June 7, 2011
Hot?
The last few days almost every time I go out to walk someone tells me it is too hot to walk outside. I wonder why they do this. Are they concerned that I will faint or die? Most, maybe all, of them should remember that last summer I walked outside all the time. Perhaps they are just making conversation. Or, I guess it could be they feel guilty they are not exercising and are giving me their excuse. My health is not good, it is true, but I need to walk to regain it.
Lord, thank you that I am still able to walk. Please give me good health and safety.
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June 5, 2011
I am Sin.
Today in Sunday School, the class assignment was to turn First John 1:5-10 into a prayer.
1 John 1:5-1 “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to You, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.”
Here are the prayers we wrote:
“God, You are my light. There is no darkness in You. Help me to walk in Your light. Help me to have the right kind of fellowship with You, so that I can in turn have fellowship with others. Praise You that the blood of Jesu purifies me from my sins. I am a sinful woman. Thank You that You are faithful to forgive me of my sins.. Help me to identify and confess my sins to You. Plant Your word in my life.”
“Lord, I have often deceived. I’ve been down that road before of lies and untruth It is the way of darkness and death. First I lied, then I believed my own lies, and finally I called You a liar. Lord please deliver me from the web of my own descending deception. Help me, Lord, to walk in truth. Shine Your light on my heart and mind and expose everything that is wrong with me.. God give me strength and wisdom to acknowledge my sin so that You in Your righteousness and faithfulness will use the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse me from my filthiness and put into my heart Your wonderful Word of truth and light.”
“This message I hear declares You. Jesus You are the Light: in You I see no darkness. I want real fellowship with You. I am sick of walking in the dark. I lie and do not live out Your truth. If I can walk in the ligh,t as You are light, my fellowship with others is in Your blood. Purify me from me, for I am sin. If I say I’m not, I deceive myself, and You are not in me. I confess to You, You are faithful and just. You forgive. Purify me with fire. I am the sinner. I am the liar, not You within me.”
“Lord, I am a child of light but sometimes it seems like I still am pulled back into the darkness. I try to be faithful, sharing with people I meet how You changed my life, but sometimes I’m tired and miss those “God sharing” opportunities You put in my path. I thank You for my Christian brothers and sisters I can fellowship with that are an encouragement to me and that we can walk in that light together. I know You need a 2 by 4 sometimes to get my attention. Those are the times I’m not walking closely with You and I deceive myself thinking I am doing what You want. Father God, forgive me for the lost opportunities to share the gospel. Forgive me for sometimes believing my problems are too big for You to handle and that I will just have to struggle, struggle, struggle without relief. Forgive my unbelief that when You say in Your word that I am more precious to You than birds, lilies, and grass, that I sometimes call You a liar. Help me to continue to walk daily in light – the Light of Your Word.”
This is the example from the course materials:
Father in Heaven, You are light. There is no darkness in You at all. Let me look inside myself daily to make sure I have a relationship with You. Help me to not live in the dark, but be truthful. Father help me to live in the light in the same way that You are in the light, so that we have a relationship with each other. I thank You that the blood of Your Son Jesus cleanses me from every sin. I sin every day Father. Forgive me for my sins. Father today I confess that I sinned by ____________. Forgive me. Cleanse me from everything I've done wrong today. Bury Your Word deep in my heart to help me recognize my sins. Help me to always come to You for forgiveness.
One person wrote a prayer based on James 1:5-8:
James 1:5-8 “If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is generous and won't correct you for asking. 6 But when you ask for something, you must have faith and not doubt. Anyone who doubts is like an ocean wave tossed around in a storm. 7-8 If you are that kind of person, you can't make up your mind, and you surely can't be trusted. So don't expect the Lord to give you anything at all.”
He wrote:
“Lord if I lack wisdom, I am asking for it now. God give to me generously without looking at my faults. Lord this time, this time, I will believe. In my past, I would look out my windows of doubt – broken waves moved by the wind, lost in the ocean. That man I try not to be shouldn’t expect nothing from You. But I do, double-minded, unstable in all I do.”
If you enjoyed this post, you will enjoy the report on last week’s class below on May 29th.
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June 4, 2011
Wedding Today
This afternoon we plan to attend a wedding. Two young people are promising their lives to each other today at 5:00 PM. My hope and prayer is that they have a wonderful married life.
God has blessed me with a marriage much better than I ever dreamed possible. I do not deserve to have such a good wife. This morning I was pondering some difficulties in my life and after a long and intimate talk with her, I am thinking much more clearly and feeling much better about everything. How many people can say they have been married to their best friend for almost 40 years? I don’t say this to make it seem like I am better than anyone. I do not think that. I mean it to be a testament to the love and grace of God.
Thank you, Lord, for my wife and my marriage.
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June 3, 2011
Time on My Hands
I am working right now. “Then why are you writing entries on your website?” you ask. Good question. Well, my computer is running a program I wrote. I can use Microsoft Word without interfering with it, but if I do anything that goes over the network, it might slow it down. What is amazing to me is that without the network, there is really nothing else for me to do. At lunch, or some other time when I have a minute, later after the program is finished, I will upload this.
I can’t really make personal phone calls either. I need to monitor the programs progress, so I can’t go off and make a private call. Any call made from my cubicle is definitely not private.
This is a situation I often find myself in. It used to be that I would use these moments to do ministry work, but I’m taking a sabbatical from ministry work. I use these times now to, relax, noodle around writing journal entries like this, read my Bible, meditate on His words, and pray. I realize now that I had let my ministry work interfere with this kind of spiritual activity for the last few months. I am determined to not make that mistake again. Personal Bible study and prayer have to be the foundation of everything else.
Thank you, Father, for time to relax, write, read, meditate, and pray.
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June 2, 2011
God is in Control
My lovely wife and I just watched a series of three sermons by Andy Stanley. http://store.northpoint.org/messages/dvds/he-s-still-got-the-whole-world-in-his-hands.html
How do we remain hopeful in a world that seems hopelessly broken? Put your hope in God, and God alone.
How do we continue to trust a God that seems conspicuously absent? Count your blessings. Trust His word, not yourself.
How do we find peace in a world that is spinning out of control? Pray, and tell God the truth.
In outline form it sounds like trite “preacher talk.” It is not trite. It is the stuff real life is made of.
Thank you, God, for the good preaching you sent to me.
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June 1, 2011
Why did the turtle cross the road?
There were only two of us in the car pool this morning. We saw a turtle in the middle of the road sitting inside his shell. The driver asked; if I would move it out of the way, if she stopped the car. I said, I would, so she turned the car around and parked, and I jumped out, and moved the turtle to the side of the road in the grass. He was all hunkered down inside his shell, and probably very frightened. I hope I got him to the side he wanted, and that he survives his future travels.
Wouldn’t it be grand if it was as easy to help people as it was that turtle?
Lord, help me to see that sometimes what looks like bad behavior in others is just a shell hiding a frightened person. If you have sent me to help them find their way out of danger, show me how to do it. I cannot do it without You, Lord, for I am just a turtle myself. Thank you Lord for all the many times you have sent others to help me. Amen.
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