Deus Misereatur

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock” (Isaiah 26.3-4). You, holy God, are peace itself. You are not torn apart by internal struggles of light and dark, good and evil, right and wrong. You are the God of peace and to have you is to have your peace “which surpasses all understanding,” a peace that can guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4.7 and 9). Therefore, in the midst of a fluctuating world, a world of upturns and downturns, fixing our hearts on you anchors us in peace. Thank you! “O LORD, you will ordain peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all our works” (Isaiah 26.12). And so, when we were “alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,” you stepped forward and brought about  our peace with you through your Son, Jesus, who has now reconciled us to you “in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present” us “holy ...

“For there is a joy which is not given to the ungodly, but to those who love you for your own sake, whose joy you yourself are. And this is the happy life, to rejoice to you, of you, for you; this is true joy, and there is no other” (St. Augustine, “Confessions,” 10.22). “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16.11). Ah, holy God, how often we have forgotten that you are joy itself, and to have you is to have undying joy! We admit that we too easily get caught up in the swirling current and maddening rush of our commercial, accumulative, avaricious society and begin to believe the lie that buying, acquiring, compiling, and stockpiling “stuff” is joy. And then you abruptly expose the vanity of it when most of it becomes outdated, broken, and inoperable before it’s even paid off! Forgive us, Lord, and restore to us the joy of your salvation (Psalm 51.12). Thank you, inexhaustibl...

“Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. ( . . . ) Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1.9-11, 17). Let us give thanks to God our Father for all his gifts so freely bestowed upon us.  For the beauty and wonder of your creation, in earth and sky and sea: We thank you, Lord. For our daily food and drink, our homes and families, and our friends: We thank you, Lord.  For these minds to think, hearts to love, and hands to serve: We thank you, Lord. For this health and strength to work, and leisure to rest and play: We thank you, Lord. For the abundance you have richly provided ...

“For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God! The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he” (Deuteronomy 32.3-4). What you say, O reliable God, is what you do! You are faithful, first and foremost to yourself; your own character, your own qualities, your own integrity. You are the God “who never lies” (Titus 1.2). Your “yes” is yes and your “No” is no. You are not a man, that you should lie, or a son of man, that you should change your mind. Have you said, and will you not do it? Or have you spoken, and will you not fulfill it (Number 23.19)? And all your promises find their Yes in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 1.20a). You called Abraham, promising to be his God and that he would always be yours. You promised that through his seed you would bless all the nations and families of the world. And you promised that through his seed he would become heir of the world. Now we...

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever (1 Chronicles 16.34)! You are good in and of yourself, O Lord. You are good and upright. You are good to all, showing your mercy to all that you have made. The quality of your moral excellence is untarnished, and is shown in your actions, in the steadfastness of your love, in the slowness of your judgment against your enemies, in the caring provision you make for all you have created, and in the special providence you demonstrate toward your Church. Thank you mighty God that you are good and have always been good – even without us ; and your goodness is richly for us . Thank you that because you are good, then you will not cast off forever; that though you may cause grief, you will have compassion according to the abundance of your steadfast love; that you do not afflict from your heart or grieve the children of men (Lamentations 3.32-33). Thank you that when you are preeminent in the conscio...

Prayer of Thanksgiving – for the God of Justice O LORD of hosts, you are exalted in justice; O Holy God, you show yourself holy in righteousness (Isaiah 5.16). You are the God of justice who waits to be gracious to your people; who exalts yourself in order to show mercy (Isaiah 30.18). You love justice and hate robbery and wrong (Isaiah 61.8). In you there is no dark side, no perverseness or peevishness (James 1.17). What you say is right is right. What you define as fair is fair. You execute justice for the oppressed, give food to the hungry, and set the prisoners free. You open the eyes of the blind, lift up those who are bowed down, and love the righteous.  You watch over the sojourners and uphold the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked you bring to ruin (Psalm 146.7-9). Therefore, you hate sin and the evil way; you are nauseated when people violate goodness to line their pocket, and when they crush the poor (James 5.1-6); when men, women, boys and girl...

{ I plan to be posting Thanksgiving Prayers all of this week - 23 through 30 November 2014; so come back every day. Mike } Prayer of Thanksgiving – for God himself! O Holy God – Uncontaminated by greed, envy or lust; Unstained by hysterical anger, self-centered egoism, or soul-stifling insecurity; Uncontained by space, time, laws of physics, or human rationality; In Whom all is contained, sustained and arranged; In Whom there is more goodness and truth in one “ounce” of you – so to speak – than there is in our whole being; In Whom there is more love and compassion than anything we could imagine or fashion; You are the beauty of holiness itself, in all radiance and purity; You are the meaning of all, seen and unseen, visible and invisible; You are the fullness of justice, rightness, gladness and peace! And you are all of these things without us – O Father, Son and Holy Spirit; And you are all these things for us !!!! Glory to you, O God Most High! { I hope you...

Your steadfast love, LORD, never ceases; your mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Our souls say, “The LORD is my portion, therefore I will hope in him.” LORD you are good to those who wait for you, to the soul who seeks you. It is good that one should wait quietly for your salvation, LORD. (Lamentations 3.22-26). We pray that all of the living may come to know that you, the Most High, rules the kingdoms of men; you give kingdoms to whomever you will, and you set over them even the lowliest of men (Daniel 4.17). Supervise and supervene the nations of our world to bring about what is the best and the most beneficial for all people, and especially for your Church. But also supersede and stifle those that brutalize and batter their people, and your people. O Lord, hear our prayer. We pray for your Church in all places, including Korean Baptist Church of Oklahoma; Lamd of the Living God Baptist; Light House Baptist; and Maranatha Bapt...