Friday, April 16th

“I went past the field of a sluggard, past the vineyard of someone who has no sense; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins.  I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest-and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.” Proverbs 24:30-34

Lord God, As I make my way through the week I work.  I push really hard.  I stay up late and I get up early; even at night my mind doesn’t stop.  Here I am on a Saturday and a list of chores and tasks and to-dos from both home and work are rushing through my mind.  You have called me to be productive with my life just as you called Adam and Eve to work the ground, to care for it and to cultivate it.  You have called for the same from me and in my life.  So, Lord, today give me strength and energy to work hard at the tasks in front of me.  Make me diligent about my tasks and productive in my life.  And, at the same time, dear Savior, help me to rest my body and my heart in your finished work.  I can rest my heart and even my body at night and on days of rest and relaxation because you rested from your work.  You watch over the city so I can sleep at night.  You will accomplish your will whether I am awake or asleep.  The success of my productivity doesn’t rest in my long hours.  Help me to rest because you are ruling.  Help me to rest because you will provide and care for us.  Help me to rest because your will is always accomplished in me and through me.  You are always successful.  Your will is always accomplished.  Help me to work and grant me deep rest because of who you are.  Amen.

So, we work hard and we rest deeply.  We work hard because that is what God has given us to do during our days on earth.  We rest deeply because God has finished his work and he is the one who truly provides and cares for us through our work. 

Friday, April 16th

“Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”            Proverbs 31:30

Lord God, So often during my life I am pursuing a certain look, a certain appearance.  I want to look good before people.  I want them to value, validate and affirm me as a person who is someone.  And so I will dress myself up, put myself together, and seek to woo them with my words and behavior.  But none of this matters if my heart is still darkened by sin.  So, Lord, make a new heart in me by your Spirit.  Convert my heart and clean all sin out of it.  Come, dear Jesus, and make your home in my heart and set up your throne there so that I might live a life that pleases you.  Come, Holy Spirit, and rule in the members of my body through your great power.  I want to live godly life in this world because you have loved me deeply.  Change me from the inside out, O Spirit, that I might live a life that honors you from my heart into my life.  Amen.

The inner matters more than the outer.  This is not just true for women, but for all of us.  There is nothing we can acquire, achieve, or accomplish that will make us more beautiful and give us a higher value than what we have in Christ.  This inner disposition of faith and the fear of the Lord overflows into a wise life that is full of faith. 

Thursday, April 15th

“Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a ruling rightly given.  Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is the rebuke of a wise judge to a listening ear.”  Proverbs 25:11-12

Lord God, I’m not perfect.  I know that.  I easily and freely admit that from the quiet of my own heart, from the secret of my mind.  But when I’m confronted with sin and someone comes with a rebuke I don’t receive it as easily.  I’m quick to make excuses, pass the blame, or even deny that I did it.  I don’t like to be confronted or rebuked.  Lord Jesus, I know that it is simply pride that keeps me from being honest about my sin.  Forgive me for my pride and humble my heart to hear the rebuke that others bring.  Soften my heart to listen with an open heart and open my ears to listen to what they have to say.  Lead me to repent of my sin and then give me rest in the forgiveness of sin.  I can confess and come clean about any sin because every sin is forgiven by you.  Wash me clean with your blood and help me to stand to live in this world as your child.  Amen.

We can listen to any rebuke with the confidence that we are and will be forgiven.  We can rise up, then, in the forgiveness of sins to a new life. 

Thursday, April 15th

“Surely I am only a brute, not a man; I do not have human understanding.  I have not learned wisdom, nor have I attained the knowledge of the Holy One.  Who has gone up to heaven and come down?  Whose hands have gathered up the wind?  Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak?  Who has established all the ends of the earth?  What is his name, and what is the name of his son?  Surely you know!  ‘Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.  Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.’”  Proverbs 30:2-6

Lord God, God help us.  Your ways are so high.  Your thoughts are so deep.  And I am so limited.  I can’t wrap my mind around the true and full wisdom of your Word.  It is too much for me to fathom.  It is not irrational, but it is beyond my reason; it is supra-rational.  Grant me your Spirit, O Father, to give me understanding where you have spoken.  And when you do not give complete understanding, give me faith to take you at your Word and to trust you in all things.  O Spirit, lead me to trust in the Lord with all of my heart and to lean not on my own understanding.  Amen.

