Daily Prayer for July 22
You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom Luke 22:28–30a, NIV Lord our God, we thank you that we may be your children and that we may hope in your Spirit. Your Spirit rules us as people whom you want to draw to yourself, as people who may serve you in their lives here on earth. Grant that we may be childlike, so that your Spirit can rule us more and more and what is good may come to many people in all places. May many come to know that their lives are not merely temporal. May they realize that they can live and act in you, and through you may experience the good that is to come to all nations on earth. Amen. Recent articles on Plough Who Gets to Tell the Story? Lore Ferguson Wilbert In R. F. Kuang’s Yellowface a woman sells her dead friend’s novel as her own. Read now The Wonder of Moths Caroline Moore Gorgeous and fragile, moths showcase nature’s richness and vulnerability. Read now A Requiem for World War I Marianne Wright Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem was intended to serve as a warning to future generations of the futility of taking up arms. Read now When a Bruderhof Is Born Maureen Swinger What’s it like to be a young person in a young community? Read now My Neck of the Woods Felix James Miller The Adirondack Park, a mixture of strongly protected public and private lands, is a great example of how humans can dwell in the natural world in a way that benefits both. Read now
Daily Prayer for July 21
My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young – a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Psalm 84:2–4, NIV Lord God, our souls long for you and for your glory, for the day when it shall be said, “All is accomplished! Now your kingdom comes. Now your day appears. When we look back on all that has happened to us, everything becomes clear.” We thank you that we can live without fear, again and again refreshed and renewed, waiting for the good you give on earth. Show us the way we have to go. Grant your blessing in our hearts so that in need and death, in fear and distress, we may always have light and strength. You are our salvation, Lord our God. From you comes the salvation of our souls. We trust you today and every day. We praise your name, and in you we hope for the day you hold in readiness for the whole world, the day when light will dawn in every heart. Amen. Recent articles on Plough The Wonder of Moths Caroline Moore Gorgeous and fragile, moths showcase nature’s richness and vulnerability. Read now A Requiem for World War I Marianne Wright Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem was intended to serve as a warning to future generations of the futility of taking up arms. Read now When a Bruderhof Is Born Maureen Swinger What’s it like to be a young person in a young community? Read now My Neck of the Woods Felix James Miller The Adirondack Park, a mixture of strongly protected public and private lands, is a great example of how humans can dwell in the natural world in a way that benefits both. Read now Violence Is Counterproductive Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, Hans Denck and Menno Simons Early Anabaptist writers make the case against a Christian’s use of violence. Read now
Daily Prayer for July 20
They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them. Jeremiah 32:38–39, NIV Lord our God, you want to be our God and you want us to be your people. Give us the inner integrity and the power to discern and reject what does not come from the heart, so that everything may be genuine among us. Then no lies and deception will creep in, and honesty and goodness will flow from our hearts to the glory of truth, to the glory of the gospel and the great hope you give us through the gospel. Guard our hearts. Protect the good that is planted in them, that it may grow and thrive and bear fruit. Amen. Recent articles on Plough A Requiem for World War I Marianne Wright Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem was intended to serve as a warning to future generations of the futility of taking up arms. Read now When a Bruderhof Is Born Maureen Swinger What’s it like to be a young person in a young community? Read now My Neck of the Woods Felix James Miller The Adirondack Park, a mixture of strongly protected public and private lands, is a great example of how humans can dwell in the natural world in a way that benefits both. Read now Violence Is Counterproductive Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, Hans Denck and Menno Simons Early Anabaptist writers make the case against a Christian’s use of violence. Read now Toward a Gift Economy Simon Oliver Some goods and services have value beyond their market price. Read now
Sharing in the Joy!
