Thursday, January 9th

“In the Lord I take refuge.  How then can you say to me: ‘Flee like a bird to your mountain.’”  Psalm 11:1

Lord God, There is much to fear.  My heart and my hands are shaking.  My mind is racing a million miles a minute.  But you, God, hold me in the palm of your hand.  But you, God, have a plan and purpose for me and for my life.  But you, God, have all things under your control.  But you, God, have loved me with an everlasting love.  But you”, God, have redeemed me from death and made me your own dear child.  But you, God, are my refuge and strength.  Your everlasting arms are all around and underneath me on every side.  Help leave me to live in faith not in flight today.  Amen.

We live secure in our Savior and will not flee to a cage. We are already safe with him.  You can’t scare me!

Wednesday, January 8th

“Command and teach these things.  Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.  Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.  Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.”  1 Timothy 4:11-14

Dear Jesus, It’s clear that you want young and old Christians to be busy telling your word to others.  I am deeply thankful that you have placed me among a group of Christians that gets it.  I have so many partners in the work.  I hear what you are encouraging me here.  My life is a limited resource on your earth to get your salvation to more souls.  You want me busy being your mouth to speak love and truth into human hearts.  Help me teach your word more effectively, more often and more joyfully.  Also, arouse my Christian friends at my church to scheme how they can engage in the movement of grace instead of finding ways to avoid helping in the greatest restoration project on earth.  Amen.

Like a dad who gives his child money to buy a gift for his mother, God gives us gifts and talents, so we are able to experience the joy of giving back to him. 

Tuesday, January 7th

“The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.  For Scripture says, ‘Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,’ and ‘The worker deserves his wages.’”  1 Timothy 5:17-18

Dear Jesus, Help your church to acknowledge the sacrifice of love that her leaders make so she can be well fed with your word of grace.  Help people to see that they experience a church environment that enhances their faith and spiritual growth because their leaders work hard to make it happen.  So many hours are put in behind the scenes so your children can hear your voice.  Give saints in your congregations the spiritual maturity to see the needs of their leaders and to take care of them, especially those who give up secular work to preach, teach and shepherd the flock.  And when the church forgets to support them, step in with your Holy Spirit and remind your shepherds that you have their back and will meet their needs in due time.  Amen.

When we honor our pastors and elders we honor Christ. 

Monday, January 6th, Epiphany

“On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.  Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.”  Matthew 2:10-11

Dear Heavenly Father, What was in the minds of the wise men that made them separate from their treasures to give them to your baby Son?  How much did they know about his upcoming life?  What did they think it all meant for them as they shared gifts and went on their way?  I have to think that we who see his whole story, know so much more than them.  Your Son lived and died for me.  He forgave me and saved me.  I will gladly separate from my treasurers to show thanks to him for redeeming me and my family.  My destiny is secure because you gave him to us.  My Christmas is safe too.  Nothing can ruin it.  It’s all about this greatest gift for us.  Amen.

Christmas is about the greatest gift given to every human being.  No one can steal that joy but unbelief. 

Saturday, January 4th

“When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.  Then he placed his right hand on me and said: ‘Do not be afraid.  I am the First and the Last.  I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!  And I hold the keys of death and Hades. Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.  The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”  Revelation 1:17-20

Dear Lord Jesus, If I were to see you in all of your glory I would fall down in fear just like John did.  You are the ultimate superhero, the God over all things, the One with whom we all have to reckon.  Thank you for placing your right hand on John and telling him not to be afraid.  It comforts me to know that you love your church.  And to know that you passed through death and are alive again gives me hope.  And to know you hold the keys to hell makes me feel safe.  And then to know you walk among the churches and live with the angels of those churches, that is; the pastors, helps me trust that you are guiding each congregation even when we struggle.  Jesus you are with us and we can struggle on as future conquerors no matter how small and insignificant we feel.  Today will be a good day because you are with me.  Help me to stop feeling so alone when I face any challenge by reminding me that you, the almighty, loving Savior God, are with me. 

God is with us, how can anything in our lives ultimately turn out badly. 

