A Prayer For Today

'Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.' ~ Colossians 4:2 (NLT)

I came across a prayer some 20 years ago, on the inside cover of a little daily devotional booklet called ‘Forward Day by Day,’  which I found on a table in the narthex of the Episcopal church where my husband and I were married.

I remember being so captivated and moved by the sweetness, simplicity and sincerity of its wording. For me, it was like a prayer, a poem and a song all rolled into one wonderful package.

I carried the booklet with me everywhere, using the prayer during whatever quiet moments I could find during the course of my day, as well as reaching for it whenever a time of chaos and crisis would hit (which back then, seemed much too often).

A few years later, after my husband stopped attending church with me, I left that particular church with much sadness and began looking for another one.  None of the churches I attended afterwards, nor the church I finally wound up calling ‘home’ for many years, carried this particular devotional booklet. They offered others which I began to use and learned to be content with. 

I soon forgot about ‘Forward Day by Day,’  but every so often, some of the words from that wonderful prayer it contained would come back to me. Yet, as years passed, it became cloudy as to where in the world I had read or heard of that prayer.

So, imagine my delight when, this past weekend as I was taking photos of some historic sites in a little town that neighbors my own, I stopped in a very old, very lovely and very small church – and found a few copies of ‘Forward Day by Day’ displayed on a table in the back!

Christ Episcopal Church, Bordentown, NJ

Christ Episcopal Church, Bordentown, NJ

Christ Episcopal Church, Bordentown, NJ

Also to my great joy, the prayer is STILL contained within the devotional, this time located on the back of the booklet.  The prayer is written by American clergyman and author, Phillips Brooks, and it’s my privilege today to share it with you here.

It’s my sincere hope and desire that, during this Lenten season AND every day, it will encourage, inspire and bless you, as well as draw you closer to the One Who loves you beyond what you could ever imagine:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

O God,

Give me strength to live another day;

Let me not lose faith in other people;

Keep me sweet and sound of heart, in spite of ingratitude, treachery or meanness;

Preserve me from minding little stings or giving them;

Help me to keep my heart clean, and to live so honestly and fearlessly that no outward failure can dishearten me or take away the joy of conscious integrity;

Open wide the eyes of my soul that I may see good in all things;

Grant me this day some new vision of thy truth;

Inspire me with the spirit of joy and gladness, and make me the cup of strength to suffering souls;

In the name of the strong Deliverer, our only Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Stepping Into Lent

Remember, you are dust and to dust you shall return. Repent, believe, and walk in the way of Christ.

Photo credit

Today is Ash Wednesday, and the beginning of the 40 days in the Christian community known as Lent. 

Many throughout the world will set aside time today to attend church services and have ashes placed upon their foreheads in the sign of the cross by priests, pastors, ministers or religious laypeople; most will fast from all but one meal, and give up something they enjoy or of value for the next 40 days as a sign of self-denial and sacrifice. Fish, veggie dishes, fruit platters and other meatless fare will be the order of the day today and for the next 7 Fridays.

However, some Christian denominations don’t recognize Lent at all, so for them, this won’t be considered a day of any special significance.  

And, interestingly enough, there is no mention of Lent in the Bible. The closest thing to it that I can see, in my opinion anyway, is Jesus’ being led away into the wilderness for 40 days by the Holy Spirit, in preparation for His ministry. He had nothing to eat or drink. It was a time of cleansing, of purifying – physically, as well as spiritually.

Save for the moments Satan appeared before a hungry and humbled Jesus to tempt Him, and when angels came to minister to Jesus after Satan took off in a huff, He seemed to be all alone.

Yet nowhere do I read or get the sense that God abandoned His Son in that wilderness.  Perhaps Jesus was brought to this barren and solitary place, where all distractions were removed from Him, not only to be tested, but also in order for Him to be able to spend uninterrupted time with the Father in conversation and reflection, in preparation for what was to come. The joys and the sorrows.

