CHRIST'S LADDER OF SPIRITUAL MATURITY


THE FIRST RUNG
The Ministry of Nurture: Creating an Emptiness in Which God Can Dwell

Blessed are the Poor in Spirit
Blessed are the Meek

THE SECOND RUNG
The Ministry of Suffering: Entering into the Concerns of Christ

Blessed are they that Mourn.

THE THIRD RUNG
The Ministry of Prophetic Re-Direction: Living to New Values

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.

THE FOURTH RUNG
The Ministry of Mercy: Empathizing with those in Spiritual Captivity.

Blessed are the Merciful
Blessed are the Pure in Heart

THE FIFTH RUNG
The Ministry of Peacemaking: Announcing Christ's Presence in the Storm

Blessed are the Peacemakers

THE SIXTH RUNG
The Ministry of Martyrdom: Allowing and Enduring the Probing of Evil

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

In the Morning, You Hear

Psalm 5
For the director of music. For flutes. A psalm of David.

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.

4 You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil;
with you the wicked cannot dwell.

5 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence;
you hate all who do wrong.

6 You destroy those who tell lies;
bloodthirsty and deceitful men
the LORD abhors.

7 But I, by your great mercy,
will come into your house;
in reverence will I bow down
toward your holy temple.

8 Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness
because of my enemies—
make straight your way before me.

9 Not a word from their mouth can be trusted;
their heart is filled with destruction.
Their throat is an open grave;
with their tongue they speak deceit.

10 Declare them guilty, O God!
Let their intrigues be their downfall.
Banish them for their many sins,
for they have rebelled against you.

11 But let all who take refuge in you be glad;
let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

12 For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous;
you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

Lord, Give us Spiritual Eyes Today

http://www.sermonspice.com/search?fpage=1&q=get%20service



COPY AND PASTE LINK AND LET THIS VIDEO BE A REVELATION, A CHALLENGE, AND A PRAYER.
When Sermon Spice page appears, click on photo of first video that says Get Service. It will run a preview. This is the video we saw Sunday in worship.

When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
Mark 6:34

Refreshed

It's Afternoon, Jesus
I pray for rain.
I ask you, who control all things
Send some rain.
We need rain, Lord.

I thank you that in this spell of dryness
We have counted our many blessings
In this dry heat
We have remembered your former mercies
In this hot land
We have touched, for a little while.
The parched experiences of our friends in Africa

Thank you, Lord
for the years of abundance.
You have truly been gracious to us.

Amen

Wilting

It's Morning, Jesus
Let it rain.
I pray today for rain upon the parched earth.
I pray today for rain upon the tender plants that need nature's nurture
I pray today for struggling relationships that need the water of love
I pray today for broken marriages that need a slow rain of forgiveness
I pray today for wilted hearts that need a baptism of your holy spirit

Make me an instrument today, Lord, of my prayer.
Help me to pour water today with words of faith, hope, and love.
Help me refresh the wilting
With wordless work.
The rain does not speak
The water falling to the earth has no tongue
The moisture that is life giving falls silently from the eye of heaven
And bathes the soil, the plant, in life giving water.

So I pray for rain
As I deal with death today, Lord
Let me be living water
Let a river of living water flow out of me
Fill me with the life giving properties of faith, hope, and love
And the greatest of these.

Amen

Walking in the Light

5This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

I John


It's Morning, Jesus
The sun is slowly coming up this morning, inexorably pushing away the darkness.
There is no darkness, no thick of night, no fog of morning, that can settle in forever against your light.

Burn a light in me, Jesus.
Let the rose colored fingers of the light of your love
Radiantly beam into the depths of my soul
My hurts, my pains, my sleepiness
My joy, my excitement, my eagerness.

Let your light shine, not in human energy
But in divine impress.
Guide me, O thou great Jehovah,
as you guided Moses
and the people of Israel
With burning bush
and pillar of fire by night
and cloud of knowing by day.

I will listen for you
I will look for you
I will read your word for you
I will wait for you
I will discern for you.

You word tells me that in the fellowship of love I will find you
Your words tells me there is no darkness in you at all.

So I look for you today, to join you in your work.

Amen

Thank You God, for Chelsea Brown

Harold Hall and the Preacher

It's Still Evening, Jesus
But I had to thank you for the life of Harold Hall and that good friend who stood in the pulpit today and remembered his longtime buddy.
Thank you for Harold.
The man of character.
The family man.
The man of integrity.
The man of humor who liked to irritate the children.
The community man.
Grant it, Lord, that a great fishing day will come
When he and his friend can fish by a lake, a stream, or an ocean
And remember the good old days.

