Day 5 - Love and Consolations

As often as I said, "My foot has slipped,"
your love, O Lord, upheld me.

When many cares fill my mind,
your consolations cheer my soul.

Psalm 94:18-19

Day 4 - Your love, O Lord

Your love, O Lord, for ever will I sing;
from age to age my mouth will proclaim your faithfulness.

Psalm 89:1

Day 3 - The Third Day

Sitting in our breakfast room this morning, looking out on a beautiful fall day, I was thinking about this, the third day on our little 40 day trek. Of course there are many references in the New Testament about Jesus rising from the dead on the third day, interestingly enough none in John's gospel (at least not using that phrase, 'on the third day') but plenty in the other three. John does tell us about a wedding on the third day where Jesus turns water into wine and we are told, "This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him." (John 2:11) I've always wondered why we are told it took place on the third day, other than that's when it did, but it has struck me as interesting given that we are told it was the beginning of signs and where he manifested his glory and where faith came.

Anyway, I hope we are all staying daily with the core proclamation of our prayer, and that it's starting to come to mind and heart throughout the day.

Day 2 - Keep the feast

This was quickened to me in my morning prayer today, from 1 Corinthians 5:7-8:

Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us; therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

I like sincerity and truth.

Also this from William Barclay's New Testament Words that seems apropos given the financial meltdown our system finds itself in at the moment. He's writing about the Greek word, eritheia, for selfish ambition:

It is a warning to our own generation, for most of our troubles today are not basically economic troubles; they spring rather from the spirit which asks, always, What can I get out of life? and, never, What can I put into life?

Day 1

We'll see how consistent I can be each day. I must say I delight in repeating those words, sometimes referred to as the Jesus Creed, as a prayer, and then lifting up my family, my church, my country, and those in authority, and soon to be in authority.

Forty Days

I just received something in an email today from Paraclete Press about praying over the next forty days and thought it might be a good idea to encourage any who wish to to be in prayer leading up to our presidential election and specifically, even if nothing else, to pray the following words from Mark 12:29-31:

"The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 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."

This blog is simply a way for those of us who respond to such an idea to stay in touch and encourage each other.

September 26 to November 4 is forty days.

Pass it on! And add your comments as we go along...