Left or Right? Choose...

[The following is the manuscript of my meditation delivered at the Lenten Service held at Emanuel Reformed Church in Thomasville, NC on Sunday, the 22nd of March, 2015.]

31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

--Matthew 25:31-46 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father, open our eyes that we might see; open our ears that we might hear; open our hearts that we might receive the message You have for us tonight.  In the glorious name of Christ Jesus we pray.  Amen.


Lent is that time in our Christian calendar when we repent of our sin and remember the tremendous sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf.  Our scripture this evening comes from the time after Jesus made His final, and triumphant, entry into Jerusalem, as He was facing His last days on earth and that great sacrifice just ahead.

While this isn’t the well-known Sermon on the Mount, recorded earlier in the Gospel of Matthew, this is part of a long sequence Jesus related to His disciples from the Mount of Olives, preparing them for what was to come.  In fact, this is the last parable Jesus gave in the last sermon He delivered.  But this particular passage speaks to us today as well, with a message we would be well-advised to heed, for this brings home the full reality of judgment.


As usual, Jesus painted images with His words, putting His lessons into a context the people could easily understand.  Here He speaks of a shepherd separating his sheep from his goats, an action His disciples would have seen as familiar.  It was common to have goats and sheep grazing together, but at night the goats would be separated to keep them warm while the more valuable sheep were allowed to stay in the open air as they preferred.

The prophet Ezekiel centuries earlier used a very similar analogy, in chapter 34 verse 17 of his book when he spoke for God saying…

17 ‘And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats.”’

--Ezekiel 34:17 (NKJV)

But looking at our reading again, notice what happens first – they are all gathered together.  All of the nations - all of the people – will be brought together to face Jesus for judgment.   The more valuable sheep will be set off on Jesus’ right, with the goats going off to His left.  Our Lord will bless those on His right and give them the keys to heaven.  Those on the left He condemns to everlasting punishment in the fire prepared for Satan and his minions, his followers.

In both cases, when judging the sheep on the right and the goats on the left, Jesus will use the same criteria:  “Did you give Me food when I was hungry?  Did you give Me something to drink when I was thirsty?  Did you take Me in and show me hospitality when I was a stranger in your land?  Did you clothe Me when I was naked?  Did you visit Me when I was sick?  Did you come to Me when I was imprisoned?”

And both sides will respond in almost the same way:  Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or in need of clothing, or ill, or in prison?  And Jesus will answer both the right and the left, the way you treated the very least among you, that is how you treated Me.  Matthew quoted Jesus as saying, “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”


Those of us that understand that we are saved only by God’s grace realize that no amount of good works will ever gain us entry into heaven.  Our salvation is based solely on our belief in Jesus as His Son and our acceptance of Him as our Master.  But it sounds like Jesus is contradicting that, saying that if we do all these good things He listed that we will go to heaven.

Emanuel family, there is no contradiction.  For if we truly believe in Jesus as Lord, accept Him as our Master, love Him as our Savior, then we will do anything He wants us to do.  Do You remember what Jesus said are the two most important things to do?  To love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind.  And to love each other as we love ourselves.

Brothers and sisters, this is the ultimate expression of loving one another.  This is putting love into practice.  Feeding the hungry, providing drink for the thirsty, clothing the needy, being kind to the stranger, visiting the sick and the incarcerated…  When we take care of the least of these among us - the poorest, the neediest - Jesus sees it as an active extension of His commandment to us to love one another as we love ourselves.


So we have to ask, when was the last time we worked a soup kitchen or homeless shelter feeding program?  When did we help pass out coffee or bottles of water and ham sandwiches?  When did we last go through our list of friends and acquaintances collecting gently used clothing for redistribution to the poor?  What do you think in your heart of all those aliens in our country, whether legally or not – how do you personally treat the strangers in our land?  When did you last participate in a jail or prison ministry, or go out visiting the hospitalized, institutionalized, or homebound?

I know for a fact that some of you do these, or at least some of these, on a regular basis.  And I know you will be placed on the right hand of Jesus our Lord.  But I also know many of us fail this test, some miserably.

Folks, the choice is ours.  When Jesus gathers us all together to judge us, do we want to be sent to His right hand or His left?

It really is that simple.  Do we want to be in the long line to the left, or the shorter one to the right?  If we want to go to the right, we need to believe in and love Jesus with all our heart.  We need to accept Him as our Master and do what He tells us to do – feed the hungry, visit the prisoners, be kind to those who “ain’t from around here”.  We will be judged.

Left or right?

Choose.

Amen.


Let us pray…  Lord Jesus, we do believe in You.  You are the one true Son of God, sent by the Father to offer us the gift of everlasting life.  We recognize You as our Savior, Christ Jesus; now please help us accept You as our Master, as the One who rules over us, Whose will we have sworn to obey.

Gracious Lord, we do not want to be culled out and sent to the left with the goats.  You have made it very clear what we must do to be counted among Your sheep.  First and foremost we must believe in You and accept You as our Lord, our Master.  Precious Jesus, if there is one present tonight who does not know You or who is unsure in their belief, then please lead them to me or their pastor that we might help bring them to You.

