Anger

Psalm 32:8 (ESV)
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Father,
We are fallen creatures, prone to anger. The Episcopal and Anglican Churches are in a season of litigation. Keep Your eye upon us. Guard us from building strongholds of anger and unforgiveness.
The sun has gone down on our anger. Have mercy and forgive us. Help us, for we are weak. Amen.
Ephesians 4:26

Undo!

Anonymous, c. 1275-1300. From Christian Verse by Donald Davie.

fere-companion or spouse
manere-dwelling
stecken-pained

Alas, alas, well evil I sped!
For sin Jesu from me is fled,
That lively fere.
At my door he stands alone
And calls ‘Undo!’ with rueful moan
On this manere:

‘Undo, my lief, my dove dear,
Undo! why stand I steken out here?
I am thy make.
Lo, my head and mine locks
Are all biweved with bloody drops
For thine sake.’

Heavenly Jerusalem

Galatians 4:26 MSG
In contrast to that, there is an invisible Jerusalem, a free Jerusalem, and she is our mother—this is the way of Sarah.

Father,
I confess that I have looked to the institutional church as my “mother” rather than the heavenly Jerusalem. I believed a lie and have brought much anguish upon myself.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
You are the Father of glory, and I thank You for the spirit of wisdom and revelation as I come to know You. I thank You for enlightening the eyes of my heart. I thank You for the hope to which You have called me and the riches of Your glorious ineritance. I thank you for the immeasurable greatness of Your power.
You raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at Your right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named. All things are under the feet of Jesus.
Father, You are rich in mercy. Out of Your great love, You have taken me, dead in my sin, and made me alive together with Christ. By grace, I have been saved and raised up with Him and seated with Him in the heavenly places with Christ Jesus. By grace, I have been delivered from this lie, and I thank You. Amen.
Ephesians 1:17-2:7

Repentance

I lay aside those possessions that hold me back from the race that is set before me. Create in me a right understanding of wealth.
I lay aside the cares of this life that choke out the things of God. I cast all my cares upon You, Lord Jesus. Transform me by the renewing of my mind.
I lay aside the old habit of regarding food as a compensation. Bury this habit unto death, so that I might walk in newness of life to the glory of the Father.
I lay aside self-will. Create in me a delight in doing Your will, O Lord.
I lay aside the desire to be honored. Replace it with a desire to honor You.
I lay aside my propensity to be sensitive. Plant within me a forgetfulness of self.
I lay aside my self-sufficiency. Create in me the trust to lean on You, Christ, my true sufficiency.
I lay aside my fear of other people’s perceptions. Imbue me with Your love so that I may love myself and love others.
I lay aside my weakness. Open my hands to take hold of Your strength.
I lay aside my pride. Create in me a servant’s heart.
I lay aside the sin of faultfinding. Fill me with the charity that covers a multitude of sins.
I lay aside my grudges. Create in me a spirit of forgiveness.
I lay aside my old nature. Teach me to walk in Jesus.

South Carolina–confession

Yesterday, I had posted this on SF:

The mantra, “All voices are welcome at the table,” has been proven a lie, as has the mantra, “The new Title IV is more compassionate and pastoral.” I don’t believe that everyone who spoke these lies set out to willfully deceive. As best as I can understand 2 Thessalonians 2:10-11, when we reject one truth, inevitably we fall prey to believing delusions based on the lie we have chosen to believe. To use a visual metaphor, a stronghold based on a lie is akin to a cattle chute.
Satan would have us believe all sorts of lies about the character of God. So many of our false beliefs stem from a failure to receive a truth about God’s character.
This is a time for all of us Episcopalians, regardless of our theological persuasion, to daily seek God and say, “Father, is there a lie about You that I have believed?” This is a season to repent.

