Daily Prayer for September 15

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways. This is the very word of the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8–9, NEB Lord our God, we thank you for allowing us to come to you and to stand before your face. We thank you for helping us throughout our life on earth, for strengthening our faith in you and our trust in all you do. Bless us and give us courage. May your light shine out among the peoples so that they recognize your will. May your light shine out so that your name may be praised and we can rejoice in the new time you give us. For you will be at work and you will accomplish it. Even when we do not know what will become of our time, you know what our time needs, and you will carry out your will. You will let your name be honored. You will bring your kingdom, and you will change everything for the good. Amen.   Recent articles on Plough We Are All Heirs Grace Hamman Thomas Traherne wants you to enjoy the world. Read now Miracles Are Not Magic Carlos Eire For saints who flew, miracles came as a byproduct of holiness. Read now Readings: On Divine Nature Herbert McCabe and Augustine of Hippo The church father Augustine of Hippo and Irish priest Herbert McCabe help us recognize the sacred all around us. Read now Against Re-Enchantment Joy Marie Clarkson Secularism has robbed the world of gods and goblins, we are told. Is that a bad thing? Read now Strange Gifts of the Spirit Sarah Killam Crosby What might other Christians learn from Pentecostalism? Read now

Daily Prayer for September 6

When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” Mark 10:14–15, NIV Dear Father in heaven, how shall we thank you for all you give to us, your children, for the great wisdom and power you hold in readiness for us if we are childlike? We want to be glad in your presence. We do not want to weep and complain, though tears often threaten to come. We simply want to ask you to protect us, your children. Protect all your children on earth. Let the pain that breaks over them be taken away, for the sake of the whole world. Even when we must follow a hard road, let all the suffering we endure become part of the fight that brings in the kingdom of heaven, bringing your purpose to the earth and great mercy to the peoples, bringing to all the world the wonderful forgiveness that enables men to be reborn, until at last all are called your children. Sustain us. Help us. Bless us. May the Savior always live among us, reviving and strengthening us in body and soul. Amen.   Recent articles on Plough The Gospel of Grace Brennan Manning We believe that we can pull ourselves up by our bootstraps – until they are cut. Read now Poor Men West of Richmond Maureen Swinger What I found at an Oliver Anthony concert. Read now Superdoctors From Saint Roch to The Pitt Ellie Rose Mattoon Saint Roch forced me to grapple with how far I might be willing to go for the patients in my care. Read now Sandpile Parenting Johann Christoph Arnold As children we had a big sandpile where our imaginations could run wild. Read now The One Who Promises King-Ho Leung The making and keeping of promises and vows seems to be something close to Taylor Swift’s heart. What can we learn from her songs? Read now

