Tag: worship

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Keep Christ at the Center of Worship

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. We keep them sacred – holy – by coming together with fellow believers to be fed by your Word. Prevent all efforts at supplanting your Word and gospel with anything else in worship. Your house is not the place for political rallies or protests, but for the proclamation of your Word. Let Christ alone and the hope of salvation through faith in him be the focal point of worship in Christian churches everywhere. Guard the walls of churches from false teaching, but also from anything that doesn’t serve to advance your glorious gospel. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

Anointed to Be Our Righteousness

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(Matthew 3:13-17)

Jesus’ Resurrection would have been a significant enough event to have heard it. But there were plenty of even lesser miracles that would have been fitting. When Jesus changed water into wine at Cana, for example. When he raised Lazarus or Jairus’s daughter from the dead. Feeding the Five Thousand. Each of those miraculous events would have served as ideal occasions on which the Father’s booming voice of approval could have echoed from the heavens. 

Imagine the guests at Cana, gushing over the best wine ever, now realizing that the special occasion just got a lot more special because God’s voice confirmed they were in the presence of God’s Son! God’s approval would serve as the perfect exclamation point after a dead person just came back to life. The leftover loads of fish and bread that surpassed what they had even started with would have made perfect sense to the disciples if God’s voice had immediately emphasized that it was his Son who was responsible.

But it wasn’t any of those occasions on which the “voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased’” (v.17). No, those words were spoken at Jesus’ baptism. An event which, by the way, seemed entirely unnecessary to some, including the one performing the baptism, John the Baptist himself. If anyone should be an expert in who should or shouldn’t need baptism, it would surely be the one whose very title denotes his experience and expertise in the area of baptism. Yet he was the one who was puzzled enough to second-guess Jesus’ request: “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (v.14). All of this makes us wonder why this event was the one chosen by God to voice his approval. 

If we eavesdrop in on Peter’s sermon from Acts 10, he explained the significance of Jesus’ baptism and the events surrounding it: “You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached—how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power” (Acts 10:37-38). The Father’s affirming voice was the stamp of approval acknowledging Jesus’ baptism as his anointing into ministry. 

Still today, we have a special service when a pastor is ordained or installed. Other pastors join in laying on hands. But at Jesus’ baptism, instead of hands, the Father laid the Holy Spirit on his Son in the likeness of a dove. His baptism was his anointing, his ordination into ministry. 

Jesus also provides us with additional insight as to the significance of his baptism. It wasn’t just his anointing. “Jesus replied, ‘Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then John consented” (v.15). Jesus had to “fulfill all righteousness.”

Righteousness. It’s a big word. It’s an important word. In fact, we’d literally be lost without it. 

While it’s a little early in the church year for the festival of the Reformation, whenever the word “righteousness” is discussed, it can be helpful to recall the struggle that Martin Luther had with the term righteous in the earlier stages of his life. He knew that only righteous people could enter heaven, since the Bible teaches that only those who are perfect will enter heaven. But, he also knew that all efforts at achieving righteousness on his own were in vain.

This understanding that holiness is required for whatever is in the afterlife is still pretty commonly held to today in a very general sense: good people go to heaven; bad people don’t. But it’s that general understanding that will leave so many in trouble, because “good” is entirely subjective. When our natural inclination is to compare ourselves to the worst in society, people can feel pretty good about themselves. They hold on to a false confidence that they’re good enough to get into heaven. But there are no good people in heaven; just perfect people.

So, we had better make absolutely certain we know how that perfection, that righteousness, is acquired! That’s where Luther struggled. He took desperate measures to do everything he possibly could to achieve righteousness on his own. Do you know where those desperate measures left him? Desperate. In despair. Because by his own experience, he was absolutely convinced that he could never attain righteousness on his own. Indeed, he was experiencing exactly what the Bible teaches about righteousness: “the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal” (Romans 9:31). 