And then You show us, Lord, that we must love each other, no matter what.  We must show that love in tangible ways, put that love into practice by helping others when they are in need.  We must understand that You consider us to be ignoring You when we ignore others in their time of need.  Lord, may we never ignore You.

Christ Jesus, You are our Lord, You are our Master, You are our Savior.  And it is in Your beautiful name we pray.

Amen.

For All Believers

[The following is the manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday, the 22nd of March, 2015.]

As I told the kids [in the Children’s Time], Jesus prayed to God, a lot.  He not only taught us how to pray, what we call the Lord’s Prayer, but He prayed too, frequently and fervently.

Listen to a part of one prayer that John recorded in his Gospel account in chapter 17, verses 20 through 26, the true Lord’s prayer, the “Holy of Holies”…

20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26 And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

--John 17:20-26 (NKJV)

Let us pray...  Almighty God, Creator of all, Father of our Lord Jesus, open our eyes that we might see only Your Son.  Open our ears that we might hear only Your words.  Open our minds that we might receive Your message.  Open our hearts that we might share Your love.  In the blessed name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.


A true believer was on a plane seated beside an intellectual (which I’ll define as someone educated beyond his intelligence).  He sneered at this Christian reading her Bible and asked if she really believed what she read?

"Yes", she replied softly, looking up for a moment.

"Even that whole business about Jonah and the whale?” the man persisted.

"Yes, even the story of Jonah and the great fish.”

"And just how do you think that happened?"

"I don't know for sure, but I'll find out when I get to heaven."

"What if Jonah isn't there?” the man teased.

The woman replied with a kind smile, "Then I guess you'll have to ask him for me."


Now that’s faith!


Beginning just after the completion of what we now call our Lord’s Last Supper, the Apostle John recorded for us a very long discourse between Jesus and His twelve closest disciples.  Over the length of this discussion, Jesus foretold of His betrayal by Judas, of Peter’s denial, of the only way to the Father, of His own persecution and death, of His suffering to come and a glimpse of what would follow.

And then Jesus prayed.  He began by praying for Himself.  We know Jesus came to serve, and not to be served.  And He pretty much always put others ahead of Himself.  This was an exception, though.  This time He prayed for Himself first.

But it was not a selfish prayer, not by any means!  Hear how John opens the 17th chapter, in verses 1 and 2…

1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, 2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.”

--John 17:1-2 (NKJV)

Jesus asks His Father God to glorify Him so that He might in turn glorify God.  And more importantly for us, so that He might give eternal life to all those who have been given to Him by God.

Who exactly are these people Jesus is talking about, all those who have been given to Him?  We can begin to answer that question by examining who He prays for next.  Let’s read just a little further into John’s chapter 17, looking at verses 6 through 8, and remember: Jesus is still praying to God…

6 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. 8 For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.”

--John 17:6-8 (NKJV)

Did you notice the use of the past tense there?  "The men You have given Me”.  "They were Yours".  "They have believed”.  Jesus is talking about His disciples, and specifically His twelve closest – yes, even Judas Iscariot who He has already said will soon betray Him.  Jesus is now praying for these men God pulled out of the world and gave to Him, to follow Him, to learn from Him, to carry on after He leaves.

And it really should come as no surprise that Jesus would pray for them, because He loved them so very much.  Just how much we can see from John’s opening to this long passage in his Gospel.  Hear what John said back in the 1st verse of chapter 13…

1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.

--John 13:1 (NKJV)

“Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.”  Isn’t that beautiful?!

Jesus loved these men.  They were plucked from out of this earthly life by God and placed in Jesus’ care for three years.  And He loved them dearly, even to the very end.

So this must be who He meant when He prayed to god for all those given to Him, right?  Let’s look just a little further.  Continuing John’s account of this holiest of prayers, in verses 14 through 18, Jesus goes on to say to His Father…

14 “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.”

--John 17:14-18 (NKJV)

It still sounds like He’s talking about His twelve disciples, doesn’t it?  Jesus taught them, gave them God’s word.  The world hated them because they are not of this world, having been pulled from it by God.  And isn’t this truly prophetic, when we look at the fate the disciples suffered at the hands of the world after Jesus ascended back into heaven?

Now notice that Jesus didn’t ask God to take them out of this world, which would spare them from any suffering to come.  He only asked that the Father keep them from the devil, keep them out of Satan’s clutches.  They were His and His alone, and Jesus wanted to keep it that way.


Family, Jesus wasn’t just praying for Himself.  He wasn’t just praying for His twelve disciples or even for all the other disciples that joined Him during those three years of His ministry on this earth.

Didn’t John also describe us in that last passage I just read?  We are not of this world, but have been pulled from the world by God’s wonderful redeeming grace.  Our very name here – Pilgrim Church – gives testimony to our temporary journey through this world, this life, on our way to something far better.

So even though Jesus is speaking in the past and present tenses there, talking about what God has done and what He – Jesus – is doing with these His closest disciples, can’t we see that it applies to us as well?  Can’t we just go ahead and assume He is praying for us too?


Well, brothers and sisters, we don’t have to make any assumptions.  We don’t have to guess who Jesus was praying for.  Look again at verse 20 from today’s reading: “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me.”