Amen

Evening Prayer

It's Evening Jesus
I pray tonight for these:
Jennifer Westbrook
Mark Hall
Rosemary Autry
David Currie
Christy Burleson
Martha Johnson
J.B. Moore



May they sleep tonight in the confidence of heaven, assured of a reality beyond this world.

Amen

Did I Say Thanks?

It's evening,, Jesus
Today was memorial day.
Did I say thanks for the soldiers who died for my freedom?
Did I ride by cemeteries without thinking of them?
Did I even forget what day it was?
I know it was a boating day.
I know it was a camp day.
I know it was an off day.

But you did remind me this afternoon,
Didn't you Lord?
You reminded me, and I did say thanks.
Be especially with the widows, the fatherless children.
Be,too, with the families of all the soldiers in Iraq,
And help them with any fear of death that memorial day might bring to their mind.
In Jesus name....
Amen

Camp Viola: Memorial Day

It's Afternoon, Jesus
The little children you loved, are here at Camp Viola.
They are singing here, about you
Far away from heat of the asphalt street on which they live,
These kids have come to Camp Viola for one of the greatest weeks in their life.
The little bunk beds here at Camp Viola are better than the beds on which they sleep at home each night.
I pray for Chelsea and Jenna and Hannah and the time they spend here.
I pray you will instill in them the values
That will make them good stewards for the rest of their lives.
I pray they will experience the blessing of giving over receiving.
I pray they will find meaning in service to others.
I pray that the eyes of the children into which they look
Will mean more to them than the glaring screens of computers
I pray that connection of hearts will mean more than internet connections
I pray they will grieve more when hearts are off-line than when the internet is off-line.
I pray you will develop their compassion, mature their hearts.
And I pray for these children,
That they will receive something beyond this world.
I pray they will receive your love into their hearts.
I pray they will receive Jesus.

Amen

Jesus' Prayer for the Sinful City

"Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."
John 17:25-27

The Captivity of Sin

It's Morning, Lord

"The anger of man does not work the righteousness of God."

They are praying, Lord.
This group is praying for a drought.
They are praying for a drying up of the land til the people see the sin of their ways.

And this group is praying too, Lord.
They are praying for rain.
They are praying for the faithful farmer and the faithful field.

How do you judge these payers? How do you decide which ones to answer, almighty God?

This group is praying that no harvest will come.
This group is praying that salvations will dry up
This group is praying that new memberships in the churches will wane until all churches are repentant unto you.

And this group is praying for the harvest, and asking for laborers to enter into that harvest This group is praying that the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.

How do you judge these prayers? How do you decide which ones to answer, almighty God?
One asks for your revelation by death and destruction, another by life. How do you judge these prayers, O' God?

14We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.
16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 24Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
1 John 3

Prayer for a Pharisee

It's Afternoon, Jesus
There you are, seated at the right hand of God the Father.
Teach me more about love, tonight.
Tonight, I am very judging.
A critical spirit attempts to seize my soul.
I am attacked by hurts and fears from my past
That I want to project onto others.
I am bombarded with harsh, shrill and critical voices I hear in my head.
I need tonight your mercy, Lord.
I need tonight for you to send angels and instruct me in love.

I confess to you that I am impatient.
Then I hear you say: "The answer, Greg, is love. Love is patient."
I confess to you that a spirit of unkindness attempts to arise in me and judge harshly tonight. I hear you say: "Love is kind."
I confess to you that I envy the young and mourn my loss of youth.
Yet again you say: "Love, Greg, love. Love does not envy."
So I search your wisdom. I search for that for which love is not the cure.
I go deeper in my soul and I cry: "I am sometimes boastful, Lord. When I feel attacked or a little loss of esteem, I sometimes boast to boost myself up.
And you say: "Love does not boast." "Love yourself", you say. "You cannot love your neighbor as you love yourself if you do not love yourself."
Love, Greg, Love.
So I go on. I tell you quickly..."ok Lord. I am sometimes proud and rude and self seeking." And you tell me as quickly. "Love is still the answer.Love is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking."
Is love really all of that, I wonder? Is love really a cure for these various kinds of diseases? What about anger? What about that deep hurt I experienced in the past when I was forsaken by one I loved and faithfulness was not present?
And still you say: "Love,Greg. Love is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs."
"But, Lord", I say.
"Surely there is something for which love is not a cure.
Can love cure outright rebellion? Can love cure the hardest heart like Pharoah?
Can love cure the Roman soldiers who drove those nails? Can love cure Judas? Ha! Is not Judas, Lord, the proof of love's own betrayal? He betrayed you with a kiss?"
And you say: "Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth." "Do not delight, Greg, in those insances where evil seems to win. Delight in the cross where the longsuffering of love conquers all. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it."
But what if the truth, Lord, is sin?
What if the truth is that someone is living in sin?
Then you say: "All live in sin." You live in sin."
"Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."
"But what does love protect, Lord?"
"It protects the sacred seed of the implanted word. It protects the power of intercessory prayer."
"And what does love trust?"
"It trusts that my word will not return unto me void."
"It trusts" "Train a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." "It trusts in longsuffering.
And what does love hope?"
"It hopes for salvation, not fire and brimstone. It hopes for mercy, not judgement. It hopes for realization and revelation. "The anger of man does not work the righteousness of God."


