Tuesday of Holy Week

Mark 11: 20-Mark 13:37

In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered & said to Jesus, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered.!

"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ & does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, & it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."

They arrived in Jerusalem, & while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law & the elders came to him. "By what authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave you authority to do this?"

Jesus replied, "I will ask you one question. Answer me, & I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or from men? Tell me!"

They discussed it among themselves & said, "If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him? But if we say, ‘From men’…." They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet). So they answered Jesus, "We don’t know." Jesus said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things."

Mark 12

He then began to speak to them in parables: "A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress & built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers & went away on a journey. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him & sent him away empty-handed. Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head & treated him shamefully. He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying ‘They will respect my son.’ But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, & the inheritance will be ours.’ So they took him & killed him, & threw him out of the vineyard. What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come & kill those tenants & give the vineyard to others. Haven’t you read this scripture: "’The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, & it is marvelous in our eyes’?"

Then they looked for a way to arrest Him because they knew He had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left Him & went away.

Later they sent some of the Pharisees & Herodians to Jesus to catch Him in His words. They came to Him & said, "Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?"

But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. "Why are you trying to trap Me?" He asked. "Bring me a denarius & let me look at it." They brought the coin, & He asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?" "Caesar’s," they replied. Then Jesus said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s & to God what is God’s." And they were amazed at Him.

Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. "Teacher," they said, "Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies & leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow & have children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first one married & died without leaving any children. The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. At the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?"

Jesus replied, "Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. Now about the dead rising--have you not read in the book of Moses, in the account of the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, & the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!"

One of the teachers of the law came & heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked Him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart & with all your soul & with all your mind & with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these."

"Well said, teacher," the man replied. You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but Him. To love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding & with all your strength, & to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than burnt offerings & sacrifices."

When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And from then on no one dared to ask Him any more questions.

While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, He asked, "How is it that the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: "’The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet."’ David himself calls Him ‘Lord.’ How then can He be his son?" The large crowd listened to Him with delight.

As He taught, Jesus said, "Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes & be greeted in the marketplaces, & have the most important seats in the synagogues & the places of honor at banquets. They devour widow’s houses & for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely."

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put & watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came & put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.

Calling His disciples to Him, Jesus said, "It tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasuring than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."

Mark 13

As he was leaving the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, "Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!" "Do you see all these great buildings?" replied Jesus. "Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John & Andrew asked Him privately, "Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?"

Jesus said to them, "Watch out that no one deceived you. Many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many. When you hear of wars & rumors of war, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, & kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, & famines. These are the beginning of birth pains. You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils & flogged in the synagogues. On account of Me you will stand before governors & kings as witnesses to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. Whenever you are arrested & brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit."

"Brother will betray brother to death, & a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents & have them put to death. All men will hate you because of Me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved."

"When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ standing where it does not belong—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down or enter the house to take anything out. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women & nursing mothers! Pray that this will not take place in winter, because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now--& never to be equaled again. If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom He has chosen, He has shortened them. At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ! or, ‘Look, there He is!’ do not believe it. For false Christs & false prophets will appear & perform signs & miracles to deceive the elect—if that were possible. So be on your guard, I have told you everything ahead of time."

"But in those days, following that distress, ’the sun will be darkened, & the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, & the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power & glory. And He will send His angels & gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens."

"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender & its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth; this generation will certainly not pass away all these things have happened. Heaven & earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away."

"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house & puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, & tells the one at the door to keep watch. Therefore, keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: Watch!"

Embracing the Cross

Philippians 1:27-2:11, Romans 6, Galatians 2:20

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for going to the cross for my sins.  Thank You for your sinless life, perfect sacrifice, atoning provision, death, and resurrection.  Thank You for being a worthy sacrifice for my sins, and the sins of the whole world. Thank You for embracing the shame of the cross that I might be forgiven and made new through the atoning sacrifice of Your shed blood.  I was guilty, condemned, and worthy of death.  Your sacrificial death and atonement called me to kneel at the cross where You freed me from the burden and condemnation of the load of my sin.  You made me brand new!  Thank You.

