Prayer

O God of grace

/ The Pastor

O God of grace, we praise you for the boundless love you have shown us; for the amazing forgiveness you give to us.  We thank you for your presence; for your guiding spirit in our lives.  We worship you for you are holy and great and wonderful and majestic.  O God, in what sometimes feels like the same old thing we ask that we may have inspired eyes to see you at work; ears to hear of your mercies.  And as we see and hear may we be so bold to live out loud to your glory.  O God, thank you for this new day; may you receive all praise, honor, glory and worship; forever and ever, Amen.

My friends…you were wonderfully created…may God bless your day that you may be a blessing to others.

The pastor -|—

Jesus is the answer

/ The Pastor

As I sit here in my nice, comfortable living room; safe and sound; praying and thinking of those who are mourning the death of loved ones in Connecticut, I find myself speechless (or wordless).  I know there are many people out there that have so many questions.  And as a pastor, part of me feels that I need to come up with some wise answer and response to this senseless shooting.

Why did so many children have to die?
Why did anyone have to die?
What could possibly possess someone to walk into a school and start shooting?
What were they thinking?

So many questions
So much fear
So much anger
So much confusion

But the fact of the matter is this ~ We can’t make sense of this.  One thing we can conclude is that this is a sin-fallen world, but even that statement does not bring any healing.  Actually…it might even offend someone who is mourning. So we can’t just say that and stop.  That would be irresponsible.  It would be no different than how many people have tried to explain tragedies and natural disasters in our past.  Some have even gone so far as to say that God ordained such an event as a way to communicate something or announce judgement.  That too would be irresponsible on our part.

So what can we say now?

In the face of tragedy the only answer we have is Jesus.  That’s it…and that is all we need.

Jesus

Jesus came to us in love
Jesus announced forgiveness
Jesus died on a cross and rose from the grave
Jesus has won the victory and that victory is ours through faith in him

That’s what is comforting me right now, but I am still sad.  A tragedy like this will do that to a person.  So in the mean time I will just run to God.  Running hard with open arms.  Running hard with tears of sadness and tears of joy.  Conflicted but victorious through Jesus Christ.

Don’t try to come up with an answer.  Don’t try to make sense of the senseless.  Run to God and listen.  Run to God and know healing.  Run to God and find hope.  Jesus is the answer.  Alleluia!

Loving and gracious God, our hearts go out to those who are mourning the death of loved ones but our hearts are also mourning and breaking.  Please bring us healing and hope that we may find strength in you to share healing and hope with those who are hurting.  Help us to see the victory over this world that Jesus won and gave to us through faith.  May we run to you and not to worldly wisdom.  Loving God, we worship and praise you in and through this storm.  Amen.

The pastor -|—

We get to

/ The Pastor

I heard a statement yesterday that I hate to hear ~ but I also love it hear it:
“Eric has to preach tomorrow.”

“Has to”?  Really?

My response was immediate:
“I get to preach tomorrow.”

I hate to hear that phrase because it makes what I do sound laborious and tedious and that I really don’t enjoy it; that I would rather be doing something else.  But I love to hear that phrase because it gives me the opportunity to share my faith and the excitement I have in preaching and leading worship.

“Have to”?  Not even close.

Of course people smile and nudge me as soon as I correct them as if to say: “That is what I meant.” But part of me doesn’t believe them.  Even so…I had an opportunity yesterday and I am happy to say that I took it.

Don’t get me wrong though.  I am not trying to say that my job is any better than yours.  I am not trying to imply that my job is more honorable than yours.  I am certainly not saying that your job doesn’t matter as much as mine.  Sure…I get to stand in front of people and proclaim the Gospel in what I hope to be no uncertain terms.  But then again…so do you.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
[1 Peter 2:9-10]

We are ALL called to be ministers.
We are ALL called to proclaim Christ’s saving love.
We are ALL called to witness to the resurrection.

It’s just that my “job description” is a little different from yours.  We ALL have holy and important callings.  For God has placed each one of us in the vocation we are in for a particular purpose…so make the most of it.  Instead of saying (or thinking) “I have to go to work”, say instead “I get to go to work and share my faith with others.”  That is a holy and important work. Imagine the impact we could have on the world if we looked at our “jobs” as mission outposts for the sake of the Gospel.