This is a mystery too great for me, Lord.
Teach me tonight, in love.
Help me to love with your love when my human love nears its limit.
Instruct me tonight, in love.

Just a Bunch of Men

It's Afternoon, Jesus
We were just a bunch of men, this morning
We ate out of sacks from Burger King
And sang out of our hearts to you.
Just a bunch of men
Who chose to lean on each other for awhile
While we leaned on you.
Thank you for Ricky and the vision cast
Thank you for Chad and the story re-told
Thank you for just a bunch of guys
Who decided to get together and sing and pray and join around your word
Thank you for the fire of the Spirit
The fire of the call
The fire of the moment.
Just a bunch of men
early this morning.

Amen

Saturday, Saturday

It's Morning, Jesus

1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us
but to your name be the glory,
because of your love and faithfulness.

2 Why do the nations say,
"Where is their God?"

3 Our God is in heaven;
he does whatever pleases him.

4 But their idols are silver and gold,
made by the hands of men.

5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but they cannot see;

6 they have ears, but cannot hear,
noses, but they cannot smell;

7 they have hands, but cannot feel,
feet, but they cannot walk;
nor can they utter a sound with their throats.

8 Those who make them will be like them,
and so will all who trust in them.

It's morning, Jesus
And there you are in heaven.
I pray for those surrounded by their idols
Who cannot see you, feel, you, know you.

You are in heaven,
Doing whatever pleases you.
You are at work on your own command,
Not ours.
You are busy on this planet
In your place, your time
And we cannot conjure up your presence where we desire

Grant, it Father, that we find you, where you are
and join you in your work.

Yesterday
You were with the man who made a donation
for missions. He turned his truck around and came back to buy a cooked chicken.
He said it was because of you, Lord. How mundane is your presence, Almighty God!

Yesterday
You were in the smile of that volunteer and the song they sang and the laughter they shared.

Yesterday
You were with the parent's prayer for guidance for their child.

Yesterday
You were on the corridor of the hospital: a moment's pause in prayer.

Yesterday
You were in the child who stood proud and received the trophy.

Yesterday
you were with the mom who cried.

Yesterday
You were with him as he cut the ribs
You were with him as he lifted the chicken with a rubber glove
You were with him as he dreamed of anywhere Latin
You were with her as she held a sign
You were with her as she counted money
You were with her as she drove a truck.

They came, Lord, Jesus
To join you in your work
And found you in surprising places and moments
Getting ready for Honduras and Africa and Texas, and....

Yesterday we left our idols behind
Our nice rocking chairs that cannot talk
Our beautiful surrounding that cannot feel
Our technologies that speak but without real voices
Our idols that are dead and not alive

And we came into community
With real voices
Real smells
Real labor
For others and not ourselves.

And dying to our own world
We lived, a moment, in yours.

And it was wonderful.

2 Why do the nations say,
"Where is their God?"

3 Our God is in heaven;
he does whatever pleases him.

Yet...many are surrounded by their idols
who cannot speak, or feel.

Amen

Wheat Fields and Harvest

Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.

But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

"The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'

" 'An enemy did this,' he replied.
"The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'

" 'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them.

Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.' "
Matthew 13:24-30

It's Morning, Jesus
There you are on the mountain top of history
Pointing to the golden harvest.
There you are, seated in wisdom as well as glory,
Counseling and advising by the truth of your Word.
Give me eyes, today, Lord
For the wheat in the field.

In this world with sordid mixture of wheat and tares
Show us the wheat.