Jesus says quite clearly He is praying to His Father on behalf of any and all of God’s children that will believe in Him, from that point on, until the very end of time when He returns to take His church home!  And that includes you and me!  Our Lord and Master was praying for us.  Jesus Himself was lifting us up in prayer to our God.

Pay attention to those three little words there at the end of verse 20: “through their word”.  Now Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans that we must confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, but I don’t believe Jesus is referring to us, or to our word.  I think the “they” He is referring to are the same ones He was praying for before turning His attention to us – His disciples and their word.

Think about it for just a second…  How do we know Jesus, particularly Jesus the Man, or the Son of Man as He liked to call Himself?  Don’t we get the most information about Him from our Holy Bible, and most specifically, the New Testament of our Bible?

Well, those books in the New Testament were all written by Jesus’ disciples.  Even the Apostle Paul can be considered one of these disciples because Jesus came to Him in a very special way and shared so much with him that it amazed even those who had walked alongside the Lord.  It is by their word - the accounts of Jesus’ life contained in the four Gospels, the activities of the Apostles after Jesus’ death, the letters Paul, John, Peter, James, and Jude wrote – it is through all of this that we come to know Jesus and to believe in Him, just as He said.


The rest of today’s scripture tells just how much Jesus loves us, a deep and abiding love displayed in His prayer and in the very fact that He prayed for us.  We can see that love exemplified in verse 21 by His desire for us to be one with Him and with God – all of us together as one, just as He is one with the Father.  Now part of the reason for this plea is so that the world will know that God indeed sent Jesus into the world.  But what is the rationale for that except that more of the world might believe in Him and be saved!

If that isn’t enough of a sign of His love for us, then consider verse 22, where Jesus tells our Father that He gave to us all the glory that God gave to Him!  Everything God gave to His Son, Jesus gives to us.  Why?  Verse 23: so that we might be made perfect, joined as one with Jesus and with God.

Want more?  How about verse 26?  Jesus asks His Father to love us with the same love with which He – God - loved His Son.  That’s a mouthful, but Jesus prayed that God love us just like He loves His only begotten Son.  He prays for that true and ever faithful love to be within us.  That He Himself may be within us.


Jesus loves us so much, He came to us when we were filthy in our sin, dead in our sin against God.  He loves us so much He prayed for us that night long ago, long before we were ever born, knowing just who we would be and that we would be His.  He loves us so much, He wanted His Father to love us with all the love in all of creation.  He loves us so much, He chose to live within us.

Let us be worthy of His love.

Amen.


Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, You bless us every day, but the greatest blessing You could ever give was that of Your Own Son, sent to us from heaven, sent to us when we were lost in darkness, sent to be a Light unto this world, a beacon of hope for the hopeless, a means of redemption for those not worthy of being saved.  Thank You Father, for loving us that much, for loving us as You love Your own Son, for loving us as Jesus asked You to.

Hear us now, O God, as we approach You in the silence, with bowed heads and humble hearts…

Lord Jesus, You gave everything for us, just so we could be one with You and our Father in heaven.  You love us so much You prayed to God for us, that He would love us too and have mercy upon our sinful condition.  May we in turn give our all to You – following You, serving You, loving all others as You love us.  In Your beautiful name, Jesus, we pray.  Amen.

Are You Sleeping?

[The following is the manuscript of my meditation delivered at the Lenten Service held at Paul's Chapel Church in Lexington, NC on Sunday, the 15th of March, 2015.]

32 Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed. 34 Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch.”

35 He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. 36 And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”

37 Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? 38 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

39 Again He went away and prayed, and spoke the same words. 40 And when He returned, He found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him.

41 Then He came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough! The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”

--Mark 14:32-42 (NKJV)

Lent is that time in our Christian calendar when we repent of our sin and remember the tremendous sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf.  Sometimes I worry that when we think of Jesus, we see Him as God more than as man.  Yes, Jesus is fully God, but when He walked this earth He was also fully man – 100% human just like you and I.  He could suffer physical pain, just like you and I.  He had to endure emotional stress and apprehension, just like you and I.

At the point of our scripture reading from Mark’s Gospel, Jesus knew His end was near.  And He knew that the sacrifice soon to be required of Him would be terrible and cruel.  Our opening verses show just how much this knowledge of what was coming weighed upon His very spirit.  He was troubled, deeply distressed.  “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death”, He said.

These words came from the very same Jesus who spent 40 days and nights in the wilderness after His baptism by John, eating nothing, all the while being tempted by Satan.  That experience would have shattered any of us but it didn’t appear to bother Him, at least not according to Matthew, Mark, or Luke, who all recorded the event.

Yet knowing what would soon come to pass almost unnerved Jesus.  “Father, take this cup from Me!”, He cried out, there alone on the hillside.  Can you feel the anguish, the desperation?  He knew the Father’s will must be done, otherwise you and I would have no hope whatsoever!  But that didn’t make it any easier for Him.

Fully God, yes.  But fully man also.  And the man Jesus was there all alone.

When they departed from supper, Jesus left all of His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane except for the three that were perhaps His closest – Simon Peter and brothers James and John.  The four walked on up the hillside until Jesus asked them to stay there and pray because He was deeply troubled.  Jesus went on a little further and prayed Himself, pouring out His soul, His fears, to God.  When He returned to Peter, James, and John, He found them fast asleep, even though He had asked them to watch and pray.

