Keep on Loving

May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.

—2 Thessalonians 3:5

Just keep on keeping on and keep on loving and helping. We can do it!

Confession of Beauty

Question the beauty of the earth,
the beauty of the sea,
the beauty of the wide air around you,
the beauty of the sky;
question the order of the stars,
the sun whose brightness lights the days,
the moon whose splendor softens the gloom of night;
question the living creatures that move in the waters,
that roam upon the earth,
that fly through the air;
the spirit that lies hidden,
the matter that is manifest;
the visible things that are ruled,
the invisible things that rule them;
question all these.

They will answer you:
“Behold and see, we are beautiful.”

Their beauty is their confession of God.

— Augustine

Close of the Day

I have a super early start to the day tomorrow, so I will try a rare evening post. It was a beautiful sunset in Spice Valley. These words–worth pondering–came to my mind as the sun went down.

Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone’s face? Did I say words of healing? Did I let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love?’ These are the real questions. I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will be many fruits, here in this world and the life to come.

— Henri Nouwen

I hope we all sleep well tonight!

He Watches Over Me

Here are some nice encouraging words of comfort to get the week started. Not sure about you, but I need to hear these words today.

I look up to the mountains—

does my help come from there?

My help comes from the Lord,

who made heaven and earth!

He will not let you stumble;

the one who watches over you will not slumber.

Indeed, he who watches over Israel

never slumbers or sleeps.

The Lord himself watches over you!

The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.

The sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon at night.

The Lord keeps you from all harm

and watches over your life.

The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,

both now and forever.

— Psalm 121

Celtic Prayer

How about we close the week with a Celtic prayer? I am going to take a little break next week, so I’ll catch you, Lord willing, in a few days.

I am bending my knee 

In the eye of the Father who created me, 

In the eye of the Son who died for me, 

In the eye of the Spirit who cleansed me, 

In love and desire. 

Pour down upon us from heaven 

The rich blessing of Thy forgiveness; 

Thou who art uppermost in the City, 

Be Thou patient with us. 

Grant to us, Thou Saviour of Glory, 

The fear of God, the love of God, and His affection, 

And the will of God to do on earth at all times 

As angels and saints do in heaven; 

Each day and night give us Thy peace. 

Each day and night give us Thy peace.

St. Patrick's Breastplate

There are no snakes in Ireland, and legend has it St. Patrick drove them all into the sea. While that’s a nice thing to have attached to your memory, his prayers are wonderfully powerful. Consider 2-3 excerpts from this one written in 433 A.D.

I arise today 
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

I arise today, through
God's strength to pilot me,
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

St. Patrick and Prayer

Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day. While we associate it with green and pinching (does that still happen?), Patrick is a fascinating character from the 5th century. His story involves pirates and snakes, but the best thing about him is his prayers. Here is one:

May the Strength of God guide us.
May the Power of God preserve us.
May the Wisdom of God instruct us.
May the Hand of God protect us.
May the Way of God direct us.
May the Shield of God defend us.
May the Angels of God guard us.
— Against the snares of the evil one. 

May Christ be with us!
May Christ be before us!
May Christ be in us,
Christ be over all! 

May Thy Grace, Lord,
Always be ours,
This day, O Lord, and forevermore. Amen.

Time to Love and Listen

To the cynical, it probably seems corny, but there is a lot of truth in the statement:

Love is spelled T.I.M.E.

Time provides the opportunity to listen – one of the greatest gifts we can give to another.

Listening is paying full attention to others and welcoming them into our very beings. The beauty of listening is that those who are listened to start feeling accepted, start taking their words more seriously and discovering their own true selves. Listening is a form of spiritual hospitality by which you invite strangers to become friends, to get to know their inner selves more fully, and even to dare to be silent with you.

~ Henri Nouwen

Hero Children

You don't raise heroes, you raise sons.  And if you treat them like sons, they'll turn out to be heroes, even if it's just in your own eyes.  

~Walter M. Schirra, Sr.

The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.

