Psalm 119

Oh, how I love your law!
I meditate on it all day long.

When Sin Becomes Bitter, Christ Will Become Sweet

It's Morning, Jesus

Isaiah limped into your presence
Hungry for a glimpse of you
Worn out by sin
Wearied by his culture
Torn by the failures of his nation
How sweet was the vision you gave him of YOU.

But this world cannot undestand
How grand and lovely you are
For you are abstract compared to the klaediscopic images of t.v. and computer.
You are silent compared to the I-Buds in their ears

Lord, show us the real condition of our lives
Our selfishness and greed
Our lust and shame
Show us and let us taste the true bitterness of sin
Like that prodigal who ate pig slop.

When sin becomes bitter,
the feast at the Father's house will be sweet.
Amen

Coal of Fire

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."

Isaiah 6

It's Morning, Jesus
I come to the brazen altar of obedience
I come to make my beginning with you this morning.
I lay down my mind
I lay down my schedule
I lay down my life at the altar

Bring your holy word to my lips, my life
Burn me with the holy fire of your truth

Let your words inform me
Let your Holy word shape all my appetites today
Let your Holy word guide my steps
Let your Holy word lead me away from the false lights of my neon lighted world
to the true light of your truth
Let your Holy word show me what you value, what you highly treasure
Let your Holy word teach me wisdom, justice, virtue, honor.

Then may I be a seed of that truth in my world today
May I be a holy seed, out of the stump

May I be salt and light
May I be preserving and transforming influence
May I be counted in your reckoning as one who followed you.

Not I who live, but Christ in me, the hope of glory.

Amen

A Prayer for America

4 Ah, sinful nation,
a people loaded with guilt,
a brood of evildoers,
children given to corruption!
They have forsaken the LORD;
they have spurned the Holy One of Israel
and turned their backs on him.

5 Why should you be beaten anymore?
Why do you persist in rebellion?
Your whole head is injured,
your whole heart afflicted.

6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head
there is no soundness—
only wounds and welts
and open sores,
not cleansed or bandaged
or soothed with oil.

7 Your country is desolate,
your cities burned with fire;
your fields are being stripped by foreigners
right before you,
laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.

It's Morning, Jesus
You see our condition, Lord
As a society there is little "soundness" in America

Our lives are not based on thorough understanding of knowledge
Our logic has been broken and our arguments are flawed
We have thrown away the teasure houses of knowledge which our forefathers gave us
and upon which we were built.

We are not well. We are sick.
Our court system is not well
Our judges have lost honor
Our juries are sick

The open sore of covenantal marriage in our society
needs tending
Losing the soundness of principle that only a man and a woman
make a marriage
the very concept of man marrying man and woman marrying woman
is like a wound and a welt and an open sore upon our cities

The open sore of drug addiction
and cocaine parties and crack babies and meth drug labs
has loaded us with guilt
Our teachers in our school systems deal every day
with the wounds and the welts and the open sores

We are a society that refuses the medicine of God
saying we are not unclean, we are not sick, we do not need a bandage
We refuse the oil of truth
We refuse the cleansing of your word
We mock at God

We have lived apart from truth
We have stiff armed righteousness
We built our lives with hay and stubble
They hay of immediate satisfaction
The stubble of the instant gratification
And our country is desolate,
our cities burned with fire;
our fields are being stripped by foreigners
right before us,
laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.

Call us back to you, mighty God.

Amen

Oxen's Awakening

Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth!
For the LORD has spoken:
"I reared children and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me.
3 The ox knows his master,
the donkey his owner's manger,
but Israel does not know,
my people do not understand."
Isaiah 1

It's Morning, Jesus
And I the rebel, I the donkey and the ox,
Come before you.
In the covenant yoke I know who you are
In the relationship where you feed, me, tend, me, corral me,
I know your presence
As I live in covenant relationship with you,
You are the owner, and I know you.

Lord, make me as loyal as the ox this morning,
When the dawn awakens him he waits for the masters feeding.
Make me like the donkey.
When the rooster crows, he waits upon the masters approach
To feed him

When the sun is up,
He yields to the yoke
He pulls the plow of purpose
Consenting to his owners purpose.

May I learn, as a man, the consent of the creature
the recognition of who you are.

Forgive us when we are like Israel:
4 Ah, sinful nation,
a people loaded with guilt,
a brood of evildoers,
children given to corruption!
They have forsaken the LORD;
they have spurned the Holy One of Israel
and turned their backs on him.