Following my own exhortation:

Father,
I confess that I have believed a lie that You could not be trusted. Have mercy, Lord.
You flung 40,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars across the sky. You have numbered the hairs on my head. You are worthy of trust.
You are the God of all provision, Creator of all that is in heaven and in earth. The atmosphere and the ocean are vast and cannot be measured. One tree produces many fruits; one fruit produces many seeds. You are worthy of trust.
You are Creator of time and light. You made the sun stand still for Joshua and the stars to fight for Deborah and Barak. You are worthy of trust.
You delivered the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt. You delivered me from slavery to sin by the death of Your beloved Son Jesus. You are worthy of trust.
I repent of believing the lie that You cannot be trusted. I commit to trust You in the small things and in the large things. I trust You with the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina.
Our names are written on the palm of Your hand, and Your care for us is indelible. You are worthy of trust. When my trust in You falters, I humbly ask You to help my lack of trust. You are worthy of trust. Amen.

The Episcopal Church

Isaiah 52:14-15(NLT)
But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man.
Father, forgive us. We in the Body of Christ have so disfigured Christ Jesus’s appearance. The Episcopal Church has spent tens of millions of dollars in litigation. As an Episcopalian, I confess our sin and say, Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
And he will startle many nations. Kings will stand speechless in his presence. For they will see what they had not been told; they will understand what they had not heard about.
I look at the sorry mess, Lord, and am overwhelmed. Yet I know it is not too big for You. Unveil Jesus in our midst, Lord. Turn our hearts aright. I plead for new revelation.
We are in the furnace of affliction. May we be refined like silver. Help me and my beloved church to hear new things from this time, even hidden things that we had no knowledge of. Open our ears and our hearts. Amen.
Isaiah 48

Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement.

Hebrews 12:1 (NLT)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
Amen.

Selihot

Tonight marks the beginning of selihot, special penitential prayers, recited during the week before Rosh ha-Shanah.

Exodus 34:6-7 (MSG)
So Moses cut two tablets of stone just like the originals. He got up early in the morning and climbed Mount Sinai as God had commanded him, carrying the two tablets of stone. God descended in the cloud and took up his position there beside him and called out the name, God. God passed in front of him and called out, “God, God, a God of mercy and grace, endlessly patient—so much love, so deeply true—loyal in love for a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin. Still, he doesn’t ignore sin. He holds sons and grandsons responsible for a father’s sins to the third and even fourth generation.”

A response to The Response

The Response was held yesterday in Houston, Texas. Over 30,000 Christians of different denominations and races came together to pray and fast for our nation. Hundreds of thousands followed it on the Internet. There were four main prayer segments: personal repentance, corporate repentance for the sins of the church in America, the first commandment, and prayer for revival in America.
The Holy Spirit flowed through the bands, and the music carried the event. Most of the songs were familiar, but I wondered if a couple had been written for the occasion. Young people were everywhere, and their passion was palpable. They knelt on the floor in penitence, clapped rhythmically, danced and jumped to the music, processed around the stadium in joy. The sight of tens of thousands of hands uplifted in prayer was moving.
The event had been paid for by donors. There was no offering collection or sale of tickets or media.
There was no mention of Democrats, Republicans, debt ceiling, bond ratings, or lawsuits. The focus was on God and on the church in America.
Two governors appeared in person and one on video. They were simply Christians participating in a worship service.
Governor Rick Perry of Texas and Governor Sam Brownback of Kansas both read scriptures. Perry read Joel 2:12-17, Isaiah 40:28-31, and Ephesians 3:14-21; Brownback read 2 Chronicles 7:12-15 and Matthew 5:2-16. Governor Perry led a prayer; I can’t remember if Governor Brownback led a prayer or not. For me, the most heart-piercing moment was Governor Perry praying for our president and his family.
I thank God for The Response. Might I have done some things a little differently? Sure, but I am not going to quibble. This was an honorable and righteous action, one that we can all emulate. There is no reason why youth groups, ladies’ Bible studies, and men’s prayer breakfast groups of different denominations can’t come together. Pray and fast for our nation, dear people. Pray that the United States will be a light on a hill. —Jill Woodliff

Repentance

From our faithful reader Georgia.

Holy Father,

Israel, the US, Great Britain and other nations that have traditionally followed Your Laws have embraced sexual sin and abortion, materialism and paganism – the spirits of the evil one.

We have passed laws that allow us to break all Your Holy Commandments and some that force us to do so.

In the past, this kind of sinfulness has caused you to allow Babylon and Assyria to rise up and capture and discipline Your people until they repent.