Portrait credit

Lent to me, then, is to be a season of sincere reflection and preparation for those of us who call Christ our Lord and our Savior. A season where we make it a point to rest and spend time conversing with Jesus, free of distractions.  A season where we walk along life’s path, content to be closely yoked with Him in service as He teaches us His unforced rhythms of grace.  A season of temptation and testing.  

A season where we reflect on and acknowledge our rebellious and sinful nature and desire to repent of it.  A season of longing for our inner transformation, hungering and thirsting to be like this humble and obedient Servant King.  A season of preparing ourselves for whatever plans the Father has for us in the near or distant future. The joys and the sorrows.

Therefore, in my honest and humble opinion, the partaking of Lent should not be entered into lightly and frivolously, but intentionally and seriously. There’s no room for showboating or bandwagon mentality here. It shouldn’t be performance driven nor be done out of guilt, shame or family tradition.

And heaven forbid it should be seen as or turned into a kickstart for a new diet program or part of a health plan designed to get your body swimsuit ready, as I heard being discussed at great length on a local TV news show this morning.

Jesus was very clear about His loathing of acts being done for appearances sake, for the approval and praise of man, or done out of routine obligation or tradition. His strongest warnings were always towards the religious elite (Pharisees and teachers of the Law), whose motives didn’t line up with their actions (check out Matthew 23:13-36 for some examples of this and Jesus' words to these folks).  

A woman with whom I attend a Bible study on the book of Matthew said recently that Jesus was all about "living out the ‘heart of the Law,’ whereas the Pharisees had made it all about living out ‘the letter of the Law'."

Wise and truth-filled words indeed.

Now, PLEASE hear me and believe me when I say that I AM NOT criticizing anyone who has ever made the decision to give up something – coffee, chocolate, junk food, social media, television, meats, dairy products, etc. – during the Lenten season (been there, done that many a time). 

Neither am I pooh-poohing  someone’s involvement  in a Lenten challenge, like reading through the New Testament in 40 days (and believe it or get outta here, I'm actually taking this one on this year).

What I AM saying is we need to be so very mindful of our motives for doing so.  We should always ask ourselves:

"Why am I doing what I'm doing?"

"Who am I seeking to please?"

And if you’re not sure why – ask God:

  

“Is this what You want me to do, Lord?"

"Is this sacrificial offering pleasing to You?  Or are You looking for something else from me?"

"What do YOU want me to do or to refrain from doing?”

Can I tell you how hard I struggled this year to step in and find my place among those taking this always challenging Lenten journey, asking myself AND God these very same questions?

And, not surprisingly, His answers were revealed to me within the pages of Scripture, God's very Word to us:

What can we bring to the Lord?

What kind of offerings should we give him?

Should we bow before God

with offerings of yearling calves?

Should we offer him thousands of rams

and ten thousand rivers of olive oil?

                 Should we sacrifice our firstborn children

 to pay for our sins?

No, O people, the Lord has told you

what is good, and this is what

he requires of you:

to do what is right, to love mercy,

and to walk humbly with your God. ~ Micha 6:6-8, NLT

And, when you have some time, check out Isaiah 58 in its entirety, for you may just find the answers to your questions there. 

The grace and peace of God be with you this day and always, my friends. 

Worship Song Sunday -- Give Me Jesus, by Fernando Ortega

Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. 
~ Psalm 73:25, NASB

I consider everything else worthless because I'm much better off knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. It's because of him that I think of everything as worthless. I threw it all away in order to gain Christ
 ~ Philippians 3:8 God's Word Translation

Yesterday evening, I visited a friend's church.  We're not of the same denomination, so their order of service went a little differently than what I've come to know at my home church. 

After the pastor's sermon, we all stood up to sing 'Give Me Jesus.'  I was surprised. Not because they sang the song, but because earlier that morning the phrase -- 'just give me Jesus' -- popped into my head as I was heading out to an appointment. And it stayed with me throughout the day.   