Grant to every member of your body
A vision of the golden fruit of their labor

Protect mom's and school teachers and parole officers
From the terrible vision of tares.
Give us custody of our eyes, again.
Help our nation reclaim its eyes from the steel focus of the t.v. camera
And show us the good of our land
The bounty of your blessing
The hope of your word

"Blessed are the pure in heart...they shall see God."
That's what you said, Jesus.
Grant me purity of heart to see God and good,
Even in the places where the enemy has come and sown tares.

Grant it, Lord
That today I would not withhold my favor or labor from any field
Because it has tares in it.
Grant it that my countenance would not be dark against that field
And so become apart of the cold darkness in which the tares prosper
and the wheat fails.
Shine in me, Jesus

Today...
I will love the complicated as you loved.
Christ in me, the hope of glory.
I will love the conflicted as you loved.
Christ in me, the hope of glory.
I will love the wounded and broken as you loved.
Christ in me the hope of glory.
I will love the place where love has sown
Christ in me, the hope of glory.

Amen

Good Soil

"A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed,

some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.

Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.

Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

He who has ears, let him hear."

Matthew 13:3-9

It's Morning, Jesus
I am praying for living soil.
I am praying for man, made from dirt.
I am praying for upright soil
into which you breathed the breath of life


I pray that the message of the Kingdom will be heard.
I pray for those who do not understand the message of the Kingdom.
Because of their lack of understanding, Satan snatches away the seed,
like birds picking up seed on a path.

Grant me, Lord, today, a renewed vision of your kingdom
A new excitement
A renewed insight to how the Kingdom works
A renewed surprise at the radical presence of the Kingdom all around us.

Touch our understanding, Lord Jesus,
That the evil one may not snatch the seed of the Kingdom from our hearts.

I pray Lord, for those who, receiving the Kingdom, have no root.
I pray for Sunday School Classes, small groups, intensive bible studies,
community experiences...that each will become good soil in which the sown and germinating seed of God can take root and be nourished. Deepen friendships in the faith; give us a hunger and thirst for the fellowship of believers. Shape our appetities from the things of this world to the hearts and spirits of each other. Give us spirtual intimacy above our material fancies; turn our hearts from the billboards of the world calling us to consumption and attune our hearts to the needs of your kingdom people all around us calling for friendship and comfort.

Pray, Lord, for those who hear the word,
But the deceitfulness of wealth, chokes it out.
Wealth promises them what only the Spirit can give.
Wealth cheats them of the true wealth of the kingdom.
The worries of this life, choke out the joys of the Kingdom.

And I pray, Lord
For good ground.
For the one who receives the word of the kingdom and understands it.
It multiplies. It grows.
And what does he understand, Lord?
That the kingdom of heaven is in his midst.
That the kingdom of heaven is here...already, but not yet.
That the kingdom of heaven is a mixture of wheat and tares
That the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed
made out of small, small things
That the kingdom of heaven is like a little bit of yeast the leavens the whole lump.
That the kingdom of heaven has enemies, who come and sow tares among the wheat at night.
That the kingdom of heaven is really like a pearl...that when really understood and found..causes a man to sell everything he has, and invest his all in it.

Come, O' Holy Spirit
And show us the kingdom.

Amen

I Made You to Save You: I Love You I Gave You

God never says to us, "I want you to become something else' without also saying: "I love YOU as you are."

"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation." Romans 5:6-11

It's Morning, Jesus
Underneath the warm gaze of your eyes creation awakens
Out of your favor every cold seed in the ground of winter
begins to quiver under the warmth of spring
and readies itself to burst forth in the heat of summer.

I quiver, too, with the inner vibrations of your love in me.
Every seed you've planted awaits it's time.

Though he was born in the midst of thistles and thorns
You loved him.
Though his father and mother planted a seed in the ghetto
You saw through the crime, waited for the time
You loved him.

Though she was planted in a dessert
And curses, like cactuses, were the first flowers of speech
drilled into her ears
You still saw the seed, knew the need
And you loved her.
.
Though they grew twisted and gnarled
In an anguish of survival
Twisting like a vine through a drain of sewage...
You saw the first shoot; knew the future fruit:
You loved them.

Though she strutted and swayed in a swagger of pride
And he carried a knife and boasted of a gun
You knew the walk out had just begun.
You love them.

And while they acted out
And so evinced the awful nature of sin
And while it seemed that everything in their brain
Was dark and evil and forgotten and lost

You acted out upon the cross
A drama higher than theirs
You were twisted and torn and thorned
And so evinced the immense nature of love

Love among thorns
You loved them.

