Prayer for Today

Dear God, Master of Infinity,

May all humanity raise their voices in your praise;

May your glory abound,

And your will be manifest

In all dimensions.

Nourish our souls with your presence.

Let us know our weaknesses,

And understand those weaknesses in others.

Let the Comforter be a barrier to the evils of this world,

For you are Existence.

Amen

Ancient Hymns

Hymns bring memories and a sense of hope.

Old ones remind me of my childhood

With family gathered around the piano to sing together.

New ones make me part of today and the future,

Part of the ever woven fabric of Christianity.

The greatest hymns are very old:

The Psalms.

I shall read a Psalm today

As I listen to a hymn,

So that the music in my ears

Is echoed in my soul.

Christian Exclusivity

We had an enlightening discussion in Sunday School last week on whether belief in Jesus Christ is the only way to God. Most of my classmates stated that belief in Jesus Christ was the exclusive prerequisite for eternal life. They took literally Christ's words: "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the father but by me." So do I.

I believe that Jesus was not imparting a message of exclusivity, but one of mechanism. Jesus was telling us that no matter how we as humans describe God or what we believe about who God is, we will reach the after life by one conveyance. All will come to God after death through the manifestation of God that is God's word in creation, that is God in action in our dimensional reality, and I believe, is most clearly revealed in Jesus Christ. All have the opportunity to know God and life after death. God doesn't care how we find him, what we call him, only that we do.

As to atheists, I think they are closer to God than they believe. Atheists actively protest the existence of God, but in doing so they confront the concept of God. I think this brings them closer to God than those who are indifferent. In the end, I believe everyone will know God and will be able to choose or reject a relationship with God.

For me, Jesus represents the truest revelation of God and the mechanism by which we reach God no matter what we believe.

The Great Banquet

Today, I read the parable of the great banquet.

How those that were invited did not come,

While the lame, the blind and the poor did.

Is that the problem of this world?

Has God invited us to the banquet,

Only to find that we are too busy with our own lives

To partake of the everlasting repast?

Let me heed God's invitation,

That I might sit at the Almighty's banquet table

And feast my soul in God's presence.

Lost Sheep

"The Lord is my Shepherd..."

Those words echo in the soul of every Christian.

There at too many times when I feel

Like a sheep that has wandered astray:

Alone,

Lost,

Afraid.

Let me be a sheep in God's fold:

Warm,

Secure,

Surrounded by others.

If that cannot be,

Then let me remember

The parable of the lost sheep:

That the Shepherd will leave the ninety and nine

To look for the lost one.

Look for me, O Lord.

The Gladness of the Moment

"This is the day the Lord hath made.

Let us be glad and rejoice in it."

I quote these words as I rise each morning.

But can I follow this biblical command?

Sometimes I find it difficult to be glad,

Sometimes I find it impossible to rejoice.

Was it difficult for Jesus

When He stood on the hill over Jerusalem

And contemplated the tragedies to come?

"Jesus wept," the Bible says.

Did God weep that day for Jerusalem

Or for all humanity?

Where was gladness that day?

I know the answer to that question:

With Jesus as He entered that great city,

And palm fronds fell at His feet.

Let me feel the gladness of the moment,

Even if I know the sorrow of tomorrow.

Loving Others

Some days I find it difficult to follow God's Commandment

To love others as we love ourselves.

When I am not lovable, how do I then love others?

Perhaps a start is the simple courtesy of Colossians:

"Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt,

That ye may know how ye ought to answer every man."

I shall strive to be courteous to everyone I meet today,

So that I can truly say

Thy will be done.

God's Portrait

How do I picture God?

As the great figure in the Sistine Chapel?

As Father?

As Mother?

We personify our Creator to make him more reachable,

But when we do, we lose the sense of God's power and glory.

Jesus is the only personification of God that I can understand.

For a portrait of the Creator, I must turn to the words of John:

"God is light and in him is no darkness at all."

God is light...

Lord, let me embrace the Light.

Holy Spirit

My thoughts turn to the Holy Spirit,

The Comforter Jesus promised.

Does that Holy Spirit dwell in me?

The Bible tells me it must be so.

Let me feel the Spirit

And know that God's promise is fulfilled.

What is that Spirit,

But the Love between the Creator and the Son.

Let me bask in the Love of God

And be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Listening for God

Lord, I need to know Your will.

I pray, but do not hear Your voice.

Perhaps I am so busy babbling

That I do not hear You.

I will try to listen for Your answer.

I know that it may not come in words of fire

Or even in whispers of smoke,

But through the actions of those around me

Or chance encounter with a stranger.

All I ask is that I know when I receive that answer.

Fear of the Lord

These words from Proverbs echo in my mind.

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,

And the knowledge of the holy is understanding."

Is that the answer to the problems of our age?

Have we lost our fear?

Not soul-wrenching terror that drives out reason,

But the awe of God's power and glory,

The knowledge that all life flows from God

And would not exist without God.

Help me to know the fear of the Lord

And so gain understanding.

Forgiveness

I ask for God's forgiveness often,

For my sins, for my omissions.

Do I offer forgiveness to those who wrong me?