It seems logical to conclude that, if God gave the law, then abiding by it – doing what it says to do and avoiding what it says not to do – should be the path to righteousness. But, just like the Israelites, and everyone before or after them, the only realization one can arrive at is this: if the law is the means by which righteousness is attained, then no one will ever attain righteousness, for no one has ever come close to keeping the law!

So if righteousness can’t be achieved by keeping the law, but is still a requirement for us to gain access to heaven, then how do we come by it? “What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith” (Romans 9:30). It is not the law, then, but faith by which a person obtains righteousness. Paul repeats this truth extensively throughout his letter to the Romans. “But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known…This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Romans 3:21-22). “To the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness” (Romans 4:5).

But, for righteousness to be credited to us by faith, it first had to be attained so that it could be granted to us. That brings us back to the Jordan River. There, Jesus was not only anointed as the One chosen to secure our righteousness, but also took a major step in carrying that righteousness through his baptism. Had the Savior slipped up and sinned or failed to follow through with even the slightest requirement of the law, then he would not have achieved righteousness. And had he not achieved righteousness, then there would be no righteousness to credit to all who believe. 

But he did, and so he can – and does. By faith, the righteousness of Jesus is the righteousness of Abraham, Martin Luther, you and me, and all who believe.

So then, where does your baptism come in? What role does it play? Is it an outward act of obedience that shows God our righteousness? That would only make sense if righteousness could be obtained by the law or by any act of obedience. But since we just established that isn’t the case, then our baptism cannot be merely a display of our obedience or dedication, for that wouldn’t carry any weight before a God who only accepts perfection.

No, our baptism is so much more significant than that. Our baptism is like the floodgate that opens up all of the blessings that flow from the righteousness that Jesus already earned for us.

Buried and raised with him? Check.

Washed and renewed? Check.

Forgiven and saved? Check.

A loving Father who is pleased with us? Check.

Jesus’ righteousness had to come by the law so that our righteousness could come by faith. His baptism had to fulfill all righteousness so that our baptism could make us right with God. His baptism was to keep the law so that your baptism washes you from the curse of the law.

Now, wrapped in the double blessing of a baptism that is backed by the Savior’s baptism, we pursue living in the righteousness that reflects the gift of righteousness we’ve been given. Remember what Peter said in his sermon about Jesus’ baptism – that he was “anointed… with the Holy Spirit and power.” Too easily we forget or simply aren’t aware that the same Holy Spirit and power have been placed on us and are in us through our baptismal faith. We are so comfortable defaulting to Jesus’ perfection and righteousness that we fail to allow those blessings to spur us on to continue to pursue righteous living. 

We aren’t desperate. We don’t live fraught with despair that we’re not good enough, but are confident that in Christ’s baptismal righteousness, we are perfect! Our lives reflect that appreciation and confidence by looking the part. We don’t settle for walking and talking like the rest of the world, but are eager to pursue righteous living – because that is genuinely what we are in Christ: righteous.

Grace and forgiveness don’t prompt us to lower the bar in our living, but to raise it, to honor Jesus in every possible way by following in his footsteps. Jesus’ baptism – and by extension yours – doesn’t just change our status before God; it empowers our sanctification before him. When we take the time to remember and appreciate the significance of Jesus’ baptism, we more deeply treasure our own. So we raise the bar of righteous living to thank him who is our righteousness.

Seeking, Sharing, and Serving the Savior

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(Matthew 2:1-12)

Immediate family members, sure. Grandparents and other extended family members, at their earliest convenience, perhaps depending on travel distance. Close friends, eventually. These are the types of guests you’d naturally expect relatively soon after the birth of your child. There would be nothing out of the ordinary about those closest to you – who care about your family and have been kept in the loop throughout your pregnancy – visiting that soon after the birth of your child.