And when we do that, we are no longer brutes, no longer fools for it is the Word of God that transforms us into wise sons and daughters who love and seek and follow their dear Father in heaven.

Wednesday, April 14th

“I went past the field of a sluggard, past the vineyard of someone who has no sense; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins.  I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest-and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.”  Proverbs 24:30-34

Lord God, As I make my way through the week I work.  I push really hard.  I stay up late and I get up early; even at night my mind doesn’t stop.  Here I am on a Saturday and a list of chores and tasks and to-dos from both home and work are rushing through my mind.  You have called me to be productive with my life just as you called Adam and Eve to work the ground, to care for it and to cultivate it.  You have called for the same from me and in my life.  So, Lord, today give me strength and energy to work hard at the tasks in front of me.  Make me diligent about my tasks and productive in my life.  And, at the same time, dear Savior, help me to rest my body and my heart in your finished work.  I can rest my heart and even my body at night and on days of rest and relaxation because you rested from your work.  You watch over the city so I can sleep at night.  You will accomplish your will whether I am awake or asleep.  The success of my productivity doesn’t rest in my long hours.  Help me to rest because you are ruling.  Help me to rest because you will provide and care for us.  Help me to rest because your will is always accomplished in me and through me.  You are always successful.  Your will is always accomplished.  Help me to work and grant me deep rest because of who you are.  Amen.

So, we work hard and we rest deeply.  We work hard because that is what God has given us to do during our days on earth.  We rest deeply because God has finished his work and he is the one who truly provides and cares for us through our work. 

Tuesday, April 13th

“Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.  Punish them with the rod and save them from death.”  Proverbs 23:13-14

“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it…Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.”  Proverbs 22:6, 15

Lord God, I want more than anything else to see my children and my spouse in heaven with me.  Today, I am praying specifically for my children.  You’ve given them to me as a gift.  You’ve entrusted them to me on this earth and at this time for one big purpose, so that from me they can learn to know their Savior.  In addition to this, you have given me to them so that I might teach them the ropes of life and the path to life as you have laid it out for me.  It’s hard, though, Father.  It’s frustrating.  It’s aggravating.  It’s even confusing.  I don’t always know what to do.  Help me, Father, to pray more for my children.  There is nothing more important that I can do for my children than to ask you to be involved in their life.  Help me, Father, to get involved in their lives and to be invested in every part of their lives.  When I’m tired from a long day of work or worn out by the stress of parenting, give me strength to continue to be invested in their upbringing.  Help me, Lord, to train them to know you.  I want to hug them into heaven.  So, help me to raise them up to know you.  Amen.

The goal is discipline is always to instruct.  The goal is always to draw them closer to their God.  The goal is always to teach them the ways of the Lord. 

Monday, April 12th

“Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses.”  Proverbs 28:27

Dear Heavenly Father, You have put many generous people in my life who model for me how to be selfless.  Thank you for showing me how to give through them.  Here you encourage my heart so prone to be stingy.  Give my heart eyes to see the needs of others and a strong desire to fill them.  Help me find joy in sharing and letting go.  Because I believe your promise to return to me many more blessings when I share, I’m excited to see how this works with you.  Let the good times roll.  Amen.

Do you want to feel blessed and be blessed?  Then, be a blessing to others.

Saturday, April 10th

“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are profuse.”  Proverbs 27:6

“Oil and perfume rejoice the heart; so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend that cometh of hearty counsel.” Proverbs 27:9

“Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; and go not to thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity: Better is a neighbor that is near than a brother far off.”  Proverbs 27:10

“Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.”  Proverbs 27:17

Dear Heavenly Father, You have given me many blessings in life, but the greatest blessings are my friends.  Starting with your Son, Jesus, who laid down his life for me and then certain family members who choose to love me like a friend instead of tolerating me as a “sibling” and finally so many Christian friends who do life with me.  They listen to me carefully.  They love me faithfully by forgiving me of my repeated mistakes.  They risk my disdain by rebuking me.  They step in to lift the other end of the log when I can’t carry my burdens alone.  They grace the most dreary day with their little rays of sunshine.  If it were not for the friends you have granted me, I would be sunk.  Thanks for filling my life with them.  Amen.

