Cross at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Mounds, Minnesota
Lord of all, fill our minds with Your truth
and our hearts with Your love so that
we may be bonded together by faith. Today will never come again so “tune our hearts to sing Your grace” (ELW 807), and open the doors that shut us out from experiencing the presence of God.
Help us to understand how to live by loving ourselves so that we can live in the truth that You gave us. Don’t let our challenges push us away from Your hope because “we have to be Your light” (Matthew 5:16). For there is only one foundation to build our life upon that will not falter and that is a relationship with the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the One who turns tragedy into triumph.
But we need to be His body, His hands and His feet. Our eyes can see with His compassion, our feet can walk in His righteousness and our hands can bless with His mercy. And in case we forget the truth of our salvation, let us remember that the way in which we live our lives may be the only gospel or church that the people around us will ever experience.
Tags: Christian, Church, ELCA, Jesus Christ, lutheran, Matthew 5:16, Prayer, Son of God
My friend’s car decal
“Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations,” (Psalm 90:1) show us how to break the habit of the typical because it’s easy for us to hide from the things that we can make a difference in. It’s hard to trust what we don’t understand. It’s easy to run from obstacles than to face them. And it’s challenging to stand up for our faith in a world that doesn’t believe.
But “we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us” (Phillipians 4:13) because “our mission isn’t to compete, but to complete” (Tony Gaskin) the purpose that God has destined for us. So let us not do what we think we should do, but let us do what we have to do in order to truly love our neighbor as ourselves. “Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth” (1 John 3:18) for “if we continue in God’s word, we are truly God’s disciples; and we will know the truth, and the truth will make us free.” (John 8: 31-32)
Tags: 1 John 3:18, bible, Christian, Church, ELCA, Jesus Christ, John 8: 31-32, lutheran, Phillipians 4:13, Prayer, Psalm 90:1, Son of God, Tony Gaskin
Painting inside St. John’s Lutheran Church in Mounds, Minnesota
Almighty God, “You are the Lord and You will never change.” (Malachi 3:6) In this shell of a body, is a dream that can unite all people. The dream of a better world where everyone will know the love of God, so don’t let anything take away that dream.
And when the gravity of our situations work against us and holds us down, let hope stare us in the face and keep us in God’s light. For You are not afraid of our storms, and our faith rests not upon who we are but in who Christ is, in His life, and in what He continues to do for all of us so “that we can know truth, and that truth will set us free.” (John 8:32)
“In any given moment we have two options; to step forward into growth or to step back into safety.” (Abraham Maslow) So “may the light of God illumine the heart of our soul. May the flame of Christ kindle us to love. May the fire of the Holy Spirit free us to live this day, tonight and forever.” (Celtic Benediction)
Tags: Abraham Maslow, Celtic Benediction, Church, ELCA, Jesus Christ, John 8:32, lutheran, Malachi 3:6, Prayer, Son of God
St. James Lutheran Church in Crystal Minnesota
Lord, every good gift comes from You. “Direct our footsteps according to Your word, and let no sin rule over us.” (Psalm 119: 133) Push us out into the world of the living and push life back into us. Let our faith be bigger than our fears, so that we can represent You and glorify You in all that we do, because we only get this one life to make a difference.
Because of You, we are strong enough to carry each other through the long twisted turns of life. So take our faith to another level. A level of doing, and not just empty words, because what we allow is what will continue but “where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17) to do all that God has planned for us.
“In the blink of an eye everything can change…Life is short” (Zig Ziglar) so let us truly live it. Because “when we leave this earth, we can take with us nothing that we have received (and) only (carry) what we have given: (so let us continue to give) a heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage.” (St. Francis of Assisi)
Tags: 2 Corinthians 3:17, bible, Christian, ELCA, God, Jesus Christ, lutheran, Prayer, Psalm 119: 133, St. Francis of Assisi, Zig Ziglar
Hear us now O Great Redeemer, and “clothe us in your compassion, kindness, humility and patience.” (Collossians 3:12), “Turn away our eyes from our own vanity and revive us in your ways” (Psalm 119:37).
We’re just ordinary people, flawed and prone to sin, but You see us as no one else does. You understand our potential. So as these battles rage on in all of us, we pray that You would reign in us and remind us that “nothing can separate us from God’s love” (Romans 8:38), that “You have been with us since the beginning” (John 1:1) and that You will always be, Emmanuel, God with us.
When words fail “hope will not be silent” (Harvey Milk). For it is “By faith (that) we began, by hope (that) we continue, and by revelation (in which) we shall obtain the whole (truth of God)” (Martin Luther). For “if there is anything in us, it is not our own; it is a gift of God…that it is entirely a debt (that we) owe to love…and must serve others with it, not ourselves” (Martin Luther).