Seldom, I fear.

Forgive me for my inability to follow in Jesus' footsteps

And to obey the words of the model prayer:

"Forgive us as we forgive those who trespass against us."

I know that alone I cannot forgive,

So I ask God not only for forgiveness,

But for the power to forgive.

Friends

I contemplate the story of the healing of the paralytic.

How his friends tried to bring him to Jesus,

But were blocked by the crowds.

How they made a hole in the roof of the house that Jesus was in,

And lowered the paralytic to Jesus who healed him.

I would have such friends,

Friends of faith and of deeds.

But more I would ask of God:

Give me the strength to be such a friend.

The Trinity

Christians speak of God as One

And yet as Three.

How can this be?

Perhaps we are like some two dimensional creature

That beholding a cube sees only a square.

Is that the answer?

We perceive only part of You

Confined as we are by space and time.

When we die is that barrier removed?

I pray that it is so.

Heaven

Where is heaven?

I have studied the grand emptiness of space,

And I see not the face of God,

But only the miracle of Creation.

Where do You dwell?

I know that question has many answers.

I seek only the answer that brings me closest to You.

For now, I must be satisfied with the words of Your Book,

And the knowledge that You are present everywhere,

In every moment of my life,

I must trust that death is the gateway to heaven,

And someday I will hear You say,

"Welcome home."

Baptist or not to Baptist?

I was sprinkled as a baby because my paternal grandmother was Presbyterian. She thought that was sufficient water in one's religious life. However, my mother was raised Baptist and at age 10, I was attending a Southern Baptist church with her. I had a conversion experience. The problem is I do not remember much about that event. I do remember that my paternal grandmother did not approve. The Baptist minister proved to be very astute and won my grandmother over with the words "A little more water won't hurt her." I was duly baptized, then walked away when I became a questioning teenager.

Fifteen years later, I began to search for some meaning in my life. By that time I had a Ph.D. in chemistry and a thirst for knowledge. I studied other religions, then encountered a book by C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, which led to another of his books, Mere Christianity. I decided to try organized Christianity once more. This time I chose that rarest of Texas churches - a liberal Baptist church.

I joined and so did my mother. She was only too happy to have her wayward child back in church. The senior minister invited us to meet with him and another staff member after we indicated that we wished to join by letter. I do not remember much about that meeting except that the semior minister was a good deal more complex than his sermons. Years later, I would know how much work went into each message. Oh, some may not know what "by letter" means. If you are member of a Baptist church, you are a member for life or until you transfer to another church. If you join another Baptist church, then the new church requests "a letter" from your prior church indicating you are a member in good standing.

Noah's Ark

My Sunday School class studied the story of Noah and the building of the ark last Sunday. We had a rather heated discussion that made me want to tackle the subject.
Do I believe that Noah actually lived? Yes.
Do I believe there was a flood? Yes, but not worldwide.
Do I believe Noah saved all the animal species? No.
Do I believe that God wished to destroy his creation? No.

One of my classmates remarked that if everything in the Bible were not true, then none of it was. At first I could not understand this statement, then I realized it had to be based on my classmate's view of the Bible. If you believe that the writers of the Bible were simply God's stenographers, then every word must be true. I assume this is my classmate's belief. It is not mine. I believe that the Bible is a record of God's actions written by inspired, but fallible, observers.

Because I believe that God's actions were recorded by inspired, but ordinary people, I understand that I cannot expect perfection. Yet, I also realize that these were observers well aware of God's presence in their lives and in the lives around them. This record of God's actions provides sufficient information for my salvation.

I also distinguish between the Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament is a compilation of oral history and myth. Genesis, the first book in the Bible, is not a scientific treatise, but a concise narrative of God's relation to creation and to us. God speaks to creat. God in action is the Word.

Choices

Every day we make choices, most are inconsequential, most are made without much thought. Still, with depressing regularity, we face choices that we find neither easy nor perfunctory:

What should I do when I finish high school? College, a job, join the military?

I'm divorced, and I've got great job offer, but it will take me across the country from my kids. My ex says we can work in it out. What should I do?

My loved one is on life support. The doctors say there is no hope. Should I pull the plug?

I'm looking for a church. Where should I go?

The next President of the United States will have to guide this nation through perilous times. Who shall I vote for?

When we face difficult, sometimes life-changing choices, we need to look beyond ourselves for help. As a Christian, I look to Jesus as the example to follow. How did Jesus make his decisions? He grounded himself scripture, and he prayed for divine guidance. Thus, armed with knowledge and faith, he made his decisions.

We are told that Jesus was a carpenter, and I think too often we equate that profession with a lack of education, that skill with the hands somehow overrules a thirst for knowledge. Clearly that is not so. Craftmanship and knowledge produce a whole.

Remember when Jesus was only twelve, he was accidentally separated from his parents during a visit to Jerusalem. After a frantic search, they found him in the temple deep in debate with the best minds in the Holy City. "And all that heard him were amazed at his understanding and answers." Luke 2:47. Jesus knew and understood his bible - the Old Testament.