But it would be weird if random strangers with gifts showed up at your door. If you somehow found out that they were asking around about you and where to find you, that would increase the cringe factor significantly. And, if you knew the long distance they traveled just to see your child, that would make it even more awkward. No prior existing relationship with anyone in the family – just there to see the kid. Weird indeed.

But Jesus was not just another baby. We can appreciate the details Matthew shares, emphasizing that the child the Magi were seeking was no ordinary child. He tells us his name – Jesus – the name Joseph had been commanded to give to the One who would save people from their sins. There was only One to whom that name could be given.

The wisemen from the east also refer to him as “king of the Jews,” a title not just anyone could claim. Then they tell Herod they saw “his” star, not just a star or even the star, but his star. Who is worthy of having his own star??? And they explain that they aren’t there just to pay him a visit, but “to worship him” (v.2).

Then Matthew, never one to miss the opportunity to connect the prophetic dots for us, details how the chief priests and teachers of the law discovered the prophet Micah’s revelation that the birthplace would be Bethlehem. Finally, they didn’t just make a quick stop at the Dollar Tree or some gas station convenience store to pick up a last-minute gift, but brought along with them their very best gifts. No, in light of who this Child was, there was nothing odd at all about strangers from the east paying him a visit. In fact, in light of who Jesus was, we might be surprised that he didn’t welcome even more visitors!

As much as the Magi receive a lot of the attention on the Epiphany, what really stands out is that they aren’t the only ones searching for Jesus; everyone is! Everyone is seeking Jesus – the magi, Herod, the chief priests and teachers of the law – they’re all seeking Jesus. And in a sense, they represent the general types of people still seeking Jesus today.

Sadly, there is no shortage of Herod-type skeptics. Matthew reveals Herod’s true colors upon first hearing the news about Jesus: “When King Herod heard this he was disturbed” (v.3). Herod was not interested in a king to replace him, let alone a Savior. Neither are those who follow in Herod’s footsteps today. They aren’t seeking Jesus out of a need or desire to confirm that he is their Savior. Rather, they are seeking to discredit and undermine him. Any attempts at highlighting all of the ways Scripture reveals Jesus as the Savior for such skeptics are often met with frustration. That’s because for Herod-types, Scripture is viewed not as the divinely inspired Word of God, but as a book filled with holes and contradictions that is to be disproven and discredited. They seek Jesus not to trust him, but to troll him – and all believers who follow him.

Somewhat similar to the skeptics are those who might fall into the category of scholars. When Herod had called the religious scholars of his day together, “he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. ‘In Bethlehem in Judea,’ they replied, ‘for this is what the prophet has written: “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel’” (v.4-6). They were searching for Jesus, but not because they were looking for their Savior. It was their job. They were the academics, the scholars. 

There are plenty of these types today. They have the Bible right under their nose, but it is nothing more than a textbook. It is a writing of men to be studied and dissected by men, stripped of the supernatural and divine, leaving whatever relative, subjective meaning one may find. But their degrees and PhDs blind them to the reality of a Savior. They’re too smart for their own good to see any place for humbly being open to the possibility that the Bible or the God in it could in any way offer them something they could not come by or figure out on their own. 

The third type of seekers are the magi-types. They are genuinely curious. They sense there are limitations to their own understanding of the world around them and are searching for answers. They haven’t been successful in addressing the innate awareness of their own lack of goodness. They are aware of their inability to remedy the guilt and shame of their wrongdoing. They are open to the idea of religion and God, even quite convinced of their place, but aren’t sure where to begin looking or how to determine which is the right path when there are so many. So they are looking. They are seeking. They have some of the pieces of the puzzle, as the Magi did, but are still exploring. 

Each of these three types, regardless of the motivation for their seeking, all have the same thing in common: they all need the Savior. We all need the Savior. For that reason, we never stop seeking him. We are always searching to know him better, to deepen our faith.