5 Why should you be beaten anymore?
Why do you persist in rebellion?
Your whole head is injured,
your whole heart afflicted.

6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head
there is no soundness—
only wounds and welts
and open sores,
not cleansed or bandaged
or soothed with oil.

7 Your country is desolate,
your cities burned with fire;
your fields are being stripped by foreigners
right before you,
laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.

Show me reality as you see it, Lord Jesus
And examine my heart, my life, my country,
this morning,
Three personed God!

Amen

Isaiah's Vision and Prayer

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!"
Isaiah 6

Prayer from a Hospital Bed

It's Evening, Jesus
And you are with him as he lays upon a hospital bed
And you are with her as she visits her son
And you are with them as they wait upon the sick
And you are in those who visit and pray
And you are for the prayer of hope
And you are for the prayer of healing
And you are for the prayer of faith

As you are present in that room, Lord Jesus
Be known, and felt, and understood
May you be exalted.
In Jesus name
Amen

Personal Prayer

Grant that my proneness to evil, deadness to good, resistance to the Spirit's motions, may never provoke You, O' God, to abandon me.

May my hard heart awake Your pity, not Your wrath

And if the enemy gets an advantage through my corruption, let it be seen that heaven is mightier than hell, that those for me are greater than those against me.

Arise to my help in richness of covenant blessings, keep me feeding in the pastures of Your strengthening Word, searching Scripture to find You there.

If my waywardness is visited with a scourge, enable me
to receive correction meekly,
to bless the reproving hand,
to discern the motive of rebuke,
to respond promptly,
and do the first work.

Let all your fatherly dealings make me a partaker of your holiness.
Grant that in every fall I may sink lower on my knees,
and that when I rise it may be to loftier heights of devotion.
May my every cross be sanctified,
every loss be gain,
every denial a spiritual advantage
every dark day a light of the Holy Spirit,
every night of trial a song.

Amen

Morning in Assisi

"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide: so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you."

John 15:16-17

I'm here, Lord,
Because of your choice of me.
I didn't ask to be born.
Before the foundations of the world, you chose me.
And I'm here, Lord, because you appointed me.
And, to be honest, Lord,
Those are the rwo of the great reasons I keep coming back to you.
You chose me. You appointed me.

I like to be with you, Lord
I like to hang with you.
Even more than that, there is joy in your presence.
Your presenc is holy and I tingle with the idea of just hanging out in your glory.
And its a glory that reveals sin, but a presence that heals it, and a power that remedies it.

I can because you can.
I am because you are.
I will in your will.

I'm here Lord
But the greatest thing is that
We are here together.

Amen

What the Psalmist Said About God's Love

10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;

Psalm 103

It's Morning, Jesus
From the heighth of your dwelling,
Love pours forth
From the lofty place of your watchcare over us
Love pours down

In view of that great mercy
May I walk today with one question on my mind:
What exalts you today?
Let every word that spring forth from my mouth
be filtered through the filter of exalation...
Does it exalt God?
Let every thought that turns in my brain be measured
Let every emotion be weighed
Let every glance of my eyes be guided
Let every step of my feet by directed
I will exalt you, today, O God most High.

And should I soon discover my mind is cowering in fear
I will lift up my eyes to the mountains, from whence comes my help
Should I hear my own tongue wagging in negativity
I will lift up my eyes to the mountains, from whence comes my help
Should I stumble or fall, in any way
I will lift up my eyes to the mountains, from whence comes my help.

Amen

Praise the Lord O My Soul

He set the earth on its foundations;
it can never be moved.
Psalm 104:5

It's Evening Jesus
You've got the sky view.
I know you are able to look down.
No cloud cover can hide me
No roof can conceal my lieing down
You, sovereign Lord
Are all knowing,
And you can see me now.

You saw me all day long,?

at morning prayer, at bible study, at starbucks,
at hospital, at office, at school, at gym.
You even saw me in my car, going to all those places.

Did I do you proud, today, Lord?
Did grow a little closer to you?
Did I work on those things we agreed upon?
Did I?

Call all these things to remembrance now
Before I sleep
Or as I sleep
Or even as I dream.

Your will be done.
My will surrendered to you
tonight and tomorrow.

