Tag: Prayer

JESUS, HELP US

We know that Muslims observe formal prayer five times a day, and we know that Christian monks and nuns observe formal prayer seven times a day, and we know that ancient Christian tradition calls upon every follower of Christ to pray the Lord’s Prayer three times each day (morning, midday and evening). However, the Word of God within the Holy Bible invites Christians to “pray without ceasing” every single day, 365 days a year:

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not extinguish the Spirit.”

(First Thessalonians 5:16-19)

Of course, this is not strictly referring to formal prayer time where we take a few quiet meditative minutes in our day to center ourselves on Christ, but it’s mostly referring to the informal continual conversation with God that we practice throughout our daily lives: at home, at work, behind the wheel of a car, doing household chores, etc.

Certainly, we’re not expected to observe a time of formal prayer seven times each day as our monastic brothers and sisters in Christ observe. Monastic men and women of the Church do a great service to us by their formal prayer practices seven times a day, and by their deep spiritual contemplation, and by their devotional writings. However, for the vast majority of Christians this would be very impractical to try to observe the level of formal prayer that monastic Christians practice. Be that as it may, as I already mentioned, there is the ancient practice of praying the Lord’s Prayer three times a day. (For me, I try to pray the Lord’s Prayer at least once per day.) But there are other wonderful and brief pre-written prayers that we can utilize for the purpose of centering ourselves in God. Here are three examples of such simple formal prayers:

“Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.”

(The Glory Be)

“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

(The Jesus Prayer)

“Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in us the fire of your love.”

(The Holy Spirit Prayer)

During the Season of Lent, we are given a special time of year to recognize our poverty of spirit and to seek the riches of God’s grace in Christ through more dedicated devotional reading, prayer and contemplation. To that end, we can use short formulaic prayers that are easily memorized (like The Glory Be, The Jesus Prayer, and The Holy Spirit Prayer) on a daily basis in order to de-clutter and center our hearts and minds, helping us to refocus and continue our informal daily conversation with God. So, these are like spiritual reset buttons that we can use.

Indeed, our annual Lenten observance gives us a special opportunity to recognize that our life in this world is ultimately dust and that God is our one and only True Rock. When we go through major transitions in life, it is okay to be sad. When we face depressing circumstances, it is okay to feel depressed. For we are dust and to dust we shall return (see Genesis 3:19). However, the good news of Jesus Christ is that we have a new birth into a living hope:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

(First Peter 1:3-5)

May we all have a good Lenten Season this year, daily praying with both formal and informal prayer practices to access the riches of God’s grace to help us through everything that life in this impermanent world places in front of us. So now I leave you with one more pre-written prayer from an old Catholic prayer booklet published by the Dehonian Monastic Order of the Sacred Heart of Jesus:

In every need let me come to You with humble trust, saying: Jesus, help me!

In all my doubts, perplexities and temptations: Jesus, help me!

In hours of loneliness, weariness and trials: Jesus, help me!

In the occasional failure of my hopes and plans, in disappointments, troubles and sorrows: Jesus, help me!

When others reject me, and Your grace alone can assist me: Jesus, help me!

When I throw myself on Your mercy and love as my Savior: Jesus, help me!

When my heart is cast down by frustration at seeing no good come from my efforts: Jesus, help me!

When I feel impatient, and my cross irritates me: Jesus, help me!

When I am ill, and my head and hands cannot work, and I am lonely: Jesus, help me!

Always, always, in spite of weaknesses, falls and shortcomings of every kind: My Lord Jesus Christ, help me and forever guide me. Amen.

Blessed Lent to all of you!  Pastor Tim

AN ALL-INCLUSIVE PRAYER FOR 2021

Almighty and wonder-full God, we are thankful for your all-encompassing, all-pervading and eternal Presence.

Our thanks and praise belong to you alone, O God of all, because you are the One Source of all being and goodness. In you we live, move and have our being, and by your sovereign grace we receive salvation, wholeness and renewal.