I was also surprised to learn, from the church's hymnal, that this song of worship was not penned by some Contemporary Christian songwriter, but is actually an old African-American spiritual, its author unknown. The tempo of the version we sang was a bit quicker and more upbeat than the song here by Fernando Ortega, and some of the stanzas were quite different. 

But the meaningful content of this beautiful song is the same, reflecting the message in the Scriptures referenced above:

NOTHING in this world can hold a candle to knowing Jesus 

NOTHING in this world can bring the satisfaction that comes from knowing Jesus

NOTHING in this world is worth more than knowing, loving and being known and loved by Jesus Christ, so.......

You can have all this world -- but give me Jesus

The Snarkiness of Christianity

Wednesday, March 13, 2013, was certainly a day for the history books. After the siting of the white smoke rising out of the Sistine Chapel's chimney, social media sites, newsfeeds and blogs were all abuzz about the election of the Catholic Church’s new pontiff, Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, now known as Pope Francis I, the pontiff of firsts. CNN's webpage reports that Pope Francis is

• the first non-European pope of the modern era
• the first Latin American pope
• the first Jesuit
• the first to take the name of Francis

As a former Catholic, I was delighted for my Catholic and Latin American friends, as it was such an exciting moment in history and the beginning of a new era for them! However, I was not so delighted, Christian and non-denominational gal that I am, over the many comments made by folks in response to the question posed on various news sites and social media pages after the announcement:

‘What do you think about the election of the new pope?’

I’m certain those who posted this question expected a plethora of responses ranging from hopeful and ecstatic to doubtful and indifferent .

But I’m guessing that the folks who maintain the social media page of a particular Christian organization NEVER expected the many, many negative and damaging comments made by....gulp...fellow Christians.

GASP!! The heck you say?

Yes, my friends. The snarkiness of Christianity came out in a big, ugly way on the Facebook page of  'I Am Second'. The folks at I Am Second describe themselves, as it states in the picture above, as ‘a movement meant to inspire people of all kinds to live for God and for others.’  They place much of their emphasis on humility, encouraging people to serve God by serving others FIRST, while humbly relegating themselves to second place.  That's some great stuff there, because that's what Jesus did. 

I’m not faulting those over at I Am Second for posting that question. I’m sure it was asked with good intentions and in all sincerity, as many of its page members are from the Catholic faith, as well as other faith denominations.  No doubt they may have expected some negativity and indifference here and there. But I truly don’t think they expected the onslaught of finger-pointing, name-calling and mockery that followed. 

Before I began writing out this post, I surfed over to their Facebook page and found that the post in question had been removed. I can’t say that I blame them and I actually applaud them for doing so. I must admit, I was appalled and saddened by the over-the-top mean-spiritedness and arrogance of people’s words and attitudes towards those within the Catholic faith.  So many spoke of the pope and Catholics with the same sneering contempt that one reserves for speaking of crack addicts, child molesters and Adolph Hitler. 

It was a prime example of Christians behaving badly.

And that prompted me to wonder what someone brand new to the Christian faith would have thought after reading such arrogant, sarcastic, self-righteous and hurtful comments.

Or how about someone who is seeking a relationship with Christ; or someone who has never felt the need or a desire for God but who perhaps stumbled upon I Am Second’s Facebook page or was encouraged by someone to check it out? What do you suppose they would have thought about those comments and, more importantly, about the Christians who posted them?

And what do you suppose….Jesus thought about them?

I’ll get to that and finish up in my next post. Stay tuned.

Close Encounters of the Holy Kind

"And Jacob awoke from his sleep, and he said, 'Surely the LORD is in this place and I did not know it.' He was afraid and said, 'How to be feared and reverenced in this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gateway to heaven!' " ~ Genesis 28:16-17 (AMP)

Jacob's Ladder, by Albert Houthuesen

Have you ever left a church service feeling empty? Ever make a quick exit upon learning your ‘favorite’ preacher or priest wasn’t preaching and teaching?  Did you walk out disappointed because you felt a sermon was boring and did not personally speak to you or address your needs, or because the music wasn’t to your liking? Have you ever gone home unmoved by and unchanged from your time at church? 