You did the unthinkable and beckoned me, a forgiven child of God, to come to my own cross and die.  I cringe from the cross.  I shrink from the cross.  Yet, You tenderly, persistently call me.  Thank You for the invitation to die to myself, my smallness, my flesh, my relationships, my possessions, my agenda, my plans, my ambitions, my dreams, and my goals.  Thank You for loving me enough to peel back the layers of my life, demanding surrender all the way.  Thank You for peeling farther and farther, until You reach the core of my personhood.  Thank You for Your persistent call to surrender, to death to self, to abandonment to the cross, until I die. 

Thank You for the delight of dying to myself, that I might be filled with all of the fulness of God.  Thank You for the personal resurrection that is sure to come through the fulness of the Holy Spirit.  Thank You for working Your grace and the fruit of Your Spirit into my life.  I love You.

Thank You for the call to carry Your cross.  I tried to carry the cross before I knelt at it in repentance and faith.  Only failure resulted.  I could not save myself through good works.  I tried to carry the cross before I died on it.  Only failure resulted.  The cross chaffed mercilessly.   

Now, the cross draws me.  I want to carry it for You.  I find joy in finding my identity in You.  I find joy in identifying with Your cross and all that it stands for.  Thank You for the joy of dying to my smallness and being resurrected to Your all-encompassing vastness.  Thank You for setting me free to be fulfilled in losing myself in You.  Thank You for a place of service where I can bear Your cross.  Thank You that the cross is about You, not any heroism on my part.  My death on my cross has atoned for no one.  Your once-for-all sacrificial death atones for the sins of the whole world.  Thank You.

I love You.  I worship You.  I want to live a dynamic life of faith, obedience, and service for You, not out of guilt, duty, or obligation, but out of love.  I choose to bear the cross today.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.

Why Big Blue?

It was 1975.  The University of Kentucky Wildcats were in the NCAA finals against the UCLA Bruins.  Arguably, the two most prominent NCAA basketball programs were pitted against each other for the national championship of college basketball.

Just before the game, legendary UCLA coach John Wooden, announced to his players that the 1975 championship game would be his last to coach.  My family's apartment in the boys' dorm at Mount Carmel Christian School near Jackson, Kentucky was crowded with 50 or so dorm boys.  We had radios blaring as Cawood Ledford called the game in his inimitable style.  I could see Kevin Grevey cross the time-line with the ball.  I could imagine Bob Guyette posting up.  I could see Robey, Phillips, Lee, and Givens--fabulous freshmen--in the game of their lives.

The Bruins were playing out of their minds.  Sky high emotions propelled them to win a final championship for Coach Wooden.  Wooden's storied career would come to an end that night against Coach Joe B. Hall's UK Wildcats.  My love affair with Kentucky basketball was just beginning.

Dad loved to listen to Kentucky basketball games on the radio.  Television was unavailable in the remote mountain community we called home.  So, Cawood Ledford, the Voice of the Wildcats, visited our living room, our car, and even the tiny transistor radios tuned to FM 101.1, WSGS, Hazard, Kentucky.

Kentucky has always suffered from geographical isolation.  Appalachia has historically been the brunt of jokes and ridicule.  Media caricatures abound of barefoot, toothless hillbillies, derided for their ignorance and backwardness.  In an age of cultural sensitivity, mountain people from Appalachia continue to be "safe" targets of ridicule and exploitation.  Political correctness has not yet extended its protective care to my people.

Over the past 150 years, timber barons came to the mountains.  They stripped the hills of their rich population of chestnuts and oak, leaving scars in the naked landscape, and a bit of quickly spent cash in the pockets of my people. The timber barons were followed by the coal barons.  Mountain folks made some money, built homes, and clothed and schooled their children with coal money.  But now, it's gone too.  The landscape is scarred, and the people are in poverty.

My home county of Breathitt is surrounded by some of the poorest counties in the United States of America--Lee, Owsley, and Wolfe.  University of Kentucky Wildcat basketball gave my people hope, joy, and a cultural bond that exists today.  When the Cats won, we too were winners.  When they lost, we hoped for the next game and the next season.  Resilience echoes in the character of Kentuckians. "We'll get 'em next year!"