Amen

Thank You

In Praise of Childhood: Debby, Jenny, Greg

It's Afternoon, Jesus
Thank you for the gift of life
Shared with others
Whose heart beats, skint knees, and laughter over bubblegum
was experienced together.
Your grace is not just for today or for tommorrow,
but extends to our past.
You have loved me from a distance, and still love.

Amen

Jonah

It's Morning, Jesus
And wherever he is
Wherever she awakes..
Who is at odds with you
Crawls out of bed on a shoreline
dark and damp
from an evening whale ride
breath of fish belly
dizziness of sea ride.
O God, who calls all to repentance
Call this morning to him, to her.
May the whale of insanity that lives inside them
belch and vomit
Til they are released.
Amen

Jonah's Prayer

1 From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God. 2 He said:

"In my distress I called to the LORD,
and he answered me.
From the depths of the grave [a] I called for help,
and you listened to my cry.
3 You hurled me into the deep,
into the very heart of the seas,
and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves and breakers
swept over me.

4 I said, 'I have been banished
from your sight;
yet I will look again
toward your holy temple.'

5 The engulfing waters threatened me, [b]
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.

6 To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you brought my life up from the pit,
O LORD my God.

7 "When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered you, LORD,
and my prayer rose to you,
to your holy temple.

8 "Those who cling to worthless idols
forfeit the grace that could be theirs.

9 But I, with a song of thanksgiving,
will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
Salvation comes from the LORD."

10 And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. (Jonah 2)

Prayer for Morning Light

It's Morning, Jesus
May the light of your sun not just light my world
But may the light of your word light my path
May the rain of your heavens not just replenish the earth
But may the rain of your Spirit cleanse me
May the principles and truths that set the cosmos in motion
Not just command sun and moon and stars
But have perfect reign in my life today
O sovereign and majestic God.

Amen

A Prayer of Moses

Exodus 15
1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD :
"I will sing to the LORD,
for he is highly exalted.
The horse and its rider
he has hurled into the sea.
2 The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father's God, and I will exalt him.

3 The LORD is a warrior;
the LORD is his name.

4 Pharaoh's chariots and his army
he has hurled into the sea.
The best of Pharaoh's officers
are drowned in the Red Sea. [a]

5 The deep waters have covered them;
they sank to the depths like a stone.

6 "Your right hand, O LORD,
was majestic in power.
Your right hand, O LORD,
shattered the enemy.

7 In the greatness of your majesty
you threw down those who opposed you.
You unleashed your burning anger;
it consumed them like stubble.

8 By the blast of your nostrils
the waters piled up.
The surging waters stood firm like a wall;
the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.

9 "The enemy boasted,
'I will pursue, I will overtake them.
I will divide the spoils;
I will gorge myself on them.
I will draw my sword
and my hand will destroy them.'

10 But you blew with your breath,
and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead
in the mighty waters.

11 "Who among the gods is like you, O LORD ?
Who is like you—
majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
working wonders?

12 You stretched out your right hand
and the earth swallowed them.

13 "In your unfailing love you will lead
the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them
to your holy dwelling.

14 The nations will hear and tremble;
anguish will grip the people of Philistia.

15 The chiefs of Edom will be terrified,
the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling,
the people [b] of Canaan will melt away;

16 terror and dread will fall upon them.
By the power of your arm
they will be as still as a stone—
until your people pass by, O LORD,
until the people you bought [c] pass by.

17 You will bring them in and plant them
on the mountain of your inheritance—
the place, O LORD, you made for your dwelling,
the sanctuary, O Lord, your hands established.

18 The LORD will reign
for ever and ever."

Drizzle

And so it drizzles Lord
The water for which we cry falls in tiniest measures
Onto our parched and thirsty earth
And we say thank you

And so it settles in, Lord
This rain that does not run off
This slow, certain, gentle gift of heaven
And we say thank you

And so it begins, Lord
Just a little at a time

Which is often your way of changing things
of shaping things

So let it be, Lord
That you add to the explosive work of your life on me
the hours of gentle shaping

Rain on me
Grace of God
Drizzle, if you please.
My soul still drinks from your truth.

Amen

Ancient Rebellion, Ancient Voices,Ancient Paths

Isaiah 30

1 "Woe to the obstinate children,"
declares the LORD,
"to those who carry out plans that are not mine,
forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit,
heaping sin upon sin;
2 who go down to Egypt
without consulting me;
who look for help to Pharaoh's protection,
to Egypt's shade for refuge.

