Face Lift

"The Cloud of Witnesses "in Beeson Chapel at Samford University<

It's Morning, Jesus

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.


I enter into the quiet sanctuary of the dawn
and join the hosts of Saints,
all those gone before me
all those with whom I've lived and shared faith
all those who have preceded me into your glory
and I remember I run the race set before me
before that great hosts of witnesses.
I cry glory.
I shout hallelujah.
I sing amen.

Faithful

"His Lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of they lord." Matthew 25:23

It's Morning, Jesus
There you are, seated at the right hand of God the Father. Great is thy faithfulness.
Teach me Lord, today, the joy of faithfulness in small things. Faithfulness to you, to other people, to my responsibilities, to my family, my wife, my children.
Help me not to be taken advantage of, or resent my own faithfulness, when others use me or take me for granted, or load me down like a donkey. Keep me, Lord, from the error of seeing possessions, talents, or even family members as mine, because everything in the universe that you created belongs to you.
Thank you for your faithful mercies, O Lord. Your lovingkindness in my life is renewed each day. I invite you, God, to do whatever is necessary to develop this fruit of faithfulness more fully in my life.

Amen

I Saw the Lord

1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory."
4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

It's Morning, Jesus
It is the vision of you, there, seated on the Throne,
That give me meaning.
I discover my purpose each morning
As I awaken in this earth-house that belongs to you
You are the Father of this house
The head of this home
The provider of all who live here
The security, the comfort and the peace
of every inhabitant.
We went to sleep last night under your watchful care
And we awakened this morning under the providence of your strength
Glory to you, all-providing God
Power and justice and truth and deliverance
Belong to you
Today I live under the shadow of your wing
Today I walk in the path of your providing
Every moment of this day is held in your keeping
All provisions, all circumstancs, all idiosyncracies, all surprises,
all comfort, all challenges,events, are not without your permission
nor outside of your sovereignty.
"All things" today will be taken up by you and used for good.
So today I walk in freedom, comfort, strength, abundance, plenty.
I have food to eat today, that came from the earth you made
I have clothing today, overly abundant
I have shelter that keeps out the rain, holds off the wind, deters the frost and snow, and shades the heat.
I have health in my body, wealth in my soul
I have medicines of healing
in every form.

Grant that my eyes and heart and hands and feet
be of service today to those of you children on this planet who have none of these
or little of these, or hurt and swagger in pain today because of a lack of one or two of these.

I cannot be at total ease in my Zion,
When your children of the earth, my neighbors and friends,
are hungry or naked, or sick.

Show me, Lord Jesus,
What I can do today to make a difference to you
in your distressing disguise.

I will not forget my journeys
to Burkina Faso
to Uganda
to Domninican Republic
to Honduras
to Mexico
to Puerto Rico
to Cuba
to England
to France
to the Virgin Islands
and to so many othe places

I have gone to some to lay down in the sun
And to have the natives bring me towels
While I tanned my self upon the beach
and spend a year of local wages for my comfort

and I have gone to others to take a towel
and wash the feet of your poorest.

For the rest of my journey,
I have chosen one of the two
and I have told no man why.

Amen

Sharers Together

6This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

7I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power. 8Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, , 11according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.

12In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Ephesians 3

It's Morning, Jesus
This is the morning that Jew and Gentile can sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
This is the morning that Ishmael and Israel can eat breakfast together.
This is the morning that all that once seemed far off and distant from the righteousness of the tradition and the law can now be included in Jesus, who is the fulfillment of that law.

Holiness has not been put away....it has been put on in Christ. He is our holiness.
Righteousness has not been hung in the closet of the past...we are "clothed in His righteousness"...Glory be to God

So today, I who am mere man, mere mortal, get to put on the new clothes the King has appointed for me to wear....

I am adopted, brought in, chosen, included, made whole and well, perfected in His righteousness.

What a day.

Amen

Evening Pause

It's Evening,Jesus
How did I live today?
Did I live authentically in the truth for which you made me?
Did I bear witness to your call on my life?
Did I act like a child of God?
Did I think like a man in line with the inheritance of the Saints?
Did I remember I am an alien in this land?
Did I serve as a true ambassador of another place?
Did I?
Examine my day, three-personed God.
Examine it with me.
Hold me accountable.
With the insight I learn tonight
in reflection or in dreams
I will do better tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.
I will.
I will.
Amen

One

It's Morning, Jesus

WE ARE ONE.

YOU ARE OUR PEACE WITH GOD, WITH OURSELVES, WITH THE CREATED ORDER, WITH EACH OTHER. 14For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and ...