Friday, January 3rd

“I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me.  And when I turned saw seven golden lamp stands and in the midst of the candlesticks one like unto a son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about at the breasts with a golden girdle.  And his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; and his feet like unto burnished brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace; and his voice as the voice of many waters.”  Revelation 1:12-15

John saw you in all of your glory standing among the lamp stands that represented your beloved churches at that time.  The way you revealed yourself was both a comfort and a confrontation.  It comforts me to know you are the almighty God filled with power and splendor.  That reminds me that you have all it takes to take care of your churches.  But it also confronts me that my church answer to you and not to the world we serve.  Only what you want matters and many times we have followed the whims of the world and our own desires.  I’m glad you are among us in your power.  Help us to live before you in godly reverence.  Lead us on your mission and not our own.  Make us into what you want us to be.

When we remember that Jesus lives among us it changes everything we think, say, and do. 

Friday, January 17th

“What causes fights and quarrels among you?  Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?”  James 4:1

Lord God, I learn so much about myself as I watch my kids live their lives.  I learn so much about myself as I ask my kids about why they do what they do.  I ask them why they fight with each other; I often get the answer, “I don’t know!”  I ask the question why they get so mad about certain things; I often get the answer, “I don’t know!”  And I don’t think it’s a cop out.  They know that there was no good reason for them to be so angry or to get so upset.  They don’t quite understand what’s going on in them.  I find the same going on inside of me, dear Father.  I find myself getting upset with people, but I can’t quite put my finger on why.  I notice frustration rising in me but I don’t know why.  But James puts his finger on it here.  Where does fighting quarrels and frustrations with other people come from?  They come from a battle raging inside of me.  They come from competing desires in me.  My new man wants to do work for peace, wants to get along; it wants to get rid of frustration.  My old man loves to fight and quarrel and bicker.  Lord God, by my baptism help me to put to death that old man that lives in me.  Help me to kill him every day and all day long.  Put him to death, O Holy Spirit, that I might put away fighting and quarrels and work for me.  Do this in me, O Savior, I cannot do it.  My life has proven it.  You alone can save.  You alone can kill him.  Work this in me, dear Savior.  Amen.

Thursday, January 2nd

“I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.”  Revelation 1:9

Dear Jesus, Your apostle John is rather nonchalant in saying that he was on an island because of the word of God and having testified about you.  He also said he was our companion in the suffering of those in your kingdom and the patient endurance that are ours as Christians.  He speaks to us as one who was in the trenches with us who knew what it was like to suffer and to wonder how things would turn out.  I know that I have not suffered like John but in my troubles I see him as a forceful teacher reminding me that we are pilgrims here and that heaven is our home.  Thank you for making the writers of your book men who understood our travail and committed themselves to leading us through it.  Amen.

As pilgrims we can never plant our roots deep on earth.

Wednesday, January 1st, New Year's Day

Lord, At the beginning of this year we need you.  Our days are written in your book and only you know if I shall live through this year that has just begun.  Be merciful to me and forgive me all my sins.  Bless my body and soul, my property, and my honor.  Renew in me the knowledge of the promise you made to me at my baptism, so that I may have childlike assurance throughout this year that you will never forget me.  Allow me to the best of my ability, to live a year of service to you.  Let this year be one which draws me closer to you as I serve my Savior Jesus.  Amen.  (From “There’s a Prayer for That.”)

Tuesday, December 31st, New Year's Eve

“He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.”  Psalm 91:15  (end of year)

Dear God, There is trouble all around me.  There are challenges and obstacles around every corner.  The devil wants to destroy me.  He is always working in me, on me, and around me to destroy my faith, to destroy my ministry, to destroy my family, to destroy me.  He hates me and wants me dead to you.  Protect me from his evil darts.  Shield me with your angels, with your power, with your Word, so that his darts do not pierce me.  Send your angels to watch over my every footstep so that I do not fall into danger.  Yes, dear Lord, be my refuge, my strength, and my shelter from life’s storms.  I hear you promising that my hope is not displaced.  You promise that you will hear me and not just hear me but be with me and not just be with me in trouble but also deliver me.  You will not let me down today, tomorrow, or any day.  Stay close, dear Lord, as this year ends and a new one begins.  Guard me.  Guide me.  Protect me.  Amen. 

Our trust in God is not misplaced.  He has done, is doing, and will do what he has promised that he would do.  

