I will walk with integrity

of heart within my house;

I will not set

       before my eyes

anything that is

               worthless.

         Psalm 101. 2-3

(The key word here is

        anything.

Am I willing

to walk away,

put down,

turn off

   even in the middle

   of a sentence,

to choose

   not to pursue

or even let in the door?

What is it

       doing to me?

All things are lawful,

but not all things

        are helpful.)

O LORD,

Help us in our practices

and patterns

and pursuits

to honor You

even in these daily choices,

even in what has

       become so familiar

that we don't think about it.

Please help us to

have the courage

     and wisdom

to walk away

when these behaviors

clutter up our lives,

cling to us,

and distract us from You,

from what You are doing,

from following You fully.

 

Serve the LORD

    with gladness.

     Psalm 100. 2

(Did it ever occur to me

    my attitude

    in serving God

in what He has

      placed before me?

Did it occur to me

          to serve Him

          with gladness?

Not "I have to,"

out of obligation

      or drudgery

      or earning His love,

but "I get to,"

   out of sheer love

               for Him.

God does incredible things

   with a new attitude

   to work with.

Same circumstances,

  completely different

  journey.

"Walk with Me.")

O LORD,

It is a delight to serve You.

We just don't recognize

   that all we do

   serves You

     in some capacity.

Trigger in us

a new heart and vision,

not just in the big stuff,

  but even in what

  we see as ordinary.

Because the smallest

action and response

can bring honor to You.

Show us how to

  approach what is

  before us,

not as an odious task,

but in the joy of serving You

and being used by You,

more than we

           can imagine.

 

...the LORD

will rule over you.

         Judges 9. 23

(Completely different

          journey,

radically different

         outcome.

Whom do we seek?

Whom do we choose

    not just to bow before,

    but walk with?

Everyone worships

   something or someone.

Who I worship today

changes the trajectory

                 of my life,

and impacts

everyone around me.)

O LORD,

You are the Almighty.

Rule not just over us,

but in us

and through us,

Your steadfast love,

Your forgiveness,

Your hope and joy.

Be manifest in us today

wherever we are,

in whatever we do,

and among whomever

  You place on our path.

May we take Your hand

and walk with You

through the joys

and through the mess.

Help us to know

that You are God,

and we don't have to be.

Calm our hearts,

order our days,

align our hearts

           with Yours.

Help me to take Your hand

as I walk with you

   into what I cannot yet see

to trust You more,

to know You more,

to love You even more.

 

The LORD said to Gideon,

"The people with you

   are too many for Me

to give the Midianites

into their hand,

lest they boast over Me,

saying, "My own hand

has saved me."

             Judges 7. 2

(God uses

impossible situations

that we would know

that He is God,

   and we are not.

"There is no way

       I can do this."

God says, "Exactly.

   Trust Me in this."

God doesn't pay

   attention to the odds.

He is not limited by them,

but turns them inside out

     for His glory.)

O LORD,

You are greater

than our fears,

both real and imagined.

You bring the victory

      in our lives.

May we not just

   acknowledge Your hand,

but acknowledge You.

You are doing

    marvelous things

    in our lives,

and we miss most of them,

because we are looking

at ourselves

        and not at You.

Help us to trust You,

in the every days,

that we may know

how to trust You

         in the crises.

Align our hearts

   with Your glory

   in this day.

 

And he said to Him,

"Please, Lord,

how can I save Israel?

Behold, my clan is

   weakest in Manasseh,

and I am least

   in my father's house."

And the LORD said to him,

"But I will be with you."

                Judges 6. 15-16

("But I will be with you."

And that makes

    the ultimate difference,

not our own power

or ability

or special talents

or achievements.

But God.

Throughout Scripture

and throughout history,

God chooses the most

        unlikely candidates

who already know it is

by God's Almighty hand

     and not their own.

"I can't do this."

And God replies,

"Exactly.

That's why I chose you."

I am not in this alone.

And I have no idea

  the magnitude

  of what God is doing.)

O LORD,

Help us to not just

     be aware of You,

but sensitive and

responsive to Your Presence.

