Bake Extra Loaves

But He answered them,

"You give them something

              to eat."

..."How many loaves

                do you have?

Go and see."

       Mark 6. 37-38

We cry out,

"Oh God, do something!"

And He replies to us,

"I have.

 That's why I put you there."

The ancient saints

   are all depicted

   with something in their hands,

what marked their lives,

their way of ministering

   to those around them

and to whom God positioned

                on their paths.

God uses us to bless others

    and change the world.

What has God called me to

        in this day?

May we be aware of the loaves

   God has placed in our hands.

May we ask God's blessing

   on what we have, what we do,

and how we can love others,

  even in desperate situations.

And God multiplies exponentially.

How many loaves do we have?

In God's hands,

          more than enough.

O LORD,

Reveal Yourself to us, today,

in opportunities to bless others,

to feed them in their hungers,

to come alongside

    even in the everydays,

to bring Your blessing

  in barren places of the soul.

Help us to bake extra loaves,

    come prepared

and share generously

          Your love and grace,

no matter where 

    You guide us today.

We ask Your blessing.

But we also ask

     that we may bless You.

 

Don't Go There

 

....unclean to you.

        Leviticus 11. 4

Not the words we want to hear.

Yet perhaps the ones

    we need to hear,

despite all our excuses:

     No one will know.

     Everyone is doing it.

     It won't hurt me,

         nor anyone else.

And our adversary's favorite

          "It won't matter."

But yet, unclean to you

    or detestable to you 

is repeated 42 times 

  in the 47 verses of chapter 11.

Not all things are helpful,

  some will trip us up,

  some will enslave.

Be aware of ambushes.

When God tells us,

           "Don't go there,"

     stop in the name of love.

Our lives depend on it.

And so does our witness.

Trusting God builds strength

to resist the shiny distractions

  and avoid crater-size potholes.

O LORD,

We are so blind to the 

   consequences of downright sin.

We call our rebelliousness 

   a lot of things,

like mistakes, misunderstandings,

   accidents, or I-didn't-mean-to's.

What is unclean to us

   -- the next wrong thing--

impacts not just us,

but generations after us

and our witness among others.

LORD, grant to us Your strength

   to walk with You

through this day,

       our eyes on You.

That which is good and gracious

 and honorable in Your sight

      reverberates forever.

Right Here In The Boat With Us

 

And they woke Him

and said to Him,

"Teacher, do you not care

  that we are perishing?"

And He awoke and

rebuked the wind

and said to the sea,

"Peace!  Be still!"

And the wind ceased,

and there was great calm.

He said to them,

"Why are you so afraid?

Have you still no faith?"

        Mark 4. 38-40

The disciples asked Jesus

the most ridiculous question:

    "Don't you even care?"

And Jesus replied

      also with a question,

"Why are you so afraid?"

He's right here in the boat with us.

Faith is not a chosen list of beliefs,

but conviction 

and confidence in the Almighty.

He asks us, "Did you think

I would not take care of you?

      Trust Me in this."

O LORD,

You do not promise us

   that life will not be hard.

You did not say

   that we will be in control,

            but You are.

You are with us,

even in all manner of storms.

Help us to sleep like You.

 

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The Grand Imprinting Of Our Souls

 

And Moses and Aaron went

      into the tent of meeting,

and when they came out

  they blessed the people,

and the glory of the LORD

appeared to all the people.

         Leviticus 9. 23

Worshipping God matters

          in all forms

whether in our work,

  our service,

  how we treat others,

or even in going to church. 

When we worship the LORD,

we cannot help 

    but be changed by Him,

even in the very act of 

            worshipping.

Worship is a coming before,

a submitting to,

a trusting in,

and communing with 

          the Almighty God.

He refreshes

  and aligns our hearts with His,

and thereby blesses all those

   around us and through us.

His glory infiltrates the day.

O LORD,

At the start of the day

and all the way through,

when we worship You,

we are not just mindful of You,

  but You implant in us

  the mind of Christ.

Whatever we worship changes us.

       May we worship You.

We see circumstances

    with a new heart.

We treat others with

   Your love and grace.

Worship is manifest

  in our comings and goings.

We see opportunities

       to serve You

in whatever we do today.

 

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Wow, What Is That?

 

And Moses said,

"This is the thing that the LORD

   commanded you to do,

that the glory of the LORD

   may appear to you."

            Leviticus 9. 6

What are we doing that

    opens that door?

When we obey God, 

follow and respond to Him,

even in what may not

            appear to matter,

something profound

     and deeply significant

  is released and put into motion.

In trusting God into

  whatever He has put before us,

God strengthen us,

covers us,

and shifts the tectonic plates

           of the universe

in ways we personally

             may never witness

   --but sometimes we do.

Wow, what is that? 

God brings His glory. 

Watch for it.

O LORD,

Enlarge, we pray, our hearts

   and our vision

that we may follow You

and trust You with our path

   and with what we do,

knowing that You work

   in eternal dimensions.

It is not a matter of You

     bringing Your glory, Almighty One,

  but revealing it is already here.

We just don't see it yet.

Allow Your glory to change us.

Deepen Your fruit

  far beyond our lifetimes.

You show us a different way

to approach the hard,

to navigate the rough places,

and to trust You through it.

Even what is before us,

even what is on our hearts today.

Messing Up Yet Again

 

If anyone of the common people

sins unintentionally

in doing any one of the things

that by the LORD's commandments

    ought not to be done,

and realizes his guilt

      ...he shall be forgiven.

           Leviticus 4. 27-28, 31

Even the mistakes we all make,

    no exclusions,

    no excuses,

    nor failures, accidents,

         or didn't mean to's,

God has already made provision

            for us to be forgiven.

The entire book of Leviticus

  reveals our need for Jesus.

  We are not perfect,

    which is hard to admit.

The word unintentionally

   is mentioned six times

   in chapters 4 and 5.

And he shall be forgiven

           eight times.

When we come before the LORD,

  forgiveness is already 

                 snapped into place

  --we just don't realize it yet,

Whether deliberate rebellions

   or really dumb mistakes,

we are covered by His sacrifice.

That is the gospel,

   which changes everything.

And we can go forth differently.

O LORD,

Please forgive us.

   We have really messed up.

Thank You for loving us

           that much.

May we in turn

  love others like that

  by forgiving them.

Grant us Your strength

  to drag our shortcomings

  to the altar

and find You already there.

Help us to leave our sin there

and know that we are forgiven.

It is not that we do not

               bear it alone,

but that we no longer carry it.

Redeem the impossible,

                   dear Jesus.

What Am I Going To Wear Today

 

From the blue and purple

and scarlet yarns

they made finely woven

  garments for ministering

in the Holy Place.

            Exodus 39.1

One of our first decisions

of the day is

what are we going to wear?

We take into account

the weather, our work,

 even who we see.

But how we minister to others

is determined by what

   we choose to wear --

compassion, kindness,

humility, meekness, patience

...and above all these,

                put on love.

     Colossians 3. 12, 14

We wear these things

into the day's activities,

even in what we don't

      consider ministry.

Because with them,

we cannot help but

worship, serve God

and minister to others.

And by them,

   we are known as His.

O LORD,

Make us aware of the

finely woven garments

with which You have filled

   our wardrobes

to minister before You.

Help us to pay attention

to what You have

   called us to today.

Prepare our hearts

for ministry

in every shape and size

and even in ways

  we don't recognize.

This is Your holy place

   and the sacred ground

where You have intended us.