Behold,

I send My messenger,

and he will prepare

the way before Me.

          Malachi 3. 1

(By our faithfulness

  in the ordinary

  and in the crisis,

our obedience

  even when we

  don't understand why,

our love for God

      and others,

our words and deeds,

our daily seeking Him

    and marinating

    in His Word,

our selflessness

   when we don't need to,

our forgiveness

   when we do,

our encouraging and

  strengthening others,

loving neighbors,

strangers, sojourners

     and foes,

we prepare

  the way of the LORD

  in the lives of others,

even those we will

             never know,

even those yet unborn.

And God prepares

   our way before Him.)

O LORD,

Help us to realize

that You use us

to point others to You,

even when we

     are most unaware.

We are messengers

   of Your grace and hope

   and love.

That is humbling indeed.

Be fruitful through us,

                O LORD,

even in our bumbling.

Help us to prepare Your way

    in every divine appointment

    and sacred encounter.

May we --

this last day of 2020

and into the years beyond--

pray continually,

live faithfully,

love well,

and practice grace

    over and over again.

We pray beyond

    our daily bread.

We pray for lives

   that bear much fruit,

even that we will

             never yet see.

 

Praise the LORD!

Sing to the LORD

     a new song,

His praise

in the assembly

         of the godly.

         Psalm 149. 1

(How different

would our days,

our lives

    and our hearts be,

if we started the day

with praise

and gratefulness

and recognition of God?

To seek Him first in it,

instead of stumbling

   and grumbling through,

to respond to His voice

and to His Word,

instead of reacting to

   circumstances,

to be known as His

and recognized by

  His grace in our hearts

and His praise

        and kindness

        on our lips.

Praise is not just

   something we do,

but profoundly

and unalterably doing

   something to us.

Praising God

expresses our love

for Him

and simultaneously

   changes our hearts

and vision into the day.)

O LORD,

Guide us in our way today,

open our eyes

    to how to serve You,

open our hands

    to restore and build

    and rebuild and love,

empower us to

   leave bitterness behind

   and fill us over the brim

   with compassion,

redeem what we have

   only seen as the

   hard and rough places,

train us in godliness,

renew Your Spirit in us,

help us to walk with You

     right here,

     right now,

     even in this,

above all, O LORD,

align our hearts

            with Yours.

 

And on that day

there shall be inscribed

on the bells

of the horses,

     "Holy to the LORD."

And the pots

in the house of the LORD

shall be as the bowls

before the altar.

             Zechariah 14. 20

(The patterns of the

 sacred order of things

are inscribed

all around us.

Even the ordinary

            is sacred,

every moment holy,

every word and deed

  devoted to Him,

as it should be,

a means of worship.

Write His name

  at the top of our paper

Who this day belongs to.

Inscribe and engrave

on everything

       in this day,

  "Holy to the LORD."

Not as a reminder

              to Him,

           but to us.

His name changes

my vision

toward this opportunity

and even that irritation.

Nothing

can remain the same,

not even my attitude

           in it.)

O LORD,

May we see this day,

just steps away

from the end of this year,

with Your eyes

and our hearts

      aligned with Yours.

May we engrave

   Your holy name

on everything we do

and say

and think

and pray,

how we see what is

        around us

and how we love

    who is around us.

Help us to bring

   Your name to this place

and situation

and relationship.

For the well-being

            of others.

For Your glory

    in every dimension.

For the flourishing

      of Your kingdom.

 

...the LORD,

who stretched out the

            heavens

and founded the earth

and formed the spirit

of man within him.

      Zechariah 12. 1

(When we embrace

the reality of God

and acknowledge Him

     by our lives,

we see ourselves,

others,

and circumstances

            differently.

Every person,

every incident,

every minute detail,

every word,

every kindness,

are profoundly significant

       in God's eyes.

All are opportunities

      to worship Him

and spread the knowledge

       of the Almighty

throughout all the earth.)

O LORD,

You are our Creator

and not we ourselves.

Help us to listen,

linger,

and seek You

wherever You have placed us

in time and space today.

Align our hearts with Yours.

Don't just guide us, O LORD,

but be our vision

that we would know You

and make You known.

 

 

Ask rain from the LORD

in the season

of the spring rain,

from the LORD

who makes

    the storm clouds,

and He will give them

   showers of rain,

to everyone

the vegetation

             in the field.

      Zechariah 10. 1

(Do we think provision

       just happens?

Do we take for granted

      the growth and

      the fruitfulness,

      and well-being?

Do we take credit?

Do we even ask,

or seek God about it

or talk to the LORD

    about our need

    and response

    and what to do?

"Have you asked Me

            about it?"

      says the LORD.)

O LORD,

We come before You

not just with our need,

but in gratefulness

      for Your provision

in so many dimensions.

Every need,

every seed,

every encounter

--no matter how huge

     or how small--

is profoundly significant

in our intimacy with You.

May our needs

   draw us closer to You.

Help us to realize

that our vision and provision

is exceedingly different

because we know You,

because we love You.

We have the capacity

      to love others

because You first loved us.

 

The LORD is

gracious and merciful,

slow to anger

and abounding in

      steadfast love.