When you are prone to count your blessings, start with your friends. 

Friday, April 9th

“A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.”          Proverbs 22:1

Lord Jesus, You have given me a name that is above every name.  You have called me child.  You have declared me “not guilty.”  You have given me a perfectly clear resume before God.  For your sake, my Father speaks words of pleasure about me, yes, me!  He says, “You are my child.  I love you.  I am pleased with you.”  I know that I don’t deserve this.  I don’t deserve this reputation before you.  There are more than a few reasons that he shouldn’t say that about me, but because of your grace that is precisely what he says.  Thank you for your blood, Jesus.  Thank you for your righteousness, Savior.  Help me to live up to this new name today.  Help me, in all things, to make you look good because of the life that I live.  Keep me from dirtying my name and yours too by the life that live.  Help me to keep your name holy throughout this day.  Amen.

So, work hard to have and to keep a good reputation in this world.  If not only reflects well on you but also gives glory to your Father in heaven.  And, at the same time, rest your heart in the knowledge that you have a status and a reputation from your God that is truly better than silver and gold.

Thursday, April 8th

“Do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.”  Proverbs 21:3

“The Righteous One takes note of the house of the wicked and brings the wicked to ruin.”  Proverbs 21:12

“Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.”  Proverbs 21:21

God grant us such faith and love for you that our hearts and lives overflow with love and mercy and justice for the last, the least and the lost.  You have loved us with an unquenchable love.  You have shown us such great mercy in that you have not treated us as our sins deserved, nor repaid us for what we have done against you.  You have separated our sins from us as far as the east is from the west.  You have shown such goodness to us.  Grant us such faith and joy in you and your mercy for us that our lives overflow with the same love toward others.  Amen.

True pursuit takes place in the heart; our lives overflow from a heart of faith.

Wednesday, April 7th

“Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.”  Proverbs 26:2

Dear Jesus, You endured so much criticism throughout your life.  I know it had to hurt but it didn’t seem like it slowed you down.  It’s easy for me to get hung up on the negative things I hear being said about me.  I can dwell on them way too long.  Your word in this little proverb is very comforting to me.  If a curse of my name is undeserved, you will prevent it from ultimately ruining me.  Oh, I know it will affect me, but it doesn’t have to ruin me.  I love to watch birds and sometimes I wait a long time for them to light on a branch so I can zero in on them with my binoculars.  The metaphor of a fluttering sparrow not landing is not lost on me.  I get it.  Unwarranted criticism will never settle and land on me.  It will flutter away soon after it is said.  That gives me freedom from worry about how the gossip can affect me.  Help me be bold in the face of criticism especially when I am sure I am doing my best to do the right things for the right reasons.

Spray yourself with grace and pesky gnats from your critics will stay away from you. 

Tuesday, April 6th

“The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out.”  Proverbs 20:5

Lord God, As I sit here today I realize that my thoughts, feelings, words and actions do not align with your word or with reality.  Sometimes I think and feel things that are simply not legitimate.  Other times I think and feel things that are downright wicked and sinful.  Forgive me, I pray, I want to do better.  I do not always know where those things come from in my life; my heart is a deep sea and it is corrupt and sinful.  I pray, help me to take stock of my thoughts and feelings that rise up from my heart.  Help me to fully grasp why these things rise up in me.  Grant me wisdom to see what is going on in my heart and help me, then, to align my heart with your Word and with what you say is good and pleasing.  Strengthen me by your Spirit to put down and put away all sinful thoughts and wicked feelings.  Strengthen me by your Spirit to live a life that is fully aligned with your Word from the depths of my heart to the steps that I take.  Help me, I pray.  Amen.

We want to align our hearts and our thinking and then also our actions with God’s good wisdom and his good guidance.