Have mercy and help us to wholeheartedly repent, renounce and completely abandon these evils that offend Your Holiness and are polluting, confusing and destroying us – spiritually, emotionally, mentally, intellectually, morally, physically, relationally and societally.

Our nations and much of the church have become lawless and repugnant in Your eyes.

Please raise up leaders for the nations who know and value Your Word as Truth, who define Love as You do, who respect human life, and who honor and revere Your Holy rightful dominion over Life and Death.

Help us to rediscover the beauty and power of Your Book of the Law. Help us to read it again and let it pierce our hardened inhuman hearts.

Lead us again back to You.

For the sake of Your Name and Your abiding Love, save us from our destructions!!! (Psalm 107)

In the Name of Jesus the ONLY Name under heaven by which we may be saved.
Amen

Apology to Native Americans

On December 19, 2009, the US Congress passed a resolution:

“To acknowledge a long history of official depradations and ill-conceived policies by the United States Government regarding Indian tribes and offer an apology to all Native Peoples on behalf of the United States.”

An 11-minute video on this apology can be viewed here.

Father God, we confess our grievous and unjustifiable sins against the Native American peoples, and we repent of our actions and ask Your forgiveness and restoration for all involved. We claim the benefits of the Native Apology that has finally come forth from our nation’s government.

Father God, in our greed we have defiled the land by genocide, by breaking covenants, and by immorality. We pray 2 Chronicles 7:14 over the land of the United States, “We repent, humble our selves, pray and seek your face, and turn from our wicked ways, so you will hear us and forgive our sins, and heal our land.”

Father God, as we intercede for this land, we claim Isaiah 61:4 and ask you to, “Rebuild these ancient ruins, Raise up the former desolations, and repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.” Amen.

Reference: Generals International

As a bird

Psalm 11:1a (King James Version)
In the LORD put I my trust.

Father,
After the Israelites built the golden calf, Moses went yet again to Your holy mountain and received Your law. How many times have I been disobedient, placing my own thoughts, my own ways, my own inclinations higher than Yours? Forgive me, Lord. I fly as a bird straight to Your arms. Write Your way, Your truth, Your life upon my heart. I want to be Your child. Amen.
Jeremiah 31:33

Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi

Article 1, Section 2 of the Tennessee constitution:

That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own conscience;

O Father,
We acknowledge that at one time, Your chosen people, the Jews, were expelled from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi under Order 11 during the Civil War. We did not do unto others as we would have them do unto us. We violated our covenant with You and our own laws, and we are sorry. In the South, we have continued to persecute the Jewish people in many ways over the centuries. Forgive us, Lord.
We bless the Jewish people that live in our midst and the Jewish people of Israel. You promised to bless those who blessed Abraham and his descendants. May blessings fall upon the states of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Mississippi. Amen.

Peace

It strikes me that these verses would be applicable to any place of ministry, not just homes.

Luke 10:5-6 (Wycliffe New Testament)
Into what house that ye enter [And into whatever house ye shall enter], first say ye, Peace to this house.
And if a son of peace be there, your peace shall rest on him; but if none [if none], it shall turn again to you.

Father,
Forgive me for the times I have carried disquiet or discord, dwelling upon myself or others. Help me to stay my mind on Jesus.
May His Spirit be anchored in mine and His peace be like the sails of a clipper ship above me, carrying my thoughts and guiding my path. Oh, that the cargo of my mind would be God’s peace and each stop on my path, a port of delivery. Amen.

The ship nobody wanted

On June 3, 1939, the German ship St. Louis brought refugees from Europe to America. This ship was carrying 900 Jews who were seeking refuge here from persecution and death. That ship was turned away and had to return to Germany where 1/3 of them perished in concentration camps. The St. Louis snub helped convince Hitler he could launch his Final Solution without opposition from the West.

Lord,
We acknowledge our sin of apathy, hardness of heart, and lack of love toward others. Specifically we ask for forgiveness for turning away those who were seeking refuge on our shores. Forgive us, Lord. We acknowledge our guilt and ask for your cleansing blood to cleanse away this iniquity from our nation.
We have been grafted into the olive tree through the blood of Jesus Christ. We who were not a people are now the people of God–to the Jew first, then to the Gentile. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Bless the children of Israel. Amen.