Right? If not, when we stop seeking the Savior, that is when we start suffocating our faith. The child of God who insists on or is content to remain just a child of God. If he is not interested in maturing and growing in faith and understanding, he is leaving the door open to allowing his heavenly citizenship to expire permanently. So it isn’t just unbelievers, but also those who already belong to Jesus, who need to keep seeking him. 

Because everyone needs the Savior, it is necessary that we share him with others. While we don’t know all of the details, at some point, the news about Jesus was shared with the Magi. They may have come to learn of the God of the Bible from men like Daniel while the Jewish people were taken to Babylon. 

I love hearing stories about God’s people sharing their Savior. Some of you are very comfortable discussing the basics of salvation and Christianity with others. Some of you are amazing at sharing what you love about what Jesus is doing through your church and school, eagerly inviting others to be a part of it. For others, it’s more challenging, but you are patiently playing the long game with family or friends, dripping Jesus here and there over time, still sharing him in that way.

But, if we don’t ever share Jesus, then we’re showing something else: that we don’t really think too much of him. If the thought of sharing him never enters into my conversations, if it never crosses my mind, if the name of Jesus rarely leaves my lips except occasionally when I’m in church, what conclusion would an unbeliever draw about how important Jesus is to you? Seeking Jesus and sharing Jesus are not optional add-ons to the Christian faith; they are evidence of it.

Seeking and sharing don’t just stop there. Eventually, as God chooses to work through those efforts and bring others to faith or strengthen our faith, it leads to serving. Listen to Matthew describe how the Magi planned to serve their Savior with their gifts in verse 11: “Then they opened their [leftovers] and presented him with gifts of [crumbs from the bottom of the chip bag, some pocket change, and the doggie bag from their last meal at the restaurant].” Wait, that’s not right. It was gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The Magi served their Savior with their best gifts, not their leftovers. 

What does he get from us? Firstfruits or leftovers? Some of us spend more on coffee than we do on Christ. Some went all of 2025 without once thinking about how they serve Jesus with their financial gifts and haven’t considered what their giving will look like in this new year. Some convince themselves that their serving or volunteering is somehow in place of regular offerings, as if God’s grace to us doesn’t warrant service through offerings and volunteering. Some will always leave the work of ministry to others, ignoring that the very definition of ministry is service. Some will spend the better part of their Christian lives content to serve Jesus with leftovers. 

But thankfully, that sad reality is not reflective of God’s love for us. Christmas reminds us of that. It wasn’t just the magi who gave their best gifts; so did God. He gave us Jesus. He gave us his absolute best. And Jesus came to do all of the things we’re called to do, too.

Jesus came to seek, to share, to serve. He came to seek the lost. He came to share his heavenly inheritance and all that accompanies it with us. He came to serve us. And he did all of this perfectly, without fail or flaw. And in doing so, he did much more than just set the perfect example for us to follow; he provided the very perfection we needed to be right with God. He also paid the price we couldn’t by his sacrifice on the cross. Jesus came to seek, to share, and to serve, and through all of this, he came to save us. 

What prompts us to imitate Jesus through the first three: seeking, sharing, and serving? It’s that we can’t do the fourth – saving; only he can.

And he did. We don’t have to save ourselves (not that we could!); he came to do that for us. The same Savior who welcomed the visitors from the east will welcome us into his eternal presence as well. Until then, how will you maximize your remaining time here on earth seeking, sharing, and serving the Savior, in 2026 and beyond? 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Churches to Warmly Welcome Visitors

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. In this new year, many have made or will make resolutions to go to church. For some, this choice is fueled by a penitent awareness that they have sinfully been neglecting worship. For others, this commitment reflects a curiosity and desire to explore the Christian faith and learn more about it. Regardless of the reason, lead churches and regular church attenders be ready to greet with open arms any and all who walk through their doors in this new year. Let these visitors feel warmly welcomed by radical and loving hospitality extended by your people. Let law and gospel be clearly proclaimed in worship and allow the forgiveness and salvation of Jesus to be central to it. Send your Spirit to work in the hearts of all these visitors and use your Word to draw them closer into your church, the body of Christ.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For the Joy of Christmas to Continue

