He Sent Two

Invitation to Prayer
The capacity to see God working on our workplace, which he most certainly is doing, and to respond in astonished wonder requires some detachment from the workplace. How do we cultivate that detachment? Keep the Sabbath. We cannot understand the character or significance of Sabbath apart from work and the workplace. Sabbath and work are not in opposition. Sabbath and work are part of an organic whole – either one apart from the other is maimed and crippled (Eugene H. Peterson, Living the Resurrection, 42-43).

The Psalm (Psalm 113:1-4)
Praise the LORD.
Praise, O servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD.

2 Let the name of the LORD be praised,
both now and forevermore.

3 From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets,
the name of the LORD is to be praised.

4 The LORD is exalted over all the nations,
his glory above the heavens.

The Scripture Reading (Luke 19:28-31)
After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it.' " Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them.

For Reflection
Earlier in his ministry Jesus had sent his disciples out in twos (Luke 10:1ff.). They were sent to proclaim God’s Kingdom and heal the sick; it was powerful and thrilling work. Each pair reported unusual spiritual power to which even demons submitted. Now, approaching Jerusalem, Jesus sends two to retrieve an obscure colt from a no-name owner. And even in this meager task, the authority and power of Jesus is at work. Jesus works through tasks both great and small.

Do you realize that you go into this day as one sent? How will the power of Jesus be at work through you?

Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, I often assume that you work in ways that are spiritual and dramatic – healing disease or bringing someone to faith in you. But you send us to do all things in your name: returning phone calls and retrieving a colt can be sacred work. Work through me in all I do this day. Amen.

The King

The Invitation to Prayer
The practice of paying attention is as simple as looking twice at people and things you might just as easily ignore. To see takes time, like having a friend takes time. It is as simple as turning off the television to learn the song of a single bird. Why should anyone do such things? I cannot imagine – unless one is weary of crossing days off the calendar with no sense of what makes the last day different from the next . . . The practice of paying attention offers no quick fix for such weariness . . . Instead it is one way into a different way of life, full of treasure for those who are willing to pay attention to exactly where they are (Barbara Brown Taylor, An Altar in the World, 33).

The Psalm (Psalm 100)
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

2 Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.

3 Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.

5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

The Scripture Reading (Luke 23:38-43)
There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

For Reflection
Those who look upon Jesus with curiosity and hostility regard his Kingship as a joke; a charge posted above his head to broadcast his shame. But those who look to Jesus out of their own desperate need see his Kingship as their only hope. The man next to Jesus who saw himself as he truly was also had the capacity to see Jesus as he truly was: Jesus is King and he rules over a Kingdom. The self-satisfied and demanding onlookers missed this entirely.

What does Jesus’ kingship mean to you?

Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, we seem to know you best when life is at its worst: when our need is inescapable and our true condition can no longer be excused or disguised. In our humility we know you in your glory. You are indeed our King, governing all things for our good. We turn to you in humble and thankful trust today. Amen.

The Bystanders

Invitation to Prayer
Reverence for creation comes fairly easily for most people. Reverence for other people remains more of a challenge, especially if those other people’s lives happen to impinge upon your own . . . Particular human beings rarely do things the way I think they should do them, and when they prevent me from doing what I think I should be doing, then I can run short on reverence for them. One remedy for my condition is to pay attention to them when I can, even when they are in my way (Barbara Brown Taylor, An Altar in the World, 27).

The Psalm (Psalm 30:1-5)
I will exalt you, O LORD,
for you lifted me out of the depths
and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

2 O LORD my God, I called to you for help
and you healed me.

3 O LORD, you brought me up from the grave;
you spared me from going down into the pit.

4 Sing to the LORD, you saints of his;
praise his holy name.

5 For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may remain for a night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.

The Scripture Reading (Luke 23:35-36)
The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One." The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself."

For Reflection
From the lips of bystanders and soldiers “Save Yourself” was a taunt, a mocking command. From our lips “Save Yourself” is a life motto, defining what we wake up and try to do everyday. We save ourselves by what we accumulate and who we know. We save ourselves through hard work and sound investments – or so we thought. Self-salvation is an illusion.

Jesus refused to save himself. How do we do the same? How do we take care of ourselves without trying to “save” ourselves?

Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, you came to seek and to save the lost. In order to accomplish that, you refused to save yourself even though you could have easily done so. Teach me to lose my life in order to find the life you intend for me to have – the life you died to make possible. Amen.

The Criminals

Invitation to Prayer
Reverence stands in awe of something – something that dwarfs the self, that allows human beings to sense the full extent of our limits – so that we can begin to see one another more reverently as well. An irreverent soul who is unable to feel awe in the presence of things higher than the self is also unable to feel respect in the presence of things it sees as lower than the self (Barbara Brown Taylor, An Altar in the World, 21).

The Psalm (Psalm 34:8-10)
8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

9 Fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him lack nothing.

10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

The Scripture Reading (Luke 23:32-34)
Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

For Reflection
In his life Jesus kept company with sinners. And in his death he continued to do so. Executed between two criminals, Jesus’ death is a powerful reminder that he did not simply die for sinners. He died with them. And with his dying breath he spoke the same word of blessing that he had spoken in life: Father, forgive.

In what specific way do you need to know that Jesus is standing with you today?

Closing Prayer
We give you thanks, Lord Jesus, that you do not stand at a distance, waiting for us to pull ourselves together before we can receive your grace. Instead you stand with us, right where we are, speaking forgiveness and offering us life. As we move through this day, empower us to live that way: meeting others where they are, extending mercy and grace. Amen.

The Women

Invitation to Prayer
No one longs for what he or she already has, and yet the accumulated insight of those wise about the spiritual life suggests that the reason so many of us cannot see the red ‘x’ that marks the spot is because we are standing on it. The treasure we seek requires no lengthy expedition, no expensive equipment, no superior aptitude or special company. All we lack is the willingness to imagine that we already have everything we need. The only thing missing is our consent to be where we are. (Barbara Brown Taylor, An Altar in the World, xv).

The Psalm (Psalm 145:8-13)
The LORD is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.

9 The LORD is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.

10 All you have made will praise you, O LORD;
your saints will extol you.

11 They will tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,

12 so that all men may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The LORD is faithful to all his promises
and loving toward all he has made.

The Scripture Reading (Luke 23: 27-31)
A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to them, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, 'Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!' Then " 'they will say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!" 'For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?"

For Reflection
There is always more going on than we realize; there is more happening than our minds can take in. The weeping women saw the bloodied figure of Jesus struggling under the weight of his cross, staggering to his death. Such a sight was certainly a reason for weeping. But the weeping was misguided. Jesus doesn’t rebuke the women’s tears. He rebukes the lack of insight into what all of this means. A day of judgment is coming. Stop crying now and get ready for what is yet to take place.

Why don’t we weep over our sin and take seriously the Day of Judgment? Will such a thing actually happen?

Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, your death on the cross was not meant to evoke our sadness, but our repentance. Break our hearts over the sin we see in the world and the sin we find in our own lives. Cause us to weep not only over your suffering and death, but over the refusal of many to turn to you for salvation. Amen.

Simon

Invitation to Prayer

The practice of paying attention really does take time. Most of us move so quickly that our surroundings become no more than the blurred scenery we fly past on our way to somewhere else. We pay attention to the speedometer, the wristwatch, the cell phone, the list of things to do, all of which feed our illusion that life is manageable. Meanwhile, none of them meets the first criterion for reverence, which is to remind us that we are not gods (Barbara Brown Taylor, An Altar in the World, 24).

The Psalm (Psalm 63:1-4)
O God, you are my God,

earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.

2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.

3 Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.

4 I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.

The Scripture Reading (Luke 23:26)
As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.

For Reflection
Carrying the cross of Jesus was unexpected and inconvenient for Simon. Having made pilgrimage to Jerusalem from North Africa, Simon was minding his own business, going about his religious duties. Religious observances are typically something we do according to a schedule – attend a service, go to temple. The cross of Jesus reorders our plans, demanding participation and not mere “observance.”

Has identifying with Jesus ever disturbed what you had planned?

Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, I am often content to mind my own business and practice my religion. You call me to take up a cross and follow you. Guard me from mere observances that actually keep me distant from you. Prepare me for the unexpected and inconvenient as I seek to follow you. Amen.

Nothing to Prove

Invitation to Prayer
“Our dear Lord, who has given to us and taught us to pray the Psalter and the Lord’s Prayer, grants to us also the spirit of prayer and of grace so that we pray with enthusiasm and earnest faith, properly and without ceasing, for we need to do this; he has asked us for it and therefore wants to have it from us. To Him be praise, honor, and thanksgiving. Amen." (Martin Luther quoted in Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible, 63).

The Psalm (Psalm 130)
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;

2 O Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.

3 If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand?

4 But with you there is forgiveness;
therefore you are feared.

5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I put my hope.

6 My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.

7 O Israel, put your hope in the LORD,
for with the LORD is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.

8 He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins.

The Scripture Reading (Luke 23:8-12)
When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform some miracle. He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies.

For Reflection
Jesus’ silence before Herod isn’t the resigned quiet of one defeated. It’s more like waiting – waiting to strike, to deal the death blow just when the self-inflated antagonist thinks he’s won. That blow will come later, three days after the execution. But for now, Jesus has nothing to prove. He will not answer the questions. He will not squander a miracle by putting on a show. His silence in Herod’s court is not weak resignation. It’s powerful restraint.

Are there places or people that make you feel like you need to prove yourself? How do you handle it?

Closing Prayer
Too often, O God, I cave to the pressure to prove myself: to say something or do something impressive and memorable. I don’t want to live that way, chasing the approval of others, worried what they think of me. So let my thoughts be first of you – what it means to follow you, what kind of life pleases you. Then let the thoughts become lived behaviors that show you to the world around me. Amen.

The Insults

Invitation to Prayer
To have a carefully tested theology is good, but it’s not the same thing as knowing God. Too often theology ends shy of love, worship, service. Too often it gets stuck in smugness, dryness, rigidity. Too often it is as impersonal as calculus. Too often it is mere words. Jesus’ apostles were pretty much doctrinal flunkies, blunder-prone, befuddled, cotton-mouthed with folly. Meanwhile demons almost always showed themselves to be astute theologians (Mark Buchanan, The Holy Wild, 29).

The Psalm (Psalm 20:1-5)
May the LORD answer you when you are in distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from Zion.

3 May he remember all your sacrifices
and accept your burnt offerings. Selah

4 May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.

5 We will shout for joy when you are victorious
and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the LORD grant all your requests.

The Scripture Reading (Luke 22:63-65)
The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. They blindfolded him and demanded, "Prophesy! Who hit you?" And they said many other insulting things to him.

For Reflection
The essence of an insult is the way it demeans and belittles. The true prophetic identity of Jesus became a childish blindfold game, violent and vulgar amusement for the guards. We’d never be involved in something like that – but Jesus can be demeaned in respectable ways as well in ways that openly mock and ridicule. Anything that makes Jesus less than he is may rightly be regarded as an insult. Calling him anything other than Lord could be a form of mocking.

How do people today mock Jesus?

Closing Prayer
Without malice or intention I often belittle you, Lord Jesus. I live hurried and self-obsessed, and in my frenetic living you become small: religious window dressing on my life. Forgive these insults, and help me to live on bended knees, worshiping you as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Amen.

When Darkness Reigns

Invitation to Prayer
When Jesus walked among humankind there was a certain simplicity to being his disciple. Primarily it meant to go with him in an attitude of observation, study, obedience, and imitation. Family and occupations were deserted for long periods to go with Jesus as he walked from place to place announcing, showing and explaining the here-and-now governance or action of God. Disciples had to be with him to learn how to do what he did (Dallas Willard, The Great Omission, 6).

The Psalm (Psalm 27:1-5)
The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evil men advance against me
to devour my flesh,
when my enemies and my foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.
3 Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident.
4 One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.

The Scripture Reading (Luke 22:52-53)
Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, "Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns."

For Reflection
Darkness reigns whenever and wherever people live in fear. Jesus had never taken a weapon in hand, but his enemies came with swords and clubs. Jesus had walked and taught openly in Jerusalem, but his opponents never attempted to take him into custody when crowds could witness it. They came at night, armed and away from the traffic of Jerusalem. Judas led them to the garden, but their fear drove them there. And darkness reigned.

How do your fears cast darkness over your life?

Closing Prayer
Lord, you are my light and my salvation. Why then do my fears continue to throw clouds over my days, skewing my thoughts and making it hard to find you? Jesus, you are the light of the world. Send your blazing light into every part of my life today. Amen.

Make it Happen?

Invitation to Prayer
A priest or minister will say, “Let us pray,” and we will all just bow our heads as though nothing out of the ordinary was about to take place. What is about to take place is that we are about to presume to talk to the One who made heaven and earth, and presume that we will be heard . . . There is something so astonishing about the whole notion of talking with God that sometimes I just want to lie down for a few minutes and catch my breath. Every once in a while I will hear someone say, “And I just told God I needed this or that,” and I wonder how it is they are still standing up (Robert Benson, In Constant Prayer, 79-80).

The Psalm (Psalm 68:4-10)
4 Sing to God, sing praise to his name,
extol him who rides on the clouds—
his name is the LORD—
5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in his holy dwelling.
6 God sets the lonely in families,
he leads forth the prisoners with singing;
but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.
7 When you went out before your people, O God,
when you marched through the wasteland, Selah
8 the earth shook,
the heavens poured down rain,
before God, the One of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
9 You gave abundant showers, O God;
you refreshed your weary inheritance.
10 Your people settled in it,
and from your bounty, O God, you provided for the poor.

The Scripture Reading (Luke 22:47-51)
While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus asked him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?" When Jesus' followers saw what was going to happen, they said, "Lord, should we strike with our swords?" And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, "No more of this!" And he touched the man's ear and healed him.

For Reflection
Gethsemane is an odd place for those who are trying to follow Jesus and live his life. What Jesus asked his followers to do, they could not do (pray). What Jesus never mentioned to his followers, they are eager to do (use violence). A life weak in prayer often resorts to force when the crisis comes. Having been groggy in our calling upon God, we quickly take matters into our own hands.

Where are you experiencing the tension between quiet trust and decisive action in your life today?

Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, I want to live in prayerful patience, yet ready to risk it all. I want to be alert to your presence in the world while being clear about what you’ve called me to do. Grant me wisdom to live in these tensions, waiting and working as you direct my steps. Amen.

Exhausted

Invitation to Prayer
It’s possible to get stuck in spiritual dryness for so long that you hardly feel a thirst for God anymore. You feel he’s been silent and distant and unresponsive, so you think about giving up on pursuing him. But the thirst never completely disappears. Even when we seem to have lost our desire for God, something within us aches for the only One who can meet the deepest need of our parched souls (Mark Roberts, No Holds Barred, 2-3).

The Psalm (Psalm 84:4-11)
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you. Selah
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.
8 Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty;
listen to me, O God of Jacob. Selah
9 Look upon our shield, O God;
look with favor on your anointed one.
10 Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
the LORD bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.

The Scripture reading (Luke 22:45-46)
When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. "Why are you sleeping?" he asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation."

For Reflection
They didn’t seem to get it the first time, so Jesus repeats himself. “Pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” Given the sleepy state of Jesus’ friends, it appears that the great temptation isn’t some wicked behavior. What pulls us from giving prayerful attention to God is exhaustion. These disciples were “exhausted from sorrow.” Many others are weary with grief or fear or the drive to succeed.

What exhausts you today? How does that impact your praying?

Closing Prayer
O God, you are our strength. So many of our pursuits leave us exhausted and weary, short tempered with others and short in prayer with you. Rouse us from our sleepy routines that we might be vigilant in prayer, alert to your presence and work in our world. Amen.

In Strength and Anguish

Invitation to Prayer
Even when we are praying for or about things other than our own spiritual needs and growth, the effect of conversing with God cannot fail to have a pervasive and spiritually strengthening effect on all aspects of our personality. That conversation, when it is truly a conversation, makes an indelible impression on our minds, ands our consciousness of him remains vivid as we go our way (Dallas Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines, 184).