YOU HAVE BROKEN DOWN THE DIVIDING WALL OF HOSTILITY... YOU HAVE destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations.


His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

WE ARE ONE IN YOU, LORD JESUS
AND WE ARE BEING BUILT UP IN YOU TO BECOME A DWELLING IN WHICH GOD LIVES BY HIS SPIRIT

19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Amen

Ephesians 2

Self Examination

It's Evening, Jesus

Did I feed my mind the truth of your Word today?
What was my mental diet?
Did I put in the good and keep out the bad?
Did I take custody of my eyes and keep my path straight?
Did I bring every thought captive to your feet?
Did I allow fear, or paranoia, or past negative experiences to guide my thoughts?
Did I judge others quickly?
Did I allow my mind to rest from the onslaught of data and conversations?
Did I think on things that are lovely, good, just and pure?
Did I think good things about others?
Did I let my mind give them the benefit of the doubt?

I give you my mind, Lord Jesus.
I give you my brain.
Let it rest in you
as my heart seeks rest
as my body seeks rest
as my soul seeks rest.
Help me have
Mind rest.
Mind cleansing.
Mind renewal.

Amen

Prayer from a Jail Cell

Excavation of a Jail Cell in Phillipi

I'm in prison, Jesus
But you are here with me
I'm all bound up, all locked up
Facing the darkness of all my former deeds
Help me sort it out, Jesus
Help me think it through
Be my guide inside these prison walls
But don't let me wade into the quick sand of my mirky soul
Make me new
Help me take hold of the rope of forgiveness
Help me hold on to the truth
I am in the prison pit
In the mud and the mire
Lift me up, Lord Jesus
and set my feet upon a rock.

Amen

I Begin the Day

It's Morning, Jesus
I begin this day with you
Running down the road to catch you
I see you walking down the road in front of my house
And I want to walk beside you
I come out of sleep, off my porch, into the road
And there you are.
You do not stop and wait on me
you are walking ahead
So I hurry a little
scuffling along like a student hurrying to get to class
before the bell rings
I want to walk beside you, Jesus
I do not want to walk alone today
I want your companionship
I want your presence
I desire the sound of your voice
and the counsel you will give me
I desire the peace of your presence
the humor of your look upon the world
the grace of your vision
You are so easy to be with, Jesus

I remember an old prayer, to pray:
"It's morning Jesus
And here's that light and sound all over again
I've got to move fast, wash up, grab a bite to eat, and run some more.
I just don't feel like it.
What I really want to do is get back into bed, pull up the cover and sleep.
All I seem to want today is the big sleep and I've got to run all over again.
Where am I running? You know these things I can't understand. It's not that I need to have you tell me. What counts most is just that somebody knows, and its you,
and it helps a lot. So, I'll follow along, OK? But lead, please. Now I've got to run. Are you running with me, Jesus?"---
Malcolm Boyd

Sabbath Rest

It's Morning, Jesus
I bring to you the tired brain cells
The slow heart beat
The little bit of back ache
The sense of tired that coffee cannot lift
I lay before you like a dog under the porch
on a rainy day
I pause and rest and take Sabbath
And think your name
think your glory
think your hallelujah
think the miracle of moisture
the power of dew
the necessity of rain and rest
Six days I have labored and today I rest
As a sign between you and me that I am your creation
As a sign of covenant with my neighbors that I belong to someone else
As a salute to the past victories
As a promise to keep for tomorrow's energies
Amen

Evening Lament

God of our fathers, known of old--
Lord of our far-flung battle line
Beneath whose awful hand we hold
Dominion over palm and pine--
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget - lest we forget!

The tumult and the shouting dies;
The captains and the kings depart:
Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite heart.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget - lest we forget!
---Rudyard Kipling

Evening Prayer

It's Evening, Jesus
Before I sleep, I thank you for those young men and women
Who serve tonight in a dangerous land
And in dark, terror-filled parts of the world
In order that I might lie down under a blanket of freedom.

I thank you for our Commander-in-Chief, President Bush
I thank you for his resolve to give my children a world that is safe
from the evil lurking in the middle east.

Give to our President tonight,
Rest and respite from the burden of war

Grant to us the missionaries of truth
to prevail in a lost world with the message of your Son, Jesus
our Prince of Peace.