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. Today provides another reason to be grateful after all of the bonus Christmas services this past week: we get to gather for worship yet again to celebrate the gift of your birth. On this fourth day of Christmas, keep the joy of the season shining brightly in and around us. As we engage in the rich blessings of worship, lead your people to confession and repentance, so that you might renew and refresh them with the assurance of their forgiveness and the joy of their salvation. Let the announcement of Jesus’ birth and the news of peace on earth be clearly proclaimed today, and let all hearts that hear it be awakened to faith or strengthened in the faith. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Bless All Christmas Worship This Week

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. Today and this week, you provide us with additional opportunities to gather in your house as we celebrate the Savior born to us. Fill your churches this week with saints and seekers, so that all may rejoice in the news of a Savior given to take away the sin of the world. Bless all of the final planning, preparation, and practice that goes into these special services, so that the good news may be clearly proclaimed, heard, understood, and believed. May worship everywhere magnify you, Lord, by keeping Christ at the center of all Christmas worship. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

The Imminent Arrival of the Messiah

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(Matthew 11:2-11)

Fernando Mendoza. You might not recognize the name, especially if you don’t follow college football (or, even if you do!). But you know a little bit more about Heisman Trophy Winner, Fernando Mendoza (assuming you know that the Heisman Trophy is awarded to the best athlete in college football). With that title, a person can figure out that this relatively unknown-until-recently quarterback of the Indiana Hoosiers is an athlete who probably stands to have a pretty successful future on the football field. A name tells us something; a title in front of that name tells us even more.

Jesus Christ. Did you know it isn’t just a name, but a name and a title? Jesus, which means “one who saves” or “Savior,” was the name given to Jesus. “Christ,” however, is a title. And not just any title, but the most significant title in history. It means “anointed one” or “chosen one,” and God’s people throughout the ages have always understood it as the title that referred to the promised Savior. It’s a title that says, “this is the guy the world has been waiting for,” “this is the One,” “he’s the man.” And this Greek title, Christ, has a counterpart in the Hebrew. It means exactly the same thing as Christ. What is that title? By now, you guessed it: Messiah.

What does this have to do with anything? Everything! When Matthew introduces this section, referring to the Messiah, he’s telling us everything we need to know about Jesus. He was not some imposter. He was not a backup, a reserve, or plan B after the original plan fell apart. No, Jesus was the One designated for the work of salvation that God promised. He was the man! But some needed assurance, which is why John the Baptist sent his disciples to Jesus with the question, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” (v.3). 

It’s natural for us to wonder why John sent his disciples – was it for his benefit or for theirs? It certainly makes sense that John was asking for his own benefit. Keep in mind where John was: in jail. You don’t have to spend any time in prison to know that those who have are left with plenty of time to think. While that can be a good thing, it can also lead a person to overthink things. When things look bleak, and one’s outlook doesn’t look very promising, as was the case for John, it’s not uncommon to second-guess and doubt. So he may have sent his disciples for validation during this low point in his life. 

Or, since John already knew his divinely appointed role of serving as the forerunner to the Savior, his request may have had nothing to do with him. It may have been entirely for the benefit of his own disciples. Remember how Jesus’ own disciples reacted when he was taken prisoner, put on trial, and crucified? They had their doubts! For John’s disciples to see him imprisoned, they may very well have had their doubts about whether all of this was really from God. So John may have sent them to Jesus with the question for their own benefit, to reassure them. Or, it may have been a little bit of both.

Finally, does it matter? Do we have to know what the reasoning behind the question was for us to benefit from Jesus’ answer? Absolutely not. After all, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, God directed Matthew to record all of this in his Gospel for our benefit. And all who hear his response and combine it with faith have even more proof of who Jesus really was – the Messiah. Jesus confirmed who he was, and he did it in two ways. 

