Purify My Heart

Have you ever prayed that? Purify my heart.
Has God answered that prayer for you? Not an easy process, is it? Quite painful in fact. Yet when the healing takes place after the fire, how can we not be thankful! Perhaps the next time we pray something similar, it is with a little more trepidation. Yet we learn to love the Refiner's fire, for it is through that experience that we draw close to him, that we become more like him.
Purify my heart, Lord. Purify my heart.

World Peace Prayer

Lead me from death to life,
from falsehood to truth;
lead me from despair to hope,
from fear to trust;
lead me from hate to love,
from war to peace.
Let peace fill our heart,
our world, our universe. Amen.

A New Day

Today is a new day. May we look forward to it with anticipation and expectation that God is indeed present and active in our lives. May we bless and strengthen those with whom we come into contact.

Our Father's Love Letter to Us

You may not know me, but I know everything about you ... Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up ... Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways... Psalm 139:3

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered... Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in my image... Genesis 1:27

In me you live and move and have your being... Acts 17:28

For you are my offspring... Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived... Jeremiah 1:4-5

I chose you when I planned creation... Ephesians 1:11-12

You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book... Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live... Acts 17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made... Psalm 139:14

I knit you together in your mother's womb... Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born... Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me... John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love... 1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you simply because you are my child and I am your father... 1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could... Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect father... Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand... James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs... Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope... Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love... Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore... Psalm 139:17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing... Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you... Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession... Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul... Jeremiah 32:41

And I want to show you great and marvelous things... Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me... Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart... Psalm 37:4

For it is I who gave you those desires... Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine... Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager... 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles... 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you... Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart... Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes and will take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth... Revelation 21:3-4

I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus... John 17:23

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed.... John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being... Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you... Romans 8:31

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins... 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled... 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you... 1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love... Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me... 1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you from my love again... Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen... Luke 15:7

I have always been Father, and will always be Father... Ephesians 3:14-15

My question is...Will you be my child? ... John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you... Luke 15:11-32

Father's Love Letter Compiled by Barry Adams Copyright 1999

Jesus and others and you - JOY

We sang this song when I was a child:


Jesus and others and you
What a wonderful way to spell joy
Jesus and others and you
in the life of each girl and each boy
“J” is for Jesus for He has first place,
“O” is for others you meet face to face,
“Y” is for you, in whatever you do,
Put yourself last and spell JOY.


Where did I get the idea that spirituality was about God and me? Remember the old commercial for RC Cola? "Just me and my RC." Sometimes that's how we think of God: Just me and my God. But as I look at the life of Jesus, I am so thankful that was not his attitude. He continually reached out to others. 


My prayer is that my life may be a prayer, that like Mother Teresa, my contemplative prayer would spill out onto the lives of the broken and needy.  

Heal our Wounds to Keep Us from Wounding Others

Dear Lord,

I've heard the saying, "Hurting people hurt people." I have witnessed it happening. I have experienced the wounds caused by hurting people. I have hurt people out of my own hurt.

Oh Great Physician, I open my heart to your healing. Heal my wounds in such a way that heals others. May it not be the wounding that I pass on, but the healing.

In the Precious and Holy Name of Jesus,
Amen

Praying like Daniel

Here in the midwest, there are many Christians. It is normal, here, to give credit to God. We pray in public without a thought of being harmed because of it. I wonder how we would act in a climate like Daniel's. I wonder if we would pray in public if we faced being throne into a lion's den. Daniel 6 tells us specifically that Daniel "got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to God, just as he had done before." Would we give thanks to God in such a hostile climate?

Once Daniel's praying to someone other than the king was reported to the king, it is interesting to note that nowhere does it mention that Daniel was in distress. The king was in distress, but not Daniel. It seems that Daniel knew something the king did not. It doesn't say that Daniel believed God would save him from the mouths of the lions. It does appear that Daniel knew he would be okay regardless of the circumstances. Can we pray with thanksgiving regardless of our circumstances? May God help us to do so.

For as King Darius wrote:
"He is the living God
   and he endures forever;
his kingdom will not be destroyed,
   and his dominion will never end.
He rescues and he saves;
   he performs signs and wonders
   in the heavens and on the earth.
He has rescued Daniel
   from the power of the lions."

Thanks be to God!

Thanksgiving

Oh, Lord,

For the gift of new life,

I am thankful.

For my friends and family,

I am thankful.

For my pet, who adores me,

I am thankful.

For plenty of good, nutritious food,

I am thankful.

For the heat of the day and the coolness of the night,

I am thankful.

For the roof (though it needs to be replaced) over my head,

I am thankful.

I do not end this prayer because there is no end to my thankfulness.

To those who read this, please put in a comment some things that you are thankful for. 

When Morning Gilds the Skies

When morning gilds the skies my heart awakening cries: 

"May Jesus Christ be praised!" 

Alike at work and prayer, to Jesus I repair: 

"May Jesus Christ be praised!"

The night becomes as day when from the heart we say: 

"May Jesus Christ be praised!" 

The powers of darkness fear when this sweet chant they hear: 

"May Jesus Christ be praised!" 

Let all the earth around ring joyous with the sound: 

"May Jesus Christ be praised!"

In heaven's eternal bliss the loveliest strain is this: 

"May Jesus Christ be praised!"  

Be this, while life is mine, my canticle divine: 

"May Jesus Christ be praised!" 

Be this th' eternal song through all the ages long: 

"May Jesus Christ be praised!" 

Text: Katholisches Gesangbuch
Music: Joseph Barnby, 1838-1896
Tune: LAUDES DOMINI

Prayer of St Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

St Francis of Assisi

Our reason for being

Thou has formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee.
St Augustine

I forget...