Monday, April 5th

“Then the servant girl who was the doorkeep said to Peter, ‘You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?’  ‘I am not,’ he said.” John 18:17

Dear Jesus, When the soldiers came up and declared that “Jesus” was the one whom they wanted, you stepped forward and said, “I am he.”   When a little servant girl, who was just a doorkeeper, asked if Peter knew who you were, without hesitation he said, “I am not.” O, Jesus I see myself in Peter.  I see myself in Peter as I deny you in my fleeting thoughts, the wicked ones that come and then go, but I can’t stop them.  I see myself in Peter as I deny you in my lingering thoughts; the ones that enter and then remain and I don’t even try to move on past them.  I see myself in Peter as I deny you in all my sin.  But there you are stepping forward to take my place. Christ, you step in and take my place.  You take on my sin.  You suffer for me.  You die for me.  And I go free.   Amen.

Thousand, thousand thanks to thee, dearest Lamb of Calvary. 

Saturday, April 3rd

“At that Jesus said to Peter, ‘Put your sword away!  Am I not to drink the cup the Father has given me?”  John 18:11

Lord Jesus, You were completely willing and totally devoted to going through with this.  Even though there was a group of soldiers who would fight to arrest you, your disciples wanted to fight for you too.  You could have even called a host of angels to your defense.  But you told Peter to put his sword away.  You did not call for that host of angels.  You wanted to save!  You wanted to drink this cup that the Father had given you.  This is that for which you were sent.  This is the cup you were given to drink.  And you willingly drank it for me, for my salvation; for the world, for their salvation.  Amen.

Thousand, thousand thanks to thee, dearest Lamb of Calvary.    

Thursday, April 1st

“After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”  John 13:5

Dear Heavenly Father, We use our hands to express love.  With them I caress my spouse, hold my children, and comfort my loved ones in distress.  What would I do if I couldn’t touch those nearest and dearest to me?  Jesus also used his hands to express love.  In the upper room at Jerusalem the night before his death, his hands picked up the basin of water and proceeded to wash his disciples’ feet.  Shouldn’t it have been the other way around?  Shouldn’t they have been washing the feet of their Lord?  He who came to seek and save the lost, now stoops to the work of the lowest slave.  Why?  To give me an example of humble service, of course.  He wants to remind me that he gave me hands to wipe away tears, watch over a soul, forgive a fault, bear with an injustice, invite a sinner, and encourage a saint.  Loving hands change diapers, scrub floors, prepare meals, do homework, bring home the paycheck, fill offering envelopes.  Even more, he wants me to remember how deep his love for me really is.  That night his hands washed feet with water.  The next day they washed souls with his blood on Calvary’s cross.  This night the Savior in love handled the disciples’ feet.  Tomorrow, in a far greater display of love, he handled the world’s sins.  From such wondrous love comes wonderful cleansing for my soul.  Amen.

Lord, help me, the sinner, to pray daily, “Wash me, Savior, or I die.”

Wednesday, March 31st

“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission .  Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.”  Hebrews 5:7-9

Dear Jesus, It’s Wednesday of Holy Week.  We don’t have anything recorded in the Gospel accounts about what you did on Wednesday of that last week just two days before you died for us.  We only know that on Thursday you came back into Jerusalem from Bethany.  I think you spent the day in prayer.  You had been contemplating the great sacrifice you were about to make for millennia.  You talked about it in detail as if it had already happened in Old Testament times.  (Isaiah 49, 50, 53, Psalm 2, 22, 69, 110, Zechariah 3).  You had been telling your disciples this was coming.  You even said this was your last trip to Jerusalem.  So, I think you spent the day wrestling with God in prayer.  Your verse in Hebrews describes how in your earthly life you had fervent prayers, cries and tears to your father who could save you from death.  You prayed not in defiant anger but in broken hearted obedience.  You perfected obedience by doing the unthinkable for the Father and for me.  You were fully engaged and fully aware of what it cost.  It took perfect faith that God the Father would accept the sacrifice for all humans and raise you from the dead.  Today as I spend Wednesday, help me to learn how to obey from the heart and how to suffer all the painful circumstances of my life with faith, hope and love.  Make me a man of God in all circumstances.  Amen.