One, Jesus pointed to his own miracles. “Jesus replied, ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor’” (v.4-5). But, Jesus wasn’t just reminding John of all of the amazing miracles he had performed; rather, he was reminding them that all the amazing miracles he had performed were the very signs about which Isaiah had prophesied as a sign of the coming Savior, the Messiah, the anointed one! Isaiah wrote, “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy” (Is. 35:5-6). Isaiah was essentially saying, “Look for these signs and you’ll know when the Messiah has arrived.” Jesus was connecting the dots for John to put it all together for a clear answer to his question. The Anointed One had arrived – the Christ had come – and his name was Jesus!

The second way by which Jesus confirmed he was the Messiah was to point to John the Baptist. He shifted his attention to John, but not to turn the attention off of himself; rather, it was to highlight his identity from another angle: from the perspective of the one who was also prophesied as the forerunner of the Messiah. Whatever a person’s opinion of John the Baptist was, Jesus set the record straight in exactly the same way he had just done regarding his own miracles: he pointed to the Scriptures, which had provided another sign of the promised Messiah. Isaiah didn’t just provide clues to the Christ through miracles, but also through his predecessor, sent to pave the way for Jesus. When that one arrived on the scene, it indicated the imminent arrival of the Messiah. As Matthew quoted, Isaiah foretold, “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you” (Mt. 11:10). The messenger had arrived – his name was John. So, then, had the Messiah – his name was Jesus. 

What a clear reminder for us who so easily lose the connection between Savior and Scripture! Jesus could have satisfied John’s question in any number of ways, but he chose to go back to the Bible. The One who had performed the miracle didn’t elect to perform more miracles to convince John’s disciples of who he was, but instead opened the Scriptures to them. Is that not a powerful testimony from Jesus himself? If the One who could have done literally anything to reassure John and his disciples of who he was chose to use the Word of God, can we take anything away from that?

Consider our congregation’s Core Values: Rooted in Scripture, Deliberate about developing disciples, Family-focused, Growth-minded, and Community-centered. Let me ask you, what happens when we say we value these things… but essentially set Scripture off to the side? To think we can claim that we value them while the Scriptures remain a foreign concept to us is to set ourselves up for failure. And, since we’ll fail to make a difference in any of those areas that we claim to value, it also makes us out to be liars. For our Core Values to mean anything, the Word of God is foundational. It isn’t optional. It isn’t occasional. It’s foundational.

If not for the Word, what else are we here for? What else draws us to this or any local congregation? The fun seasonal social activities we enjoy together? The amazing teachers at our school? The meaningful relationships we have with people and parents? Those are tremendous blessings that are not to be taken lightly! However, those blessings share a common denominator – the Word of God. 

To pretend those blessings can continue to flourish and thrive without the Word of God is like pretending a small flame will somehow ignite into a roaring fire in the fireplace without any oxygen. It won’t happen. It can’t happen. Just as that roaring fire needs oxygen to burn brightly, so do all of the blessings that we enjoy here need the Word of God to thrive.

So each of us individually needs what is essential for us collectively: the Word of God. How would you describe your relationship with your Bible? How would you explain your use of it to your children or spouse? Is it like your phone – it’s never out of reach and you’re constantly attached to it? Or is it like the exercise equipment covered up under a sheet in storage somewhere? Despite the Bible’s repeated directive to make it a regular part of our lives as believers, we somehow become very comfortable ignoring it, don’t we? 

Imagine piloting a plane without ever having taken a single flying lesson. Try competing in the Kentucky Derby without being able to ride a horse. Go scuba diving without any air tanks. Head off to war without any weapons. Such examples range from silly to downright dangerous or deadly. But how much more absurd is it to think of a Christian existing without the Word of God?!? 

