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Thursday, February 08, 2018

Rest in Prayer


"True silence is the rest of the mind;
it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body,
nourishment and refreshment."
William 
Penn


The world is full of noise and busyness, all competing at the same time for the same mind! In the world there is little silence; there is not much true rest for the mind.


Jesus tells us, "Come to Me. Get away with Me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with Me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace ..." (Matthew 11:28-30 The Message)

Jesus lived the example of spending time in prayer ~ away from the crowds ~ alone with the Father. This is how He demonstrated real rest ~ rest for the mind, the body and the spirit ~ rest in the middle of chaos ~ rest in the presence of God ~ rest in the silence. Listen to the words of Jesus; seek Him in the silence ~ learn [His] unforced rhytms of grace~dho


Thursday, February 01, 2018

The Always of Prayer

Throw-Back-Thursday's popularity fills our Thursdays. Along with its hash tags, pictures of yester-year dance across out computer screens, mobile phones, and tablets. Frequently the hair styles and clothing reveal the era. We laugh, usually, or moan, sometimes. Today I open my #TBT Bible, my name and the date 4/13/77 on the inside cover. Back in the day, unlike now, few translations of the Bible were available other than the King James Version. "The Living Bible" translation broke the rules by using current vernacular, much the way we appreciate The Message today. The words and the order of the words sounded friendly, more familiar to the ear. The Living Bible, while popular with teenagers, did not thrill the adults. Whatever your thoughts or preferences are about various translations of the Holy Bible, I believe God always uses His words to inspire, to convict, to reveal His Goodness and Grace.
#TBT High School, 1973

Reading today from Romans in The Living Bible, God's word tells it straight. Listen to some of the verses from Chapter 12Be honest in your estimate of yourselves...we belong to each other, and each needs all the others. God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well. And further down, Don't just pretend that you love others; really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. Love each other with brotherly affection and take delight in honoring each other. These very valuable words remind us our connectedness in Christian community. These words are not just for #TBT!

Life is messy! We wait, longing for time to pass more quickly then hurry to what is next. Hurt and disappointment become friends we wish we didn't know. Doubt shouts! Hypocrisy mocks! But, God always sees the bigger picture, sees beyond what our minds cannot understand. Using my #TBT Bible, I find these words: Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and prayerful always. (Romans 12:12) I did not read other translations or search commentaries (none in the #TBT Bible), did not research Greek origins of the words or look for cross references. I simply let my prayer echo His inspired words: With a grateful heart, God, I trust You are planning something good for me. In times of trouble, help me be patient. Every moment of every day, my prayers rise to You. I long to spend time with You ~ listening, resting, waiting, learning, loving. Amen! ~dho

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Power of Prayer

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 NASB

"The key to this home, this heart of God. is prayer." Foster





Prayer, by definition,  is an intercession, petition, or supplication. Scripture contains many prayers of faithful leaders and followers of God, prayers for healing, direction, peace, strength, forgiveness, wisdom, security, provision. Multiple passages in the Bible reveal Jesus alone in prayer and praying for others. Prayer comes from the lips of doubters and those in need, from hearts frozen with fear and unbelievers reborn, from the sick and weary, from those in desperate situations, from sinners like me. Believers are called to prayer, to never stop praying (1 Thessalonians 5:17), to pray in the Spirit, to pray with perseverance, to pray for each other. Richard Foster in Sanctuary of the Soul calls prayer "interactive communication and communion with God".
"Prayer is change...interior transformation...into ministry..." Richard Foster, Prayer**
Prayer exceeds inward pleas in desperate times and evolves from a place deeper than need, comes from the soul's core where faith calls out to Hope! Our prayers call out to God exposing our broken hearts, our fragile egos, our emptiest places. Prayer should acknowledge complete dependence on God, and when words fail, the Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. (Romans 8:26) Spiritual posture of prayer must embody both humility and honesty, exhibit reverence for God's majesty and trust in God's mystery. Prayer should become the Christian's constant inside activity that is evidenced in outward living. Prayer should transform us into bearers of His Light. Holy Spirit, teach me to pray~dho

** I highly recommend Richard Foster's book, "Prayer, Finding the Heart's True Home"

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Example of Prayer

Give us day by day our daily bread. Luke 11:3 NKJV


On the way up to Jerusalem the Disciples said, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Eugene Peterson writes, “This is the only time in the Gospels that the disciples ask to be taught.” By now, the disciples seem to grasp that prayer means developing a relationship with God, not mere ritual or religious posturing, common among the Pharisees. Witnessing Jesus praying aloud and praying alone, these men want a better understanding of prayer. Jesus responds with an example of proper petition that includes worship, provision, and forgiveness.