No Longer Any Sea

The glorious future when the sea is no more! The images in today’s post are tough to see.* [See Note] Viewing them is tough because they are too true to our world right now. They are bitter reminders of the religious hatred, political instability, and the personal viciousness that lie in the hearts of fallen humanity. We live in the world with “the hurt” and it is a force we cannot manage. Our world is in bondage to decay, and it cries out for liberation (Romans 8:18-25). In the worst of times, the problems of our world’s brokenness overwhelm us. They not only overwhelm us individually, but they can overwhelm us as nations and as a world-wide community. Our impotence in dealing with this current hurt is a reminder that we can be overwhelmed at every human level with “the hurt” at almost any time! We don’t need theology to tell us something’s broken with our world. We see the results of this brokenness all around us. The picture of tiny Aidan, an innocent child, caught up in the rip tides of politics, economics, religion, hatred, ethnicity, and race, reminds us powerfully of the brokenness of our world. His lifeless body pushes us to see “the hurt” in human terms We know that “the hurt” is real. I know it personally. I was not allowed the immunity of childhood to protect me from “the hurt.” Daddy Gordon, my grandfather on my mother’s side, died without warning when I was 5. We had been fishing in the Gulf of Mexico the day before. The next night he was gone. I had to face “the hurt” with no tools through the emotional mist of a kid’s confusion. Gary, a friend with whom I had tried to share Jesus in ninth grade, was killed riding on a motorcycle going to buy drugs. The guy driving the motorcycle was supposed to be a Christian. I had to face “the hurt” again when I was 15, still in the angst of being a teenager. My father, Daddy Al, died when I was 25 after a lengthy illness. Once again, now in the earliest stages of marriage and fatherhood, I had to face “the hurt.” Only this time, I was more fully aware of the finality and all that is lost to “the hurt” even when that loss is framed by faith. The first three decades of my life were marked by life-shattering losses to “the hurt.” However, compared to what many in our world face, I lived a blessed life! The brokenness of our world – dealing with the overwhelming nature of “the hurt” – is our inescapable reality as mere mortals. We must have an answer for life’s biggest inescapable, “the hurt,” or all of our other answers pale in significance. When the surging waves of our mortality overwhelm us, we have to have an answer for “the hurt” or the surging seas will swallow us in death and the winds of hell will rip apart all that we hold dear. But thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! I love that phrase from the apostle Paul (Romans 7:25). Only now it is my exclamation of anticipated joy as I look at our passage today from Jesus’ Revelation to John (Revelation 22:1). Notice what is said at the end of the first verse: …and there was no longer any sea! How is that good news? Why is this reason to rejoice? I love the sea. There is some primal connection with me to waters of our creation. Why is this good? In the book of Revelation and much of the Bible, the sea is the source of the monsters of hell (Revelation 13:1). In the Old Testament, the sea was symbolic of the monsters of chaos we cannot control: our primal fear of weather, oceans, fire, winds, and all the disasters of our fallen world (Isaiah 27:1-5). The time is coming when all the chaos and monsters from hell and all that sea symbolize are gone! But what does that mean for you and me? Jesus’ promise to us through John means that “the hurt” will be ended! John describes it in these ways. There will be a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 22:1). We will have connection with the best of God’s original creative intention, but we will now be able to enjoy it in perfection, forever. The apostle Paul illustrated this contrast by telling us that in this life we see the seed of God’s life for us, but then we will enjoy it in full bloom (1 Corinthians 15:35-49). Jesus’ promise to us through John means that God’s people will become the Son’s bride-the Church in all its imperfections, now perfected and beautified in the presence of her Savior (Revelation 22:2). All that is good and joyous and eternal about heaven’s hope will become present with God’s people as they participate in the greatest wedding celebration of all time. Jesus’ promise to us through John means that there will be no longer any separation between us and the Father (Revelation 21:3). The Father will be present with us face to face. We will be like and will be able to see him as he is (1 John 3:1-3). Jesus’ promise to us through John means God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. One of God’s first acts is to acknowledge our pain and then remove it forever (Revelation 21:4): Death is gone – so no mourning Pain is gone – so no more crying and hurting. Evil is gone. So what we can’t control, the impact of evil people and a broken world – Gone. These are gone… but not just gone, banished… not just banished, but completely removed with even the residue and reminders of them taken from us and absorbed in the grace, glory, and holiness of God’s presence with us. All things will be made new by their Creator (Revelation 1:5).

Daily Prayer for August 31

You should think of us as Christ’s servants, who have been put in charge of God’s secret truths. The one thing required of such a servant is that he be faithful to his master. 1 Corinthians 4:1–2, TEV Dear Father in heaven, open our hearts to see and feel how our lives have been blest. Open our hearts to your blessings so that we may look forward in thankfulness and joy to what lies ahead. Grant that we may be faithful to what we have received from you and never again lose ourselves in the passing moment. May we hold to all you have brought to our hearts from eternity, that your name may be honored and our lives shaped anew in Jesus Christ. Give us courage to overcome the evils in life and to look with joy and confident expectation to the future, when the powers of your kingdom will be ever more clearly revealed. Amen.   Recent articles on Plough Defeating the Noonday Devil Ladislaus Boros Sloth, or acedia, is not idleness or laziness. According to classical writers, it’s most likely to strike midlife. Read now Saint Galgano’s Sword Logan Messenger A knight, instead of drawing a sword from a stone, thrusts his in and leaves it there. Read now The Killer in Our Choir Daylan Woodall My hometown’s hidden history of violence has left wounds that only divine justice could heal. Read now Tights Narine Abgaryan If only I had grabbed warm tights for her. During a lull between explosions, she darted out to grab warm clothes, and her daughter chased after her. Read now Forgiving the Unforgivable? Hanna-Barbara Gerl-Falkovitz Did forgiveness die in the concentration camps? Read now

Unhinderedly!

