Day 36 - Getting Close

My, O, my, we are getting close to the end of 40 days of prayer, focused especially on the great commandments and the November 4 election. Just a few days to go....

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.

Psalm 51:11

Had you desired it, I would have offered sacrifice,
but you take no delight in burnt-offerings.

The sacrifice of God is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Psalm 51:17-18

Day 35 - Bless the Lord

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me, bless his holy Name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.

He forgives all your sins
and heals all your infirmities;

He redeems your life from the grave
and crowns you with mercy and loving-kindness;

He satisfies you with good things,
and your youth is renewed like an eagle's.

Psalm 103:1-5

Day 34 - Much More

What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.

Luke 11: 11-13

Day 33 - Sing Praises

Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises.

For God is King of all the earth;
sing praises with all your skill.

Psalm 47:6-7

Day 32 - Mercy

O Love, Thou bottomless abyss!
My sins are swallowed up in Thee:
Covered is my unrighteousness,
Nor spot of guilt remains in me,
While Jesu's blood, through earth and skies,
Mercy, free, boundless mercy, cries!

Charles Wesley

Day 31 - To Serve

You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Mark 10:42-45

Day 30 - Know This

Know this: The Lord himself is God;
he himself has made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

Psalm 100:3

Day 29 - Bethlehem

Yesterday's entry is the very end of an extended poem that starts

(Breathless was the air over Bethlehem. Black and bare
Were the fields; hard as granite the clods;
Hedges stiff with ice; the sedge in the vice
Of the pool, like pointed iron rods.)

and ends in Bethlehem.

In between we get a glimpse into the epic proportions and cosmic consequences of that 'little' event over 2000 years ago.

You can find the complete poem in Poems: C.S. Lewis, ed. Walter Hooper, First Harvest/HBJ edition 1977, pp. 49-51.

Day 28 - The Turn of the Tide

So death lay in arrest. But at Bethlehem the bless'd
Nothing greater could be heard
Than a dry wind in the thorn, the cry of the One new-born,
And cattle in stall as they stirred.

C.S. Lewis

Day 27 - The Spirit of the Humble

Thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy, "I dwell in the high and holy place and also with the one who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite."

Isaiah 57:15

Day 26 - How Priceless

Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens,
and your faithfulness to the clouds.

Your righteousness is like the strong mountains,
your justice like the great deep;
you save both man and beast, O Lord.

How priceless is your love, O God!
Your people take refuge under the shadow of your wings.

They feast upon the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from the river of your delights.

For with you is the well of life,
and in your light we see light.

Psalm 36:5-9

Day 25 - Love Divine

Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of heaven to earth come down.
Fix in us Thy humble dwelling;
All Thy faithful mercies crown.

Jesu, Thou art all compassion;
Pure unbounded love Thou art.
Visit us with Thy salvation;
Enter every trembling heart.

Charles Wesley

Day 24 - Sixteen to Go...

Here's hoping you still have the so-called Jesus creed front and center as you continue praying along these forty days up to November 4th.

This passage jumped out to me today:

We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Work of faith
Labor of love
Steadfastness of hope.

Day 23 - Speaking of Love

Some put their trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we will call upon the Name of the Lord our God.

Psalm 20:7

And this in from a friend today:

Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Day 22 - Remembering

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations shall bow before him.

Psalm 22:26

I'm almost doing a disservice to this glorious psalm by just quoting one verse. We know it as the prophetic psalm that foreshadows the crucifixion, but the verses before and after this one point to his glorious kingdom. Take a look and enjoy!

Day 21 - Nineteen Days to Go

I love you, O Lord my strength,
O Lord my stronghold, my crag, and my haven.

My God, my rock in whom I put my trust,
my shield, the horn of my salvation, and my refuge;
you are worthy of praise.

Psalm 18:1-2

Day 20 - Halfway Home!

"Because the needy are oppressed,
and the poor cry out in misery,
I will rise up," says the Lord,
"and give them the help they long for."

Psalm 12:5

Day 19 - The Lord Will Hear

The Lord will hear the desire of the humble;
you will strengthen their heart and your ears shall hear;

To give justice to the orphan and oppressed,
so that mere mortals may strike terror no more.

Psalm 10:18-19

Day 18 - Splendor and Honor

Splendor and honor and kingly power
are yours by right, O Lord our God,
For you created everything that is,
and by your will they were created and have their being;

And yours by right, O Lamb that was slain,
for with your blood you have redeemed for God,
From every family, language, people, and nation,
a kingdom of priests to serve our God.

And so, to him who sits upon the throne,
and to Christ the Lamb,
Be worship and praise, dominion and splendor,
for ever and for evermore.

Revelation 4:11; 5:9-10, 13

Day 17 - Double Portion

A double portion on this glorious Sunday!

Hallelujah!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
in the assembly of the upright, in the congregation.

Psalm 111:1

They will not be afraid of any evil rumors;
their heart is right;
they put their trust in the Lord.

Psalm 112:7

Day 16 - Sabbath Rest

I could say it was intentional missing last Saturday's post, some sort of Sabbath rest, but what really happened is that we had spent a lovely overnight at the Hutcherson farm in Marshall, Missouri, on a mini-retreat with some of our church friends. The plan was to head home in the early afternoon and stop at several orchards on the way back in to pick up apples and other fall goodies, including my favorite, local honeycomb in a jar of honey. Once we got home I was beat and just sort of frittered and relaxed the evening away.

But speaking of Sabbath rest I am reminded of some words from Charles Wesley:

Lord, I believe a rest remains,
To all Thy people known,
A rest where pure enjoyment reigns,
and Thou art loved alone.

A rest where all our soul's desire
Is fixed on things above;
Where doubt, and pain, and fear expire;
Cast out by perfect love.

Day 15 - Prayer

Let my prayer be set forth in your sight as incense,
the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

Psalm 141:2

Day 14 - Much Love, Little Love

Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.

Luke 7:47

Day 13 - Back on Track

Thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy, "I dwell in the high and holy place and also with the one who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite."

Isaiah 57:15

Talk about revival!

Day 12 - Ooops 2!

I seem to have slipped a gear and am now running a day off. O well, this from Romans sets everything in perspective:

The death that he died, he died to sin, once for all;
but the life he lives, he lives to God.
So also consider yourselves dead to sin,
and alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:9-11

Day 11 - Ooops!

Missed yesterday:

Our help is in the Name of the Lord,
the maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 124:8

Day 10 - Press On

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.

Philippians 3:12

Day 8 - Remembering the Words of the Lord Jesus

In all things I have shown you that by so toiling one must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive."

Acts 20:35

Day 7 - Continually Seek His Face

Glory in his holy Name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Search for the Lord and his strength;
continually seek his face.

Psalm 105:3-4

Well, we are seven days into our forty day walk. As I read this psalm today, three more passages jumped out to me:

...the word of the Lord tested him.

He spread out a cloud for a covering
and a fire to give light in the night season.

...so the river ran in the dry places.

vv. 9b, 39, 41b

Day 6 - To the Uttermost

Your word has been tested to the uttermost,
and your servant holds it dear.

Psalm 119:140