With Habakkuk we Cry

Thousands are dying from the Ebola virus.
Teenagers are killing and being killed by violence in the streets.
Racism still wreaks havoc on family and community life.
Governments are harassing civilians.
Severe weather kills people of all ages, even in their own homes.
War leaves towns, villages, cities ravaged and hopeless.
Media exploits that which is personal and sacred.
Despite efforts, poverty seems only to worsen.
Slavery persists despite education and awareness.
Your church experiences these no less, which we half expect, half cannot believe.

Where is the life you have promised us?
Where is the salvation?
With the prophets we cry out that we don't understand,
that we imagined things would look differently after the coming of Jesus.

We, too, wonder how long we will have to cry for help (Hab 1:2)
We, too, wonder if you care or are even listening (Hab 1:3)
We are desperate for justice, and skeptical that it will come (Hab 1:4)

You say to look, to wonder, to be amazed (1:5)
You say your works are so miraculous many would not believe when told (1:5b-11)

We, too, put on smiles, trying trust in your sovereignty and might (1:12-13)
We, too, fall to doubt again, accusing you of the worst we see and hear (1:13)
We believe ourselves to be hopeless pawns in your chess game (1:14-17)

You say that justice is coming with surety and without delay (2:2-11)
You say that your goodness transcends the works of men (2:12-20)

Yet.
We are invited into something much more than the erasing of hardship.
The invitation is to know and to be known by the living God, 
the suffering God.
It is to taste his goodness as it covers the earth as the waters do the sea.
It is to be awakened to life in Jesus, our holiness and perfection.
It is to be replaced by this Savior, 
to rejoice as we are killed and he is raised in us.
It is to be given new eyes, ears,  and tongues,
to see, hear, taste what we now cannot.

The destruction of all hypocrites is sure- just as you said.
But thanks be to God, who took this wrath upon himself,
not making a way around this sure destruction, but right through it.
You have suffered the most, and give us yourself even still.
We confess that we doubt you often, even cursing you at times.
We don't understand the ways in which you are working.
Yet we trust you to keep bringing death to us, 
that you might keep raising us too.

And so, with Habakkuk we cry:
"Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, 
the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
God, the LORD is my strength; He makes my feet like the deer's;
He makes my feet tread on my high places."
3:17-19

You are Making it So

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fulness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things upon the earth. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation-- having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory."

 Ephesians 1:3-14.

["blessed us", "chose us", "freely bestowed", "in Him we have", "He lavished upon us", "He made known to us", "In Him we have also obtained", "were sealed in Him"] 

We have an obsession with wanting others to think we are generous.

We want the appearance of hospitality.

But You are a God of all treasure and blessing!

All of life and goodness is wrapped up in You.

So, would you rescue us?

Would you teach us to receive?

Would you teach us to value most what we did not contribute to?

                                 to rejoice at the glories of God not made with our hands?

When we taste and see Your goodness, and catch glimpses of your glory-

we see that it was never about what we did, but what you gave.

Teach us to receive, to worship, to love Your lavishing.

Then will we be hospitable!

Then will we be generous!

Then will we love our neighbor!

Not because we wanted them to think we were nice,

but because through faith we will see who we are:

Swallowed up in Jesus- at peace with God in His righteousness.

We will see who we are in seeing You,

we will give of ourselves in faith that all has been given to us.

You are making it so, and we praise You.

"Be like the fox who makes more tracks than necessary,

some in the wrong direction.

Practice resurrection."

Wendell Berry

Jesus is His Name

I thought grace was just about second chances, third chances, fourth...

I thought it was just about excusing mistakes, turning a blind eye to sin.

I thought it was about a foundation for better living next time.

We tally the wrongs against us, deciding how many more chances to give. Sometimes we have had enough, sometimes we forgive. We feel like we should forgive because You did, and so we do- sometimes, reluctantly, in bitterness. We hope in our chance-giving or chance-receiving to save us.

But what if you did not just live perfectly on earth and leave?

What if you are not just our example, but our Savior?-

    our Savior from the score-keeping games,

    our Savior from calculating what we deserve.

And so You are.

We shy away in shame after moments of wrongdoing- hoping, praying no one will see, or that they will excuse us if they do. We don't want to deal with consequences of our actions, so we hope to just be let off the hook. We hope in temporary "blindness" to save us.

