...but in the seventh year

there shall be a Sabbath 

of solemn rest for the land,

a Sabbath to the LORD.

                Leviticus 25. 4

(Sabbath is integral component 

of God’s design in our lives, 

a vital element 

  not just of rest and refreshing

  and remembrance,

but a visible exercise 

in release, liberty,

  redeeming,

       and restoration.

Not a passive day off

but profound strengthening,

more than we can fathom.)

O LORD,

You created rest,

because You know

      we have filled

all available margins

not with fruitful work

    but busyness.

Help us to 

   keep our eyes on You.

You do not fill our time,

   but fulfill Your plans in us.

...you shall not do

   any ordinary work.

             Leviticus 23. 8

(This phrase is repeated

6 times in this chapter.

It is in relation to

      sacred days of worship.

But the reality is

   all we do is sacred,

nothing just ordinary,

nothing that God does not use

      in extraordinary ways.

Nothing that cannot

      bring glory to Him.

The Hebrew word "avodah"

simultaneously means

work, service,

           and worship.)

O LORD,

All we do is sacred to You.

Keep us mindful of You

   in our daily tasks

and even in the hard stuff.

Bring Your glory to it,

bring Your fruit from it,

help us to honor You

     in whatever You place

     before us today.

And Jesus said to him,

"If You can!

All things are possible

   for one who believes."

                Mark 9. 23

(When we bring

this situation,

this concern,

this impossibility

      before the LORD,

God enlarges our vision,

brings His glory to it,

and opens His reality

   far beyond

   our limited imagination.

Not "believe in yourself,"

not believe something

             can happen,

but believe in God.

If we only realized

     the power of God,

we would be astonished.

"Bring it to Me.")

O LORD,

We bind up ourselves

with preconceived notions.

We do not limit You

   but close our minds

   and our hearts.

Be Thou our vision,

            O LORD.

Open our hearts to

          Your Almighty power.

Help us to follow You

            into this.

You never work

      in singular outcomes,

only eternal ones.

Be glorified

      all over this day.

...for I am the

    LORD your God.

            Leviticus 19

(This life-altering phrase

is repeated 16 times

in this chapter alone.

How do I approach

   this day differently

because the LORD is God,

 because the LORD

             is my God,

because the LORD is?

Not just impacting

                my behavior,

but changing my heart.

How we view God

changes how we view others

and how we view ourselves.)

O LORD,

You are God.

You are our God.

And that changes everything.

Please recalibrate our hearts

        to seek You

in whatever is before us.

...you shall not do

          as they do...

You shall not

   walk in their statutes.

You shall follow My rules

and keep My statutes

     and walk in them:

I am the LORD

            your God.

            Leviticus 18. 3-4

(Our lives should look different

     because our hearts

                     are different.

Whom or what we worship

  -- and everyone worships

                      something--

changes everything about us.

The LORD

          is your God.)

O LORD,

Please help us

   to keep our eyes on You,

and not just walk in Your ways,

          but walk with You.

May our lives

    point others to You

by what we do and say,

          our attitudes,

and how we love You

         and those around us.

Whether we understand

      Your ways or not,

we can be assured

   there is a divine design

   seamlessly woven in them,

not a matter of following rules

              but following You.

The goat shall bear

   all their iniquities on itself

to a remote area,

and he shall let the goat

                 go free

   in the wilderness.

                Leviticus 16. 22

(The scapegoat was not intended

to place blame for our sin

                on others

in order to get away with it,

but as a visual reminder

  of God's forgiveness

              and letting it go.

We confess our sin, repent,

and are marked

    by God's forgiveness,

not defined by our sin,

not taking the goat back home.)

O LORD,

Thank you that You came

to bear our sin

and bring us to You.

Please help us

    to live in Your forgiveness,

not dwell on what

           You have already forgiven.

We are not defined by our sin,

     but have been forgiven.

We are enslaved no more,

  but free to live in You.

You radically transform our hearts

      and redeem all things.

May we live like that

and let go of the goat.

But immediately
He spoke to them and said,
“Take heart;
         It is I.
Do not be afraid.”

          Mark 6. 50

(Would I be afraid
if I knew
   God is in this,
God is with me,
God’s got this?
Fear just trips me up,
and worry blocks out
    all available light.)