My neighbor, Karl, was from Ohio, but he lived in the mountains as a missionary all of his adult life. Karl was a serious, scholarly, holy man.  His daughter recalls "memories of my Dad sitting on a footstool by the big radio/LP stereo listening to Cawood Ledford calling the game, not wanting to miss a single play or word! The UK players who played for four years were like friends. We felt like we knew them. Wonderful memories!"  Karl connected with his people and his adopted homeland through his love for Wildcat basketball.

Ran was from Harlan County.  He grew up with Cawood Ledford, also from Harlan.  Ran was my Bible College professor and choir director.  His supreme passion was for God, but Ran also enjoyed his Cats.  He never missed a game.  

Robert was from Breathitt County.  He was my high school history teacher.  I loved to hear Robert preach.  I admired him.  But Robert could hardly stand to listen to the game on the radio, or later view it on the TV.  It made him too nervous.  In and out, back and forth, off and on... that's how Robert listened to the Cats.  The suspense nearly killed him.  When the game was no longer in doubt, he could enjoy the last two minutes.  Mary was the same way.  Excitement glistened in her eyes as this transplant from West Virginia described the Wildcats most recent game!  Every close game she had to leave the room, because the excitement was overwhelming.

A visit to my home town of Jackson, Kentucky always reminds me of how deeply the University of Kentucky Wildcat basketball program defines our mountain culture.  The streets of Jackson empty during a game.  The most prominent color of clothing at any event during any season of the year just may be Kentucky Wildcat blue.  Big Blue clothing is on the first rack inside the front door at the tiny Jackson Wal-Mart on every day of the year.  "How 'bout them Cats?" is a common greeting at church, school, or waiting in the doctor's office.  Kentucky basketball binds and defines my home culture.  

Daddy is eighty and he never misses a game.  If he is home, he watches.  If he is on the road, he listens.  When I call home, we talk basketball.  I have fond memories of Dad buying tickets to the UK Invitational Tournament when I was growing up.  That was often a special part of our Christmas.  

I attended the University of Kentucky from 1986 to 1992.  I received two degrees, a master's and a doctorate, from the university.  I was there during Kentucky's shame.  Recruiting violations led to a complete rebuilding of the basketball program, the athletic department, and restored Board of Trustee governance to sports. All of these were needed changes which I applauded.  I cheered our Kentucky boys--the Unforgettables--who stayed at UK to rebuild the program.  I was seated on the very top row at Rupp Arena the night they beat a young Shaquille O'Neal's Louisiana State University's Tigers.  I even taught basketball players like Reggie Hanson and Nehemiah Brady, Jr. public speaking and interpersonal communication. 

I was living up Indian Hollow in Jackson, Kentucky during March Madness 1992.  The Cats were playing Duke in Philadelphia.  I'll never forget dropping from my recliner to the floor when Sean Woods hit the miracle lay-up.  Victory shouts turned to agony when the Duke player whom Cats' fans still love to hate hit the miracle shot heard round the world.  We relive the pain year after year through replays, promos, and commercials.  Each time I yell at Coach Pitino to guard the inbound pass. Each time I yell at Jon Pelfrey to get in front of the receiver.  Each time I remember.

Today, I live in the deep South.  Football rules in the South.  I follow it.  I enjoy it.  But my mind is always geared for those months from October fifteenth's Big Blue Madness to the Big Dance of March Madness--the NCAA tournament. 

I no longer grieve a loss for days.  I don't let UK basketball define my entire existence.  It's not my religion.  I don't approve of the profanity, drunkenness, gambling, wasteful spending, and cheating that is often associated with intercollegiate athletics.  If my Cats are cheating in recruiting, I certainly don't approve, but neither do I believe that they are!  On game day and many others in-between, you will see me clad in Wildcat Blue.  You will hear me say with gusto, "Go Cats!"

So, throughout the basketball season, I try to find the games on television.  Sometimes, I am driving, traveling for work, or staying in a hotel that does not have the channel.  That's when I resort to the "Tune-In" app on my smartphone.  I select WSGS from Hazard, and listen to Tom Leach's familiar tones describe my Cats.  It's in those moments that the Bluegrass, the hills of Appalachia, my East Kentucky mountain home, and my daddy sitting in his recliner watching his beloved Cats, come whispering the sounds of home to my soul.

