Yesterday's Prayer

Tomorrow comes too soon.

Hope leaves with the deeds

Of fellow Christians.

Believe as they do

Or be lost.

Excluded from fellowship

Where do you turn?

To you, Lord,

To you I turn.

Your words come to me.

Believe in me

And follow my commands:

Love God.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

So simple,

Yet so difficult.

How do I love those that hurt me?

Those that would rather see me dead

Than help me.

Pray for them I must.

Pray for the best for them.

Pray for them for my sake

As well as theirs.

Once I was so secure

In health, wealth and hope.

Now, all is ashes.

Once I knew you were there.

Now, I know you

Still wrap me in your love

But feel nothing.

Once I worked to start

A grace church,

A church that embraces thousands.

Now grace is wounded

By a few.

Help me to make the correct choice, Lord.

Do I step away from pain?

Do I step away from this church?

Will I walk a new path?

Will I find grace in another church?

I need you guidance, God.

Lead me back to yesterday's love.

Photo by mindfulness

Prayer for Haiti

God, I know that you are everywhere

And I worship you.

Yet my heart cries out

Because of the suffering of

The people of Haiti.

Why, Lord?

I do not hear your answer.

I turn to the Bible.

Jesus says death does not come from sin

When buildings fall and kill.

But Jesus does not tell us why
Buildings fall.

Do you refuse to answer, God?

Is your answer the one you gave to Job

When you showed your majesty and power?

Is the answer beyond our comprehension?

Some say

If we are to have free will

This universe must be as it is

With suffering and death.

I do not know.

Lord, give me understanding.

Wrap your love around the suffering

In Haiti.

Ease their pain and

Give them solace.

Let them know you are there.

That is your promise:

"I am with you always."

The Comforter walks among

The ruins in Haiti

Just as the Spirit stood by
Christ on the Cross.

Let all of Haiti

Know the Counselor

As he holds each person close,

Dead to us or alive to us

But all alive to God.

Photo by United Nations Development Programme

Prayer for Understanding

Our Comforter who walks with us,

Thank you for your presence.

Let the love of God spread

Everywhere on this terrestrial ball
Just as love binds Creator and Word
To pervade heaven.

Give us knowledge and hope

To carry us through each day.

Forgive our frailties

And let us understand the frailties of others

So that we may forgive.

Let us understand why

We encounter trials that tear our souls

So that we may surmount them.

Protect us from ourselves.

For you are love incarnate

And the underpinning of existence.

Photo by linh.ngan

The Sisters

Mary sat at Christ's feet

To learn from the Master

Just as the apostles did.

Martha, her sister, chose to serve,

To fulfill the obligation of hospitality.

She sought Mary's help

By appealing to Jesus

To banish Mary to the kitchen.

Jesus rebuke is clear:

Mary's choice to seek knowledge

Is blessed.

Too many churches only speak of Martha,

Consigning women to lesser roles.

Mary sat with the apostles.

Mary learned with the apostles.

Jesus wanted her there

To understand and then to teach.
Time to heed Jesus

In all denominations.
"Mary has chosen that good part,

Which shall not be taken away from her."
Women deserve to stand with men

In the service of the Lord.

 Photo by aflcio2008

Alone in a New Decade

A new year has come
And a new decade.
I am alone.
I fight depression.
My mind knows that
The Comforter is with me.
My heart wishes that
I could feel God's presence.
My soul cries out in despair.
We know that even
Mother Teresa
Missed God.
Why do those that believe
Lose the sense of that
All encompassing love?
Perhaps because we are human,
Perhaps we cannot hold that love too long.
What is the answer?
Jesus, too, lost that sense of love
On the cross.
"My God, my God,
Why hast thou forsaken me?"
He cried.
God's answer was the Resurrection.
Let me remember this life
Is not the end.

Photo by jamsjoys

God Defines Himself

Does God define himself?
Yes.
"What is your name?"
Moses asks God.
"And God said unto Moses,
"I AM THAT I AM."

"In the beginning was the Word,

And the Word was with God,

And the Word was God."

"And the Word was made flesh,

And dwelt among us..."

So John defines Jesus
As the Word.
God, the great "I AM,"

Speaks creation into existence.
"And God said, Let there be light:
And there was light."
Through speech God acts.

God in action is the Word.

Christ is God in action.

Between "I AM" and the Word

Is Love,
The Holy Spirit,
Uniting Divinity in One.

God is Three in One.
God defines himself:

I AM Love in Action.

Photo by lepiaf.geo