“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure – pressed down, shaken together, and running over – will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:37-38
My words…
Praise
Another fine lesson, Master Teacher. You often teach me lessons based on my life in relation to the other guy: my neighbor, my enemy, those in need, those misguided, those I pass on the street. They are lessons learned from your time wearing human skin. You know what it’s like to be misunderstood, falsely accused, ignored, ridiculed, and loathed. How close did you come to taking Satan up on his offer to chuck it all in? How hard did you bite your tongue when the apostles took so long to understand your message? Daily, earthly life must have been agonizingly difficult (except when the little children showed up). Yet You didn’t let loose on them. You didn’t pronounce a hell-bound judgment. You didn’t take a holier-than-thou (which You were) attitude and point fingers and sneer. Instead, You stumbled to the cross and gave everything You had to us, using a measure foretold, a measure that swallowed up death.
Prayer for me
I am guessing that the people I interact with daily would not label me a judge or a condemner. That’s because I keep it to myself when it happens. And it still happens. With the guidance and patience of your Spirit, I have grown in imitating Your example of loving instead of condemning. I pray You will continue to grow me.
Forgive me
The measure I use to forgive (how many times for this one person?) and give (is it tax deductible?) is shameful; it’s a fluctuating scale depending on my mood and state of hunger. Forgive me when I mete out compassion and forgiveness. It’s a trait I learned from the Enemy.
Prayer for others
If I have judged or condemned anyone, I pray you will send them to me so I may ask for their forgiveness. We are all flawed and sinful, and the responsibility of judging belongs to the One who paid the price to do so: You. Not me.
Thank You
Thank You, Lord, for molding me, instructing me, putting up with me when I disappoint. You are the Constant in my inconsistent world.
More praise
Following Your teaching is always a profitable decision. I receive more than I give, blessings upon blessings, stacked up around me in piles. Being a daughter of Yours is the most precious blessing of all.
Your throne has been established from the beginning; You are from eternity.
Psalm 93:2
My words…
You are from eternity. That’s where You live. It’s a place without space and a time without succession. It’s all at once and always has been and always will be. It’s what philosophers and theologians have expressed with invented terms (some rather pretty-sounding) sprinkled with yets and buts and draped in little confidence. You must smile at their attempts. I don’t pretend to know. I’m not sure I want to know, really. I have my own idea about eternity. I carry it in my pocket. No one need know. I pull it out when I feel empty, and it fills. I clutch at it when I’m afraid, and it comforts. I toss it about when I’m joyful, and it laughs. It is You, and it is me together…apart from space and time. If eternity is where You are, then I am there, too. So, I am from eternity. It’s where I live.
As He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. Matthew 8:23
My words…
Praise
There’s a lot of following going on these days. Follow us on Facebook! I follow him on Twitter! Following social media doesn’t take much more than clicking time – no real sacrifice. Following You, on the other hand, involves commitment and surrender, learning and unlearning, trust and reliance, time and energy. But, oh what rewards! Transformation and transcendence, peace and security, knowledge and understanding, hope and assurance. You have already done the heavy lifting; You have won the war for me. The trail is blazed. I only need to follow. (too many metaphors? Never!)
Prayer for me
When You lead, I attempt to place my foot where Yours is because I know it’s the best way. It may not be the shortest route or the most comfortable path, but I know it will get me where You want me to be. The disciples followed You into a boat. They had no idea a storm was brewing and they would fear for their lives before they reached shore. You knew, and You led them there. They were different men when they disembarked. They were better men. And that is why I follow You. I want to be a better…everything. I know You will never stop leading. I rely on Your Spirit to strengthen me to keep following.
Forgive me
Forgive me when I don’t act like a follower of Yours. I have zero excuses. I give in to temptation and BAM! I know I shouldn’t have said that condescending remark about the lady in line yesterday. I know I shouldn’t have justified not giving to the needy in my path. I know I shouldn’t do a lot of things I do. I need a purer heart. Clean it. Please.
Thank You
Thank You for never leaving me behind. When I am prancing and skipping along in the thistle, pretending I’m fine, You wait for me to step in line again. And You’re never mad. You really are incredible!
More praise
On the very best of days, when my spirit is at home with Yours, I am not following behind. I am following beside. Those are the days when Your face is shining on me. The longer I live, the more I see Your face. Another reward!
The path of the righteous is level; You clear a straight path for the righteous. Isaiah 26:7
Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God. May Your gracious Spirit lead me on level ground. Psalm 143:10
My words…
Praise
Riding along on an uphill, curvy road makes me queasy. Just as every atom in my body screams for a straight and level way, so my spirit yearns for the straight path for the righteous. How do I know what’s around the bend until I round the bend? Danger may be lurking in my path, but then it’s too late to do anything about it. Struggling with an uphill battle, day after day, year after year, leads to despair. You created me, so You understand. You understand to the point where You work so I won’t have to suffer spiritual queasiness. You clear a level path and straighten the crooked road. I don’t need a map. There’s only one Way. All I need to do is follow the Guide.