Jesus used his scriptural knowledge for more than scholarly discourse, he used the scriptures to help him make decisions. When Jesus began his ministry, after his baptism, he sought solitude in the wilderness. There he confronted three temptations and dealt with each by quoting scripture.
"And the devil said unto him, if Thou be the Son of God, command this stone, that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. And the devil, taking him up unto a high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this authority will I give thee, and the gloryof them... If thou, therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered, and said unto him, Get thee behind me Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord, thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son Of God, cast thyself down from here; For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee; And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou shall dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus, answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not put the Lord, thy God to the test."

Each time, Jesus reinforced his choice with the words of the Old Testament.

How do we follow Christ's example. Read and memorize. Read the Bible daily, and memorize verses related to you hopes, your dreams, your fears, your life.

When I read the Bible as a daily devotion, I prefer to read a passage in the New Testament or one of the Psalms. Choose for yourself, but read more than a single verse. Read enough to gain some insight into the context of the passage you have chosen -- you need to know what's happening around the verses you select.

Do I read the Bible daily? No. Do I want to? Yes. I believe that even sporadic attempts at daily readings help me. I can tell you that I have read all the Bible through once. One summer, I set that as my task. Every lunch hour, any free time (no TV), I read, and I did it. I did not read cover to cover. I would read in the Old Testament as long as I could stand it, then read a book in the New Testament, but I always read a book at a time.

My grandmother, however, set a far better example. She read through the whole Bible every year, even the "begats". She had a formula she use, so many chapters in the Old Testament, so many in the New every day. When her vision failed in her mid-nineties, she was not concerned because the Bible was with her -- in her memory. Over the years, she had memorized all the verses that were important to her.

As we have seen previously, Jesus could quote scripture at will. To follow in his footsteps, I believe we must memorize scripture. I know that this is not a popular or "in" pastime. We'd rather read a self-help book or go online for a discussion about relationships or God. All are fine activities, but none substitute for the ability to recall scripture at a time of stress or danger. For two thousand years, Christians have relied on the words of one book. We must learn to do so, too.

One verse that I have memorized helps my every day decision-making. "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren you did it to me." Matthew 25:40. When I recall these words, I assume whoever I encounter may be Christ in disguise.

A man comes to the front door. He tells me his car is out of gas. His wife and kids are waiting in it. He has no money. Could I give him five dollars for gas? I give him two. all I have. As he turns to leave, I remind him that he used the same story the last time he asked me for money.

Why did I give money to a charlatan? Because I do not know what real need he has that drives him to go door to door asking for money. God knows what he hungers and thirsts for, I do not. All I know is that he might be Christ in disguise.

Jesus read and memorized the scriptures, so he could use them to make choices. But scripture was not enough to carry Jesus from Nazareth to Jerusalem. No, Jesus' ministry depended on prayer -- his contact with the Father. When Jesus faced the life and death choice in the garden of Gethsemane, he prayed: "O my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt." Matthew 26:39. Throughout his ministry, Jesus stayed connected to the Father through prayer, and through prayer made the choices that ultimately led to the cross.

How should we pray? In private, in public, with words, without words, with sobs, with laughter. I don't think it matters how as long as we desire to communicate with God.

How do I pray? Alone, I just talk to God, about anything, about everything. I tell him my joys, my sorrows, my hopes. I ask for his affirmation, his help, his guidance. Do I receive direct answers? Rarely and never a voice in my ear. That I often don't receive an answer doesn't bother me because the purpose of prayer is not to receive a thirty-second sound bite from God. No, prayer makes us focus on God and his relationship with us as individuals. Augustine said, "God loves each one of us as if there were only one of us. " In prayer, we understand Augustine's words.

When I am faced with a devastating crisis or an horrific choice, simply chatting with God does not seem to be enough. I need something to guide my faltering thoughts. Jesus gave us a model prayer. I use it.

"Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our debts, As we also have forgiven our debtors, And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil, For thine is the kingdom and the powerand the glory, forever."

I use the Lord's Prayer as scaffolding for my own, just as C. S. Lewis suggested. Sometimes, I simply add a thought of my own after each phrase, for example:

"Our Father who art in heaven," I add "Lord, I'm small and insignificant, you are infinite.

"Hallowed be thy name," I add, "I praise you and ask for help."

Other times, I substitute my words for those in the prayer, only following the general concepts. As an example, this is my prayer for guidance in choosing a presidential candiadate to support.

"Author of all creation, I praise you in all your aspects, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I acknowledge you as supreme and hope that all will know your loving kindness. Help me as I face the decisions of daily life. Help me to choose wisely and with your Spirit in my heart. Our nation must choose a President. I have only one vote, but I want to cast it in light of your will. Guide me to see these men as you see them and to choose wisely. I know that others will not vote as I do, but feel just as I do that they voted in accordance with your will. Help me to understand how that can be. Help me not to let my emotions drive my reactions to those who choose differently, it is so tempting. Let me remember that in your creation you can use whoever wins to guide and protect this nation. You are master of all, the past, present, and future. Always let it be thy wil, not mine. Amen."

Try a prayer patterned on the Lord's Prayer yourself. You have nothing to lose and much to receive.