dwell

Opening Prayer: Teach me, O Lord, how to dwell in your house, for I am no good at it.  Calm my restless spirit and quiet my noisy and distracted mind.  Help me to learn the lost art of simply being with you.  Amen.  

Scripture: Psalm 23:6

Journal: What does dwelling in his house really mean to you?  What does it look like?  How often do you do it?  What helps?  What hinders?  Will you dwell with him this day?

Reflection: “And I will dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.” (Psalm 23:6)  I think God is trying to teach me about dwelling.  I know, I know, two months of “sheltering at home” can have that effect on you, right?  But I haven’t sheltered well at home.  Oh sure, I’ve had my moments.  But I have also had times when I was restless and stir crazy and distracted and frustrated and even bored.  I don’t think that’s the kind of dwelling God had in mind.    

     Somehow this season is giving me an opportunity to practice dwelling, if I will embrace it.  Dwelling (or abiding) seems to be such a large part of life with God.  In fact, the word dwell is used over 1,000 times in the Old Testament.  So learning to dwell with him and in him seems of utmost importance.  Yet, for the most part, I am resistant to it.  And if I am resistant to dwelling in my own house, how in the world can I ever hope to get any better at dwelling in his?  

     I guess the truth is that I’m finding I’m a lot more consumed with doing than I thought I was, and a lot less comfortable with being.  O Lord, help me!  Help me to embrace, rather than resist, this time and this season.  Use it to teach me how to dwell in you.  Use it to teach me to be.

Prayer

Closing Prayer: O Lord, help me!  Help me to embrace, rather than resist, this time and this season.  Use it to teach me how to dwell in you.  Use it to teach me to be.

pray yourself in me

Opening Prayer: Lord, I know not what I ought to ask of Thee; Thou only knowest what I need; Thou lovest me better than I know how to love myself.  O Father! Give to Thy child that which he himself knows not how to ask.  I dare not ask either for crosses or consolations; I simply present myself before Thee, I open my heart to Thee.  Behold my needs which I know not myself; see and do according to Thy tender mercy.  Smite, or heal; depress me, or raise me up; I adore all Thy purposes without knowing them; I am silent; I offer myself in sacrifice; I yield myself to Thee; I would have no other desire than to accomplish Thy will.  Teach me to pray.  Pray Thyself in me. ~Francois Fenelon

Scripture: Luke 11:1-13

Journal: Wait in silence today and listen for God to tell you how he wants you to pray and what he wants you to pray and who he wants you to pray for.  What do you hear him saying?  Who is he bringing to mind your mind?  What does he want for them and how does he want you to pray for them?

Reflection:

Teach me to pray, O Father, and I will pray.

For how can I pray, unless you teach me?

When I presume to know the your ways,

I do nothing but show my ignorance.

So show me you will, O God,

That I might align myself with it.

And show me your desires, O Lord,

That they might become my own.

Save me from my own limited perspective.

Save me from my opinions and preferences.

Save me from my own hidden agendas.

Save me from myself.

Give me, this day, O Father,

The very words you want me to pray.

Otherwise I will just sit in silence

And wait for you.

Prayer

Closing Prayer: Remind us today, Lord Jesus, that when we pray without first listening, we pray out of context.  Amen.

believe the good news

Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to truly believe that the Good News is really, really good.  Otherwise, we will never live the kind of lives you desire for us to live.  Amen.

Scripture: Mark 1:14-15

Journal: Do you really believe that the good news is that good?  Why or why not?  What impact does that have on your life?  How do you define repentance?  How does that fit into the picture?  How do repent and believe fit together?

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

     I’m afraid we may have gotten repentance a little backwards.  To repent (metanoeō), first and foremost, is to change your mind about something.  It is to change the way you think about something, or the way you see it, or understand it.  That is the starting point for repentance.  

     But unfortunately, when it comes to change, we typically try to start with our behavior.  We try to change the way we live before we actually change the way we think, which is doomed to failure.  No wonder we repent and repent and repent and repent and repent in an endless cycle.  No wonder our behavior never really changes.  Our behavior will not change until the way we think about things changes.

     That’s why the connection between repent and believe the good news is so important.  They are the first words of Jesus recorded in Mark, which has to be significant.  In order to experience true and lasting change, we must first believe the good news is really good.  For if we do not believe it is really good news, if we believe there is actually something better, then we will never see the true and lasting change we most desperately long for.

     It is an age-old temptation; the same one encountered by Adam and Eve in the garden.  It is the temptation to believe there is something out there better than what God offers.  Which, in essence, is to believe the good news isn’t really all that good.

     Until we have tasted God’s goodness and his unfailing love deeply enough to know there is nothing better, then we will always be wandering through this life searching for someone or something to fill the deepest longings of our hearts.  The problem is that nothing can.  There is nothing better than Jesus.  There is nothing that compares to God’s great love.  We simply have not tasted it fully enough to be convinced.