Starting with worship, a person should acknowledge God: Father, holy authority and sovereign, come. In this example of prayer, like in the Sermon on the Mount, give us daily bread represents every-day-manna, asking God to meet each day’s basic physical needs. Jesus tells the disciples to ask God to forgive personal sins; likewise, then forgive others. Ask God for help to resist evil. Prayer opens the heart to recognize one’s daily dependence on God.

Lord, humbled to think of all than is beyond my ability, I praise Your holy name, for You are full of power. I need daily bread, both to nourish my body and my soul. Forgive my failures, my arrogance that holds others accountable for my mistakes, that uses others to cover my faults. Protect me from evil. Lord, always give us this bread-dho


Thursday, January 11, 2018

Language of Prayer







Prayer takes many forms but it is always a spiritual communion with God, a two-way conversation, both speaking and listening required. The language of prayer is full of whispers, SHOUTS, and groans! Thomas Merton's reflection on prayer is this: "Prayer is an expression of who we are... We are living incompleteness. We are a gap, an emptiness that calls for fulfillment.”

As you contemplate "prayer" and what it means, ask yourself a few questions. Is my prayer life satisfying? Do I sense the presence of God in my prayer time? What is necessary for me to develop a richer prayer life? As I ponder these questions, I find room for a deeper relationship desired but sometimes neglected. I encourage you to keep a devotional/prayer journal. Any size or style that fits your personality will do. I use mine to record devotional thoughts, to keep words or phrases or quotes I read in my study time, and as a place to write prayer requests, mine and others. Sometimes I write out my prayers, not always. This week I share a prayer I wrote several years ago infused by one Scripture verse. Praying God's word is always prayer! - dho

I get up in the middle of the night to thank You;    Your decisions are so right, so true - I can't wait    till morning!  Psalm 119:62

Loving God,
    The night sky is filled with luminaries that light the darkness.  Angels whisper evening songs to my weary soul. I do not notice. As sleep gently calls, I forget that I have breathed the morning air, listened to laughter, seen the evening sky appear. Another day!  
     Something disturbs the rhythm of my sleep, summons my soul.  In these sleepless moments, the Holy Spirit is waiting and listens for my response. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!  
    Father, when I fail to see the beauty of Your day, remind me with a glorious morning to take my breath away, a soul-laugh that only a listening heart can find, and a night sky crowded with stars like diamonds that demand a lingering look. My heart should burst with unmeasured thankfulness! These are Your ordinary gifts! I simply miss them in the hectic hours and scheduled chaos and saturated time.  
    Give my heart the desire to breathe, to listen and to see the ordinary with extraordinary intention. Grant my soul the desire to breathe, to listen and to see Your Extraordinary Gifts of Love, Grace, and Joy! Let me find Your extravagant gifts in every day! Let me say Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!
    Refresh my spirit! Refine my faith! Restore my love! Renew my strength! Rebuild my trust! Reclaim my soul!  Amen.  ~dho

Monday, January 01, 2018

A New Year!

"Oh, the unspeakable benediction of the 'treasures of darkness'! It is not the days of sunshine and splendor and liberty and light that leave their lasting and indelible effect upon the soul, but those nights of the Spirit in which, shadowed by God's hand, hidden in the dark cleft of some rock in a weary land, He lets the splendors of the outskirts of Himself pass before our gaze."    
Oswald Chambers
As another year begs a moment of reflection on its treasures, this quote from Chambers catches my interest. His reference to benediction causes my soul to wonder how often I seek His splendor surrounding my "treasures of darkness". 

