Love

Happy Mother’s Day ~ A Prayer

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

Happy Mother’s Day! The following is my annual Mother’s Day prayer that I have been tweaking for over 15 years. Let us pray…

This Mother’s Day, we give thanks for loving, wonderful mothers, who have given their children so many invaluable gifts. We give thanks for and remember expectant mothers who anxiously wait for their child to be born. We give thanks for new mothers, bless them with wisdom and guide them as they raise their child. We give thanks for those who lovingly and graciously receive children through adoption and foster care, who model the adoptive love of God and show that family is beyond DNA passage. We give thanks for aunts and godmothers and neighbors, who share maternal love with so many children; and for far too often overlooked stepmothers. We pray for grandmothers who show a special love with grandchildren that forms connections that run deep. We give thanks for those who choose to remain without biological children, but who share motherly love with the world in many ways.

Together we pray for the many mothers who have had to bear the unimaginable burden of burying a child, and those who have born the silent grief of stillbirth or miscarriage. We remember those who have seemingly had hope ripped from them through a failed adoption. We pray for those who struggle with infertility, whose desire for a child is met with frustration. We pray for women who have made the decision to abort a child and continue live with that painful decision. Bring healing and reconciliation through Jesus. We pray for the mothers of children with special needs, chronic illness, or various health challenges, those who know anxiety and exhaustion better than most. We pray for those who were given abuse and heartbreak by the ones called to love them. We pray for mothers who have made the difficult and loving decision to entrust a child to adoptive parents. We remember mothers who parent alone for a variety of reasons, who deal with challenges that many cannot understand but do so with grace and love.

We remember all women, who function in motherly roles even though they may not have children as the world defines it, yet they are mothers to many by showing a motherly love that is tender, compassionate, caring in a way that only a mother can show. Lord, we thank you for the gift of mothers, of all kinds. In Jesus name, Amen.

Air

/ The Pastor 
As air fills the earth,
so Your love surrounds me.
Never a moment passes that I am devoid of it.
It gives me life and sustains -
     remove it and I die.
Every waking and sleeping moment -
     I am surrounded.
It fills me.
I do not have to seek it.
     It seeks me.
Never can I hide from it,
     for it is relentless.
Never does it run out,
     for it is abundant.
You are the air I breathe.
You are the life I live.
You surround me - 
     with love.
O God,
in Jesus' awesome name,
     I praise You.

[Breathe]

Adventing

/ The Pastor

Everybody is waiting for something:
Sales
Opportunities
Meaning
Healing
Everyone is waiting,
and waiting,
for something.
Waiting anxiously
Waiting hopefully
Waiting expectantly

But how time is wasted waiting wrongly?
How much energy is expended?
How much hope is drained?

Dashed hopes

Wait on Jesus and you won’t be disappointed.
Hope
Peace
Joy
Love
Wait on Jesus

Tenacious Love

/ The Pastor

Holy Father, good and gracious.
Your love for me is tenacious.
Unyielding and true, it holds me.
Holy Father, how can this be?

Sinner i am, i know it’s true.
Corrupted i am, through and through.
Death i deserve, there is no doubt.
For sin’s within me, all about.

Ashamed i am, oh God help me.
My sin, oh God, i want to flee.
Draw me closer to Your great love.
Draw my eyes to Your throne above.

Jesus my Lord, Your Son does reign.
Oh God my heart, from sin constrain.
God i want to glorify you.
And give You worship that you’re due.

Holy Father, good and gracious.
Your love for me is tenacious.
For You are Love, first and always.
Into Your love God, i will gaze.

Love Not Hate

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

There are many people with whom I disagree, but it doesn’t mean I hate them. Even if they hate what I stand for and call me names, I do not hate them. Satan would like it if I were to hate them but I will not. I confess that it is hard at times but that’s why I commend this to God and ask Him for help. Only God can give me the strength and fortitude to stand strong in the face of opposition. Only God can love me with a love that spills out for others to see that glorifies Him.

In the past, I didn’t always think this way (not that I am perfect now) and for that I confess my sins and repent of my behavior. Not that I necessarily hated the people with whom I was disagreeing, but I can see now how some of my statements would come off that way. You see, I have often taken to social media to express my beliefs and run to the defense of like-minded people/organizations. As if those who oppose them are going to be swayed by anything I say or write. At times, I have been downright feisty – sometimes to the point of my heart racing with emotions and crossing the line at times. Once again, I repent.