Amen

How Great is Our God

Evening Prayer

It's Evening, Jesus
Did I take care of my body today?
Did I do you proud?
This temple you gave me for your own dwelling....
was it defiled by junk food,
was it abused in labor or rest?
was it honored for it's own unique gifts
of sight and sound and hearing and movement, balance and strength?
Thank you for my body, creator God
Thank you for it's health
I don't have cancer
I don't have arthritis
I don't have muscle spasms
I have strength and power
mobility and freedom
Grant me, Lord Jesus,
good sense, good grace to take care of this temple
Give me self control, time management, and discipline
to keep this vessel pure, clean and useful to you.

Amen

Before I Speak Your Name

Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.

Psalm 33:3

It's Morning, Jesus
Before I speak your name
I receive the Word that shatters my house of glass
I am like all others in exile
Longing for my home in you
There is no other and can be none other than you

I keep my song in a box
But the birds sing the hidden melody
I muffle my shout
But the dogs still bark
I cover my sorrow with laughter
But the baby still cries

Make me as real as the bird, the dog, the baby
So that my open throat gives no opportunities to the rocks
to cry your name

Sing, shout, cry...
How beautiful our heritage,
To have this way of speaking to eternity,
How beautiful this solitude,,
surrounded, filled, and mastered by Thy Name,
from which all things arise in splendor
depending one upon the other.

Evening Prayer

It's Sundown, Jesus
Did I do you proud?
Did I listen?
Did I look into the eyes of those I met?
Did I search for your face in despairing disguise?
Did I entertain angels unawares?
Was this day about me, or you, Lord?
Did I seek my own comfort or someone elses?
Did I try make that extra step, today?
I want to follow you Jesus
Examine my day with me, three-personed God.
I began the morning all charged up with you....
Did I carry it to noon?
Did I come back to you for refreshing and offer anything to this world that was not of me?
Did I do you proud, Jesus?

Amen

Read On

11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.

I climbed the mountain of loneliness
like a cripple
swinging on the crutches of dead limbs
And I sat down in the wound that widens all hearts...
My sin against you
I have sought you for myself
For my own pleasure
And I have measured your greatness by my blessing
I have forsaken your word
And treated it as a dead word
Except for the words that spoke the desires of my own heart
Except for the words that tripped like phrases of beauty from my own lips
I have not said the difficult words
"Take up thy cross"
I have not repeated to myself or sung with joy "Deny thyself"
I do not like the graveyard truth: "Unless a man dies to himself, he cannot be my disciple".
So I sit on this side of the mountain in the wound of my own pleasure
The sun scorched earth all around me
And shade myself with flowers and streams of water
To make me forget my own condition.
I have proclaimed a fast to you
A fast that will bring me pleasure and keep me safe
I fast from immorality
I fast from crudeness
I fast from licentiousness
I fast from cursing
I quote your word back to you
And say it to myself til I almost believe it
But you keep coming back to me in loneliness and pain
As if to say...read on.
But I am selfish.
Its all about me.
I refuse to read Isaiah anymore.
I don't understand Isaiah.
That's not me.
But I read...I read on...

"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?

7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness [a] will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,

10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.

THEN

11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.

12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

Evening Prayer

It's Evening, Jesus
Did I do you proud?
What words leaked out of my heart today
and climbed the tower of my throat
and gurgled and hurled themselves in insults
toward others?
What thoughts gestated and infested my soul
with the cankerous worms of death?
What envies and greeds invaded me
or spawned new jealousies?
Show me my morning, before the sun burned off the fog...
Did I begin my day with you, Lord Jesus
and bring each thought captive?
Show me my afternoon in the rear view mirror of my reflection.
Did I bear witness to truth, to justice, to good?
Show me, too,
the goodness you imparted
the compassionate moment
the sympathetic insight
the patient hour of long suffering.

Le me see myself, Lord Jesus,
As I lay down.
Now I lay me down.

Amen

If I Be Lifted Up

1

Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

Psalm 1

It's Morning, Jesus
Under the humility of the trees
I bow my head
The root of thought goes deep into your word
I grasp the gravity of truth
How beautiful are your Words
How lovely all of your creation
With bowed head and uplifted arms
I reach to you

You are glorified.
You are exalted.
You are above all and in all and through all
You accept none of my requirements for your presence
You inhabit fog, shadow, humidity and frost
You are not the heat of fire or the freeze of cold
You are not cool or warm
You are God
Transcendent
Omnipotent
God alone.

Today I live for you
Sing to you
Look for you
Listen with you

To the birds singing hallelujah
To the crickets lullaby
To the babies cry
The old woman's sigh
The prisoners groan
The widows loneliness

You are able
You are all in all.
And so I worship you
Because you are God
and God alone.