3 But Pharaoh's protection will be to your shame,
Egypt's shade will bring you d8 Go now, write it on a tablet for them,
inscribe it on a scroll,
that for the days to come
it may be an everlasting witness.

9 These are rebellious people, deceitful children,
children unwilling to listen to the LORD's instruction.

15 This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:
"In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength,
but you would have none of it.


21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." 22 Then you will defile your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, "Away with you!"

Choosing by Praying

Christians in Malaysia, Praying

It's Morning, Jesus
I check my clock for time
I set my soul for you
May the obedience of the sun to rise this morning
Be the obedience of my heart
To rise up and follow you
May I be open to today
As you live in me, Lord Jesus
You are my hope of glory
I both choose you and ask you to be
I both allow you and live out of you
I begin with worship
Set aside my desires today, Lord God
Thy will be done
Set aside my independent thoughts
And help me bring every thought captive to your feet.
Amen

Choices

Multitudes, multitudes
in the valley of decision!
For the day of the LORD is near
in the valley of decision.

Joel 3:14

It's Evening, Jesus
I have chosen whom I will serve.
I have only one Master.
I choose. I choose You.
Reveal to me, now, Lord Jesus
by your Spirit,
The wrong choices I made
the places my eyes wandered
the thoughts that led me astray
the desires that warred against you
the appetites awakened that offended heaven
Reveal these things to me and make me wholly yours.
Amen

Holy God

It's Evening, Jesus
And I am a son, praising you.
I cry holy.
I will praise the lamb of God
I will sing to the One who is and is to come.

Truth: Psalm 78

O my people, hear my teaching;
listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in parables,
I will utter hidden things, things from of old-

3 what we have heard and known,
what our fathers have told us.

4 We will not hide them from their children;
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,
his power, and the wonders he has done.

5 He decreed statutes for Jacob
and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our forefathers
to teach their children,

6 so the next generation would know them,
even the children yet to be born,
and they in turn would tell their children.

7 Then they would put their trust in God
and would not forget his deeds
but would keep his commands.

8 They would not be like their forefathers—
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God,
whose spirits were not faithful to him.

9 The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows,
turned back on the day of battle;

10 they did not keep God's covenant
and refused to live by his law.

11 They forgot what he had done,
the wonders he had shown them.

12 He did miracles in the sight of their fathers
in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.

13 He divided the sea and led them through;
he made the water stand firm like a wall.

14 He guided them with the cloud by day
and with light from the fire all night.

15 He split the rocks in the desert
and gave them water as abundant as the seas;

16 he brought streams out of a rocky crag
and made water flow down like rivers.

17 But they continued to sin against him,
rebelling in the desert against the Most High.

18 They willfully put God to the test
by demanding the food they craved.

19 They spoke against God, saying,
"Can God spread a table in the desert?

20 When he struck the rock, water gushed out,
and streams flowed abundantly.
But can he also give us food?
Can he supply meat for his people?"

21 When the LORD heard them, he was very angry;
his fire broke out against Jacob,
and his wrath rose against Israel,

22 for they did not believe in God
or trust in his deliverance.

23 Yet he gave a command to the skies above
and opened the doors of the heavens;

24 he rained down manna for the people to eat,
he gave them the grain of heaven.

25 Men ate the bread of angels;
he sent them all the food they could eat.

26 He let loose the east wind from the heavens
and led forth the south wind by his power.

27 He rained meat down on them like dust,
flying birds like sand on the seashore.

28 He made them come down inside their camp,
all around their tents.

29 They ate till they had more than enough,
for he had given them what they craved.

30 But before they turned from the food they craved,
even while it was still in their mouths,

31 God's anger rose against them;
he put to death the sturdiest among them,
cutting down the young men of Israel.

32 In spite of all this, they kept on sinning;
in spite of his wonders, they did not believe.

33 So he ended their days in futility
and their years in terror.

34 Whenever God slew them, they would seek him;
they eagerly turned to him again.

35 They remembered that God was their Rock,
that God Most High was their Redeemer.

36 But then they would flatter him with their mouths,
lying to him with their tongues;

37 their hearts were not loyal to him,
they were not faithful to his covenant.

38 Yet he was merciful;
he forgave their iniquities
and did not destroy them.
Time after time he restrained his anger
and did not stir up his full wrath.