     So if you really want some change in your life, do not start with your behavior, start with changing the way you think about things, particularly the way you think about God.  Repent and believe the good news!  Change your way of thinking by believing in the goodness and love of our very good God.  For when we change our way of thinking, and believe the good news is the best thing there is, then our behavior will follow.  

Prayer

Closing Prayer: Noting is better than you, O God.  Nothing!  Forgive me when I start to believe something different than that; it is a lie.  Your love is better than life.  Help me to taste your love and your goodness so deeply this day that it drives all the doubt and unbelief right out of my heart and soul.  In the name of Jesus I pray.  Amen.

stop doubting and believe

Opening Prayer: Risen Jesus, thank you for coming through the locked doors of our lives and offering us your peace.  Thank you for inviting us to touch your hands and side and to “Stop doubting and believe!”  Give us the grace and the strength and the courage to do just that.  Amen.

Scripture: John 20:26-28

Journal: What are the areas of doubt in your life these days?  What does that look like?  How is Jesus inviting you to stop doubting and believe?  What does that look like?

Reflection:  Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”  Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands.  Reach out your hand and put it in my side.  Stop doubting and believe!” (John 20:26-27)

     Doubt has many faces, which can make it really difficult to identify and to combat.  Knowing the various faces of our doubts, knowing what they look like and what they cause us to do, as well as knowing what is really at their core, is so key in the process of overcoming them.     

     Sometimes doubt looks like not really believing that God can intervene in our lives in a real and tangible way, and sometimes it looks like not really believing that he will.  Sometimes doubt looks like not really believing that God loves us, and sometimes it looks like not really believing that we are worth loving.  Sometimes it looks like not really believing that God will act on our behalf, and sometimes it looks like not really believing that we are worthy of being acted for.  Thus, sometimes doubt has to do with ourselves, sometimes it has to do with others, and sometimes it has to do with our God.  

     But in all cases, doubt is about not really believing.  Not really believing that God is good.  Not really believing that he is trustworthy.  Not really believing that he is enough.  Not really believing that he is living and active.  Not really believing that he is always at work for our growth and well-being.  Not really believing that he is in control.

     And when we live in doubt, it sets us off in really bad directions.  Our lives become filled with fear and anxiety and insecurity.  Or we get overwhelmed and overcome with grief and despair and depression.  Or we find ourselves frustrated and angry and bitter.  Or we become obsessed with jockeying and performing, or with managing and controlling; all of which make us such terrible versions of ourselves.  And God wants so much more for us than that.  He wants us to believe.  

     That’s why he tells Thomas, as well as you and me, “Stop doubting and believe!”  It is both a command and an invitation.  Not a command in the sense of “Do this or else,” but in the sense of “Do this so that.”  Stop doubting so that your life will be all that I hoped and dreamed it would be.  Stop doubting so that you will be controlled and compelled by love, rather than by fear and anxiety and insecurity.  Stop doubting so that you can become more and more like the person I created you to be. 

     “Stop doubting and believe!” is also an invitation.  Jesus invites Thomas, as well as each of us, into a new way of seeing and of being.  He invites him to let go of certain ways of thinking and living, so that he can experience the life and the freedom he was made for.  He invites him to be set free from the old patterns and habits of the false self, in order that he might become new and true.  He invites him to “be transformed by the renewing of his mind so that he can test and approve of what God’s will is; his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2)  And he invites each of us into that process as well.

     So what would it look like for you to “Stop doubting and believe!” today?  What does doubt look like for you right now?  What “face” is it wearing?  What effect is it having on your life?  How is Jesus inviting you to believe in such a way that it enables you to leave doubt, and all of its effects, behind?  What does that look like?  Will you do it?  

     For if you and I are willing to answer these questions, and if we are willing to “Stop doubting and believe!”, then maybe one day each of us will be able to stand before Jesus, as Thomas did, and utter the words: “My Lord and my God!”

Prayer

Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to “Stop doubting and believe!”  It is the deepest desire of my soul.  Amen.

stones, tombs, and locked doors

Opening Prayer: Thank you Resurrected Jesus, that you cannot be deterred, contained or held at bay.  You are always rolling away our stones, emptying our tombs and coming through our locked doors.  By your resurrection power, raise us to new life once again today.  Amen.

Scripture: Luke 24:1-3, John 20:19-22

Journal: What are the stones, or tombs, or locked doors in your life these days?  How does Jesus want to enter in to those places and bring new life?

