Just then someone came up and asked Him, “Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?” “Why do you ask Me about what is good?” He said to him. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” he asked Him. Jesus answered: “Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother; and love your neighbor as yourself.” “I have kept all these,” the young man told Him. “What do I still lack?” “If you want to be perfect,” Jesus said to him, “go, sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard that command, he went away grieving, because he had many possessions. Matthew 19:16-22
My words…
Praise
Lord, I praise You that You are the God who interferes. You say, “Do it my way. Here let me show you.” The wealthy young man felt You stepped over the line. You asked him to do something outside his ability – so he thought. I rejoice that You step in the way and say, “I love you too much to sit idly by and withhold instruction, warning, encouragement.” You do not ask of me something beyond my ability. You hold high expectations of me. You do not lower the bar. You teach that striving for perfection, wholeness, completeness is attainable, and You tell me how. I don’t have to guess or figure it out on my own.
Prayer for me
Your word compels me to live differently from my natural inclination. Left to my own compulsion, I would hit back instead of turning my other cheek. I would hoard my possessions instead of sharing. I would never give up my place in line for anyone. Keep drawing me back to Your word. Interfere with my life! It’s the only way I will grow in wisdom, and it’s the only way to know You better.
Prayer for others
So many people hold to a belief in a god that C. S. Lewis calls a “Life-Force.” It’s a very easy god to claim, for this god has no morals, no mind, and won’t interfere. Lewis said, “This Life-Force is a sort of tame God. You can switch it on when you want, but it will not bother you. All the thrills of religion and none of the cost. Is the Life-Force the greatest achievement of wishful thinking the world has yet seen?” I know so many people who claim to believe in this god – the god who expects nothing of its believers, the god who is controlled by a switch. Reveal to them, Lord, the truth, and rend their curtain of wishful thinking.
More praise
When my life grows complicated, and I am faced with many choices, I look to You and say, “Please just tell me what to do.” Why would I refrain from turning to the One who knows all, the creator of wisdom? I call You the God who interferes because it’s Your interference that saves me. I thank You and I praise You for being an interfering Father.
Being sent out by the Holy Spirit, Saul and Barnabas came down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. Arriving in Salamis, they proclaimed God’s message in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their assistant. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos. they came across a sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and desired to hear God’s message. But Elymas the sorcerer (this is the meaning of his name) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith. Then Saul – also called Paul – filled with the Holy Spirit, stared straight at the sorcerer and said, “You son of the Devil, full of all deceit and all fraud, enemy of all righteousness! Won’t you ever stop perverting the straight paths of the Lord? Now, look! The Lord’s hand is against you. You are going to be blind, and will not see the sun for a time.” Suddenly a mist and darkness fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul, seeing what happened, believed and was astonished at the teaching about the Lord. Acts 13:4-12
There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium, or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. Deuteronomy 18:10-12
My words…
Praise
Oh, Lord, at the same moment when Your son, Paul, battled Elymas, the son of the Devil, were Your holy armies at war with Satan’s in the unseen realm? Was the enemy held back from claiming any more ground when Paul rebuked the sorcerer and You struck him blind? Did Satan shake his fist at Your archangel who rejoiced over Sergius Paulus’ astonishment of You? Does Satan tremble with rage that Your children continue to read this story and praise You? I hope so!
Prayer for me
Lord, let me never forget the reason You warn me against specific evil practices: You know the damage that will result, and You love me too much to remain silent and let me stray into it.
Forgive me
Elymas was warned of the evil of sorcery, yet he chose that vocation anyway. Forgive me when I choose to neglect Your warnings and pervert Your straight paths. You know I do not practice sorcery, but You know the sins I do practice. Please forgive me.
Prayer for others
Since Elymas was born a Jew, I assume he was taught the Law and the Prophets from a young age. He attended synagogue school and memorized Your holy words. He knew what You had to say about sorcery. But something happened, and he decided to trade in a life of adoration and reverence for You for a life of trickery, deceit, and self-exultation. His parents must have been ashamed of him. His Jewish acquaintances may have shunned him. He tied a blindfold over his spiritual eyes and strode through life, living every moment for his own gain. My world is full of Elymases – those who embraced Your love at one time then ground it into the earth beneath their shoes. They are energized by lies and use that energy to twist the paths walked on by those searching for You. The Devil tightens their blindfolds, and they are numb to the pain. Just as You loved Elymas and grieved his choices, so do You love all who have turned their eyes from You and carve out a different path. They cannot escape Your love. You remain alongside them, arms waiting to embrace. I pray that the Devil loses his children back to You – that You reclaim them from their kidnapper.
