As I go through my day,
Please show me Your way.
May I not turn aside,
For You are my guide.
As I go through my day,
Please hold me, I pray.
May I not seek to sin,
For my heart’s not akin.
As I go through my day,
I will be okay.
May I never forget:
Jesus paid my debt.
“O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old”
I saw a social media meme recently that caught my attention:
“Many folks are praying for God to heal our land, but I think he’s still waiting for people to humble themselves, repent and turn from their wicked ways.”
I see a lot of truth in that statement. There are people crying out for healing but yet, not willing to turn to God; to repent; to leave behind their sinful ways. They have heard the stories from their parents and remember, but they want their cake and eat it too. As in verses 9 – 16, I hear people lamenting and wondering why God has turned His back on this nation. And then in verse 17, people claim they are being faithful, and have not forgotten God. But is that true?
And finally, in verse 23, the psalmist, on behalf of the people, is calling God to wake up and remember them. But I can’t help but wonder if people today need to wake up and remember God; to wake up and remember what they have heard with their ears from their fathers, to wake and remember who they are and whose they are.
So maybe the prayer is not for God to heal this nation, in the sense of taking away conflict and hate. Maybe the prayer needs to be for renewed hearts, hearts of stone being replaced with hearts of flesh. Maybe the prayer is that people would humble themselves and thus cry out in faith, “Rise up, come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!” A steadfast love that God has shown through Jesus Christ.
Yes, let us pray that prayer.
LET US PRAY: Father God, this world is messed up. We want a good life, one free of conflict, disease, hate, fighting and division. We want peace and harmony, but often we are not willing to humble ourselves and admit that we are the problem. So instead of looking inside, we look outside and point our fingers at others. Father God, send Your Holy Spirit to convict hearts and turn Your children back to You. Renew hearts to see You for who You are and to know Your love, grace and mercy in Jesus Christ. Bring healing to this nation but God, would You please begin with me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Have you ever been driving during a dark, moonless night on a lonely highway and shut off your headlights for a moment? Of course not, that would be silly and extremely dangerous. Now imagine doing that on a curvy mountain road with no guard rail – once again, dangerous and stupid. When it is dark, we need light. No one can possibly think it is wise to drive at night without light. In the same way, we need light to make our way through this life…
3 Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!
The psalmist here knows the dangers of maneuvering in the dark without light. And no, he is not talking about driving in the dark in northern Iowa. The psalmist is talking about reaching his desired destination through a dark world. And what is his destination? His destination is “your holy hill” (vs 3). This is a clear reference to Jerusalem, but more specifically the temple, the dwelling place of God. The psalmist asks for guidance “because of the opposition of the enemy.” (vs 2), the source of his mourning. The psalmist knows that the only way through this life is by the light of God’s Word. And of course, that brings to mind a great song.
Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path
Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path
When I feel afraid
Think I’ve lost my way
Still you’re there right beside me
And nothing will I fear
As long as you are near
Please be near me to the end
Our destination is not literally the temple in Jerusalem, but we are heading to the dwelling place of God. And, like the psalmist, we have opposition, which is often a source of mourning for many. And again like the psalmist, we cry out, “Send out your light and truth; let them lead me” You see, you will never get to God on your own. You need His light to show the Way. The world will never lead you to God, only God can do that, and He has done that through His Son, Jesus, the Light of the Word and, the Way and the TRUTH and the life. Jesus was sent as the light and the truth to save sinners, YOU, and bring them/you back to God. And once there…
4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.
Yes, we will praise our God, forever.
LET US PRAY: Father God, You have shown me the way to You through Jesus, the way, the truth and the life. Light my path and grant me the faith to faithfully follow that light, and not seek the darkness. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Stupid decision 😦
Broken, falling to my knees.
His blood spilled FOR ME.
SCRIPTURE:
Matthew 13:1-9 and Isaiah 55
LET US PRAY:
For as the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return to You, oh God, without watering the earth, making it bring forth and spout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall Your Word be that goes forth from Your mouth.
