Mark 12:30-31 “you shall love the Lord your God will 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.”

Halloween is my least favorite holiday.  I don’t really remember when my heart changed from enjoying the candy and dressing up to wishing it would simply go away.  Yesterday my seven year old asked me what my favorite part of Halloween was.  I finally came up with candy corn.  I know several people that love this day.  They look forward to it with relish and glee.  I cannot understand it; believe me I have tried.  As I prepare my kids in their costumes and pass candy out to the neighbor kids I will keep this passage in Mark in my heart.  This is the only evening of the year I will see many of my neighbors and their children.  This is a night where kids are filled with happiness and maybe the only night they receive something for nothing.  Maybe I can find a way to make this night a manifestation of love.  I am sure going to try.

Lord,

Let your love fill my heart today so that I am able to love you and love others as you teach us to.  Protect the children and people out and about tonight and keep all of us safe in your arms.  I pray the love of Jesus would permeate this evening for your glory and your kingdom.  Amen.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.”

Amen, Hallelujah, right on brother!  I am certain when Paul wrote this letter he never thought his words would be used as scripture.  Could he fathom his letters being studied and memorized phrase by phrase to keep believers growing in the heart of the Lord?  I seriously doubt it.  Yet, many of the best known verses are writings of Paul.  The scripture he was referring to in his letter was the Old Testament.  It is easy for us to discount the Old Testament writings as no longer relevant.  Why do we need it since we have the New Testament; isn’t newer better?  We are no longer under the law since we have been washed in the redemption of the Jesus and we live in His grace.  Only since I have begun deeper study of God’s word have I truly realized the grace and love of God flowed through the Old Testament just as it does in the New.  I love to study scripture and the more I read and learn the more I can say Amen and Hallelujah to this statement from Paul.

Lord,

I cannot begin to thank you enough for the scriptures that I have at my fingertips whenever I want it.  I pray for those who do not have it or risk their very lives to have it.  Pour your words into our souls so we hold it with us wherever we are, whatever we do, wherever we go.  Amen.

Ecclesiastes 5:2 “Never be rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be quick to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven, and you upon earth; therefore let your words be few.”

It is hard to listen when we are talking.  I heard these very words come from my mouth to one of my children within the last few days.  Oh, we are capable of hearing while talking but hearing is not listening.  We have something we want to say and it seems to take precedence over whatever we may need to hear.  When I read this passage I had to stop and really think about how I could benefit from its words.  I mean, we can take anything and everything to God; He is here among us not in some distant land, right?  I know there are times I come to Him and in my prayer I never stop “talking”, I never stop to listen.  He is in heaven; He is above all and all wise and yet I ask and ask for things I know nothing about with my tiny limited view.  As I continue to study the word of the Lord I realize I know so little and so, as a student and disciple it would be best for me to do more listening and a lot less talking.  I know I can come to the Lord with anything at any time.  I do believe it should not be frivolous. 

Lord,

I come to listen and learn.  Silence the requests and concerns, quiet the chatter and chaos and open my ears and hands to receive what you would share today.  Guide us all in your divine way and your path of righteousness.  I ask these things in Jesus name and now I wait and listen... Amen

Psalm 40:3 “He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.  Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.”

This Psalm is beautiful to read if you have ever been in the “desolate pit” as it is written.  We all go through times of being there and when we are in the middle of it, we strain to see or feel the Lord in there with us.  When I am in the bog of mire it takes me a while to muster the voice to call out to Him.  Sometimes it takes me a while to realize I am even in trouble.  Life can be going along pretty well, all things are aligned and flowing smoothly and then it flows smoothly right down into the miry bog.  Oops!  How did this happen?  The good news is that when we are there, we can cry out to the Lord and He hears us.  We can still seek the Lord and find Him there.  He will draw us up and set our feet upon a rock making our steps secure again.  In that moment, He puts a new song in our mouths, a song of praise.  If you are in the pit, trust and wait on the Lord, He will come.  If you are not in the pit, lift your voice in praise to the Lord that your feet are stepping firmly because of Him.  Keep praising and praying striving to be faithful as He is to us.