O LORD,
You are in this.
Help me to grasp
the reality
   of Your Presence,
even in the unexpected,
even in mystery.
Nothing is unknown to You.

And now, O Lord,

    for what do I wait?

My hope is in You.

             Psalm 39. 7

(For what

      am I waiting?

What am I looking for?

Am I seeking God in this

    or just an prescribed answer

    or outcome

          favorable in my eyes?

Hope in the Bible

is not the worldly way

            of wishful thinking,

but on Whom

      I can stake my life.)

O LORD,

We wait for You,

eagerly

     and expectantly.

You navigate us through,

You guide us

      into Your purposes,

You are working deeply,

   even when we are unaware.

Help us to wait

     for the ripening of Your way.

Our hope in You

   is not just for what is coming,

   but in that which is already.

You bring Your steadfast love,

You are bringing to completion,

You bring Your glory to it.

And we can rest in You.

...unclean for you...

...detestable to you...

            Leviticus 11. 4, 10

(These phrases appear

over and over and over

again in chapter 11.

There are reasons

     for making choices

--not just what we don't do,

            but what we do--

that make a difference

in our lives,

in our relationship with others,

in our relationship with God.

God has reasons for it,

    whether we understand or not.

Am I willing to follow God

                      in this?

And sometimes the choice

    is being willing to look different

just because

that thing -- whatever it is,

    however innocent it appears --

may not be a wise choice

                     for me

and always impacts others.)

O LORD,

Help us to know

that the choices we make

do not just impact

the course of our lives,

but directly impact

       those around us.

Grant us the courage

   to make different choices

that point us to You

and invariably

          point others to You,

not even by our choices

      but by our hearts.

We can justify anything,

but not everything is good

                        for us.

Please help us

        to be discerning

for Your glory

              even in this today.

Mark the blameless

and behold the upright.

               Psalm 37. 37

(Watch how they live,

how they love God

              and others,

how they respond,

how they pursue God,

and what they do as a result.

Who are they

         in your life?

God has placed

   His anointed people

   in your life

for His deepest purposes

and for His glory.

Seek them out.)

O LORD,

You have strategically placed

          others in my life

who have profoundly impacted me

      by their faith and love of You.

For the most part,

    they have no idea

    how You have used them

  their words, their deeds,

  their faithfulness,

to change the course of our lives.

Help us to seek out Your people

    for the deeper side

                 of fellowship

and to grow in You.

And then again,

we have no idea

   how You are using us

in the lives of those

         all around us.

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

(There are

no insignificant obediences.

When we seek the LORD,

respond to Him,

follow and obey,

God's glory will be revealed

in some dimension or another,

even in what

       we may be unaware.)

O LORD,

Help us to follow You

even into what

may appear insignificant to us.

You change lives

  all around us

       through our obedience.

You change us

    even just

    in responding to You.

Bear Your fruit

not just through

       what we do today,

but how we follow You.

...restore it in full

and shall add a fifth to it.

               Leviticus 6. 5

(More than saying "sorry."

Making it right

     is going to cost something,

almost always

         including our pride.

Sin always promises the world

and justifies every action

    --"it doesn't matter,"

      "no one will ever know"--

and it robs us blind. 

Every time.

That is what the book of Leviticus

           is all about:

forgiveness and restoration.

"This is the way back to Me,

not if you sin,

         but when you do."

We are all broken.

We are already forgiven.

That is why Jesus came.)

O LORD,

We come to You broken.

We have sinned against You

                 and against others,

by what we have done,

by what we have left undone,

      by even our attitudes.

Your forgiveness already here

   helps us to know

   how to forgive each other

             and forgive ourselves.

Asking forgiveness,

    offering forgiveness,

is never a passive response.

Help us to seek You

and follow You

     into restoration,

even into the added fifth.

          

...and he shall be forgiven.

               Leviticus 4. 26

(This life-altering phrase

is repeated throughout the book.

Leviticus is not just

        about our shortcomings

        and the utter messiness of sin,

            intentional or not,

but that we all sin,

             and God forgives.

Sin always costs something,

    always impacts us,

    always impacts others,

but God always forgives.

Repentance is always redeemed.)

O LORD,

We sin.

We thank You

     for Your forgiveness

     already paid for,

     already waiting.

Righteousness is hard

      and costs something,

but never as much as sin.

