For today, a prayer:
O Holy One,
O King of all kings,
and Lord of all lords,
We come before you now
your people, a burdened people.
We come with burdens that belong to us,
and burdens that belong to others.
We come with burdens given to us,
and burdens we have placed on our own shoulders.
O Mighty One, we bring these burdens to you.
Some burdens we ask you to take from us,
so we might lift less weary hands to praise you.
Some burdens we ask you to heal,
so we might stand together unimpeded
in your presence.
Some burdens we ask you to change
from burden into blessing,
if only in that we see the gifts
you give us aright.
Some burdens we ask you to teach us to carry,
so we might suffer alongside you
as you work to bring healing
and wholeness to your world, even now,
as a foretaste of tomorrow and forever.
So now, O Mighty One, we ask you to lift us up,
burdens and all.
Even now, lift us up so that we might see and praise
you as you will only be fully revealed
in the end of all time:
clearly King, indisputably Lord,
incontestably One God, Only God,
infinitely removed from all impostors.
Even as we see the work of your hand,
we do not understand.
Even when we see you face to face,
you will remain beyond our comprehension.
Yet because of your steadfast love we know you,
love you, trust you, hope in you –
Today and tomorrow and until Jesus comes.
Until then we pray through him and for him
to come again.
Amen.
In all things praise God,
Ron
Showing posts with label burden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label burden. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
But there is forgiveness ...
Hear the word of the Lord:
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD.
Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!
If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered.
Only God can know the depths of our heart,
the burdens that crush us,
the fears that weaken us,
the mistakes that haunt us.
Only God can really hear this mess that is my message,
yet this holy listener knows my unholiness,
somehow knowing and forgiving and making
holy that which cannot be holy on its own.
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning,
than those who watch for the morning.
Does he make me wait because he is God
and I am not?
Does he make we wait so that I will understand
that he is not some sort of cosmic clean-up crew
just waiting for me to ring the bell?
Or does the waiting allow me time to contemplate
the ugliness, even horror, of what I have done?
Perhaps the waiting is for me to wake up to
the steadfast nature of his love, the ready power of
his saving arm, so different from my feeble efforts
and easily frustrated love for others.
O Israel, hope in the LORD!
For with the LORD there is steadfast love,
and with him is great power to redeem.
It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
Surely, as difficult as it is for us to imagine,
our God loves us, forgives us, and delivers us
from our hammer-heads, our hard-hearts,
our razor tongues, our careless lips,
our wayward feet, our itching ears,
our insatiable stomachs, and our idle hands.
Through his Spirit, he transforms each one of these
troubled members into an instrument of praise.
Thank God that he is God, and that he loves us.
Blessings,
Ron
Psalm 130
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD.
Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!
If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered.
Only God can know the depths of our heart,
the burdens that crush us,
the fears that weaken us,
the mistakes that haunt us.
Only God can really hear this mess that is my message,
yet this holy listener knows my unholiness,
somehow knowing and forgiving and making
holy that which cannot be holy on its own.
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning,
than those who watch for the morning.
Does he make me wait because he is God
and I am not?
Does he make we wait so that I will understand
that he is not some sort of cosmic clean-up crew
just waiting for me to ring the bell?
Or does the waiting allow me time to contemplate
the ugliness, even horror, of what I have done?
Perhaps the waiting is for me to wake up to
the steadfast nature of his love, the ready power of
his saving arm, so different from my feeble efforts
and easily frustrated love for others.
O Israel, hope in the LORD!
For with the LORD there is steadfast love,
and with him is great power to redeem.
It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
Surely, as difficult as it is for us to imagine,
our God loves us, forgives us, and delivers us
from our hammer-heads, our hard-hearts,
our razor tongues, our careless lips,
our wayward feet, our itching ears,
our insatiable stomachs, and our idle hands.
Through his Spirit, he transforms each one of these
troubled members into an instrument of praise.
Thank God that he is God, and that he loves us.
Blessings,
Ron
Psalm 130
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Lightening our load ...
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30
As I look back on this spiritual formation experience, I remember our times of devotion together. I remember the times of sharing, the times of worship, the times of simple silence where we all sought out the heart of God. I chose this verse from Matthew as the passage of scripture that I would like to close out with. We are told that we need to be the one who decides to come after Jesus. He focuses on all those who are weary and burdened, but isn’t that all of us? We are told that we will receive the promised rest, and that he is willing and able to help us to learn from him. He wants to lighten our load.
