the will of the father

Opening Prayer: Most merciful God, order my day so that I may know what You want me to do, and then help me to do it. Let me not be elated by success or depressed by failure. I want only to take pleasure in what pleases You, and only to grieve at what displeases You. For the sake of Your love I would willingly forgo all temporal comforts. May all the joys in which You have no part weary me. May all the work which You do not prompt be tedious to me. Let my thoughts frequently turn to You, that I may be obedient to You without complaint, patient without grumbling, cheerful without self-indulgence, contrite without dejection, and serious without solemnity. Let me hold You in awe without feeling terrified of You, and let me be an example to others without any trace of pride. ~Thomas Aquinas

Scripture: Matthew 12:46-50

Journal: What does it mean for you to do the will of the Father today?

Reflection: God is God. Because he is God, He is worthy of my trust and obedience. I will find rest nowhere but in His holy will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what he is up to. ~Elisabeth Elliot

I have one desire now—to live a life of reckless abandon for the Lord, putting all my energy and strength into it. (Through the Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot)

I realized that the deepest spiritual lessons are not learned by His letting us have our way in the end, but by His making us wait, bearing with us in love and patience until we are able to honestly to pray what He taught His disciples to pray: Thy will be done. (Passion and Purity by Elisabeth Elliot)

Prayer

Closing Prayer: Grant me, O Lord, to know what I ought to know, to love what I ought to love, to praise what delights you most, to value what is precious in your sight, to hate what is offensive to you. Do not allow me to judge according to the sight of my eyes, nor to pass sentence according to the hearing of my ears; but to discern with a true judgment between things visible and spiritual, and above all things, always to inquire what is the good pleasure of Your will. ~Thomas À Kempis

the sign of jonah

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I guess we should be careful what we ask for, because we just might get it.  We ask for a miraculous sign and you send a great fish to swallow us up and take us to the depths.  What, O Lord, are you trying to accomplish in us in the whale’s belly?  May we be open and attentive to what you are up to deep within our souls, and in our lives, this day.  Amen.

Scripture: Matthew 12:38-40

Journal: What does the sign of Jonah mean for you right now?  How do you feel like you are in the belly of the whale these days?  What is God doing in you as a result?

Reflection:

            the sign of Jonah

            apparently

            three days and nights

            in the darkness

            are required

            before we are able

            to come fully

            into the light

            we can’t avoid

            the belly of the beast

            or the darkness of the tomb

            in this journey

            of transformation

we must be swallowed

            and taken to the depths

            of our own inner darkness

            before there can be

any real possibility

of being spit out

on some new shore

death is required

before resurrection

can take place

that is what

the sign of Jonah

is all about

Prayer

Closing Prayer: In the belly of the whale, O God, what are you trying to accomplish in me?  How are you wanting to swallow me up, in order that you might spit me out on some new shore?  What new life are you trying to birth within me?  Have your way with me, O Lord, whatever that may mean.  Amen.

one thing

Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, give me ears to hear, and a heart to receive, whatever you might have to say to me today.  Amen.

Scripture: Luke 10:38-42

Journal: Where are you distracted, worried, or upset these days?  Where are the many things overwhelming you?  What is Jesus saying to you about those things today?  What does it look like for you to choose the one thing?

Reflection: If indeed only one thing is needed (NIV), necessary (ESV), or essential (MSG), why do I have a tendency to do everything but that?  Why do I pray so little?  And the fact of the matter is that what Jesus is talking about here is even a different dynamic of prayer.  He is not talking about intercession, which is how 90% of the world tends to define prayer to begin with, he is talking about listening.  He is talking about sitting at his feet and listening to what he says.  Why do I not do that more often?  Even when I do pray I tend to spend the entire time talking and very little time listening.  Try that in any other relationship and see how far it gets you.

     Jesus wants me to listen to him.  That’s the one thing!  He wants me to cultivate a posture of listening, a life of listening, and a heart of listening.  That is, no doubt, why he so often said, “He who has ears, let him hear.”  But, unfortunately, I tend to be more like Martha, so easily distracted by the many things that I miss the one thing.  So busy doing that I forget to be.  So busy talking that I forget to listen.  Maybe today I can begin to change that.

Prayer

Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, stop my feet and make me stand still, calm my heart and let me focus on you, shut my mouth and open my ears, that I might listen to whatever you have to say to me today.  Amen.

brokenness

Opening Prayer: Lord God, our Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of Jesus, your beloved Son, with whom you are well pleased.  Thank you for his life and his death.  Thank you for his heart of love and mercy that will not break the bruised reed or quench the smoldering wick.  Thank you that in him we have hope.  Amen.

Scripture: Matthew 12:15-23

Journal: How are you feeling like a bruised reed or smoldering wick these days?  Where in your life are you feeling fragile and bruised?  How does Jesus offer you hope and healing today?  How does he want you to offer hope and healing to the bruised and the fragile around you?