And so it was, that upon the field of wheat and tares
You dared to shine love's favor
You did not react to the moment
You pointed to the judgement

You gave the wheat time
You chose a love sublime
You sent us not into the field
To root up with our own sense of righteousness
All that offended our sensibilities
All that rudely shouted sin
All that strutted and swaggered
All that carried a dagger or a gun
All that carried hammer and nails
Your love did not fail.

And from that dying place
You still showed favor with your face
Upon the seed, the seedling, the twisting vines
you even received the slaps of the cactuses on your face
In that dessert place.
Forgivng them, gracing them, loving them
You also loved me
You also loved him and her.

We belong to God, and everyone who knows God will listen to us. But the people who don't know God won't listen to us. That is how we can tell the Spirit that speaks the truth from the one that tells lies. My dear friends, we must love each other. Love comes from God, and when we love each other, it shows that we have been given new life. We are now God's children, and we know him. God is love, and anyone who doesn't love others has never known him. God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life. Real love isn't our love for God, but his love for us. God sent his Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven. Dear friends, since God loved us this much, we must love each other.
1 John 4:6-11

Badge Boy

"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about[a] himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Luke 18 10:-14

It's Morning, Jesus
Do teach me, Lord
The sublime art of weakness.
My flesh wars against it.
My pride stands up against it.
Teach me, Lord
That following after you is not just a matter of pulling myself together
and being a very impressive character who has got everything right in his life.

Forgive me for my attempts to define righteousness so that I can feel
that I have arrived

Help me to understand that any purity I have in my life
I have not achieved on my own
And I cannot possess as my own.

I am not a drug addict Lord
But not by my own righteousness.
I knew the grace of a home that had hedges and walls and barriers to this wolf.
My mother was not a crack addict; my neighborhood was not a drug dealers paradise.
My neighbors were Godly.
My friends were tattle-tales.
Remind me, Lord, of the grace of my beginnings.

I am a sinner, Lord
Give me your concept of righteousness that keeps me in the struggle
Praying for those who fail....not wagging my head
Hurting for those wounded.....not pointing my finger
Pleading for those crippled...not despising their example
Weeping for the blind.........not speculating about their sin
Hoping for the weary..........not gossiping about their plight
Believing in the weak.........not cavorting with the strong
Serving the sick..............not mirroring myself as well.

Grant it, Lord God
That any victory and goodness and blessedness and grace and joy and power that I have in my life...should never replace my delight in you and your grace.
I did not earn the right to sit at my Grandfather's feet while he read the bible
She did not deserve the plight of sitting at a table where her Father cursed her
I did not earn the right to hear my Mother praying
They did not deserve the home where out of the their mother's mouth came curses.
I did not earn my mother's sacrifices for me.
So this morning, Lord
I pray to you
And ask you for the blessing of povery of spirit
I ask you for the blessing of meekness in my soul

Keep me, Lord Jesus
From my tendency to define righteousness
In a way that I can see that I have achieved it.

Show me the sins and temptations of the successful:
Show me judgemental attitudes
Show me pride
Show me smug politeness
Show me insincere flattery
Show me rebellious spirit
Show me selfishness
Show me plotting and posturing
Show me masks
Show me the cold calculations of evil
Show me, if I can stand it, white collar crime.
Show me my culture
Show me gluttony
Show me envy
Show me avarice
Show me lust
Show me anger
Show me sloth

My Lord and my God,
How great you are
How little I am.
How marvelous is your grace toward me.
When I was lost in sin you found me
You put me on your shoulder, like a lost lamb
and carried me.
You never pointed at me
You never wagged your head at me
You never despised me
You loved me.

Great God of heaven
And great lover of all men
Fill me with your love.

Amen

Cuddle

As a mother comforts her child,
so will I comfort you;
and you will be comforted over Jerusalem."
Isaiah 66:13

It's Morning, Jesus

Sherri is asleep, the mother of my children.
But she does not rest too deeply.
Her ears, even now, are open to the sound of our daughter's breathing.
She lays down, not to dream, but to rest for the necessary labor of each day:
the cooking, the cleaning, the shopping, the teaching, the doctoring, the nursing, the listening.
Bless the soul, the spirit, the heart, the hands that reach into my daughter's lives through the love of Mother. They are your hands, Lord, shaping, loving, training, bending, mending, preparing, gathering, storing, giving.

Give to Sherri, my wife
Give to the Mother of Hannah, Chelsea and Jenna, strength for the day.
Your peace
Your comfort
Your security
Your love
Your arms
Your strength
Your wisdom

Thank you, Lord, for 18 years and 15 years and 13 years of unmatched love.

