Deus Misereatur

  (This was my pastoral letter I sent to my congregation today, 2 August 2023) This Sunday, our New Testament reading will be Matthew 7:7-11. I think the context of those verses is very important. Since I don’t want to get distracted with these details on Sunday, I’m sharing them with you now. Most Christians know our Lord’s promising offer in Matthew 7:7-11. Ask, seek, and knock and you will receive, find, and get access. Even evil people know how to give good things, so how much more does our very good Father? It is an encouraging passage. But it actually has a specific context that adds a deeper, more pointed application.   Our Lord begins by talking about the difference between judgmentalism and having good judgment (discernment, if you will). First, he addresses judgmentalism (7:1-5): “ Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brot

  LORD, faithful in all your words and kind in all your works: we are grateful that you uphold all who are falling and raise up all who are bowed down. Truly, the eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing (Psalm 145:13b-16). It is to you we pray: Grant, Almighty God, that all who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours (1 Corinthians 1:2) may be united in your truth, live together in your love, and reveal your glory in the world. We ask this for your people world over, for this congregation, and for First Nazarene-OKC, Piedmont, Providence, and Waterloo Road Church of the Nazarene. Lord, in your mercy hear our prayer. Guide the people of all the nations, including South Africa, North and South Sudan, Spain, and Sri Lanka, in the ways of justice and peace; that we may honor one another and serve the common good. And preserve these United States of Amer