If anyone would be first,

he must be last of all

   and servant of all.

            Mark 9. 35

(In God's upside down kingdom,

    there is no scrambling

    to be first in line,

           but "after you."

Jesus came not to be served,

     but to serve.

A serving, willing humble heart

   shows immense strength.

Not thinking less of oneself,

   but less about oneself.)

O LORD,

Thank You for loving us.

You do not just notice

  and recognize

  the smallest kindnesses,

      but You multiply them.

We worship You

    by how we serve,

    even in the grungy stuff.

You know.

You see.

You bless even what

     we cannot comprehend.

 

Bring him to Me.

       Mark 9. 19

(Bring this difficult situation,

    this impossible relationship,

    this dilemma or desperation

                  before God.

Not just what we cannot

                handle on our own,

not just our anxieties and fears,

          but our hearts.

Have I laid this before Him?

That should be our first response,

                 not last resort.

Have I considered that

   God is doing something

     deeper than I can see?

What does God have to do

            with what is before me,

    with what is on my path today,

    with what is hurtling toward me?

Everything.)

O LORD,

Help us to bring these things

        and lay them at Your feet.

Help us even to drag

   what we cannot lift

                  or imagine,

that which pulls us

               away from You.

You call us

   to bring it to You.

May we listen and respond

  and walk with You.

Open our eyes

   not just to a new solution

             but to You.

You make all things new.

Even the familiar.

Even what we consider ordinary,

  which is never

  so ordinary after all.

 

Then Jesus laid His hands

   on his eyes again,

and he opened his eyes,

     his sight was restored,

and he saw

          everything clearly.

               Mark 8. 25

(When we come to Him,

willing for Him to heal

           and restore,

God changes

   how we see everything.

We may not understand all

  --indeed we will not

    fully comprehend--

but we know

      something has changed.

And that would be us.

Nothing can remain the same,

   even if our circumstances

                 are not altered.

Jesus has touched us.

     We have new hearts.

     We know Him more.)

O LORD,

Restore our vision

   that we would not just

           see You

   but to seek You more,

even in the midst

       of a hard situation,

  You are here with us.

Open our eyes today

     to Your strength,

     and healing,

     and Your glory.

Even in this.

         

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And His disciples answered Him,

"How can we feed these people

   with bread here in this

                     desolate place?"

And He asked them,

    "How many loaves

           do you have?"

                  Mark 8. 4-5

(What in the world

  are we doing in this barren place?

  Did we take a wrong turn?

No, that's exactly why God

  strategically placed us here

to serve Him,

       love others,

and bring the name of Jesus here.

Desolate is not a barren place

      of despair and emptiness,

but an opportunity to be faithful,

fulfilling needs

           --visible or invisible--

     and changing the landscape.

Desolate says, "I can do nothing about this."

God says, "Good.  Because I can.

           Tie on your shoes.")

O LORD,

Open not just our eyes

   to see what is around us,

but enlarge our hearts

   that we know how to respond.

Bear Your fruit through us

    wherever we are

    and whatever we pursue

to nurture, sustain, and love

       others right into Your arms.

Where there is lack,

                You provide

      enough even for leftovers.

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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 meaning of the scapegoat

    is not placing our guilt and blame

    on someone else,

but in the atonement for our sin,

repent, ask forgiveness,

       and letting it go.

Not dwelling on it,

      or bringing it back up,

but living as forgiven.

When we are forgiven,

    we know how to forgive.

We know how much we are loved.)

O LORD,

Help us to realize

that when we repent

          of our selfishness

          our wrong-doing,

             and our hurtful ways,

You do not just forgive,

but grant to us

the power to live differently.

Not just to go and sin no more,

    but to live out Your forgiveness

in how we love others

            and worship You.

Empower us,

grant to us Your strength

and pour over us Your mercy

   to bring healing

   to all our relationships.

 

But immediately

He spoke to them and said,

   "Take heart.

     It is I.

     Do not be afraid."

And He got into the boat

                  with them

    and the wind ceased.

                  Mark 6. 50-51

(We all walk at some point or another

         in the scary places

         or on unfamiliar trails,

when all we have is God

             to hold onto,

when all we can do

             is trust Him.

Just because it is hard

   or we don't understand

doesn't mean God is not

           fully in it.

Scoot over,

   and let Him in the boat

   to calm our hearts,

     knowing He is with us.

How would we approach

  this scary, difficult, hard thing

                    differently

if we trusted Him into it,

if we knew God has

       deeper purposes in it

       than we can see?)

O LORD,

Sometimes in the storms

   we feel like we are sinking,

sometimes we just have

   no idea what is happening.

But You assure us

            of Your Presence.

Help us to trust You in this,

   ready to pivot,

   willing to hang tight,

practicing Your Presence

         in the ordinary

  so that we are already trained

     for the extraordinary

--which surrounds us all the time.

Help us

    to not miss You in this.

 

And He could do

    no mighty work there,

except that He laid His hands

  on a few sick people

  and healed them.

And He marveled because

            of their unbelief.

And He went about

    among the villages

                      teaching.

                  Mark 6. 5-6

(There will always be those

who are so set in their defiance

refuse to believe,

    even if Jesus is face to face.

But Jesus's response was

    to keep on teaching.

We can never know

       who will respond to Him,

       even the most unlikely.

Sharing with others is

               never wasted,

    even if we never see the fruit.

God is still on the move.

His witness will not return void.)

O LORD,

Help us to stay faithful to You,

   no matter the situation,

   no matter the response,

but to fulfill the ministry

                that You daily give us,

    even in what we do not grasp.

Help us to know

      life with You is all ministry.

May we teach others of You

    by our words and actions,

    our attitudes,

    and how we love them.

Almighty, please order my day,

  guide my thoughts and prayers,

and align my heart with Yours.