As Christians, we are never going to lead people to the Truth – Jesus Christ – through hatred, but only through love. You can’t hate someone and then proclaim Christ to them. It’s as it says in James 3:10-12…

10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

I regret the bridges that I have burned through hasty speech on social media and through other mediums. God forgive me. Brothers and sisters, let us bridle our tongues/words as we engage those with whom we disagree. Don’t come off as arrogant, morally self-righteous, or anything of the sort. Humbly approach each and every person and situation with the love of Christ – genuinely wanting people to come to the knowledge of the Truth. Pray for your heart. Pray for those who oppose you. Pray for your words. May blessings flow and not curses, that God may be glorified.

Holy God, bless the fountain that is my mouth and have holy dominion over my tongue. May the words that enter the arena for others to see/hear be holy words that glorify You. May disagreements be seen as mission fields and not battle grounds – opportunities to witness to the Truth. May my words be Your Words. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

My Reason to Rhyme

/ The Pastor

You have probably noticed that I like writing poetry. I’m nothing special and definitely not the best thing since sliced bread, but I like trying to write it. Sometimes my poems are pretty strict in structure and beats per line. Sometimes I mix things up. Sometimes I write poetry that seems to break all the conventional rules. But no matter the poem, I have found a peace in writing them. As the following poem says, in my writing I am forced to think deeply about words I choose and in doing so I am thinking more deeply about my relationship with God through Jesus Christ. And so there you have it – my reason to rhyme…

Morning has broken, this day is new.
And my coffee is ready to brew.
Jesus my Lord, to him i will pray.
Doing no other to start my day.

It’s Your grace i think on and review.
Yet i’m writing a poem about You.
It seems i’m lost and going astray.
But in this style Your love i convey.

For as i write i think on You more.
And that is great for You i adore.
I’ll keep on going with You my God,
What i’m doing is not a facade.

And so i sit with coffee in hand,
thinking on You as my love is fanned.
I think about each and every rhyme.
knowing it’s never a waste of time .

To God be the glory. Amen 🙂

In Love

/ The Pastor

The preaching series in James takes us into chapter 2 where James admonishes his beloved brothers (in Christ) about showing partiality. This is a message that hit my heart and one that I hope resonates with others.

So below is a prayer that I wrote for today’s Holy Communion liturgy, with James in mind (and in heart). To God be the Glory!

It is indeed right and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, oh God, Creator of all we can see and not see. In Love You created us.
In love You saved us through Jesus Christ.
In love You sustain us with Your Holy Spirit.
In love, may we go and serve one another, regardless of what they look like or come from or believe or think.
May we go with You and receive people without partiality.
May we receive them for the sake of the Gospel – proclaiming the life-saving Good News of Jesus Christ.
May we not be distracted by anything that Satan would throw at us to divide us. We are Yours, oh God, and we glorify You and You alone. And so, with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven we join in singing Your unending praise.

Emanating Love

/ The Pastor

The warmth of this day reminds me of the warmth of Your love, oh God. The sun shines.
It’s rays beat upon me.
The light blinds my eyes.
The sweat seeps out.
And as the sweat trickles down my face, soaking my shirt, with its smell emanating from me, so may Your love overflow and emanate from my life. But as it does what will I do? As I hide the sweat on my body and the smell of it, will I hide the overflow of Your love?
May I never do so.
As the Son shines in my life:
May others take notice.
May people see the effects of Your love in my life.
May it’s aroma cause others to pause.
May I not mask what You are doing in me in an effort to avoid offense.
May Your love sweat in my life and drip from my soul.
May it’s sweet and pleasant aroma draw people unto You.
May Your Son shine through.
Oh Lord, my God, warm me with Your love through Christ Jesus my Lord. Amen.

Jump

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

I look at this picture and I see a child leaping with wild abandon into his father’s arms. The child, never for a moment, thinks that his father will drop him. It is a faith that is unshaken and solid. The father is bracing himself and eager to catch the child. Never for a moment does the father imagine doing anything to endanger his child. It is a fatherly love unmatched by anything and anyone of this world.

Following the catch I imagine a loving embrace filled with laughter. The father spins his child around trying to elicit more laughter all the while each of them are smiling ear to ear; enjoying the embrace. The child feels safe and secure; totally content and willing to jump again. The Father is filled with joy. Nothing in this scene dampens the child’s faith, but only draws him closer to his father. Nothing in this scene dampens the father’s love for his precious child. What a love that these two share.

Are you this child? God our Father is the Father ready to catch you.

Jump

Father God, may I jump with wild abandon into Your loving arms. May I cling to Your faithfulness even though the Enemy would have me doubt You. Holy God, I know You stand ready to catch, may I have the faith to jump. And as You catch me, may I cling to You and bask in Your presence; ready to jump again and again. Oh God, holy Father, You are my life, my shield, my home. In Jesus most precious name I pray, Amen.

The Pastor -|—