Reflection: How can we live our brokenness?  Jesus invites us to embrace our brokenness as he embraced the cross and live it as a part of our mission.  He asks us not to reject our brokenness as a curse from God that reminds us of our sinfulness but to accept it and put it under God’s blessing for our purification and sanctification.  Thus, our brokenness can become a gateway to new life. (Bread for the Journey by Henri J. M. Nouwen)

Prayer

Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, open our eyes to the bruised and the fragile among us and around us this day.  Help us to care for them as you would.  Help us to offer them the hope that we have in you.  Amen.

stretch out your hand

Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, you know the truth of what lives and lurks deep down in our hearts, even when we try to hide it from you.  And more than anything else you long for us to come out of hiding so that you can heal us and make us whole.  Give us the courage today, to stretch out our hand.  Amen.

Scripture: Matthew 12:1-14

Journal: What do the words “Stretch out your hand” mean to you today?  What are you hiding?  Where does shame have a hold on your life?

Reflection: He had hidden it for most of his life, from the day he first saw the expressions and heard the whispers of those around him.  And now it was just a source of shame and embarrassment.  As long as he could keep it from others, keep them from seeing and knowing, everything would be okay.  But always keeping it hidden was an exhausting and terrifying process.  That’s why he was so horrified on that fateful day when Jesus came along and called out to him, “Stretch out your hand.”  It was his worst nightmare come to life.  There was nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.  This was the moment when he had to bring it out of hiding.  This was the moment of truth when he had to put himself out there, completely exposed and vulnerable, and see everyone’s response to that ugly secret he had tried to keep hidden his entire life.

     Jesus knew.  Jesus knew him.  Jesus knew his pain.  Jesus knew his fear.  And Jesus knew his shame.  Jesus knew that putting yourself out there could be a terrifying experience, but he also knew that it was much better than the alternative.  Shame lives and grows and thrives in the dark, silent, and hidden places of our lives—completely poisoning our souls with thoughts of unworthiness and unlovability.  It divides and isolates and defeats.  It is not until we expose our shame to the light, and bring it out into the open, that healing and wholeness and restoration can even become a possibility.  Once our shame is brought out into the open it loses its power over us and healing can begin.  Where has shame taken up residence in your heart?  How does it affect your life?  Where and how is Jesus asking you to stretch out your hand today?

Prayer

Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you that you call us out of hiding and into your loving and healing presence.  Give us the courage this day to stretch out our hand, whatever that may mean.  Amen.

unveiling

Opening Prayer: When you choose to pull back the curtain, Lord Jesus, and show me a little bit of who you are and what you are up to, please let me be paying attention, so I don’t miss any of what you are trying to reveal to me.  Amen.

Scripture: Matthew 11:25-27

Journal: How has God revealed himself to you lately?  How is he reveling himself to you today?

Reflection: There are times in this life where God, for some reason, chooses to draw back the curtain a little bit and give us a glimpse of something transcendent, something much bigger and more beautiful than the ordinary day to day routine in which we live.  It is an unveiling.  God shows us a little glimpse of himself, his heart, and what he is up to in our lives and world.  In fact, that is exactly what the Greek word that is used here in Matthew means.  The word for reveal in the Greek is apokalyptō, which means to unveil or uncover.

     There is no rhyme or reason, it seems, as to the where or when of this unveiling—and it probably occurs much more often than we are aware of—which means we must constantly stay on our toes.  We must pay careful attention, lest we miss it.  For maybe it is God’s gracious will only to reveal himself to those who are paying attention.

Prayer

Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, what are you trying to reveal to me today?  What things will remain hidden simply because I am not paying attention?  Help me, this day, to be awake and attentive to all of the ways you are trying to reveal yourself to me.  Amen.

change

Opening Prayer: Give us, O Lord, steadfast hearts that cannot be dragged down by false loves; give us courageous hearts that cannot be worn down by trouble; give us righteous hearts that cannot be sidetracked by unholy or unworthy goals. Give to us also, our Lord and God, understanding to know You, diligence to look for you, wisdom to recognize You, and a faithfulness that will bring us to see You face to face. ~Thomas À Kempis

Scripture: Matthew 11:20-24

Journal: What would Jesus say “woe to you” about in your life these days?  Where does he long for change to happen within you?  What does the word repent mean for you these days?

Reflection: It is impossible to overstate the importance of change in the spiritual life.  Life with Christ is a life in which we are constantly being changed more and more into his image every day.  And wherever we are not seeing that change, we need to take note, and take stock.  That’s why Jesus so often used the word repent.  It is a word that means to change one’s mind, which also changes one’s heart and one’s direction.  Life in relationship with Christ is a life of constantly following him, moving his direction instead of our own.  Therefore, a constant turning is necessary.  Our job is to pay close enough attention to our lives and to his voice so that we can recognize where and when and how that turning needs to occur.  Or, in other words, to realize where we have stopped following him and have started following ourselves.  Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum failed to notice that, and thus, failed to turn.  May we not do the same, lest we too hear the words “Woe to you!”

Prayer

Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, show me where I am still unchanged, like Chorazin and Bethsaida, and need to turn back to you.  Show me what true repentance looks like in my life today.  Amen.