The LORD is good

               to all,

and His mercy is over

all that He has made.

...The LORD is

faithful in all His words

and kind in all His works.

...The LORD is

righteous in all His ways

and kind in all His works.

 Psalm 145. 8-9, 13, 17

(This is not just

what God does.

This is who God is.

May we reflect Christ

abiding in our hearts --

gracious, merciful,

seeking peace,

abounding in love,

good to all,

faithful and kind.

These are not things

   to bring with us

but reflect our hearts,

     aligned with His.

How do we approach

this situation,

respond to difficult people,

navigate this rocky path,

if this is our identity in Him?

May we bear the marks

                  of Jesus.)

O LORD,

Help us not just to be

mindful of You,

but faithful and responsive

       to Your heart in this.

Help us to approach

each day,

each opportunity,

each task,

even each struggle

in worship to You.

And help us to

reflect You

wherever we are.

 

Old men and old women

shall again

sit in the streets

         of Jerusalem,

each with staff in hand

because of great age.

And the streets of the city

shall be full of

boys and girls

playing in its streets.

            Zechariah 8. 4-5

(This is a compelling picture of

God's redeeming

      and restoration.

It is what faithfulness does

and what restoration

                   looks like,

laughter,

peace,

love,

grace

for the most vulnerable.

In the midst of our

      greatly broken world,

we cry, "O God, do something!"

And He replies,

"That's why I put you there.")

O LORD,

Help us to realize

that even our dismay

over this broken world

is your call for faithfulness

and compassion

and Your love

   echoing in our hearts.

Fill us

that Your love

    would spill over

into the restoration

           of this world

and work in the redeeming

     of lives around us.

You have gifted

        each one of us

to bring Your name

and Your glory

wherever You place us.

Even today.

You offer us windows,

doors,

cracks,

and empty places

to be a blessing to others

      and to bless You,

to love others

     and to love You.

Help us to know how

  to respond to Your leading.

Thank You this Christmas

for sending Your Son

that we would know

how beloved we are

             by You.

 

And they sing

the song of Moses,

the servant of God,

and the song of the Lamb,

singing,

"Great and amazing

    are Your deeds,

O Lord God the Almighty!

Just and true

    are Your ways,

O King of the nations!

Who will not fear,

O Lord,

and glorify Your name?

For You alone are holy.

All nations will come

        and worship You

for Your righteous acts

   have been revealed."

          Revelation 15. 3-4

(This song does not appear

on our Christmas playlists.

But it puts to words and tune

    the story of Christmas.

It is the song of the Lamb

who came to us

to save us by His grace.

God works out of

    tremendous love

    and grace

    and holiness

to restore this world

and redeem our lives.

Judgment means

  making things

  right again.

God's love means

   making things

   right again.

That is why He sent

         His Son.

That is why we have

      Christmas.

What song are we singing?)

O LORD,

We come before You

singing worship songs

around Your throne.

May Your light and love

and grace and glory

radiate through us

on this Christmas Eve.

For You alone

           are holy.

O come let us adore You,

every which way we can.

 

Not by might,

nor by power,

but by My Spirit,

says the LORD of hosts.

Who are you,

O great mountain?

Before Zerubbabel

you shall become a plain.

And he shall

bring forward the top stone

amid shouts of

"Grace,

     grace to it."

          Zechariah 4. 6-7

(And to those things

so overwhelming,

do we shout

       "Grace?"

Or come before them

   with shouts of worry,

and stress

and boatloads of anxiety?

It is not in us

to overcome by ourselves,

but by His Spirit.

May we call on the LORD

to cover and saturate,

to heal and strengthen,

to seek Him

to infiltrate by His grace.

All of us have

unscalable mountains

of one sort or another.

And God says to each,

"My grace is sufficient.")

O LORD,

When we are weary,

            You know.

When we are overwhelmed,

   You lead us

through the impossible.

When we seek and shout

         "Grace to it!"

we see the situation

              differently,

because we see You

             differently.

You have been here

all along,

and we did not know it.

Even in this.

Help us not to sense

Your Presence with us,

but to stake our lives

                  on it.

You answer us

in our days of distress

and are already with us

wherever we go.

Even in whatever

we will face today.

 

Here is a call

for the endurance and faith

of the saints.

          Revelation 13. 10

(That pretty much

sums up 2020,

a year

no one ever expected.

But it is also a year

to which we are called

in the midst of hardship,

despair

and crisis,

to that which we are

called every day

to be faithful to God.

Others are continually,

desperately watching

to see if God is real,

how we respond to crisis,

and how we love them.

Does anyone see

any difference in us?)

O LORD,

For Your strength

we pray,

for Your wisdom

we call to You,

for You

      we seek.

Please grant to us

the endurance

and faith that we need

and to which

       we are called,

right where You have

strategically placed us

in time and place,

in hard situations,

and in a broken world.

Even in this,

bring Your glory to it.

We may not understand,

but we can know You.

There is always

something far deeper

going on.

May others see

Your love and grace

in us today,

our hope in You

on which we

   stake our lives.

 

...and fled into the wilderness,

where she has a place

prepared by God,

in which she is

       to be nourished

for 1260 days.

