A Prayer about the Word-Made-Flesh

by | Dec 30, 2020 | Bible study, Daily Prayer

A Prayer about the Word-Made-Flesh

Jesus,

We confess, we complain sometimes,

“I just wish I could have known Jesus personally.

I wish I were alive when he walked on the earth.”

Forgive our blindness and unbelief.

Open our eyes to see your kindness,

your nearness to us in your Word,

you who are the Word-made-flesh.

We are weak, strengthen us

to grasp the fullness of your grace:

your undeserved gift of forgiveness for our sins,

your unfailing mercies of protection from temptation,

your unflinching sympathy with us in suffering.

Jesus, draw us near this year to your Word,

help us soak in its solace and study its truth

that we may love you and love others.

In your glorious name. Amen.

Read John 1:1-18.

A Prayer about Knowing the Way of Peace

by | Dec 23, 2020 | Daily Prayer, Prayer

Oh, Father,

What a beautiful transformation

takes place in your servant Zechariah after his son John the Baptist is born.

Where before he doubted your power and your ways,

now he affirms your provision and your plan.

He sees his newborn son,

and he knows that he will prepare the way for Jesus.

May we all affirm deeply and share widely

this knowledge John the Baptist brought:

“The forgiveness of sins…the tender mercy of our God…

whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high

to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death” (Luke 2:77-79).

As we do, may we see you guiding our feet “into the way of peace.”

In Jesus’ merciful name. Amen.

Read Luke 2:68-79.

A Prayer about Being Still

by | Dec 21, 2020 | Bible study, Daily Prayer

A Prayer about Being Still

Highly exalted Jesus,

You are the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

Forgive us forgetting that.

In the final days before Christmas,

many of us are hustling so hard

to finish up work or finish up celebration prep

that we forget what this week is all about.

Still us, we pray.

Help us to “cease striving,”

to remember that you are our highly exalted King,

who came to make peace

between a holy God and weary sinners.

to reconcile us to God by your life, death, and resurrection.

Give us pause to meditate on this peace-bringing truth.

In your ruling name. Amen.

Read Psalm 46.

How Cynicism Kills Gratitude

by | Nov 17, 2020 | Devotional, Gospel living, Thanksgiving

How Cynicism Kills Gratitude

“For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Romans 1:21, ESV

She is astute and assertive; nothing gets by her. She sneers at her sister’s naiveté; smugly congratulating herself on not being easily fooled by such childish notions of God and heaven. She will shed no tear over her own suffering—after all, what more would one expect from this miserable, pitiful life? She has no awe, because nothing is really awesome. Life is hard, and then you die.

Who is she? She is the Modern-Cynic. Independent and strong, intelligent and competent, she doesn’t need God or others to help her out in this life. She thinks she knows foolishness, but Scripture says that she herself is a fool. According to Romans 1:19-23, the evidence of God’s goodness, holiness, love, power, and majesty is inscribed everywhere in the cosmos. But the cynical heart refuses to see it. Cynicism is the murderer of gratitude because it has lost its awe in God.

The cynicism of our own hearts may not be so overt as Ms. Modern-Cynic’s. We must seek it out as it sneaks about in the crevices of our sin nature, subtle as it may be. Consider Simon the Pharisee of Luke 7:37-50, whose cynicism about Jesus left him with little love and gratitude.

Do you have a murderer of gratitude lurking in your story? #gratitude #story

CLICK TO TWEET

Simon is certain—certain that Jesus cannot be a “prophet” because he doesn’t even know that the wild woman weeping all over his feet is “a sinner” (my emphasis) (Luke 7:39). In the ultimate irony, Simon does not know, cannot know, that Jesus is reading his mind (Luke 7:40)! Self-reliant Simon sneers at the needy woman, silently mocking her effusive show of gratitude. Jesus tells Simon a little story to invite him to see his own sin and thank God for forgiveness. When Jesus concludes, “he who is forgiven little, loves little” (Luke 7:41-46), I always long for the truth to dawn on Simon, for his eyes to grow wide with awe as he recognizes Jesus’ compassion in his warning. I want him to fall on his knees before Jesus right next to the weeping sinful woman. Sadly, that is not how the story ends. Simon’s “foolish heart is darkened” (Romans 1:21).  His cynicism has killed his gratitude.

What about you? Can you sniff out scents of cynicism in your own story?

  • Perhaps you’ve prayed a seemingly unanswered prayer for a spouse, a child, a friend, for years? You’ve begun to doubt that God even cares; you’ve begun to feel certain that God won’t intervene in this impossible situation.
  • Or, maybe you’ve succumbed to the whatever response to life in a fallen world? It just hurts too much to feel the ache of creation’s groaning, so you shut your eyes to the joy and beauty of God’s redemptive handwriting in the universe?
  • Maybe you’ve learned your role as a strong and independent being so well that you’ve forgotten what it’s like to be as desperate as the sinful woman who loved much because she was forgiven much.

Dear friends, let us draw near the cross to remember the black day that Jesus stamped out all cause for cynicism once and for all, as he hung there dying. Let us draw near the empty tomb and join the first disciples in resurrection joy, falling on our knees in gratitude for our Savior.

A Prayer about Cynicism

Our Dear Lord, Creator of the Heavens and the Earth,

By your power, you have given us everything we need to believe in something beyond the here and now. Thank you for the wonders you have worked—in the stars and in our stories. Forgive us for closing our eyes to your goodness, for thinking we know more than you about glory and goodness. Slay in us that murderer of gratitude, our subtle and sometimes overt, cynicism. In Jesus’ in-credible name we ask, Amen.

