Your thoughts toward us exceed number…and ours towards You?
Father, Your omnipresence in our lives and world is beyond our comprehension. We know you have none of the boundaries of the flesh and that You created each of us. Now You teach us that You search us, You know when we arise and lay down, You know the words on our tongues and the thoughts of our hearts. You encompass us, Your thoughts toward us [...]
Lord, lunatic or liar, a true trilemma…(C.S.Lewis)
Father, The beloved apostle John was a disciple, witness and friend of Jesus. John saw Jesus, listened to Him speak and touched Him. Here we learn again that Jesus was with You in the beginning and that He was a manifestation of You to us. Father, we know that Jesus said, "If you have seen me you have seen the Father". Thank You Father for provid [...]
Our eternal High Priest, Jesus, is our advocate…perfect!
Father, we stand before You all day, every day, completely exposed. We have no secret thoughts or actions and You tell us here that we must give an account for our decisions.
Suffer patiently? How is that possible…
Jesus, our objective is to be like You. We will need a lot of help not to return evil for evil. If people are critical of us, to take such criticism without angrily giving it back to them, doubly for some of us, requires Your Spirit in us.
God’s word can never be stamped void. It invades your space
Father, we thank You for Paul’s ministry. He taught us how to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ, who he refers to as saints. We do pray for each other, perhaps not as fervently or constantly as we should, but we know that the prayers of a righteous man availeth much. You hear the prayers of those that love You so we never speak in vain [...]
Will mercy triumph over judgment? I pray it does…
Jesus, here we have Your half brother, James, clarifying that sin is sin and that there is no hierarchy of sin. Whether we have committed relatively small sins or grievous sins, we are all in the same place. We need Your forgiveness and cleansing and we need to show mercy to others as You have shown mercy to us.
Is our guilt transparent mostly to ourselves?
Father, here we learn from David that works of righteousness matter. What we say and do is noticed by You. But, You have taught us elsewhere that Your grace, in calling us to Your side, and that Your mercy and our faith in Jesus, makes our works become a reflection of our faith. We know that without works our faith seems powerless and that works al [...]
Is death the beginning or the end?
Father, no matter whether we are stressed out, cheerful or ill, James teaches us that we are to pray. Help us O'God to learn to pray unceasingly and to include You in all of the details of our life. Your word tells us that not a hair falls from our head without You knowing it. That sort of "presence” deserves/requires a response.
Troubled? Draw near to God. He is there for you…
Father, this simple admonition by James is a verse that constantly reminds us where the initiative must lie. We often lament over our circumstances, we feel alone, deserted and not cared for. Here we are taught by Jesus’ brother that when we set out to draw near to You, You will draw near to us. The ball is in our court. It is our responsibility [...]