          Revelation 12.6

(We all

at one time or another

find ourselves

     in wilderness places.

The wilderness

  is not a scary

  barren place,

but a refuge

    from the ordinary

    or the overwhelming,

a place not to hide

  but of safety and

  strengthening

from which to go forth.

What is unknown to us

is known

and secured by God,

filled with wonder

  when we walk

with Him in it,

and discover dimensions

of God's Presence

we have not known before.)

O LORD,

In so many different ways,

we face what appears

as the impenetrable forest,

a wall of brambles,

a stretch of foreign land,

the sounds of beasts

    hiding in the reeds,

and no obvious trail.

But You know where

             You lead us.

You have prepared

   a place for us there,

where we can

come to know You more.

Open our eyes

to Your wonders

       all around us,

grant us the strength

       to go forth

       with You.

We are not alone.

We need not be afraid.

You are with us.

And that changes

          everything.

Worry just trips us up,

and fear blocks out

              the light.

 

Be strong,

all you people of the land,

        declares the LORD.

Work,

     for I am with you,

declares the LORD of hosts.

...My Spirit remains

                in your midst.

      Fear not.

                 Haggai 2. 4-5

(I can't do this.

"Indeed," says the LORD,

"because you are carrying

    what you were

    never intended to carry,

and you are trying to do it

                without Me."

Fear binds up our feet

  and trip us up

                every time

and insists on bringing

unnecessary baggage.

What would we do

and what would we do

                differently

if we grasped His Presence,

and knew God is with us

                     in this

and we had no fear about it?)

O LORD,

Help us to respond

            to Your nudges

and to Your vision

  unclouded by our doubts.

Help us to be strong,

courageous

and get going

  for Your work before us.

Even here,

   right where we are,

watching for You,

following You,

responding to what

    You are doing

and getting to work.

In everything,

    bringing You glory.

Nothing insignificant

      in Your Kingdom.

 

But I will leave

         in your midst

a people humble

             and lowly.

They shall seek refuge

  in the name of the LORD,

those who are left in Israel;

they shall do no injustice

and speak no lies,

nor shall there be found

in their mouths

       a deceitful tongue.

For they shall graze

             and lie down,

and none shall

    make them afraid.

          Zephaniah 3. 12-13

(The marks of arrogance

are injustice, deceit and fear.

But trusting in God

produces what is humble,

just, and seeking His way

     in desperate situations

     and on ordinary days.

God always prevails over

          circumstances,

    when we seek Him.

God is in our midst.

How then shall we live?

   In His Presence

   and as those beloved

                by Him.

And that will look

  ridiculously gracious and

  unexpected in this world.

When we abide in Him,

   we need not be afraid.)

O LORD,

Lead us through the brambles

  and on a different path,

keeping our eyes on You

    and not on ourselves

    or fearful of others.

Fill us with Your grace

  that it will spill out

  and overflow

    into the lives of others.

Help us to push back

             the darkness,

             bitterness

             and fear

with compassion

and grace

and the power of Your love.

Use us to help

       those all around us

  by coming alongside them

and love them

       right into Your kingdom.

 

Though the fig tree

  should not blossom,

nor fruit be on the vine,

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 me tread

        on my high places.

       Habakkuk 3. 17-19

(Yet.

Even still.

Besides.

In addition.

Nevertheless.

On top of everything else.

Yet is a statement of hope,

   not looking into the future,

   but rooted fully in the past.

Yet is what God's faithfulness

                    looks like.

This scripture should be

   the bedrock verse

               of 2020.

Not just get us through,

but bearing fruit

   even in the unexpected.

Not just surviving

        but thriving,

 no matter the circumstances.

Not a narrow squeak

        but His Almighty hand.

Not "oh you were lucky,"

  but wow, we are so blessed,

             even in this.)

O LORD,

May we worship you,

even in the unusual

         and unexpected

and the mysteries of life.

We can know You.

We can trust You.

We can sing Your song

   in all that we do,

even in unusual situations.

Help us to bring Your name

       to what is before us.

And to seek You in this,

             not just an answer.

Pour over us Your joy,

               O LORD.

 

The LORD is good,

a stronghold

   in the day of trouble;

He knows those

  who take refuge

                 in Him.

             Nahum 1. 7

(To what do we turn

    not if

    on the day of trouble,

               but when

   the struggles come?

Who or what

        is our stronghold 

   directs the course

   of our lives.

Our grip is weak,

but the LORD has

   a strong hold on us.

In Him, a refuge is not a place

      of defeat or hiding,

but of strengthening,

    from which to go forth.

A refuge is a dwelling

  in the midst of circumstances

  where God's victory resides.

Nothing random,

nothing He cannot redeem,

all eternal,

all loving,

even when

        we don't understand,

and perhaps

  even more powerful

  when it is

  beyond our vision.)

O LORD,

You are good.

You do good,

  even in the mysteries

  of this life,

even on what appears

         as the edges.

You did not promise

that life would be easy

     in this broken world,

but all through Your Word,

You have underlined

     "Do not be afraid.

      I am with you."

Help us to rest

           in Your goodness,

hold tight to You,

and engrave Your words

in our vocabulary,

in our hearts

      and in our lives:

"for You are good,

for Your steadfast love,

          endures forever."