Monday, December 30th

“Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.  Unto him that loves us, and looses us from our sins by his blood; and made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto his God and Father; to him be the glory and the dominion for ever and ever.  Amen.”  Revelation 1:5-6

Dear Jesus, You have loosened me up from every negative feeling I might have about myself because of my sins and failures.  You have restored to me my own personal identity that I am part of your kingdom and royal member of your family and a priest that represents you in the world.  You have made all of my Christian family and friends into the same new creation.  Help me to live in the optimism that remembering I am your chosen royalty brings.  Help me also to view all my fellow Christians as the same royal citizens treating them with dignity and respect.  And since you rose from the dead I live in the hope that I too will beat whatever it is that threatens my life now and always.  Amen. 

We are members of God’s royalty with his angels as secret service protectors. 

Saturday, December 28th

“May they all be one, as you, Father are in me and I am in you.  May they also be in us, so that the world may know that you sent me.”  John 17:21

Dear Father, Strengthen and deepen the unity of your church.  Make it just like the unity that you share with your Son.  I can hardly imagine how tight, deep, and synchronized the unity that you share with your Son is.  How your thoughts completely align.  How your beliefs and characteristics are in total synchronization.  You share completely in everything-your goals, your desires, your characteristics, your motives, your works.  They are all united fully.  Strengthen and deepen the unity of your church.  We are all unique and different, made that way by you.  Yet, we are all one!  By faith in you, we share a unity that goes beyond the differences and uniqueness.  Remove all false doctrine and teaching from church so that we all stand together and confess the truth together.  I pray, dear Father, bring the church to united confession in all that your Word clearly teaches.  Give us a full and complete unity in mission too.  Align your church in confession and in mission, dear Father, with your Word and your mission.  Yes, Lord, strengthen and deepen the unity of your church.  Make it just like the unity that you share with your Son.  Amen.

Friday, December 27th

“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”  1 Peter 1:18-19

Dear Heavenly Father, What am I worth to you?  What price would you pay to get me back after I had wondered away and enslaved myself to the devil?  I cannot fully fathom that you, as a Father, would give your own perfect Son for a broken and self-defeated person like me.  But you did.  You redeemed me and now you call me your own.  Forgive me for not valuing myself at times as much as you do.  Forgive me for trashing and re-trashing my thoughts with negativity, criticism, envy and anger.  Forgive me for being selfish and petty.  Forgive me for thinking am worthless when you say I am priceless.  And give me the power of your purifying grace to rise above my self-centered feelings to make others know their worth in you by the way I handle them even when they are wandering and wayward.  Make me a life changer like you have been for me.  I ask this all for your glory and the glory of your Son who gave it all for me.  Amen.

God thinks we are worth his greatest sacrifice.  So, don’t diminish the value of any human being including yourself. 

Thursday, December 26th

“I am not prying that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.  They are not of the world just as I am not of the world.”  John 17:15-16

Dear Lord Jesus, I don’t belong here.  It is becoming clearer and clearer to me every day.  My thoughts are so different than those who still belong to this world.  My priorities and goals in life are so divergent from theirs.  My wants, my likes, my pursuits and my passions are all from a different place.  Lord Jesus, first, I thank you that you set me apart from this world and made me an heir of eternity.  Because of your grace, this is not my home; I don’t belong here.  Then Lord when my thoughts, priorities and goals clash with those of the world protect me from those who would cause me harm.  Protect my thinking and my wanting.  Protect my planning and my pursuing.  Protect my heart, Lord, because if the evil one can get my heart then he has my life.  I pray, deliver me from the evil one by protecting my heart from his temptations.  Keep on praying this prayer before the Father’s throne that I might be protected by your praying and your power.  Amen. 

Wednesday, December 25th, Christmas Day

Dear Savior Jesus Christ, On this day as we celebrate your birth we rejoice at the message the angel proclaimed, “A Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.”  You came to do what we could not do for ourselves.  You came to be our righteousness; keeping your Father’s commands.  You came to be the One who covered our sins with holy blood shed on Calvary’s cross.  This day, grateful hearts bow in humble adoration, grateful tongues rejoice and grateful eyes see that you, O Savior God, did all so one day, through faith in you, we will enjoy heaven’s glory.  As the Holy Spirit has given us faith in these truths, may these truths inspire us to proclaim this life-giving and life-changing message to desperate people dead in their sins.  May many more be blessed to see you, Jesus Christ, as their Savior from sin.  We ask this blessing, O Savior, as we also again this Christmas Day thank you for coming to be our Savior.  Amen.