It shall not return to You empty.
It shall not return to You void.
It shall not return to You having failed.
Your Word, mighty God, is powerful and therefore it shall accomplish that which You purpose.
Your Word, my awesome God, shall succeed in whatever You send it to do.
Your Word, Creator God, is the only word that can breathe life into dry bones.
As for me, because of Jesus Your Son and my Lord, my bones have life and thus I shall go out in joy and peace.
May the mountains and hills break forth in singing.
May Your people bow down in worship.
May Your works be made known to all people.
May Your servant be faithful with Your seed.
For Your Word has rained down and has given me living and daily bread, and thus seed for this sower. Therefore,
May the words of my mouth sing Your praises.
May the words of my mouth spew Good Seed.
May the words of my mouth be carried and blessed by the Spirit to create New Life; beautiful fruit from rich soil, growth that can only come from You.
Oh God, You are a faithful God and thus all glory belongs to You. In Jesus’ name I pray,
Amen.
I was driving the kids home last night from a spur of the moment ice cream run. As we left Forest City to head home, my daughter started to complain that she was thirsty. “Then drink some water”, I said. But she did not bring her water bottle as we have instructed our kids over and over. I said, “Well, you are going to have to wait. We’ll be home in about 20 to 25 minutes.” But that was not good enough. More complaining ensued, as one would think she was dying of thirst.
And thirst is something that demands your attention. It is hard to ignore. Try as I may, if I am thirsty while lying in bed at night, I am not going to fall asleep. I must deal with that thirst NOW. The psalmist, in like manner, is panting for the living water that is God. He longs for His Word. He desires, with all His being, to be in the presence of God. He feels separated from God and does not like that separation. Like a parched mouth, the psalmist wants to be refreshed. It feels that if he does not receive those “flowing steams” (vs 1) he will die (which is true) But he still clings to hope…
11 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.
In dry moments of your life, instead of wallowing in your dryness, drink in the Word of God. Drink and drink, and be refreshed. Be reminded of God’s promises in Jesus Christ FOR YOU. Read about His victory over Satan, sin and death through Jesus’ death and resurrection FOR YOU. See the many moments of God’s faithfulness, and know that that faithfulness, FOR YOU, will never end. Meditate on the grace and love of God, FOR YOU, and be reminded of when the Holy Spirit first began to flow in and through you. It is a river that is unceasing, never to dry up. Feeling refreshed yet? Then drink this in…
13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
(John 4:13-14).
LET US PRAY: Loving God, I long for refreshment and for my thirsty soul to have more of You. This world has nothing for me that can last, and thus I long to drink Your Word, for only Jesus is Living Water. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
This is the final Psalm in what is called Book 1. And again we have an individual lament, but it takes on a little different flavor. Verses 1 – 3 talk about the blessedness of serving the poor, and it appears the psalmist has done that, yet he is suffering in some way due to his sin. Enemies see his plight and “utter empty words” (vs 6), whispering among themselves and imagining the worst for him (vs 7). In verses 8 – 10, his enemies have all kinds of theories about why this is happening to him, but the psalmist still delights in the Lord. What an incredible faith.
But there are a couple things that ring loud in this Psalm. First, no amount of good works will cover your sin. You can be the greatest saint in the world, doing all kinds of good works (like helping the poor) but even that will not excuse one little sin. It is only by the mercy of God, His grace through faith in Jesus Christ, that forgives sin. I sometimes forget that and say things like, “Well, I preach and teach God’s Word to people. That has to count for something.” Well, it does not when it comes to sin. Once again, it is all grace.
And secondly, what others say about you is not what defines you. What defines you is what God says about you. Let your enemies say all they want about your life. You show them who has your life by how you live and respond to adversity. If you know Jesus then you know the truth and the Truth. Do not let outsiders decide your truth. YOU tell them the truth and be at peace about whose you are.
12 But you have upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in your presence forever.
13 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.