O God, please, will you let me see a little harvest… Please! Jesus is not in Israel — not Judah or Judea or even Galilee. He is in Samaria that often forbidden area where nothing and no one properly lived — at least from the perspective of a Good Jewish person of Jesus’ day. Jesus has just concluded a public conversation with a woman — ooh, that’s questionable! She was a Samaritan outcast of dubious sexual practices! Ouch, that was forbidden. Yet, Jesus has answered her searching and seeking questions and then led her to faith. She has gone to tell her own people — those who had cast her to the outer margins of their village life. But Jesus’ knows her, knows her faith is real, and that her testimony is about to change village life around her forever. Now, as so often happened, the LORD had to deal with the often “slow-to-get-it” apostles.”Why are you talking to a woman, and why are you not hungry?” they asked Him. Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true. I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.” (John 4:34-38 NLT) I imagine this scene as Jesus talks to His apostles and points to the villagers coming their way. Their white headpieces bobble along as they walk toward them, and Jesus says: “I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe [— the heads of grain are white —] ready for harvest.” There are different kinds of seasons in the life of a follower of Jesus who takes seriously the LORD’s Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8-10). We often find ourselves in the harder seasons. Some are in the planting seeds season, where we keep sowing and can’t see any harvestable results. Some of you have been trying to find good soil. Others have been planting seeds for what seems like a long time with few noticeable results. Others are in the watering and tending phase to see if there is any harvest in sight. Some of you are weary and not sure you can keep on looking for soil, planting seeds, bringing water, tending to the weeds, and waiting on any hint of the harvest. It is hard work getting to know the soil and cultivating relationships so you can sow in a cultural climate hostile to the seed you sow. It is discouraging not to see quick results from all of your labor, sweat, and prayers. This can be a season that leads many of us to doubt ourselves, our calling, and our mission: Did I mishear God’s call? Was I wrong in coming here? Is this what I’m supposed to be doing at this time in my life, and especially in my family’s life? What am I doing wrong? Is there any fruit in sight? O God, please, will you let me see a little harvest… Please! I’ve asked those questions, had those doubts in my patch of ministry dirt that Jesus sent me to prepare for harvest, and felt inept when others around me were harvesting. So, what word is there for the “no-or-slow” harvest seasons of our lives and ministries? Jesus reminds us of an essential truth: “What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’” And I believe the LORD’s promise is true! Jesus promises us that we will share in the joy of the harvest. It may not be now, or soon, or even on the horizon. However, the Chief Sower of seeds promises us we will share in the joy of His bountiful harvest. And if we are blessed with a surprise from God’s gracious love, we may experience a foretaste of this harvest when we least expect it. I am an old dude. My hands-on sowing is less frequent and more restricted. While I do get to hear about our house church planters’ successes and challenges, I don’t get to be there to get wet hugging the newly baptized or lifting my hands with them when they sing their first praises to Jesus. Oh, how I’ve missed that and longed for those experiences! So, imagine my surprise when we visited Rwanda Children Christian School, and I was asked to preside at the baptism of 188 people delivered from animism and incestuous living who were brought into the Kingdom of the Son of God’s love. It was from a neighboring village that time had forgotten. The efforts of loving disciples took over a year of lessons on how to grow crops, training in hygiene, explanations of birth abnormalities because of incestuous inbreeding, health care that provided basic services, education for the children, and lots of love. God’s people did that consistently, beautifully, sacrificially, and hopefully. They planted the seed, watered it, removed the weeds, and then shared the Good News. These practices of gracious sowing, tending, and weeding had guided God’s people in their love for people in desperate need of grace. I was blessed to stand and welcome ninety-eight of those new family members into the fellowship of the saints as they rose from their new birth into God’s family. I got delightfully wet from high-fives, handshakes, and hugs. I rejoiced over them and cried with them. I saw old men and women with tears streaming down their cheeks for joy, many wearing their best clothes to be baptized. I saw pre-teens who were excited but unsure of the road
Daily Prayer for July 19
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9–10, NIV Lord our God, we rejoice that we may be called your children. In our weakness we ask you to shelter us in your hands. Strengthen us in the hope and faith that our lives will surely go the right way, not through our strength but through your protection. Grant that through your Spirit we may come to know more and more that you are with us. Help us to be alert in our daily life and to listen whenever you want to say something to us. Reveal the power and glory of your kingdom in many people, to the glory of your name, and hasten the coming on earth of all that is good and true. Amen. Recent articles on Plough When a Bruderhof Is Born Maureen Swinger What’s it like to be a young person in a young community? Read now My Neck of the Woods Felix James Miller The Adirondack Park, a mixture of strongly protected public and private lands, is a great example of how humans can dwell in the natural world in a way that benefits both. Read now Violence Is Counterproductive Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, Hans Denck and Menno Simons Early Anabaptist writers make the case against a Christian’s use of violence. Read now Toward a Gift Economy Simon Oliver Some goods and services have value beyond their market price. Read now When the Bees Lose Their Way Nick Ripatrazone A review of Liquid, Fragile, Perishable by Carolyn Kuebler. Read now
Daily Prayer for July 18