Thank You
You blinded Elymas so that he would see what You wanted him to see. Thank You for your steadfastness – You never stop forgiving, never stop instructing, never stop loving.
More praise
I praise You for Your plan to save Your creation from all evil and gather us to Yourself in a place You are preparing now. My hope is that I will see Elymas there.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Bless the Lord, O you His angels, you mighty ones who do His word, obeying the voice of His word! Bless the Lord, all His hosts, His ministers, who do His will! Bless the Lord, all His works, in all places of His dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul! Psalm 103:1-5, 20-22
My words…
Praise
How blessed I am! Blessing upon blessing! More than I could number. These blessings do not flow because of my deeds or because of some uncanny coincidence. They flow from You because it’s what You do. You can’t hold it in. Blessings gush forth like water breaking through a dam. But what about You? How may I bless You? It’s a staggering thought. You dwell in the heavens surrounded by hosts of angels and armies. You hold the planets in the palms of Your hands and wear a crown of stars on Your head. You know all. You own all.
I am just a child, limited, bounded. But my spirit is driven to bless You. So I lay my blessings at the foot of Your throne. They may be vapid, but they are genuine. When I marvel at an eclipse, I bless You. When I thank You for buttered corn, I bless You. My prayers are meant to bless You as are my meditations. I bless You when I share Your words with others and when I accept those shared with me. I bless You when I see a bird on the fencepost and remember that You know the number of its feathers. When I ponder on what heaven is like, I bless You. And when I thank You for Your blessings, I bless You. Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Prayer for me
Lord, help me bless You more deeply and more often. Reveal to me new ways to bless You. They are endless just as Your blessings are to me.
Forgive me
Forgive me when I revel in my blessings and neglect to give You praise. You are the source of the blessing. I am only the vessel loved enough to carry it.
Prayer for others
Lord, I pray for those who don’t feel blessed. They may be neglected, abused, terminally ill. Their loved ones may be suffering, and they feel helpless. “Where is the Lord?” they cry. “Where are my blessings?” Show them, Lord! Reveal to them Your hand in their lives, Your promise to love them through pain and sorrow, and Your plan to welcome them into a new home with a new body someday. Receiving Your blessings through suffering is the ultimate spiritual experience. But that is another topic for another prayer.
Thank You
Thank You, Lord, for blessing me. My eyes fill with tears as I write this because I am overwhelmed by Your love and care for me. I can’t express my true gratitude. Maybe there is a heavenly language with words that can adequately capture my thoughts, but I don’t know that language. So Holy Spirit, translate it, please.
More Praise
As a child, I learned that old hymn, Count your blessings, name them one by one. I have never done that. It may take all day. It may take all week. The list would never by exhaustive because there are blessings of which I am unaware. I wouldn’t be surprised if I could only name a small fraction. You, on the other hand, could count how many times I have blessed You. Whatever the number, it is not nearly large enough. But I am happy to add to it during the days I have left to live.
Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne. Hebrews 12:1-2
My words…
Praise
All praise to the One who stands at the finish line, the bright stanchion of faith whose countenance is a cloud by day and fire by night. As long as I keep my eyes on You, I never fear of losing my way, wandering off track, tripping over snares, and skinning my knees. And even though I see You as the prize when my race is done, You are so much more. You run beside me, training, spurring, protecting. I turn my head to find You there, confident in the fact that I will not lose step. And when I slow to a walk, which I am wont to do, You do not race ahead and leave me alone and ashamed. You lift my head and remind me of the sweet rest awaiting me at the end. And I am off and running again!
