September | 2015

Stop the fighting

LV Rescue Mission

O Great Redeemer, thank You for another day. Thank You for Your forgiveness and Your mercy. Thank You for Your grace, that surrounds us no matter what we’ve done or not done. Lord, give us the wisdom to understand that in this house there is no class, no race, no gender or anything that would separate us from our creation. There is no us or them. There are only broken sinners in need of community with God and with each other.

Stop the fighting. Stop us from sharpening our knives while we confess our sins to You and to each other. It’s time to take care of the family of God. It’s time to take care of this world. It’s time to “take care of this house, for this house is a home for us all” (From the musical “1600 Pennsylvania Avenue” by Alan Jay Lerner / Leonard Bernstein).

“This step is once again our first. There is no journey gone so far (that) we cannot stop and change direction. Our hands can choose to drop the knife. Our hearts can choose to stop the hating. Every moment of our life is the beginning” (From the musical “Children of Eden” by Stephen Schwartz) not the end of God’s dream for our lives.

Speak into the silence of every uncomfortable moment

20 Sep

Cathedral of St. Philip. Atlanta, GA.

Great Redeemer, You liberate us from our mistakes and allow us to reclaim our identity as children of God. And even though we would like to just jump into our destiny, guide us through each step of this journey and launch us into new possibilities.

Renew our commitment to the new covenant and help us to understand Your truth, especially when we don’t want to understand. Stop us from arguing with each other on who is right and who is wrong because “we cannot evangelize if we demonize each other” (T.D. Jakes). Bring us back to being the children of God who simply love as they are loved.

At some point in time, we will all have to face ourselves and see what we did with this life. Lord, speak into the silence, speak into the brokenness and speak into every uncomfortable moment so that our “life would speak more loudly than our lips”(William Ellery Channing). Let this world see more of You in each and everyone of us.

Courage to look at ourselves

13 Sep

Stained glass window at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Henderson, NV

Lord Jesus, You are the One who bore the cross for all of our sins so that we could live. Create a space within, where change can happen in our hearts and minds because we’re guilty of doing “anything…to avoid facing (our) own souls.” (C.G. Jung) Give us the courage to look at our own hearts and see what You see and not what we want to see.

We are not the activators of our own healing or growth. You are. So strengthen us to take up our cross and walk with You. Help us to tell a different story of compassion. A story where we feed the hungry, aid the sick, and give to the poor because “whatever (we) did for one of the least of these (we) did to (You).” (Matthew 25:40)

Lord God, don’t let anything stop us from embracing the truth that we can make a difference in this world. Remind us that it’s not about tomorrow or yesterday. It’s about today. Right now, right here, with the God who will never leave our side. In the name of the all knowing and ever loving God we pray. Amen.

Big Picture

06 Sep

Civil Rights Museum, Atlanta, GA

Lord God, we come just as we are with the shared brokenness of a fallen world. We’ve become numb and closed our eyes to the needs of others. Connect with us now and wash away our mistakes.

When others hurt us, help us to understand their situation instead of trying to hurt them back. Give us the wisdom to see that we are not boxed into the limitations that we’ve created for ourselves. Show us the bigger picture, that “sin is indeed always in us, and Godly people feel it; but it is covered” (Martin Luther) in the healing hands of Jesus Christ who takes away the sins of the world.

Lord, with all of our insecurities, You take the bad with the good with or without our apologies. Your love is unconditional. Your love knows no boundaries. Your love is always with us. So, open up our hearts and let the healing truly begin.

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Posted by odes4hg on September 6, 2015 in Conversations with God

Tags: Christ, Christian, Church, ELCA, Jesus, lutheran, Martin Luther

odes4hg

Monthly Archives: September 2015

Stop the fighting

Speak into the silence of every uncomfortable moment

Courage to look at ourselves

Big Picture

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