Thank you for grace
Thank you for mercy
Thank you for the iron will of justice
that keeps the city safe
That you for the wall of truth
That keeps our children hidden from the enemy
And the enemy outside the gates

Thank you for the twisted wood of victory
The tree that did not bend or break
But that yielded to the carpenters hand and feet
and held him safe against the sky

There I look
And live
And die.

Amen

Stop Screaming: Psychic Captivity to Another

Marks of a Bad Relationship

1) My good feelings about who I am depend on being liked by you;
2) My good feelings about who I am depend on getting approval from you;
3) Your struggle affects my serenity. My mental attention focuses on solving your problems, or relieving your pain;
4) My mental attention is usually focused on pleasing you
5) My Self-esteem is bolstered by _ solving your problems, and
_ relieving your pain
6) My hobbies and interests are put aside. My time is spent sharing your
hobbies and interests
7) Your _ clothing, _ personal appearance, and _ behavior follow my desires,
as I feel you are a reflection of me
8) I’m seldom aware of how I feel - I’m mainly aware of how you feel
9) I’m seldom aware of what I want - I ask or assume what you want
10) My dreams of the future are mainly linked to you;
11) My fears of your _ rejection and _ anger strongly shape what I say and do
12) I use giving as a key way of feeling safe in our relationship
13) My own social circle diminishes as I involve myself with you
14) I put many of my values aside in order to stay in relationship with you
15) I value your opinions and ways of doing most things more than mine
16) The quality of my life hinges largely on the quality of yours

Why We Scream

We have an overdeveloped sense of responsibility and it is easier for us to be concerned with others rather than ourselves. This in turn enabled us not to look too closely at our faults.
We "stuff" our feelings from our traumatic childhoods and have lost the ability to feel or express our feelings because it hurts too much.
We are isolated from and afraid of people and authority figures.
We have become approval seekers and have lost our identity in the process.
We are frightened by angry people and any personal criticism.
We live from the viewpoint of victims and are attacked by that weakness in our love and friendship relationships.
We judge ourselves harshly and have a low sense of self esteem.
We are dependent personalities who are terrified of abandonment. We will do anything to hold onto a relationship in order to not experience painful abandonment feelings which we received from living with people who were never there emotionally for us.
We experience guilt feelings when we stand up for ourselves instead of giving in to others.
We confuse love and pity and tend to "love" people we can pity and rescue.
We have either become chemically dependent, married one or both, or found another compulsive personality, such a workaholic to fulfill our own compulsive needs.
We have become addicted to excitement.
We are reactors in life rather than actors

Truth That will Set You Free
#1. You are fearfully and wonderfully made.
#2. God makes no junk.
#3. God is waiting on you to listen to Him and not others.
#4. God is your Father and shines his favor on you through Jesus Christ.

Living out of our Sin Nature

Do you find yourself making decisions based on other people's opinions?
Is it important to you that people like you and want to be your friend?
Do you have a strong desire to help others, but deep down you know you do it so that they will like or love you?
Do you seem to notice everyone else's problems and have a need to tell them what you think they should do to solve them?
Do you feel anxious, angry or upset when people don't do things you want them to do, or do things the way you want them to do them?
Are you involved in activities that demand all of your time and energy and you are neglecting your family or yourself?

3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved

Inner Guide

8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2

It's Morning, Jesus
I thank you this morning, for my salvation
I thank you this morning, for your grace
Open my eyes, Lord Jesus, to your unique craftmanship
of my own life
I am created in you.
As you are the potter, Lord
and I am the clay
I pray my day this day will bear the marks of your impress
I will go where you shape my spiritual heart to go
I will serve where you press my spirit into service
I will do the work which you prepared me to do
I will seek the lost
I will serve the wounded
I will not drive by hospitals or jails
or the hungry and needy for the pursuit of my own pleasure
You prepared the work
You prepared me
Grant me the humility to accept my spiritual self in the way you have created me
Grant me joy in consenting to be who I am before you
Grant me strength to stand against those who want me to be what I am not
Grant me ears to hear heavens applause and not man's manipulating praises
Grant me a heart that beats to the rhythm of heavens' values
and not the drum beats of the worlds expectations
I was created for a work
I was created in you for that work
I trust you, Lord Jesus, for guidance and call to that work
So today,
I will yield my will
I will yield my desire to be something I am not
I will yield my tendency to try to please others
And listen today for your voice and sweet calling
to the work you have prepared today for me.