God will get us where we need to be when we need to be there! I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6 ESV). While these may be easy words to say, they are much harder words to live. Yet the people who first heard these words knew that Paul shared them with conviction and passion. He wrote from prison.*note He was under house arrest awaiting trial before Caesar and was chained to a Roman soldier (Acts 28:20; Philippians 1:7; Ephesians 6:20; Colossians 4:12). When Paul had first set foot on the shores of Italy, he had been welcomed by believers from Rome. Even though he was a prisoner of Rome, they were not ashamed to be identified with him and accompanied him on his journey to Rome (Acts 28:11-16). While under house arrest, Paul had spoken to Jews and non-Jews about Jesus. Some had listened and became followers of the Lord (Acts 28:17-31). In fact, some who guarded Paul became his brothers in Christ (Philippians 1:17). Paul knew he could be executed because of his current imprisonment. Yet he was confident that he would be released. Through the prayers of believers and the power of the Holy Spirit, he was confident that he would again serve his brothers and sisters in Macedonia (Philippians 1:18-26). Paul was under a God-ordained calling to go to Rome. He had written to the believers in Rome that God was leading him to come to Rome (Romans 1:15). Even while enjoying a great victory over demons, sorcery, and witchcraft in Ephesus, he didn’t hesitate to move forward. Paul told the Ephesians that he had to move on to Rome (Acts 19:21). After Paul’s arrest, assassination plots were planned by his enemies. When everything and everyone seemed to be against him, God revealed that he would go to Rome (Acts 23:11). This was important to him, because Paul was compelled by the love of Christ. His call was to share the message of Jesus to those who had never heard it (Acts 20:24; Romans 15:20-29). He was also committed to encouraging the believers in Rome (Romans 1:11-13). Getting to Rome, however, was quite a challenge. Yet God was faithful and Paul could say: I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6 ESV). Paul passionate lived convinced that these words were true. His journey to Rome was filled with all sorts of twists and turns. Luke’s account of Paul’s journey by sea to Rome in chapters 27 and 28 of Acts are as exciting as any young adult adventure novel. Plots to assassinate him were followed by trials and intrigue – read Acts chapters 21-26. Then Paul boarded a ship under arrest headed to Rome where he would appeal to Caesar for his deliverance. Slow sailing in the early part of the trip meant that the owner of the ship and the captain had to decide whether to try to make it to Rome in the dangerous late October weather. Paul warned them to wait, but they set sail. Things went from boring in the early part of the trip, to bad winds, to worse winds, to terror filled storms, to plots to kill the prisoners including Paul to keep them from escaping, to schemes by some sailors to steal a lifeboat and get away, to tossing out all the tackle, to throwing overboard all the supplies, to holding the ship together with ropes, and finally to running aground in a storm. When the ship broke up in the crashing waves driven by the storm, all prisoners escaped to the island of Malta. On shore, this mixed group of sailors, prisoners, and soldiers was warmly greeted. As the nearly 300 men tried to warm themselves by fire, a viper came out of the burning wood and fastened itself to the hand of Paul. Paul shook it off and was unharmed by the venom. This incident opened the door for Paul to minister to the people there. When winter passed, the group sailed to Italy, and Paul was accompanied by believers as they walked him from the coast to the imperial city of Rome. I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6 ESV). Luke ends Paul’s story in the book of Acts a triumphant, yet ungrammatical ending. In the original language, Luke’s last word is an adverb often translated “without hindrance.” Literally, the word could be translated in its adverbial form as “unhinderedly”! Led by the Spirit, Luke wanted this last word of the book of Acts to ring in the ears of disciples of every generation until Jesus returned: “Unhinderedly”! Despite hardship, opposition, and near death experiences, God brought Paul to Rome as he had promised. Paul shared the message of Jesus to both Jews and non-Jews while under house arrest. He wrote several of his most powerful letters to churches – Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, and Philippians. *note Paul’s story was the living example of the assurance he offered to his beloved brothers and sisters in Philippi. Today, in a world growing more hostile toward those who believe Scripture and who follow Jesus, we must remember these powerful words of Paul to the Philippians. Our struggles are not forgotten. Our cause is not going to fail. Our impact on the world will not pass into non-existence even under the assault of time and culture. The Holy Spirit will empower us to bring grace to the lost and encouragement to the fainting. The Lord Jesus will continue as head of his body, the church. The question is whether we – whether you and whether I – will be faithful to the Lord Jesus who has called us. Because… I