Please help us

    to seek You in this situation

    and follow You.

Show us Your different way in this.

You never work

             in singular outcomes,

but Your deeper purposes

      and for Your glory,

far beyond what we can imagine.

...a pleasing aroma

          to the LORD.

          Leviticus 1. 9, 13, 17

(Whatever we do

   is worship to the LORD,

whatever we lay on the altar

        or at His feet,

in honor and glory to Him,

in our love for the Almighty.

Even in this,

what we do, how we do it,

           why we do it,

a pleasing aroma lingers

  to point others to Him.)

O LORD,

May what we do,

    even our attitudes,

be pleasing to You.

And let the aroma of Christ

      intrigue others

and point them right to You.

May our lives

      be honoring to You

 and distinctive

   by the lingering

   of Your love and grace.

...and wrote on it an inscription,

like the engraving of a signet,

"Holy to the LORD."

                   Exodus 39. 30

(May we write the LORD's name

on whatever we do today,

wherever,

among whomever.

How differently we would approach it

           and do it,

what we would do,

how we would view it,

and how radically distinct

  the process, journey, outcome,

        and my attitude in it.

All is worship.

And God brings His glory to it.)

O LORD,

Before us is what

  we consider a wearisome task,

  another mundane

            same as always day,

or that which is way too big for us.

May we worship You in it

            and through it.

Bring Your glory to it.

There are no small obediences.

There are no insignificant

                acts of faithfulness.

Right where we are today,

   Your deepest purposes

   are continually being fulfilled.

Help us to write Your name

       on the top of our paper.

And inscribe on this day,

    "Holy to the LORD.

     Holy is the LORD."

...the knowledge 

         of the Holy One

         is insight.

               Proverbs 9. 10

(Knowing the Almighty 

     changes everything—

how I see God,

how I see others,

how I see myself,

how I view circumstances,

how I respond,

what I do

     and why I do it.

There are 

     no ordinary days,

only redeemed ones.)

O LORD,

May we know You more,

   this very day before us,

not just about You,

but abide in You

in whatever we face today.

Knowing You

changes the course of

    everything.

Help us to seek You

and Your deeper purposes.

In You,

there is always 

        a deeper side to this.

Nothing random,

nothing wasted,

but all divinely appointed

          and redeemed.

I sought the LORD,

and He answered me

and delivered me

    from all my fears.

             Psalm 34. 4

(All inclusive,

even those fears

     I am not aware.

Seeking the LORD,

not just a self-prescribed 

               answer,

not just an outcome 

    favorable in my eyes 

not just how I would fix it,

but seeking Him.

Did it even occur to me

to bring this

      before the LORD?

Nothing small in His eyes,

nothing insignificant at all,

nothing too big or bad

  that He cannot 

        navigate us through.)

O LORD,

We come before You,

we drag these troubles,

these deep burdens,

these fears that even we

      are afraid to admit,

these phantoms 

    both real and imagined,

and lay them on the altar

           before You.

Kick down the doors

to bring Your deliverance,

Your Presence,

and Your glory to this.

Help us to seek You,

pray continually,

live faithfully,

love well, 

and practice grace

      over and over again.

Even in this.

And all the people

among whom you are,

shall see

    the work of the LORD,

for it is an awesome thing

that I will do with you.

              Exodus 34. 10

(God is working wonders

      in our midst,

far beyond what we can know,

impacting us

        and everyone around us,

moment by moment,

that we would know Him,

that we would know

         that He is God.

Wonders come in

   many size packages,

both visible

   and invisible to our eyes,

all for His glory.)

O LORD,

You work wonders

of which we are not aware.

Dwell among us,

indwell us by Your Spirit,

work Your mighty purposes

         in us,

         through us,

     deeply and completely,

for Your glory.

Even in this difficulty.

Even on this road of pot holes.

Even in this ordinary day

  which is not ordinary at all

  in Your grander narrative.

Keep our eyes on You

that we may grasp

what is so much deeper,

Your Presence,

Your designs,

Your divine appointments,

Your glory,

that we would know You more.

We seek You in every detail.

Is it not in Your going with us,

    so that we are distinct,

I and Your people,

from every other people

  on the face of the earth?

               Exodus 33. 16

(Does anyone see

anything different in us?

Do we see anything different

                 in us?

