Description – The fourth sermon in the series “40 Days in the Word”

(Slide one) William Jennings Bryan once said, “Do not compute the totality of your poultry population until all the manifestations of incubation have been entirely completed.”

(1a) Translation?

(1b) “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch!”

One of my favorite comedy shows is “Tool Time.” Now it is my favorite not because I have been compared to the main character, Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor, because of his mishaps with power tools, but because of the way he gets those wonderfully insightful quotes from his very insightful next door neighbor, Wilson, all mixed up when he tries to use them in solving another family snafu.

And speaking of translation, I would think that one of the most stressful jobs a person can have is that of translator who works for his/her government. Translation is a dynamic process because in our native language we use expressions, called colloquialisms which sometimes are difficult to translate. So can you imagine what it is like when heads of state get together and navigate language and cultural barriers?

(Slide 2) As we continue our initial 2012 series, 40 Days in the Word, let me quickly review the three methods of Bible Study I have introduced so far before I present number four.

(Slide 3) The first method is called the Pronounce It! Method. And to experience this method we used Colossians 3:16a which says “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…” This method is a verbal method in which we read a verse of scripture several times through highlighting a different word, or phrase, each time we read it and take time to reflect on that word or phrase and what it means for us now.

(Slide 4) The second method is called the Picture It! Method. And to experience this method we studied Mark 2:1-12 which is the story of the four men who brought a paralyzed man to Jesus and saw him healed. This method requires us to enter the story and take a point of view within the story as we do some deep and important reflection on what takes place within the story.

(Slide 5) The third method we experienced last week is called the Probe It! method and featured an unforgettable acronym called what?

SPACEPETS !

Each of the letters in this acronym asks a question of the text designed to help us apply that text in a suitable means. We visited Mark 8:31-38 and using the SPACEPETS acrostic, studied this important passage of scripture.

This morning we turn to the next method called the Paraphrase It! method of study.

(Slide 6) And this method of study combines, I believe, the word by word aspect of the Pronounce It! method with the “putting myself in the story” view of the Picture It! method as it requires us of us to rephrase a verse or short passage of scripture in a way that stays true to the message of said verse or passage but helps us understand it in a personal way.

How do we do this?

Let’s start with our main text today Psalm 119:11 which says, I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

In your bulletin is another half-page insert with this verse on it. Please take it out.

First let’s read this verse together aloud:

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

Now, having heard and read what the verse says take a moment and write down this verse in your own words. (Just try it don’t worry about how it sounds. Make it meaningful and understandable to you.)

Now, what does it mean to you right now? Take a moment and write a couple of things down there in the third space on your half-sheet.

This is a very important verse and it makes an important point. I want to spend a few moments illustrating with another verse of scripture both this method of study and the importance of what this verse says.

(slide seven) One of my favorite passages of scripture is Hebrews 4:15-16 and here it is in the New Living Translation:

This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Here is my paraphrase of these two verses:

(Slide eight) I have a God who is more than a religious professional. I have a God who understands what living as human being is really like. I have a God who never sinned and yet understands the temptations I face because He faced them, too. I have a God I can run to and say ‘help, me!’ and He will!

This has been favorite passage for many, many years. It became one during a time when my perfectionism to live for God absolutely perfectly would collide with the painful realization that my imperfection, my sin, said otherwise.

And as I struggled with all of this, this verse reminded me that Jesus understood exactly, and dare I say it, perfectly what I was wrestling with. And because He did, I finally realized that when I would struggle, and even fail, I could go to Him for help and He would help me.

This is what the Paraphrase It! method does. It helps us to put scripture in our own words that resonate not just from our brain but from our heart.

Now there are some who might feel that we are taking a risk with scripture with this method because we may paraphrase a verse in a way that makes it mean something entirely different and even at odds with the faith. And some may suggest that we remember the warning in Revelation 22:18 which says “And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book.” So the anxiety and fear of paraphrasing a verse of scripture way out of the context of what it says is understandable.

