Grains of Sand

Reading: 3 John “ I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth ” (3 John 4, NIV). We used to struggle with what to get mom and dad for Christmas. It’s not that they had everything. There was always one more gadget that we could have purchased, destined to gather dust on some shelf. After my mother’s death I got more use out of the blender my brother had bought her one Christmas than she ever did (it’s still going more than 25 years later). The truth is, my parents needed very little. And they wanted even less. My parents weren’t demonstrative types. In some ways that characteristic made it easier to identify those things that they really valued. I know they valued who I became much more than they valued any of the gifts I ever gave them. When I graduated from seminary my mother was recovering from a broken leg. There was no way she was going to be able to make the 500 mile trip to see me graduate. I was also the class valedictorian—a rare privile...

Well, this is the first time I've posted this close to the end of one day and the beginning of another. But I simply couldn't pass up today's verse. Actually there are four of them assigned for today, but I'm going to focus on the last one. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:58: " Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. " I remember the summer I spent working in my home church. I'd just completed my first year of seminary. The pastor must have felt more confidence in me than I felt in myself. He took off for the south to complete a degree he was working on and basically left me "in charge." It seems to me the deacons took flight that summer too. In any case, there were plenty of moments when I wanted to throw in the towel and quit. I got as far as writing the letter of resignation (and a steamy one it was, as I re...

Jesus had some strong words for those whose prayers bounce right off of heaven to fall upon the admiring ears of a much more human audience. " And when you pray, " He says in Matthew 6:5, 6, " do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. " There is plenty of biblical basis for corporate prayer. The Lord's Prayer begins with " Our Father… " The church met to pray Peter out of prison. The Lord isn't saying that corporate prayer is to be avoided, but rather practiced with a closet mentality—as though no one else were present but God and I. That's hard, even when we don't pray for the purpose of being admired for our eloquent prayers. We are onl...