On You, O Almighty One,

   we can stake our lives.

 

With what shall I

  come before the LORD,

and bow myself

  before God on high?

...He has told you, O man,

what is good,

and what does the LORD

    require of you

but to do justice,

and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly

    with your God.

             Micah6. 6,8

(With what do I worship

     the LORD Almighty?

With what do I approach

     people in my life,

     this difficult situation,

     the cavernous potholes,

this I-have-no-idea-

          what-to-do?

Do that which is good,

right, loving, gracious,

  and totally unexpected.

It is not just what

               we are doing,

but what it is doing

       to our own hearts.

Grace gets indelibly over

          everyone.)

O LORD,

When we trudge

    through the miry bogs,

when we fall

    on uneven pavement,

when we sit in darkness,

You are our light,

You lift us up,

You heal our wounds,

You show us not just

     the way through,

but into a closer

      intimacy with You.

Help us to walk with You,

to run with You,

to rejoice even on the ascents.

Be glorified, O LORD,

     in our very steps.

 

...and they shall

beat their swords

  into plowshares,

and their spears

  into pruning hooks;

nations shall not lift up

  sword against nation,

neither shall they

  learn war anymore...

              Micah 4. 3

(Making a daily choice

  to follow God's ways

and walk with Him

  through the volatile

with a heart

   transformed by

   the love of Jesus.

Violence always feeds

on fear and selfishness.

The peace of God

 disarms the confrontation

and changes the course

      into a conversation.

How am I approaching

   this difficult situation

            differently

because I am a believer?)

O LORD,

Teach us Your ways

that we may walk in them

  and walk with You,

despite landmines

and avalanches

and ambushes

          along the way.

Help us to walk

  in Your name

for Your glory in this.

Fill our hearts

      with Your peace

and our pockets

bulging with Your grace.

Help us to be

       known as Yours.

...and golden bowls

      full of incense,

which are the

   prayers of the saints.

        Revelation 5. 8

(Does it matter if

           we pray?

Each and every one

    of our prayers to God

matter more than

   we can ever know.

Our prayers are

so precious to God

that He keeps

      and treasures

every one of them

in bowls of beauty

    and great value.

The very act of praying

may or may not

change the circumstances,

but God always

changes our hearts

   through them.

We see God differently,

we see the situation

 with a new heart and eyes,

we see His Presence

    in impossible places.

In our struggles,

do we realize

"you mean I could have

     prayed about this?"

To seek God

   and not just an answer.)

O LORD,

Please

we ask in Your mercy

to order our days,

guide our steps,

direct our thoughts,

establish our work,

abide with us,

bear much fruit,

weave Your grace,

 and align our hearts

         with Yours.

You are the Almighty,

    even in this.

 

 

The fear of man

    lays a snare,

but whoever

  trusts in the LORD

            is safe.

         Proverbs 29. 25

(Trusting in God

     will always

take us on a different route,

a different journey,

a different destination.

Trusting in the LORD

   never leads to

   a singular outcome.

The path of the faithful

  is always an adventure.

And it impacts generations,

    far beyond our lifetimes.

What we choose to do--

trusting God

    or enslaved by fear--

does something to us

       and through us.

Are we tripped up

  by the fear of the unknown,

or strengthened

           by the Known?

Fear paralyzes us.

Trusting God energizes.)

O LORD,

Help us to trust You

in the every days

that we will know

how to trust You

when the crises come.

May trusting You

     become our default,

driven by prayer

   and not by panic.

As we are surrounded

    by the marauding hordes,

not knowing what to do,

may we first turn to You

              and ask,

"What if

    I trusted You in this?"

 

I was no prophet,

nor a prophet's son,

but I was a herdsman

  and a dresser

  of sycamore figs.

But the LORD took me

from following the flock,

and the LORD said to me,

"Go prophesy

   to My people Israel."

            Amos 7. 14

(Nothing speaks

more convincingly

to an unbelieving people

than faithfulness to God

  wherever He

  strategically sets us,

in the most unlikely

             situations,

in the most unexpected

             places,

in how we work,

in what we do,

in how we respond.

Faithfulness to God

  is never insignificant,

no matter what form

       it may take,

nothing He cannot use

    for His glory,

    for our good,

for the restoration

   of this broken world.

There are no lowly jobs

   in His Kingdom,

but essential and eternal.

It is not just what

       faithfulness does,

but what faithfulness

    does in us.

Not marching orders,

    but "walking with Me.")

O LORD,

Assure, affirm, encourage

each one of us today,

wherever You have

   placed us for Your glory.

You are working

          powerfully,

even in what we

  cannot yet see.

Help us to be faithful

      to You

in whatever we do today,

even in our attitudes.

 

But let justice

roll down like waters

and righteousness

like an everflowing stream.

            Amos 5. 24

(Selfishness and

     self-righteousness

 dry up the rivers

   that bring life

and hope and goodness.

Doing what is good and right

   and loving in the sight of God

is always the

          right thing to do.

God nurtures.

God redeems.

God brings life

  when we seek the welfare

  of those we know

           and don't know.