As we enter into this day

and this week,

help us to be faithful

             to You alone,

in what You have

  placed before us,

our work,

our attitudes,

our struggles,

the big rocks

   and the pebbles.

Help us to

     build an altar to You

                over it

to bring honor to You

and gain our strength

     from You alone.

 

And Deborah said to Barak,

"Up!

For this is the day

in which the LORD

has given Sisera

     into your hand.

Does not the LORD

go out before you?"

         Judges 4. 14

(Who do I need

    to encourage today

in what I say,

how I pray,

by what I do,

how I respond to need,

and in coming alongside?

God has no

         secondary actors.

Everyone of us has a

     profound appointment

     in His work.

God uses community

   to strengthen His people

in the face of the overwhelming.

God uses community

  to challenge us

to "Get up and be at it!")

O LORD,

Fill us with Your courage,

   "in-courage" us,

that we may encourage

    others with Your strength.

Help us to seek fellowship

   with other believers,

build community,

and witness Your power

         of with-ness,

wherever we may be.

You never meant for us

     to go it alone.

Please provide Deborahs

to come alongside in our lives.

And help us to be Deborahs

   who are fearless for You,

willing,

faithful,

and ready to respond,

not just to need,

            but to You.

 

But I am among you

   as one who serves.

          Luke 22. 27

(Is that what we seek?

Not to achieve,

or be the best

or lead

or be esteemed

or even liked,

but to love God

by loving and

    serving others.

Nothing too small,

nothing beneath us,

being aware of need

   in all dimensions

and not just responding

      to it,

      but to the Lord.)

O LORD,

We are surrounded

by the needs of others,

some more visible,

some the quiet struggles.

Show us how to respond

in ways that do good

and point others to You.

Help us to help others

in meaningful ways.

And to remember that

acts of grace and love

             and kindness

are never insignificant

in Your eyes,

nor for Your glory

      in the lives of others.

 

And he will show you

a large upper room

               furnished;

prepare it there.

            Luke 22. 12

(This householder had

no idea what he was preparing

and how God would use it.

Nor do we realize what

God is really up to

and how He will use

what we are doing.

We have only

      to be faithful,

fulfill even the details,

and seek opportunities

even in the unexpected

to love and serve Him.

We do not need to know

the reason or the outcome

for God to

     profoundly use it.

No kindness, no grace,

no act of serving is

ever wasted

          or mundane

in God's economy.)

O LORD,

If we only knew,

if we had any idea of how

You are transforming

our ordinary tasks

    into the extraordinary

            and eternal,

we would be astonished.

Help us, O LORD,

to be faithful to You

and diligent

even in the details

that are never invisible

          in Your eyes.

Wherever we are today,

in whatever You have

      placed before us,

how we pray

           and what we do,

even in the hard stuff,

even in what

  doesn't seem to matter,

may we bring

           Your Name

and open the doors

     for Your glory there.

Your purposes are

far deeper

than what we can

         ever imagine.

And always

         involves souls.

    

 

This will be

your opportunity

  to bear witness.

       Luke 21. 13

(Do we see our struggles

and dilemmas

and opposition that way?

To love God

and respond to Him?

To love others

     into the Kingdom?

How would we approach

    this differently

if we realized there was

    deeper purpose in it

and this was meant

        to bear witness?

This situation

did not go wrong after all,

    just not our way,

but opened perhaps

an impossible door

            for the gospel.

God does not just

turn a bad situation around,

but points us to

    His designs in it.

Others are always watching

to see how we respond

when things go well

and when they are tough,

to see if we indeed

we have been changed

               by Him

and if there is any

    difference in us.)

 

O LORD,

We cannot yet know

what we will face today,

        but You do.

Help us to see

every situation as

    a divine appointment

to bear witness

to Your love and grace,

forgiveness and hope.

Strengthen us

to not shy away

        from what is hard

or to be identified

                  as Yours.

Grant us

   overflowing pockets

   of grace to others

and eyes to see

people who are

   desperate for You,

even if they do not

appear that way

          on the surface.

 

 

The Mighty One,

   God the LORD!

The Mighty One,

   God the LORD!