We thank you for the birth, life, teachings, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ our Lord. We thank you for the redemptive suffering of Jesus, endured by him from the Garden of Gethsemane to the Cross of Golgotha (a suffering which exposed the total depravity of our sinful human condition every step of the way), and we thank you for Jesus’ sacrificial offering of himself for our everlasting atonement and reconciliation. Moreover, we thank and praise you for the empty tomb and ascension of Jesus which declare your Final Word of life, light and love eternal.

Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — you are in charge and you lead the way. You never leave us nor forsake us, and your steadfast love endures forever. Whether we live or die, we are yours. In this life and the next, we are secure in your hands.

By your sovereign grace and divine will, you call us, claim us and draw us to yourself. You lead us on paths we do not yet know. There is a tomorrow we cannot see, and there are bends in the road we cannot know. But we know you will faithfully lead us according to your plan and purpose, because you are the Faithful One.

By your amazing grace, we travel the journey of this life. By your grace, we keep our minds focused on you. By your grace, we live God-conscious lives, a daily relationship of moment-by-moment dialogue with you. By your grace, we trust in you, no matter what happens or doesn’t happen. And by your grace, we follow you and abide in you.

By your grace, what joy and peace you give to us!!!

And in response to your infinite grace and absolute love, we live lives of worship, prayer, Holy Scripture study, tenderheartedness, lovingkindness, faithfulness, justice, hospitality and charity.

O Lord God, we pray for the world, this diverse arena you have created to work out your infinite grace and purposes for us and all things. We know that destruction and rebirth are a part of your creative will for the natural world. We know that you are in all creation and all creation is in you. Help us to use times of crisis as opportunities for serving those in need and sharing your truth.

O God, we know that you establish, disestablish and reestablish your earthly community throughout the ages. Beginnings, endings and new beginnings all flow from your creative and redemptive activity. We pray that in times of adversity you will draw us closer to you all the more.

Help us to see your Unity in the diversity of our world, O God, and help us to see that we are all united in you through your Holy Spirit. Help us to see we are of One Love and One Heart in you.

O God, for your universal glory and for our eternal benefit, help us to see and understand all of this according to the faith, hope and love of your Living Word, Jesus Christ our Lord.

You are Love… You are Sovereign… You are True…

Wonder-full God, the great “I Am” of the Scriptures, we pray all these things in the saving name of Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The grace and peace of Christ be with you all in 2021! Pastor Tim

THE SON IS SHINING

As we undergo this extended quarantine due to the global Coronavirus pandemic, we find ourselves with ample opportunity (the rare opportunity) to be alone with our thoughts more and to engage in more intentional reflection and prayerful contemplation. And thankfully, because we live in sunny Southern California, our social distancing is not as claustrophobic as it is in cold grey areas of our country. So, we also have the opportunity to be outside as we use this extraordinary period of quarantine to meditate upon the Word of God in the Holy Bible and to prayerfully wrestle with the deep questions of faith and life. (I recommend any of the following biblical books:  the Book of Genesis, the Book of Psalms, the Gospel of Matthew, the Book of Acts, the Book of Romans, the Book of Hebrews, the Book of First John.)

In a way our whole society is entombed right now, awaiting a return to normalcy. But for people of faith, the eventual reopening of society can be much more than a mere return to what was before. For us it can be a kind of resurrection, a renewal of spiritual life, and a rededication to participating in the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ and in the ministry of his amazing gospel. Furthermore, as I am generally a very ecumenical person, I hope and pray that this renewal will be the case within all denominations throughout our nation — for we are a peculiar nation that has always acknowledged God (in a nonsectarian way) as the fundamental basis and very foundation of our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. As we sing in “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee”…

My native country, thee,
Land of the noble free,
Thy name I love;
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills.
My heart with rapture thrills
Like that above.