Have you felt that time of lightening? It is a time where we feel like we can make it. It is a time where we feel like we don’t have to go it alone. I have learned that we all need help with our daily walk. This help can come in many different forms, but some of them are as easy as actually praying for each other. We have sat in silence together and worshiped. We have studied and meditated on certain passages of scripture. We have spent time in a prayer exercise for our boys where some of us were praying so hard for our boys that tears flowed.
Many of you commented that this was a great reminder for you, to work harder at your spiritual walk. Many of you told me of ways that you are trying to implement some of these spiritual disciplines in your life as you work with each other and help our boys. I have enjoyed these stories, because it has made me realize that all was not in vain.
There have also been times when some of you have told me that our times together have been very challenging in ways you have never experienced. Not everyone in our group is at the same place when it comes to working through some of these disciplines, and that’s ok. I am reminded that our boys are all at different places as well when it comes to drawing near to God. They may have a hard time when it comes to focus and meditation. Some of our boys may have a hard time going to that quiet place with God, because they are not prepared to open up their heart out of fear or even rejection. These are all thoughts that we need to ponder individually and as a group as we try to share our faith with those around us.
This project has been called “Overflow,” and I hope that you have been able to see God’s love flowing out of your heart as you hold out the Word of God. That was actually one of my objectives. I wanted us all to be able to take some of the things we have learned and apply them to this ministry. I feel we have learned how to focus a little better. I feel we have learned how to use the Word of God to battle those challenges that come up in our lives. I feel we have learned how to do so many things including service, simplifying our lives, and even being reminded what worship can be like. I feel our lives have been challenged, and our spirit has been encouraged. This is where the “overflow” comes out. This is where we learn how to take our own experiences with God and share those with our boys and our families. This is where we work together as a community to help transform the lives of our boys.
I have been feeling that sense of “Holy Expectancy” that we discussed during our worship time together. Instead of it being towards our worship service, it is towards our ministry together. I have found myself coming to God and praying for us all as we work ourselves to exhaustion to try and help our boys learn to live and learn how to be loved. We have a hard job, so it is important that we spend as much time as possible in the Word, in worship, in prayer, in silence with God, simplifying, and serving so we can be prepared for anything that comes our way, and our spirit is so full, that it overflows more and more each day into the lives of those we love.
Thank you for participating in this project and thank you for loving and caring for me enough to be honest with me about your feelings throughout this project. You have all blessed and encouraged my life.
Jason
Matthew 11:28-30
As I look back on this spiritual formation experience, I remember our times of devotion together. I remember the times of sharing, the times of worship, the times of simple silence where we all sought out the heart of God. I chose this verse from Matthew as the passage of scripture that I would like to close out with. We are told that we need to be the one who decides to come after Jesus. He focuses on all those who are weary and burdened, but isn’t that all of us? We are told that we will receive the promised rest, and that he is willing and able to help us to learn from him. He wants to lighten our load.
Have you felt that time of lightening? It is a time where we feel like we can make it. It is a time where we feel like we don’t have to go it alone. I have learned that we all need help with our daily walk. This help can come in many different forms, but some of them are as easy as actually praying for each other. We have sat in silence together and worshiped. We have studied and meditated on certain passages of scripture. We have spent time in a prayer exercise for our boys where some of us were praying so hard for our boys that tears flowed.
Many of you commented that this was a great reminder for you, to work harder at your spiritual walk. Many of you told me of ways that you are trying to implement some of these spiritual disciplines in your life as you work with each other and help our boys. I have enjoyed these stories, because it has made me realize that all was not in vain.
There have also been times when some of you have told me that our times together have been very challenging in ways you have never experienced. Not everyone in our group is at the same place when it comes to working through some of these disciplines, and that’s ok. I am reminded that our boys are all at different places as well when it comes to drawing near to God. They may have a hard time when it comes to focus and meditation. Some of our boys may have a hard time going to that quiet place with God, because they are not prepared to open up their heart out of fear or even rejection. These are all thoughts that we need to ponder individually and as a group as we try to share our faith with those around us.
This project has been called “Overflow,” and I hope that you have been able to see God’s love flowing out of your heart as you hold out the Word of God. That was actually one of my objectives. I wanted us all to be able to take some of the things we have learned and apply them to this ministry. I feel we have learned how to focus a little better. I feel we have learned how to use the Word of God to battle those challenges that come up in our lives. I feel we have learned how to do so many things including service, simplifying our lives, and even being reminded what worship can be like. I feel our lives have been challenged, and our spirit has been encouraged. This is where the “overflow” comes out. This is where we learn how to take our own experiences with God and share those with our boys and our families. This is where we work together as a community to help transform the lives of our boys.