Three times He went off alone to pray; three times He returned to find His trusted friends sleeping.  Weren’t they concerned about their Master’s well-being?  Didn’t they care enough to do what He asked them to do – to watch and pray for Him?  Is it possible they weren’t as worried about the immediate future as Jesus was because they didn’t really believe what He told them was about to happen?


And as long as I’m asking tough questions, what about us?  Where do we fit into all of this?  Are we sleeping?  Are we fast asleep and can’t be bothered to do what our Lord wants us to do?

If we study the Gospels, we can see that Jesus asked quite a bit of His followers, and He asks a lot of us as well.  He asks that we believe in Him as the Son of God.  He asks that we love one another unconditionally.  He asks that we go into the world baptizing in His name and making disciples, making more followers, bringing people to Him.

But when the world hung in the balance, all He asked of His closest friends was that they watch and pray.  And they just couldn’t force themselves to stay awake


Are we sleeping?  We’re here tonight to worship God, to honor Jesus and His sacrifice.  We may think that now that Jesus is in heaven and is fully God again, He won’t be so worried and anxious about the future of the world.  We’ve read the Book of Revelation and we know how this long story turns out.  We know that if we believe and stay true to Jesus that we’ll be saved and have eternal life with Him and our Father in heaven.

But what about the rest of the world?  What about all those who don’t believe, who won’t follow, who haven’t even heard the Good News?  Isn’t it very likely that Jesus cares about them too, that He is anxious for their spiritual well-being?  Are we willing to watch and pray for them, or would we rather roll over and go back to sleep, warm and secure in the promise of our own salvation?

Brothers and sisters, Jesus is asking us to watch and pray – for Him and for His church and for all those He seeks to save.  He wants us to love them enough to get out of our comfortable seats, our cozy little boxes, and go out into the world looking for the lost and bring them to Him.  Love God, love one another, go make disciples.


As a man, Jesus was sorrowful and anxious about His own fate.  And I firmly believe that He still is, even as God, except now He – His person - is represented by His church, left here on earth to carry out His commission.  He left us to watch and pray as He went a little further ahead to be with our Father.

Let’s be sure that when He returns, He doesn’t find us sleeping.

Amen.

Where is Jesus?

[The following is the manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday, the 15th of March, 2015.]

The days were winding down toward our Lord’s last walk as a man upon this earth, and He knew it.  Jesus had just spoken in the temple, where He predicted His imminent departure to the Jews gathered there by saying “I am going away, and… where I go you cannot come.”  (John 8:21 NKJV)

And then He pretty much infuriated those Jews when He also told them that He existed before Abraham was even born.  He said, “before Abraham was, I AM”.  That’s how God identified Himself - as “I AM”.  Enraged by this perceived blasphemy, the Jews wanted to stone Jesus but He managed to slip out of the temple unnoticed and unmolested.

You would think that a close call like that might have bothered Jesus.  Apparently not, for He acted quite calmly in what happened next.  Listen to the event as related by John in his Gospel account, chapter 9, verses 1-12…

1 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. 4 I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

6 When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. 7 And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.

8 Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, “Is not this he who sat and begged?”

9 Some said, “This is he.” Others said, “He is like him.”
He said, “I am he.”

10 Therefore they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?”

11 He answered and said, “A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received sight.”

12 Then they said to him, “Where is He?”
He said, “I do not know.”

--John 9:1-12 (NKJV)

Let us pray...  Father God, hide me behind the cross of Your Son Jesus so that Your children may see only His face.  Use my voice to speak Your words that Your children may receive Your message.  And let Your Holy Spirit move among us and touch each and every heart that hears Your word.   In the blessed name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.


A man died and stood at the Pearly Gates before St. Peter.  Peter asked the man, "You need one thousand points to get in. How many do you have?" The man replied, "I don’t know."  "Well," said Peter, "tell me all the good things you've done in your life and we’ll see how many points you've earned."  So the man began ticking off everything he could think of he had ever done that could be considered 'good'.  When he finally finished, St. Peter added up the score and told the man that he had amassed a total of one hundred points during his lifetime.  Completely shattered, his ego thoroughly deflated, the man hung his head and sighed, "I guess it’s only by the grace of God that I’ll ever get into this place."  "That," said Peter, "is worth nine hundred points. Come on in!"


We can relate to that man, can’t we?  We do all these great works and we think that will really impress God, that He’ll be so happy with all we did for Him here on earth.  Some people even think they don’t need to believe in Jesus at all as long as they do good deeds throughout their life.  Well, this little story is a pretty good illustration of just how much emphasis God places on what we believe, versus what we do.

Quite honestly, for most of us, the many bad things we’ve done may far outweigh any good we’ve accomplished.  But if we truly and fervently believe in His Son, God is merciful and overlooks the bad, forgives the bad, and by His grace grants us eternal life.  Nothing we can ever do will get us to heaven – only God’s grace.


The blind man in our story was a recipient of God’s great grace, as administered by God’s own Son Jesus.  The man was given sight, something he had never experienced in his entire life, having been born blind.  To me, though, as miraculous as it is, this aspect is only a minor part of the story.  I see three important points of interest: one primary and two of a more secondary nature.