Yet we don’t bat an eye about neglecting the spiritual lifeline that is our Bible. For that alone God ought to lose his patience with us and condemn us! He’s provided all that we need in it and we treat it as optional at best, or like some contagious disease to be avoided at all costs at worst! What an insult to God! If we’re not going to use it, he might as well take it away from us. 

Instead, he continues to point us to it. If Jesus pointed John and John’s disciples to the Word, it’s no surprise that he also points us to the Word, too.

And why does Jesus point us to his Word? Because the Word points us to Jesus.

Just like it did as Jesus demonstrated to John’s disciples. The more time we spend in the Word, the more our faith lights up at the truth that Jesus is the man, the chosen one, the anointed, the promised Savior. The more time we spend in the Word, the more we marvel at how forgiven we are. The more we see how deeply loved we are. The more clearly we see our names written in Jesus’ blood in the Book of Life. And the more time we spend in the Word, the more certain we are that everything is going to be OK. Everything.

John needed to hear that. John’s disciples needed to hear that. Jesus’ own disciples would need to hear that – again and again. Everything is going to be OK – Jesus is the Messiah!

Where do you need to hear that reminder in your life right now? What is going on that needs to be brought under the certainty that everything is going to be OK, because Jesus is the Messiah? Parenting struggles? Marriage tension? Academic stress? Friendship frustrations? Job irritations? Health questions? Retirement concerns? Or, just the unbelievably heavy burden of guilt and shame from sin? Listen again: everything is going to be OK. Jesus is the Messiah!

The person without the Word, though – believer or not – blows off the idea that everything is going to be OK. Because that person cannot escape the tunnel vision of this world and its problems. For them, spiritual sentiments won’t make a difference for real-life problems. 

But the person in the Word, living and breathing it, soaking it up and pondering it and searching it – the Holy Spirit opens that person’s eyes to see that the world’s problems are but a grain of sand on the beach of eternity with Jesus. The Word is everything, for it reminds us that Jesus, the Messiah, the chosen one, is everything we need. Therefore, everything is going to be OK.

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Thoughtful Consideration of Worship Attire

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. The blessing of Christian freedom means that there is no required dress code for worship. At the same time, we recognize that there is something to be said for distinguishing between secular and sacred. Since the gospel inspires our best in all areas of life, move believers to consider how what we wear in worship can reflect the worth we attach to the privilege of being in your house. Our purpose in gathering is not to draw attention to ourselves – whether positively or negatively – but to devote ourselves to you and to receive the rich spiritual banquet which you offer us in worship. Therefore, let us give humble and reverent thought to how we present ourselves each week for worship. May we glorify you in worship, not only with our songs and prayers, but even with our attention to how we thoughtfully present ourselves.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Find Peace in Your Presence Through Worship

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. When we prioritize worship, we aren’t adding another weighty task to the to-do list of our already-busy holiday season. Instead, we are seeking refuge in the midst of our crazy, chaotic schedules. While we do find a measure of peace simply in slowing down our pace and limiting our obligations this time of year, the peace we find in your presence in your house of worship is unique. There we let out a spiritual sigh of relief as we exhale our sins in confession and breathe in deeply the fresh air of forgiveness. Let us never be too busy for time with you and the saints gathered together for worship – especially this time of year. Ready our hearts for both your Second Coming and our Christmas celebration of your First Coming. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For the Blessing of Music

Dear Lord,
Music plays such an important part in our lives – thank you for this special gift. You have blessed so many people with wonderful musical gifts throughout history. You have then used their gifts to extend the blessing of music to so many ears and hearts as well. During the holidays, we especially appreciate the role music can play in evoking nostalgic memories from seasons past. We are grateful for how secular and sacred music each affect us in different ways. We pray that sacred music, from classical chorales to simple hymns, will always have an important role, for through their emphasis on the coming of the Savior and his joyous birth, they beautifully proclaim the good news of salvation. Continue to use this type of music and singing to turn hearts from darkness to the light of faith for generations to come.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.