Prayer for me
No one knows more than You how easily I am distracted. I could blame it on the lightning speed society of which I am a part – so much to see and hear around me. But I know that even if I sat in a field with nary a tree or person around, I would find something on which to attach my thoughts, and off they would flit, riding on the breeze like a dead leaf in autumn. It’s as if I can’t keep control of where my mind wanders. How absurd! It’s my mind. But sometimes I think it isn’t my mind. It’s been hijacked and taken for a joy ride through daydreams, and wishful thinking, and rhetorical questions. A black fog appears. Minutes, hours, and days of running blind until I just stop and call out to the One standing at the finish line. You appear through the fog, and my sights are re-set. The distractions will never evaporate. Help me to recognize their uselessness and worthlessness.
Forgive me
The writer of Hebrews calls these distractions “the sin that ensnares us.” I take my eyes off You, and sin is there, grabbing my attention. It’s so very pretty…on the outside. Forgive me when I decide to allow sin to avert my attention. It’s my decision, and it’s always a bad one.
Prayer for others
Lord, I am not the only distracted disciple. We are a large team of runners, tripping over each other, sometimes shoving each other. How can we be a light to others if we keep being drawn off course into the fog? We trip over the snares of doctrine, ideology, traditions and drag others down with us. But You keep shining, Lord! And we get back up, so grateful that You never give up on us!
Thank You
I can’t run this race alone. Thank You for lacing up and running with me.
More praise
You are the perfecter of my faith. You take my bumbling, ankle-twisting, air-gasping race and present it to the Father as one run by a gazelle. And it cost You – in blood. But I have resolved to not let one drop go to waste. I’ll keep running until the day when our hands touch at the finish line.
Because of God’s merciful compassion, the Dawn from on high will visit us to shine on those who live in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. Luke 1:78-79
My words…
You know how much I want to be like you, Lord. You are the perfect pattern of how I should live while I am breathing. But I’m not sure if I would want to pattern my life after Yours if You had not visited my world populated with breakable skeletal structures, vulnerable skin cells, paralyzing fears, overwhelming ignorance, devastating power struggles, and so on. Your compassion must have filled every crevice of heaven for You to choose to grow in a maiden’s womb, be born in a dirty stable, and endure the company of white-washed tombs, broods of vipers, and those of little faith. And while many throughout history reject Your divinity and mock your teachings, I choose to repeat the inspired words of Zechariah and declare You to be the Dawn from on high. Life can be likened to a bad night’s sleep. I toss. I turn. I cramp. I reach for the bottle of pills and toss some more. But when the first rays of sunlight force away the night, there You are – the first light, the day-spring who lights my path so I may joyfully tread the limiting, vulnerable, paralyzing, overwhelming, devastating paths of the world with You.
Entering the house, the wise men saw the child with Mary His mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route. Matthew 2:11-12
Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king, “Do you know what I know?”
My words…
I often wonder what compelled the wise men to travel for months to visit a child king of a foreign country in which they shared no social, political, or religious ties. They knew the prophesies: a King of the Jews would be born in Judea, and He would lead His people to freedom, but they really had no stake in that event. So I asked You, Lord: Why? And You answered me: “It’s what wise people do.” I have pondered Your answer for days, and it has lightened my heart. Wise people embrace prophesies and watch for their fulfillment. They act on signs sent by You. They sacrifice their time and their wealth when they find the One who is worthy to receive it. And they know to whom they should offer their purest worship.
The world sees a child in his mother’s arms living in a simple home in Bethlehem. Just a child. The wise see a King, the Hope of the world who lived and died and rose and now sits at a very special place, waiting to return. Because that’s what wise people do.
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived unexpectedly in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find Him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship Him.” After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was – the star they had seen in the east! It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed beyond measure. Matthew 2:1-2, 7-10
Said the night wind to the little lamb, “Do you see what I see?”
My words…
All praise to God the Father who used a star as a birth announcement! How fitting a medium to proclaim the arrival of the Light of the World. The Magi called it His star – a particular star given a history-changing assignment: outshine every other star in the sky, and hover over the place where the Son of God lives. Wise men from the east were wise enough to know the significance of such a beacon. Their quest: Find the newly-born King.
Does that star still live or did it shine itself out of existence that night? Too holy to be used again?