Poverty and economic diaspora have scattered Kentuckians around the nation.  With our dispersion, the Big Blue Nation has spread.  Neither the University of Kentucky nor state or national boundaries can contain it.  And when the Cats are playing, we all hear the same sound.  It's that whispering sound of home, identity, our roots.  It's the sound of a bouncing basketball on Cawood's Court in Rupp Arena.

You see, it's more than basketball.  It's home, and it's ever with me.  That's why.

Pray On

Matthew 7:7-11

Sovereign Father, Precious Son, Holy Spirit,

I know that I ask of You repeatedly.  But You never seem to tire or diminish in Your attention.  You invite me to continue praying.  Thank You.

The ancient Jewish Rabbis loved to pray.  They expressed beautiful sentiment toward prayer.
• “God is as near to His creatures as the ear to the mouth.”
• “Human beings can hardly hear two people talking at once, but God, if all the world calls to Him at the one time, hears their cry.”
• “A man is annoyed by being worried by the requests of his friends, but with God, all the time a man puts his needs and requests before Him, God loves him all the more.”

Thank You for Your constant love and attention to my prayers.  I tend to repeat myself like a child tugging on her mommy’s sleeve.  Thank You for never tiring of my questions, requests, demands, and complaints.  You never refuse to listen.  You never ridicule the simplicity of my request. Sometimes, I look back on prayers I have prayed to You, and I am embarrassed at the foolishness of my request.  You never mock me.  You receive me, and You say, “Pray on.”  Thank You.

Barclay reminds me that “God will always answer our prayers; but He will answer them in His way, and His way will be the way of perfect wisdom and of perfect love.  Often if He answered our prayers as we at the moment desire, it would be the worst thing possible for us, for in our ignorance we often ask for gifts which would be our ruin” (William Barclay in The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 1, p. 276). Thank You for NOT answering my prayers prayed foolishly, without understanding and adequate foresight.  Thank You for answering my prayers in Your way!

Teach me the simple beauty of surrender in prayer.  The most beautiful and sincere prayers are not those which try to control or manipulate You to perform my will, but they are the prayers that surrender in faith to Your will.  Teach me a depth of surrender and faith that trusts You, even when the path is obscurred.

Thank You for encouraging me: “Pray on!”  So I pray on, I seek on asking and knocking in perpetual faith.  I must be able to bring everything in my life into Your Presence through prayer.  Cleanse me of hidden faults that would hinder effective praying polluting my prayers with selfishness.  I embrace Your answer, which always comes.

Test me.  Know me.  See clean through me.  Hear my prayer, Oh God.  I hear Your encouragement, “Pray on.”

In the Name of my ever-living, ever-hearing Lord,
Amen.

Love Slave

Matthew 6:24, Exodus 21:1-6, Romans 6:15-23

My loving Lord,

My rebellious path of ruin put me Hell bent on self-destruction.  I called it pleasure.  You called it sin.  I called it freedom.  You called it bondage.  Sin’s voracious appetite demanded more–more intense pleasures to reach an earlier high.  Louder.  Longer.  Repetition.  But pleasure was elusive. I was always searching for more.  Bondage.  Slavery.

You broke through the despair.  Conviction.  Repentance.  Deliverance.  Freedom.  You have conquered my heart!  You have won my devotion.  You have persisted over my resistance until You have regenerated my life from my brokenness.  Thank You.  I enjoy freedom through You!

You continue to peel away my fingers that squeeze control over hidden demands to self-sovereignty. You demand my all.  You demand my claim to myself–my own rights.  You must be Lord of me. You insist that I be full-time in Your service.  You give no days off, no vacation time; but simply ask me to belong to You.

You dig deep into my pockets and insist that my money belongs to You.  My property, my pleasure, my family, my relationships, and my identity–all Yours.  You insist upon defining me based solely upon my relationship to You.  Earthly demographic categories are suspended between us. Categories based upon my own beliefs, attitudes, and values are suspended as You teach me Truth that transcends all of my notions.  I am no longer my own.  I am Yours.  I am more important to You than the categories culture imposes upon me.  You love me simply for the sake of me, and desire Your absolute best for my life.

