June 29, 2007
“Do you remember the time your heart was moved to tears?
Can you look back on the moment after all these years?
On the moment love broke through and heaven seemed so near?
Do you remember the time your heart was moved to tears?”
Heavenly Father, I do remember. There are days I wish I could feel Your love wash over me the way I felt on that day, but then I remember that Your love washes over me every day – I just choose not to feel it sometimes. Lord, I pray for the faith to wait, look, and listen for You, because I know You are there with me every moment of every day. Help me stay still to see You all around me, so that I may feel Your amazing love and peace. I pray that I will have the faith to experience the moment love broke through every day of my life, and that I will always choose to feel Your love. Amen.
June 28, 2007
“Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word; I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son; Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.”
Dear Lord, I know that by living a life in You, I have nothing to fear. I know that You forgive my sins, that You give me grace and peace to sustain me, and that You protect me and guide me on right paths throughout my life. Yet despite all that knowledge, I still voluntarily stray from Your word. Is it because I have truly not let You all the way in? Do I still doubt what You can do? Is it fear on the unknown? Whatever my reasons, Lord, I pray that I will find the courage to follow You in every step of my journey. Help me to lose my fear and doubt so that I can be fully blessed by Your grace and peace. Let me truly live in You as You live in me. Amen.
June 27, 2007
“Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus, just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking life and rest, and joy and peace.”
Dear Lord, hopefully I will take more from You than simply life, rest, joy, and peace. I know that through Your sacrifice, my sins have been pardoned and my soul has been cleansed, but those two gifts pale in comparison to what You did for me. I understand and appreciate that my faith and belief in You and Your word give me the peace and strength for my days, but I need to give back to You even more than simply faith and belief. Heavenly Father, I pray that I will be strong enough to serve as a witness to Your word, and to spread Your gospel and message of love to others. Let me be confident in my faith so that I may share the incredible gift of Your love. Amen.
June 26, 2007
“So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross ‘til my trophies at last I lay down.
I will cling to the old rugged cross and exchange it some day for a crown.”
Dear Lord, ‘If you worry, why pray? If you pray, why worry?’ Those questions resonate when I think of the words of this hymn. Though none can compare to the cross at Calvary, I have my own crosses to bear: Fear, disappointment, pain, anger, frustration … yet when I read and hear these words, one thought comes through: Don’t worry. I will take care of you, I will protect you, and I will comfort you. The emotions and feelings I mentioned are of this world, and not of Yours – and I know that a faithful, devoted life in You and to You will give me great rewards in Your world. Lord, thank You for Your peace and grace, for Your strength and serenity. Amen.
June 25, 2007
“O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world, has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above to bear it to dark Calvary.”
Dear Lord, my first thought when I read these words was, ‘Why are so many people afraid of Christians?’ My very next thought was, ‘Why am I so afraid to truly let You control my life?’ I don’t despise Your cross, and I am certainly awed by Your sacrifice, but I know that I could be a much better and more devoted servant, follower, and disciple. It is the thought of Your sacrifice that gives me the strength to go on … knowing what You went through, and what You suffered. Lord, I pray that I will not be afraid of You, not be angry with You, and that I will not run from You. Instead, let me embrace Your love, and be truly thankful for the gifts and blessings You have given me. Amen.
June 22, 2007
“Do you remember the day you first let Jesus in? How he gently and tenderly washed away your sin?
Don’t you know that He still cares the way He did back then? Do you remember the day you first let Jesus in?”
Dear Lord, I remember the day. I remember the feeling, the relief, the exhilaration, the excitement … and yes, I do know that You still love me today. In fact, I am certain that You love me even more. My prayer for myself is that I will return those feelings, and allow my heart to accept You, trust You, and fall deeper in love with You than I have. There have been days of disappointment, and there will days like that in the future, but I know that I have Your steady and firm hand to hold me up and give me strength. Lord, thank You for giving me the excitement that comes from loving You. May I never forget how it felt on the first day, and may I always seek that excitement. Amen.
June 21, 2007
“’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, and to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise, and to know, “Thus says the Lord!”
Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus, just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking life and rest, and joy and peace.”
Dear Lord, I wake up and do a devotional reading every morning, I listen to hymns and anthems to and from work, I write a prayer when I sit at my desk, and sometimes I think the words escape my heart and mind within minutes. Is it because I don’t trust You? I see and hear that You grant life, rest, joy, and peace, and I have felt those from You. Yet I still detach myself from Your word – usually at those times when I need to cling to it the tightest. Lord, I pray for the courage to stay strong in my faith, and to not lose sight of You and Your grace. I pray that I will be a true and faithful disciple, with human feelings but a heart and mind devoted to You. Amen.
I am learning that to survive in this town, you have to have a very thick skin, an absence of morals, and an ego the size of Montana. My ego is not even the thickness of Montana’s smallest town; I do have some morals (albeit questionable), and I don’t think my skin ever has been thick. Ergo …. I will not be one of this city’s great survival stories. I’ll get by, and I will do my job, but you will never see my name in headlines … and that’s okay with me. I don’t want to set the world on fire, after all – I just want to get home safely every night, proud of, satisfied, and happy with the work I did that day.
June 20, 2007
“All creatures of our God and King, lift up your voice and with us sing.
Let all things their Creator bless, and worship Him in humbleness.”
Heavenly Father, there are times when I think conflict in the world is good, because it keeps everybody focused on resolving minor differences so that major differences don’t consume us. In that regard, I should think that conflict is good in my life – but it’s not. These words remind me that all people on earth need to give thanks to You for their very life. Without Your divine spark, none of us would be here. We may have differences, we may not agree, we may not like or trust each other …. but we all trace our lineage to You. Lord, thank You for the gift of life, for differences, for resolutions, and for peace. Amen.
At some point today, at some water cooler in America, yesterday’s U.S. Open will be discussed, and some weekend golfer will be talking about Tiger Woods’ missed putt on 18 and say, “I know exactly how he feels.” Oh, really? Have you ever stood over a 30-foot putt that broke to the left and over a hill with more than $1 million on the line? For a major championship? YOU know how it feels? Please. I have the same reaction when a casual football fan claims that he would have made the catch late in the game … or a baseball fan claiming he would have gotten the base hit, or smothered the ball to prevent a run from scoring.
Professional athletes are where they are because of talent, practice, dedication, and determination. To think for a moment that we could compete in their sport at their level is just ridiculous.