Prayer for me
You clear a path for the righteous, but I don’t consider myself so. The only reason I have tread the straight and level is because Jesus paid my toll. I look to Your Spirit to lead me along this path and keep my feet from slipping off the side. The road has pitfalls and potholes. Grow my trust in You that I may walk blindfolded, listening to Your guiding voice.
Forgive me
Forgive me when I plop down on the road and demand a rest (as if I should demand anything). Following is tiring. Remaining alert is wearying. Growing in knowledge is exhausting. But who am I to take a break? You never did. You never do. You never will.
Prayer for others
Lord, I know so many who are plodding along on an uphill, winding road – without a guide. They fend off their queasiness with substances or acquisitions or justifications. This may sound harsh, but I ask that they remain queasy until they search out the straight, level way where they will meet You.
Thank You
Thank You for working for me. You clear a straight path and become my traveling companion, guide, and teacher. But over all of that, You are my Lord. And now I stop, not because I’m weary, but because I am on my knees in thankfulness and awe.
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call His name Immanuel Isaiah 7:14
Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel; which is, God with us. Matthew 1:23
My words…
Of all the names given You, Jesus, I like this one best. God with us. When Zacheus invited you to lunch, did he know that You were God with him? God in his house! When You spoke to the Samaritan woman about living water, did she know that You were God with her? God at the well! When you entered the gates of Jerusalem, did they know You were God with them? God in their city! No one in scripture ever called You Immanuel except a prophet long dead and an angel. Maybe if they had, they would have understood more clearly where You came from. It wasn’t just Nazareth. Wherever You went, whenever You were with people, something happened. Those who understood Your presence as “we with a Galilean guy” missed out on the greatest opportunity of all time. Those who understood Your presence as “God with us” were never the same. Even now, You remain God with us – but even better. We don’t have to search for You in the dusty streets of Jerusalem or on a hillside talking to kids or in a synagogue thick with tension. You are here in my room. You are here in my heart. You are God with me. You are God in me. Hallelujah!
Unless the Lord builds a house, its builders labor over it in vain; unless the Lord watches over a city, the watchman stays alert in vain. Psalm 127:1-2
My words…
Praise
Nothing worth anything happens by accident. Victories are proclaimed because of You. Accomplishment, achievement, prosperity are direct experiences of Your providence. Humans may beat their chests and hoard credit, but they do so in vain. Happy is the one who knows from where all blessings flow.
Prayer for me
All that I have accomplished in my life, all the good fortune I enjoy, the family I hold dear are upheld by Your loving hand. But there have been times when I have boasted like a four-year-old, “I can do this all by myself.” I took over. I placed You in the spectator section (as if I could place You anywhere). Embarrassment, failure, and regret followed. The four-year-old still rears her impatient, immature head. Guide me to listen to You only.
Forgive me
Even after all this time, I have not been complete in keeping the “unless” in the front of my mind. Unless Your will is done in my life, my life is lived in vain. Forgive me when I have placed my will ahead of Yours.
Prayer for others
I pray for those who are working to build their “house” on their own. They do not know or refuse to know that unless You take over as Master Builder, the “house” will not stand.
Thank You
As the Only God, the God with all the power, You can do anything. You can act however You want. Yet You choose to work for me, care about me, protect me. Maybe You don’t really choose to do so. (Like I don’t choose to be female) It’s just who You are. You can’t be any other way. But it doesn’t mean that I can’t thank You anyway. So, thank You.
More praise
What a joy it is knowing that when I work within Your will, when I surrender to You, the result will be exactly what You intend for me. Every time.
Every generous act and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights; with Him there is no variation or shadow cast by turning. James 1:17
My words…
A prayer of praise and thanks
You, the Father of Lights, do not shine like the sun, warming only part of the orb at a time or being hidden by clouds or other celestial bodies. With You, there are no shadows. Your radiance is…always. I praise You, Father of Lights.
A gift is a reflection of the giver. When You give, it’s the perfect gift at the perfect time (because You are perfect). You give because it brings You joy. You give because it’s who You are. And I am humbled and joy-filled to be on the receiving end of Your gifts, especially the intangibles: my adoption as Your daughter (I am proud to uphold Your name.), my freewill (I appreciate being allowed to make my own decisions.), my all-expenses-paid entrance into the heavenly places (I could never have done it on my own.), Your listening ear (You always have time for me.), inexplicable peace (even in the midst of chaos), hope (my future is secure), and most of all, that part of You that You placed in my inmost-being (almost too glorious to be true – almost). I thank You, Father of Lights.