Tuesday, December 24th, Christmas Eve

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for making this holy night so beautiful.  The sparkling lights, the joyful carols, and the beaming faces of family and friends cheer my heart every year.  With the angels I glorify you; with the shepherds I kneel and adore you.  With Mary I treasure up the wonders of your birth, and all year long I will ponder such unfathomable love that made you, both the Son of God and a human child, my Savior.  Amen.  (From “There’s a Prayer for That.”)

Monday, December 23rd

“This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.”  Isaiah 30:15

Dear Heavenly Father, How much energy I can spend worrying and scheming on how to control my life and get what I want!  But you give me clarity here in this verse about the path to a secure future.  It’s through repentance of what I am by nature and resting in your grace that erases all the guilt.  It’s about silencing my self-defense and trusting that you have already fixed the problems.  It’s in letting go and letting forgiveness repair every relationship and all the fallout from my life.  It’s in letting myself be a child again while you do all the parenting.  I want that life where I give the controls to you but I learn to be honest, humble and trusting.  Give me this attitude by your Holy Spirit and make me a quiet but strong Christian.  Amen.

Sometimes it’s just best to sit quietly by, admit that you are powerless to fix the big problems and leave room for God to do what he does best. 

Saturday, December 21st

Maybe you remember the story of Balaam.  Balaam was a seer who was hired by Balak the king of Moab to curse the people of Israel.  The king of Moab was worried because Israel had come out of Egypt, and they were traveling north.  They were a force to be reckoned with and the king of Moab knew that he needed all the help he could get if he was going to defeat this threat coming up through the desert, so he hired Balaam to speak a curse over the people.  The king of Moab believed that Balaam’s words were more than just words.  He believed that Balaam’s words had power to hurt the people of Israel.  Perhaps you remember how it went though.  Each time Balaam began to speak a curse against the people of Israel God made him speak blessings.  The king of Moab was furious but this was Balaam’s response, (from Numbers 24:13), “Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the LORD-and I must say only what the LORD says”.  All the blessings that Balaam spoke over God’s people came true.  There is one that is particularly important to us during this Advent season.  Balaam said, (from Numbers 24:17), “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near.  A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.”  Though he didn’t know it, Balaam was talking about Jesus.  Jesus was the one who was coming and generations of God’s people from that time on continued to BEHOLD him by faith, seeing him over and over again in the word of God, till one day he came.  Now we behold him.  We behold him coming at Bethlehem in a lowly manger, to be our savior from sin and death.  Like Balaam we continue to see him but not now to behold him, but not near, for Jesus is coming again. 

Friday, December 20th

“I made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love you have loved me with may be in them and I may be in them.”  John 17:26

Dear Father, Your love for me is beyond all knowing and all expression and yet your Son wants me to know it better.  He is the one who makes known your love for me.  By his coming, his living and his dying you show me that there is nothing that you wouldn’t do for me.  You deeply loved your own Son, yet you gave him up for me!  Me!  I can hardly believe it sometimes.  That you would love me so deeply and cherish me so dearly and would give up your Son for me is hard to fathom.  You loved your Son from all eternity.  He was and is your dearest treasure.  Fill me with a higher and fuller understanding of your love.  More than that, let your love dwell in my heart and spill over into my life so that my whole life is moved by your love for me.  Let your love dwell in me and move my whole life.  Amen.

Thursday, December 19th

“The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman.  How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)  Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.’ “John 4:9-10

Dear Jesus, That woman threw poo at you and you stayed in the conversation and loved her through it all.  When you ignored the poo and reached out again boldly with your love and truth, I’m sure she could feel it.  But she held to her hard hearted guns for a few more moments.  Then you outlasted her and got behind the walls to rescue her lost soul.  Help me to ignore the poo that people throw at me in conversations and to stick to a loving course of communication so I can reach behind their walls to either save or encourage their hearts.  Help me to hang in there and not just walk away.  And maybe more importantly, keep me from throwing poo at others.  Instead, give me the courage to humbly accept their help even if it makes me feel a little uncomfortable.  Amen.

God constantly pursues our hearts with love and truth through people.  Give up the fight and embrace it.