Daily Prayer for August 28

The Lord reigns, he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength; indeed, the world is established, firm and secure. Psalm 93:1, NIV Lord our God, you are king, founding a kingdom that reaches to the ends of the earth, establishing it to endure forever. We thank you that we may be sheltered in your hands and that no sickness of body or soul can do us lasting harm. We thank you for lifting us again and again to true life with the light and power to overcome what is earthly, true life with the flexibility to remain trusting and confident no matter what happens, true life directed to the great goal of God’s kingdom, promised to us in Jesus Christ. Amen.   Recent articles on Plough The Killer in Our Choir Daylan Woodall My hometown’s hidden history of violence has left wounds that only divine justice could heal. Read now Tights Narine Abgaryan If only I had grabbed warm tights for her. During a lull between explosions, she darted out to grab warm clothes, and her daughter chased after her. Read now Forgiving the Unforgivable? Hanna-Barbara Gerl-Falkovitz Did forgiveness die in the concentration camps? Read now The Fantasy World of John Masefield Boze Herrington Masefield’s novels are a glorious hodgepodge of boat voyages, witch covens, flying cars, gun battles with gangsters, talking cats, and time travel. Read now Climbing Through the Ropes Elisha James Jones As I consider how to guide my son in what it means to be a man, I turn to boxing. Read now

Daily Prayer for August 23

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:10–11, NIV Lord our God, we thank you that you have given us an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We thank you that you have already begun to give us new vision, that already many things are being transformed, so that we may go gladly and confidently on our way with hope for whatever is still unsolved. May all this live in our hearts and fill us with thanks to you. We want to be courageous and keep in sight what still needs to be changed. Then we can take part as workers in your vineyard. May the light you have given us continue to shine in us and burn ever more brightly, as you have promised. Amen.   Recent articles on Plough Simone Weil Encounters Jesus Simone Weil Perhaps, in spite of everything, he does love me. Read now Breaking Free of Revenge Antoine E. Davis A father attempts to break the cycle of gun violence – and fatherlessness – from a prison payphone. Read now Soviet Kindergarten Eugene Vodolazkin Kindergarten was a miniature model of real life, where days of glory and success intertwined with periods of failure and bad luck. Read now If My Moon Was Your Sun Andreas Steinhöfel and Nele Palmtag An author and illustrator explain how music inspired a children’s book about dementia. Read now The Absolute Absurdity of a Christian Nation Jason G. Edwards What would it look like if a country made Jesus’ teachings its constitution? Read now