My heart swells every time I read of an event where a person encounters You. I love hearing or seeing their reactions. The weary travelers could not contain their joy when they found the place where the King resided. It was no palace. No courtiers flitted about – no servants to be seen. The humble King lived humbly, yet the wise visitors didn’t seem to mind. Their long journey had come to an end. They could finally rest their bodies, their minds, their spirits. For that is what happens when I step into Your presence. I am at peace. I am at rest. I am exactly where I belong.
In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David. This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in cloth and lying in a feeding trough.” Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people He favors!” Luke 2:8-14
Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy, “Do you hear what I hear?”
My words…
On the night that Your Son arrived as a baby in Bethlehem, heaven burst open. An angel with a multitude of the heavenly host erupted in praise, piercing the silent night. The shepherds and their sheep turned heavenward in awe. I’m not sure if the angelic host sang, shouted, or chanted – it doesn’t matter. Their praise could not be contained. Oh, to be a shepherd in the fields that night! The praise of angels heralding the birth of God With Us must have caressed their ears like no other sound on earth. Did they eventually forget the majestic tones? Perhaps they re-lived it in their dreams? I don’t believe that one could hear the sound of angelic praise and not be forever changed. I long to hear that sound – the sound heard by lambs in the field that night. The lambs knew praise when they heard it. Did they praise, too?
My praise cannot compare to that of the angelic host. Even my best words of adoration and gratitude are gritty, cold, and lame in comparison. Yet You hear them and You accept them, gladly. So I lift my heart to You. It is swollen with great joy as I recall the blessed event of the birth of Jesus. I praise You as the Father who sent Your Son away from Your side, away from His heavenly home, and I praise the Son who loved me so much that He went.
Jesus said to them: “Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I don’t have anything to offer him. Then he will answer from inside and say, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone to bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend’s persistence, he will get up and give him as much as he needs. So I say to you, keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who Ask Him?” Luke 11:5-13
My words…
Prayer for me
When my children were young, they often asked me for the same thing over and over again. I found it to be very wearisome. I reminded them that it wasn’t necessary to keep asking – I heard it the first time. But they reasoned I would forget. (I often forgot things – You well know.) When it came to responding to the needs and wants of my children, their specific request held very little weight. I had already decided what they would get, and my decision was based on several factors of which they were unaware. They were too young to understand. As I contemplate our relationship (I the child, You the Father), I praise You for encouraging me to be persistent in bringing my requests before You. I needn’t be concerned that You will find my persistence wearisome. I may keep asking You for the same thing day after day, year after year, and You will hold those requests in Your heart until such a time as You see fit to grant them. How often have I asked for a deeper faith, searched for spiritual understanding, knocked for true wisdom? And You have given to me from Your storehouses. I had an inkling of how to give to my children, but You are the Supreme Giver. You know how to give the very best gift because You are the very best gift. Your Spirit, freely living in me, is the answer to my prayers because through You, I grow in faith, knowledge, and wisdom. Since we’re on the subject of persistence, I would like to take this opportunity, yet again, to ask for another measure of You in me. And I plan to keep on asking, and asking, and asking.
Happy are the people whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. Psalm 84:5
My words…
About this time of year, I bring Mr. and Mrs. Pilgrim out of the attic and set them on my mantle. They’re small wooden figures carved to look like the Separatists who fled persecution by the Church of England in the 1600s. I doubt, though, that they resemble the exhausted, seasick, anxious lot who hobbled off the Mayflower, looking for a place to build a new life. You know each of them by name. You heard their urgent prayers for deliverance. Their hearts burned to worship You in a way they believed was true. Since they couldn’t find it at home, they tucked their Geneva Bibles under their arms and journeyed to the New World. You called Your chosen Israelites to be pilgrims three times a year – journey to the tabernacle or temple to worship You in that special place because the person who sets out on a pilgrimage is not the same person who returns. I’m not sure it’s the worship experience at the end that transforms the pilgrims more than the journey itself. What happens along the way, the dangers and the joys, are transformational.
Like the Separatists and the Israelites, I’m a pilgrim. My feet travel the highway to deliverance, to freedom, to heavenly worship. Thank You for blessing my journey thus far. Joy beyond measure awaits me when You greet me in the New World.
