A Prayer of Worship: Psalm 103:1-2

Let all that I am praise the Lord;

    with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.

Let all that I am praise the Lord;

    may I never forget the good things he does for me. (Psalm 103:1-2 NLT) 

Lord God,

You are holy. You are worthy. You have done more for me than I could ever recount.

Unite my heart to fear Your name. Give me a heart with one purpose-- to bring You glory. Give me a heart with singularity of direction, the eyes of my heart remaining steadfast on You. Give my heart exclusivity in its desire; You are my greatest desire. Your word says that I should delight myself in You and You will give me the desires of my heart. May every place in my heart be given over in worship of You. May every piece of my heart burst forth in praise to You. You are worthy of all I have to give! Let all that I am praise Your name.

Bring to mind the things You have done for me. Praise You, O Lord! You have forgiven all my sins, every last one! Sins of commission and omission. Sins past, present, and future. Sins committed in ignorance and those in abject rebellion. You have compassion-- GREAT compassion on me! 

You have redeemed me from death, saved me from its eternal grip once and once alone, because of Your great might and the sufficiency of Your sacrifice. You have rescued me many times, known to me and unknown, from physical death. You have a plan and a purpose for my life. You designed and created me specifically with those things in mind. 

Your breath remains in my body, the first breath ever drawn by Adam. In You I live and move and have being. It is You alive now in me because of Your death and resurrection. Apart from You, there is no life. 

You crown me with Your perfect love and tenderest of mercies. You fill my life with good. You sustain me to do Your will and fulfill Your joy.

Your character has been proven throughout time: benevolence, righteousness, mercy, patience, loving-kindness, justice, forgiveness... Your faithful and unfailing love toward Your children is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.

You no longer associate my sins with me. I am not defined by my sinful and mortal nature, but by the righteousness of Christ and my adoption as Your own blessed child. 

Despite Your holiness, Your being so far above anything I can aspire to be, You love me.

Despite Your perfection, despite having every right to look down on me as dust and treat me as my rebellion deserves, You have compassion on me.

Despite Your righteousness, You forgive me.

Despite all that You are, and because of all that You are, You love me.

Let all that I am praise Your holy name! 

In the name of Jesus, Amen

Are You Willing to Lay Down Your Life or Put up a Fight?

The day had begun to turn muggy and hot. I saw her sitting at the bus stop: a lady from our church. Just as I noticed her, I heard it:

Offer her a ride.

That would be nice. But she's a good distance away; not safe for her to run across this busy street to hop in. Besides, I can't just hold up traffic to wait for her.

She's going to pay for a bus, and you know she really doesn't have the money.

I'm sure she gets a senior discount or rides for free, right? She hasn't seen me for months and I'm not sure she even likes me. She barely talks to me. She won't want a ride from me.

Is this who you really want to be?

Maybe she's not even going home. Maybe she wants to ride the bus. I've got to get my errands done and get home to Mom.

You know I take care of Mom, right?

Okay, I'll make You a deal: I have to turn around anyway; if she's still waiting by the time I get around the block, I'll offer.

As I approached the intersection for the second time, I could see the woman still sitting on the bench. I pulled safely into the pharmacy lot behind her. Grocery bags were scattered at her feet and she was obviously feeling the mid-afternoon heat. I parked the car and approached her on foot. "Do you want a ride?" She began handing me her bags as she nodded yes. Less than ten minutes later, we were at her front door. I helped her with her groceries and said goodbye. Not exactly the Parable of the Good Samaritan, but there you have it.

In John 13:34, Jesus tells us, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another..." That's cool; I can do that. But there's more. "As I have loved you, that you also love one another." Wow. We all know what Jesus did. Jesus' disciples were going to encounter persecution. They were going to be threatened with death. It was important that they supported and encouraged one another, that they prayed for one another; it was important they stuck together, willing to lay down their lives for one another if necessary.

In his book, Tough As They Come, Travis Mills talks about life in a military combat unit. He says there is a closeness not found anywhere else "because of the constant need to lay down your life for the sake of others. Because of the ever-present threat of bloodshed and death." The existence of danger creates the need for unbreakable bonds and unquestioning loyalty to one another. I have difficulty giving a sister a ride from the bus stop when the Holy Spirit prompts me.

Scripture tells us the threat of danger in this world is real. "Your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Peter 5:8) We wrestle against "principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12) This is not a place for the faint of heart. There is a constant need to lay down one's life, one's goals, one's ego, one's conveniences, one's privileges, one's time, for others in order to love as Christ loves us. There are dangers we cannot see, battles being waged we do not know, and sieges designed to bring the body of Christ to its knees. We can take Scripture seriously and follow Jesus in selfless sacrifice, or we can negotiate a simple act of service. 

I pray, the next time, I'll be more willing to lay down my life than I am to put up a fight.