The Bible, I remind us this morning, is a very sturdy book. It was divinely inspired and no one person and no movement political, economic, or otherwise have been able to destroy it. The truth of which it speaks is spiritual in nature and cannot be contained and cannot be stopped.

And then we have the Holy Spirit to help us. And the Holy Spirit is a very important part of Bible Study. For it is the Holy Spirit who helps us understand what is being read as we read the Bible. It is the Holy Spirit who brings comfort, peace, conviction, and the like to us as we read the Bible. It is the Holy Spirit who helps us think correctly as we think about the scripture we are reading.

Though His role is not explicitly stated at times in the Bible when Jesus says in John 14 verses 16 and part of 17, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth,” He makes clear that the Holy Spirit has the key role in helping us understand what the Bible says and then helps us to understand what it means and how then to apply it. And so while we need to be careful by carefully studying a verse within its context, we also can have the confidence that the Holy Spirit is at work helping us to understand a verse and provide us with the information and inspiration we need at that moment in life. So let’s consider that this method of paraphrasing a verse of scripture can be used by the Lord to help us better understand and apply His word to our lives.

(Slide nine) Now, turn your half-sheet over and let’s try this method on another verse of scripture, James 4:10 “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

 Read through it a couple of times and then spend a moment writing out your paraphrase.

Okay, now what does it mean to you today?

(9a) Here’s my paraphrase:

Chill out! Sit down and relax! Calm down! You’re not the one in charge. God is. Be quiet for a few minutes and then pray to the Lord. In His time, He will tell you what you need to know.

I am my own worst enemy sometimes. I get so anxious and so frustrated when things are not going as I think they should and my thoughts and attitudes begin to harden and I forget that God is in charge.

When I learned many years ago that I cannot fix people, that I cannot change them, it was a major turning point in my life and personal faith. I began to realize that I am not God and that I am not in charge of a person’s life.

And while it does not mean that I now have a “hands off policy” that I operate from (I don’t because I have a responsibility to my family and this church to be a wise and careful husband, father, and pastor) it does mean that when I have to eat a piece of ‘humble pie’ it serves as a reminder that God is in charge and I am not. It means to hear the Lord more clearly that I sometimes have to ‘let go and let God.’

So what does all of this mean for us this morning?

I want to suggest a couple of things:

There is a larger picture for this series that I want to bring to focus as I conclude this morning and it is this: When I stand and look at you this time of week I am looking at you more and more as missionaries and not as members of this church.

When I have served as an ordination mentor to those who were completing their ordination process I used to ask them, “When you stand up front on Sunday morning, how many audiences do you see?”

After they responded, I would tell them what I saw on Sunday morning. That a congregation was a diverse set of audiences based generational experiences, length of time as a believer or unbeliever, the old introvert/extrovert idea, etc.

But, I am seeing you and other congregations now more as missionaries whose mission field is the classroom, as a student or a teacher, in the workplace, and in the neighborhood. To, shall we say, paraphrase, you are God’s person where you live and work. And subsequently, I am responsible with providing you a knowledge base and a set of skills to help you serve as God’s person where you are and go.

And this leads me to my second suggestion or direction this morning:

I am committing myself from the beginning of this year through Easter Sunday with provide some vital skills and knowledge to help you as you serve God where you are.

(Slide ten) Now let me give clarity to the word ‘missionary.’ A missionary is a person who has mission that is specific in nature and definitive in location. What do I mean?

Simply this: Our mission is to help make disciples. In other words, we are to help other people come to faith in Christ and then help them learn to live out that faith. And as they do, we are placed along the path of life and faith to help them do so.

Some of us will be there before that choice to come to faith in Christ takes place. We are like first responders, if you will, to a person who is seeking hope and meaning and needs God in their life. We are there early on and it is often our kind and caring example that opens the door to a person’s heart into which the Holy Spirit goes and moves in them.

Others of us will tell about Jesus with both words and actions. We are like kindergarten teachers who help others begin to learn the basics of the faith like a kindergarten teacher who helps a first year student begin learning the basics.