I can sincerely say ‘Yes’ to all of the above, with regards to the various churches I've attended at one time or another in my life.

Before the next Saturday night or Sunday morning rolls around, we would do well to ask ourselves:

“Why do I go to church?”

• Out of guilt?

• Out of habit?

• To get to Heaven and to steer clear of Hell?

“What am I looking for when I go?”

• An explosive, entertaining sound and light experience?

• A charismatic preacher whose sermons are funny, engaging, not too convicting, and won’t put the congregation to sleep?

• Tasty hot and cold refreshments, yummy baked goods, comfy seats and a good handle on their climate control?

• Chances to socialize and network with others?

Dear ones, may I be so bold as to insist that the next time you find yourself standing before the doors of a church, whether it's a church you've been attending for most of your life, or a brand new church you're trying out, please be sure to check your heart motives.  

I know this is something I've been so guilty of NOT doing for the majority of my life, and something I plan on changing immediately. Because to be honest, over the years on most Sunday morning, after trying to herd my son and daughter out the door and into the car, and now an elderly neighbor who needs a ride to services as well, I barely make it to church on time, slipping not so quietly into my seat -- out of breath, frazzled, irritated, distracted and sans ANY expectations of a close encounter with the Holy Spirit. Sadly, I'm more desperate for a cup of hot coffee and for my world to stop spinning and calm down than anything else.

Maybe it's like that for you, too?

However, above any other reasons, we should come to our places of worship to experience a fresh encounter of the presence and power of God’s Holy Spirit; to worship and praise our Lord along with a like-minded, close-knit body of believers.

As you place your hand upon the door handle and prepare to step across the threshold, expect to find Him lovingly and joyfully waiting for you on the other side of that door, waiting to welcome you as you enter in His sanctuary with awe, humility, thanksgiving and gladness!

Coming together in one place to seek the Lord, to give Him all our worship and praise should be our highest honor and privilege, as well as our greatest delight as Christian brothers and sisters. 

Are we desperate for the touch of Adonai?  Desperate for His voice, His healing, His very presence in this place?

I have to wonder what our church services would begin to look like if we became a people of holy expectation and desperation. If we truly surrendered and abandoned ourselves to God, as we stepped barefoot onto the holy ground of our sanctuaries,  with hearts and minds completely focused on Him.  KNOWING without a doubt that YAHWEH awaited US! 

I'd like to do more than just wonder this coming Sunday. How about you?

Let's stop going through the motions of stale and predictable worship each and every Saturday night or Sunday morning. Let's get rid of our little-to-no expectations of ever having an encounter with the Spirit of the Living God. Instead, let's open our hearts and turn our faces up towards our Almighty God and Father, hungry and thirsty for a holy, close encounter with our precious Lord Jesus, desperate for the Holy Spirit's presence in our church -- and in our lives!


Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name! ~ Psalm 100:4 (ESV)

Before The Throne of God Above, by Sojourn

Yesterday at church, I heard a beautiful song of worship I haven't heard in quite some time, although I actually have this particular version on my iPod. 

I first heard it years ago on some CD my daughter borrowed from our church library. It was so moving to me then and it remains so today.

Originally, it was written as a hymn entitled, "The Advocate," by Charitie Lees Bancroft almost 150 years ago.  While many artists have recorded it, I chose to share Sojourn's beautiful and simple rendition of it.

May the lyrics touch your heart, as they have mine.  And on those dark and lonely days when you feel lost -- as I often can -- and are prone to forget -- as I often am -- may this song remind you of who and Whose you are, and invite you to draw ever closer to your Abba. 