"Holy One, there is something I wanted to tell you, but there have been errands to run, bills to pay, meetings to attend, washing to do ... and I forget what it is I wanted to say to you, and forget what I am about or why. Oh God, don't forget me please, for the sake of Jesus Christ."  Ted Loder, Guerrillas of Grace

Come Home

There are two realities to which you must cling. First, God has promised that you will receive the love you have been searching for. And second, God is faithful to that promise.
    So stop wandering around. Instead, come home and trust that God will bring you what you need. Your whole life you have been running about, seeking the love you desire. Now it is time to end that search. Trust that God will give you that all-fulfilling love and will give it in a human way. Before you die, God will offer you the deepest satisfaction you can desire. Just stop running and start trusting and receiving.
    Home is where you are truly safe. It is where you can receive what you desire. You need human hands to hold you there so you don't run away again. But when you come home and stay home, you will find the love that will bring rest to your heart.
~Henri Nouwen, from The Inner Voice of Love

The Love of God

The love of God enfolds me 
The love of God surrounds me 
The love of God saturates me 
The love of God upholds me 
The love of God strengthens me 
The love of God comforts me 
The love of God cheers me 
The love of God restores me 
The love of God calms me 
The love of God consoles me 
The love of God guides me 
The love of God protects me 
The love of God cleanses me 
The love of God frees me 
The love of God fulfills me 
The love of God heals me 
The love of God uplifts me 
The love of God embraces me 
The love of God envelopes me 
The love of God fills me 
The love of God shines in me 
and eternally sustains me 
—Magdolene Mogyorosi, “The Love of God” 

An Act of Abandonment

O my God, I thank you and I praise
you for accomplishing your holy 
and all-lovable will without any regard for mine. 
With my whole heart, 
in spite of my heart, 
do I receive this cross I feared so much! 

It is the cross of Your choice, 
the cross of Your love. 
I venerate it; 
nor for anything in the world 
would I wish that it had not come, 
since You willed it. 

I keep it with gratitude and with joy, 
as I do everything that comes from Your hand;
and I shall strive to carry it without letting it drag, 
with all the respect 
and all the affection which Your works deserve. 

Amen.

By Saint Francis De Sales

Help Me

"I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
Mark 9:24

Wedding Day

Wedding Day

Everyone has times when they feel unloved or un-loveable, unworthy, ashamed. Yet for those who belong to Christ, the truth is that we have been made righteous in the sight of God. We are beautiful. We are loved.

If you are experiencing a time of darkness, you are encouraged to read slowly the words below. Let them sink in. Let God show you how he sees you. Be encouraged. You are the bride, and the bridegroom has come for you. Even more, he wants to spend eternity loving you.

VERSE 1 There's a stirring in the throne room And all creation holds its breath. Waiting now to see the bridge groom; Wondering how the bride will dress. And she wears white. And she knows that she's undeserving, She bears the shame of history. This worn and weary maiden Is not the bride that he sees. And she wears white head to toe But only he can make it so.

CHORUS: When someone dries your tears; When someone wins your heart and says your beautiful; When you don't know you are And all you long to see Is written on his face Love has come and finally set you free, On that wedding day.

VERSE 2 She has danced in golden castles And she has crawled through beggar's dust. But today she stands before him And she wears his righteousness. And she will be who he adores And this is what he made her for.

CHORUS: When someone dries your tears; When someone wins your heart and says your beautiful; When you don't know you are And all you long to see Is written on his face Love has come and finally set you free, On that wedding day

Written by Bernie Herms, Mark Hall & Nichole Nordeman. Birdboy Songs, My Refuge Music, Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, Word Music LLC, Birdwing Music. Performed by Casting Crowns

God with us

You are a God who never promised joy without pain, or sun without rain, or roses without thorns. But you promised to be with us in our struggles, to give light in times of darkness. Oh, how we thank you!

Charity

I see God in every human being. When I wash the leper's wounds I feel I am nursing the Lord himself. Is it not a beautiful experience? ~ Mother Teresa

Prayer of Generosity

Notice the desire to be generous which stirs in you when you read the following prayer.

Lord, teach me to be generous. Teach me to serve You as You deserve; to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labor and not ask for reward, save that of knowing that I am doing Your will.

St. Ignatius of Loyola

No Rival for God in Our Hearts?

Times have changed, yet the struggles in our hearts remain the same. Here is a prayer written by A.W. Tozer and published in The Pursuit of God originally in 1948.

"Father, I want to know Thee, but my cowardly heart fears to give up its toys. I cannot part with them without inward bleeding, and I do not try to hide from Thee the terror of the parting. I come trembling, but I do come. Please root from my heart all those things which I have cherished so long and which have become a very part of my living self, so that Thou mayest enter and dwell there without a rival. Then shalt Thou make the place of Thy feet glorious. Then shall my heart have no need of the sun to shine in it, for Thyself wilt be the light of it, and there shall be no night there.

In Jesus' name,

Amen."

The (Original) Serenity Prayer

"God, give us grace to accept with serenity


the things that cannot be changed,


Courage to change the things


which should be changed,


and the Wisdom to distinguish


the one from the other. 


Living one day at a time,


Enjoying one moment at a time,


Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,


Taking, as Jesus did,


This sinful world as it is,


Not as I would have it, 


Trusting that You will make all things right,


If I surrender to Your will, 


So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,


And supremely happy with You forever in the next.


Amen." (Reinhold Neibuhr, 1940ish).