A Charcoal Fire & the Smell of Redemption

Why make someone relive his or her sin, why not just ignore it? I’ve just got to have some steak!” I surprised myself when I said this out loud while sweeping my back porch. But my stomach was growling, and I couldn’t think of anything else but a charcoal-grilled steak to fix that growing ache in my belly. So I went inside and told my wife, “I’ve got to have some steak!” After a pause, I continued, “I don’t care if we go to Outback, Beehive, or even if I grill it myself, but I’ve got to have some steak.” Donna laughed and said, “And you know why you’re wanting steak?” “Not really,” I replied. “You’re smelling our neighbors grilling outside, and now you want what they’re cooking!” BINGO! She was right. I opened the back door, and our yard was filled with the aroma and smoke of someone nearby grilling steak. That aroma had awakened something deep inside me that triggered my “I’ve got to have some steak!” response. Two significant events in Jesus’ preparation of the apostles occurred around the smell of a charcoal fire. The term “charcoal fire” (in Greek, anthrakia) occurs in the New Testament in two places, both in the gospel of John. The first involves Peter’s three denials of the Lord (John 18:15-27; esp. John 18:18 ESV). The second involves Jesus’ restoration of Peter to ministry after a miraculous catch of fish (John 21:1-22; esp. John 21:9 ESV). This little detail of personal memory is rooted in the sensory experience of the distinct aroma of a charcoal fire. It links these two events both in terms of a visceral response for both John and Peter as well as functions as a key connection between the two events in John’s gospel. In cornbread English, John is telling us that the smell of a charcoal fire evoked the memory of Peter’s three denials until it was supplanted by the memory of Peter’s restoration by the Lord in front of a charcoal fire. The bottom line: At a charcoal fire, Peter had betrayed the Lord! At a charcoal fire, the Lord restored Peter! At the post-resurrection appearance of Jesus by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus does the important work of calling Peter back to ministry and then restoring Peter to his leadership position among the apostles (John 21:1-22). Jesus does this in a situation that echoes Peter’s original call to follow the Lord (Luke 5:1-11). Interestingly and importantly, Jesus does not let Peter off the hook. Jesus didn’t look the other way and simply ignore Peter’s sinful failures. Peter hadn’t just denied the Lord that night, but he did so after claiming superiority to his fellow apostles. Peter had shown a desire to be first before he failed miserably at being faithful. Both sins would have sabotaged his leadership in the early church and among the apostles. When Jesus had originally warned Peter of his impending denials, it was in the context of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet. At first, Peter did not want the Lord to wash his feet, even though the Lord washed the feet of the other disciples. Then after the Lord’s rebuke, in typical Peter fashion, Peter wanted to be washed all over (John 13:1-11). Jesus then warned his apostles that one would betray him, and all the rest would abandon him. The Lord specifically warned Peter that he would deny him three times that very night. Still not recognizing his own vulnerability, Peter claimed that no matter what others did, he would remain faithful even if it meant dying for the Lord (John 13:21-38). Peter failed despite his brash promises. Peter failed despite claiming to love the Lord more than the others and being more faithful to the Lord than his fellow disciples. Peter’s denial of the Lord was the complete failure of Peter to live up to his word and his brash promises. Peter’s denial of the Lord was the complete failure of Peter to be loyal to the Lord he claimed to love. After the Lord’s resurrection, Peter still had influence as a natural leader. “I’m going out to fish”, Peter said to some of his apostle buddies. Despite Peter’s failures and arrogance, the other apostles followed Peter into the boat and went fishing (John 21:1-3). Peter may still have been a brash natural leader, but Jesus didn’t want a natural leader. The Lord wanted a restored spiritual leader. Jesus wanted Peter to be a leader with integrity and who knew his own vulnerabilities. Failure wasn’t the issue. Every human leader will fail at some point. The issue for Jesus was that Peter had to own his failures. Peter needed to humble himself before the Lord and before those he let down with his arrogance and denials. Only then could the Lord raise Peter back from failure and restore him to leadership. Only after Peter could acknowledge his failure – an admission that had to come from his heart – would he be ready for leadership. In our experience with leaders who sin today, we often toss them into one ditch of destruction or the other. We either gloat over, gossip about or pour shame out on leaders who sin publicly. We’re used to doing this because of the popularity of gossip magazines and TV shows about entertainers. So we jump in and do the same thing to those among us who fail in our Christian family. We perpetuate and spread the gangrenous poison of one sin through our own sin. Or on the other hand, we try to be nice and say we don’t want to judge them too harshly; so we end up ignoring their sin. Sometimes this means allowing a leader to continue without ever repenting. Other times we quietly ostracize that person by simply ignoring them and putting them on the back shelf of irrelevance and disassociation. Either way, the leader – our Christian brother or sister – is not restored to life and ministry

Courage! I AM! Quit Fearing!

