Aware of What God Makes Possible

And you shall love

   the Lord your God

with all your heart,

and with all your soul,

and with all your mind,

and with all your strength.

The second is this:

You shall love your neighbor

              as yourself.

There is no other commandment

      greater than these.

               Mark 12. 30-31

(What is our overriding agenda

         for this very day?

Of all the significant things

     we urgently need to do,

that which is needful

                   and profound

   is to love God and others

           with a whole heart.

It covers everything.

And answers not just what,

but how, why, where and when.

Our circumstances

    are neither an interruption,

    nor a pothole,

              nor deadend,

but a divine appointment

     on holy ground.

How differently would we go forth

     if we equipped ourselves

              into this day

     with those commandments?)

O LORD,

We love You.

Please help us to be faithful

    in expressing our love

by loving those around us,

those we know,

those we have not even met,

divine windows,

sacred encounters,

and holy moments in disguise.

Grant us the courage

       and strength

to make Your love known.

Nudge us, if necessary,

   to be aware of what

       You make possible.

 

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

 

Even What We Pray For

 

Therefore, I tell you,

whatever

    you ask in prayer,

believe that you have          

           received it,

and it will be yours.

And whenever

     you stand praying,

forgive,

if you have anything

         against anyone,

so that your Father also

   who is in heaven,

may forgive you

        your trespasses.

           Mark 11. 24-26

(Notice the connections here.

The whatever is connected

   to the whenever,

  the anything to anyone.

Also bound together are the ask,

   believe, receive, and forgive.

Prayer is an act

     not of demanding,

     but of asking,

coming before,

willing to be submissive

    to His purposes, power

            and His grace.

Repenting and forgiving

   realign our hearts

 how to pray about this,

what to believe about God,

and to know what we receive

           is from Him.

This verse is not about

    getting what we want,

but being willing to receive

              His will in this.)

O LORD,

Help us to realize

   that more than anything,

               we need You.

Rewire our hearts

   that we would not just pray,

  but able to trust You on the way.

Give us the courage

    to ask forgiveness

    and to grant it,

so that our hands and hearts

   are ready and unburdened

to believe You

   and receive Your goodness.

Make us aware

   how to pray,

   and how to believe not in an outcome,

              but in You.

Your Presence changes everything,

   even what we pray for.

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

We Are All Storytellers

 

And He began to speak       

      in parables.

              Mark 12. 1

(We are all storytellers.

God has given

each of us stories 

     of His grace and glory

in our everydays

   and the extraordinary.

There are

    no insignificant tales.

A speaker or writer

can wax eloquent

   with head knowledge,

but when they tell a story,

   the audience wakes up.

A parable literally means

placing one thing

   by the side of another,

positioning a common story

  besides its deeper meaning,

in order to bring understanding.

The impossible stories 

God weaves into our lives

   show us His power

   and reveal His glory

     as a side-by-side

     verbal witness to others.

Jesus told stories

   to bring the "aha" to our souls.)

O LORD,

You have granted us

stories to bring You glory,

a journey of words

        not to keep

   but to share in this world.

May we be bold

   in speaking not just

   of what we experience

but how we have seen You.

You are the grand Author

    of our lives.

May we be faithful

        in the telling.

 

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

Attention Deficit

 

The LORD spoke to Moses

in the wilderness of Sinai....

           Numbers 1.1

(The most unusual places,

unexpected circumstances,

barren landscapes,

the deserted bus stations of life,

a crowded waiting room,

 or painfully rutted gravel roads,

     are never random at all,

               nor a wrong turn.

But perhaps,

where we listen

without the usual distractions

     or frantic pace.

We are more aware

  that God is here with us.

It is not that we give Him

   permission to speak,

but He gives us the margin

     to take notice of Him

     and pay attention.

What am I supposed

           to be doing here?

Be with Me.)

O LORD,

Help us

to be still and know

    that You are God.

Help us to realize

that we cannot do

       this day without You.

Guide our eyes and hearts

  to take notice

 of what You are doing.

And grant us the strength

    and courage

        to respond

with energy, grace and love.

May we be not just

           aware of You,

but sensitive to those

  You have divinely placed 

         right before us.

Capture our attention

  and help us

to keep our eyes on You.

In Our Comings And Goings

 

If you walk in My statutes

and observe My commandments

          and do them......

          Leviticus 26. 3

(It is not a matter of what

we say we believe,

but if our lives engraved

     by living out our faith

in how we walk,

what we observe,

     and what we do.

Life will look very different,

   not just for us

   but through us

in the lives of everyone

  we touch and encounter.

Indeed, the world's trajectory

   would alter greatly

if we walked with God

in the familiar and ordinary

and in the incomprehensible

         and extraordinary.

We cannot forecast this day,

but we can be aware

of His divine appointments,

sacred encounters,

   and holy collisions.

And respond differently.)

O LORD,

Thank You that we can walk

       with You through

whatever is before us--

tromping through the miry bog,

scaling the scary cliffs,

even sweating on the uphill hikes.

May we bless You

        in this day,

sensitive to Your leading,

loving and gracious

       in our dealings,

and courageous

  to do what is good and right

        and selfless.

Never Comes In Individual Servings

 

Redeem us

for the sake of

Your steadfast love.

            Psalm 44. 26

(Why do we always think

the hardship or the favor

     is just about us?

God is spreading

  His grace in unexpected places

  and in unlikely people.

It is not just what God

   is forming in us

   through this difficulty

           or benevolence,

but what is He forming

   in those around us,

drawing not just us

    but others to Him.

Redeeming never comes

  in individual servings.

What if this situation

  or our own struggle

  is about them?

God is already redeeming

          our suffering,

covered even now

by His name, steadfast love,

   and His indelible grace,

marks that

      cannot be removed.)

O LORD,

Thank You

that whatever we encounter,

or endure,

or experience,

is covered by Your steadfast love.

And for the sake

       of Your holy name.

You redeem even what

  we cannot comprehend.

Please make us aware

and responsive

   to those around us

to bring Your grace to them.

Even in this,

You are powerfully working,

restoring, and multiplying.

Not just for us.

Antidote To Fear

 

Do not fear,

       only believe.

       Mark 5. 36

(The world has hijacked

     this phrase.

Jesus does not intend

for us to believe in ourselves,

or favorable outcomes,

or particular answers,

          but in Him.

Trusting in Him

    is the antidote to fear.

His Presence with us

   is not dependent on

   how much we believe,

like racking up enough likes

  or wishing hard enough,

      but that we believe in Him.

God knows what He is doing,

even in what is so far 

   beyond our comprehension.

Believing and trusting God

   does not change circumstances,

but alters how we approach

            and navigate this place.

  God's power and Presence

help us see His trail through it.)

O LORD,

Help us to leave our fear behind

and trust You in this situation.

You are here with us,

       not dependent on

    if we believe hard enough.

We hold tight to You,

and then realize

  You have a tighter hold on us.

We need not fear,

   not even just believe

       that You are God,

but know You are.