I am staggered by Your love.  You have knocked me off-balance.  I don’t know what to do with this kind of unconditional valuing that You place upon me.  My only resort is to respond in kind.  I surrender to Your love.  You have won my heart.  I am abandoned to Your Lordship.

No longer a slave to sin.  I said, “Jesus, come in.”

You saved my soul and You made me whole–No longer a slave to sin.

You asked me to be Your love slave.  My all to You I then gave.

Surrender complete.  Your Presence is sweet.  I’ll be a love slave to You.  

Your breath is blowing upon me, filling, cleansing, and empowering.  Your Holy Spirit has invaded my heart.  I am Your love slave.

Thank You, Master,
Amen.

What do you treasure?

Matthew 6:19-21

Eternal God,

You created time for my protection and enjoyment.  You placed me in this time bound world with the command that I prepare for eternity.  You teach me that eternity holds one of two destinations for me and every soul who will ever live and die.  Those You declare as righteous will be welcomed into their eternal reward with You in heaven.  Those who have insisted upon sinfully living for themselves, ignoring eternity, will be judged as guilty before Your bar of justice and consigned to a lost eternity, separated from You.

I want to live for something greater than time.  I want to live for You with my eyes fixed upon eternity.  You demand that such a life be lived with eternal values.  My attention must not be fixed upon the material, the sensual, the fleeting.  You demand that I fix my attention on You.

Fads and fashion dominate the landscape of advertising in my world. I find myself seduced by the new, the popular, the seasonal fashion.  I demand the new computer, car, cell phone, gadget, and garment.  Seduced by the temporal, my life will be lived for what I see, smell, taste, hear, and touch–sensuality. Someone once told me that “Everything is on the road to the junk heap.”  Draw my heart away from these things.  Draw me into Your heart, Eternal God.

Lord Jesus, You teach me that fashions fade and deteriorate.  The new garment is stored away for the perfect occasion, only to emerge moth-eaten and ruined.  My hoarded stockpile of goods may be eaten away from within and destroyed, like vermin invading a granary.  My flimsy walls, erected to protect my collection of money and stuff can easily be dug through.  The thieves can dig through physical walls or electronic fire walls, steal my identity and my possessions along with it.

Thank you for warning me against the rampant pursuit of pleasure.  I hear your call to treasure the timeless, those things of eternal worth, and to reject my hoarding instincts of the temporal.  I choose to value those things which You value: relationships, the eternal worth of my own soul, and the worth of another’s.  “The only thing which a man can take out of this world into the world beyond is himself; and the finer the self he brings, the greater his treasure in heaven will be” (William Barclay from The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 1, p. 244).  I give my greatest treasure to You.  Perfect Your likeness in me.

In the Name of my Eternal God,
Amen.

Anxiety

Matthew 6:25-34, Mark 9:14-29

Precious Lord,

I find myself grappling with paralyzing anxiety.  I recognize the anxiety as rooted in doubt and control.  My doubt is toward You!  My mind says, “NO!  I don’t doubt my Precious Lord!”  But my emotions deceive me, triggering adrenaline and tension throughout my body.  The emotional and physical responses trigger thoughts of worry and fear, which I recognize as stemming from unbelief.

I am used to controlling variables, communication, and even relationships in such a way as to enhance predictability and order.  I fear the unknown, so I try to control the present and the future.  Oh, Lord!  Such control is dishonest and sinful!  I loathe it.  My feeble attempts to control everything not only result in choking the life out of relationships with others, but they demonstrate unbelief toward You!

Oh, Lord!  My unbelief disgusts me!  I abhor my self-imposed prison of anxiety.  Even now, amidst my heartfelt confession to You, I find myself anxious about my anxiety.  I am sorting out paths to fix myself.  Unbelief!  I don’t need more self-help fixes, drugs, or life-long psychotherapy.  I need You!

You promise to care for me.  Thank You.  I accept Your promise of care.  I accept Your care.  I refuse to define the parameters of Your care.  I refuse to impose upon You my attempts at controlling how You must care.  You care for the birds.  They make no plan for the future.  They don’t even seem to have the consciousness to worry about what may come.  They simply follow the instincts You gave them.  That is enough.

