A Glimpse (Psalms and Prayers)

Lord Jesus,

My soul sings of Your goodness and marvels at Your mercies.

For I have journeyed as a pilgrim in foreign lands.  I have walked amongst the thorns and bushes with spines.  I have known the burning of a white-hot sun in a cloudless sky and felt the sting of dust driven by unceasing winds.  The path before me drew out without end and hungry dogs shadowed me on either side.  My spirit failed when I could find no rest.  Yes, I have been a pilgrim in a thirsty land - parched and desolate.

And then, when I could go no further, when all hope was lost, You allowed me a glimpse of Your goodness, a touch of Your mercies.  You brought me into Your garden and shaded my head with coolness.  A garden with flowers and vines laden with grapes.  A garden of quiet and peace.  A garden scented with Your Holiness.

You provided comfort for my weary feet.  And You fed me with the firstfruits of Your glory.  Choice lamb and meats of other flavors.  Bread and vintage wine.  A feast never ending and spiced with Your love.

Yes, Lord Jesus, my soul sings of Your goodness and marvels at Your mercies.

Amen.

Psalm 23:4           “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil……”

Romans 8:38-39   “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Genesis 2:15         “Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden……”

   

Generations (Psalms and Prayers)

Oh, merciful Father, almighty God!

I come before You with awe.

Oh merciful Father, almighty God.  Help me my Lord.  Help me to understand that I am an heir to Your kingdom, to fully grasp that I have obtained an eternal inheritance through the precious blood of Jesus Christ, to comprehend that the covenant that You made with Abraham applies to me.       

Untold generations have come before me - an endless sea of saintly souls made so through the redeeming blood of Jesus.  And while they did not know me by name, they prayed for me.  They prayed Your blessings and protection upon me.  And you heard their prayers.  You honored their requests.  You remembered Your covenant.  You built a fortress around my soul.  Thank You my God.  Thank you for each of them.  

And as those who came before me prayed for me, I now pray for the countless generations that will come after me.  My brothers and sisters in Christ.   Bless them, my Lord.  Hold them secure in Your mighty hand.  Keep their hearts and minds pure and acceptable to You.  Cover them in the precious blood of Jesus according to Your will.  Thank you for each of them.  

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

Amen.

Galations 3:29      “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Romans 4:11        “… that he might be the father of all those who believe,...”

   

Genesis 17:7         “And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.”     

Mom and Dad (God Moments)

That sure sounds strange – Mom and Dad.  Somewhere before that age when a boy becomes a man, they became Esther and Chester to me.  The circumstances of that transition are entirely unknown to me now.  But one day, I began calling them by their given names and that habit pretty much defined our relationship for the next 40 plus years.

Now, I have never fathered a child.  The Good Lord saw the wisdom of terminating my blood line with me.   So, I admit to a bias of ignorance with what I’m about to say.  But I find it bemusing when a newborn enters the room, and someone (usually female – not that anyone’s counting) inevitably gushes, “Oh, what a blessing!”  Maybe so.  But to my way of thinking, that is just plain backwards.  It is the parents who provide the blessing and you never hear anyone fawn poetic on their behalf.

In my heart I know that Mom and Dad weren’t perfect in any respect, much less parenting.  Maybe I know that all too well.  Because in my weaker moments, blame for my failures is slyly transferred to their ledger.  But that says so much more about me than them.

Nonetheless, not only did I love them as parents, I liked them as people.  I wish I had known them when they were young and vibrant.

When the toll booth that we call life hadn’t yet fully taxed them physically.  Something tells me that if our ages could somehow meet in the middle, we’d hang out together.  But that was never part of God’s design.  Instead, my mind is limited to memories of them in their later years. 

A little bit bent-over.  A little bit shaky.  But always supporting each other both physically and spiritually even until death do them part – and beyond.  Perhaps that is the best reflection of all.    

What a joy it would be sit down with Mom and Dad today, right now, and talk about…..life.  To try and see the world through their prism – images that were and remain to be important to them.  But lost upon me in that day because life simply got in the way.  So many questions remain unanswered.  But yet those questions will morph once again in the light of a new day.

I simply must trust that their wisdom imparted upon me the important stuff that God would have me to know.  And so it was.  Because not only did they conceive me physically but it was their love and sacrifice, their very lives, that first witnessed to me the love of God and planted the seeds of faith in my soul.  Their continual prayers fortified me against the world.

Yes, Mom and Dad are the blessing.         

               

Esther and Chester are still with me – profoundly.  And it makes me smile.  But for unknown reasons that I strain to understand, when they died, they reverted to Mom and Dad.  

Link to:  Generations (Psalms and Prayers)

Rebellion (Psalms and Prayers)

Oh my Lord ,

Please have mercy on me.  My sins are many.  My sins are deep.  Yet, not the size of the sin, but the condition of the heart.

Oh, that by the power of The Holy Spirit I might see my sins as you see them.  Help me to feel the hurt that my sin creates in Your heart.  Help me to become aware that all my sin is ultimately against you and you alone.  Help me to “see through” the deception that all sin represents – rebellion against the Almighty God.  Oh please help me...

Not that my understanding will give me the power to overcome my sinful nature.  But that I might resolve to deny my wayward desires and with the help of the Holy Spirit, defeat the sin that resides in this physical body.

So, please forgive my sins.  Wash me in the precious blood of Christ.  Thank you.  What an amazing gift!

And from this moment forward, help put away all sin and to walk according to Your will.  So that You might find delight in all that I think and do.  And that I might know the full joy of the indwelling Spirit in my present body, here and now.

In the all-powerful name of Jesus I pray,

Amen.

Psalm 51:4           “Against You, You only, have I sinned…..”

Romans 7:19        “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.”

   

Romans 8:12-14            “…..but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body…..”

Salvation (Psalms and Prayers)

My soul was alone.

Isolated as on a desert island and afflicted on all sides by great waves.  Waves of thunder and chaos.  Waves that drove me down into darkness and held me captive from which I could find no escape.  Thirsty, I drank from the depths, but the taste was bitter and delivered no relief.  Wherever I looked there was emptiness without scope, parted only by the solitary line that separates water and air.   Where would my soul find comfort and rest? 

And then there was something, too distant to understand.  A dawning of humble beginnings, a faint glimmer but it called me to look.  Seemingly rising from the void, came a single ray of hope that brightened the heavens while defeating the deep.  And up raised all glory – radiant, pure, and good.  Closer to view, all the while softly calling my name, came beauty unrivaled with offerings of peace.  I timidly reached out my hand and the waves became still.  Gone was the darkness, the torment retreated. 

My soul is alive.

Oh, my great and loving God, thank you for the gift of Your Son!  Thank you for my salvation.

Amen.

Psalm 27:1           “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?....”

John 3:16             “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

John 8:32             “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free…..”