39 He remembered that they were but flesh,
a passing breeze that does not return.

40 How often they rebelled against him in the desert
and grieved him in the wasteland!

41 Again and again they put God to the test;
they vexed the Holy One of Israel.

42 They did not remember his power—
the day he redeemed them from the oppressor,

43 the day he displayed his miraculous signs in Egypt,
his wonders in the region of Zoan.

44 He turned their rivers to blood;
they could not drink from their streams.

45 He sent swarms of flies that devoured them,
and frogs that devastated them.

46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper,
their produce to the locust.

47 He destroyed their vines with hail
and their sycamore-figs with sleet.

48 He gave over their cattle to the hail,
their livestock to bolts of lightning.

49 He unleashed against them his hot anger,
his wrath, indignation and hostility—
a band of destroying angels.

50 He prepared a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death
but gave them over to the plague.

51 He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt,
the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham.

52 But he brought his people out like a flock;
he led them like sheep through the desert.

53 He guided them safely, so they were unafraid;
but the sea engulfed their enemies.

54 Thus he brought them to the border of his holy land,
to the hill country his right hand had taken.

55 He drove out nations before them
and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance;
he settled the tribes of Israel in their homes.

56 But they put God to the test
and rebelled against the Most High;
they did not keep his statutes.

57 Like their fathers they were disloyal and faithless,
as unreliable as a faulty bow.

58 They angered him with their high places;
they aroused his jealousy with their idols.

59 When God heard them, he was very angry;
he rejected Israel completely.

60 He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh,
the tent he had set up among men.

61 He sent the ark of his might into captivity,
his splendor into the hands of the enemy.

62 He gave his people over to the sword;
he was very angry with his inheritance.

63 Fire consumed their young men,
and their maidens had no wedding songs;

64 their priests were put to the sword,
and their widows could not weep.

65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
as a man wakes from the stupor of wine.

66 He beat back his enemies;
he put them to everlasting shame.

67 Then he rejected the tents of Joseph,
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;

68 but he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loved.

69 He built his sanctuary like the heights,
like the earth that he established forever.

70 He chose David his servant
and took him from the sheep pens;

71 from tending the sheep he brought him
to be the shepherd of his people Jacob,
of Israel his inheritance.

72 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;
with skillful hands he led them.

I Have Seen Heaven

I have seen heaven
When earth and sky and sea and sun
All agreed to your
promises and all fell
Into alignment with your plan.
I have seen glory
Which rests alone in you
And proclaims your majesty
A majesty that exists apart from me and my wants.
I, the creature,
Have seen the fierce and gentle beauty of the creator
And His creation.
Give me, God,
The humility to pronounce your Glory
Over all the earth.

Thank You God, for Friends

"A person that has friends must show herself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a sister." Proverbs 18:24 ...

It's Morning, Jesus
Thank you for friends, who keep us sharp, humble, entertained, accountable, focused,
laughing, enjoying, sharing, believing, growing.
May the love of David and Jonathan in holy text be multiplied in our lives as well.

Amen

Sacred

It's Evening, Jesus
Hear our prayers.
Answer the cries of our hearts.
We ask for help.
We seek divine assistance.
We knock upon the door of heaven.
Amen

Let it Rain

It's Morning, Jesus
We came to you with parched lives, and you sent us rain.
Now we come to you with parched earth,
With friends whose wells are dry
We cry out with the rivers,
Let it rain
We cry out like the dry rocks in the Chattahoochee
Let it rain
We cry like sea gulls
We croak like frogs
We hear the slivering of the lizards on dry leaves
We see the cracks in the bottom of the lake
We ask you God for rain
You are the giver of all good gifts
We come to you
And ask you
We have asked for bread and we have eaten
We have asked for food, and you did not give us a serpent
Now we ask for rain.
We are humbled to make this request from heaven
We who go to the moon and back again
We who build tall skyscrapers
We who think we can create life in test tubes
Now we must come back to you
And look to sky
And look to heaven
And look beyond our selves and our science
And ask, yes ask for the simplest thing
Lord, please,
Let it rain.

