faithfulness

Pour Your Spirit on your servants

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
image, Cyprus, via Pxhere, CC0 Public Domain
 
Lord God Almighty, no one rules over you.
You always were, and are, and will be. 
You stand in need of nothing.
 
You alone are true, and wise, and most high.
You alone are good, and beyond compare.
Your knowledge is without beginning.
 
You are God and Father of your only begotten Son,
    of our God and Savior, the creator of the whole world by him.
Your providence provides for and takes care of all.
 
Father of mercies, God of all consolation,
    you dwell in the highest heaven, 
        but see us here below.
 
From the beginning, you ordained leaders for your people:
Abel, Seth and Amos. Enoch and Noah. Melchizedek and Job.
Abraham and the rest of the patriarchs, with your faithful servants 
    Moses and Aaron, Eleazer and Phineas …
    who chose rulers and priests in the tabernacle.
 
Pour down the influence of your Spirit.
Grant by your name that your servants whom you have chosen
    may feed your flock, serving you night and day, 
    gathering those who will be saved.
 
May they please you in meekness and pure hearts,
    with steadfast spirits and blameless minds, being above reproach, 
    offering to you a pure sacrifice though Jesus Christ, our God and Savior.
 
All glory, honor, and worship be to you in the Holy Spirit,
    now and always, and for all ages, Amen.
 
Apostolic Constitutions, 375-380, Syrian Christian church orders
 
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Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. 
And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit 
    to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today.

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Give me a steadfast heart

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

 
 
Give me, O Lord, a steadfast heart, 
    which no unworthy affection may drag downwards; 
give me an unconquered heart, 
    which no tribulation can wear out; 
give me an upright heart, 
    which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside.

Bestow on me also, O Lord my God, 
    understanding to know Thee, 
    diligence to seek Thee,
    wisdom to find Thee, 
    and a faithfulness that may finally embrace Thee. 
Amen.
 
Thomas Aquinas, 1225 – 1274, Roman Catholic philosopher and theologian
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Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, 
    for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, 
    which God has promised to those who love him.
 

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You who are unchangeable in love

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
 
You who are unchangeable, whom nothing changes!
You who are unchangeable in love, 
    precisely for our welfare, not submitting to any change:
  may we too will our welfare, 
    submitting ourselves to the discipline of your unchangeableness,
    so that we may in unconditional obedience find our rest 
    and remain in rest in your unchangeableness.
You are not like us;
    if we are to preserve only some degree of constancy,
    we must not permit ourselves too much to be moved,
    nor by too many things.
You on the contrary are moved and moved in infinite love, by all things.
Even that which we human beings call an insignificant trifle,
    and pass by unmoved, 
    the need of a sparrow, even this moved You;
    and what we so often scarcely notice, 
    a human sigh, this moves You, 
You who are unchangeable!
 
You who in infinite love do submit to be moved,
    may this our prayer also move You to add Your blessing,
    in order that there may be brought about such a change in us
    who pray as to bring us into conformity with Your unchangeable will,
You who are unchangeable!
 
Soren Kierkegaard, 1813-1855, Danish philosopher and theologian
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So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise 
the unchangeable character of his purpose, 
he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, 
in which it is impossible for God to lie, 
we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement 
to hold fast to the hope set before us.

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from “perhaps” to “Yes”

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

 

You are the God who is simple, direct, clear with us and for us.
You have committed yourself to us.
You have said yes to us in creation,
                        yes to us in our birth,
                        yes to us in our awakening this day.
But we are of another kind,
    more accustomed to “perhaps, maybe, we’ll see,”
    left in wonderment and ambiguity.
We live our lives not back to your yes,
    but out of our endless “perhaps.”
Se we pray for your mercy this day that we may live yes back to you,
                        yes with our time,
                        yes with our money,
                        yes with our sexuality,
                        yes with our strength and with our weakness,
                        yes to our neighbor,
                        yes and no longer “perhaps.”
In the name of your enfleshed yes to us,
    even Jesus who is our yes into your future. Amen.

Walter Brueggemann, 1933 -,  American Protestant Old Testament theologian
Awed to Heaven, Rooted to Earth
 
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Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, 
    for he who promised is faithful.
 

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Prayer to close out a minister’s conference

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
W. L. Ransome
 
Almighty God, we thank thee for the hours we have spent on this campus.
Every now and then when the way seems dark,
    you give us a little sample of what is better further along.
We have been encouraged this week by the fact that 
    what we have received is a sample of that which is waiting for those 
    who hold out and prove faithful to the end.
We are like the ox who is pulling the load up the hill,   
    and about to give out;
    when the driver gets out of the ox cart and carries a little food up the hill –
    and the oxen know the food is up there,
    by faith they pull harder.
We are gonna pull harder now.
We are gonna cut more deeply.
We are gonna believe more firmly.
We are gonna hold more assuredly,
    because one thing you told Peter,
    “that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church.”
Help us to go back now.
When Samson wanted to burn down the wheat fields of the Philistines,
    he got a hundred or so foxes and tied their tails together.
He struck one match and lighted all those fiery tails and
    turned them loose among the wheat fields of the Philistines.
When the foxes got through,
    the enemies of God didn’t have nothing to feed on.
We’ve been tied together here this week.
The Servant of God has lighted our hearts with the candle of Thy Word.
He’s turning us loose now! 
We’re going out into the world, 
    and we’re gonna burn down hell and the kingdom of Satan in this age!
May the grace of God 
  and the sweet communion of the Holy Spirit
  and the peace that passeth all understanding,
    abide with us until that same Jesus,
        who went into the first airship, manned by two pilots,
        ascended out of sight,
    and the angel said,” In like manner, He’s coming again.”
And when He comes, when He comes,
    all those looking for Him by faith will be with Him
    and shall never separate from that Holy Church.
Where the shadows never fall, calendars never bedeck the walls,
    funerals are never had, and parting is no more.
On the sea of glass, we will retire.
Palms of victory in our hands,
    we will waive to Him who shall reign forevermore.
 