 ~Proverbs 23:24

Kedra and I blessed with four deeply loved children, and today is our 2nd’s birthday. He is one of my four heroes, and I truly rejoice in/about him. He walks with the Lord, lives well, and does good.

Happy birthday, Luke!

Yeah, It Happens

Today - Springing Forward

I woke up confused about what time it was/is, not trusting all my smart electronic devices. They were right, by the way. Anyway, Scripture says a lot about time and days – really good things to consider. Here are 3:

This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.

– Psalm 118:24

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

– Psalm 90:12

For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.

– 2 Corinthians 6:2

Love

Here’s to unconditional love, decided commitment, and 32 years of married life together with Kedra Burris. It has been wonderful and has produced all kinds of joy, including Lester Burris, Luke Burris, Rebecca Burris, and Ben Burris. To God be gratitude and glory! The love described in 1 Corinthians 13 – characteristics of Jesus – are The Way to go. Always have been. Always will be. While we always never quite measure up, God's grace sustains us.

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Peace with All?

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

—Romans 12:18

That’s a tall order, and we should note two things: 1) “If it is possible,” and 2) “as far as it depends upon you.”

It’s not always possible to be a peace with everyone, but I believe sometimes I don’t go as far as I could to make it happen.  You too? It’s worth thinking about, and we should think about it through a “Jesus lens.”

Peace is rooted in love and a willingness to forgive – to absorb pain and injustice for the sake of relationship. That’s what the Cross is all about. Lord, help me.

Giving All

This prayer by Anselm (1033-1109) nearly 1000 years old, really gets to the heart of following Jesus:

Lord, because you have made me, I owe you the whole of my love; because you have redeemed me, I owe you the whole of myself; because you have promised so much, I owe you my whole being. 

I owe you more than my whole self, but I have no more, and by myself I cannot render the whole of it to you. Draw me to you, Lord, in the fullness of your love. I am wholly yours by creation; make me all yours, too, in love.

A Few Words

It’s amazing how a few words can change your day and even your life. Here are a few that could do just that. Why not commit them to memory and live them out? Let’s. . .

Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.

— Romans 12:12

I hope you have a great week! Just take it as it comes and work through it with the words above in mind.

Sunday

Today is the day to gather with other believers, and among other things, it is the time to worship, to express gratitude, and to remember the Story we live and live out. For many these are troublesome times, but those who believe have a peaceful perspective.

In my distress I prayed to the Lord,

and the Lord answered me and set me free.

The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear.

What can mere people do to me?

Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me.

I will look in triumph at those who hate me.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord

than to trust in people.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord

than to trust in princes.

— Psalm 118:5-9

Press On!

I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!

I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 

No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

—Philippians 3:10-14

The Decision

The answer? 35,000. The question: how many decisions does a person make in a day?

This was part of a class discussion last night, and the answer, while just the good guess of experts, is surprising if not staggering. Of course, for the most part, we operate on “auto-pilot” and make most of these decisions without thought.

The main concern of the class last night was how many decisions do we make daily that require faith. You know, the “walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7)” decisions. All of this is hard to measure but is worth thinking about.

It  really comes down to one decision. Once we are on one particular path, then all the decisions we make somehow reflect that fundamental one. Jesus requires a response, a fundamental decision that will affect all other decisions. Following him is the best hardest decision you’ll ever make.

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

—Jesus in Mark 8

Fretting

To me, fret is a funny sounding word. It rhymes with sweat and regret, and it seems there is a whole lot of it going on. I dabble in it, but I am trying to stay away from it. It’s not becoming.

The word shows up a few times in Psalm 37, and God is against it. Fret’s replacement? Trust in the Lord that comes from being still, which allows us to recognize he is in control–always has been and always will be.  Fret’s replacement includes delighting in the Lord’s ways and participating in them with commitment and conviction.  Listen to David:

Do not fret because of those who are evil
or be envious of those who do wrong;
for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
your vindication like the noonday sun.
Be still before the Lord
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

– Psalm 37:1-7