Is God's Presence with us

     evident to others?

How can we approach

     what is before us,

this difficult situation,

these impossible circumstances,

even this ordinary day,

                  distinctively,

because we are believers?

God with us

       changes everything.)

O LORD,

You have brought us

    into this unexpected situation,

into this unlikely place,

right before this Red Sea,

or miles and miles of desert,

not just to show us a way

     but to reveal Your power in it.

Help us to bring You glory

   by honoring Your name,

and living not as if You are with us,

       but because You are.

We are Your anointed people.

Help us to live that way.

Others are continually watching us,

not to see if we are perfect,

but to see if You are real.

...and I have filled him

with the Spirit of God,

with ability

and intelligence,

with knowledge

and all craftsmanship,

to devise artistic designs....

             Exodus 31. 3-4

(God provides what we need

    to fulfill His purposes,

even that which is

  far beyond our abilities.

The distinguishing mark

in what we do

and how we do it

and even why we do it

is by the filling of His Spirit.

God gives us not just the tools

   to do what is needed,

but He breathes life into it

    to bring beauty

    and His glory there.)

O LORD,

Make us aware of You

in everything we do this week,

sensitive to Your Presence

to see how You have

     touched and appointed

          and anointed

everything before us.

Help us to

         bring Your glory

into the tasks before us,

not just to fill what is required,

     but to fulfill Your purposes,

touched by Your grace

and marked by Your steadfast love.

Breathe life into our work,

   that You would bring

           Your glory here.

Even in this.

...before the LORD,

where I will meet with you,

to speak with you there.

               Exodus 29. 42

(A daily appointment

that cannot but change

the course of my day

and the

  trajectory of my life.

Not a religion,

not set of beliefs,

not another worldview,

    but all about relationship

    with the Almighty.

Others around us

   --even those in the church--

are watching us desperately

to see if God is real

and if our lives

     are any different,

     because we know Him.)

O LORD,

We talk about waiting on You,

   when it is mostly

            You waiting on us

to come before You

and to bring before You

      all that we carry.

"Tell Me everything,

and watch what

            I do with it."

You are working Your goodness

           into our lives.

You are weaving Your glory

           through our lives.

What different lives we would live,

      if we walked with You.

First response,

not last resort.

You shall make

    a plate of pure gold

and engrave on it,

like the engraving of a signet,

     "Holy to the LORD."

            Exodus 28. 36

(May everything we do

bear these words,

the signature of God on it,

not to let God know,

but to remind us

that all we do

       is worship to Him.

How differently would we

   approach this day,

what is before us,

not a mundane

           or weary task,

   but a sacred assignment?

All we do

    brings glory to God.)

O LORD,

Please help us

as we approach this work,

this task,

even the hard stuff,

to write Your name

     at the top of the paper.

May we not just

         be mindful of You

but seek to glorify You

by walking with You

    and working in Your name,

realizing there is

     no secular dividing line.

All is sacred in Your sight.

May whatever we do today

  and how we love You

              in tangible ways

   be our utmost

         for Your glory.

  

His master said to him,

"Well done,

   good and faithful servant.

You have been faithful

                   over little,

I will set you over much."

             Matthew 25. 21

(In what are we

       being faithful to God?

Even what appears

        only as little,

        just an insignificant detail,

        what comes up short

            or looks like failure,

God redeems.

Faithfulness to God

    --responding to His Word,

      His voice,

      even His nudge--

  always bears fruit.

More than we can know.

One step of obedience

   strengthens for the next

and impacts the world

      exponentially.)

O LORD,

We look for opportunities

   to show You our love.

Help us to bear Your vision

          in this.

Help us to be faithful to You,

knowing You are working

and redeeming

    through all things,

    in all things,

for Your glory.

Behold,

I send an angel before you

to guard you on the way

and to bring you

to the place

         I have prepared.

               Exodus 23. 20

(How would we live

if we staked our lives

  on following Him into it?

Very different journey,

radically different outcome,

enormously deeper

   relationship with God.

The place He has prepared

    is for our well being,

for our witness to others,

     and for His glory.

More often than not,

      right where we are.)

O LORD,

You go before us to provide,

to protect,

to bring us to a place

    where we can trust You more

    and be faithful to You.

Help us, O LORD,

to be faithful in the now,

not always searching

           for the next

and missing out

  on what is right before us.