It is not that we

       allow God to work,

but God works through us,

even in unexpected places

   and bears fruit

   in drought or desert.

We have no idea

the power of God's grace

  through our choices

                   and deeds,

no matter how insignificant

                 they appear to us.

We can't do everything,

   but we can do something.

We see a trickle of water.

God sees a mighty river.)

O LORD,

The world is broken and suffers

    from injustice and wrongdoing.

Help us to hold fast to You

  and Your ways,

even when it seems like

              treading water,

       or going upstream

  against the prevailing current

  of complacence

             and evil around us

     and in our own hearts.

Help us to seek You in this day

focusing and faithful to You,

and thereby,

choosing to be

      responsive to circumstances

  and not distracted

       or defeated by them.

Help us to know

   that being faithful to You,

to bringing the

         name of Jesus there,

may be what does not just

not just keep our own heads

             above the waters

 but keeps someone else afloat.

  

 

Do not fear

what you are

            about to suffer.

...Be faithful unto death,

and I will give you

   the crown of life.

           Revelation 2. 10

(No one likes to talk

            about suffering.

But because we live

     in a broken world,

we should not

         be surprised by it.

But even in suffering,

       God is with us.

Even the hard stuff,

     God redeems.

God is holding us fast

     in it and through it.

We are not alone.

             God is with us.

Practicing the reality

          of His Presence,

     trusting Him even on

     the most ordinary days,

strengthens us for the now

            and for the next.

Fear not.

"Surely the LORD is in this,    

     and I did not know it."

             Genesis 28. 16)

O LORD,

Even in mystery,

    help us to trust You.

Even in what we

     do not understand,

guide us

       into Your design.

Even in the sufferings,

   grant us Your strength.

There is hope in You,

            O Almighty One,

that on which

    we can stake our lives,

not just for an end to hardship,

but there is You

       right in the midst.

 We need not fear.

You are right here with us,

for Your glory,

for Your Kingdom,

for Your name's sake,

and firmly in Your hands.

 

I will restore to you

the years that

the swarming locust

         has eaten...

You shall know

that I am in the

       midst of Israel,

and that I am

  the LORD your God

and there is none else.

                  Joel 2. 25, 27

(Our hope is not just

that there is an end

     to this hardship,

no matter

      what it is

      or how long it lasts,

but there is

   redeeming and restoration,

even in the midst of difficulty.

God is with us even now

that we may know Him,

   and not just believe,

entirely new dimensions

of who God is

and His unbounded grace.)

O LORD,

You have appointed us

to bear witness

          to Your Word

and to the testimony

     of Jesus.

Help us to be a blessing

   to all around us,

sensitive to needs,

and a strengthening

  to those who are

  suffering so much,

even in that

       we are not aware.

Sow for yourselves

          righteousness,

reap steadfast love,

break up

     your fallow ground,

for it is time

  to seek the LORD

that He may come

and rain righteousness

                upon you.

             Hosea 10. 12

(What is before me

               in this day?

What am I seeking to sow,

what am I hoping to reap?

Have I considered

      God's way in this

or the abundance of land

   around me left untouched,

   abandoned to weeds,

even this impenetrable clay,

       riddled with rocks?

May we sow, reap,

   and seek rightness,

justice, virtue,

deliverance, redemption,

and the welfare and blessing of

  those God places on our path.

And to bring the name

     and grace of Jesus there.

We see just dirt,

    but God alters

            the landscape.)

O LORD,

Please align our vision to Yours

that we would grasp ministry

in the yet untilled ground

            around us,

that which only appears

   as ordinary or difficult.

It is not so much

the landscape that needs altering

     as much as our hearts.

Compel us to join You

   in sowing, cultivating

   and preparing Your way

                 even in this.

 

 

I had much to write to you,

but I would rather

    not write with pen and ink.

I hope to see you soon,

and we will talk

               face to face.

             3 John 1. 13-14

(And if John did not

   have to resort to writing

   due to separation, exile

          and afflictions,

we would not have

   his letters and books.

Little did he know

how God would use

     this inconvenience

            of being apart.

Little do we know

  how God is impacting others

through what we only see

as the hardship and

        isolation of pandemic.

God is with us.

Our circumstances

              are never random,

   never beyond what God

                      can use.

Our vision is always

              way too short.)

O LORD,

Keep us faithful

in sowing Your Word,

Your grace and love

                and mercy,

despite difficulty

               and dismay.

It is not that You will use this,

    but You are already working

in more dimensions

   that we can ever know.

Bear through us

         all kinds of fruit,

that which will come after us,

that which sustain others,

that which we can see

         to encourage us.

Bear Your imprint

                through us

by helping us to approach

   this day differently

because we know You.

Nothing but nothing

goes to waste

           for Your glory.

 

As the mountains

     surround Jerusalem,

so the LORD

     surrounds His people,

from this time forth

         and forever more.

              Psalm 125. 2

(God's Word is full

of visual images,

stories,

parables,

to make the reality of God

    understandable.

No matter where we are,

   lift up our heads

                 and look.

Not here's God

   or there's God,

   but God is,

     and He has spoken.

He has not changed,

He is not limited

         by dire circumstances,

     or threatening forecasts,

     or public opinion.

