Rid us, O Lord

Rid us, O Lord,

of the arrogant delusion

that our age is

harder to live in,

harder to live through

and be decent in

than any age

that ever was,

that we are being tried

as our fathers never were,

that we have more excuse

for our neurotic screaming,

our pitiful muddling,

our sentimental slobbering,

our pinching terror

at the shadows of the future

cast upon our way

than any men who ever walked

beneath Your heaven

and on Your earth.

Teach us, O Lord,

by Your sane and steadying Word

that we stand before You

as we always stood,

living of Your grace

and moving toward Your judgment,

that the Bomb

and the terrible technological trifles

of our time

have not altered

the great,

plain,

steady fact

that You are Lord

and have not changed

the blessed time

of Your coming

as a thief in the night.

Prayer by Martin H. Franzmann from Pray for Joy

 

“Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers!  For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.  Trust in the Lord, and do good.  Dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.  Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”  Psalm 37:1-4

Advertisement

February 18 Trouble All Around

Image by Kevin Carden

Leviticus 6:1-7:27;  Mark 3:7-30;  Psalm 37:1-11;  Proverbs 10:3-4

“Do not fret because of evil men or

be envious of those who do wrong;

for like grass they will soon wither,

like green plants they will soon

die away.

* * * * *

Trust in the Lord and do good;

dwell in the land and enjoy

safe pasture.

Delight yourself in the Lord

and he will give you the desires

of your heart.

* * * * *

Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in him and he will do this:

He will make your righteousness shine

like the dawn,

the justice of your cause like

the noonday sun.

* * * * *

Be still before the Lord and wait

patiently for him;

do not fret when men succeed in

their ways,

when they carry out their wicked

schemes.

* * * * *

Refrain from anger and turn

from wrath;

do not fret–it leads only

to evil.

For evil men will be cut off,

but those who hope in the Lord

will inherit the land.

A little while, and the wicked will

be no more;

though you look for them,

they will not be found.

But the meek will inherit the land

and enjoy great peace.”

Psalm 37:1-11

* * * * *

Trouble all around

but peace is close at hand

for those who trust in

the Lord.

Don’t worry

when evil brushes up

against your legs

and threatens

to drag you down.

The Lord

is by your side,

His righteousness

drapes

over you

with His victorious

strength and power.

You are safe

in Him.

Lord God, we hear about, read about, see with our own eyes really bad things happening in this world.   It’s scary and can be quite depressing.  We’re tempted to worry and then take things into our own hands instead of waiting for You and your direction.  Lord, forgive our fretting and fearing.  Help us to remember that the victory you won on the Cross, is the same victory over all the badness that we see in the world today.  By your Spirit, motivate us to trust in you with all our hearts and to share with others the hope that we have within us.  For Jesus’ sake, Amen.

“THE LORD DOES NOT LET THE RIGHTEOUS GO HUNGRY BUT HE THWARTS THE CRAVING OF THE WICKED.”

Proverbs 10:3

August 22 Stay

Image by Matt Gruber

Job 4:1-7:21;  1 Corinthians 14:18-40;  Psalm 37:30-40;  Proverbs 21:27

“Blessed is the man whom God corrects;

so do not despise the discipline of

the Almighty.

For he wounds, but he also binds up;

he injures, but his hands also heal.”

Job 5:17-18

 

“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial,

for when he has stood the test he will receive

the crown of life, which God has promised to those

who love him.”

James 1:12

 

Stay where God

has placed me.

Stay in His good Grace.

Stay on through

the night,

till He brings

on the day.

Like the good Shepherd

that He is

He knows I’m prone

to stray,

to turn my head the other way

and ignore His

word to stay.

His oil of forgiveness

He applies

when bruised and sore

I, at last, return

from the distant gray.

Thank you Good Shepherd for commanding me to stay, to want to never leave you.  Thank you for your Word and the fellowship of other believers that correct my course when I wander away.  Thank you for your healing balm of forgiveness.  Praise your holy Name,  Amen.

 

 

 

February 20 Rider Of The Storms

Photo by Ron Loveday

Leviticus 9:7-10:20;  Mark 4:26-5:20;  Psalm 37:30-40;  Proverbs 10:6-7

“And a great windstorm arose and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.  But he (Jesus)  was in the stern, asleep on the cushion.  And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”  And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace.  Be still!”  And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.  He said them, “Why are you so afraid?  Have you still no faith?”  And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?”  Mark 4:37-41

He cares enough to ride through life’s storms with us.