The Psalm (Psalm 34:1-8)
1 I will extol the LORD at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will glory in the LORD;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the LORD with me;
let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed are those who take refuge in him.

The Scripture Reading (Luke 22:41-44)
He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

For Reflection
Quite often we read our anguish as a sign of God’s absence. Watching Jesus pray in Gethsemane, we learn otherwise. As Jesus prayed he was strengthened by an angel. And yet, even in that strength, Jesus prayed in anguish, sweating blood as he struggled with God and God’s claim upon his life. God’s answer to our prayer does not remove our anguish, but sustains us in it.

What is there in your life that gives rise to “anguished” praying today?

Closing Prayer
Our days are filled with both blessings and anguish, O God. Make us thankful in the blessings and give us strength for that which brings anguish and pain. Use every experience of life to deepen our humility for the good we receive, and our compassion for all who suffer, we pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

Tempted . . . Yet Again

Invitation to Prayer
The setting is a garden named Gethsemane, meaning “Oil Press.” Jesus and his disciples “often met” here (John 18:2). The “often met” suggests that it was a place that Jesus and his disciples found convenient and congenial for prayer when they came on feast-day pilgrimages to Jerusalem. The prayers at the Oil Press fused what Jesus said at the [last] supper with what Jesus did on the cross (Eugene Peterson, Tell it Slant, p. 234).

The Psalm (Psalm 43:3-5)
3 Send forth your light and your truth,
let them guide me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.
4 Then will I go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the harp,
O God, my God.
5 Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.

The Scripture Reading (Luke 22:39-40)
Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation."

For Reflection
At the beginning of his ministry Jesus endured a period of temptation in the wilderness. Now at the end of his ministry, Jesus enters Gethsemane to finish with finality what was started in the wilderness three years earlier. Another struggle with temptation as Jesus wrestles with what awaits him. We do not hear Satan’s voice in Gethsemane, but the struggle is just as real – and this time we are involved. Jesus calls us to prayer and readiness.

What shape does temptation take in your life during an ordinary week?

Closing Prayer
We are vulnerable, O God, and often unaware of the enemy that seeks to destroy our faith and hinder our walk with you. Make us alert to all that lured us from you. Make us faithful in prayer, that we might follow you obediently, no matter where that leads. Amen.

Our Bread, Our Sins

Invitation to Prayer
A kingdom-of-heaven life consists of things to do and ways to think, but if there is no prayer at the center nothing lives. Prayer is the heart that pumps blood into all the words and acts. Prayer is not just one more thing in an inventory of elements that make up a following-Jesus, kingdom-of-heaven life. Prayer is the heart (Eugene Peterson, Tell it Slant, p. 167).

The Psalm (Psalm 8:1-5)
1 O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
2 From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.

The Scripture Reading (Luke 11:3-4)
“. . . Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation."

For Reflection
The second part of the Lord’s Prayer turns to our needs, both physical and spiritual. God is faithful to give us what we need to survive each day. We are given bread for our bodies, and we are given forgiveness for our souls. Too long without bread and we grow weak. Too long without forgiveness and we grow calloused in our guilt.

Most of us plan to eat daily. Do we likewise feel the daily need for forgiveness?

Closing prayer
Our needs often make us anxious, O Lord: The bills that pile up, the babies we’re raising, the bread we need. We will trust you today, knowing that you will give exactly what we need in all things. We will give thanks today, recognizing that we live each day by your grace. Amen.

The Joy of A Heavy Burden*

Lectionary Readings for March 14
Morning Prayer: Psalms 39, 64
Jeremiah 5: 20-31
John 7:1-13
Romans 3:19-31

Jeremiah called it a fire in his bones.

Preachers of old spoke of unction.

Whatever it was worked in Paul’s soul as some kind of compulsion, causing him to exclaim “Woe to me if I preach not the gospel.”

Mark Buchanan calls it a Holy Must. It is a burden, a weight laid upon the heart and mind, a weight that can only be lifted or cast aside by speaking or writing. This burden is a gift, at one and the same time the heart’s yearning and the heart’s ache.

And this burden is something I too often lack. I’ve said plenty of words on a Sunday morning simply because someone expected me to say them. I’ve said them as a liturgist – praying or calling for the offering or speaking a word of benediction as purses were being gathered and car keys being fished out of pockets.

I’ve spoken them in classrooms. The words were true enough, doctrinally sound and theologically sturdy. But being right won’t feed a congregation. Better to be burdened, or perhaps – better to be burdened and right.

Having spent several years wearing the mantle of “preacher” I know there were weeks when I spoke from the pulpit because it was my job to do so. I stood there eagerly on some weeks, but not all. Nothing feels worse to the preacher than a light burden on Sunday morning. The message should feel like weight for which the task of teaching or preaching gives relief. If the task feels like a weight, something isn’t right.

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So I spend a few moments with the lectionary readings for this day and find myself praying for a burden. I know the vocation of teacher in the church can’t be carried out only “when I feel like it.” But I don’t want to get skilled or comfortable as a pastor who talks without having something to say.

The Psalm leaves me somewhat puzzled. It opens with the resolve of the Psalmist to guard his mouth so that he might not sin with his tongue. I’ve made similar commitments to myself, usually after saying something stupid or after speaking in anger. I’ve felt this way when I know I’ve used words to do impression management, trying to sound clever or insightful or empathetic.

The Psalmist says “I’ll guard my mouth with a muzzle, so long as the wicked are in my presence” (Psalm 39:1). It isn’t clear to me if the speaker is reluctant to openly identify with God and God’s cause in the presence of the wicked – or if the speaker wants to be careful not to bring reproach on God’s name while the godless are able to hear it.

Whatever is going on, it doesn’t last for long. Funny thing about burdens: they are not alleviated by silence. They can’t be dealt with privately, introversion or extroversion notwithstanding. The Psalmist says he kept his mouth shut to no avail; his distress grew worse.

“As I mused, the fire burned” (Ps. 39:3). God, grant it. I’ve mused often, only to get sleepy.

The fire burns and then the Psalmist speaks with his tongue. However, he doesn’t speak to the wicked. Those from whom he had guarded his words, those whose presence kept him quiet, they are not addressed. Rather, the Psalmist speaks to God.

“O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am” (Ps. 39:4).

The most important words we speak are not spoken in classrooms or from pulpits or by hospital beds. Maybe the most urgent words we utter are directed to God. And if those words carry no burden, we’ll not likely have a burden when it comes to speaking or writing other words.

The focus of the Psalmist’s prayer is the brevity of life. Again, this isn’t what I expected. I wonder about burdens and the time we’re given to deal with them. For me, this Psalm is a reminder that I don’t have forever. There is not limitless time in which to discover the burden and then deal with it by speaking what is given to speak. The clock is ticking.

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I carry that thought to the reading from John 7. The opening scene of the chapter is all about timing. The Feast of Booths is being celebrated in Jerusalem. Jesus’ brothers, with questionable sincerity, urge him to go to Jerusalem and take advantage of the great public gathering. This is savvy marketing, masses of people in one place at the same time. But John throws in the observation that Jesus’ brothers didn’t really believe in him. Their counsel is barely disguised mocking.

Jesus replies that his time has not yet come, basically saying “You guys go ahead. I’ll come when I’m good and ready – or not at all.” Indeed, Jesus remains in Galilee, but then he ends up making the trip up to Jerusalem. However, he goes quietly, keeping a very low profile.

But it seems that during the course of the Festival a burden is growing. By the middle of the Feast Jesus goes to the Temple and begins teaching (Jn. 7:14). And then at the end of the Feast Jesus stands up and cries out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink” (Jn. 7:37).

From guarded and quiet, to standing up and crying out. There is a time to speak and a time to refrain from speaking. The writer of Ecclesiastes had that right

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The burden is seen most clearly in the prophets, and especially in the life and words of Jeremiah. In the reading today from Jeremiah 5 the burden is captured in two phrases: Declare this . . . proclaim it. And that’s what the prophet does.

What I notice today is that Jeremiah addressed his words to a “foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but see not, who have ears but hear not” (Jeremiah 5:21).