Lord,

Thank you for blessing us with your presence and grace.  Thank you for hearing our cries and coming to our rescue again and again.  Help us wait for you.  Open our mouths in praise and thanksgiving to you so others may learn of your great love.  I praise you today.  Amen.

Romans 8:31 “What then are we to say about these things?  If God is for us, who is against us?”

Patriotism runs deep.  We learn it from the time we start school with the pledge of allegiance.  We learn to stand up for our team, our family, our nation.  We learn how to be loyal to important things and this is a good lesson.  As I was praying over this verse I thought about the nations and the divisiveness that is in today’s world.  The breakdown of unity is everywhere, it infiltrates everything.  This verse calls me to remember and celebrate that there is something bigger than that.  There is something bigger than loyalty to teams, family and nation.  There is God.  I am pretty sure He does not really care who wins the World Series or who wins the high school football championship.  I am not sure he even cares about the boundaries drawn in the sand from one nation to another.  I believe He cares for us individually and as a people.  As we come under his wing and learn to be loyal to Him as our Lord, we can begin to claim the strength and hope in this verse.  If the King of all, the Creator of all we know and things we do not know, our Savior and Redeemer stands for us, who stands against us? Nothing can stand against the Almighty and so I lift my hands in praise to Him this morning.

Lord,

You are mine and I am yours, all else will fade in time.  When I become discouraged bring the hope of this message to me again.  Thank you for your love and mercy today and always.  Help me be merciful and loving to others.   Amen.

Lamentations 3:40-41 “Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord.  Let us lift up our hearts as well as our hands to God in heaven.”

It was in the news the other day that the Air Force cadets do not have to include “so help me God” in their oath anymore.  Other branches of the military had removed that phrase some time ago and now it looks like the Air Force is following suit.  I wonder how long it is before the pledge of allegiance is attacked.  One person I was talking to said the people who are doing this are not true Americans, but I wonder what a true American is anymore.  When others look at our nation from the outside in, what do they see?  Is there evidence of a united nation, under God, indivisible?  I cannot answer how our nation looks from the outside but I know how I see it from where I sit.  I am drawn back to the Lord and the knowledge that we have something we can do about this current state of affairs.  We can test and examine our own ways and return to the Lord.  As we lift our hearts and hands to God, let us seek His truth and light.  As we renew our hearts with God, let us pray for our nation and its leaders to seek His truth and light as well.

Lord,

It is hard for me to hope for this nation, yet scripture tells me to pray for my people and my nation.  Your word tells me to pray for leaders of nations and all in authority.  I pray for those people and our nations this morning.  Draw us all back into you.  Lord, in your mercy, hear this prayer.  Amen.

Psalm 101:2 “I will study the way that is blameless.  When shall I attain it?"

Perfectionism runs deep in my family roots.  I struggle with it just as my Mom did and I see it in my young daughter already.  The problem with perfectionism is that we set ourselves up to fail.  Then we know this and are prone to not even try because we cannot attain the desired outcome.  I have learned, to some degree, to accept that I will not attain my goal in this lifetime but I strive toward it to be the best that I can be.  This is the legacy I want to pass on to my children.  As I study more of God’s word I realize how far from the goal I am at times.  I read and study the words of love and grace, comfort and guidance, correction and refining.  Through this practice of discipleship I come closer step by step to the person I am created to be.  Are we created to be perfect, blameless?  We have been tarnished with sin from the beginning and only the redemption through Christ can wash us clean and set us before the Lord our God as blameless.  It is only through Him that I could ever attain it.  Now we must go and live it.

Lord,

Thank you for your word today; open our hearts to receive it.  As we strive to grow in you and your love, help us receive your grace completely.  Move us to be gracious to others for it is by grace that we become blameless in your sight.  Guide our steps in becoming who you created us to be.  Amen.