          Joshua 22. 22

(What a difference

if we wrote His name

at the top of our day

and woven in the midst

      of our struggles,

not just aware

       of His Presence,

but living under the banner

      of His holy Name.

Remember who we are

   and Whose we are.)

O LORD,

Help us to live

       in Your Name

into the day before us.

Help us to learn

 to walk not just

     in witness to You

but in with-ness

              with You.

In Your Name,

You bring something

   extraordinary

   into the ordinary.

In Your Name,

there are

no small obediences,

no insignificant

            kindnesses,

and always

   a new vision.

 

Not one word

of all the good promises

that the LORD had made

to the house of Israel

                 had failed;

all came to pass.

            Joshua 21. 45

(And God is still faithful

     in all His ways,

still to this day,

even in this day,

no matter what.

"Abide in Me."

Circumstances never limit

     His goodness

     nor His redeeming.

Some things

    we cannot yet see.

Some have not yet

               ripened.

But God is still at work

  in extraordinary ways,

  even on ordinary days,

which are never

     so ordinary after all.)

O LORD,

We come to You

as You set before us

     Your day for us.

May we not just

be mindful of Your wonders,

but faithful to You in all we do.

Help us to bear Your image

         into this day

and bring Your name

   wherever we are today.

You are good,

You do good,

and You love us

  more than we can know.

 

And he rebuilt the city

and settled in it.

       Joshua 19. 50

(Even the Promised Land

was once a

place of brokenness,

struggle, and disorder.

What has God given,

where has God

         placed me today

to rebuild and restore

for Him to redeem?

God calls us to settle,

no matter a few minutes

           or a lifetime,

to bring His name there.

Make it feel like home,

smell like home,

welcome mat out front,

and peace at the table.)

O LORD,

We are so surrounded

by disorder and chaos,

struggles all around

         and within.

Please bring Your peace

to this place,

to this situation,

to our hearts,

  which are ground zero.

Please show us

not just what to do

   and how to do it

but how to be

        as Yours,

bringing Your name,

Your unexplainable peace,

and Your glory here.

 

He entered Jericho

and was passing through.

And behold,

there was a man

    named Zacchaeus.

           Luke 19. 1-2

(Not just where we think

we are headed,

not just the purpose

we hold in our hands,

but our ministry

in our coming

          and goings,

the divine appointments

that comprise our days.

Even in what we consider

the unlikely

and the most unexpected,

     God reveals Himself

     to us

         and through us.

Our ministry today

may not be

   what we anticipate.

Who has God placed

      on my path today?

Is my heart aware of them,

is my heart aware

           of His Presence,

is my vision

    changed by Him?)

O LORD,

Help us not to

    just see a path before us,

but a journey with You.

And each step

not just going somewhere,

    or doing something,

 but being transformed by You.

Please open our eyes

to those around us

to love, serve,

    point toward You,

and welcome into Your Kingdom.

Just one step of faithfulness,

one tender word,

one implanted kindness

             away.

       

 

By insolence comes nothing

        but strife,

but with those

       who take advice

       is wisdom.

           Proverbs 13. 10

(Whether we react

to circumstances

    or we respond

reveals our heart condition.

Pride always justifies

           its own way.

The wise know

  that they do not

  know it all.

Others continually watch

to see not that we are

         perfect,

but that God is real.

Crisis makes evident

  His transformation in us.

Does anyone see

  a difference in me

when it comes down

       to loving others?)

O LORD,

We are surrounded

by how we respond

    not just to crisis,

but to ordinary need.

We all struggle

     with something

     or someone.

Fill us with Your love

that we may see beyond

    the expected

to the eternal.

May others see

the difference You

      make in my life.

May we see

  how You have

  changed our hearts.

     

 

And He told them a parable

to the effect that they ought

always to pray

     and not lose heart.

           Luke 18. 1

(Have I even considered

      praying about this?

Whatever it may be,

wherever I find myself,

what is all around me,

the joys, the struggles,

the big rocks on the path,

the gravel in my shoes?

First response,

     not last resort.

Never stop praying.

God is doing a work

we would not believe,

  even if we knew.)