Amen

Uzzah

It's Morning, Jesus
There you are
Seated at the right hand of God the Father.
It is your uplifted hand that commands the world, not mine.
It is your judgements that shape all history, not mine
It is your clock that keeps time, and measures early and late, not mine
Forbid it Lord,
That I should build my own tower of Babel
That I should presume to lift my hand
And command as though I were God
For still you rule and reign
By your Holy Spirit
Still you convey your truth
Still you invest all reality with your Presence
Which calls and commissions

I begin my day before you, Jesus
And I lay all my concerns at your feet
I humbly request patience to teach

Sometimes I want to strike the rock, Lord Jesus
There is an impatient Moses in me.
Sometimes I want to catch the ark,
like Uzzah
Because it seems so right to do.
May I always have a humble view of myself
A fearful honor of you
Grant me wisdom, patience, gentleness, kindness, forbearance, longsuffering,
and love, against which there is no law.
And guard me of my ancient adversary, Pride
Which goes before a Fall.

Amen

Legacy: Dan and Rosemary Autry's Grandchild

Legacy of Reese Kai Wade


13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

Prayer for a Friend

Lord,
You know everything about us.
Our sitting.
Our rising.
I pray for my friend.
I pray for your Holy Spirit to comfort, convict, convert.

Amen

Did I Love Today?

1If I speak in the tongues[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,[b] but have not love, I gain nothing.

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8Love never fails.

The 7 Wonders of the World

Clarity

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.

3 There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.

4 Their voice [b] goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,

5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is hidden from its heat.

7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.

8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.

9 The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure
and altogether righteous.

10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.

11 By them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

12 Who can discern his errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.

13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then will I be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.

14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Leading

It's Evening, Jesus
I examine my life
We examine our lives
We who have children.
I thank you for this man
Who held his child in his arms
As he led.
How like you, Jesus.
Bless the assembly that gathers in Minnesota.
May they rest this evening in you.
Amen

Resurrection

It's Wednesday, Lord
Today they buried her.
Be with the father
Be with the son,
Be with their spirit
by the presence of your Holy Spirit

You know their needs
You who are Father
You who are Son
and you who are Holy Spirit.

Amen

Praying the Psalm

1 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.

Lazarus

It's Evening, Jesus
I pray for Lazarus

Lazarus in the grave clothes of dread
Lazarus all wrapped up
Lazarus laid away
Lazarus wanting to live
Lazarus with the family weeping
Lazarus waiting
Lazarus weeping

Remove the stone, Lord, Jesus
Do it again

This time, in our time
Nothing is beyond you

His eyes were closed in death and he could not see
His ears were shut in death and he could not hear
His nose was clogged in death and he could not breath
His lips were sealed in death and he could not speak
His mind was numb in death and he could not think
His heart was stopped in death and he could not feel

And just when they thought it was all over
And too late

You said:
Lazarus....come forth.

Do it again, Jesus.

For the marriage
For the child
For the business
For the friend
For the woman
For the man

Amen

Spiritual Guidance

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. John 16:13

It's Morning, Jesus
I thank you that you have not left us alone to figure out the journey,
to work the Rubic Cube of Life.
I thank you that you know us...our rising, our sitting, our standing.
You know every word that is on our tongue, even before we speak it.
You know the traditions in which we were raised
You know the error of our ways
You know the tendencies of our faith

In the deep knowledge of who we are, You send your Holy Spirit
to be our guide into truth.
I thank you that your Word is truth,
I thank you that we do not need to search for or create truth
I thank you that you are the way, the truth.

And how wonderful, Lord,
That as I stand in truth and sometimes sense contradictions,
Your holy spirit is promised as my "guide" in that truth.

So I will be still today.
I will listen to my thought life.
I will be sensitive to the promptings of your Holy Spirit
to make me whole and complete in you.

Amen

New Again: Brad Paisley -Sarah Evans

Wholeness in Complexity

Put off your old nature which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Therefore, putting away falsehood, let every one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.

EPHESIANS 4:22-27

It's Morning, Jesus
We invite you into the complexity of life, today
And we claim this day as a day of miracle.
Today, I put on the robes of righteousness,
I clothe myself in you,
Not in my own effort and works,
But in accepting in faith the miracle of transformation
You can make in each hour and second of my life.
Today I accept my membership in a larger body;
Today I willingly submit my heart, my mind, my voice, my eyes,
to the wholeness of my body in the faith that the whole of me will be taken up by you.
Give me honesty in speech; truth in love, grief in any anger I experience,
That I might give you glory and exalt you as my Master and King.
Amen

Meeting God

Great God, in public and private, in sanctuary and home, may my life be steeped in prayer, filled with the spirit of grace and supplication, each prayer perfumed with the incense of atoning blood. Help me, defend me, until from praying ground I pass to the realm of unceasing praise. Urged by my need, invited by Thy promises, called by Thy Spirit, I enter Thy presence, worshipping Thee with godly fear, awed by Thy majesty, greatness, glory, but encouraged by Thy love.