Tags: Christ, Christian, Collossians 3:12, ELCA, Harvey Milk, Jesus, John 1:1, lutheran, Martin Luther, Prayer, Psalm 119:37, Redeemer, Romans 8:38
Church hallway that I did in charcoal
Jehovah Jireh, our provider, let the walls around our hearts come tumbling down so that we won’t be afraid to love as radically and inclusively as You do. Remove the things that don’t deserve time and space in our lives for “life is too short to argue and fight with the past.” (Steve Aitchison).
Send a message to us and to the world that “love is not what we say; love is what we do” (John Hagee) and how we treat others is how we treat the Lord. So let us be united in one voice and one body for “it is in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for.” (Ephesians 1:11)
“You alone know the plans that You have for us” (Jeremiah 29:11) so write your truth into our lives and remove anything that would darken the light within us. We only get this one life to be kind, compassionate and merciful. Let’s not waste it.
Tags: bible, Christ, Church, Ephesians 1:11, Jehovah Jireh, Jeremiah 29:11, Jesus, John Hagee, Prayer, Steve Aitchison, the story
All Saints Episcopal, Las Vegas, NV
Lord of all, calm our hearts and minds. Don’t let us doubt You, and don’t let fear rule or feed our thoughts. Interrupt our lives, when we forget the miracle of each breath that You give us, so that we can face these obstacles and not cower or retreat back into the false security of what once was.
Let us let go of our egos and move forward, by faith, into the promise of God so that we can feed the hungry, heal the sick, and be as one body united by the unwavering love of our Creator.
Because of You, our story has been rewritten. So let us dare to know You, to be more like You, to be quick to forgive and slow to anger. Don’t let our own insecurities inhibit ourselves from ministering God’s grace and doing what is right in the eyes of God. We may not “understand the mystery of grace…but grace meets us where we are and does not leave us where it found us.” (Anne Lamott).
Tags: Anne Lamott, bible, Christ, Christian, Church, ELCA, forgiveness, God, grace, Jesus, Prayer
Thank You for awakening us in to a new day that we have never seen. Surrounded by chaos, we enter into Your presence with praise as You enter our circumstances with the power of hope. Remind us, that no matter what pit we have dug ourselves into or that others have left us in, that the love of God is deeper still and envelops us throughout the good days and the bad. For “the will of God will not take us where the grace of God cannot sustain us. “ (Billy Graham) And not matter where we are, “we can never go where God is not.” (Toby Mac)
Through our faith we have a purpose, and because of Jesus Christ we have been appointed to stand by others as God stands by us. So let our words and actions not harm each other. Let our prayers and thoughts uplift one another to build God’s kingdom here on earth, as it is in heaven, so that every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, friend and advocate for all of us.
Tags: as it is in heaven, bible, billy graham, Christian, Church, ELCA, Gospel, Jesus Christ, kingdom of god, Prayer, toby mac
We come into this place to experience You, the great I AM…the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob. Speak Your authority into our lives and introduce Yourself to us in a new way. Communicate to us beyond what we can see and hear, so that we can fulfill the promises that we make to You and to each other.
Don’t let our own insecurities stop us from living this life. You sacrificed Yourself on the cross for us. You won the battle, and because of the blood of Jesus all people have access to a relationship with a God who will never stop loving them.
Your story, Your truth, lets us know that “there are far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” (C.S. Lewis) So, give us the courage to “let go of what we think should happen and just live in what is happening:” (Unknown) God’s love. God’s love is always happening and we should always be sharing the same love that is given to us. We may not reach everyone but don’t let it be because we did not try.
Tags: C.S. Lewis, Christ, Christian, Church, ELCA, God of Abraham, God's love, Great I Am, Issaac and Jacob, Jesus, lutheran, Prayer, the story
Bridge in Minnesota
Loving God, we come into Your presence seeking a revelation of something greater than ourselves. Give us the wisdom to read, hear and receive Your Word so that we can see our part in Your story: the story of a people that cannot make it on their own and the story of the indestructible love of God.
And “when we feel like we are not good enough to be loved by God, we should remember that God’s love is greater than our doubts. So silence the sounds of condemnation so that we can hear the voice of God, the voice of Grace and the voice of truth. (1 John 3 – The Voice Bible )
Open our eyes to the blessings that we didn’t see before. Help us to recognize the lessons that need to be learned. Illuminate the light of Christ, in all of us, so that we can see that we are all sinners in need of the same forgiveness, grace and love given to all of us at the foot of the cross and the empty tomb.
Tags: 1 John 3, bible, Christ, Christian, Church, ELCA, forgiveness, grace, Jesus, lutheran, Prayer, Revelation, The Voice Bible, voice of truth
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