I wonder if this has something to do with my own lack of burden. I have eyes, but I don’t always see. I have ears, but I don’t always hear.

There’s too much to see, and there’s so much to hear. I can make perfect sense of the scriptures I read, but sense isn’t the point. A burden is. Something discovered that I can’t wait to share or tell about.

Strange isn’t it? A light burden is actually painful. The heavy burden is a joy.

*This concept of "burden" is dealt with especially well in Andy Stanley's Communicating for a Change.

First Things First

Invitation to Prayer
All the major catechisms of the Christian faith include the Lord’s Prayer as one of the three foundational documents. The other two foundational documents are the Apostles’ Creed and the Ten Commandments. The Apostles’ Creed tells us what we believe. The Ten Commandments tell how we are to behave. The Lord’s Prayer teaches us how we are to pray. Think of it as belief, action and prayer. It’s all right there (Ray Pritchard, And When You Pray, pp. 8-9).

The Psalm (Psalm 139:1-4)
1 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.

The Scripture Reading (Luke 11:2)
He said to them, "When you pray, say:
" 'Father, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.

For Reflection
The prayer Jesus gave us reminds us that we don’t pray to get something. We pray to get in touch with someone. God comes first, and our first thoughts in prayer gravitate to who God is (the name) and what God is doing in this world (Kingdom). Our first words seek to honor the name and recognize God’s rule over all things.

We think of “hallowed” as an adjective – like “hallowed” ground. How does that word become action? How does God cause his name to be “hallowed?”

Closing Prayer
Let my first thoughts this day be centered on you, O Lord – not the economy or the kids or the oil change that needs to be done. Before the news and the noise swell to fill my hours, I want to honor your name and remember that you govern this world. Amen.

Pray This Way

Invitation to Prayer
The Lord’s Prayer is the central prayer of the Christian faith. It is the only prayer our Lord ever taught his disciples to pray. Everything we need to prayer about can be found in that prayer. If it’s not in there somewhere, then we probably don’t need to be praying about it (Ray Pritchard, And When You Pray, p. 2).

The Psalm (Psalm 5:1-3)
1 Give ear to my words, O LORD,
consider my sighing.
2 Listen to my cry for help,
my King and my God,
for to you I pray.
3 In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait in expectation.

The Scripture Reading (Luke 11:2-4)
He said to them, "When you pray, say: " 'Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.

For Reflection
This past Sunday our Senior Pastor, Vic Pentz, challenged us to pray the Lord’s Prayer everyday this week. It’s Thursday, but you can still jump in and do it. Who knows – you may keep praying it right through the entire Lenten season. Familiarity sometimes breeds contempt, but more often it breeds carelessness. Our aim this week is to come once again to this model prayer with care and attention.

What phrase (or phrases) of the Lord’s Prayer resonate with you in a particular way today? Why?

Closing Prayer
What you have given us, Lord Jesus, is so simple. And yet our spirits are so sluggish, as if you have placed some monumental task before us. We give you thanks for these precious words. Make us confident as we say then yet again, knowing that we have said all that needs to be said. Amen.

Teach Us to Pray

Invitation to Prayer:
Our problem is that we assume prayer is something we master the way we master algebra or auto mechanics. That puts us in the “on-top” position where we are competent and in control. But in praying we come “underneath” where we calmly and deliberately surrender control and become incompetent. “To pray,” writes Emilie Griffin, “means willing to be naïve.” (Richard Foster, Prayer, p. 7-8).

The Psalm (Psalm 84:1-7)
How lovely is your dwelling place,
O LORD Almighty!
2 My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you. Selah
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.

The Scripture Reading (Luke 11:1)
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

For Reflection
Rather than drawing us closer to God, prayer often becomes a wedge because we feel incompetent in our praying. We leave prayer for others who seem more “spiritual” or “mature” in their faith. In so doing, we miss a great gift that God has for us. Even the first disciples needed to be taught how to pray. And they asked for what they needed.

Who in your life has taught you to pray or modeled prayer for you?

Closing Prayer:
With those first disciples, Lord Jesus, we ask for help in our praying. You have already given us words to say. Now give us hearts that yearn to pray. Amen.

Singular Focus

Invitation to Prayer:
When one prays in strange places and at strange times one can’t kneel, to be sure. I won’t say this doesn’t matter. The body ought to pray as well as the soul. Body and soul are both the better for it. Bless the body. Mine has led me into many scrapes, but I’ve led it into far more . . . The relevant point is that kneeling does matter, but other things matter more. A concentrated mind and a sitting body make for better prayer than a kneeling body and a mind half asleep (C. S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, p. 17-18).

The Psalm (Psalm 95:1-7)
Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
3 For the LORD is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.

The Scripture Reading (Luke 9:57-62)
As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

For Reflection
These words of Jesus dismiss both our good intentions and other honorable obligations that claim us. Such things hinder the life of faith, or so it seems. Jesus is intent on being clear about what we can expect (no place to lay the head). He calls for a place of highest urgency and priority in our lives (even above family!). Interestingly, we never see the reaction of those to whom these words were spoken.

What would your response have been? What is it today?

Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, let every part of this day, every aspect of my life, be a place where I follow you. At home, on the job, wherever this day leads, I will follow you with a singular focus. Grant me grace to do so, I pray. Amen.

Make Ready

Invitation to Prayer:
You do not become a person of prayer and then begin to pray. It works the other way around. If you say enough prayers, you may yet become a person of prayer. But you will not become one if you do not pray (Robert Benson, In Constant Prayer, p. 96).

The Psalm (Psalm 1)
Blessed are those
who do not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but who delight in the law of the LORD
and meditate on his law day and night.
3 They are like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.
4 Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will be destroyed.

The Scripture reading (Luke 9: 51-56)
As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?" But Jesus turned and rebuked them. Then he and his disciples went to another village.

For Reflection
The language most commonly used for the Christian life is “following” Jesus. Indeed that is what we do. That is what Jesus called those first disciples to do. But following is not all that we do. Jesus also sends us ahead to “get things ready for him.” Those who follow are also sent.

Where are you being sent today? One you are there, how do you “make ready” for Jesus?

Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, it seems like my days are often shaped by habit and obligation. I go where I’m expected. I will live this day differently, knowing that you have ordered my steps and have sent me ahead. Let my presence “make ready” for you so that your presence may become real to others around me. Amen.

Resolve

Invitation to Prayer:
Lord, it is your will and command that we should come to you and pray. So I now come to please you. I ask you to forgive and to remove my sins which weigh heavily upon me. Let them not prevent me from coming to you in prayer. ( Luther’s Prayers, Herbert F. Brokering, ed.)

The Psalm: (Ps. 145:14-19)
The LORD upholds all those who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
16 You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways
and loving toward all he has made.
18 The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.

The Scripture Reading: (Luke 9:51-53)
As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem.

For Reflection:
With resolve and clarity of purpose Jesus “set his face” toward Jerusalem. The way there took him through some difficult terrain, places where neither he nor his followers were welcomed. Without firm resolve we will avoid such places, not seeking to go to them or through them.

Where are the “Samaritan villages” in your world?

Closing Prayer:
As this season of Lent begins, O Lord, give me a settled determination to walk this journey. Grant me the kind of resolve that directs my steps to the world you love and sustains me in difficult places. Amen.

An Invitation to Prayer: The Lenten Devotional Series 2009

This, then, is how you should pray . . . (Matthew 6:9).

Maybe we’ve made it harder than it ought to be. Prayer, that is. It is sometimes said that for followers of Jesus praying is like breathing. Our spiritual lives depend on it. Sounds nice, but if that’s true one has to wonder why so many Christians are blue and gasping. Praying may certainly be as important as breathing, but it isn’t as easy.

Jesus gave us permission to be simple in our prayers. He relieved us of the need to wax eloquent. Prayer need not be poetry (Matthew 6:7). Our Lord’s invitation to simplicity notwithstanding, too many of us feel inadequate with prayer “language” – and this is especially true when we pray out loud.

Paul reminded us that when we don’t know what to say, the Spirit intercedes for us (Romans 8:26). The writer to the Hebrews states that even now Jesus is making intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25). Jesus is praying for you. Powerful thought.