Use my eyes to serve with her eyes
Use my ears to hear with hers
Use my hands to labor alongside her
Use my arms to comfort and secure

May it be, Lord Jesus
That when the day is done
Your peace will slip into her soul
And give her that deep rest
That deepest rest of certainty that
You will comfort and provide, even when she cannnot.

Turn my daughter's eyes to you and
Your favor
Your comfort
Your delight in them
Your love of their beauty

As they have cried "Mama"
May they one day cry "Lord Jesus!"

Amen

Give Me This Mountain

Joshua 14
10 And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the LORD spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness;

and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. 11 As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in

.

12 Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the LORD spoke in that day;

for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the LORD said.”

It's Morning, Jesus
and there you are,
seated at the right hand of God the Father
There is none like you.
You are high and lifted up.
By the power of your love
and the strong arm of your redemption
You lift men up and give them strength and courage.

Give us today
a healthy fear of your Presence
a right measuring of your majesty
a confident belief in your commandments
a certain walk in your way.

Under the influence of your covenant
and out of the anointing of your spirit
make us srong and courageous.

I thank you today, Lord
for Henry Neal
I pray for his children and his grandchildren
For their comfort and sense of your presence.

I thank you this morning, as the sun rises,'
That Henry Neal rose like a burning sun into my life
and into the ministry of our church.
But I thank you for Henry, Lord,
Not because of what he did for us, or for me, or for school children, or for young men...I thank you simply for who he was: for the person you made him, and for the person he consented to be.

I thank you for his fear of you:
He imparted to us your wisdom.
I thank you for his love of his fellow man:
He exemplified service.
I thank you his love of country and sense of duty:
He sacrificed to make America safe.
I thank you for his love of his children and grandchildren:
He gave to them.
I thank you for his love of work and toil and labor:
He honored you.
I thank you for his stewardship over all the resources with which you entrusted him:
He put you first.
I thank you for his love of Jesus, his love of country, his love of family, his love of neighbor, stranger, and friend.
Do pour into us today,
A portion of that Spirit
And find us receptive to it,
in Jesus name.
Amen

Blessed are the Meek

It's Morning, Jesus
I confess to you that I often fear meekness in my personality.
I often fear the lamb.
Weren't you the lion of Judah as well as the lamb of God?
I feel more powerful as a lion
I feel more courageous with a roar
I feel more respected with a stance of pride
I just like it a lot, Lord,
When you overturned those tables
and took that whip
and threw out the money changers at the temple.
I enjoy the heat and passion of those passages
when you told those Pharisees they were graveyard people
and that inside those pretty caskets they were full of dead men's bones.

Yet, there you are, my Lord
With John pointing to you, saying: "Behold the Lamb of God"
And there you are in Isaiah, predicted: "Like a lamb led to the slaughter..."
And there you are on that hill side preaching: "Blessed are the meek...they shall inherit the earth."

I don't like it, Lord, but it fits.
My flesh rejects it, but my Spirit is oonvicted.
It fits into everything else you and God had to say:
"Turn the other cheek."
"A soft answer turns away wrath."
"Love one another."
"Do good to those who hurt you."
"Bless those who persecute you."
"The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, gentleness, kindness, patience, peace, longsuffering...against such there is no law."

Yeah. Except the law of the lion, maybe?
Forgive me, Lord.
Teach me meekness today.
Show me strength under control.
Show me the power of silence before the Pilates' of the world.
Show me your glory.
Christ in me the hope of glory.
Amen

Jesus' Ladder & Church Discipline

The Beatitudes of Jesus represent a ladder of spiritual maturity. At the very heights of our spiritual development, Jesus sees his disciples as peacemakers, whose peacemaking beween God and man is so at odds with the world....they are persecuted by world systems. This morning we begin praying the beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-12

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

It's Morning, Jesus
I read your words and I sing:
"Without you I can do nothing
Without you I'd surely fail
Without you I would be drifting
Like a ship without a sail."