He is right here all along.

If we cannot see Him,

that is because

    we are surrounded

         by His Presence.

God is with us.)

O LORD,

You are here.

You are with us.

May we live in the reality

      of Who You are,

may we live in the reality

      of Whose we are,

not just accountable to You,

        but loving You back.

May we lead a life

              worthy of You,

fully pleasing to You,

bearing fruit

          in every good work,

increasing in knowing You,

              (Colossians 1. 10)

and bringing

   the name of Jesus here.

 

And there

I will give her

   her vineyards

and make the

        Valley of Achor

a door of hope.

             Hosea 2. 15

(The Hebrew word achor

   literally means

        the valley of trouble.

In the most unlikely places,

even in the midst of

difficulty, mystery,

            and despair,

trusting God

--and responding to Him--

      opens our eyes

to something different in this,

to the doors,

the paths,

the strength

He has already placed there.

Even here in this valley.

Even in this

    impenetrable forest.

With God,

we always have hope

on which we can

         stake our lives.

Not on a particular outcome,

or answer of our own making

but in the Presence of God

and His steadfast love

  which has no expiration.)

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

But at that time

your people shall be delivered,

everyone

  whose name shall be found

  written in the book.

            Daniel 12. 1

(A. W. Tozer once wrote,

"What comes into our minds

when we think about God

is the most important thing

                 about us."

That which most impacts

       the course of our lives

  is our relationship with God.

Those whose names

  are written in His book of life,

are not those who

           deserve to be there,

or who have earned that right,

but those who desire

   to be written in His story.

It is not our names

           inscribed there,

but Christ's written over ours.

That is why

              Jesus came.)

 

O LORD,

Turn our eyes to You,

                Almighty One.

We walk with You,

we abide in You,

and nothing can be the same.

May we desire to know You

    and to be known as Yours,

lights in the darkness

    to point others to You,

to love others right to You.

We know love

    and what it looks like,

and how to respond,

    because You first loved us.

Infiltrate every thought today,

every action,

every attitude with Your Spirit

 that we would know You more.

 

...but the people

  who know their God

shall stand firm

     and take action.

         Daniel 11. 32

(Nothing new.

Business as always.

What we know,

what we are already

         practicing,

how we love,

how we respond.

Seeking God,

marinating in His Word,

walking with Him,

building fellowship

     with God's people,

praying continually,

serving the welfare

     of our cities,

equips us to stand firm

             and take action,

not just in crisis

    but in the every days.

It is not just what we do,

   but what it is doing to us,

aligning our hearts

                 with His.)

O LORD,

Equip us and prepare us

not just for what is to come,

       but for what is now.

Help us to not be

     defeated by circumstances

     or impervious to them,

but responsive.

You have strategically

              placed each of us

    for Your glory,

right here for Your sake

to stand firm

          and take action

and bring the name of Jesus

                       here.

 

...touched me

   and strengthened me.

          Daniel 10. 18

(The faithful ones

           in the Bible

are not just somehow

  people with special abilities,

          different from us,

but those who have

         sought the LORD

         and His strength.

It is not a

    change of circumstances

    that we need most,

but a change of heart,

a new strength from God

        to carry us through,

not just to lead us to a place

 where someday He can use us

but how He is using us now,

         along the way.

God is changing our vision

  that we endure not an uphill battle,

but walk, climb, run with Him

    with songs of ascent.)

O LORD,

Touch us

and strengthen us

     in this day ahead

that You will be glorified in it,

that we would know You more,

that we would set our hearts

                      on You

   and not on circumstances.

Help us not to forget

   Your Presence with us,

and to not overlook

that our help comes from You,

who made heaven and earth.

Leave Your imprint

             on whatever we do

and on who we are.

 

 

In my distress

   I called to the LORD,

and He answered me.

            Psalm 120. 1

(First response,

     not last resort.

How much time and energy

   we waste

   because we are trying

   to find our way out

              on our own?

When we call on Him,

    God always answers,

often in unexpected ways,

never in singular purposes,

sometimes a rescue helicopter

 to pluck us out of the miry bog,

sometimes His strength

  to walk through to the

           other side of this,

sometimes He sends

     one who is faithful

     to come alongside.

Don't attempt it without Him.

When we trust God in His designs,

   He always brings us

   to a deeper intimacy with Him,

   to know Him more,

      and reveal Him to others.

How are we able to do that?

    Not on our own,

             but in Him.)

O LORD,

We struggle.

We all struggle with something.

But in our distress,

    we are drawn closer to You.

We know that we

           are not in control,

but in our dismay,

     we realize that You are.

Draw our eyes and hearts

   not to our weakness,

but to Your strength.

Your purposes are deeper

   than we can possibly know.

Dismay is only thinking

  that You can't use this.

We don't have to understand

         Your purposes in this

  to be faithful to You in them.

You give me strength

  even just to know

            You are in this.

 

But the saints of the Most High

shall receive the kingdom

and possess the kingdom

          forever,

          forever and ever.

               Daniel 7. 18

(God's Kingdom is

not just that which is

            yet to come,

but what is now,

the flourishing

       of the Gospel

in what we hear,

we see with our eyes,

we look upon

           day after day,

and touch with our hands.