3309-large.jpg”> Can we see the LORD in middle of our storms? 0″ /> Sometimes the most powerful things come in small packages. Last week, we looked at the book of Jonah with four chapters. Today, we look at only twelve verses in the gospel of Matthew and will focus on five specific words: “Courage. I AM. Quit Fearing!” Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” [The five words in Greek here could be literally translated: “Courage! I AM! Quit Fearing!”] “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” Jesus said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down (Matthew 14:22-32) 570″ border=”0” /> This little stick of dynamite made up of these five simple words 8212; “Courage! I AM! Quit fearing!” 8212; lets Jesus speak to us on two different levels as his disciples. In this short event, Matthew gives us a message as individual disciples. This message is given to help us in those times when we are caught in our own personal LIFE-STORMS. Matthew also gives us another message for leaders. Through the lens of the apostle Peter, Jesus reminds us how to lead others as we try to serve others through our shared LIFE-STORMS. Let’s look at each of these in a little more detail. As we do, let’s ask, “What can I do and what should I know as we face our LIFE-STORMS?” We’re all going to have LIFE-STORMS. We live in a broken world where bad things happen to good people. We are regularly confronted with all sorts of unfair challenges that can be caused by health problems, unfairness, world economic issues, unscrupulous people, betrayal by those close to us, natural disasters, and a host of other things. So we need to be prepared for these unwanted storms. We will focus first on Jesus’ message to us as individuals. What is Jesus saying to each of us personally in our own individual LIFE-STORMS? What do Jesus’ five words 8212; “Courage. I AM. Quit fearing!” 8212; really mean for us? 570″ border=”0” /> Jesus’ words powerfully echo God’s words to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-15). God revealed himself to Moses and called him to redeem the children of Israel from the bondage of Egypt. The LORD revealed himself through the name “I AM,” the God who is and was and always will be. He also identifies himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Then, God reveals himself as the LORD (YHWH) and tells Moses that he is about to act powerfully for his people: “I have indeed seen the misery of my people… I have heard them crying out… I am concerned about their suffering… So I have come down to rescue them…” (Exodus 3:7-8). Jesus is reminding us that he is “I AM.” HE is our God. He is our LORD, who worked through the history of Israel to bring deliverance, redemption, and salvation. This God preserved his people through all sorts of “impossible” challenges over the course of centuries and generation-upon-generation. He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). He will allow nothing to separate us from his love for us (Romans 8:38-39). So in the storm, let’s look for our LORD. Let’s ask him to reveal his presence to us and guide us to where he wants us to be. Let’s trust that Jesus is with us and that Jesus is the great “I AM”! No matter what our circumstances are at the moment, no matter our doubts, no matter what Satan is trying to do to make us ashamed or afraid, we can choose to believe the promises of Jesus as the great “I AM”! He will not abandon us or leave us. He is working in our LIFE-STORM to bring us deliverance. He is there with us in the roiling waves and the fearsome winds and the driving rain. We can choose to believe he is there, but it is hard to do on our own. So we must choose to stay connected to the Lord’s people and not be too proud to admit our fears and our doubts. 570″ border=”0” /> Sometimes, however, we need help remembering that the LORD is tangibly with us. Rather than seeing ourselves as fellow disciples of Jesus caught in a LIFE-STORM with other disciples in the same boat, we often feel alone and vulnerable as we face our LIFE-STORMS. I am reminded of the often-told story about the little boy in a new house who is scared of the lightning and thunder. He repeatedly ran into his mom and dad’s room seeking comfort and reassurance during the storm. Each time the boy hopped in bed with them, they let him stay for a few minutes. Then, his daddy would tuck him back into bed. Finally, as the dad could hear the storm moving off in the other direction, he tucked his son in bed and said, “You know God will take care of you. You don’t

Daily Prayer for August 11

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the Lord returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes. Isaiah 52:7–8, NIV Lord our God, grant that we may be your watchmen, who can understand what you mean for our time. We thank you for all you have already done, for every change to the good among the nations. For the nations must bow to your will so that nothing happens unless accomplished by you. Judge us wherever necessary. Open our eyes to see where we are wrong and where something does not go according to your Spirit. Be with us and give us strength. Raise up more watchmen everywhere, in every place and in every home. Wherever something happens to move people’s hearts, let the watchmen proclaim, “This comes from God. It does not matter how much we suffer. This comes from Jesus Christ, who suffered and died, but who rose again.” Raise up such watchmen among young and old everywhere on earth, to the glory of your name. Let there be a people who go to meet you with shouts of joy and thanksgiving. Amen.   Recent articles on Plough Artist Not for Hire Daniel Domig A contemporary painter describes how he balances his artistry with earning a living and parenting. Read now Should Disabled Parents Have Kids? Jenna Klaassen What should I make of online comments advising me not to pass on my genetic condition? Read now What I Learned at Ravensbruck Corrie ten Boom A concentration camp prisoner turns to prayer. Read now Growing Roots in Portugal Claudio Oliver A small intentional community moves continents and finds new neighbors. Read now Christian Nonviolence and Church History Ronald J. Sider What would happen if all the Christians in the world refused to kill? Read now