Reflection:

stones, tombs, and locked doors

no stone was too heavy for you

no tomb could keep you in

no locked door could keep you out

you cannot be deterred

nor can you be contained

and you will not be held at bay

you will not be dismissed

nor will you be managed

and you cannot be controlled

what stones have i set in place, O Lord

what tombs have i tried to seal you within

what rooms have i locked you out of

Resurrected Jesus 

come roll my stones away

empty my tombs

come through my locked doors

and raise me to new life again

Prayer

Closing Prayer:  Forgive us, Risen Jesus, when we try to manage, manipulate, and control you.  Thank you that you are always bigger and greater, more powerful and more glorious than we can ever imagine.  Raise up those parts of us that are dead and lifeless, or twisted and distorted, or so much less than you imagined them to be.  Help us to live your resurrection life today.  Amen.

becoming

Opening Prayer: Thank you, O God, that you work through all things—not just the joyful, fun, comfortable things— to make us into the people you desire us to be.  Give us the courage and the strength and the grace to embrace whatever comes, knowing that you love us, you will care for us, and you will make us into the people you most deeply desire us to be.  Amen.

Scripture: Romans 8:28

Journal: How is God using your struggles right now as a part of your becoming?

Reflection: There is an old story about a man who spent hours watching as a butterfly struggled to emerge from its cocoon.  It finally managed, after significant time and effort, to make a small hole, but its body was still far too big to get through it.  After much wrestling and toil, the butterfly appeared to be totally exhausted, as it laid there lifeless and still.

     The man had seen enough, he finally decided he just had to help.  He took a pair of scissors and cut and opening in the cocoon to allow the butterfly to be released from its struggle.  But no sooner had the butterfly emerged, than the man noticed its body was shrunken and its wings puny and shriveled.  It was incapable of flight.

     What the man—out of kindness and good intent—had assumed was that the butterfly needed to be rescued, when it actually needed to be left to struggle.  It was the struggle to emerge from the tight cocoon and the effort necessary to squeeze out of that small hole that were supposed to make the butterfly’s wings strong enough for flight.

     And so it is with each of us.  Our transformation cannot happen without struggle and pain and turmoil, although we try to avoid each.  In fact, it is the struggle and the toil and the wrestling that makes our souls into all that God desires them to be.  If we try to bypass the hard and the uncomfortable and the unpleasant, we will never be ready for the flight and the life that God has prepared for each of us.  It is both good and necessary.  It is vital to our process of becoming.

Prayer

Closing Prayer: O Lord, help us to trust you in all things, even when the road is hard and the way seems long.  Thank you that you are always working for our good, even in things—and in times—that don’t look so good.  Thank you that you are bigger than our moods, our feelings, and our circumstances.  Amen.

kept from recognizing him

Opening Prayer:  Lord Jesus, the truth is that sometimes you are walking along with us and we do not, or cannot, recognize you.  Have mercy on us, O Lord, and help us to see you and to hear you.  For apart from that we have no hope.  Amen. 

Scripture: Luke 24:15-16

Journal: What most often keeps you from being able to recognize Jesus?  How has he typically opened your eyes?  Where in your life right now might he be waiting on you to recognize him?  Why might he be keeping you, temporarily, from that?  What do you think he’s up to?

Reflection: “While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them.  But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.” (Luke 24:15-16, NIV)

     Wait, what?  So someone or something was keeping them from being able to recognize Jesus as he walked along with them?  But who, or what, was actually doing this keeping?  That is the million dollar question.  

     I suppose it could have been their own circumstances or preoccupations that kept them from recognizing him.  Sometimes our own patterns and preferences and perspectives and agendas can keep us from being able to recognize exactly where Jesus is and what he is up to.  Heaven knows that has happened to me more times than I’d care to admit.  

     Or they could have been so engrossed in their own narrative, in their own thoughts and questions, and the conversation that ensued, that their hair could have been on fire and they would not have noticed.  Sometimes we can get so consumed with our own smaller stories that we miss the larger story unfolding right before our very eyes.  I’ve definitely been guilty of that one a time or two as well.

     But what if they were being kept from recognizing Jesus, by Jesus himself?  Right or wrong, that is how I have usually interpreted this passage, like Jesus was the one who was actually keeping them from being able to recognize him.  It was kind of a timing thing.  He didn’t let them recognize him earlier because he wanted them to struggle a little bit first.  He knew that the struggle would be a good thing, it would make them stronger and more open and more dependent.  It would make them more receptive to him when he finally made himself known.  To reveal himself any earlier might have hindered all of this from happening.  They needed the questions and the conversation and the struggle and the wondering in order that when they finally did recognize it was Jesus, it would have the desired effect.

     That would make total sense to me, because Jesus always has impeccable timing.  He knows how and where and when to reveal himself, so that when he does it will be effectual.  So he doesn’t show himself before we are ready and he doesn’t make us wait until it’s too late.  Eventually he always takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to each of us.  And when he finally does, our eyes are opened and we say, “Were not our hearts burning within us as he talked with us on the road.”  Thanks be to God!

Prayer

Closing Prayer: Help us to recognize you, Lord Jesus, as you walk along the road with us this day.  Amen.