His Kingdom is not just next,

           but now.

What are we looking toward,

praying toward,

working toward,

loving others toward,

pointing,

seeking,

and nurturing in our lives

  and the lives of others?

The Kingdom is

    being planted by His Word

and tiny seeds of His grace

  wherever we can sow.

The Gospel is made manifest

              in our lives,

not as a statement of beliefs

              or worldview,

but through

  our own personal story

  woven into His,

and with the name of Jesus

  written all over it.)

O LORD,

Help us to tend

to our little corner of

   Your kingdom

where You have placed us.

Even in barren soil,

  You alter the landscape.

Even in the wilderness,

  You bring Your glory.

Even in gloomy days

    of great hardship,

  or filled with what

  we see as just ordinary,

You are already working

mightily before us.

Align our hearts to Yours,

               O LORD.

Be our vision

            into this day.

When Daniel knew that

the document had been signed,

he went to his house

   where he had windows

   in his upper chamber

   open toward Jerusalem.

He got down on his knees

  three times a day

and prayed

and gave thanks before His God,

   as he had done previously.

                   Daniel 6. 10

(Not out of defiance

           but faithfulness,

not just a habit

  but the course of his life,

not out of fear

         but his strength.

It was not just what we do,

  but what it does to us,

not impervious to circumstances,

   but responsive to God.

Trusting God

   is not just a reaction to crisis,

but a way of life.

Trusting God always leads

to a far different outcome

and impacts generations

                 yet unborn.)

O LORD,

Thank You for Daniel's story

     of faithfulness

   that impacts our very lives

thousands of years later.

Help us to be

     not fearful of circumstances

     but faithful to You

    even in the every days,

that we would already know

   You walk with us

            in the crisis.

You who saved Daniel

      out of the den of lions,

You are the same God

     who loves us too

     and abides in us.

Help us to know

what trusting You looks like

  in this situation,

in these relationships,

in how we work,

in what we do,

and in how

   we practice grace and love.

May our love for You

     distinguish us.

You are the God who is near,

   and nothing but nothing

   changes that.

 

Whoever works his land

will have plenty of bread,

but he who follows

        worthless pursuits

will have plenty of poverty.

A faithful man

  will abound with blessings...

           Proverbs 28. 19-20

(What is a worthless pursuit

                         today?

What is an act of faithfulness?

Am I working the land

   that God has given me

to bear fruit

   in nourishing others now

and even more

         beyond my lifetime?

God always bears fruit

       through faithfulness,

even if we never see

          or understand.

God redeems

         in countless ways

   of which we are unaware.)

O LORD,

You have given each one of us

      a corner of Your Kingdom

to plant and cultivate

             and nourish.

Help us to be faithful to You

       in this day

even when it appears

           nothing is happening.

Because You, Almighty One,

   are already working

      Your glory into this.

There are no mundane tasks

       or ordinary days,

only Your divine,

   deeply rooted purposes,

most of which are far beyond

                our grasp.

 

O give thanks to the LORD,

      for He is good;

for His steadfast love

             endures forever!

          Psalm 118. 1

(This is the most repeated

   refrain in the Psalms.

Recite,

repeat,

repeat again and again,

engraving these truths

   into our hearts.

It is truly the song

      that never ends.

We are thankful,

but are we thankful to God?

Are we thankful for God?

God does not just do good.

      God is good.

His steadfast love

            endures forever,

even in what

    we don't yet understand.)

Happy Thanksgiving,

    even in this strange season,

God is good.

O LORD,

You are good.

You are so good to us.

May even our thanks

    and praises we sing

point our hearts ever

                  to You.

We can stake our lives

    on Your steadfast love.

May we bear Your love

    and bring Your Name

into impossible places,

that we would know You more

  and be distinguished

  by Your love through us.

 

Have no fear of them,

nor be troubled,

but in your hearts

  honor Christ the Lord

              as holy,

always be prepared

to make a defense

to anyone who asks you

for a reason

for the hope that is in you;

yet do it with

   gentleness and respect.

           1 Peter 3. 14-15

(When we set our hearts

      to honor Christ,

even in places

  latent with fear and trouble,

a hope that cannot be

           explained away

will be tangibly obvious

in the most unexpected ways

   --in how we respond,

         our attitudes,

   and even on our faces.

Always be prepared

to make a defense,

   not by memorizing

   scripted answers,

but by practicing grace.

How do I approach this

       --or them--

differently because

        I am a believer?

Hope in Christ,

  is not wishful thinking

but that on which

      we can stake our lives.)

O LORD,

May Your Presence

   be evident

by our actions

      and reactions,

a deep love for You

    and by love of neighbor,

stranger,

even those who

        have wronged us

    or who don't know You.

Help us to pray continually,

live faithfully,

love well,

and practice grace

            over and over.

Help us to bear daily witness

    to Your glory.

Help us to be aware of that.

 

Their leaves will not wither,

nor their fruit fail,

but they will

bear fresh fruit every month,

because the water for them

flows from the sanctuary.

Their fruit will be for food,

and their leaves

              for healing.

