No Divide Between the Ordinary and Sacred

 

And he will show you

a large upper room furnished;

            prepare it there.

And they went and found it

     just as He had told them.

                  Luke 22. 12-13

(Exactly why does God

    want me to do this

                 mundane task

    that doesn't seem to matter?

Because it does enormously.

Sometimes we have no idea

       God's appointment in this.

But His sacred encounters

    and deeper purposes

    are embedded far more

    than we can see at the time.

We don't have to

                know the outcome

   to be faithful to Him.

God calls us to be awake,

   attentive, willing and ready.

God brings His fruitfulness

         to our faithfulness,

even in ways we may never realize.

Whoever prepared that spare room

   had no idea

what God was about to do with it.)

O LORD,

Help us to be sensitive

   to Your nudges

as we go about our days

that You would direct our hearts

    and establish our work

    for Your Kingdom

             and Your glory

  in what we only see as

       ordinary details.

Empower us to be faithful

   in whatever

You place before us today,

  full of grace and wonder,

     delighted that

     You have invited us

   into Your eternal designs.

Help us to be

      faithful to You,

   even in this familiar task today.

In Your eyes,

  nothing is mundane.

    All we do is

           sacred work.

   

     

Deep Pockets

 

For they all contributed

   out of their abundance,

but she out of her poverty

   put in all

   she had to live on.

              Luke 21. 4

(Give generously,

       live generously,

not just in financial terms.

Giving means being aware

     and responsive to others.

Our greatest witness

     is how --or if-- we respond

     to the hearts

         of those around us,

not just in how we give

       but how we live

    with the heart of Jesus in us.

Grace always costs something,

    but continually multiplies

far beyond our vision

     and way past our lifetimes.

Even a mite disrupts

  the selfishness of our hearts

and heals in some profound way

  the brokenness of this world.)

O LORD,

Please show us

how to set aside our pride

and be responsive

      to the needs around us

      on so many levels.

What is our calling?

   To love You and others.

Make us mindful of

   those opportunities today.

Help us to live faithfully.

And to carry deep pockets

      of grace into this day.

Building Instructions

 

Let us now build an altar,

not for burnt offering,

nor for sacrifice,

but to be a witness....

           Joshua 22. 26-27

(Let us honor God

     not for show,

     or obligation,

but to build altars to Him

  in what we do,

  how we work,

  how we worship,

  and how we treat others.

That we may be a witness

         in this broken world

and an intriguing testimony

   of how God changes lives.

Are the altars we build

               to ourselves

     or to Him?

Where is the spotlight?)

O LORD,

We come before Your altar

dragging our brokenness

     to You for Your healing

and that we may live

   in such a way

   that others are pointed to You.

Please empower us

   to build altars to You

on the sacred ground,

   wherever You guide us today,

stone upon stone,

grace upon grace,

worshiping You in all things.

Help us to seize opportunities

    to be a witness for You

in the favorable, difficult,

         and the unexpected,

knowing You create the best altars

      with shattered pieces.

You redeem all things.

  

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The Fine Art of Binding

 

Only be careful...

to love the LORD your God,

and to walk in all His ways,

and to keep His commandments,

and to cling to Him,

and to serve Him

   with all your heart

   and with all your soul.

                Joshua 22. 5

(How differently would it take

in whatever is ahead today?

What we can both see and prepare for,

and even in what is not expected

   but get our hearts ready?

How do we go into this day?

The words of St. Patrick:

"Christ before me, Christ with me,

Christ in me, Christ beneath me,

on my right and on my left,

when I lie down, sit down, arise.

I bind myself to Him.")

O LORD,

We pray that we would be sensitive

    to Your Presence

    already around us,

guiding, providing, protecting,

aligning, and realigning.

We bind ourselves to You today

   that we may know You more,

no matter what is before us.

You are God.

You are our God.

Please transform our hearts

   to glorify You in unlikely places,

even when we are unaware.

First Things First

 

Every day

   I call upon You,

              O LORD.

I spread out

         my hands to You.

            Psalm 88. 9

(And that cannot help

           but change everything

    about our day and ourselves.

First things first.

Recognizing our strength

   and direction from Him,

His Presence with us,

His purposes surrounding us,

His embrace

           wherever we are.

No matter what,

                we are not alone.

Are we reaching out to Him?

Are we spreading out

    our plans before Him

or accepting with open hands

     and an excited heart

              His day for us?)

O LORD,

When we come before You,

we realize that You

           are already here,

guiding our thoughts,

aligning our hearts with Yours,

running with us

         into the day ahead.

May how we approach difficulty

   or navigate circumstances,

   or how we treat others,

above all things

            bring glory to You today.

You are

      by Whom we are known.

Even In The Deep Dark Woods

 

...but the hill country

         shall be yours,

for though it is a forest,

you shall clear it

and possess it

to its farthest borders.

           Joshua 17. 18

(Sometimes we ask God,

"You want me to do what?"

What patch of ground

  has the LORD given each of us

to tend, nourish, plant,

clear out the briars,

occupy, recreate,

and bring His name, grace

          and love

    to its farthest borders?

Even that big deep forest

    where what might we find?

Just because it is difficult,

does not mean that

     God is not in it.

But we find Him already there,

       preparing our way.

Just because it is not

                in our skill set,

God brings His strength

     and His glory to it.

"I can't do that!"

God replies,

    "Good, because I can.")

O LORD,

No matter the thick woods

   or barren desert,

impossible people

   or rocky soil,

You walk with us,

You prepare our way,

You equip our hearts.

Please help us to be aware

    of opportunities

to establish Your kingdom

   even in this place today.

We come not just before You,

   but come to trust You

   even more.

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

Upclose and Personal

 

...You are my God.

             Psalm 86. 2

(And that changes everything

         about us --

what we do,

how we do it,

why we do it,

what we choose,

how we treat others

    --even the irritable ones,

how we approach and

   navigate the ordinary

   and the extraordinary,

   what is in the forecast,

        and the unexpected,

what we seek,

how we give,

how we love God

       and love others.

God is upclose

         and personal.

He changes what we see

  through the windshield

     and the rearview mirror.

Our road may not change,

   but our journey with Him

   and our hearts.)

O LORD,

You are not just God.

You are my God.

Please tweak and transform

   my heart today.

May I walk with You.

May I run with You.

May I follow You

     on this path

and even into the storms.

Write Your name

    all over my day

that I will know You more,

and be known as Yours.

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com