prayer given by W. L. Ransome at the Hampton Ministers’ Conference 1973
 
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Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, 
    for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 
Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 
And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, 
    but encourage one another, 
    especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

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I want to finish well

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash
 
O Lord, I want to finish well.
As the years march on, it is painful to realize I no longer possess
    the physical skills or energy I used to have.  
But even more frightening are the persistent temptations 
    that threaten to wear me down.  
The enemy knows my weaknesses, 
    and day after day, month after month, year after year, 
    he knows which temptations are most likely to attract me.  
I am afraid that, in a moment of weakness, I will sin boldly 
    and then have to live with the tragic consequences.  
Please keep me away from circumstances 
    where the temptation will be too strong for me to overcome.  
I don’t want to let an evening of fun ruin a lifetime of faithfulness.  
 
Lord, may I finish strong in my walk of faith.
When I am old and gray and depart this earth, 
    I will meet you face-to-face.
I pray that you will be able to say,
    ” Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
 
Ron A. Beers 
 
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And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, 
will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

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Your disposition toward me is goodness

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
image /peasap / flickr / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
 
Lord, remind me that Your disposition toward me is goodness.
    Keep me from the dark suspicion that You are not good.
You act with generosity and benevolence.
    Keep me from believing that You are not for me.
You are gracious and compassionate.
    Keep me from the assumption that I am beyond Your grace.
You are faithful and steadfast.
    Keep me from the opinion that Your disposition toward me could change.
You are rich in love and never petty in Your anger.
    Keep me from doubting the richness of Your love for me.
 
Kurt Bjorklund, 1968- , American Minister and author of
 
_________________
 
 
You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead?
Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! 
So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, 
    how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

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to confess what the Lord has done for us

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Jarena Lee, By Lithograph by P.S. Duval, from life by A. Huffy, Wikimedia Commons
 
God, you know the secrets of all hearts.
Favor us with your presence, O God.
Display your power by a general outpouring of the spirit.
May sinners cry for mercy, while others shout for joy.
May we be faithful stewards of the manifold gifts of God
    and never be ashamed to confess what the Lord has done for us.
May we never lose the witness out of the heart
    by withholding our testimony from our friends and neighbors 
    of your power to save.
May we not just run well for a season,
    and yield to the temptation of the tempter’s whisper
    saying “not now” 
    and by and by the soul becomes barren and unfruitful.
May we “watch” and tell around what a dear Savior we have found.
 
Jarena Lee, 1783-1864, African American minister
 
______________________
 
 
For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. 
It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes
    —the Jew first and also the Gentile. 
This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. 
This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. 
As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”

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Lament in Times of Sorrow

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay 

God, we call out to you!
From the depths of our hearts, we cry,
“Lord, hear our prayer!”

We are consumed by grief.
The events of the past few days have overwhelmed us—
it’s hard to sleep,
it’s hard to eat,
it’s even hard to pray.

Where are you, God?

Deep down, we know that you love us—
we’ve experienced your mercy and your faithfulness in the past,
and it has sustained us through many difficult times.
We refuse to believe that you have deserted us,
or that you are unaware of the pain that we’re feeling.
And so we turn to you again,
longing for your presence,
looking for your comfort and peace.

Surround us with your unfailing love.
Remind us that you alone are God,
and that you hold us in the palm of your hand.
Give us courage and strength to face the days ahead,
and strengthen us in the knowledge that we do not face them alone.

In the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, we pray.

Amen.

 

Christine Longhurst, Worship Professor, Canadian Mennonite University

 re-worship.blogspot.com

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Psalm 77:1-2

I cried out to God for help;
    I cried out to God to hear me.
When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;
    at night I stretched out untiring hands,
    and I would not be comforted. Continue reading →

embraced by your unwavering love

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
Photo by Alfonso Scarpa on Unsplash
 
Dear Lord, today I thought of the words of Vincent van Gogh:
“It is true there is an ebb and flow, but the sea remains the sea.”

You are the sea. Although I experience many ups and downs in my emotions and often feel great shifts and changes in my inner life, you remain the same. Your sameness is not the sameness of a rock, but the sameness of a faithful lover. Out of your love I came to life; by your love I am sustained; and to your love I am always called back. There are days of sadness and days of joy; there are feelings of guilt and feelings of gratitude; there are moments of failure and moments of success; but all of them are embraced by your unwavering love.

My only real temptation is to doubt in your love, to think of myself as beyond the reach of your love, to remove myself from the healing radiance of your love. To do these things is to move into the darkness of despair.

O Lord, sea of love and goodness, let me not fear too much the storms and winds of my daily life, and let me know that there is ebb and flow but that the sea remains the sea. Amen.

Henri J.M. Nouwen, 1932 – 1996, Dutch-born Catholic priest and author 
 
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Psalm 65:5-8

By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness,
    O God of our salvation,
 the hope of all the ends of the earth
    and of the farthest seas;
 the one who by his strength established the mountains,
    being girded with might;
 who stills the roaring of the seas,
    the roaring of their waves,
    the tumult of the peoples,
 so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth 
    are in awe at your signs.
You make the going out of the morning and the evening 
    to shout for joy.

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