Jesus was fully engaged his whole life right to the end so that we might have a reason to fully engage with him.

Tuesday, March 30th

“’Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.’  When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them.  They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.”  Matthew 21:44-45

Dear Jesus, You pulled out all the stops on Tuesday of Holy Week.  You preached pointed words in an effort to give the Jewish leaders what many others were receiving.  You wanted them in heaven with you but they would not admit to themselves their need for grace.  You called yourself the stone that they (the builders) had rejected.  And you said if they would not let you break their pride into pieces then you would crush them in judgment.  It’s judgment now while we can be forgiven or it’s judgment on the last day when it will be too late.  You don’t care what we have wasted when it comes to salvation.  You just want us to be honest and admit our need for you.  I know my sins.  I am broken by your law.  I need your grace.  Forgive me and heal my heart from guilt and shame.  Give me a pure heart that does not pride itself in anything.  But also give me a pure heart that believes it is truly forgiven.  Finally, help me reflect this humble but liberated posture to those with whom I live and move today.  Amen.

Nothing compares to a soul cleansed of self-made pride or guilt. 

Monday, March 29th

“If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.  In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.”  Proverbs 25:21-22

Dear Lord, My natural inclination is to get even or to reject people that rub me the wrong way.  I am challenged by your word here to love them boldly.  I understand that if I was an ancient person it would be like giving my evil neighbor a full jar of coals for his fire if he came by and asked for them to warm his house and cook his food.  It would be a testimony to your unconditional love living in my heart.  I do want people to meet you.  Help them to meet you in me.  I trust you will bless me as I love others hugely in your name.  Amen.

Strive to say with Jesus, “If you have seen me you have seen the Father.”

Saturday, March 27th

“For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteousness, that he might bring you to God.”  1 Peter 3:18

Lord Jesus, Such freedom and joy is mine.  You suffered for all my sins, all of them.  All of the sins of this week, all of the sins of my past, even for all the sins of my future.  You suffered for all of my sins just once.  And you did it all righteously and innocently.  You didn’t deserve a single lick that you got from your enemies.  You didn’t deserve a single stroke of the justice that your Father doled out to you.  And yet you suffered all of that for me.  You suffered all of that so that you might bring me to God.  You have opened the way for me into God’s presence so that I might see him, live with him, and come to him.  This next week, dearest Jesus, as I see you make your way into Jerusalem to suffer for all of our sins, help me to see what you’re doing.  You’re going into Jerusalem to take away my sins.  You’re going there to die for all of my sins.  You’re going there to bring me to God.  Lord Jesus, thank you for this your deepest passion.  It is my salvation.  It is my entry into God’s presence.  Amen.

Friday, March 26th

“Wealth attracts many friends, but even the closest friend of the poor person deserts them.  Many curry favor with a ruler, and everyone is the friend of one who gives gifts.  The poor are shunned by all their relatives-how much more do their friends avoid them!  Though the poor pursue them with pleading, they are nowhere to be found.”  Proverbs 19:4, 6-7

Lord Jesus, When I consider true friendship as Solomon teaches me, I’m tempted to identify people in my life who are my truest friends and those who are not.  But that isn’t Solomon’s intent.  He isn’t teaching me whom to avoid.  He is teaching me how I might befriend people.  He calls me to be a true friend even when there is nothing in it for me, but only something in it for them.  He teaches me to be present especially when something is needed from me.  I pray, Lord Jesus, give me these kinds of friends to walk with me in life and toward eternity so that I might live with you forever.  Make me this kind of friend and put me in people’s lives so that I can walk with them toward eternity.  And, most of all, be this kind of friend for me.  Stay close to me Jesus and walk with me until I live with you forever.  Amen.

Jesus is this kind of friend to you.  He has promised that he himself will be with you always to the very end of the age.  He has promised that he will be with you through the valley of the shadow of death.  He has promised to send you the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, who will teach and remind you of everything God has spoken.  He will not abandon you.  And he will send you the little “f” friends that you need to support and strengthen you.  He has not let you down yet and he isn’t about to start.