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We trust and wait

Heavenly Father, in your providence we see your love. We feel surrounded by it, because we know that you always act in our good interest and for the progress of the kingdom. Your hand orders all things with wisdom.

Often, we do not understand your ways of working in this world. We trust and wait in confidence to see the outcome of your working. Continue reading “We trust and wait”

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The challenge of the day’s activities

Heavenly Father, thank you for the challenge of the day’s activities.

As I look back on them, I ask forgiveness for whenever I shrank back in fear, for whenever I felt weak in my own strength, for whenever I drew into my own shell of self, for whenever I let my own inertia keep me from positive action.

Thank you for those moments when your will was at the forefront of my mind, when your Spirit was producing its fruit in my conduct, when Jesus was the example for my words and actions, when Scripture rang in my ears and braced me for spiritual battle.

Let me learn from today’s mistakes, rejoice in good choices, and be comforted that your love is constant as I strive to be more like the Lord Jesus Christ each day.

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My Failures

Success! See, Lord, how I succeed,
How I have reached the upper cloud!
For you no longer have I need,
My failed successes make me proud.

My failures! Lord, my failures! Show
How you transform them into power;
My shameful vision brings me low,
I need your hand to lift me higher.

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The great destroyer of pride

You, oh Lord, are the great destroyer of pride, that beast which never seems to die.

The God of gods, you bring man down to the dust.

You desire that your creature desire you.

You seek to bless, and we bless your name for seeking us to bring light to our darkness.

No one can perform the wonders that you accomplish.  You are all we need. Cause us to make you the only desire of our heart.

 

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O Lord, You Cry

O Lord, you cry to see the city
That does not know the ending hour;
For willful creatures you feel pity,
For helpless souls who need your power.

O God, how sad that friends ignore
The coming judgment soon at hand;
Those lovers of self we warn, we implore
The arrogant scoffing at your command.

With you, O Savior, let us cry
At our own hearts of hardened stone;
We mourn our sins, the wall we deny,
And the pride of life to which we’re prone.

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Distinctive people

  1. David: 1 Samuel 17:45-47
  2. Lazarus’ Sister Mary: Mark 14:3-9
  3. The Widow: Mark 12:41-44
  4. You as a Christian: 1 Peter 4:16

John Henson, Dibrell Church of Christ
95 Gills Rd., McMinnville, TN 37110-4456

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The distinctiveness of Christianity

  1. Distinctive in its Power: Romans 1:16-17
  2. Distinctive in its Message: Galatians 1:11-12; 2 Peter 1:20-21
  3. Distinctive in its Importance: Matthew 16:26; 1 Timothy 1:15-16

John Henson
Dibrell Church of Christ
95 Gills Rd.
McMinnville, TN 37110-4456

 

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Bereft of gifts of body and mind

Kind and loving heavenly Father, to have health of body and mind is a wonderful blessing. Soundness, strength, and responsiveness bring great joy, even when the limbs respond and the mind functions so easily without much thought given to them. Thank you for these gifts.

At the same time, give us compassion and patience with those who are bereft in some way of these gifts.

  • We remember the person who takes 20 pills of prescription medicine for his maladies.
  • We remember those who think suicide is better than life.
  • We remember those who live in depression and for whom every day is a black cloud that presses down to crush the spirit.
  • We remember that person who lives in chronic and shooting pain.
  • We remember those who were abused as children and may still enter abusive relationships.
  • We remember that soul who lives in debilitating fear.
  • We remember those who must cope with crippling disorders and limiting syndromes.
  • We remember those who have lost limbs or deal with numbness or paralysis or live with bodies that do not respond.
  • We remember those confined to wheelchairs and homes or limited in their movements.
  • We remember the elderly who face the decline of physical strength and the loss of mobility and freedom.
  • We remember those who are victims of medical malpractice, who have fallen through the cracks of healthcare, or who have suffered from misdiagnosis.
  • We remember those who seem normal from all appearances, yet suffer from deep wounds or powerful struggles in the soul.
  • We remember ourselves, O Lord, each of us with our own weaknesses, limitations, and frailties.

For each of us, God of compassion, may we seek our answers, not in man and his remedies, but in the welcoming embrace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who was a man of pain and suffering, and a man of obedience, joy, and promise, because he did your will and found meaning in your loving purpose.