So we have plenty of help. We have Jesus’ assurance that simple prayers are perfectly good and worthy prayers. But we still find it uncomfortable and difficult. While we might not say it aloud, we sometimes find prayer burdensome.

In his fine book Praying with the Church, Scot McKnight distinguishes between two kinds of praying. Most of us learn to pray by saying our prayers in church. These are our personal and spontaneous prayers. It’s what we say when someone in a class at church or a small groups says “would you open us in prayer?” This is the kind of prayer that confronts us with a sense of inadequacy.

But there is a different kind of prayer that is just as important and even necessary. Our prayers in church need to be coupled with our experience of praying with the Church.

Praying with the church is a way of praying in company with other believers. It is prayer that connects us with God’s people all over the world. Both Jesus and the early church prayed according to set times and liturgical use of scripture and Psalms. This kind of praying is typically characterized by

1. A given content – the prayers are read in unison.
2. A set time – the prayers are offered according to a daily rhythm or schedule
3. A gathered people – the community prays together.

The daily devotional series for Lent 2009 is intended to be an experience of praying with the church. Of course, we will not be gathering as a group every day, but the email that comes to you each morning will pull you into an experience of prayer being shared by hundreds of others. Beginning Monday, March 2, each daily experience of prayer will include

1. A selection from Psalms
2. A short scripture reading
3. A thought / question for reflection.
4. A brief closing prayer to prompt prayer words of your own

All of the content needed for each day will be provided in the email. You can use this is at the office or in an airport just as easily as you can at home.

Maybe one of the ways we’ve made prayer harder than it ought to be is by thinking that we pray alone. As you follow Jesus toward the cross, preparing for Easter, you are in good company. The Holy Spirit aids you in prayer – and many others are joining you. May you sense the Spirit’s presence and the strength of many other fellow travelers as we make our way to the cross and to the empty tomb.

Pay Attention

Jacob became angry with [Rachel] and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” (Genesis 30:1)

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows (James 1:17).

Since the day of his birth Jacob had been a trickster. The name Jacob means something like “heel grabber,” suggesting one who trips up or supplants another. Indeed, that was the story of Jacob’s life.

He had opportunistically swindled his brother Esau out of the birthright that belonged to the first born. Jacob cut a shrewd deal over a bowl of stew and walked away with what rightly belonged to Esau.

Later, posing as his brother, Jacob took advantage of his father’s old age and blindness. Jacob played the imposter and received the blessing from Isaac. Esau’s anguished plea to Isaac went unheeded. “Bless me too Father!” Too late. Crafty Jacob had received what could only be given once.

In Laban it seems that Jacob met his match: A deal for seven years of labor in return for Rachel, Leah slipped into the mix on the night of the wedding, seven more years of work for the younger good-looking Rachel. Jacob got what was coming to him.

But in the midst of his deceptive, scheming life and his dysfunctional marriage to two jealous sisters there is a moment when Jacob gets it right. A brief interlude of honest clarity is glimpsed in the middle of Jacob’s conflicted story.

In his anger over Rachel’s demand for a child Jacob confesses that he is not God. “Am I in the place God?” he shoots back at his whining wife. Implied answer: “No, I am not God.” There are things that only God can do. Creating life is one of them. Jacob knew his limitations.

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We will never find God in the everyday while we’re trying to be God in the everyday. Our efforts to exercise sovereignty over our own lives blind us to the true Sovereign. Our inclination to manage and manipulate people and circumstances squeezes God to corners of our days. God is eclipsed by our unruly self.

In the New Testament, there is a variation on the name “Jacob” that shows up as “James.” In a short letter written by James we are reminded that every good and perfect gift comes from above. God is the giver of all that is decent and good and cherished in this life.

So we have Jacob: Acknowledging that he is not God, reminding us that we cannot be God. And we have James: Inviting us to pay attention and receive thankfully every good gift that God places in our lives.

This is a fair description of what it means to wake up every day and live a life of faith. Recognize that whatever this day brings, God is sovereign. As the clichéd wisdom puts it, “there is a God, and it’s not you.” You don’t have to play God today.

But you are asked to pay attention. Ultimately this is what it means to find God in the everyday. Stay out of the way, look carefully and listen closely. You are surrounded by good gifts – all of them coming from above.

Prayer:
With every new day, O Lord, teach me more of who you are and what you are doing. I relinquish my claim to your role in my life. Help me to trust you, to follow you obediently, to notice your presence in the everyday – today and always, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Authority

They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?” (Mark 11:28)

Jesus had made a mess in the temple. He had overturned tables of money, sending coins rolling and bouncing, causing every head to turn at the raucous sound of his indignation. The vendors of sacrificial animals had also been sent packing. Jesus had disturbed the cozy industry that had cropped up around the traffic of pilgrims who needed an animal to give to the priest or currency exchanged for the offering plate.

So the next day, as Jesus walked in the temple courts he was confronted by those who regarded themselves as caretakers of the place. They raised the question of authority. “What gives you the right?”

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We are rarely confronted with that question in such a blunt manner, but we wear ourselves out answering it anyway. Every day is another day to prove ourselves, to show that we belong, that we really are capable, that we are worthy of trust and confidence and admiration.

There are two kinds of authority. One kind is the kind of authority that is placed upon us by a title or a job or a role. A police officer has authority when he or she wears the badge; the lifeguard has authority when perched in the lifeguard chair.

But there’s a different kind of authority that comes from some deep place within us. The Greek word for authority used in Mark 11:28 (exousia) can be literally rendered ‘out of being.’ It’s a kind of rooted strength that you possess when you know who you are.

The first kind of authority allows us to accomplish tasks: negotiate contracts, hire employees, make decisions, give direction. This is a legitimate authority and the world would be thrown into chaos without it.

But the second kind of authority is what allows us to love people, to give a blessing, to listen to another’s pain, to sit quietly with someone and be present without trying to fix things, to tell the truth in love. This is possible only when we know that we have been loved and blessed by God. We know who we are.

Many of you have authority – the kind that allows you tell your client how to plead or your children to get in the car. But you’ve also been given a deeper authority in Jesus. This day is much more than another chance for you to prove yourself. You will be the presence of Christ in the world today. You are loved by God the Father and filled with his Spirit. You are sent. Let that flow out of your being.

Prayer:
Remind me today, Lord Jesus, who I am and who you’ve called me to be. By your spirit empower me to be that person and live that life, carrying your presence into the world with quiet authority. Amen.

Taming a Ravenous Heart

When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, “Give me children or I’ll die!” (Genesis 30:1).

When I was in the sixth or seventh grade I wanted a mini-bike. Not just any mini-bike. I wanted a Honda mini-trail 50. A friend of mine had a Honda mini-trail 50. I had ridden his and was convinced that my life would not be complete until I had one just like it.

Christmas approached. I spoke to my parents using the scriptural words of Rachel in Genesis 30:1. “Give me a Honda mini-trail 50 or I’ll die!” I wasn’t quite that demanding, but I made sure my parents saw the glossy color brochures from Honda that had pictures of the gleaming Honda mini-trail 50 and images of people who looked supremely happy as they sat astride the blessed bike.

Christmas came. My parents did indeed get me a mini-bike. It was not a Honda mini-trail 50. I later learned that it was a refurbished mini-bike that had belonged to my cousin Ben. It was a decent mini-bike, and I enjoyed it. But by next Christmas my interest in mini-bikes had diminished significantly. The mini-bike sat neglected in a shed in the back yard. And I know now that the same thing would have probably happened even if I’d gotten the Honda mini-trail 50.

The things we believe we simply must have will never make us right. We transfer the “must” to something else. Something within us is always craving something outside of us, hoping to finally be fulfilled. The Bible calls this idolatry.

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Idolatry is an insidious thing, and it never goes away. A sixth grader’s conviction that life depends upon a mini-bike becomes a high-schooler’s conviction that life depends upon a car, a certain kind of car. For my kids and their peers it’s a cell phone or ‘ipod touch.’ Later it becomes a career or a spouse or, like Rachel, a family.