O LORD,

We come before You,

not with a list of

   our own ideas about

what You should do,

how You should do it,

when, where and why.

Not seeking an answer,

    nor a specific outcome,.

but seeking You.

O LORD, align our hearts

        with Yours.

Help us not just

    to be aware of You,

but abide in You.

Praying is just one way

of practicing Your Presence

seeing Your way,

and ready to follow You

                  in this.

"We do not know

           what to do,

but our eyes

     are on You."

    (2 Chronicles 20. 12)

Then one of them,

when he saw that

he was healed,

         turned back,

praising God

  with a loud voice;

and he fell on his face

  at Jesus' feet,

giving Him thanks.

       Luke 17, 15-16

(How do I approach this day

         differently

because Jesus has healed me,

and He is transforming my life?

Do I acknowledge His grace

        verbally and

by how I treat others

whom God has placed

before me

and all around me?)

O LORD,

May we be the ones

who turn back daily

to thank and praise You

for Your healing

   and redeeming in us.

Help us to praise You

and point others to You

by our words, deeds,

attitudes and intentions

in all Your appointments

          for us today.

Help us to respond with

     "God did this."

And live that way.

 

...that they may

seek Your name,

          O LORD.

        Psalm 83. 16

(What we desire

for those around us

is what others

observe in our lives.

Does anyone see

   any difference in us

because we love God

and how we love them?

Does what we choose

to do and say today,

and how we respond

    to circumstances

    or to others,

point others to Him?)

O LORD,

Help us to

live out the gospel

in every encounter

and circumstance

               today,

even in what we

do not yet understand,

even in what

    we struggle with.

May Your love

         and grace

be extended through us.

Help us to seek You

and desire that others

come to know You.

 

 

One who is faithful

   in a very little

is also faithful in much,

and one who is dishonest

    in a very little

is also dishonest in much.

             Luke 16. 10

(Which way do I choose

in what is before me

    right now in this day?

Faithfulness to God is

  built in layers.

Faithfulness is

  decided in the

  most ordinary ways

  and ordinary days,

so that when the

   crises come,

we already know

how to respond

   and to be faithful.

There are no

   small obediences,

no insignificant actions.)

O LORD,

Help us to follow You

in whatever is before us

and to be faithful to You

   even in the very little.

Because nothing

     in Your Kingdom

and in Your eyes

    is very little at all.

It is not that

   we should trust You,

but can you trust us?

Engrave in us

  awareness of 

the magnitude of our words,

thoughts, attitudes,

and our faithfulness

            in daily decisions.

What we choose

on ordinary days

determines the course

            of our lives.

Be glorified in us,

             O LORD,

even in this.

 

You shall march

    around the city,

all the men of war

going around the city

                 once.

Thus you shall do

    for six days...

         Joshua 6. 3

(Because "God says so,"

there is always deep purpose

                    in it,

even when it doesn't

    make sense to us

or we cannot see

         the outcome.

That's what faithfulness does.

We can trust Him,

   even into what

   we cannot yet know.)

O LORD,

You have set before us

an enormous city

or an ordinary task.

May we be faithful to You,

knowing there is

    no small obedience.

All things done

   are significant

       in Your Kingdom.

Help us to not miss out

  on Your designs

  in this day.

  

 

...in order that you may know

the way you shall go,

for you have not passed

    this way before.

               Joshua 3. 4

(Do we seek to place

our agenda and great ideas

              before the LORD?

Or come before Him

that the LORD would place

    His day before us

that we may follow Him

             into it?

What is unknown to us

is not unknown to God.

Even in what is familiar,

right before us,

God has seamlessly woven

   His amazing ways

and incredible designs

of which we are unaware.)

O LORD,

In the most familiar

and the most impossible,

may we know

that Your hand is mighty

because You are almighty.

Help us to seek You

and follow You

and Your ways

          into this day.

For Your glory

in whatever we do,

say, pray,

and how we

       walk with You.

 

He went on His way

through towns and villages,

teaching,

and journeying

    toward Jerusalem.

             Luke 13. 22

(Wherever we go,

whatever we do,

seeking God's Kingdom,

loving and bringing others

with us along the way.