Why are we here?

For His glory.

That is enough.

Your Presence

       changes everything,

even if the circumstances don't.

Be Thou my vision in this.

The LORD sits enthroned

             over the flood;

the LORD sits enthroned

     as king forever.

                  Psalm 29. 10

(Nothing but nothing

      changes that reality,

Even over this.

Even in this.

God is still God.

God is still in control,

    even if we cannot yet see,

    even if it is hard.

"Follow Me in this.

Stay close.

Fear not.  I am with you.")

O LORD,

You are God.

You know more about

   what we face than we do.

You see far beyond us.

You are still enthroned.

You reveal Yourself to us

         every day.

May we acknowledge You

      even in the mysteries,

even through the hard places,

even in what only appears

                as failure,

even in the victories.

In Your name.

For Your kingdom.

For Your glory. 

Help us to keep our eyes

               on You.

...keep My commandments

          and live;

keep My teaching

  as the apple of your eye;

bind them on your fingers;

write them

    on the tablet of your heart.

                 Proverbs 7. 2-3

(God's Word matters

    more than we can know.

Not a quick glance,

nor just something else

    we should do or read,

nor a casual nod,

but "Soak in His Word."

And watch not if,

             but how

God changes our hearts

      through it.

And impacts everyone else

   by the transformation,

not of circumstances,

   but by Your power.

We will not understand 

     everything we read

     in God's Word,

but what we do grasp

   changes our lives forever.)

O LORD,

You have given us

          Your Word

that we would know

   not just about You,

   but know You more.

Help us to realize

this place of strengthening

    from which to go forth

and Your strong hold on us.

You bring us

   not from one place to another,

but seeing something different,

       which is Your Presence

       with us in this place.

May Your Word

   permeate our minds and hearts

for Your glory.

May Your Word help us to see

  what we never realized before.

"Teacher,

which is the great commandment

                 in the Law?"

And He said to him,

"You shall love the Lord your God

with all your heart

and with all your soul

and with all your mind.

This is the great

       and first commandment.

And the second is like it:

You shall love your neighbor

                   as yourself."

              Matthew 22. 37-38

(Those words of Jesus change

the pattern of our lives,

what we do,

who we are,

how God manifests Himself in us

               to the world.

Love God.

Love others

     as we have been loved.

That impacts the course of our lives

        and everyone around us.

How does that livestream

     in the day before us?)

O LORD,

Guide us into Your way,

not just how to act

                 in a certain way,

but the infinite ways

                   to love You

    and love others.

What we do

is anchored on

          who we are in You.

How do we approach

     this day and this week

differently

because we are Yours?

...but the people of Israel

     walked on dry ground

in the midst of the sea.

                Exodus15. 19

(That's what obedience does.

That's what

         faithfulness looks like.

Even in the really scary places,

even in the extraordinary,

even in the every days.

Does walking with the LORD

                really matter?

Always and absolutely.

Responding,

obeying,

following,

walking with Him

       enlarges our hearts to see

the wonders of the Almighty

          right before us,

the strength of His Presence

          to take the next step,

His way through the impossible

  that will astonish the world

  and point others to Him

               for generations.

If we only knew,

   we would not hesitate for a second.)

O LORD,

If we only knew,

what we were missing.

If we only knew,

it is You we are missing.

Help us to seek You

and not just Your hand.

One step of obedience

   prepares the next.

One act of faithfulness

   changes our hearts

and equips us

           for the next.

Set,

reset,

recalibrate our hearts

  to know You are God.

But the people of Israel

  walked on dry ground

     through the sea,

the waters being a wall

to them on their right hand

and on their left.

               Exodus 14. 29

(God leads through

       unexpected ways

  and unlikely places.

Where is He leading us?

Out of our own

  self-imposed comfort zone

to a place where

    we trust Him alone,

not our abilities

  or favorable circumstances,

but even right where we are.

"Trust Me in this.")

O LORD,

You go before us,

not just to open new doors

or blaze new trails,

but that we may know You

and see Your hand

   and Your wonders

          right before us.

Bring Your glory to this.

Please help us

       to fear not,

       be faithful,

and walk on dry ground.

Help us to

  pray with our shoes tied,

willing to listen,

respond and follow You

         into Your glory in this.