LET US PRAY: I praise You, O God, for Your awesome grace and mercy, and I confess that I sometimes try to take matters into my own hands. Remind me of the truth and convict my heart. May Jesus ever be before me as a witness to others. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
I wrote the following for the Buffalo Center Tribune. This is important stuff for everyone.
PLEASE CONTINUE READING THIS EVEN AFTER READING THE NEXT SENTENCE.
Sex/Human trafficking is here in Iowa. Are you still with me? Good, because this is important. On Tuesday, August 8, I attended a free showing of the documentary…
Gridshock (https://www.gridshockdocumentary.com/).
I attended this because the evil of buying and selling another person is so abhorrent to me that I wanted to be further educated about what I can do to help. The fact that there are people who think it is okay to strip a person of their humanity in order to satisfy their own pleasure centers, scares me to death. It could be someone I love who is a victim or even a buyer. But this documentary scared me even more when I learned that human trafficking is a major problem here in Iowa. One of the reasons that it is a major problem here is because so many people think it is not. “This only happens in big cities, not in little ole Buffalo Center.” And therefore, people are not watching or worse yet, they simply do not care because it does not affect them. In this documentary, I listened to the stories of three women (from Iowa) who survived their ordeals, and I was shocked to hear the horrifying accounts they shared. We need to wake up because it is here in Iowa; safe, down to earth, conservative, heart of the Midwest, Iowa. Are you still with me? Good, then allow me to share some things we can be doing now.
(1) Talk to your children about online safety. Since the pandemic, online predators have been on the rise because, well, that’s where their victims are. One of the ways that predators get their victims is through grooming. They befriend them. This is something that can happen over time, and therefore our children need to have safe social media practices, which leads me to number two.
(2) Know what your children are doing online. As parents, we simply cannot trust that our children are doing what they are supposed to be doing or refraining from what is unsafe. Therefore, insist on seeing their online activity. Friend them on their social media account(s). You do not need to hoover and spy but be aware. And this leads me to number three.
(3) Know who their friends are. If your children talk about friends you do not know, make it a point to know them. If they are considerable older than your children, warning lights should be flashing like crazy.
(4) And lastly (at least for this article) spend time with your children. When I say this, it does not simply mean occupying the same address or room. Put down your phones and turn off your electronic devices. Actually be present with them. Talk to your children. Listen to them. Play with them. Take an active and authentic interest in their lives, their joys and sorrows. Let them know you care.
Sex/Human trafficking is here is Iowa. Let us wake up and see this problem for what it is. Keep the conversation going and pay attention. Learn all you can. And more importantly, pray, pray, and pray some more. God help us.
In reading Psalm 40, this poem took a life of it’s own. I love it when the Spirit takes hold and does something like this. To God be ALL glory.
I waited for the Lord,
and he heard my cry.
I waited for the Lord,
in Him I do rely.
He raised me up.
He established my feet.
He set me secure.
He makes me complete.
O blessed is the one,
who trusts in the Lord.
My heart he does hold,
and Him I so adore.
That’s why,
I wait for the Lord,
for he’s always true.
I wait for the Lord,
O please let me review.
The Lord is so awesome.
And He is mighty too.
The Lord is so faithful.
He makes all things new.
So wait for the Lord.
Wait ever patiently.
For the Lord will give you,
oh so abundantly.
LET US PRAY: Redeemer God, You have put a New Song in my heart as You have redeemed this sinner. You have given me peace through Jesus’ death on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins. You have given me hope through Jesus’ resurrection, that I too may be raised to New Life. And so, I wait for You, anxiously, I wait for You. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
This morning, you may have noticed a devotion posted by me. I have been writing daily devotions in a Facebook group I created in Feb 2022. I also have been emailing these to people, not on social media.
Starting today, I am also going to post these devotions here on this blog. Please feel free to share these for the glory of God. I simply want to increase exposure to these since God has placed these writings on my heart.
The Heart of a Pastor 