            Ezekiel 47. 12

(This is how

our lives should be

for the well being and

sustenance of others,

for beauty,

for the bearing of

           fresh fruit

     of every kind,

for healing,

and for His glory

  wherever we are planted.

We are nourished

  and continually filled

  by the flowing of the Spirit,

the living water

         from the sanctuary.

Our lives

  should look very very

                different,

bearing fruit

       even in drought,

even in unexpected places.)

O LORD,

Fill us by Your Spirit,

sustain us by Your Word

     Your Strength,

and Your victory

even in the unexplainable,

even in what

    we cannot yet know.

Help us to bless others

       in some way today

that points them to You.

Help us to bless You

   in whatever we do

   and how we do it.

May You bear fruit

  through our lives.

  

 

 So put away all malice

and all deceit

and hypocrisy 

and envy

and all slander.

         1 Peter 2. 1

(We have the freedom

    to walk away from them,

to live without them,

to live differently,

and practice grace

              even in this.

Set these things

        out on the curb,

no longer wanted,

no longer needed,

     and live forgiven.

Carry instead 

  what makes for peace.

What are we

     bringing to the table?)

O LORD,

Wash over us,

sing over us Your grace,

teach us a new song

     with words of grace

         and healing

      and reconciliation.

Help us to

          not be distracted,

help us to not miss out

  on Your thriving in this

which is not limited 

                to us

but overflow 

    with Your goodness 

    for others.

May we be known

       by our love for You.

I have chosen

the way of faithfulness,

I set Your rules

              before me,

I cling to

      Your testimonies,

                  O LORD;

      let me not be

             put to shame!

I will run in the way

   of Your commandments

when You

          enlarge my heart.

            Psalm 119. 30-32

(What I choose,

what I set before me,

what I cling to,

all determine

      how I will run

      and what I will love.

Love God.

Love others.

Time with God

     enlarges our hearts.

Time with God

     is never wasted.

"Run with Me.")

O LORD,

Help us to choose Your ways,

to set our minds on You,

to align our hearts

                   with Yours,

to cling to You

  when everything tries

  to distract and

             pull us away.

Help us to not be defeated

        by circumstances

but instead,

             to grow in You.

Enlarge Your vision in us,

enlarge our strength in You,

       even in this difficulty.

Help us to go forth

           in Your name,

           for Your glory,

to run with You,

and love everyone we can

     right into Your Kingdom.

 

How can a young man

     keep his way pure?

By guarding it

   according to Your Word.

...I have stored up

   Your Word in my heart,

that I might not

             sin against You.

...I will meditate

         on Your precepts

and fix my eyes

         on Your ways.

     Psalm 119. 9, 11, 15

(We don't just

        read God's Word,

  but we are being changed

        in radical ways.

Every time we open His Word,

it changes us

    and everyone around us.

And when we don't,

   we are the ones

          missing out

   on what could have been.

God's Word guards us

     and alters

       the course of our lives

       more than we know.)

O LORD,

Thank You for Your Word

that we can know You

     and know You more.

Help us not just to read it,

    but ponder

    and abide in it.

Rise up in us Your Word

   throughout our day

to fix our eyes upon You

   to respond to circumstances,

   not be defeated by them.

Your Word put us back

     on the path of Your glory

     in this situation before us.

It is not in our reading

  but Your doing through it.

We are being changed

     by what we read,

     by what we now see,

     by how we respond,

     by how we love You

                 even more,

                 ever more.

  

 

He said to me,

"This is the table

   that is before the LORD."

         Ezekiel 41. 22

(This is the break of

            a new day,

  an altar before the LORD.

Did it even occur to me

   to pray over it first

   before I launch into it?

To weave into these hours

         Coram Deo,

  before the face of God?

Our day is not offered to Him

        as a sacrifice,

but received from Him

       as a blessing,

an opportunity to

     both serve and abide,

even in what we

           do not understand.)

O LORD,

We come before You,

not just with

       our self-made plans

and ideas of what

           You should do,

but we hand over our hearts

   that Your Spirit

   would pour over us,

infiltrate,

infect,

marinate away our hardness,

change us from

           the inside out.

Help us to not leave undone

   what would be pleasing

              in Your sight.

May our love for You

  define what we do and say

and how we seek

     to love others today

     in unexpected ways.

Help us to not leave empty

    the table before You,

help us to not leave

     You just standing there.

 

Look with your eyes

and hear with your ears,

and set your heart upon all

   that I will show you,

for you were brought here

in order that

I might show it to you.

             Ezekiel 40. 4

(God has strategically placed

      each one of us

in space and time

        and experience

that we would know Him more

and in ways that we could not

    realize in any other situation.

God is continually

     revealing Himself to us,

pouring His Spirit over us,

His purposes abiding deeper than

  we can ever grasp.

And He is using us

   for His glory

  in innumerable lives.)

O LORD,

Your fruitfulness in us

is seamlessly woven

with purpose and beauty

    and excellence.

Help us to seek You

    in this particular situation,

to complete Your purposes,

to bring the name of Jesus here,

to work out of love,

and to be faithful to You.

May what we see and hear

and set our hearts upon this day

     bring You honor.

Your steadfast love

       endures forever.

Even in this.