These are not bad things, and nothing in scripture prohibits praying for things we want, especially things like relationships and children. But the belief that we’ll die without those things, that fullness of life cannot be had apart from those things, this is desire gone awry.

Rachel’s demand, “Give me . . . or I’ll die” makes it nearly impossible to live with a sense of gratitude. Ravenous demands and humble thanks rarely inhabit the same soul. And apart from gratitude it is impossible to find God in the everyday. The everyday is often something we didn’t ask for, and sometimes something we’d be glad to do without. But to receive what’s in front of us with thanksgiving opens windows to the presence of God that are tightly closed when we live a “give-me-or-I’ll-die” kind of life.

Is there something that you ache to have today? Know that your desire may be perfectly legitimate. Feel free to pray for whatever it might be right now. But after you’ve been honest with God about what you want, speak your gratitude for what you have in front of you – and know that God, God and nothing else, is enough.

Prayer:
At times, O God, my desires are unruly. I believe I must have something or someone to be complete. Forgive me, and make me thankful for the everyday that this day will bring. Turn my ravenous heart into a thankful heart by the power of your Spirit. Amen.

The Second Seven Years

Jacob . . . loved Rachel more than Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years (Genesis 29:30)

To read how they first met is to get a picture of awkwardness. Jacob saw Rachel at a distance and was immediately smitten. Did he ask around, get her address, learn who her friends were, finagle an introduction? No. None of that. We’re told that Jacob simply walked right up to her and kissed her and then . . . he wept. I think he could have done without the weeping, but the ancient world had its own ways of wooing women.

The bottom line is stated crisply in Genesis 29:18. “Jacob was in love with Rachel.” He was so in love that he agreed to work for Rachel’s father for seven years so that he could marry her.

The seven years flew by (Gen. 29:20). Jacob’s love for Rachel burned hot and the years melted. The wedding day arrived. A week of feasting and celebrating and apparently a liberal amount of imbibing. Laban, Jacob’s father-in-law managed to give his other daughter to Jacob on the wedding night. Jacob woke up, rubbed his eyes and saw Leah next to him. Leah was the plain older girl. Rachel couldn’t marry before Leah did.

Jacob was told he could also have Rachel – but it would cost him. Laban wanted seven more years of work. Jacob agreed. I’ve always thought Jacob had to work the extra seven years before he could have Rachel. The Bible doesn’t say that. After the first week of marriage to Leah, Jacob also took Rachel as his wife – but he owed Laban. Seven more years.

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Sometimes you get what you’ve always wanted, but it costs you more than you ever imagined. Sometimes you get what you’ve longed for, and in the process get more than you bargained on.

For Jacob it was seven more years of servitude to Laban – and Leah thrown into the household. He had Rachel, yes. But at a cost.

You get the promotion and the trappings that go with it – but it costs you at home and places more problems on our desk during the day and they stay on your mind at night. The job is your Rachel.

After years of trying, a baby is on the way. There is joy – even though the pregnancy becomes dangerous and you’re on bed rest for months. The baby is your Rachel.

The first seven years are sustained by passion and dreams and deep longing. They fly by in anticipation and hope. The second seven years are different. In the second seven you have what you wanted – and now you’re keeping a promise; living a commitment.

Many of you are living the second seven years today. You’re up and at it because someone is depending on you. You’re doing what you said you would do, doing what you have to do. This isn’t bad, but it is ordinary. It’s what we’ve been calling the “everyday.”

God is at work in the second seven years. The story of Jacob’s marriage to his dream girl isn’t a very pleasant story, but it is a story that God authors. God is actively accomplishing his purposes in Jacob’s difficult life. God does the same in your life, even in the second seven years.

Prayer:
Gracious God, you are true to you word, faithful in all things, loving us with a steadfast love. Give us the grace we need to be like you in the details of this day, we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Love Abounding

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight . . . (Philippians 1:9).

I’ve been gaining insight into my wife for almost thirteen years. I’ve learned much. I have much to learn. But from time to time I realize that what I’m learning is a variation on a lesson I glimpsed early in our relationship, the Christmas before we married.

Marnie had gotten a Christmas tree for her apartment. I’m not exaggerating when I say that this thing could have gone on the White House lawn or in front of Rockefeller Plaza. It was massive, consuming most of the floor space and forcing her to move furniture in her apartment. The size of the tree got my attention. But what I found most revealing about it was the fact that she had purchased it, brought it home, and put it up all by herself.

She was on a mission. She put her mind to it and made it happen. I’ve seen that same story played out over and over again. My insight deepens, and so does my gratitude. God knew exactly who I needed in my life.

As Paul prays for the church in Philippi he prays that their love will abound more and more. I like that. This isn’t a prayer that asks for help putting up with each other; it’s not a prayer for strength to gut it out and hang on. Paul isn’t settling for that, and neither should we. The language he uses suggests abundance, an overflow.

But this abounding love has shape and definition. This love abounds in knowledge and depth of insight. Knowledge and insight can do funny things to love. Sometimes the more we know about a person, the harder it is to love them. Sometimes knowledge deepens love. Most of the time, the kind of love that truly grows and abounds is the kind that gains knowledge and depth of insight, and loves anyway.

Paul likely meant that as knowledge of Christ and insight into who Christ is increases, our love will abound accordingly. That makes sense. You can’t grow in your knowledge of Jesus and be stingy with love. If that’s happening there’s probably no true knowledge and insight into who Jesus is to begin with.

But more than the abounding love, more than the increasing knowledge and depth of insight, I am struck by the sheer fact that Paul prays.

Apart from prayer we won’t love as we should. Love isn’t something we conjure up by trying hard; love isn’t something that comes naturally to us when another person is lovable. Good intentions aren’t much help.

Love is a gift. God gives the gift to us and teaches us how to love. Our role is to ask. We pray. Try it this weekend. Pray for the one you love and pray for the love you share – that it might overflow in abundance; that you’ll have knowledge and insight into who that person is, and who Jesus is. Pray that the Holy Spirit would create the kind of love God wants you to experience: Love abounding more and more.

Prayer:
Loving God, we pray Paul’s words as our own. Give us love that abounds more and more, love that grows with increasing knowledge and depth of insight into who you are. Help us to know you better that we might love as we should, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Rebuked

People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he was indignant . . . (Mark 10:13).

Have you been rebuked lately? I have, and I probably deserved it. I took a book to my daughter’s basketball game. I received a gentle but firm rebuke for this from Anna. In my defense let me say that I saw every minute that she played. She knew this, but it didn’t matter. “You don’t take a book to a basketball game,” she said. Fair enough.

The Greek word for “rebuke” keeps showing up in Mark’s gospel, and there’s a connection between what is being rebuked and the ways we find God at work in the world.

In Mark 8:32 Peter rebukes Jesus for talking plainly to the disciples about death and suffering. This isn’t good for morale, so Peter pulls Jesus aside for a little talking to.

In response Jesus rebukes Peter – and with a scathing line: “Get behind me Satan” (Mark 8:33). Peter has an agenda that directly opposes what Jesus is trying to do. There’s not much God in his thinking and Jesus will have none of it.

A little later the disciples rebuke those who are bringing children to Jesus (Mark 10:13). This rebuke causes Jesus to become indignant. Jesus welcomes the children and even holds them up as exemplary of those who will have a place in God’s kingdom.

The journey to Jerusalem continues and as Jesus and the disciples pass through Jericho a blind man begins to shout out, hoping to get Jesus’ attention. There’s the word again; those around Jesus “rebuke” the blind man (Mark 10:48). But what others rebuke, Jesus hears and takes notice of. The blind man is healed.

As we journey with Jesus through the everyday aspects of our lives we might be surprised to learn that the things that annoy us or irritate us are actually the places where God is most likely to show up. What inconveniences us may glorify God.

The disciples were annoyed by children; they had no social or political clout. They felt like a distraction, a bother. But what the disciples rebuked, Jesus received and touched and blessed.

The people around Jesus rebuked the whining blind man. What they rebuked and told to be quiet, Jesus heard and invited to conversation. “What do you want me to do for you?” (Mark 10:51).