The first of the secondary points involves the question His disciples asked Jesus in the 2nd verse:  “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  The man was blind, so was the blindness caused by his sin?  But he was born blind and would not have had a chance to sin yet, so was it some sin his parents committed?

Haven’t we all heard someone express basically the same sentiment?  That was pretty much the entire argument against Job by his “friends”.  If something bad happens, wasn’t it because we did something terribly wrong?

“O Lord, how could you let this happen to me?!”

“Dear Jesus, what did I ever do to deserve this?!”

But look at how Jesus answered them, in verse 3.  This man didn’t sin, nor did his parents – that’s not why he is blind.  He is blind so that the works of God could be made manifest through Him!

Sometimes bad stuff happens… it just happens.  But God has a plan for everything that happens and He can make good come from even the worst of things.  In this case, the man is given sight so that God’s glory can be shown through the work of Jesus.

And that brings me to the second of the secondary points – in verse 4 Jesus said that He must work the works of the One who sent Him, the works of God.  Do we feel as compelled as Jesus did to do God’s work here on earth?  Sure, Jesus had the most important mission in executing God’s great master plan.  But you and I also have roles to play in God’s grand scheme.  I for one waited a long time before I accepted that fact, before I finally agreed that I must work the works that God assigned me.

Now remember…  like our little story at the very first, our works in this life matter very little when it comes time to be admitted into heaven.  But God has an assignment for each and every one of us that He wants us to carry out.  When we really love someone, don’t we feel it almost a vital necessity to carry out that person’s wishes?  Do we really love God enough to want to do what He wants us to do, without any thought to whether we might be rewarded for it somewhere along the line?

If nothing else, Jesus told us to love one another, without conditions.  That’s tough to carry out, unconditional love.  But the least we could do is to try really hard!  He also told us to go into the world making disciples.  Not sit here in church waiting for folks to come strolling in, but to go into the world, out there, and show folks Jesus.

And that leads me to the third and, in my view, most important aspect of John’s story of this blind man – showing folks Jesus.  Starting in verse 6, Jesus made a balm from His spit and a handful of dirt and put it over the man’s eyes.  Our scripture says Jesus anointed the man’s eyes with the mixture.  One definition of anointing is to make sacred – that pretty much fits here.

Then Jesus told the man to go bathe in the pool of Siloam.  The man did so, and when he returned he astounded everyone because now he could see!  Folks who knew him even wondered if that was really the man they knew, the blind beggar they’d seen every day for years.  He assured them that it really was him.  So they asked what happened, how did he receive sight.  He told them the whole story of what Jesus did and what He told him to do.  And the people asked, “Where is this Jesus?”

But in all the excitement Jesus had again slipped away unnoticed.  And the man who once was blind could only look around before giving up and saying, “I don’t know.”


So where is Jesus?

The easy answer is that He’s in heaven on the right hand of God Almighty.  And that’s true, because the Bible – God’s inspired word – assures us that is exactly where Jesus went after He ascended into heaven.  We proclaim that as part of our belief when we recite the Apostles’ Creed.  But that then lends itself to the question of where is heaven.  If Jesus is in heaven, then where is heaven?

There are some who would say heaven is right here in Davidson County.  And you know what?  I’d have to agree with them.  Heaven is right here – in Davidson County and Davie County and Forsythe and Montgomery and even back in Cabarrus where I hail from.  Heaven is right here, all around us, because God is right here, all around us.

We can’t see it, or Him - not yet.  We have not yet gained enough experience and insight and ability to see it.  We would not be able to survive the unveiling of so much beauty and glory.  We’ve not yet been granted permission to see it.  But Jesus promises that someday He will explain to us all the mysteries of God and heaven and then all of that splendor will be revealed to us.  On that glorious day, when we stand face to face with our Lord, we will see heaven.


So Jesus is in heaven and heaven is all around us, even if we can’t see it.  That means that Jesus must be all around us.  Could you be a little more specific, please?  Just where is Jesus?  Did he slip away again while nobody noticed?

The apostle Peter, in chapter 3 verses 14 and 15 of his first letter to those Jewish and Gentile Christians scattered throughout the world, has this to say…

14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” 15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you...

--1 Peter 3:14-15 (NKJV)

Among all the other beautiful things Peter gives in these two short verses, he tells us to sanctify the Lord God in our hearts.  Sanctify means to set aside, for use for holy purposes.  We are to set our hearts aside for God’s use, for His purposes.

One of those purposes, and I would declare it to be the main purpose, is to house His most Holy Spirit!  Jesus promised that after He returned to heaven, He would send the Companion, God’s Holy Spirit to live within us, within our heart.  When we first believe in Jesus as the Son of God and accept Him as our Lord and Master, He does just that and the Holy Spirit moves right in and sets up housekeeping in our hearts.

God our Father, Jesus His Son, and the Holy Spirit are each one aspect of God.  Each is one and the other – the Father is God, Jesus is God, the Holy Spirit is God.  So when the Holy Spirit moved in, Jesus did also.

Where is Jesus?  He’s right here, inside of us, always with us, never apart.  Like the man in John’s story, we were once blind also, and now can see.  But unlike that man who could not figure out where Jesus got to, we know where He is - He’s in our heart.

