From My Heart

In the ninth chapter of Daniel, he prays for the nation of Israel. I cannot improve on his words except to say that this would be a great prayer to personalize and pray for our nation. It is a little lengthy, but worth the read. I will put a few brief notes at the end. Daniel 9:3-19 I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. I prayer to the LORD my God and confessed:      "O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands, we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings (President), our princes (Congress, etc), and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.      Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame - the men of Judah and peo...

I have been reading the book of Daniel in preparation for starting a Bible study on that book this coming Sunday. As I look at the life of this man who endured so much, I am convicted by his life. As a young man, Daniel was taken captive from his home never to return. Although he lived in a foreign land under some crazy rulers, he never wavered in his faith or his dedication to God. He could have given in, gone with the flow, taken the comfortable route. Given his talents and abilities, he still might have exceled and been successful, but he would have missed the blessing of God. Daniel was ridiculed and persecuted for his beliefs, but he perservered and was blessed by God every time. Christians are living in a difficult time. We may not be living in a foreign land, but in many ways our culture is trying to take us captive. The recent Chick-fil-A debacle is a prime example. One man, expressing his opinion supporting his beliefs, started a nationwide firestorm. This week, t...

I have been leading/participating in a Bible Study on the book of Nehemiah for the past seven weeks. Tonight will mark our last session. I have to say, the book doesn't end particularly well. As was typical of Israel's history, they had repented and made an agreement with God. But at the very end of Nehemiah, once again they backslide into sin. The book ends with Nehemiah beating people up and pulling out their hair. Not a stellar "the end". It is difficult to study Nehemiah without taking a look into the book of Ezra as well. These two guys were contemporaries and both were responsible for leading groups from Babylon back to Jerusalem. Just from reading their books, it seems to me that these two were as different as night and day. While Nehemiah was the organizer, the planner, the administrator, Ezra was more the spiritual leader, the priest. Together they were able to accomplish much toward rebuilding Jerusalem. Beautiful view of the body of Christ ~ but th...

It is hard for me to pray. For whatever reason I just don't feel I have ever been very good at it. I'm not really sure what " good at it" is supposed to be or if there really is a formula, but it just doesn't come naturally to me. I have heard the sermons, done the journaling series, read books, and on and on. Over the years, I have come to journal my prayers more than just saying them. Writing is a more natural activity to me than conversing. I know some of you who know me find that difficult to believe, but there it is. I buy a pretty book and really awesome pens (simple things amuse me) and it is so much more enjoyable to sit and write. And now here's the rub (literally): I have a cat. If you have ever owned a cat, you understand the dilemma. As soon as I sit down with my Bible and a pen or my iPad, she is on top of me. She absolutely adores pens. She chases them, bats at them, chews them, and if it is the one I am trying to write with all the better. ...