Category: Daily Prayer

Hello! It’s been a busy summer with travel for many things, but I should be home for a while now! I hope you have all enjoyed or are looking forward to a time of refreshing as I have had recently. 

Our scripture this morning is Malachi 4:6 (NASB).

He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.

Malachi is often considered the “last” prophet in the Old Testament. The Book of Malachi is the last Old Testament book in most Christian bibles and also the final prophet in that section of Jewish scripture. After this there was 400 years of “silence”, when God did not speak to His people through prophets. Later, God raised up John the Baptist as the herald of Christ and the final prophet of His salvation.

There is a depth of meaning in Malachi’s words here. He speaks of restoring hearts between fathers and children, and while this points to personal relationships, it also refers to restoring their connection to God the Father by returning to the faith of their earthly fathers. 

There is an explicit warning here as well. Our sin puts us on the wrong side of God’s justice, and we can’t save ourselves. Without the gift of Jesus we are lost. However, God’s love and mercy are there in our Savior, and when we put our trust in Him, we are safe.

Gracious God, we are ashamed of our willful selfishness and lack of care for each other. Forgive us and strengthen us in faith, that we may be the face of Your love to everyone. Amen.

Hello friends! Celeste and I are at brother Eric’s so they can go to church camp this weekend and we get to visit with my parents. Next week is a trip to a breeder in eastern Iowa to pick up brother Mark’s service dog. Mid month I’ll be home and back to regular postings. God bless you all!

Our scripture this morning is Joshua 1:8 (ESV).

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Too many people seem to think the Bible tells us “Do what I say or you’re in trouble!” Yes, there are commandments in Scripture that teach us to do and not do certain things, but these are intended for our protection and good. I’ve heard the example of a toddler and the hot oven. Are parents restricting them when they say “Don’t touch that?” Are they good parents if they sit back and watch and say “they’ll learn!” God is the ultimate parent and He is always concerned for our welfare. What kind of parent would not try to intervene if they know what their child is doing will harm them? That is a large part of the gift of scripture – God giving us guidance so we don’t have to learn the hard way. We often try to do things our own way and the results are often poor to tragic. Jesus tells us that even as sinful humans we know how to give good gifts to our children (Matthew 7:9-11); how much more can we expect good gifts from our Father in heaven? Scripture and the lessons it provides is one of those good gifts.

Gracious God, we are grateful for Your love and care, and the blessing of Your guidance in our lives. Help us to be obedient and to share Your word with all Your children. Amen.

Friends, I apologize for my erratic posting lately, I have been traveling and will again over the next three weeks. Bless you all and I’ll try to be in touch!

Our scripture this morning is Psalm 33:4-5 (ESV).

For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

The Filament Study Bible says of this passage “God’s word displays His character and power.” Praise psalms like this express our worship of the Lord who made everything that is. Sometimes we need to praise Him just for who He is and not the things He has done for us.

God doesn’t demand anything of us, but He invites us to choose a life in Him which is eternal. Compare this to what the created world offers, which is only temporary, and we can see what a relationship with God means for us. God says “I want you to be all I created you to be, not what you have become in the world.”

We are made in His image and we are capable of sharing world-changing love if we accept Jesus as our Savior and follow the path He showed us. He said it would be difficult but we continue out of our love for Him. Some day we will all praise the Lord with one voice!

Gracious God, in Your mercy You sent Jesus to love and save and free us. We are amazed that You made a way for us to return to You. Bless us to be the messengers of the Gospel everywhere. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Ephesians 6:12 (ESV).

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Our brother Paul writes to remind the Ephesians (and us) that there is a war going on and it’s not with each other. That’s what the forces of evil want us to think and they encourage the chaos. It is how evil has always separated us from God and each other.

In Romans 8:31 we read “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” We seem to forget this essential truth and as we often do, try to handle things ourselves. Unfortunately we usually direct our efforts against other humans who are not the underlying cause of the problem, only the symptom.

Colossians 2:15 tells us that through Jesus “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Him.” This battle belongs to the Lord! When we put our faith in Christ, we are part of this victory.

Loving Lord, help us to remember we are all Your children and we can choose Your way over the ways of the world. Bless us to go in Your name to share Your love with everyone. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭31‬:‭24‬-‭25‬ (‭ESV‬‬).

And Judah and all its cities shall dwell there together, and the farmers and those who wander with their flocks. For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.

I’ve been traveling for family this last week and haven’t been on much. I head home tomorrow and hope to resume daily posting. I have been doing a lot of thinking though.

I feel we put way too much emphasis and effort into our human created organizations, counting on them to save us from what we have allowed to happen in the world. At times I’ve been asked why I don’t speak out more in defense of or opposition to one side or another. I’ve always thought Jesus doesn’t have a “side” in all this. We are all His brothers and sisters.