He’ll never forsake us.  He’ll never leave us.  He’s always there anytime we need Him.  Jesus is in our heart.  He is the hope within us.

That man John told us about could not show Jesus to others.  We can, by showing them our heart.

Amen.


Let us pray…  Precious Jesus, thank You for filling our hearts and our souls with Your holy presence!  Please help us always feel You inside.  Counsel us before we speak and act.  Comfort us when we hurt.  Convict us of our sin while there is still time to repent.  Help us live a life worthy of Your wonderful presence.

Hear us now, Lord Jesus, as we speak to You silently, repenting of our sin, pleading for your help…

Lord Jesus, You are always with us.  You are always around us.  You are always there for us.  You comfort us when we are crying.  You pick us up when we stumble.  You carry us when we just can’t go on.  Thank You, Jesus, for Your steadfast love and constant faithfulness.  In Your most wonderful name, Jesus, we pray.  Amen.

Sackcloth and Ashes

[The following is the manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday, the 8th of March, 2015.  Included is a symbolic imposition of ashes, as this is our Ash Wednesday service, postponed too many times due to inclement weather.]

Over the years I’ve often been asked why we, in the Reformed Church, celebrate Lent.  Isn’t that something the Catholic Church does, they ask.  Well, yes, but it goes back much further than that, long before any Christian church existed, even before Christ was born.

Listen and follow along with God’s word as provided in the book of Jonah, chapter 3…

1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent. 4 And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 

5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. 6 Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. 7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, 

Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. 8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. 9 Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish? 

10 Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.

--Jonah 3 (NKJV)

When most folks think of Jonah, they remember that he was swallowed up by a big fish.  God wanted Jonah to go to Nineveh and warn the people there that their destruction was at hand.  Jonah hated the Ninevites and wanted to see them crushed.  But he was afraid that God, in His mercy, would forgive them if they heeded his message, so he ran the other way.  Well, God made sure Jonah carried out his assigned mission with a little assist from that big fish.

But that’s only a small part of the story.  The aspect we’re interested in today, and arguably the most important part of this story, is how the people and the king of Nineveh responded to God’s warning.

They believed God.  They put on sackcloth and sat in ashes, putting ashes over their heads.

While this may seem a strange practice to us, it was a common outward sign of repentance in the Old Testament.  It represented ridding oneself of adornment or any beautifying measures.  It made one look and feel plain and unassuming - humble.  And it told all who witnessed this person that they had committed some wrong, some sin, but that they were truly sorry and would turn from that sin.

It was a real and honest sign of repenting.  Not to say, “oh look at poor little me!”  But rather, “I've really messed up this time but I'm going to try my level best not to let it happen again”.  And the greatest statement wearing sackcloth and ashes made was to say, “I'm sorry. Please forgive me.”

The king took it a step further, as seen in verses 7 and 8.  He ordered everyone in his kingdom to fast, to cover themselves with sackcloth and ashes and turn from their evil ways.  He ordered them all to repent – man, woman, child and beast!

And then what Jonah feared the most came to pass.  God took note of their outward signs of repenting and the inward condition of their hearts and saw they had indeed turned from their sins.  And He relented and stayed His hand.  The Ninevites averted their destruction by their contrite and penitent acts and spirits.


Not all people have taken God as seriously as the Ninevites.  During His ministry, Jesus went from city to city, town to town, teaching and preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.  And everywhere He went He performed mighty miracles – healing the afflicted, making the lame to walk and the blind to see, even raising the dead back to life.

Many believed, and chose to follow Him.  But many more did not, preferring to deride Him, persecute Him, cause Him all kinds of problems.  Listen to what Jesus said to those who failed to follow the example of the people of Nineveh, as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 11, verses 20 through 24…

20 Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent: 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.”

--Matthew 11:20-24 (NKJV)

A little later on, Jesus is preaching when some of the Pharisees try to cause problems yet again.  Here is how Matthew recorded the exchange, in chapter 12 of his Gospel account, verses 38 through 41…

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” 

39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here."

--Matthew 12:38-41 (NKJV)

Which example will we follow?  Are we willing to repent like Nineveh and be saved?  Or will we walk in the footsteps of Chorazin and Bethsaida and risk eternal damnation on our day of judgment?  Are we waiting for some sign, although we’ve been shown many if we would only see?  Or do we realize and understand that One greater than Jonah has come and brought the kingdom of God with Him?


The church today uses the period of Lent as a time to look into our lives, find those dark areas, and repent – to turn from our sin and not go back to it.  We use the time to reflect on everything that Jesus did for us – His suffering, His death, His resurrection, and God’s mercy and grace.

Wearing sackcloth is a lost tradition, but we still observe throwing ashes upon our heads by smearing some into the form of a cross, on our foreheads or the backs of our hands.  The ashes are ready for you, but so is the sackcloth, fashioned into small crosses that can be worn around the neck or wrapped around the wrist.  Most folks wash off their ashes when they get home so as not to mess anything up, removing the outward sign of their promise to repent.  So I’d ask you to consider wearing your little sackcloth cross everyday throughout the Lenten season, what’s left of it, to show your contrite heart.  Let others see it and they may ask about it, giving you the opportunity to witness for Christ and to explain why you are repenting and why they should too.