A benediction, an ending for a religious ceremony or service, frequently looks to the future with a blessing of hope and peace or an offering of thanksgiving or praise. Chambers seems to be referring to an end of a season of difficulty, reminding that the deepest marks upon the soul, the most hurtful scars do not come from easy times. These times of darkness often grieve us, leaving the soul with "unspeakable" endings and umimagined grace.

While not dwelling on the dark times, my soul hears such grace in knowing that God is with me at all times. Chambers' words clearly depict God's glory coming to us as we struggle "in a weary land". Like God's cloud by day and fire by night dwelling with the Israelites in the wilderness for forty years, God's splendor surrounds us, goes before us, comforts us with His presence. The majesty of God creates a border that envelops our human condition. What glory to behold is ours!

A new year summons each of us into the days and weeks and months to come. How will I consume this time? What will I surrender to God? Who will I engage with goodwill? Where will I encounter Jesus?  When will my confidence in God be consistent? We each have 365 days, 52 weeks, and 8,760 hours to use during this new year. At the end of 2018, what testimony will my life reveal? How will my soul write its annual benediction? Happy New Year!! I pray that 2018 will be a year of joy and peace in knowing the splendor and majesty of God's presence. - dho

Sunday, December 24, 2017

4th Sunday of Advent - Perfect Love for the Weak - Advent 2017


"Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields keeping watch over their flock by night... and the glory of The Lord shone around them... For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ The Lord... You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger..." Luke 2:8-20



In Hidden Christmas Timothy Keller writes, "Every other religion and moral philosophy tells you to summon up all your strength and live as you ought. Therefore, they appeal to the strong, to the people who can pull it together." He goes on to remind us that "Only Jesus" says, "I have come for the weak... those who admit they are weak. I will save them not by what they do but through what I do." Christmas celebrates God's holy plan for all of us who find ourselves emotionally, physically and spiritually exhausted, those of us who are weary from trying too hard to achieve, wasted from seeking too long to aquire, worn from waiting too often for affirmation. Jesus comes to the stable first, to the poor, to the weak, to those who are overlooked by society.

Christmas means that the King has come into the world. But the Bible tells us that Jesus comes as King twice, not once. The second time he will come in power in order to end all evil, suffering, and death. The first time - the Christmas coming - he came not in strength but in weakness, to a poor family in a stable." Timothy Keller, from Hidden Christmas 

In the Christmas Story, shepherds of simple faith and willing to respond are key figures, but society calls them unworthy and unreliable. The shepherds come with haste and find Mary and Joseph and the Babe lying in a manger. After seeing the baby Jesus, the shepherds go and make widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. Do I see others through God's eyes or accept society's view? Am I willing to recognize Jesus in the least, the simple, the broken? Aren't we ALL unclean, sinners who are unworthy? Yet, God chooses each of us ~ rich or poor, scholar or laborer, old or young, thriving or hopeless, struggling or defeated! God invites each of us to come and meet Christ The Lord ~Perfect Love, Lamb of God, Amazing Grace!  ~dho

Sunday, December 10, 2017

3rd Sunday in Advent - A Christmas Story - Advent 2017

"...today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:11-12


Each year, the re-telling of the Christmas story fills the devotions we read, the sermons we hear, the carols we sing. The bright lights and decorated trees bring not only joy, but memories surface of days long passed. In my reading this season of Hidden Christmas by Timothy Keller, he does a great job of reminding us that the Gospel story is no legend or fairy tale. While these stories are not factual, Keller says they satisfy a desire "to experience the supernatural, to escape death, to know love that we can never lose, to not age but live long enough to realize our creative dreams, to communicate with nonhuman beings, to triumph over evil." These fictional stories reveal our longing for the human desires, but only Christ can complete us and fill the void inside us. 

Keller describes the Christmas story like this: "Here is a story about someone from a different world who breaks into ours and has miraculous powers, and can calm the storm and heal people and raise people from the dead. Then his enemies turn on him, and he is put to death, and it seems like all hope is over, but finally he rises from the dead and saves everyone." While to some it fits the genre of fairy tales or super heroes, the Christmas story brings even more. Jesus entered the world and "punched a hole between the ideal and the real, the eternal and the temporal." And yes, "there is an evil sorcerer in this world, and we are under enchantment." Jesus is "the noble prince" who brings "a love from which we will never be parted."