We get rocked, He gets rocked.

We get soaked, He gets soaked.

We tumble about and so does He.

And because He is God,

He will calm our fears and

still our waves of anxiety.

He will sustain us

and keep us afloat.

Does He care?

The Cross answers that question.

Have no fear!

Lord Jesus, you indeed care, even when it seems that prayers go unanswered and the waves about us crash harder and harder, you  care.  You grant us peace that passes human understanding–so when chemo continues, our spirits have smooth sailing;  when finances stretch unbearably thin, your calm steadies us; when relationships turn rocky, your hand helps us over the unsteady path.  By your death and resurrection you have mastered all the storms that we will ever encounter.  Thank you, Lord, for being our Stay.  In your name we pray, Amen

“The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord,

he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.”

Psalm 37:39

February 18 Chill

Photo by Laura Jostes

Leviticus 6:1-7:27;  Mark 3:7-30;  Psalm 37:1-11;  Proverbs 10:3-4

“Fret not yourselves because of evildoers;

be not envious of wrongdoers!

For they will soon fade like the grass

and wither like the green herb.

Trust in the Lord, and do good;

dwell in the land and befriend

faithfulness.

Delight yourself in the Lord,

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in him, and he will act.

He will bring forth your righteousness as the

light,

and your justice as the noonday.

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;

fret not yourself over the one who prospers

in his way,

over the man who carries out evil devices!

Psalm 37:1-7

Lord God, help me to keep a cool head, yet a warm heart as I walk through this life.  There will always be evil, always injustice, unfairness and inequity.  Give me peace and understanding and the willingness to do good–even to my enemies.  May I trust in your unfailing love to guard and protect me.  In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

May 29 Lights Camera Action

2 Samuel 14:1-15:22;  John 18:1-24;  Psalm 119:97-112;  Proverbs 16: 8-9

“The heart of a man plans his way but the Lord directs his steps.”  Proverbs 16:9

“A man’s steps are from the Lord;  how then can man understand his way?” Pr. 28:24

“The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way.  Ps.37:23

“I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.”  Jeremiah 10:23

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”  Psalm 119:105

God is our Heavenly Director.  He makes it possible to follow in His steps.

Through His holy Word he shines a light on our sinfulness and our need for spiritual cleansing.

Through His Son, he spotlights His saving grace on the Cross.

Through the camera lens of the Holy Spirit He shows us through eyes of faith His redeeming Love.

We respond in faith–we are ready for action!

Growing in the knowledge of God through His Word we take our steps, guided by Him, directed by Him in a moving picture of His mercy and grace.

Lights!  Camera!  Action!

Lord God, thank you that you have directed us through faith to act out scenes of love, mercy, grace, restoration and reconciliation in the drama of our lives.  Because of the Holy Spirit within us we continue to be directed by you through your Word.  May all we say and do be pleasing in your sight.  For Jesus’ sake we pray, Amen

Feb. 19 The New Normal

Leviticus 9:7-10:20;  Mark 4: 26-5:20;  Psalm 37:30-40;  Proverbs 10:6-7

 The townspeople of Gerasa were pretty used to the crazy guy that hung out in the caves.  Because of his brute strength and uncontrollable ways they pretty much left him to himself.  Hearing his cries and seeing his bloodied hands and limbs, though disturbing, fell into predictable patterns.

 An encounter with Jesus changed all that.  After Jesus commanded the evil spirits possessing the man to take leave into a herd of pigs, the townspeople were upset with the new normal.  “And people came to see what had happened.  And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.”  Mk 5:14-15

 They saw two thousand dead pigs and one sane man–NOT NORMAL!

“And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region.”  Mk. 5:17

An encounter with the almighty power of God created a new normal–one that many feared and did not understand.

 To hear that someone has been healed by God’s Hands…

 To meet someone delivered from addiction by God’s Mercy…

 To witness a complete turnaround in behavior because of a new relationship with Jesus Christ…

 may seem strange and abnormal to some.

 But, we who believe can rejoice and give praise to God who delivers a new normal!

 “And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.”  Mk.  5:20

 Lord God,  thank you for the new normal in our lives–that “in Christ we are new creations!”  May we be like the freed demoniac–telling others how much Jesus has done for us–we’ve been freed from sin, death and Satan’s power!  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

“The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;  he is their stronghold in time of trouble.  The Lord helps them and delivers them;  he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because he takes refuge in him.”  Psalm 37:39-40