.  In him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God's Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident.  God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting his Yes within us.  By his Spirit he has stamped us with his eternal pledge--a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete."  (2 Corinthians 1:20-22, MSG)

There is a yes deep in your soul, planted there by Love.  It is in this place that you are invited to live.  It is a place of beautiful harmony, deep resonance, and holy communion.  It is where the yes of your soul meets the yes of its Maker.  Live in that yes today.

Pray

Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to find the yes of my soul and live in it.

 

a new year's prayer, 2024 edition

It’s been a crazy year.  Lots and lots of emptying: physical, spiritual, relational, and vocational. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for always meeting me where I am and always leading me where I need to be.  It hasn’t always been fun, but it has always been good.

Here’s my New Year’s Prayer, 2024 edition:

Forgive me, O Lord, for not being all you made me to be.

Forgive me for being about me rather than about you.

Forgive me for being driven by need rather than by love.

Forgive me for trying to be the point rather than making you the point.

Forgive me when I have let my fears and insecurities get the best of me.

Forgive me when I have been a wounder rather than a healer.

Forgive me when I have allowed, mood, whim, and circumstance to determine my life.

Forgive me when I’ve sought the praise of others before I’ve sought you.

Make me more like you, Lord Jesus, in this new year.

Empty me of everything that is not you.

And fill me with your wholeness, your life, and your love.

Fill me with your kindness, your goodness, and your humility.

Make me into the husband, father, grandfather, friend, servant, and man you want me to be.

This is my New Year’s Prayer.

What’s yours?