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth. John 4:23–24, NIV Lord our God, we thank you for being among us as our Father, for letting us be your children on earth. We thank you that as your children we can find life in spirit and in truth. Grant that each of us may find how our lives on earth can be lifted up by your Spirit. Your Spirit can bring us what we do not possess, so that our daily work, all our striving and struggling for the outward things of life, may be pervaded by what is higher and greater. Your Spirit can keep us from falling into base and petty ways, from getting lost in earthly experiences which do not last, no matter how much they demand our attention. We thank you for all you have done for your children. Continue to help us, that we may serve you every day in gladness and gratitude. Amen. Recent articles on Plough Violence Is Counterproductive Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, Hans Denck and Menno Simons Early Anabaptist writers make the case against a Christian’s use of violence. Read now Toward a Gift Economy Simon Oliver Some goods and services have value beyond their market price. Read now When the Bees Lose Their Way Nick Ripatrazone A review of Liquid, Fragile, Perishable by Carolyn Kuebler. Read now The Home, a Monastery? Evan B. Howard To what extent can an ordinary nuclear family live a fully consecrated life? Read now Let Yourself Be Eaten Chiara Lubich Put yourself at the service of your neighbors. Read now
Prayer and Mission
So if they didn’t and couldn’t, how dare we? If you want to discover your congregation’s God-given purpose, there can be no starting point other than prayer. If that’s not immediately apparent, a cursory glance at the book of Acts should make it clear! Acts begins with a group of disciples who had received the Great Commission, but had no clue how to fulfill it. Had they attempted to draft a mission statement at that point, it would have borne little resemblance to God’s divine plan. Their strategic initiatives would have been based on woefully wrong-headed assumptions. Of course, any such plan would have failed anyway for lack of spiritual power. Acts chronicles a series of crucial junctures where God challenges and changes the disciples’ false notions, surprising them with new directions and fresh opportunities that they could have scarcely imagined on their own. There is a common theme at each of these critical crossroads: prayer! For the earliest disciples, the generality of the Great Commission became a specific and focused strategic plan in response to intense prayer. God revealed the gospel message and poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit onto a group of disciples who had been praying constantly for ten days (Acts 1:14; Acts 2:1-4). God’s shockingly unexpected plan to receive Gentiles into the kingdom was revealed to Peter, who was deep in prayer at the time (Acts 10:9). Peter then inaugurated the Gentile outreach by teaching Cornelius, who had been praying at the same time (Acts 10:2). When Saul of Tarsus first appears in Acts, he is intent on fulfilling his personal mission statement, which is to intimidate and incarcerate all who follow Jesus (Acts 9:1-14). But because Saul is fervently praying following his Damascus road encounter with Christ, God sends Ananias to give him a radical new mission: carrying the message of Jesus to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15). Another radical shift in mission occurs when the Holy Spirit directs Saul (now known as Paul) away from Asia and into Macedonia. Paul and Lydia — who becomes the first European Christian — meet each other because they both seek out a place of prayer (Acts 16:13). Only through prayer could the first disciples have grown to understand the surprising twists and turns of God’s purposes. In response to prayer, they received boldness in the face of opposition (Acts 4:24-31) and they united around common goals (Acts 2:42). No wonder that the leaders of the Jerusalem church placed a higher priority on prayer than on “church management” (Acts 6:4). Today, even skilled, educated, and well-meaning leaders will go badly astray if they attempt to sharpen the church’s focus and define its purpose apart from an emphasis on prayer. Leaders of churches that are searching for preachers need to give special prominence to prayer. Again, the book of Acts is instructive. Through prayer, the early believers met the daunting challenge of fitting the right people with the right gifts into the right places at the right time. The apostles knew that their limited wisdom was insufficient to choose an individual to join their ranks, so they prayed and left the decision to God (Acts 1:23-26). With fervent prayer, six men were appointed to minister to the widows in Jerusalem (Acts 6:6). Through prayer, Barnabas and Paul were set apart as missionaries (Acts 13:3). And by means of prayer, elders were appointed to lead each fledgling congregation they established (Acts 14:23). One thing that cannot be discerned from a résumé is the internal state of a person’s heart. That is why those who selected spiritual leaders in the first century prayed to the God who “knows everyone’s heart” (Acts 1:24). Wise leaders today will learn from their example and do likewise. If you are a leader in a church that needs to rediscover or redefine its mission; if your church needs to hear a fresh call from God; and especially if you are in the process of searching for a minister, prayer must be your top priority. Without it, we stand no chance of recapturing the purity, the wisdom and the spiritual power of the earliest Church. This is part of an ongoing series of messages from the partners at Interim Ministry Partners on a church discovering its mission. These messages are based on a proven set of moves a congregation needs to make as it is transitioning in its preaching leadership and wants to focus on its mission. The following chart illustrates the key moves and the direction each of these moves should help the congregation move. About the author: Mark Frost has been in ministry for 41 years, 34 of which were spent with a single congregation. He is now working with churches in transition with Interim Ministry Partners. Mark is a loving and insightful minister who is loved and trusted by the congregations with whom he has worked because of his kind and loving demeanor, positive outlook, good grasp of Scripture and faithful ministry experience.
