Psalm 139:21 (ESV)
Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
Matthew 5:44-45
But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:1,8
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
Just wondering, Lord, which season is this?
I am instructed to pray for our enemies. Thus I pray for those who terrorize, and I pray for those who blaspheme.
Almighty God, just as you confronted Paul on the road to Damascus and turned his mission of destruction into a ministry of hope, confront those who oppose you—those who use guns and those who use headlines. Knock them off of their high horses and turn their worlds upside down. Light a mission of hope in their hearts, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Last week’s terrorist attack brought us a new phrase, “prayer-shaming.” What’s your response?
I’m in New Jersey, and the crisis is in California. Nothing short of prayer can transcend geography in an instant. Via prayer, I come alongside those people who are terrified, hurting, grieving. They are not alone. I am with them. God is with them.
I am not ashamed to pray. I am called to pray. I am empowered to pray.
I hope for peace on earth.
I hope that good wins over evil in the end.
I hope that others use their free will for good and not evil.
I hope that God will work through me and make me a peacemaker.
“Let there be peace on earth,
And let it begin with me.”
Jill Jackson Miller and Sy Miller, 1955
Lord God,
Let me spread hope and peace today. May I be a source of encouragement and reconciliation.
Amen.
Peace is good. Shalom is better.
Shalom means more than peace. It implies well-being, soundness, made complete.
Isaiah 9:6
He will be called
. . .Prince of peace
Champion of well-being
Overseer of soundness
Commander of completeness
Sar-shalom
A newborn baby. A sweet face that fans the flame of hope in all of us. That applies to the babe in the manger, too.
Edward Mote got it right:
“My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.”
(1834)
There is more to our hope than a newborn baby.
November 29th was the first Sunday in Advent. It comes every year, right on the tail of Thanksgiving. Why am I always so unprepared? December always seems so far off, and suddenly it is here.
Hope: that’s the theme for the first Sunday. So, what’s your hope?
We just stuffed ourselves on Thanksgiving. We’re about to spend big bucks on “stuff” to show how much we care. Maybe it’s time to hope for less–keep it simple.