I choose to act on my instinctive hunger for You. The seventeenth century French philosopher, Blaise Pascal, said, “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.”  Precious Lord, fill my void.  Fill me with You.  Cast out worry, fear, anxiety, and unbelief.

The father brought his deaf, dumb, seizing son to Jesus.  You challenged him to believe.  The father’s tearful words are my words:  "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"  That day You set the son free.  Precious Lord, set me free from any seed of unbelief that is crippling my life with doubt, fear, anxiety and control.  I choose to trust You!

In Your Precious Name,
Amen.

Taste Testers

Matthew 5:13, Psalm 34:8

Precious Lord Jesus,

You declare that we who believe in You are the salt of the earth.  This metaphor inspires me with lessons of  purity, preservation, and purpose!  I want to be exactly that–the salt of the earth!

I have made the proclamation of others, that they are “the salt of the earth.”  I have complimented them for their winsome witness, character, and example that serves as the underpinning of a healthy family, church, and society.

I walked through the mall food court near meal time.  In front of restaurant after restaurant, one establishment after another had positioned a smiling, attractive uniformed employee with a plate of food, prepared in toothpick speared bite-sized pieces.  “Would you like a sample?” was the invitation to would-be tasters.  Passing through the grocery store on a busy morning, shoppers thronged the aisles.  Yet again, the pleasant staff promoted a taste test of deliciously prepared meat, cheese, spreads, dips, and all sorts of tasty treats.

You tell us that we, Your believing children, are the “salt of the earth.”  When You describe us that way, You imply that my life is be a purifying and preserving influence that demonstrates purpose. My life is to be like an irresistibly delicious, salty snack that others long to taste.

Pour the salt of Your purifying Holy Spirit into my life.  Rub me down with it!  Penetrate my character with Your purity.  Make me to be a preserving influence in a world that is hurrying toward Hell.  In the face of moral and spiritual decay, use me to draw dead and dying to You, the Source of Life!  Energize and invest me with a zest and purpose for living that makes others long for what I have found in You.  Then, grant me the courage to point them to You, the Origin of my purpose.

Your Word indicates that people want a taste of salt.  People are taste testers.  As folks amble through the marketplace of life, may my life exude the aroma of Christ, drawing them to have a taste of my joy and satisfaction in You.  Help me to be a good representative of purity, preservation, and purpose that makes them proclaim “I want to taste that kind of life!”

In the Name of the Author of purity, preservation, and purpose,
Amen.

Mercy

Matthew 5:7, 6:12-15, 18:35, James 2:13

My Heavenly Father,

I find myself in constant need of Your mercy.  My errors and failures place me in need of others’ mercy too.  But when I feel wronged by others, I am reluctant to extend the gift of mercy that I so desperately require.  Your word teaches me that mercy is a two way street–a highway of humility.
Mercy does not demand the pity of sympathy from me.  It does not demand that I feel sorry for another.  I am not called upon to experience a wave of emotional concern.  I am called to something much deeper.  You are calling me to an empathy that demands that I take the perspective of the other. You are calling me to an identification with the other that transcends my own prejudice, bias, and point of view.  You are calling me to think his thoughts.  You are calling me to feel his feelings.  You are calling me to mercy.

Mercy.  Surely this is what You think and feel toward me.  Your mercy reached past creation–past flinging worlds into space.  Your mercy demanded that You crawl into skin like mine, become one of us.  Mercy demanded identification.  Mercy demanded incarnation.  The Word that created infinity crept into a woman’s womb and out into the world.  You deliberately identify with me in order to become my Savior.  Empathy. Mercy.

You could have looked upon me from outside my experience.  You could have stared at me through the window separating time from eternity.  But You shattered the glass.  You burst through the wall dividing humanity from divinity.  You became flesh, and chose to identify with me!  Mercy.

What demands do your act of mercy place upon me?  I hear You calling me to the same sort of mercy that You exemplify.  Help me to extend mercy to others through kindness.  Help me to give others the mercy they need, rather than the mercy I find easiest to give.  Help me to give others the forgiveness they need, rather than the conditional forgiveness that I find easiest to give.
Mercy.  Compassionate empathy.

“O the bliss of the man who gets right inside other people, until he can see with their eyes, think with their thoughts, feel with their feelings, for he who does that will find others do the same for him, and will know that that is what God in Jesus Christ has done”  (William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 1, p. 100).

