Wednesday Prayer

 

I own a little prayer book published in 1949 by Charles Scribner's Sons, written by Joseph Baillie.  The inscription on the inside says this:  "Greetings on your graduation.  Elmon E Ward, Pastor".  I treasure this little book and wonder about Pastor Ward's story as well as the recipient's. 

Here is a very small portion of the prayer from this morning, which I pass along in the hope that it might give you hope in your burden-bearing. 

Give me a stout heart to bear my own burdens.
Give me a willing heart to bear the burdens of others. 
Give me a believing heart to cast all burdens upon Thee. 

Glory be to Thee, O Father, and to Thee, O Christ, and to Thee, O Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen. 

And again I say, Amen. 

Idols Again

Remember my talk about idols yesterday?  Well, the package came. 

And I am reminding myself of the bride in Ezekiel 16.  Read it when you have time.  It is a sordid tale of love given (lavished even!) and abused.  The bride, a waif from the street, is given everything by her groom to make her beautiful and happy and thriving.  After the marriage she takes her beautiful things and wins the gazes of passersby with them, then prostitutes herself with them, then turns her precious wedding jewels into idols to worship, and finally sacrifices her sons and daughters to them. 

The gifts we are given we turn to idols to worship.  The blessings God gives we grab and go.  Our hearts are, in John Calvin’s words, little “idol-making factories”.  And we never quit.  Because we are never satisfied. 

Oh how we need the mercy and kindness of God.  How we need His steady faithfulness to put up with all our turnings-away. 

Paul says rightly, in Romans 7, Wretched man that I am!  Who will deliver me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.  (And those exclamation points are rightly placed!) 

Only in God is our soul at rest.  Only in Christ are we freed from our many wretched idols.  Only by His grace are we not destroyed. 

How does it go with the bride in Ezekiel 16?  Well, at the end of the chapter, God says this:  I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord, that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord God. 

Did you catch that?  She is to be ashamed, but did you catch what God is doing?  Atoning.  He is paying the price for her incredible faithlessness.  He is washing her white as snow again.  He is taking her shame upon Himself. 

In fact, at the cross, Jesus the Holy One of Israel, took that shame upon Himself, and handed us His righteousness.

Doesn’t that knowledge make you never want to sin again?  So turn from your packages and idols. Go in God’s grace, and be glad.

 

 

 

 

 

Idols

A package arrived today.  I was expecting one. 

Unfortunately, the package turned out to contain books of theology I had ordered, and not the clothing I was expecting.  My heart fell.   Just my books on missions and global evangelization?  Pooey. 

Oops, my idols are showing again. 

Every disappointment, irritation, angry moment ought to give us pause.  Why am I upset about this?  Why disappointed?  What am I worshiping that is causing this reaction?

Dee Brestin in her book Idol Lies, in referring to Tim Keller’s book Counterfeit Gods, reminds us that there are three basic deep idol categories into which all our adoration fits:  Affirmation/Approval, Comfort/Security, and Control/Power.   Since I love my clothing better than my theology studies, I’m adoring comfort and security.  I feel confident that all will be well if I am dressed well and comfortably.  All will be well if I am personally happy, and new clothes make me happy. 

Does this mean I should do away with my clothing?  Heaven forbid. 

No, it means that I am worshiping the creature rather than the Creator, I am running after the things God gives rather than God.  

And that will only end badly. 

Because God will not be mocked in my life, and I will ultimately not be satisfied with my clothing and stuff.  Remember, trends change, moths eat clothes as do electric dryers and puppies, and things wear out . . . literally. 

My idols cannot and will not take care of me.  They will not rescue me.  They will not feed and sustain me.  They will not answer my prayers. 

And, when push comes to shove and a parent is ailing or a child is struggling, nice things don’t really matter.  You’d sell your arm, never mind your stuff, to have your mother back. 

Give way to God, and forsake your idols.  Their moment is fleeting, but your relationship with the Lord lasts forever.  Our attention belongs there. 

Whom have I in heaven but you, and there is nothing on earth I desire besides you.  My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  Psalm 73:25

Prayer Part 2

 

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.  Above him stood the seraphim. . . . And one called to another and said:  "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!"  (Taken from Isaiah 6) 

As we study prayer for the second time in the women's Sunday school class, we are trying to focus on the Listener of our prayers. 

How quick we are to present Him with our grocery list of needs and the needs of others; there are times that we barely take time to look at Him.  And while presenting our needs is good and obedient, we need to understand that there is One who listens to our prayers.  He is the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: [He says] "I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit".  

This God wants to hear us speak with Him, He wants us to know His presence.  This is not a God that is far off, but One who longs to fellowship with us. 

We can go to the grocery store with our lists.  But let's come into God's breathtaking presence with thanksgiving and praise, and fix our eyes on the One who cares about our needs. 

I would challenge you this week to spend some of your prayer time focusing on the Lover of your soul, seeking Him, fixing your eyes on Him, reading about His great deeds in history, loving Him in the Psalms.  In fact, try sometime to refrain from requests, and just savor His presence.  It's hard work, but so worth getting to know the One Who Listens. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Dance!

 

 "No love, no pain. No God, no games. A tragedy three years ago destroyed Nye's rise to the top of the dancing world as an upcoming tango star, and in the process destroyed her reason for living, too. She survived the pain and built a new life resembling nothing like the one she left behind, determined never to hurt again. Nye's emotional walls hold up perfectly until she meets a handsome lawyer and an elderly landowner. They seem harmless, but one awakens feelings she doesn't want and the other makes her face the God she can't forgive. Will these two men help Nye dance again?"

Name that author! 

Our very own Jerusha Agen.  This is Jerusha's first book in the Sisters Redeemed series, and features Nye and Cullen and their circuitous route to God and love.   

Read it and rejoice at how God has gifted one of us for a unique ministry in the world of fiction. 

   Well done, Jerusha!  We, your friends and fellow-worshipers at NHOPC, are so proud of you!