Photo by Chris Barbalis on Unsplash

How Grace Grows Gratitude

by | Nov 10, 2020 | Bible study, Thanksgiving

How Grace Grows Gratitude

Grace and Gratitude

“It is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people, it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.” 2 Cor. 4:15.

According to retailers, if you don’t already have most of your Christmas shopping done (I don’t), you are running behind! But according to the calendar, it’s only the second Tuesday in November, and that seems like a good time to think about thanksgiving. Not the American holiday necessarily, which my younger daughter once jokingly summarized as a day for “Eating and thanking, thanking and eating.” Far more, it’s a good time to consider the category of thanksgiving, or gratitude. What is it, in fact, and how and why does the Bible insist that Christians make it a regular practice?

What Gratitude Is Not

Sometimes the best way to understand something is by looking at what it’s not.

We’ve already said that the Christian practice of gratitude is not merely cultural, that is, something we celebrate once a year by dining on a sumptuous feast. In addition, the Christian practice of gratitude is also not merely dutiful.

Consider this story. Grandma Charlene buys eight-year-old Emma an expensive gold cross necklace for her birthday. The thing is, Emma wanted the Lego super hero’s school set, so she’s very disappointed when she opens her grandmother’s gift. What does Emma’s mother tell her? We know the answer, because we’ve probably all said it or had it said to us at some point: “Tell your grandmother thank-you, Emma.” Emma dutifully speaks the two words. But is she really thankful? No. She is dutiful, and she is polite. Please don’t hear what I’m not saying—it is good for Emma to thank her grandmother. It’s just that her thank you misses the main point of Christian gratitude.

Where Christian Gratitude Comes From

To better understand Christian gratitude, let’s revisit 2 Corinthians 4:15, substituting two Greek words from the original for our English words:

“It is all for your sake, so that as charis extends to more and more people, it may increase eucharisteo, to the glory of God.”

Charis increases eucharisteo. The Greek root charis means grace. The Greek prefix eu means good, happy. So God’s grace leads to a happy state of grace in the Christian.

What is God’s grace like, this grace which increases our gratitude? It is not a gold cross necklace that we didn’t want in the first place. It is God’s free gift of exactly what we needed, and exactly what we wanted (whether we knew it or not)—a life of freedom from sin (Galatians 5:1), a life of being and becoming new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), a life of worshipping God and serving others (Gal. 5:13).

God’s Grace for Sinners Grows Gratitude

To catch a glimpse of God’s grace, consider an alternate story about Emma and her grandmother. Emma thinks her grandmother is too stern; she has been known to stick out her tongue at her grandmother and yell, “I hate you!” Despite Emma’s malicious treatment, her grandmother comes to her, takes her by the hand, and says, “I’m giving everything I own to you so that you may have financial freedom and vast opportunity.” Emma gets it all, any day, every day.

Now, that is a far-fetched story. In real life, a grandmother probably wouldn’t give all her money to a rude granddaughter. And yet, this fantastical story is analogous to our rebellious treatment of God and his gracious response to us. We have rebelled against God, telling him to leave us alone and let us run our own lives. He has responded by sending his one and only Son, Jesus, to die so that we might be free of our sin, so that we might live with faith, hope, and love. The only sensible response to the undeserved grace God has shown us is gratitude—overflowing, irrepressible, joyful gratitude. As God’s grace increases gratitude in us, we respond with hands lifted to give God glory and hands extended to share his glory throughout the world.

A Prayer about Grace and Gratitude

Our Gracious God,

Please forgive us. By our sometimes rotten thoughts, words, and deeds, we have stuck out our tongues at you and told you we hate you. We do not deserve your love, nor your free gift of forgiveness through your Son, Jesus Christ. And yet Jesus died for our sins and made us brand new, whole and holy. Our hearts overflow with your happy grace! Help us to extend this grace and glory to others! Amen.

Good Reading on Grace and Gratitude

2 Corinthians 4:15; 2 Corinthians 9:11-12

Want to spend more time cultivating gratitude?

Get your free Gratitude Journal now!

A Prayer for the Election Season

by | Oct 27, 2020 | Prayer

A Prayer for Election Season

I’ll confess — this election season has led me to struggle with gratitude for my country. Much of the time, I have felt cynical and critical, not grateful.

The good news in the midst of the bad news is that God has given us the gift and privilege of prayer. Today and in the coming days, I invite you to join me in prayers of gratitude and repentance concerning what we see in America.

 

GOD, OUR RULER,

You have honored us to be citizens of your eternal kingdom,

and yet you have appointed us as your ambassadors

of reconciliation in this earthly country.

WE

confess that too often we have looked to political leaders

to satisfy our needs. We have neglected to show hospitality to strangers,

and we have failed to love, both our neighbors and our enemies.

 

gratitude for citizenry

GRACIOUS KING

we thank you and praise you

for the privilege of

living in this country.

WE LOOK FORWARD

to the day

when we will bow together

as one body composed of people

from every tribe, tongue, and nation,

CONFESSING

Jesus as Lord.

We are confident that the

zeal of the Lord of Hosts will do it!

In Jesus’ ruling name we pray.

Amen.

Learn More about True Freedom

Advance Review for From Recovery to Restoration

"Whether it be in the midst of physical pain, addiction, abandonment, abuse, or habitual sin, Elizabeth will redirect your gaze over and over through scripture to meditate not on the gaping hole of your loss, but on the relentless pursuit of Jesus's love."

Hope Blanton and Christine Gordon, Authors, At His Feet Studies

Buy now!