Take up your sackcloth and bear your ashes as outward signs, but do so for the right reason.  Let the repentance and atonement they represent on the outside be real and honest and intentional on the inside.  God will take note of you are really humble or not.  He will see if you truly turn from your sinful ways, and He will be merciful.

Repent, believe, and be saved.

Amen.


Let us pray…  God in heaven, look down upon us poor sinners and have mercy on us.  We repent, Lord God, of our sin and our evil ways.  Help us, please Father, be more like the Ninevites and be truly contrite.  Help us to completely turn from our former life and to follow only Your Son Jesus.  In the name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.


Let us now confess our sins:

Almighty and most merciful Father,
we have erred, and strayed from Thy ways like lost sheep.
We have offended against Thy holy laws.
We have left undone
those things which we ought to have done,
and we have done those things
which we ought not to have done;
and there is no health in us.
Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders.
Spare them, O Lord,
which confess their faults.
Restore them that are penitent,
according to Thy promises declared unto mankind
in Christ Jesus our Lord.  And grant,
most merciful Father, for His sake,
that I may hereafter live a godly,
righteous, and sober life –
to the glory of Thy holy name.
Amen.

Almighty God, You created us out of the dust of the ground.  May these ashes remind us that we are dust and shall return to dust.  May they also remind us of the cross of Christ and the great sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf, that through Him we are given everlasting life.  In the name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.


I felt it really important that we observe Ash Wednesday.  We need to understand what it means to truly humble ourselves before our Lord and Master and to repent of our sin.  We need to fully comprehend and accept that He can destroy us at any moment, leaving us in our sin if we don’t repent.

The people of Nineveh clothed themselves in sackcloth and threw ashes over their bodies to show God how contrite they were, and so should we.  Ash Wednesday is the time we traditionally do just  that.  But the weather has just not cooperated and now we are nearly three weeks into Lent.  So our wearing of ashes now would be a little out of place and not quite as meaningful.

Instead, as the spiritual head of this family, I will symbolically represent us all, our entire Pilgrim Reformed Church family, by putting ashes on my head and covering myself with sackcloth.

I am nothing but dust, and to dust I shall return.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, You do not desire the death of sinners, but rather You call us to turn from our wicked ways and live through Your Son, Jesus Christ.  Have mercy upon us, O Lord.  Forgive our sins not through our own merits but through those of our gracious and loving Master and Savior, Jesus.  Strengthen us by the power of the Holy Spirit to turn from our sinful lives according to Your will, and keep us in Your grace that we might have eternal life.  In the blessed name of Jesus we pray.  Amen.

Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.  Jesus said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”  (Mark 1:15 (NKJV))

Go now, in sackcloth and ashes.  Repent, and believe in the Gospel, and be saved.  Amen.

Cleaning House

[The following is the manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday, the 1st of March, 2015.]

As we continue through the season of Lent, we’ve been looking at what it means to repent and why we need to do it.  In a nutshell, to repent is to turn completely from our sin and toward Jesus.  And we should do this because Jesus tells us to.  Our Lord says that the kingdom of God is at hand, so we should repent and believe in the Gospel.

But what happens if we do turn from our sin, but not completely?  Maybe we find we still get distracted from focusing solely on Jesus.  Maybe our repenting doesn’t stick.  What then?

Let’s turn to our number one source on all things repentance and ask Him.  Listen and follow along to the words of our Lord Jesus as recorded for us by Luke in chapter 11 of his Gospel account, verses 24 through 32…

24 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25 And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. 26 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”

27 And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!”

28 But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

29 And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. 30 For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation. 31 The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.”

--Luke 11:24-32 (NKJV)

Let us pray...  Heavenly Father, may the words of my mouth, and the meditations of each of our hearts, be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer.  In the name of Your Son Jesus we pray.  Amen.


Three ministers were discussing the problem of bats in the attic at church and how difficult they were to get rid of.  The first minister said that his congregation had tried "smoking them out", but they still came back.  Another had tried poisoning them, but enough survived to repopulate the attic.  The third minister shared his solution: "I just baptized and confirmed them all, and they NEVER came back!"


In Tifton, Georgia, stands an old abandoned Victorian house that has become filled with thousands of bats over the years.  The once-elegant home in the town’s historic district was declared “off limits” after a bat specialist estimated that as many as 20,000 bats had taken up apparently permanent residence.  The local teens call it “the bat house” or “the bat cave”.  People talk about the smell – a horrible blend of animal urine and waste and rotting wood.  In the summer time, the stench can be unbearable.  This would not be the kind of tourist attraction most towns would desire.


No, I haven’t gone batty, but the little joke leads to the story and the story provides a bit of illustration as to what Jesus was talking about in the first 3 verses of our scripture reading.

Here we have a house that’s been vacated by its former residents, for whatever reason.  Bugs and mice can get into almost anything, so they’ll probably be the first new residents.  And snakes generally follow mice.  Kids being kids, somewhere along the line a few windows will get shattered by thrown rocks or BB guns.  Then the bats and birds will find this nice dry shelter with no humans to disturb them.  As time passes, you end up with a huge, stinky mess that will likely require a bulldozer to clean up.

