Father, when You tell us to “sing a new song”, that implies that it is not a song we know. Is that what heaven is like Father, a place of new songs, new understandings?
We can not, from this side, gain an appreciation of what heaven will be like. You have promised us that it will be beautiful, unlike anything our hearts and minds have imagined or seen.
If we could but remember to take Your yoke upon us, for You have no burden, where ours sometimes feels unbearable. We know Father that You see our circumstance and that you have compassion for us. Relieve us we pray, of the tendency to weigh ourselves down when You are willing to lift us up.
Father, we celebrate the birth of Jesus as a nation and in many parts of the world. We pray that the physical birth of Christ will lead to the Spiritual birth of our loved ones and a renewed vow by each of us to seek a relationship with You more and more, each day.
Lord and Father, what a wonderful promise. If we seek You we shall find You; but what is it to forsake You? When Jesus, do we abandon You, when do we leave You out of the moments of our life? We admit it is far too often. You tell us that You search our hearts and know the intents of our heart. Lord, we hide nothing because nothing can be hidden from You.
Jesus, again, Your teachings are not unclear; demanding but not unclear. Why Jesus do You place such emphasis on fidelity? Is it because marriage between a man and woman, where two become as one, is a parallel of our fidelity to You, where Your Spirit lives in us and if we were to show infidelity towards You, it would be a great offense? We know that infidelity towards You, after Your Spirit has been united with our spirit, is the only unforgivable sin.
Father, these brief words remind us that most of us have a multitude of anxieties which distract us from the comfort of Your presence. When, in the midst of anxiety, we are able to step back and remember the transitional nature of most circumstances, we can find comfort in our eternal relationship with You.
Father, we know that trials will come on the Day of Judgment; but here You promise us we shall kept, by You, from that hour of trial. You have taught us Father that in the interim we will be tested and that each test is intended to strengthen us, to get us in spiritual shape to handle what is coming.
Being perfect is our goal and we know that is Your will for us. In the meantime, teach us and guide us, every moment to observe Your Presence. Your thoughts towards us exceed number. Help us to respond by drawing near to You knowing that as we do, You draw nearer to us.
Father, it is so difficult not to seek revenge when we are offended. We instinctively react in an aggressive manner whether we know the offender or not. That Father is not Your way. You have told us not to hold a grudge about new or old offenses and to love others as ourselves. There is no way we can do that unless we are filled with Your Holy Spirit. To be like You is to forgive as we have been forgiven.
Jesus, we sometimes think of the Law as being something that Moses received, as a Jew, for the Jews, carved in stone a long time ago. We see that our entire culture more or less rejects large portions of that Law.