Worship Song Sunday -- All For You, by Mikeschair

I'd planned on posting here early this morning, but circumstances beyond my control hindered me from doing so.   As often happens (more than I care to admit), I had way too much going on before I ran out the door for church to be in a worshipful, let alone focused, state of mind, and I was trying hard to avoid being late (again), so I could at least be worshipful and focused when I walked sprinted into church. 


I had a completely different song all set to go here, too. Not that it wasn't a good one -- it is. Yet obviously, it's meant for another time. I woke up with today's song firmly implanted in my head.  And now I know why.   


Once I got to church, the unexpected happened. Without going into loads of details, we had a medical incident happen midway through the first service, involving one of our older saints, who is my neighbor and who catches a ride with us to church almost every Sunday.  It was, to say the least, disconcerting and a bit scary, but I was amazed at how many people stepped up to the plate immediately to assist and how lovingly, how tenderly and how well it was done.  Our young pastor handled it all with such calm, compassion, grace, mercy and love, calling everyone who was not assisting to just lift up their hands and cry out loud to the LORD on this person's behalf and encouraging all to worship and praise Him in the midst of the goings on.  Which they promptly did.  I've not seen anything like it, really.

I am thankful and grateful that nothing -- NOTHING -- takes our Father God by surprise.  He made sure that particular people with professional medical backgrounds were at church today, at this particular service time, and that they were easily and quickly accessible before the paramedics arrived to take over.  He surrounded this person with church members who had loving hearts, cool heads, a good understanding of and compassion for the elderly and strong arms to help and comfort.


It's several hours later and while I'm still a bit shaky from it all, mostly I'm in awe, once again, over how awesome and amazing God truly is, and just how worthy He is of our praise and worship. 


Some of the lyrics to this song are as follows:


'I stand amazed at Who You are,
I'm overcome by what You've done.'


'I'm here right now, I need You now
I lift Your Name above the doubt,
This is my offering for You.'


'I leave my burden at Your feet
In You I find my victory,
There is nothing You can't do.'


No, there certainly is NOTHING God can't do. 


Two things I would like to ask of all of you reading this post.  First, even though most or all of you may not know this elder saint (unless you're from my church and were at this particular service today), would you please take a moment to lift her up in prayer?  I'm still unsuccessful at getting in touch with any of her immediate family to let them know what transpired today and where she is.  Thankfully, some members of our church family went to the hospital  and are still there with her. 


And second, won't you join me in giving all worship and praise to our God? For it truly is ALL for Him.

Palm Sunday/Worship Song Sunday -- Hosanna by Selah

The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.  They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Blessed is the King of Israel!”

Today is Palm Sunday.  As a little girl, I loved Palm Sunday.  While there were no presents in it for me, as there were at Christmas, nor any baskets of yummy candy as at Easter (and not that this was what these two holy, holidays were supposed to be about, but hey....I was just a kid, after all), there was still something very special to me about Palm Sunday.  


In my church, several people would be stationed at the each of the entrances to the sanctuary, holding huge armfuls of the green branches to hand out to everyone as they filed in.  Sitting in my seat at church between my parents, I'd rub the palm branch with my fingers, luxuriating in the smoothness and the fresh 'greenness' of it; waving it until I would inadvertently wind up poking someone in the face or the eye with it (usually, my mother) and have it taken away until it was time for EVERYONE in the church to wave it, crying out "Hosanna in the highest!" I can still remember the sound of all the palm branches swooshing in the air. 


Afterwards, we'd go home and my mother would again highjack my palm branch and place it with hers and my father's, generally hanging them over some picture frame in our living room (I have NO CLUE what the significance was in doing that), where they would remain until just before the next Palm Sunday, when they would mysteriously disappear (only God knows what my mother did with them.  Perhaps she made special deliveries to our church rectory, since the burning of palms is where the ashes come from for Ash Wednesday).   