I am all poverty as well as all guilt, having nothing of my own with which to repay Thee, but I bring Jesus to Thee in the arms of faith, pleading His righteousness to offset my iniquities, rejoicing that He will weigh down the scales for me, and satisfy thy justice. I bless Thee that great sin draws out great grace, that, although the lest sin deserves infinite punishment because done against an infinite God, yet there is mercy for me, for where guilt is most terrible, there Thy mercy in Christ is most free and deep. Bless me by revealing to me more of His saving merits, by causing Thy goodness to pass before me, by speaking peace to my contrite heart; strengthen me to give Thee no rest untiI Christ shall reign supreme within me in every thought, word, and deed, in a faith that purifies the heart, overcomes the world, works by love, fastens me to Thee, and ever clings to the cross.

(A Puritan's Prayer)

Self Examination

Giver of all, another day is begun and I take my place beneath my great redeemer's cross, where healing streams continually descend, where balm is poured into every wound, where I wash anew in the all-cleansing blood, assured that you see in me no spots of sin. Yet a little while and I shall go to heavens home and be no more seen; help me to gird up the loins of my mind, to quicken my step, to speed as if each moment were my last, that my life be joy, my death glory.

I thank you for the temporal blessings of this world—the refreshing air, the light of the sun, the food that renews strength, the raiment that clothes, the dwelling that shelters, the sleep that gives rest, the starry canopy of night, the summer breeze, the flowers' sweetness, the music of flowing streams, the happy endearments of family, kindred, friends. Things animate, things inanimate, minister to my comfort. My cup runs over. Suffer me not to be insensible to these daily mercies. Your hand bestows blessings: Your power averts evil. I bring my tribute of thanks for spiritual graces, the full warmth of faith, the cheering presence of Your Spirit, the strength of Your restraining will, Your spiking of hell's artillery. Blessed be my sovereign Lord!
Amen
( A Puritan's Prayer)

Evening Examination

A Purtians Evening Prayer

This night I renew my penitence. Every morning I vow to love You more fervently, to serve You more sincerely, to be more devoted in my life; Yet I soon stumble, backslide, and have to confess my weakness, misery and sin. But I bless You that the finished work of Jesus needs no addition from my doings, for His mercy is sufficient satisfaction for my sins.

If future days be mine, help me to amend my life, to hate and abhor evil, to flee the sins I confess. Make me more resolute, more watchful, more prayerful. Let no evil fruit spring from evil seeds my hands have sown; Let no neighbour be hardened in vanity. If this day I have been ashamed of Christ and His Word, or have shown unkindness, malice, envy, lack of love, unadvised speech, hasty temper, let it be no stumbling block to others, or dishonour to Your name. 0 help me to set an upright example that will ever rebuke vice, allure to goodness, and evidence that lovely are the ways of Christ.

Morning Prayer of a Puritan

Almighty God, as I cross the threshold of this day I commit myself, soul, body, affairs, friends, to Thy care. Watch over, keep, guide, direct, sanctify, bless me. Incline my heart to thy ways. Mould me wholly into the image of Jesus, as a potter forms clay. May my lips be a well-tuned harp to sound Thy praise. Let those around see me living by Thy Spirit, trampling the world underfoot, unconformed to lying vanities, transformed by a renewed mind, clad in the entire armour of God, shining as a never-dimmed light, showing holiness in all my doings. Let no evil this day soil my thoughts, words, hands. May I travel miry paths with a life pure from spot or stain. In needful transactions let my affection be in heaven, and my love soar upwards in flames of fire, my gaze fixed on unseen things, my eyes open to the emptiness, fragility, mockery of earth and its vanities. May I view all things in the mirror of eternity, waiting for the coming of my Lord, listening for the last trumpet call, hastening unto the new heaven and earth. Order this day all my communications according to Thy wisdom, and to the gain of mutual good. Forbid that I should not be profited or made profitable. May I speak each word as if my last word, and walk each step as my final one. If my life should end today, let this be my best day.