But what if you did not just come to condone sin?

What if you came to bear it, to absorb it, to die under its weight?

What if you became sin for us, 

   Forever crushing it and nullifying its power.

And so You have.

We set our gazes to our improvement charts, kicking ourselves in moments of failure, and puffing up when we feel we should be proud. It is all about improvement, and we must improve at _____ , or else our life is meaningless. We hope in the towers we build to save us.

But what if you will continue to rescue us from our deeds?

What if you will keep revealing the irrelevance of our production?

What if you will open our eyes on that day,

     establishing yourself as our only source of life and meaning.

And so you will. 

No, it doesn't mean we should take advantage of your chances,

       it doesn't mean we should just do what we want because you forgive,

       it doesn't mean our life choices are irrelevant.

But thanks be to God, who raised us up with Christ!
His life, his blessings, his provision are ours to know.
There is life in no other.

Give us faith in Him-
Who gave of his body and blood, doing away with our tallying.
Give us faith in Him-
Who continues to intercede for us, nullifying the power of sin.
Give us faith in Him-
Who is bearing fruit in us, inviting us to rest in his faithfulness.

Magnify grace to us, Christ to us.
Let us see not just how grace benefits us,
but what it cost You.
In seeing, may we worship instead of taking advantage. 

And when we take advantage, grace You will give,
Yourself You will give. 
We are a people saved by Grace,
and Grace is not an arbitrary gift, but a person.
Jesus is his name.

Hallelujah.

3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindnessand love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 

Titus 3:3-7

More Certain

"On Friday a thief, on Sunday a king
Laid down in grief, but woke with the keys
To hell on that day, first born of the slain
The man Jesus Christ laid death in his grave"
                          - Audrey Assad

We praise you, Jesus, for being raised on the third day.
We praise you for raising the sun each day thereafter.

We have life because You have risen.

Awaken us anew to this-

That life is more certain than death,

That peace with God is ours to know, to rest in.

Oh the reasons to sing!

Taste and See

We are bystanders to the rising sun.

We witness seasonal change.

Fruit grows independently from us.

The rains come without our consent.

In a world in which all of this is so,

in which you are the orchestrator of it all-

Our obsession with control is obscene.

Our need to work is an atrocity.

Blessed with tasks and jobs as we are,

free us from the grip of our schedules and budgets.

In creation you gave bare people free access to bountiful supply.

Yet we cover ourselves in self-righteousness and manufactured goods.

You are the God who causes fruit for us and in us.

Give us delight in this process which you have worked for-you and you alone.

We come in our ignorance and stubbornness,

for this is all we have to offer.

We praise you for not qualifying our worthiness to come,

for not asking us to "dig deep", or to try harder.

Forgive us for trying to fill up what we find lacking in creation.

The work is finished, the harvest has come.

His name is Jesus.

May we taste and see this goodness who fills all in all.

Even in Newness of Life

Another mistake.

It's not a new one, and rarely is.

It's the same mistake I've made before.

A stupid mistake.

A forgetful mistake.

A seemingly unimportant mistake-

but this mistaking is getting old. 

I'm so frustrated.
I should know better.

I should have learned my lesson.

I should be invincible to this.

In these moments you always speak.

I'm usually too busy putting words in your mouth to listen.

I assume you'd say berating words.

I assume you're disappointed.

I assume you're conjuring my punishment.

But then.

Then you give me ears to hear.

Then you whisper what is true.

Then you give yourself to me again.

In my bitterness and withdrawal, you free me to draw near.

Thank you for rescuing me-
for rendering my shame powerless
for loving me when I self-loathe
for being the atonement I cannot be for myself.

We are a self-deprecating people.
Lead us away from our mutilation to your exaltation. 

We praise you for Jesus-

that in him we don't just have an example, but a Savior.

Teach us to live like we need saving.

Teach us to rejoice in the safety you give-

instead of shaming ourselves for needing it.

We have been immersed in you, and raised to new life with you.

Even in newness of life, our need remains.

Turn our songs from "How could I have.." to, "Praise you for.."

Our pride may feel crushed,

but our souls will feel free. 

Amen.

Romans 8:31-37

31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[j]

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither the present nor the future,nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Psalm 16: 5-11

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;

you hold my lot.

 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;

in the night also my heart instructs me.

 I have set the Lord always before me;

because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;

my flesh also dwells secure.