The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom should I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom should I be afraid? When evildoers came against me to devour my flesh, my foes and my enemies stumbled and fell. Though an army deploys against me, my heart is not afraid; though a war breaks out against me, still I am confident. Psalm 27:1-3
My words…
Praise
I place very little confidence in humankind. I’m not 100% confident that my doctor knows what he’s talking about or that my airplane pilot hasn’t been drinking before climbing into the cockpit. I am confident that I have been lied to over and over by politicians. I don’t expect anything different, so I am not that disappointed when it happens. How refreshing, then, when I know I can place my full confidence in You, in who You are and what You do. You don’t make mistakes. Dallas Willard said it best: My confidence in [God] simply means that I believe that he is right about everything: that all that he is and says shows what life is at its best, what it was intended by God to be. When I pray and You answer, I know it was supposed to be that way. That confidence gives birth to unimaginable peace.
Prayer for me
I’ve never had an evildoer come against me to devour my flesh, but I know what it’s like to fear. I do not have enough confidence in my own faith that I would say, “You are my stronghold. Whom should I fear?” But I have the confidence in You to see me through whether I say it or not. Keep growing my faith. Please do not stop.
Forgive me
I am confident in my spirit that You are the God over all the heavens and earth, that You see me, know me, and love me. I confess, however, that that confidence wobbles when I pray the same intercession over and over, and the suffering does not end. Something heaven-sent is happening, but I can’t see it. Everything looks like it did the day before. Forgive me when doubt picks at my faith like I pick at a loose thread. Fear creeps. After all this time I should be shouting, “Whom should I fear?”
Prayer for others
I pray for those whose confidence in You has been shattered. A death occurred. A diagnosis was confirmed. Security was stolen. The answer was no instead of yes. Confidence can be re-built and strengthened. You can do that. I pray that You will.
More praise
I wonder, as I sit here: How much confidence do You have in me? I spend way too much time asking, “What do I think about God?” instead of, “What does God think about me?” The answer to the latter outweighs that of the former, for what You think of me is, truthfully, the impetus for restorative transformation. It’s the only reason I make any effort to change. You are my light and my salvation – of this I am confident.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. Revelation 21:4
My words…
Praise
You promise such a time – a time I cannot perceive. No death nor anything associated with it. No child-sized coffins. No crematoriums. No eulogies. No tissues. No need for pain-killers. No scars or bruises. No canes or wheelchairs. Not anymore. Peace will replace anxiety. Contentment will overshadow depression. The radiance of Your glory will send darkness scurrying. Everything I dread will have passed away, and I will exist unburdened – light, like air. I won’t have to wonder what the heavens feel like. Not anymore.
Prayer for me
So much of my energy is spent avoiding pain, avoiding the headache from too much crying. But the pain and tears happen anyway. They creep in. They burst in. I say, “That’s life.” It’s what I’ve come to expect. I can’t avoid it completely. Not in this life. There is one truth I cling to when the tears flow: One day You will wipe them away, and I won’t have to cry anymore.
More praise
What joy this must bring You to offer Your children a life without painful tears. I could never do that for my children. This is a promise only You can make, and I am holding You to it!
So Jesus said to them, “I assure you: unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life in yourselves. Anyone who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day because My flesh is real food and My blood is real drink.” When many of his disciples heard this, they said, “This teaching is hard! Who can accept it?” From that moment many of his disciples turned back and no longer accompanied Him. John 6:53-55, 60, 66
My words…
Praise
When I examine Your teaching style, Jesus, I see You as a rational professor, dedicated to moving Your students toward understanding how to know the Father and how to get to Him. Not every lesson was taught on a mountainside as Your words caressed the ears of Your listeners like a soft, cool breeze. Some of Your lessons were hard like bricks. Addition and subtraction leads to calculus. Love your neighbor leads to love your enemy. You want Your students to know that there is only one way to the Father, to life eternal, and that is through You, which means taking You into my life. You become my sustenance. A difficult lesson to grasp – a lifetime to put into practice. But, oh, so worth it.
Prayer for others
I regard Your followers, in the first century and now, as students of Your wisdom and knowledge. Some are devoted to soaking in what You share, waiting at the door of the Professor’s office to speak to You after class. Others make it to the midterm and drop out when lessons get tough. They were moving along in a trajectory to the Father, but one difficult lesson acts as an external force that either diverts the students off course or ends the forward progress altogether. It is for these former students that I write this prayer. I know so many. I don’t know what it would take to turn their hearts back to You – but You do. There is no way to make the hard lessons easy. But I pray they will know that working through the challenges brings a reward of peace and hope that extends way beyond this earthly classroom.
More Praise
My path to the Father looks more like a plate of spaghetti than a straight line. I have been drawn off course more times than I care to think. But You are always there when I come back around. I don’t completely understand the hard lessons. Do any of us students? But I will one day when I meet the Professor face to face.