Interestingly, what Jesus rebuked were pretensions to self-importance, power, upward mobility and busy-ness that can’t be interrupted by children and blind people.

What annoys you or irritates you? Where do you find yourself spewing a word of rebuke in the course of a typical week? Take another look. What you rebuke may well be the place where God is at work in ways you haven’t dreamed of.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, help me to see things the way you see them. Keep me from living my days reacting to what annoys me, distancing myself from what is inconvenient. Redeem my tendency to rebuke and help me to find you in those very people and places. Amen.

Monday . . . Again

So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many who saw them leaving recognized them . . . and got there ahead of them. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd he had compassion on them . . . (Mark 6:32-33).

Reality returned with a vengeance Sunday night. Marnie and I had spent the weekend at a couples’ retreat. As is clearly implied in the phrase “couples’ retreat,” we were kid-free for nearly 48 hours. But by Sunday night, less than twelve hours back at home, the leisure and pace of the weekend felt like something that had happened a long time ago.

We safeguard our Sunday nights, but we can still feel the week ahead breathing down our necks. Laundry comes down from the hampers in bedrooms; trash needs to be taken to the street for Monday pick-up. Papers sent home on Friday have to be reviewed and signed by a parent. The everyday makes its presence felt even on Sunday.

Getting away for a weekend marriage retreat is always a good thing, but the value of a marriage retreat isn’t fully understood until you get home and have to sign school papers and take the trash to the street and empty the hampers. This is where marriage is lived out; this is where we practice loving each other.

We step away from the everyday in order to better live the everyday. We focus on our relationships so that we can live and love in the routines of daily life.

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Jesus gave his disciples authority to preach and cast out demons, and then he sent them out to get after it. When they returned they were elated with their success, full of stories to tell. Jesus invited them to come away by themselves to get some rest (Mark 6:31).

No sooner had they found that quiet place than the needy crowds found them. Their escape was short lived. The many manifestations of human brokenness never take time off. God’s mercies may be new every morning, but so are details of our need.

What is noteworthy is Jesus’ response. No resentment, no complaining, no lamentations about relentless demands. Jesus has compassion.

There is a rhythm to life that Jesus modeled for us; we move between seasons of rest and retreat and seasons of intense engagement. We may discover God in the place of retreat, but God doesn’t intend for us to live there. What happens in the solitary place prepares us to engage the world.

A weekend away is good for a marriage (very good in fact). But marriage isn’t truly lived in the place of escape. The benefit of the escape is finding what we need to go back to the laundry and the school papers.

We sometimes escape to find God: retreats and conferences are available in abundance and offer much that is spiritually helpful. But the benefit of the escape is finding what we need to discover God in the everyday. Don’t resent the mundane tasks that confront you today or the needy people that seek you out. In such places, in the everyday, miracles happen. Don’t miss out.

Prayer:
Gracious God, I don’t want to grow weary of the places or people in whom you often reveal yourself. I don’t want to waste this day dreaming of an escape plan. Fill me with compassion for others and passion for my tasks. Use me today, and lead me to places of rest and refreshing that allow me to find you in the everyday. Amen.

Destinations

They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise." But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it. They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?" But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. (Mark 9:30-34)

Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. The closer he gets the greater the urgency to teach his followers about where all of this is headed. Thus, passing through Galilee, Jesus avoids the public eye; he opts for anonymity so that he can teach his disciples. In Mark 10 he does the same thing, taking “the twelve aside” (Mark 10:32). In both Mark 9 and 10 the lesson is the same: suffering, death, resurrection.

The disciples don’t understand this. What’s more, they don’t bother to ask questions. They don’t seek clarification. It's not for lackof interest. Fear keeps them reticent. Sometimes there are things we’d prefer not to know.

Rather than seeking further instruction on what it means for them to follow Jesus to the place of suffering and death, they argue with each other about the nature of their rank and position. The twelve are competing for the highest spots on the roster.

Jesus wants to talk about laying down his life. The disciples want to argue about climbing the ladder. The road Jesus walks has two-lane traffic; it’s difficult to find Jesus in the everyday when every day is consumed with moving in a direction other than the one Jesus is trying to take us.

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Of course, few are called to martyrdom. Not many of us will be on the receiving end of hostile persecution. Jesus isn’t modeling for us a life of intentional misery that postures as holy. But Jesus is certainly moving in a direction that feels odd to us; the way he walks is a narrow way that lives life by giving life away. Jesus refuses to feed our ambitious appetites.

Like the disciples, we don’t always want to know this. We don’t eagerly inquire into the way of suffering and death, service and sacrifice. We like being on the Jesus team. We don’t always like running his plays. We walk the road he walks, but to a different destination.

How would you define the destination of your life today? What would it mean for you to work hard, to give your best to this day – but step off the ladder and simply go where Jesus is going? Sometimes the destination that Jesus chooses is not one we would have chosen for ourselves.

Be well warned: once we actually find Jesus in the everyday, we are not allowed to simply observe where he goes. We do not find Jesus in order to talk about what he does. Once we find him, we are called to follow. Where might Jesus be leading you today?

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, how easily we give our energy and attention to our standing in the world rather than our walk with you. Teach us what it means to follow you, allowing you to determine the way and the destination of our living, today and always. Amen.

Faith, Fear and Peanut Butter

He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40)

I’m sitting down to write this just having eaten peanut butter. According to Saturday’s New York Times, that makes me a brave man.

Seems there’s a widespread avoidance of peanut butter these days. The salmonella poisoning that is blamed for nearly 600 illnesses and eight deaths and has prompted massive recalls of peanut buttery type products. People are scared. The fear isn’t directed at the recalled product lines only. It has morphed into a general fear of peanut butter, driving sales down 25% and creating a public relations nightmare for the entire industry. Jif is launching an ad campaign and offering coupons to reassure the public that their peanut butter is just fine.

They won’t have to do a hard sell at the Crumpler house. I’ve got a big jar of Jif that I’m into right now and when that one’s empty there’s another just like it in the pantry ready to be called to duty.

Some might say that’s reckless or foolish, that a measure of caution is called for right now. Of course the makers of Jif will disagree and insist I have nothing to fear and urge me to continue to stock up on those big jars of creamy goodness.

I make no claim to courage in the matter of peanut butter. Truthfully, it’s a bad habit. I’ll put peanut butter on just about anything. For some reason I’m just not afraid of the peanut butter in my house.

Maybe it’s just stubbornness. We’re eaten up with fear these days. We receive relentless daily reminders of reasons why we should worry and fret. Perhaps eating peanut butter can be a form of protest, a refusal to be afraid of one more thing. That’s a stretch – but our fears are out of control. They are disordered and misdirected. Our disordered fears keep us from seeing God in the everyday.

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One of the most familiar stories in the gospels is about a storm that swept down on Jesus and his disciples as they made their way across the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was asleep in the boat; he must have gone down like a brick because this storm didn’t disturb him in the least. Meanwhile the disciples are nearly undone with fear (Mark 4:35-41).

The story is simple. In their panic they wake Jesus. Jesus speaks to the elements and restores calm to the waters. The telling piece of the story is what happens after the threat has been dealt with. Jesus asks his disciples “why are you so afraid?” The implication is that they should have been secure in his presence and that their faith in him should have strengthened them in the storm.

But in response to what Jesus did, we read that the disciples were “terrified.” This is a different kind of fear: Awe at the power of Jesus; a healthy fear that senses something holy and divine in Jesus. That’s a fear we ought to have.

Our fears are skewed these days. God seems small and impotent, not really able to handle international tensions and global recession. All the while, as God is dwarfed by the cares of the world, those cares grow more ominous with every day. They keep us from finding God in the everyday.

What are your fears today? Maybe it’s time for a quiet protest. Something more than eating peanut butter. Maybe it’s time to let God be God – ruler of all things, large than economies and wars. When God is large we are more likely to see him in everything every day.

Prayer:
Grant us the grace today, Lord Jesus, to see you as you are – Master of all that is, of all that happens. Expand our vision of your place and your power in this world and in our lives. With that vision, increase our faith and make us bold, we pray. Amen.

There Are Days

Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, I still had no peace of mind . . . so I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia (2 Corinthians 2:12-13).