In addition, as we are going through the budding and flowering of Spring, transitioning toward Summer, I’m mindful of the passage of the times and seasons of our lives. Consequently, the beautiful song from the musical Fiddler On The Roof called “Sunrise, Sunset” also comes to my mind. It is a song specifically about the passage of time as it relates to children and family, but it’s also about the passage of all the times and seasons of faith and life. The following is an excerpt of the lyrics of this song…

Sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset
Swiftly flow the days
Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers
Blossoming even as they gaze

Sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset
Swiftly fly the years
One season following another
Laden with happiness and tears

Truly, so very swiftly flow the days and so very swiftly fly the years of this life, calling us to savor each and every moment, and causing us to reflect on the life to come when we pass on from this world of “happiness and tears.” This is especially true when a loved one is nearing death. At that particular season of life (a season of tears) we contemplate our place in God’s universe and our ultimate heavenly destiny granted to us by the grace of God in, with and through Christ Jesus our Savior and Lord.

Therefore, according to the faith, hope and love of Christ, the Christian believer is able to reverse the song “Sunrise, Sunset” to “Sunset, Sunrise.” This is because of the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross for our sins and because of his glorious resurrection from the dead on the third day. In other words, through the Son-set and Son-rise of Christ our Lord, we can live this life with the deep inner joy of the living hope of forgiveness of sins and resurrection life. For as it says in First Peter…

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice,even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

First Peter 1:3-7

Thanks be to God for the risen Son of God! Even though we are going through dark times of sunset due to the global Coronavirus pandemic, the grace and truth of the gospel is that the Son is shining upon us now and forever. Amen.

Alleluia, Christ Is Risen! Pastor Tim

THE FEAR OF THE LORD IN 2019

At a recent Sunday morning Bible study here at Mt. Olive, we were discussing the topic of “trusting in the Lord” for our future. So I offered a bit of wisdom from one of my favorite sayings: Trust in the Lord but tie up your horse. And this statement is really concerning the virtue of prudence.

Prudence is using our best judgment to consider various consequences and outcomes in order to prepare accordingly and provide for the future. Essentially, prudence is a type of good fear that has us lock our doors at night and provide for the safety and security of our loved ones, both short-term and long-term. It is a kind of good fear that promotes things like disaster preparedness. In fact, it is prudence that leads the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to encourage all U.S. citizens to maintain at least a basic three-day supply of drinking water, food, fuel and supplies.

Yes, prudence is a good kind of fear that says to us the following:

  + Pray as though it’s all up to God but work as though it’s all up to you.

  + Trust in God but tie up your horse.

However, there is a second type of good fear, and it is the “fear” of the Lord God Almighty. This is the “fear” of awe-struck wonder at the deep mystery of God. It is the “fearful” reverence for what the Native Americans call the Great Spirit — an awe and reverence that leads to insight, understanding and wisdom. As it says in the biblical Book of Proverbs, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Proverbs 9:10).

This biblical “fear of the Lord” is what leads us to be peacemakers in our lives and our world, freeing us from all forms of tribalism, clannishness and cliquishness for the glory of God and the benefit of all. In other words, it is what leads us (in, with and through Christ our Lord) to transcend all earthly divisions so that we might manifest a more inclusive human community here and now — even as we await the fullness of God’s Kingdom to come when our resurrected Lord Jesus returns to us in person someday.

As citizens of the USA, we are especially blessed to live in the most universal of all the countries on Earth. It’s not perfect (no country has a perfect history), but we are nonetheless the most diverse country in the world, and I believe God has blessed us Americans with the task of modeling and defending the idea of a universal human society. We are blessed with the sacred task of advancing greater and greater unity in diversity — e pluribus unum. And as Christians, God has given to us the good news of the one universal Kingdom of God’s truth, grace and love revealed through our Lord Jesus Christ for us to share with all people. As it says in Ephesians chapter 2, “He came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.” (Ephesians 2:17-20).

As we begin 2019, may these two good fears guide us into the future. As prudence would demand, may we “Trust in God but tie up our horse” for our households, community, nation and world. However, as the unifying “fear of the Lord” would command, may we follow Jesus by being agents of unity in diversity for the sake of all people everywhere.

Happy New Year to all of you!!!

Pastor Tim