Crying Out

Father God, 

In the Psalms we read: Hear my prayer, O LORD, let my cry come to you! Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress! Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call! 

Father, as our church has worked through the Psalms we are learning that we can lament, we can cry out, we can come to you with troubled and angry hearts and Father we (I) come with a troubled and angry heart.  Father, there is so much going on in this broken world, the news is disturbing, divisive, distressing, and depressing.  News of nuclear tensions, news of hate and racism, news of such division: but the one thing the news does is point out how much we need you. 

So Father, we come this morning crying out to you, crying out for your healing, for your mercy, for your steadfast love to conquer all.  We pray that your love would reach into hearts around the world and transform, that there might be revival, that there might be repentance (turning to you) that there might be true reconciliation and that people would love one another just a Christ has loved us.  Father, embolden us as believers that we may answer the message of racism, hate and violence with the message of love and service in Christ.  Father, we pray answer us speedily. 

In Romans Paul prays: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.  Father we believe; fill us with joy and peace, let us abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit and thank you that no matter our troubles, no matter the troubles of this world, we have a place to turn, a place where we can hope and trust, a place that we can be filled with joy and peace, a place that we can rest; and that place is in the mighty arms of Christ. 

Abba Father, we love you and pray these many things in the most wonderful and beautiful name of Jesus...

Amen and Amen!

Father's Day

On Father's Day, we come from many different places and backgrounds; some come with good examples of fathers in their lives while others not so much, some come with fathers that are no longer with us, some come as fathers, and some even come never having known their fathers...

But, there is one thing we can know and trust; there is one thing we can know for sure, that we all have a Good, Good Father in Heaven!

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!  

1 John 3:1

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!

Psalm 34:8

Prayer - God's Sufficiency

 

Father God,

In 2 Corinthians we read: Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God...

How wonderful, how awesome is your Word, what great news we have in the gospel that we can come not obsessed with self- sufficiency but we can come in your sufficiency. So we come with thankful hearts, we come amazed and praying that you would help each of us to truly hear this gospel message, the message of your amazing grace. And help us Father to hear it over and over and over again as we need it over and over and over again. 

Father we pray that through the gospel we will always have a safe place; a place for all to come and that we will never try to make it a performance place; we pray that the gospel comes shining through in all we do, where we understand we are saved, we are rescued, we are holy children of God not because of anything we have done, but because of all Christ has done! 

Father, while at times we will all struggle; that while we will all face trials, we pray that we can rest, that we can move forward, that we can be encouraged in the knowledge that the gospel is not a message of do more but a message of "it is finished!" 

Father, we pray that as we all come to terms with this, as we truly get it, as your truth fills our hearts; that we would overflow with awe, praise and joyful worship...we pray that as we come to know your love that we would grow in our love for You, our love for each other and our love for our neighbors. 

Abba Father we love you and pray these many things in the most beautiful name of Jesus Christ...

Amen and Amen!

Continential Divides

When I think of the division I see in this country – or better yet, when I see the reconciliation that is needed over great divides including political divides, racial divides, economic divides it gives me pause. A recent poll showed that 40% of the people surveyed felt the recent election damaged a relationship with a friend or family member. That is astounding, that is so troubling, and for that we need help. 

I turn to God for wisdom, for answers, for a path. It occurs to me that when we consider the great sacrifice, when we consider how we have wronged our great God, when we consider the love and grace and tender mercies offered through the finished and complete work of Christ to reconcile us with God, to bridge the enormous divide between God and each of us, then I know through Him all things are possible. 

When I am thinking clearly and truly understand this, when I truly understand the sacrifice and love of Christ then I am humbled and if we can humble ourselves enough, if we can be slow to speak, if we can listen and understand other perspectives, if we can agree to disagree and still love each other, if we can love one another just as our Savior loves us, then these divides don’t seem so impossibly large. 

It has to start somewhere... 

Grace and Peace!