My pastor pointed out that the gospels make no mention of Jesus conducting any funerals. Jesus didn’t conduct funerals because his business wasn’t death; it was life! He was in the business of resurrection! Our old selves may have died, but a new and better person was born! Thank you, God, for this new life!
We seem to be bombarded with untruths and misinformation on all fronts. We’ve been told that we can keep our insurance, the athlete never took any drugs, the president didn’t have sexual relations, and there will be no new taxes. There are also the little lies we encounter every day: the medical test won’t hurt, it was on sale, the check’s in the mail, and the unidentifiable casserole is delicious. Because of the lies we hear and tell, we have become skeptical and cynical when promises are made. How reassuring to know that changing and lying are the two things that we do that our omnipotent God can’t (or won’t). While God can do all things, His very character keeps him from being able to lie or break a promise. Thank you, O Lord, for the truth of your message of love and redemption.
God was and always has been. He is and forever will be. There is no beginning and no end to him. He is Yahweh: the great I AM. How can our small minds possibly comprehend the enormity of God? Our understanding is limited by our vocabulary and there are no words sufficient to describe Him. Oh, Lord, help us to understand.
I am God. I am who I am. … I am what some would say ‘holy, and wholly other than you.’ The problem is that many folks try to grasp some sense of who I am by taking the best version of themselves, projecting that to the nth degree, factoring in all the goodness they can perceive, which often isn’t much, and then calling that God. And while it may seem like a noble effort, the truth is that it falls pitifully short of who I really am. I’m not merely the best version of you that you can think of. I am far more than that, above and beyond all that you can ask or think. [From “The Shack” by Wm. Paul Young]
Have you ever seen a blind skier navigate down a mountain slope? The visually impaired skier is guided down the slope by a sighted skier who calls out to him when to turn and which direction to take. The blind skier has to have complete trust in his guide and must listen carefully to his instruction. When his guide says, “Turn right,” the skier doesn’t reply, “Do I really have to?” When told to get off the chair lift, he doesn’t try to second-guess his guide asking, “Are you sure?” When instructed to stop, the blind skier doesn’t argue saying, “But, I don’t want to!” No, he obeys. This is, indeed, a true example of “blind faith.” That is the kind of faith and trust we need to have in our life’s guide: God.
I know not the way God leads me, but well do I know my Guide. [Martin Luther]
How do we reconcile this promise to God’s frequent denials of our petitions? We ask God for what we want but what He gives us is rarely on our timetable and frequently is not what we specifically requested. God may not give us what we want right now but He will give us everything we need, not just for now, but for the future as well. He probably won’t pay our credit card bills, make our teenagers behave, fix our cars or relationships, or get us that raise; he may not even heal us. He will, however, ease our fears, give us wisdom to solve our problems, guide us in our relationships, encourage us when we are weary, strengthen our faith in a crisis, bless us with inner peace, and provide courage enough to face any challenge. We will, indeed, receive what we have asked for in prayer.
Don’t pray to escape troubles. Don’t pray to be comfortable in your emotions. Pray to do the will of God in every situation. Nothing else is worth praying for. [Samuel M. Shoemaker]
Father in heaven, thank you for getting us safely through the challenges of this day. May we have a peaceful night and a productive tomorrow. If it’s not too much to ask, could tomorrow also bring some sunshine, an extra dose of patience, a little laughter and lots of love.
I found the “if I should die before I wake” part of the traditional children’s prayer a bit worrisome for my little ones and so combined various versions of the “Now I Lay Me” prayer into this evening prayer for our grands:
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.May angels guard me through the night,
And wake me in the morning’s light.
When in the morning light I wake,
Show me the path of love to take. Amen.
Devotions of the Heart 