But this doesn’t just happen to vacant houses - it can happen to vacant lives as well.  This is what Jesus is saying in those first 3 verses.  If a person doesn’t fill their life with good stuff, the bad stuff, the evil stuff, will move right in and take over.  And oh by the way, the bad stuff will be seven times worse that before!


Let me give you a little example of what Jesus means here, going again to what He tells us in His own words, from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 12, verses 33 through 37…

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

--Matthew 12:33-37 (NKJV)

Let’s say we take the opportunity for house cleaning that Lent provides and we confess our sin to God and turn from it, promising not to let it rule us again.  And then one day, while driving to Wally World or the restaurant or even to church one Sunday morning, someone cuts us off, or is obviously lost and keeps slowing down to look for a certain address, or pulls out in front of us just to stop to make a left turn.  Or maybe we’re standing in a long line at the grocery store, and there are two people ahead of us and four behind, and then they open up another register and everyone behind runs over to it and we’re still stuck where we were, even though we were ahead of the others.

How do we react?  We need to be honest with ourselves here.  How do we react to those common annoyances and irritations that we all face each and every day?  Granted, muttering some mild curse or harsher obscenity under our breath may not seem as bad as rear-ending them out of rage.  But in God’s eyes, the severity of our reaction isn’t as important as the intent.  Do good things flow from the treasure of our heart, or some level of wickedness or evil?  Jesus says we’ll have to answer for every idle word that comes from our mouth, and I believe that includes those that we never speak out loud, but may only voice in our thoughts.

These little annoyances and our reactions to them can serve as indicators of just how clean our house really is.  Those little irritations can easily become the tiny holes and cracks and broken windows that allow the bad critters to come in and mess up our house, our lives.


So once we’ve got our house clean, how do we keep it that way?  Once we’ve rid ourselves of the clutter and bad stuff, what do we fill the space with?  It’s simple really – we just use what’s already there.

When we accepted Jesus as our Lord – not just as our Savior but also as our Master – He sent God’s Holy Spirit to dwell within us.  The Spirit is there, whether we repent or not.  But it’s up to us to give Him some “room” to do His work.  Once we’re repented and cleaned our internal house, we need to let Him fill all the nooks and crannies, and the corners and all the little dark places.

We do that by focusing on God, by keeping Jesus clearly and steadily in our sight.  We can pray, often and with the full expectation of our prayers being heard and answered.  Prayer doesn’t have to be complex or formal – it’s just you and God having a little conversation.  You can do it anytime, anywhere, out loud, or silently in your heart.  You don’t even have to close your eyes!  Our Father just wants us to talk to Him – He doesn’t care about all the rules and regulations some folks try to impose on prayer or even on worship itself.

We can read our Bible, God’s inspired word, and especially all those “red letter” passages that Jesus Himself spoke while He walked this earth.  If something is important to Jesus, where He talks about it or tells us about it, then we need to make it important to us as well.  Look at verse 28 of our message text again.  “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”  Jesus says we are blessed when we hear, or read, God’s word, but we must keep it as well – we must obey what God says for us to do.

We can keep our eyes pointed in the right direction by serving God.  We can help feed the hungry, clothe the poor, visit the ill and the imprisoned, and do for the least of those among us as Jesus wants us to.

And we can worship our Lord, praising Him every chance we get, witnessing to others how much He means to us, thanking Him for each and every blessing in our life.

Once we’ve turned from our sin, once we’ve swept the house clean, if we follow these few steps, we’ll be too busy for any of the bad stuff to come back in!  There’ll be no room for any wicked spirit to move into, let alone for him to bring along seven of his friends.


Our heart is the home of the Holy Spirit.  What lies there in our heart: a good treasure or an evil one?  What comes from there: good thoughts and words and works, or bad ones?  Who do we make the most room for: Him, the Holy Spirit, or some wicked spirit that wants to set up shop?

I’m not here to judge anyone – it’s not my job.  If we’re honest with ourselves, we know what’s in our heart.  Jesus will be our Judge, and He definitely knows what is in our hearts - every second of every day.  And don’t forget: the kingdom of God is at hand.  That Day of Judgment draws nearer and nearer.

Repent, and believe in the Gospel.  And keep your house clean.

Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, thank You so much for always giving us another chance.  Please help us understand that the day will come when we’ll run out of chances, when we’ll have to stand before Your Son as He judges us for what we have done and said.  Help us clean our house, Lord, and help us keep it clean.  Thank You for filling us with Your Holy Spirit!  Help us give Him all the room there is within us.  Help us focus only on Jesus in all our activities, all our thoughts, all our words.  And Father, if there is anyone who does not know Your Son as their Lord and Master, please help them seek Him today - let them ask Your servant, that I might lead them to their personal Savior.

Hear us now, Lord, as we open our hearts to You, confessing and repenting of our sin…

Lord Jesus, You see our every deed, You know our every thought.  We truly want to repent, Lord.  We want to turn from our sinful ways and focus only on You.  But Lord, Satan would rather we get trapped by all the little annoyances and irritations he throws our way.  Empower the Holy Spirit to take greater control over our lives so that we might more closely live as You would have us live.  In Your most wonderful name, Jesus, we pray.  Amen.