 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,

or let your holy one see corruption.

 You make known to me the path of life;

in your presence there is fullness of joy;

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Not only at the Forecast

There is something so healing about the rain.

It is as if the skies understand grief, and the thunder anger.

In its noise, it brings a peaceful silence to bustling activity.

In its chaos, beckons all attention, bringing lovely order.

In its quickness, it draws people inside to rest, to read, to bake.

And then we see.

We see that you are a God who hears your people-

You are a God who quiets us.

You are a God who captivates us.

You are a God who replenishes us.

Forgive us for wanting to be heard instead of to listen,

for being captured by vanity with a grip on our wealth,

for finding reassurance in work and deeds,

for complaining when it rains, longing only for the sun.

Teach us what nature understands full well.

Teach us to smile not only at the forecast, 

but at the work you are completing within:

the quiet, slow, and tedious work.

Who is a God Like You?

What kind of God are you, that you would create a world in which

people marry-

     committing to the end of themselves as the beginning of life and relation?

in which

newborns grow-

    gaining sharper sight, greater dexterity, smiles, and infectious laughs?

in which

artists create-

     capturing meaning and significance in audible and visual magnificence?

in which 

days are set apart-

    to celebrate and honor through gatherings, hospitality, good food and drink?

The sun greeted us this morning, and the rain sends us to sleep.
You are the God of this day, just like all others.
Teach us that you do not just impact each day, but that you are each day.
All that means something to us is wrapped up in you.
So in you we marry and grow, create and celebrate.
What kind of God must you be, that you would bestow all this?

We are amazed. 
Heighten our amazement.


Micah 7:18-20
"Who is a God like you,
    who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
    of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
    but delight to show mercy.
19 You will again have compassion on us;
    you will tread our sins underfoot
    and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
20 You will be faithful to Jacob,
    and show love to Abraham,
as you pledged on oath to our ancestors
    in days long ago."

In the Midst of What We Know the Least

Our constant God,

Though life brings change in job, family, and circumstance,
we praise you for being our ever-present help and consistency.
What do we know about change but that you ordain it?
What do we know about change but that you grow us in it?
What do we know about change but that you are constant?

In seasons of change-
open our eyes to what remains,
instead of just the differences.
May we see with more familiarity-
knowing you in the midst of what we know the least.

What a sweet calling and gift.
Draw near, lest we miss it.

As Sabbath Nears

We feel afraid,

lonely,

tired,

restless,

bored,

weak,

angry,

hurt,

disappointed...

So we cling to what we can do and make.

At least then we'll feel accomplished- maybe even better about ourselves. 

But have we forfeited our souls?

Deliver us.

We may not be in need, but we are certainly in want.

Give us ease, and sweet rest in Jesus' name.

As Sabbath nears, prepare us for worship.

Give us deep breaths.

In the name of Jesus, 

who endured all that we might trust him- and rest in him,

Amen.

Disarm Us

Disarm us, 

 for we come to you with shaking fists.

We don't trust you to care for us,

 especially when we don't prosper.

Help our faith to match your goodness,

                       to see what we yet cannot,

                       to trust without reason,

                       to worship in and with our suffering.

Remind us of all the reasons we have to praise you,

 namely that you, God, are good- and therefore good to us.

In Jesus we know this full well.

In his name, 

 who had every reason to doubt your goodness,

 yet suffered in enduring obedience..

Who else became like us?

Who else is our righteousness?
Who else conquered death?

Who else sits at the Father's hand?
Who else intercedes for us?
Who else is our very life?

Yes, in his name we pray,
(though still needing to be disarmed)

Amen.

Now We Can Rest

The sun went down again-

     But we didn't finish enough,
                           make enough,
                           save enough,
                           sleep enough,
                           dream enough,
                           reconcile enough.

We feel used and abused by our task lists,
and disappointed by those in relation to us.
Doubt creeps in and ruins it all- and you let it.

We chase the wind, day in and day out,
and hope that one of these days it will profit us.
It never does.
The sun always goes down,
and we are often left disillusioned.

If we are honest,
we're not just disappointed with ourselves and others.
We're disappointed with you.

We don't want a Savior in the first place-
especially not a sufferer who went silently to the cross.
Where is his might?
Where is his majesty?
Why is his superiority not clearly seen?
Will he ever transform our friend, brother, daughter, spouse?
Will he ever bring justice to the needy and starved?
Will he ever bring peace instead of allowing war?
If so, when?