In Jesus Name

Amen

Co-Dependent No More

3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ....Ephesians 2

It's Morning, Jesus

All of us have been in the co-dependency of sin, at one time.
We gratified the craving of our souls to be loved by others.
We were led by the desire of our natures to be liked.
We fell into the vicious circle of natures' wrath
For we could not please everybody
Open to be guided by the wants of others
We were open to the wrath of all
For there was always someone we did not please
But then you made us alive in you, Lord Jesus
You said: I will will guide you
You said: I am the way
You said: I am the voice you need to listen to
You said: If you are mine you will know my voice

So I pray today, Lord
for those who are living to others expectations
and not your voice or call in their life
I pray for their anger at others
when they feel manipulated them
I pray for their anger at themselves
for not being strong enough to stand
I pray for their anger at at the authentic man,
Who lives apart from the pull and push of other's expectations
But to the voice of God

By your revelation today,
By the power of your Word
By your creative power
Release that middle school student who is trying to be liked
Release that high school student who craves acceptance
Release that college student who experiences peer pressure
Release that young adult who want to be loved by everyone
Release that young parent who wants to be "liked" by the child they are raising

Give us strong men and women
Who walk in your Spirit
Who work in your Spirit
Who listen to your Spirit
And who no longer gratify the desires of the old nature to be loved and liked
But please you, Lord Jesus.
Please you.
May all who live today in the grips of fear
Listen today for your applause.
Amen

The "Must" Walk

3We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5But if anyone obeys his word, God's love[b] is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

1 John

It's Morning, Jesus
Teach me through your Disciple John
Teach me through your presence in the Holy Spirit
In this room with me right now, You are present
and I open my mind and heart to you.

What is it you command?
Where is it that you walked?
If I follow your feet and your footsteps,
Where do I end up? Following Luke's account...

I see you at the temple (1:49)
I see you at your baptism (3:31)
I see you in the wilderness (4:1)
I see you in the synagogues (4:15)
I see you with a man with an unclean spirit (4:35)
I see you in Simon's house healing a fever (4:39)
I see you with fishermen by the lake (5:1)
I see you with a leper (5:13)
I see you with a crippled man (5:18)
I see you with a tax collector (5:27)
I see you teaching a parable (5:36)
I see you healing a a crippled hand (6:10)
I see you preaching a sermon (6:20)
I see you going to the centurions home to heal his son (7:9)
I see you eating with a Pharisee (7:36)
I see you in cities and villages preaching and healing the infirm (8:1ff)
Grant it, today, Lord Jesus
That I not just go and sit in my office
And think great thoughts about you
Believe wondrous truths about you
Say beautiful things about you
But guide my feet to the place where I can
Do wonderful things with you
In the very places where you desire my legs
to go into this world.

Amen

No Longer

19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Ephesians 1

It's Morning, Jesus
No longer....
No longer am I a foreigner
No longer am I an alien
No longer am I on the outside
No longer am I abandoned
No longer am I alone

Now I have a household
Now I have a table at which to sit down
Now I have family to enjoy
Now I have relationships to trust
Now I have friendships in faith

In the fraternity of God I have been chosen
In the sorority of the angels I have been rushed.

Coming Home

It's Morning, Jesus
There you are, seated at the right hand of God the Father
I pray to you as a living Lord
A constant redeemer
A very present help in time of trouble
I thank you that by your presence in me today
I will see the world through your eyes
experience the world through your heart
Grant it, God
That I may know that dying to self which allows you to live in me
Forgive me my weaknesses
Multiply my strengths
Abide in me, three personed God
Today, now....I will linger in your presence
I will abide in you
Not for what I gain
But simply for you who you are
You are the source of all life

Amen

Sabbath Joy

It's Morning, Jesus
Grant it that we, as a people, enter into the rest of our salvation, today
And enter into the remembrance of your strong hand of delivrance
Make us a sign today of your covenant of grace
As a people set and drawn apart
May we be still and know that you are God this day and weekend.
Thank you for the Sabbath, which you made for us
And thank you for the call to focus on you this day
Help us re-create our minds, souls and strength in our rest in you today.
Amen

My Twin Sister

22And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. Ephesians 1

It's Morning, Jesus
All things are under your feet.
There you are, seated at the right hand of God the Father
Shepherding the world
I thank you for the life itself
Especially for the journey with children
I thank you for the sacred trust of shaping lives
from the nest of a home
I thank you for your very personal presence
to watch over your word to perform it
Praise be your name
Glory to you in your omnipresence
Right now, wherever our children are
You go before them
To prepare, promote, protect, provide
Give them, Lord Jesus
A touch of your glory today
May the long weekend be a time when parents and families
get together all over this nation
May joy be theirs
May re-creation in leisure and rest be their experience
May they celebrate in festivity
the beauty of your mercy
the enchantment and riches of life itself
in your name.

Amen