We are often so caught up

in new doors

and fresh opportunities,

we miss being faithful

   in the here and now,

who and what

      is right before us.

Divine appointments

are rarely recognized

              as such.

Others are constantly watching

to see if God is real,

not so much the circumstances,

as in how we respond

    and how we love them.)

O LORD,

Guide us on Your way

                for us,

not just the where,

the when and the what,

but in how we seek You,

how we respond,

and how we love others

   right into Your Kingdom.

Help us to prepare

Your way in the lives of others,

and be ready for any service,

listening to Your voice,

shoes tied on,

our hearts aligned with Yours.

Help us to seek You

     and Your Kingdom

in all that we do today,

wherever,

and among whomever

                 we are.

 

It is like a

grain of mustard seed

that a man took

and sowed in his garden,

and it grew

and became a tree

and the birds of the air

made nests

     in its branches.

       Luke 13. 19

(Plant big trees

on the most ordinary days,

which are never

   so ordinary at all.

And know that the growing

and ripening

always takes time.)

O LORD,

Grant us the courage

and vision

to plant big trees

for all those

around us

and for generations

             to come.

The seed is Your Word,

lived out in us.

 

For it is no empty word

       for you

but your very life,

and by this word

you shall live long

in the land that you are

going over the

      Jordan to possess.

     Deuteronomy 32. 47

(We tend to take God's Word

so casually,

when it is life breath to us,

our sustenance,

strength,

and powerful enough

to transform our hearts

and change the

   trajectory of our lives.

Even today.

It matters

more than we can know 

that we read and meditate

on His Word daily,

not to get marching orders,

but for God

  to re-align our hearts

  with His.)

O LORD,

May we cherish Your Word

not just by reading it

but living it out as light

wherever You place us.

Help us to know

the magnitude of

         Your living Word

         in our lives,

molding us,

weaving seamlessly

into our hearts

Your grace and love

and sacred order

        to our days.

Help us to read Your Word

with great expectation,

not just with pen in hand

but with receptive hearts

     and shoes tied on.

Be strong and courageous.

Do not fear or be

    in dread of them,

for it is the

    LORD your God

    who goes with you.

He will not leave you

         or forsake you.

...It is the LORD

   who goes before you.

He will be with you.

He will not leave you

         or forsake you.

Do not fear or

         be dismayed.

  Deuteronomy 31. 6,8

(The LORD goes

            with us

     and before us.

How many times

does God have to say,

    "Do not fear?"

His Presence is our

strength and protection.

Fear, worry, despair

and dread just take us

down the wrong path,

  right into the brambles,

  and over a cliff.

How can I approach

this ordinary day

  or overwhelming situation

differently because

   He goes with me?

By acting faithfully

   and following Him

   into it.)

O LORD,

Help us to remember

Your power and faithfulness

as we walk into this day.

We do not walk alone,

  for You are with us

and You have gone

           before us

to prepare Your

   divine appointments.

Help us to be faithful to You

in our words and actions

and how we respond

  to what is before us

  and around us.

Align our affections

            with Yours.

Help us to know that

others are watching

     our hearts in this.

 

 

We will not hide them

from their children,

but tell to the

   coming generation

the glorious deeds

of the LORD

      and His might,

and the wonders

   that He has done.

          Psalm 78. 4

(To proclaim and

    engrave the truth

    and love of God

in their hearts

    and in ours,

lest they do not know

and lest we forget

  the chronicle

  of God's faithfulness.

Others are desperately

  watching and listening

to know if God is real.

What stories

    of His faithfulness

has He given us?

Do we just file them away

            in a box?)

O LORD,

You are good.

You are so good.

You have given each of us

a daily story of Your love

    and Your faithfulness.

May we be faithful

   in pointing others to You

by the stories You have

             given us

and the wonders

   we have seen

   in our own lives,

the amazing chronicle of

  Your great faithfulness.

Do those around us

even know about

our relationship with You?

 

And if you faithfully obey

the voice of the

     LORD your God...