These questions arise as the sun falls.



All-sufficient God,

Rescue us from the pursuit of vanity. 

Reveal its folly and your supremacy.

Teach us to marvel at our Savior Jesus-

          who died that we might be raised,

                  suffered that we might be blessed,

                  lived that we might know righteousness,

                  forgave that we might know peace.

Free us to chase none but Jesus,

             to rest in no other. 

We need faith to see that the hungry are filled,

                                        the lame walk again,

                                        the weary are strengthened,

                                        the poor are rich,

                                        the lowly are blessed.

As we see the sun, may we see your Son.

As surely as one comes, so will the other.

Make us glad at their presence,

and teach us to see beyond our current sight. 

We will never do enough.

Praise be to God for not having this demand!

We are free to love and to be loved,

                   to fail and to be failed,

                   to gain and to lose. 

Establish us in the surety of your promises,

and teach us to receive Christ with more hope and joy.

By this time tomorrow, may we see him more clearly-

and with awe.

About to lay our heads down, 

we praise you that all work is finished.

Now we can rest.

Amen.

Tomorrow's Needs are Finding us Today

Father of all provision,

We praise you for caring for our needs, big and small.

Most of the time we take this for granted-

         and our expectations rise.

So thank you for a certain grace today-

         a specific and surprising grace.

The grace in which we see our need for what it is-

         and look to you in desperation.

How sweet it is that you never use vulnerability against us!

No. You revel in the moment to abundantly give.

And you don't just give us arbitrary things-

        you give yourself in flesh and blood.

Give us faith in these times-

        and teach us to take hope in our neediness.

Though tomorrow's needs are finding us today, 

        sustain us in a child's sweet ignorance and peace.

Amen.

     

        

Another Day Ends

Another day ends, and we grumble.

There was nothing spectacular about it-

except that you were with us,

except that you lavished grace upon us,

except that you continued to transform us.

It was an incredible day- we suppose.

Open our eyes, that we may see.

Rescue us from our frivolous pursuits.

In Jesus may it be:

Another day ends, and we praise you.

The Same at Dawn and Dusk

We want to be inspired- and for the inspiration to last. 
We want to accomplish, finish, straighten, organize.
We want to be comfortable, secure, at peace, and loved.
We want to have extraordinary trust and faith.
We want our lives to be honorable, noteworthy.

and isn’t it clear?

We want to earn it-
To see the fruit of our sweaty brows.

If all the inspirational songs cease,
all the to-do lists remain unchecked,
all the hours of the day slip away from us-

What then?
What will be left?

Our Shepherd,

Teach us to work and rest-
as if we having nothing to gain, and nothing to lose.
Teach us to marvel and praise-
for we are loved the same at dawn and dusk.
Teach us to rely and trust-
as a child who works not, yet feasts anyway.

You are leading us.
to fields that are surely green,
to streams that are surely quiet.
And surely, goodness and mercy shall follow us forever and ever.

Amen.

In the Meantime

I pray that you would know 

the hope, the riches, and the power 

that are yours in Jesus Christ.

That instead of despair, 

you would find yourself hoping more than ever before- 

hoping for peace and reconciliation and growth.

I pray that this hope would not be that which comes and goes like an unwanted guest, 

but that it would remain, and that this would bring you encouragement to hope again.

That instead of feeling poor, or in lack, 

that your eyes would be opened to what is: 

that all of your accounts are full. 

I pray that you would not only feel rich, 

but that you would spend yourself in love and belief that you will never be emptied. 

May God in Jesus Christ whisper to you that all riches are yours. 

May you eat and drink and live as royalty- for such you are!

That instead of feeling helpless and weak, 

you would see the strength that actually characterizes you. 

I pray you would see-

that in surrendering your power is not lost but gained, 

that in submitting you are not giving up but gaining all,

that in dying to yourself you are actually being raised to new life.

May the peace of Christ guard your mind-

and through eyes of faith may you taste and see that the Lord is good again and again. 

Even so, come Lord Jesus, and infuse our senses with faith. 

May your presence be near to us. 

Your hopeful, priceless, and powerful presence. 

We know we will stand in awe of what you will do. 

In the meantime, grace us with belief.

Amen.