I have been feeling that sense of “Holy Expectancy” that we discussed during our worship time together. Instead of it being towards our worship service, it is towards our ministry together. I have found myself coming to God and praying for us all as we work ourselves to exhaustion to try and help our boys learn to live and learn how to be loved. We have a hard job, so it is important that we spend as much time as possible in the Word, in worship, in prayer, in silence with God, simplifying, and serving so we can be prepared for anything that comes our way, and our spirit is so full, that it overflows more and more each day into the lives of those we love.
Thank you for participating in this project and thank you for loving and caring for me enough to be honest with me about your feelings throughout this project. You have all blessed and encouraged my life.
Jason
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
You will find rest ...
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
This passage has been quoted, spoken on, taught, and meditated on so many times and in so many ways over the years. The question I want us to focus on right now is; have we taken it to heart yet? We read the bible stories and we see characters that we want to be like. We want to be like David, like Moses, like Elijah, like Daniel, like Peter, and more importantly, like Jesus. We read the “Sermon on the Mount” and we try to follow those wise words, and we get to this passage in Matthew 11 and we long for that rest. I have been weary and burdened more times than I can count. I know that you feel the same, especially you house parents out there. You feel the drag of the day. You feel that weary feeling every time you are asked the same question for the 50th time by every boy in your care. So the offer of rest is so appealing and we want to jump at it.
Over the past two months as we have taken part in some of these spiritual disciplines, I have read through some of your journals and seen where your thoughts have gone. I have seen how some of you have such a hard time quieting down your life and one of you were even honest with me and said that calming our thoughts and hearts down in this devotional time felt so pointless. So what is the point? Why are we doing this? The answer to that lies in the yoke. We want to follow Jesus and follow his commandments, but disciplining ourselves to actually sit still and meditate on scripture and silence and prayer time seems so hard. Dallas Willard in The Spirit of Disciplines, had this to say about this difficult way of living: “The secret of the easy yoke is simple, actually. It is the intelligent, informed, unyielding resolve to live as Jesus lived in all aspects of his life, not just in the moment of specific choice or action.”
If you have taken these disciplines to heart so far, I applaud you and I plead with you to begin sharing your thoughts and your feelings with someone. Find that opportunity. Jesus longs for you to learn how to walk as he did, pray as he did, sit and be as he did, worship as he did, serve as he did, and do so many other things that he did. It is in these set aside times with God that we learn these things. We learn by practicing. As we come to the last couple of weeks of this disciplines study, I am going to be hitting on a few other disciplines through our daily devotionals. I hope that you already have the yoke around your neck and you are allowing Jesus to guide you. Let him help you find that rest. I am looking forward to continuing the journey with you myself.
Your brother on this search for rest,
Jason
This passage has been quoted, spoken on, taught, and meditated on so many times and in so many ways over the years. The question I want us to focus on right now is; have we taken it to heart yet? We read the bible stories and we see characters that we want to be like. We want to be like David, like Moses, like Elijah, like Daniel, like Peter, and more importantly, like Jesus. We read the “Sermon on the Mount” and we try to follow those wise words, and we get to this passage in Matthew 11 and we long for that rest. I have been weary and burdened more times than I can count. I know that you feel the same, especially you house parents out there. You feel the drag of the day. You feel that weary feeling every time you are asked the same question for the 50th time by every boy in your care. So the offer of rest is so appealing and we want to jump at it.
Over the past two months as we have taken part in some of these spiritual disciplines, I have read through some of your journals and seen where your thoughts have gone. I have seen how some of you have such a hard time quieting down your life and one of you were even honest with me and said that calming our thoughts and hearts down in this devotional time felt so pointless. So what is the point? Why are we doing this? The answer to that lies in the yoke. We want to follow Jesus and follow his commandments, but disciplining ourselves to actually sit still and meditate on scripture and silence and prayer time seems so hard. Dallas Willard in The Spirit of Disciplines, had this to say about this difficult way of living: “The secret of the easy yoke is simple, actually. It is the intelligent, informed, unyielding resolve to live as Jesus lived in all aspects of his life, not just in the moment of specific choice or action.”
If you have taken these disciplines to heart so far, I applaud you and I plead with you to begin sharing your thoughts and your feelings with someone. Find that opportunity. Jesus longs for you to learn how to walk as he did, pray as he did, sit and be as he did, worship as he did, serve as he did, and do so many other things that he did. It is in these set aside times with God that we learn these things. We learn by practicing. As we come to the last couple of weeks of this disciplines study, I am going to be hitting on a few other disciplines through our daily devotionals. I hope that you already have the yoke around your neck and you are allowing Jesus to guide you. Let him help you find that rest. I am looking forward to continuing the journey with you myself.
Your brother on this search for rest,
Jason
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