     Deuteronomy 28. 1

(If we listen and respond

       to the LORD,

our lives, our affections,

our choices, our journey,

all that we undertake

   will be changed.

In all that we experience

and no matter

    the circumstances,

God makes the difference.

How do I approach

  what is before me today

differently

because I am responding

       to the Almighty

and I am called

   by the name of the LORD?)

O LORD,

May we realize

that You are with us,

no matter the path,

no matter circumstances,

no matter the joy

      or hardships.

May others realize

and witness Your Presence

and see that

  You have transformed us.

May we be faithful to You.

May we remember

and ponder and dwell upon

Your endless faithfulness

             to us,

Your witness

     and Your withness.

 

Thus it was written,

that the Christ should suffer

and on the third day

     rise from the dead,

and that repentance

    and forgiveness of sins

should be proclaimed

in His name to all nations,

beginning from Jerusalem.

You are witnesses

             of these things.

             Luke 24. 46-48

(This is the gospel.

Jesus came.

He suffered and died

     for each one of us.

He rose from the dead

  to make sure you know

you are loved,

you are forgiven,

you can live with Him forever.

Starting right now.

He is risen.

He is risen indeed.)

O LORD,

Thank You for loving us

with Your life

that You may give us life.

Help us to go forth

     with this good news

in word and deed

and changed lives.

 

...and the work

of a man's hands

comes back to him.

       Proverbs 12. 14

(No matter the soil,

the weather,

the prevailing drought,

the hardness of

    hearts all around us,

no matter what.

Be faithful to God,

    even in the hard stuff.

What matters most is

     rarely acknowledged.

But God,

   but God always turns

our faithfulness

    into His fruitfulness.

Our work is never solitary,

it always impacts others,

and brings His name

and His glory

even into what the world

    considers mundane.

Because in God's economy,

nothing but nothing

        is insignificant.

Nothing too big,

nothing beneath us.

Even the smallest action,

even the hidden response,

reflects our hearts and

    our relationship with Him.)

O LORD,

Please help us to work

in faithfulness to You,

knowing that You

     bring Your fruit to it,

far beyond what we need

or can see,

far beyond even our lives.

Help us,

    even in our daily work,

to point others to You,

not just in what we do,

    but how we do it.

For Your glory,

             O LORD,

even in this.

 

...for the LORD your God

has chosen them

to minister to Him

and to bless

in the name of the LORD...

 

    Deuteronomy 21. 5

(God has chosen

  each one of us

to minister to Him

by ministering

         to others

and to bless the LORD

  by blessing others

  in His Name.

In what ways

do I minister and bless

     today

right here,

even in this mess?

It is in the overlooked,

unknown places,

the faithful working

in silence and

    without fanfare,

that profound worship

    is taking place.

The things that

   really matter

        in God's sight

are not always visible

     in public.)

O LORD,

Help us to recognize

what is good and right

and gracious in Your sight,

and have the courage

      to do it.

Help us to choose

  to worship You in

  whatever You place

           before us,

  wherever we are,

even among the rebellious,

even among those

  who are desperate for You

and don't realize it.

You have appointed us

  to minister and to bless.

Help us to remember that

and seize

      those opportunities

even in unlikely places.

 

But as for you,

the LORD your God

has not allowed you

       to do this.

 Deuteronomy 18. 14

(God says,

         "Don't go there."

It is not that the LORD

is taking anything away,

but for our good,

for protection from what

  we cannot see,

for relationship with Him,

out of His deepest love

   for each one of us.

Those things so enticing

  --even what appears

    so innocent, so small,

    so insignificant--

destroys what is precious.

Sin always promises

  what it cannot deliver.

Sin always says,

        "It doesn't matter."

God says,

       "Everything matters.")

O LORD,

Each one of us

  struggles with something.

Please help us to

    not be distracted,

but keep our eyes on You.

Help us to keep Your Word

and be faithful to You,

even in the

   most ordinary days,

even when the world

        pulls at us.

Help us to

  walk with You through this,

respond to You,

stay faithful to You,

and bring our struggles

and needs and love

   right to Your feet.

When we come

     to Your sanctuary,

when we choose You,

You change our affections.