Give me today, Lord
An ability to empty myself before you.
Empty me of all innate and temperamental abilities untouched by you.
Empty me of self-sufficiency.
Empty me of pride.
Empty me of the fullness of my concerns that makes no room for your concerns.
Empty me of my own concepts of righteousness.
Empty me of traditions that are themselves empty
Empty me of anger and hostililty
Empty me of rebellion and sin
Empty me of frustration and hopelessness

I pour myself out to you
I turn the cup of my soul over

Drain my cup Lord
Drain my cup
Make it dry and thirsty
Then fill my cup, Lord
fill my cup
Fill it overflowing
Let it be your waters I am pouring
Then make me nothing, Lord
Make me nothing
Then shape my broken spirit into something
That will be acceptable in thy sight
O' Lord my strength and my redeemer.
Amen

Sing, Sing, Sing

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;

The birds are singing in my back yard, Lord.
They are singing right now, this hour.
I open my throat to you, Lord, as well.

Let us shout aloud the the Rock of our salvation.

Glory...I cry
Glory...I laugh
Glory...I shout
Glory to the Father who made me
Glory to the Son who redeems me
Glory to the Spirit who empowers me

Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.

Bring me my guitar!

For the Lord is the great God
the great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.

Come let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care."

Amen
(Psalm 95)

A Foothold in Truth

It's Morning, Jesus
This is what the Pslamist said:
"Thou has set my foot".. (Ps. 40)
Today Lord,
My foot is set on your word.
My heart is fixed on you.
My grip has taken hold of you.
And you have opened your self to covenant relationship with me.
You have promised your covering, your surrounding presence, your nurture.

May I walk today in poverty of spirit: your spirit is in charge of this world, not mine.
May I live today in purity of heart: your vision is the clear vision, not mine.
May I labor today with re-directed appetites: my thirst and hunger are truly for you.

Where my spirit has led me, I have gone wrong.
Where my vision alone has seen, I have often missed seeing you.
Where my appetites led me, I got off track.

Forgive the gluttony of which my body reminds me: I only have to look in the mirror.
Forgive my blindness to the things of heaven and my addictions to the things of this earth.

Today, I take one step at a time.
Today, I read your word, and walk in it.
Today, I love my wife and children
serve my heighbors,
think of others
and honor you.

Amen

Just Thank You

It's Morning, Jesus
From the flame of truth you ask us:
"Why spend money on what is not bread
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare." (Psalm 55:2)

So burn hot within us, Lord Jesus
And continually guide us to life itself.
You are the life.
You are our satisfaction.
You are the joy.

Thank you for the question he asked last night: Is Jesus coming again?
Thank you for the journey they set upon last night.
Thank you for the gift of rice and meat
Thank you for the question asked
Thank you for the answer already given, but not yet heard.
Thank you for a life given and taken
Thank you for three girls laughing and singing and dancing
Thank you for the maturing heart
Thank you for the open mind
Thank you for the hour of listening
Thank you for the going out
Thank you for the hospital room
Thank you for the nurse
Thank you for noise
Thank you for the quiet
"To everything, there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven."
Amen

Spare Time

It's Morning, Jesus
In the early morning before dawn, you took time,
and went off to a lonely place, and there you prayed.
Today, I am obedient.
This morning, I join you.
At this hour, I seek your face.
Amen

Prayer from a Mission Trip

It's Morning, Jesus
In that land of mission
Where many huddled under Satan's curse
We met under Heaven's blessing.
In that land of ministry
Where many feed idols at their doorways
With the incense of doomed hope
And the false measures of success
We gathered in the real hope of Christ
And knew in cross-bearing ministry
The crucifxion of the flesh
The slaying of selfishness
The remarkable empyting of our lives
To you.
In that land of service for others
We had to take up that second cross,
Our cross, not your cross
And follow you to a place of self denial
Where our appetites for more were trampled upon
Where our jealousies and envies were crushed
Where our drive for power was revealed
As empty, fruitless, dangerous and void.
At the altar of that church of need
We met out own need
Bent down and weeping at the altar
Flesh crucified
Flesh weeping
Flesh cringing.
In that place of mission
We saw the have nots who have
And the haves who have not
Our expensive digital cameras
Could not capture the glory on their faces
For their glory was not of the flesh,
But of the Spirit.
Our plane tickets did not take us to the place
Of their spiritual filling
But to the gates of sacrificial opportunity...
The gates they go in and out of every day.
We left
They stayed
We came home to refrigerators full
They kept the empty pantries of their stomachs
Open to the filling of God.
We awakened to look at our check books and our balances
They awakened to look for daily bread.
One is of the flesh
The other of the Spirit
Show us the way.