God, please help me see myself as an instrument for your glory.  Help me to see my place in life as having a specific purpose.  May you be praise through my “work”. Amen.

edh -|—

Pray, pray, pray

/ The Pastor

God is in control!

Jesus IS King!

God WILL BE glorified!

So…

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
[1 Timothy 2:1-2]

Enough said 🙂

Praise be to God!

edh -|—

Romans 8 moment

/ The Pastor

This morning I found myself blown away (once again) by God’s mercy and faithfulness when I was at a loss for words.

I was speaking with an individual yesterday who is going through some very difficult stuff in their life.  They were in utter despair and didn’t know how they could possibly go on.  Throughout the course of the conversation my heart was breaking as this person struggled to speak through their tears.  I kept asking in my heart:

“God, please help them.  Please do something.”

I was pleading for them as I listened to them.  It was one of those times where words would have gotten in the way; they just needed someone to listen.

Finally…

…I offered to pray with them which they happily received.  I don’t remember what I said.  I think it was one of those times that Paul talks about in Romans 8:

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.

Following the prayer they thanked me and I promised to follow up with them tomorrow (which is today).  I then proceeded to the sanctuary and continued praying.  Once again…I do not remember what I said.

Another Romans 8 moment.

I called this person today to follow up (as I promised).  As soon as I heard their voice I knew things were different.  They said they were having a much better day.  They seemed a little more optimistic even though they still have some trials  ahead of them.  Then this person said they thought maybe God was grooming them so they could help someone else out.  Wow!

After the phone call I returned to the sanctuary in utter amazement.  I didn’t know what to pray for yesterday but God was faithful; God was glorified.  In the end I guess all we need to do is just throw our hands up in the air and say…

edh -|—

Waiting and patience

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

imageWhen I need to get away and pray, one of my favorite spots is the sanctuary at Salem Lutheran Church (one of the congregations I serve).  Last week I found myself there; staring at these stained glass windows.  The room was dark but the sun light was pouring through these colorful windows.  Even through I was squinting my eyes I couldn’t seem to look away as I poured out my heart to God.  It may sound like a cliche but it seemed like God was pouring himself out upon me through those windows.  It felt comforting during a time of chaos and impatience in my life.

Impatience?

Yup…impatience.

My wife and I are in the adoption process and I am growing more and more impatient as I wait.  We are excited about growing our family…and we want to do it now.  We have filled out the adoption paper work and now are filling out grant applications.  We are doing what WE need to do.  The faith issue I keep having is that I expect God to follow though…NOW.

I need patience.

So I find myself in the sanctuary (a number of times); away from my phone and email, staring at those windows ~ praying.  I am asking God to:
~ Calm my heart
~ Strengthen my faith
~ Increase my trust that God has a child out there chosen for us

I know God’s timing is often not my timing (which is hard) but God knows what God is doing.  I keep thinking that God is molding and teaching Connie and me.  I just wish I knew what God was up to ~ but I guess that is where the praying comes in.

So the waiting continues…

and…

the prayers for patience continue…

God…continue to pour your light and love upon Connie and me as we wait.  We look forward to meeting the child you have chosen for us.  Strengthen our faith that you may be glorified in all we do.  In Jesus name, Amen!

edh -|—

Bad start but God reigns

/ The Pastor

I got off to a bad start this morning.  This is going to sound like a broken record to those of you that have followed this blog for a while but my stupid “smart clock” set itself back an hour this morning for daylight saving time.  I’ve had this clock for 8 years so one would think I would have learned my lesson…but no.

You see…after I got this clock the government thought it would be funny to change the date of daylight saving time.  The problem…my clock is still operating under the old date.

“Why don’t you get a new clock?”

That is a very good question…one that has a very good answer.  The clock was a wedding gift and hence my wife has an emotional attachment to it.  I love my wife dearly but I don’t understand the attachment to the clock.  So…we keep it, but one of these days my hammer is going to “accidently” fall on that clock 🙂

In any case…because of my unfortunate incident this morning I got off to a bad start.  My routine was totally disrupted and I stated my day irritated.  I don’t like starting my day that way.  So I got ready in a hurry; shoved breakfast down my throat and ran off to my office.

It wasn’t until I made it to the sanctuary that I realized that I hadn’t greeted God yet this morning 😦

So I stopped my hurrying.
Calmed down.
And prayed.