In the Name of my merciful God,
Amen.

Meekness

Matthew 5:5

Lord Jesus,

I find myself pondering what you must have meant when you commended meekness as the path to rule the world!  Not my world! My world is run by rude self-promotion, crass narcissism, profanity laced intimidation, and self-aggrandizement. Meekness is weakness!

Yet, your promise lingers, its truthful reminder hanging in the air: "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth."

Is there something that I am missing? Perhaps I lack adequate understanding of what You mean by meekness! The Greek rhetorician and philosopher understood meekness as a perfect balance between too much anger and not enough! He recognized that there is a time to refrain from anger, and a time when the absence of anger is apathy. There are incidents to which we should remain calm and relatively unresponsive. Kipling characterized these moments: "If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you."  There are moments of injustice, abuse, and wrong to which standing by silently would render me complicit with evil.

Meekness.  Selfless anger at just the right time.  Self-controlled.  Emotions ruled by the Holy Spirit.

William Barclay said that "No man can lead others until he has mastered himself; no man can serve others until he has subjected himself; no man can be in control of others until he has learned to control himself."

Meekness.  Lord, I have not always lived with the sustained quality of meekness.  It seems that I can no longer afford to do otherwise.  I know that this quality does not abide in me apart from You.  Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and the fruit of Your Spirit... meekness.

"O the bliss of the man who is always angry at the right time and never angry at the wrong time, who has every instinct, and impulse, and passion under control because he himself is God-controlled, who has the humility to realize his own ignorance and his own weakness, for such a man is a king among men" (William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 1, p. 93).

To this I aspire.  Fill me.  Empower me.  Alert me.

In Your Holy Name,
Amen

Saints or Sinner?

Hebrews 11

Dear God,

So You keep asking me a hard question: “Do you want to be a saint or a sinner?”  I think that the right answer is that “I want to be a saint.”  But isn’t that for the dead?  To be a saint means to be holy. To be a saint has an overtone of perfection.  That’s scary to me.  I am reluctant to make such an audacious profession.  I live in a world where people spout platitudes like “I’m not perfect, just forgiven!”  Sainthood seems to be an unreachable goal to which few Christians even aspire.  I’m not even sure that I should aspire to such.

Many of the saints described in Scripture are the resurrected ones in Hebrews or in Saint John’s Revelation.  These people have already died, only to be resurrected with Christ.  I can understand that they are saints.  They have fought the fight, won the battle, and received their eternal reward.  They are saints.  The only way that I can achieve that kind of sainthood is by dying!

But as I read the Bible, I see another type of saint described.  These saints are still alive!  Paul addresses the saints at Ephesus, Philippi, Colosse, Thessalonica, Achaia, and even Rome.  He recognizes that real people like us can be saints in this life!  Astounding!

Based upon the talk I hear from a lot of my Christian brothers and sisters, most appear more interested in being sinners not saints.  “We’re sinners, saved by Grace.”  “I sin every day in thought, word, and deed.”  Such insistence seems to oppose what You tell me in Your Word!  Most of the preachers I hear and churches that I attend describe a Christian life still bound by habitual sins.  I hear Your Church defending sin as the daily, essential norm of the Christian life!

Then I hear Your difficult question, “Do you want to be a sinner or a saint?”  Honestly, I don’t want to be a sinner.  I want to be a saint.  But even that confession scares me.

What’s that?  If I want to become a saint, I’d better cultivate an ambition, lifestyle, and language of sainthood.  I’d better start defending and promoting sainthood rather than protecting a sinning Christianity.  What are You saying?  Are you saying that the line of demarcation is clear?  I am either a sinner or a saint?  I thought a saint had to be a spiritual super hero!  Am I wrong?  Are You saying that sainthood is Your norm for a believer?

Well, then, what does it mean to be a saint?  A holy one, yes.  That is pretty straightforward.  I don’t think I qualify, but if that is what You want for me, if holiness is Your norm for my Christian experience, teach me.  Guide me into truth.  I embrace the journey into Your holiness.  Make me a saint for You.  Make me holy.

In the Name of my Holy Father, Son and Spirit, whom I want to be like,
Amen.