When I got a little older, I befriended a girl whose mother used to weave palms together to make crosses, much like this one:

I was so amazed at her talent (hey -- don't laugh. To me, it was a talent.  I couldn't even get the hang of making those crazy necklaces out of gum wrappers that were all the rage back then) and would try to sneak extra palm branches out of the church (such a thief I was!) to bring to my friend's mom so she could make me my own palm cross.  Sadly, I don't know of anyone who makes them any more.  It's a lost art. 


Over the years, I've attended various churches that, oddly enough, barely made mention of Palm Sunday.  The first year I attended the church I now call my home church, they didn't hand out a single palm (that has changed, thankfully).  What was THAT all about? I really wish I could tell you.


But clearly, Palm Sunday is not just a day for the church to hand out green, leafy branches with which to decorate one's house (or to poke another's eye out); so much more than the waving and weaving of palms. 


Way back in the day, the palm branch was a victory symbol. The Romans distributed palm branches to reward the champions of their gladiator games and chariot races, as well as in celebration of their military successes.  The Jewish community followed a similar tradition of carrying palm branches during festive times, most likely taking that from the Romans.


Passover was one such festive time, and it was during this time of celebration that Jesus made His triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem, riding on the back of a young donkey. Many of Jesus' followers ran to meet Him, throwing their cloaks in His path and waving palm branches, not only in celebration of the festival, but to celebrate and acknowledge that this Jesus was their King, the One Who would bring salvation to them. Waving their palms, they cried out, "Hosanna to the Son of David!! Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord.  Hosanna in the highest!" (Matthew 21:9, NIV).


When the word 'Hosanna' is used, it's generally as a word of praise, which indeed it is.  But there is another meaning for it as well. The Old Testament Hebrew word, pronounced hoshiya na, (and later, recorded in New Testament Greek as 'hosanna'),  literally translates  'save, we pray; help, we pray,' as it is written in Psalm 118:25. 


Amazing -- in the Old Testament, Hosanna is a cry for help; in the New Testament, it becomes a cry of praise/adoration to and recognition of the One the crowd welcomed as their Helper, their Messiah, their King.  


Even more amazing -- when Jesus enters the city of Jerusalem, He is coming not as a warrior King, riding on a proud war horse, as one might expect. No, He makes His entrance as a humble King, riding on a lowly donkey, which in the Eastern tradition, was considered an animal of peace. Certainly not what His people expected of their Messiah.

Today, Palm Sunday, marks the beginning of Holy Week.  Jesus, after making His journey into Jerusalem, is about to embark on yet another journey -- one that is much, much less celebratory. 


It is a darker, harsher, lonelier path which Jesus will take to the Via Dolorosa, or The Way of Suffering.


Let's join together in worship of our King of kings, our Lord of lords, our Prince of Peace -- our Savior, Who suffered and died (and rose again!) for us, so that we could live.


Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest!

Worship Song Sunday -- Search My Heart, by Hillsong United

Today, there may be some of you who are unable to attend church services and to worship together with the body of Christ.  Depending upon where you are, your church services may have been cancelled due to Hurricane Irene's arrival or if they haven't, maybe your area is flooded and surrounded by fallen trees, making it impossible for you to get out.  Perhaps you're unable to leave your house to worship because you're caring for a sick child, spouse or parent, or you yourself may be ill.  Perhaps lately, you just don't feel as if you 'belong' at your church anymore because you've been burned and hurt by the people there (and if this is the case, my heart goes out to you).  Or maybe none of these reasons apply to you at all, and you're just one of the faithful blog readers stopping by for a visit this morning.

Whatever the reason, take a few minutes to sing out to the Lord God from your heart, worshiping Him. Open yourself up to the Lord God and allow Him to search your heart and soul.  Let Him restore you in your brokenness and make you whole again, praise Him with joy and thankfulness as you sing to Him, making these lyrics your own:

So with all my heart and all my soul
With all I am, Lord, I will follow You
You took the cross, You took my shame
Restored my life, Lord I will follow You
Without You I am nothing