Lord Jesus, Master Carpenter of Nazareth, on the Cross through wood and nails you wrought our full salvation: Wield well your tools in this, your workshop, that we who come to you rough-hewn may be fashioned into a truer beauty by your hand; who with the Father and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, world without end. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, 2019)
The simple frustration of my spiritual walk
We need the true prophetic voice again
“The prophets purge our imaginations of this world’s assumptions on how life is lived and what counts in life. Over and over again, God the Holy Spirit uses the prophets to separate his people from the cultures in which they live and to put them back on the path of simple faith and obedience and worship in defiance of all that the world admires and rewards.” — Eugene Peterson, As Kingfishers Catch Fire
We need the prophets again. Not only that, we need to pay attention once again.
The wisdom we refuse
What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. (1 Cor. 2:12, NIV)
Read moreI long for the Word Incarnate
“Too often the living Word made flesh is desiccated into propositional corpses and then sorted into exegetical specimens in bottles of formaldehyde. We end up with god-talk. T.S. Eliot put it like this:
Knowledge of speech, but not of silence;
Knowledge of words, and ignorance of the Word…
Where is the Life we have lost in living?
— Eugene Peterson, As Kingfishers Catch Fire
Longing for Passion Week
Last Sunday in worship I realized how long Lent really was, even though I’ve worked to walk through Lent the last several years. The liturgy on Sunday in the Anglican Church amplifies that longing. We don’t sing as many songs. The songs are more “mournful” in a way. Lent gets long and I’m thinking, “Wow! Could we hurry this up?” Read more
Lead me into deeper self-examination, Lord
“Oh, how we need a deeper musing on our perennial knack for disobedience and God’s unbounded habit of mercy. Oh, how we need a richer contemplation on that Life that is life indeed and that shows us the way so we may follow in his steps. Oh, how we need a fuller meditation on that death that sets us free. And, oh, how we need a more profound experience of that resurrection that empowers us to obey Christ in all things.” — Richard Foster, Longing for God
Prayer for Pentecost
O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
Spiritual “Know It Alls”
Reading for today:
Ps. 119:97-120; 81; 82
Gen. 45:16-28
1 Cor. 8:1-13
Mark 6:13-29
As we walk with God, it turns out that people who act like they “know it all” … don’t. And those who are quiet about things probably know a whole lot more. Read more
Searching the mind of God
Reading for today:
Psalm 78
Gen. 45:1-15
1 Cor. 7:32-40
Mark 6:1-13
God has revealed these things to us through the Spirit. The Spirit searches everything, including the depths of God. (1 Cor. 2:10, CEB)
We are enabled with so much ability in the Kingdom of God. We have the ability so search the mind of Christ. We settle for so little. Lord, forgive me for my short-sighted thinking. Forgive me because I settle for so little. Tune my heart to seek YOU. Help me settle for only you. The adventure is so great!