The Prodigal Returns

Afternoon Praise

It's Afternoon, Lord
I come back to you with a memory.
He stood and praised you in worship.
He took time from his life to dispense grace
He is raising four boys....or is it five?
And his wife is standing beside him to worship.
God grant him favor
Bless the father who blessed him
And may he be the blessing of a father to sons
In Jesus name.

Amen

Mid-Morning Reflection

Reflection

Holy Lord, I have sinned times without number, and been guilty of pride and unbelief, of failure to find your mind in your Word, of neglect to seek you in my day. My transgressions and short-comings present me with a list of accusations, but I bless you that they will not stand against me, for all have been laid on Christ. Go on to subdue my corruptions, and grant me grace to live above them. Let not the passions of the flesh nor lustings of the mind bring my spirit into subjection, but do rule over me, O God in liberty and power.

I thank you that many of my prayers have been refused. I have asked amiss and do not have, I have prayed from lusts and been rejected, I have longed for Egypt and been given a wilderness. Continue, Lord, with your patient work, answering 'no' to my wrongful prayers, and fitting me to accept it. Purge me from every false desire, every base aspiration, everything contrary to your rule. I thank you for your wisdom and your love, for all the acts of discipline to which I am subject, for sometimes putting me into the furnace to refine my gold and remove my dross.

No trial is so hard to bear as a sense of sin. If you should give me choice to live in pleasure and keep my sins, or to have them burnt away with trial, give me sanctified affliction. Deliver me from every evil habit, every accretion of former sins, everything that dims the brightness of your grace in me, everything that prevents me taking delight in you. Then I shall bless you, God of history, God of timelessnes, God of love, for helping me to be upright.

His Intent

His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 3:10

It's Morning, Lord Jesus
Glory be to your name.
You founded, dear Jesus, the most important institution in the world.
All nations compare to your Kingdom like a speck of dust.
"All flesh is like grass. And all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord (and all His family) abide forever" (1 Peter 1:24,25). The media and all the powers, and authorities and rulers and stars that they present are a mirage. "For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15). The gates of hades, the powers of death, will prevail against every institution but one, the church.
So I praise your name.
I bow humbly before you, awe struck that I am chosen to be a part of your work.
I am not able, but Christ in me, is my hope of glory.
Today I will walk as an alien here, a servant of the Most High God.
Today I will remember I am a stranger in a strange land.
Today I will rejoice that I was made able to shed the snake skin
And was made new when you breathed on me.
I will not slither back onto the cocoon of soul sleep
But I will sretch my wings like an eagle, and fly
at the uplift of thy bidding.

Amen

Mind, Memory and Mercy

11Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)— 12remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. Ephesians 2

It's Morning, Jesus
Before the sun rises today on the plenty of this life
Before the shadows of night are chased from the back deck
I will be obedient to your word.
I will remember.
I will remember the plight of my life when I was born outside your mercy
I will remember abandonment by the hands of men
I will meditate upon my plight separated from you
I will remember my exclusion
I will remember and reflect upon my state outside your mercy:

Without Him I could do nothing,
Without Him I’d surely fail;
Without Him I would be drifting,
Like a ship without a sail
Jesus, O Jesus, Do you know Him today?
Do not turn Him away!
O Jesus, O Jesus, Without Him
How lost I would be

Without Him, I would be dying,
Without Him I’d be enslaved;
Without Him Life would be hopeless -
But with Jesus, Thank God I’m saved.

Jesus, O Jesus, Do you know Him today?
Do not turn Him away!
O Jesus, O Jesus, Without Him
How lost I would be

Then I will remember
the strong hand of your deliverance
the mercy I did nothing to deserve
the free gift of grace in Jesus Christ

As I am faithful to your word and "remember" Lord Jesus
I cry glory
I sing hallelujah
I sweat inside with the fever of gratitude
My heart turns warm toward you.
You are the great lover of the universe
You are an all consuming fire.
Today I magnify and give glory to your name.
Amen

Self-Examination

It's Evening, Jesus
Did I experience the wonder of your majesty
And in the wake of your glory just pour out myself to you?
Was I empty enough to be filled with you today?
Did I try to do things in my own power?
Did I catch a vision of your glory that reigned in my appetities?
Did your awesome power cause me to lay down my own arms?
Did my awareness of the undeserving grace you've poured out on me
set free a stream of mercy in me?
Show me your glory, O' God
Show me your majestic presence.
I will declare to the world
that you are God and you are Holy.
Amen