There are days you’d do over again if you could; days when you didn’t get it quite right, when the distance between who you want to be and you are is as wide as a galaxy.

There are days when you slacked off and simply got it done because you were tired and wanted to go home; you told yourself that no one would know the difference and your best efforts could wait for another day, the next task.

There are days when you took refuge in the sound of the radio because the silence in the car was too uncomfortable; the ride to school didn’t go well and you glared threat into the rear view mirror and watched your children climb out with a silent “good riddance” in your mind; the welcoming smile of the teacher on the curb mocking you in your frustration.

There are days when you wake up having barely slept, regretting the night before. The sun went down on your wrath and rises on your shame.

There are days when you thought you’d moved on only to discover that you haven’t; an old memory stokes a fresh grief that feels like it will never go away. There are days you have to try hard not to cry and days when you couldn’t cry if you wanted to.

There are days you swear you’ll quit, you’ll walk if it happens again and if something around that place doesn’t change; on that same day you remember you really can’t do that.

There are days when God’s grace opened a door and you couldn’t walk through it. You barely noticed it because something was restless in you. You kept moving, no peace of mind. How blessed we are that grace follows us and comes our way over and over whether we look for it or not.

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Paul had such a day. He remembered it clearly, a specific time and place. Paul found himself in Troas, waiting to rejoin Titus who was bringing word to him about the state of the church in Corinth, particularly their relationship with and regard for Paul. Paul was at odds with this congregation and anxious to make things right.

In 2 Corinthians 11 when Paul lists his weaknesses, the weaknesses in which he boasts, he mentions his constant anxious concern for the churches. At Troas, Paul’s weakness got the better of him. He missed the open door, missed what God was doing right in front of him.

And there are days when our weaknesses will get the better of us. God is in the everyday, but we will not see it every day. Fatigue, distraction, regrets, grudges – any number of things can keep us from seeing it. But in our weaknesses God is faithful.

There are days, more than we care to admit, when the best that can be said about the day is just that: God is faithful. Maybe this is one of those days. Grace will follow you through it. Thanks be to our all sufficient God.

Prayer:
Gracious God, every one of our days comes to us as a gift. We do not always receive them that way. There are days we’d gladly forget, days when we ignore the door of opportunity, days when weakness gets the best of us. In every such day you walk with us. Great is your faithfulness and we give you thanks in Jesus’ name. Amen.

What Can't Be Fixed

Now Naaman . . . was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded . . . he was a valiant soldier but he had leprosy (2 Kings 5:1-2).

Our weaknesses are often masked by the trappings of power and influence. Such was true of Naaman. Commander of the army of the King of Aram, Naaman was accustomed to giving orders. People did what he said. He was a winner on the battlefield and his winning ways had earned him political clout. Naaman was a key player in Aram.

But there was something about Naaman that the troops never saw, something that most of the public would have never imagined. At the end of every day when Naaman removed the garments that spoke to his rank and laid aside the sword that spoke to his strength, the diseased condition of his skin was plain to see. Turns out Naaman the warrior was also Naaman the leper.

An Israelite girl who served Naaman’s wife mentioned a prophet in Samaria who could heal Naaman. Naaman wasted no time seeking the prophet out, but he used the means with which he was most familiar for getting something done. Naaman worked his political connections, securing a letter from the King of Aram to the King of Israel. Naaman backed up his diplomatic efforts with a handsome payoff – plenty of money and ten sets of clothing. He made his way to where the prophet was, accompanied by an impressive entourage.

It was all a disaster. The diplomacy backfired, causing the King of Israel to think that Aram was actually seeking to provoke a war. Once Naaman actually located the prophet Elisha, Elisha showed no interest in the clothes or the money – and barely any interest in Naaman himself. He didn’t come out to meet him. He simply sent a message telling Naaman to wash in the Jordan River seven times.

Naaman refused. He had a better plan. His plan was very similar to what the prophet had told him to do, but it allowed him to go home to cleaner rivers. Naaman was still trying his best to mange his life with his own resources. Giving direction came easier than trust.

With some gentle persuasion, Naaman finally submitted to the prophet’s word. And in that moment of obedient submission, Naaman was healed. “His flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy” (2 Kings 5:14).

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Most of us invest a great deal of energy trying to fix our weaknesses. We work hard to manage them in such a way that no one else will notice them. We compensate for them by playing to our strengths. We mask our inadequacies with other obvious gifts, whether a stellar resume, a network of influential connections, or access to wealth.

Centuries before Paul wrote to the Corinthians about boasting in weakness, a Syrian by the name of Naaman lived what Paul would later articulate. Naaman’s efforts to manage his weakness got him nowhere. What God’s prophet asked Naaman to do was simply to face his weakness and submit it before God in an act of humble trust. Not an easy thing to do. To wade into the Jordan was to expose his skin, the very thing he tried so hard to conceal.

Our weaknesses are not something God asks us to fix. We are not encouraged to hide them or disguise them. Nor are we urged to flaunt them. But we are invited to face them and entrust them to our all sufficient and all powerful God. In our obedience we wade into the river, fully aware of our inadequacies, and God makes us whole. So go ahead and get your feet wet.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I know my weaknesses. I work hard at fixing them, hiding them, concealing them, compensating for them. What I resist doing is facing them and giving them to you. Grant me the courage to wade into the river where grace flows. Meet me there today in my weaknesses and make me whole, I pray. Amen.

Every Day

Five times . . . three times . . . three times (2 Corinthians 11:24-25)

The assignment was due on Friday. As of Wednesday everything looked good. I was proud of my son for not waiting until Thursday to get started. And then it happened. I’m still not sure how or exactly what went wrong – but part of what had already been written was accidentally deleted. Gone. The gone-for-good-not-to-be-retrieved kind of gone.

There‘s a biblical phrase, “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” I saw it first-hand. Unlike the biblical weeping and gnashing which is divinely appointed and always just, this didn’t seem fair. My offers to help were rebuffed. My calm attempts at a reasoned solution to the problem were getting nowhere. My son would not be consoled. I finally had to give him space, leave him alone and let him do whatever he needed to do in order to come to terms with what had happened.

After a few moments he sent me a text message – a surprising but helpful means of parental communication. Five terse words. “No spirit to write it.” I understood. I’d have felt the same way. When you’ve worked hard and done it once, it’s hard to do it all over again.

What is true of lost work and deleted assignments is true of our days. Some days wear us out. The rhythm and demands of a week leave us depleted. Finding the spirit to do it all over again can be a challenge.

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When it comes to finding God in the everyday, the problem isn’t the everyday. The problem is that the everyday happens every day. Over and over. Same song second, third and tenth verses. We wake up on some days and sense that we don’t have the spirit to do it all over again. The every day makes it hard to find God in the everyday.

In 2 Corinthians 11 Paul rehearses a series of setbacks that have marked his ministry. What is noteworthy about these is their repetition. Paul keeps talking about Jesus, and his reward for that faithfulness is constant resistance. He was beaten five times with the whip. He was beaten three times with rods. He was shipwrecked three times. He was in danger on frequent journeys. He lives through many a sleepless night. He has often gone with out food. Over and over, time after time (2 Cor. 11:24-27).

The setbacks were relentless. But so was Paul. He wrote plenty of letters, masterpieces of spiritual counsel and encouragement. We might expect that after a while he would have sent a brief note, a text message: “No spirit to write it.”

But Paul’s spirit never wavers because the Spirit that drives him isn’t his own. Something more than noble ideas and good intentions and dogged determination sustain him. The Spirit that lives in Paul is the very life of Jesus. The Spirit of the living God. So Paul keeps at it, day after day, setback after set back, undaunted, unintimidated.

This Spirit is ours every day. God has promised to give it. Our first order of business with each new day is to pray and ask for it. What we see around us in the everyday may depend on what lives within us. God’s Spirit transforms both us and our days, each and every one of them. Every day becomes a gift, and we live it gladly (Psalm 118:24).

Prayer:
Gracious God, grant us the gift of your Holy Spirit that we might live every day to your glory, embracing both hardships and blessings with the strength and gratitude that come only from you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.