Daily Prayer for July 16
But as for me, I will look to the Lord, I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. Micah 7:7–8, RSV Dear Father in heaven, as your children we stand before you and lift our eyes to you. We are poor, needy people, often wretched and tormented. Let your eyes rest upon us. Grant us the help we need. Bless us when we gather in the name of Jesus Christ, that we may be a people who learn to serve you on all the paths we follow, even if it proves bitterly hard. Give us true faith for every moment. May we have joy and confidence that you are with your children, that you remain with them forever, until the great time of redemption when we will rejoice with all past generations and with all who are living today. Amen. Recent articles on Plough Toward a Gift Economy Simon Oliver Some goods and services have value beyond their market price. Read now When the Bees Lose Their Way Nick Ripatrazone A review of Liquid, Fragile, Perishable by Carolyn Kuebler. Read now The Home, a Monastery? Evan B. Howard To what extent can an ordinary nuclear family live a fully consecrated life? Read now Let Yourself Be Eaten Chiara Lubich Put yourself at the service of your neighbors. Read now Why Grow Tomatoes Laura Trimble Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s tomato plot. Read now
Daily Prayer for July 15
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Isaiah 61:10, RSV Lord our God, grant that we may find the power of your Spirit so that we may live on a higher level, no longer controlled by our lower natures but strengthened to take up the battle of life. May we be children of the Spirit and may we walk in the Spirit. Guard us against carelessness and keep us joyful and courageous. Help us and counsel us on all our ways so that we may honor you and testify that you are our God, our true help. Amen. Recent articles on Plough The Home, a Monastery? Evan B. Howard To what extent can an ordinary nuclear family live a fully consecrated life? Read now Let Yourself Be Eaten Chiara Lubich Put yourself at the service of your neighbors. Read now Why Grow Tomatoes Laura Trimble Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s tomato plot. Read now A Wooden Headstone Greg Logan An unusual memorial can help us reflect on our impermanence. Read now Why We Hope Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt The future we long for is already here. Read now
Daily Prayer for July 13
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2, NIV Lord our mighty God, look upon us in our poverty, for you call us your children and give us of your Spirit. From your fullness we constantly need to receive strength for the struggle meant for us in life. Grant that light may come wherever darkness still reigns, especially where it is so black that we do not know which way to turn. Hear our prayer for all people, and let your justice and your truth alone be victorious. Let all people receive what you have promised them, and let them realize that no matter what happens, they remain your children. Amen. Recent articles on Plough Why Grow Tomatoes Laura Trimble Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s tomato plot. Read now A Wooden Headstone Greg Logan An unusual memorial can help us reflect on our impermanence. Read now Why We Hope Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt The future we long for is already here. Read now Pillars of Our Communities Terence Sweeney In my parish, Fran was one of those unheralded saints who quietly and determinedly make the world better. Who will step up? Read now Can Social Media Be Tamed? Joshua Sander Tobias Rose-Stockwell’s Outrage Machine details how algorithms promote fear and outrage. Can the monster be tamed? Read now