Amen

The Spirit's Guarantee

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
I praise you God. There is no other like you. I praise you and lift you up, just for who you are. I praise you for your wisdom and power and mercy and greatness. I praise you, not for what you have done for me, but just because you are God.

who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
I thank you for blessing me with all the spiritual blessings in Christ: Kindness, gentleness, patience, longsuffering, peace, mercy, forgiveness, love, joy. Against such, there is no law.
4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—
I will live today, Lord, in the light of your choice of me. I will seek holiness, and purity, and blamelessness, not in works of righteousness, but in paths of glory in which I choose to walk. When I am angered today, I will walk in the path of understanding; when I feel slothful today, I will walk in your inner strength; when I am critical today I will walk in the path of your purity of heart.

6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.

I thank you God, that even if I err today, you honor my intentions and the desire of my heart to please you. Even if I step a bit off the path, you have lavished me with love and forgiveness, already. Even if I stumble, your wisdom and understanding precedes my own, and sheds light upon my path. You teach me, as I walk. You are with me as I journey. You are my guide, even when I miss the mark.

Amen

9And he[d] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
11In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.

Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 1

The Only Way Out is Through

It's Morning, Jesus
She is caught in a web of drug euphoria and drug depression.
She needs to take hold of truth, not feeling.
You are truth, Lord.
The only way out, is through.
He can't see, Lord
He doesn't really know the way.
All the stuff of his life that he is calling on
Is not responding right now with the stuff he needs.
You are the way, Jesus.
The only way out, is through.
They are crumbling in their marriage.
Things are falling apart.
There's no life in "them" anymore
You are the life, Jesus
The only way out, is through.

I pray this morning, Lord Jesus,
For those who are looking for you
In themselves and can't find you.
"I am the way." You said.
Show them the way of ministry, the way of cross-carrying, the way of evangelism, the way of worship.
The only way out, is through you.

I pray for those who are looking for you in feeling this morning, and cannot sense your presence. In their feelings they don't "feel" you.
Show them the truth of obedience.
Show them the truth of ministry, the truth of cross-carrying, the truth of evangelism, the truth of worship.
The only way out is through you.

I pray for those who are living in death, not life. I pray for those who have defined life with a consumerist mentality. They are concerned, not with your Kingdom, but with their own house. Help them give thought to their ways.
Show them the life that is in ministry outside of their own houses, love outside of their own kin.
The only way out is through you.

Their paneled houses do not satisfy.
They gather to purses with holes in it.
They labor and what they have is blown away.
Because you have proclaimed a drought on their life-styles
Because you have removed all spiritual blessing from their pursuits
Because you have ceased to impart to themselves YOU, they are empty.
The only way out is through you.

Come, O'Holy Spirit, and breathe upon these slain,
That they may live.

Amen

Jail Cell: Troup County, Ga

It's Afternoon, Jesus
I went to the jail last night.
There they were.
The one's to whom you preached release.
I pray, Lord
You'll release these from sin, failure, hurt, anguish, brokenness, ignorance, low-self esteem.
May we bless and join your work among these in-mates.
Grant to us a vision of your love.
Thank you, God, for the sacred trust and for those keeping it.
Amen

On Call

It's afternoon, Jesus
And I'm on call.
I'll walk with you Jesus
Just yank my chain
Pull the rope
Dial me up
I know I can't do much withhout you
But I know I can be a reminder of Your love and presence today.
I sure need you.
I don't want to just make a visit, an appearance, a call
I want you
I want you to be there
I want you to be there with me

With a friend whose Father is dying
With a wife who cares for children and an aging in-law
With a woman having skin cancer removed
With a lady at the hospital for kidney problems
With a mom taking her child again, to find out what's wrong
With a dad who girl is sick and whose father has heart surgery
With a young man weeping in desperate suicide attempt
With a family grieving death
With a friend transporting another friend from rehab to her home
With a woman struggling mightily to go home again
With a man trying to remember
With a baby having a tooth pulled
With a strong young man and a mystery of sickness
With a man having heart surgery, again.
With....
Thank you Lord for the sacred trust of ministering to these
Thank you for the staff who rotates week after week
Thank you friends who reach out
Thank you for the S.S. class that serves
Thank you for letting us be a part.
Amen

Morning Prayer

It's Morning, Jesus
And I pray for her: Heal that bruised spirit when she walks by the place where that idol once was.
And I pray for him: Give him courage to stand against lies and for truth.

I pray for the women: may they love deeply those caught in the web of lies; may they walk closely with each other; may they build relationships with the wounded.

I pray for the men: may they find work to provide for their wives and children. May they find security in friends and neighbors they can trust.

I pray for me, Greg.
May I live in your word, love out of your word, rest in your word, stand in your word, believe in your word, preach out of your word, know your word, learn from your word.
Amen