Amazing what difference it makes when one realizes that GOD is in control not some stupid “smart clock”.  Satan took his best shot at me this morning but God got the upper hand.  Satan tried to disrupt my worship and sermon prep but God will be glorified.

Nice try Satan…you lost 🙂

Praise God always and forever!!!

edh -|—

My whole self – a prayer

/ The Pastor

Loving God, today is about you…actually, everyday; every moment, is about you, but today is different… 

Today we gather for corporate worship.
Today we gather to sing our praises and offer our thanks to you.
Today we will hear your Word read and proclaimed.
Today we will confess our sins and hear about your forgiveness.

And what makes all of this even more special is that we get to do this with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ…and maybe some others who do not happen to know you but still find themselves at worship.

So much going on.
So much to think about.
But so many distractions.

Loving God…you are worthy of my whole self.  Please do not let Satan take a part of me away; for I want to give every part to you. I want to worship you with my whole being.  I want to focus my entire attention on your love.

Calm my heart, energize my spirit, tune my hears and sharpen my eyes that you are all I see, hear and think about.  

O Lord my God, you are worthy and awesome.

May my life be an act of worship to you…in Jesus name I pray.

AMEN!

edh -|—

Wait…

/ The Pastor

I don’t know about you but I hate waiting…

…but I think the worst part of waiting is knowing God is sovereign.

God knows what is best.
God sees the whole picture.
God has a divine plan.

I get all of that and I am extremely thankful for all of that.  I praise God that He is sovereign.  I worship God because He is…well…God.  But I still hate waiting.  So I think the worst part of this is my selfishness/sinfulness doing battle with my belief in a sovereign God.  They run around in my heart fighting all the while I get torn on how to react when I find myself getting impatient. I want my way but I also want God’s way.

But the thing is…

…I can’t rush God.  I can’t force God’s hand through bargaining or threats. God is going to do what God is going to do in God’s own time.  So I need to get over myself and trust.  I need to wait and see what God is going to do in my life.  I need to understand that God’s plan is a perfect plan.  I need to pray and ask for patience…

Loving God, you are in control.  You have a plan and I am excited about that.  But sometimes I can hardly wait to see what that plan is.  I get impatient and try to bring about what I think is the plan.  And when things don’t work out I get upset and angry.  Almighty God, grant me patience to trust you.  Grant me faith to wait on you.  Grant me wisdom to teach others.  God…you are mighty and I look forward to you displaying your glory.  In the mean time I will wait.  In Jesus name, Amen 🙂

edh -|—

Vacation and disconnected

/ The Pastor

I have been on vacation for a few days and away from any computer (and very little cell phone/WiFi signal).  It’s been strange being somewhat isolated but also revealing.  It shows how much I (and I am guessing most people) desire to be connected to the world as we are accustomed to through the Internet and smart phones (and other means).  Technology is such an important part of our lives today.  Ten years ago I wouldn’t have felt myself twitching being disconnected like that.

In any case…I am sorry that I haven’t posted any devotions for a while but I will be back at it tomorrow when I return to work.  One thing that I have learned these past few days though; I need to find another outlet for this spiritual discipline if I happen to be “disconnected” from the world.  I have missed writing and engaging scripture in that way.  In a time where people rarely hand write letters and notes I never gave it a second thought to do that; to actually pick up a pencil or pen.  What a strange concept 🙂

My other thought is that maybe Satan used my dependence on technology to keep me away from devotional writing.  I never gave THAT a second thought (or a first thought for that matter).  But now that I am aware of this hopefully I will be better equipped to combat Satan when he strikes again.   It’s amazing the things and ways Satan uses to draw us away from God but to see them and be aware of them is half the battle.  The other half is how you chose to deal with it.

Satan, often times, uses good things to draw us away.  I guess that is why Satan is so successful in tempting us.  Another reason is that we think we are strong enough to handle things on our own.  It’s like we have a humility problem.  We have a hard time falling to our knees in prayer; asking God to take control.  If only we would turn our lives over to God and send Satan running in the other direction.

Dear God, grant me the eyes to see when Satan attacks.  Grant me the faith to turn to you.  Grant me the strength to resist temptation.  Grant me the humility to reply on you.  In Jesus name, Amen!

P.S.  Wait a second…did I just write a morning devotion?  I guess I am back today 🙂

Praise be to God!

edh -|—