To be honest, I do have opinions and I vote, but I don’t think that is what matters to Jesus. God warned the people what asking for a king meant in 1 Samuel 8:7 – “And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.” Unless we are willing to let Him be the king of our lives, nothing else matters.

What about people who don’t listen to our message? Well, first off it has to be His message, not ours. Look at how Jesus handled it with the rich young man in Matthew 19:16-26. We read that the young man walked away sadly, and Jesus didn’t run down the hill after him. In the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), the father let the son make his own decisions, both to leave and to return. God gave us free will and waits for us to use it properly.

Today’s verse from Jeremiah reminds us we are all called to a better existence than we know here. God wants our trust to be in Him, not in things or organizations we have created ourselves. That’s why I avoid political commentary here and stick to scripture. Please know I am a fallible human and I surely don’t have answers to many of our very human and very valid questions. Only our personal relationship to the Father through Jesus can bring that peace.

Patient God, we are amazed that You are still waiting for us to make the decision to return to Your love, and ashamed it has taken us so long. Help us to be patient with each other, that we may all be part of Your Kingdom. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Luke 9:23-24 (ESV).

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”

Jesus teaches that if we intend to follow Him we must want what God wants for us rather than what we want for ourselves. This is hard for us as humans as we see in our history. We are not very good at denying ourselves whatever interests us at the moment, no matter the risk.

In addition to this we must be willing to take up our cross daily. Jesus means we are called to do as He does, wanting what is best for God’s children and not just us personally. True service as He showed us is caring about each other more than ourselves.

He tells us “whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” This seems backwards to humans but is completely faithful to what He teaches and does for us – sacrificing Himself that we might be saved. Jesus tells us the world is not our home and that He has prepared a place for us in the Father’s house.

Loving Lord, we are sorry for our selfish ways that often harm us and others. Forgive us and send us to show the world Your love and mercy. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is John 20:21-22 (ESV).

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

This is John’s recording of the Great Commission given to us by Jesus. He says “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you”, meaning we are sent to do and teach the things He did and taught us. What an amazing gift, to be part of His work in the world!

He’s not sending us alone. Yes, we have brothers and sisters in the faith who will go also, but more than that, Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit to be our guard and guide wherever we go. This is God present with us always.

Jesus taught us about God’s love for us and the special relationship He has with the Father. He wants all of us to have that same relationship with God as His children, and with each other as His heirs. We carry on His work of spreading the Good News all over the world.

Loving Lord, we are humbled that you call us to be Your representatives here. Help us to go in faith wherever there is need and bring Your love to all. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Romans 10:12-13 (ESV).

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

In the early church there was some concern over the inclusion of Gentiles among the followers of Jesus. Jesus Himself had no problem of course, but early church leaders discussed this at length, some in earnest, some in anger. Jewish worship was part of their lives and those practices were not easily dismissed.

Paul, known as the apostle to the Gentiles, defended their inclusion based on their faith alone. Eventually Peter would be shown this as well, as we read in Acts 10:9-45. God made us all in His image, and He made only one group of us: human.

This passage tells us no matter how grievously we divide ourselves, we are all one in our Father’s eyes. Above all the petty rules and practices we devise is the command to love God and one another. If we start getting that right we will be on the way to His kingdom coming on earth.

Loving Lord, we are sorry for the artificial barriers we create for ourselves and each other. Help us to know each other as Your beloved children instead of a label. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Genesis 1:3-4 (ESV).

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.

Light plays an important part in the Bible story. It was the first thing God spoke into existence when He began creating. The concept of light is used several places in scripture to help us understand a variety of lessons.

In John 1:4-5 we read “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” This is the description of Jesus coming to be with us, and the light He has shined on a dark world. Sadly we also hear “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him” (John 1:10).

Jesus calls us to be light in the world too. He tells us “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14). We were made according to God’s plan, and He sends us to share the Good News everywhere.

Gracious God, we are grateful for all Your many gifts, none more precious than You sending Jesus to save us. Help us to be light in our world, telling everyone of Your love. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Psalm 105:1-2 (ESV).

Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!

This song of praise reminds us that God is the source of all things and we owe Him thanks and praise for our very existence. It was composed by David and the first part was originally sung during the procession bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 16). It continues with a summary of God’s promise to the children of Abraham and the Exodus from Egypt.

It was important for the people to remember their history as laid out in this psalm, and God’s saving grace that led them to the Promised Land. God intended it as a new start for them, but they got comfortable in the ways of the world quickly. The hard truth is we often forget what the Lord has done for us when things are good.

The last phrase of this passage encourages us to “tell of all his wondrous works!” It is a call to evangelism, sharing the joy of what God has done for us with the world. God wants everyone to know of His love and connect with Him personally.

Heavenly Father, You have blessed us and led us in Your ways so that we could be saved. May we always remember Your love for us and carry it to everyone. Amen.