FrederickBuechner, American writer and theologian writes, “…Bethlehem is not the end of our journey but only the beginning…” This year, when I listen to the Christmas story once again, let me pause the world. In this stillness, I want to let God's glory fill me. Lost in the wonder of indescribable love and surrounded by the divine presence of God, I long to find Jesus who comes for me, who offers himself as Perfect Love.I yearn to celebrate the greatest Christmas Gift, Jesus, who renews my journey. Let me find new beginnings and new ways of living for Christ in the coming year! -dho


2nd Sunday of Advent - In the Family ~ Advent 2017

"The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:
Abraham was the father of Isaac... Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah." Matthew 1:1-16  





As for Jesus, his ancestoral lineage has been recorded, according to the custom in ancient times, and this provides great historical documentation. The first chapter of Matthew gives us the "genealogy of Jesus the Messiah." Many find reading the detailed list laborous, but it is quiet remarkable, including five women, which is uncharacteristic of "ancient patriarchal societies" says Timothy Keller in Hidden Christmas. Many of those listed are flawed individuals, both Jews and Gentiles, both men and women, labled by various kinds of immoral deeds and deceit and dynfunction.Today, we can read this ancient list of names, even the failures and outsiders, and know them to be included in the family of Jesus. 

Today science provides a way for the everyday, ordinary person with the opportunity to take a personal DNA test that can determine ancestry. Family records with names and places and occupations can be found via ancestry.com. In our searches, we find flawed ancestors, perhaps a thief or a murderer, just as we discover soldiers and missionaries, explorers and farmers. Each of us is a mixture of genetics from the decades and centuries passed, each generation influenced by their cultures and societies. Keller says a genealogy is saying, "This is who I am."

In thinking about the ancestors of Jesus, what meaning is there for us? Keller says, "First, it shows us that people who are excluded by culture, excluded by respectable society, and even excluded by the law of God can be brought in to Jesus' family." Looking around the world today, we see situations where power corrupts and hate excludes; we see dysfunction and immorality. We can break the cycle of our past... or present; we can choose to live a different way. Timothy Keller reminds, "It is only what Jesus has done for you that can give you standing before God." When we place our faith in Jesus, irregardless of our sinfulness, we, too, can be included in the family of Jesus. Without fear or shame, we can share the Gospel story by telling our story of grace. "This is who I am... in Christ!" -dho

**During this season of Advent, I am reading Hidden Christmas by Timothy Keller. I will share some of his thoughts along with mine. May your Christmas season be filled with Light! 

Sunday, December 03, 2017

1st Sunday of Advent - A Great Light ~ Advent 2017

“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.”


In Hidden Christmas, Timothy Keller writes: “Christmas contains many spiritual truths, but it will be hard to grasp the others unless we grasp this one first. That is, that the world is a dark place, and we will never find our way or see reality unless Jesus is our Light.” Keller goes on to describe darkness as “both evil and ignorance”. In describing the social and cultural issues at the time Jesus is born, he uses “violence, injustice, abuse of power, homelessness, and bottomless grief”. Today’s headlines in newspapers, television news, social media all reflect the same words. We are living in times no different today than then, except that ‘a great light’ shines on us all.

Isaiah the prophet speaks to the people of darkness and proclaims they “will see a great light.” Hundreds of years after Isaiah, John writes, "The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." [John 1:5 That Light is Jesus, a promise of God’s Presence and Glory to shine on all people, uniting humanity and truth. From centuries long ago until time to come, some will choose The Light, while some will not. Whether kabod in the Hebrew or doxa in the Greek or shekinah in Aramaic or glory in English, God's Holy Light comes to us, comes for us, before and now and again! 

Christians are called people of the Light, and our lives should give voice to the glory of the LORD ~ praising and honoring His goodness and grace. We are to be His light shining in the world's darkness, both a "recipient and a reflector" of Light! Waiting expectantly requires action. Get out of bed...wake up...GOD's bright glory has risen for you. [Isaiah 60:1-2 The Message] Are you waiting expectantly? The Light is coming! ~ dho

**During this season of Advent, I am reading Hidden Christmas by Timothy Keller. I will share some of his thoughts along with mine. May your Christmas season be filled with Light!