And there comes a time when a person who is like the delivering physician who helps deliver babies, helps a person be born again. And today is the day 46 years ago when I was born again. The life of faith begins.

Then some of us are like a personal fitness trainer who helps us stay in shape as we mature in our faith. They help us unlearn bad habits and develop new ones.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians that ‘some planted and some watered’

But ‘God gave the increase’

If you and I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that comes through the confession and forgiveness of our sins, then we are missionaries. And we have a responsibility and a role to play in fulfilling the Great Commandment to love God and neighbor and the Great Commission to go and help people become followers of Jesus Christ.

Essential to this mission (and this is my point) is that we have a good working knowledge of the Bible to help people with a humble attitude of love and service and care which opens the door to discussion about Christ. That is why we are doing this sermon series right now and the one to follow about prayer, fasting (don’t panic), and evangelism (don’t panic again.)

Each of us has a mission field. And I pray this morning that we will have a greater clarity about our mission field and use these methods to help us better study the Bible.

Amen.

I will be honest at this point and let you know that I have not done all that I had planned to do as far as the foreign language listening. I hope to finish that this weekend.

Nor have I finished the reading of Derek Kidner’s commentary on Genesis.

But I can say that as I have continued to reflect and think about this book, that I have been reminded that humankind is not a machine or a ‘just happened’ creation. There is order and purpose in humankind’s creation. We are here for a reason.

There is also a great deal about the early period of our planet and human history and development that is left unsaid. But the focus, I believe, is not on the how of beginnings but the who of beginnings.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

There is more to Genesis than the opening chapters in which people have argued and fought over for a long time. There is the thread of a purposeful plan in which God, while seeming to ignore certain persons and groups, is beginning to develop some kind of grand plan for His purposes. And the course of that developing plan includes working through deceit, favoritism, severe conflict, and the like in order to bring it about.

And even though we read of Jacob’s trickiness (aided by his mom); Joseph’s brothers hateful jealousy; and Abraham’s cowardice,I recognize that these things still exist today and that God, in spite of them, still does His redemptive work.

I will be wrapping up Matthew in the remaining days of this month and I will move to the New Testament starting next Wednesday with the gospel of John.

But as I look back at my life and the opportunities to talk deeply and meaningfully about faith, I recall that the most meaningful and helpful conversations were ones that “simply” occurred in the course of  a conversation. One even took place during pre-marital counseling with the bride-to-be who said “I want God in my life and I don’t know to do it!”

Now in my sermon this Sunday I speak of first responders who are a person’s initial contact with persons of faith and whose words and acts of caring open the door, perhaps years before a faith commitment is made, for a person to walk through toward God.

Then, there are the kindergarten teachers who help, again often before a faith commitment, learn the basics of faith and provide essential information about it.

Then some are delivering physicians who help ‘birth’ faith in people at a certain point.

And finally some are personal fitness trainers who help us get fit and stay fit with the proper kind of diet and exercise.

I have been privileged to be all four ‘persons’ as I have followed Christ throughout the years. Paul spoke of the tasks of planting and watering but God giving the increase. It is still true today.

My point: as I follow Christ, the opportunities to help people along their faith journey are numerous and being alert to them is essential.

These are my Thursday Thoughts

In the middle of this week, on the last Wednesday of this first month of this new year, I come to you on behalf of …

my wife.

She is working hard these days Father and not just at home but at her place of work. Give her strength to accomplish what she needs to accomplish. Help her to find time for herself (and help me help her find time for herself) so that she can rest and gain renewal in things that bring her joy and hope. Renew her faith and confidence in You. Help her to honor You in all that she says and does. I give You thanks for her.

my kids.

They are working hard at school. Help them to keep learning well and to the best of their ability. Help me Father be emotionally available to them so that they will become responsible and God honoring men one day. Encourage them as they deal with discouraging situations and relationships. Help them to honor You in all that they do and say. I give You thanks for both of them.

my friends.

Father some of my friends are dealing situations that are tough and painful and not easily resolved. Some are dealing family matters that are still unresolved. I ask that You help them during this time. Others are dealing with work situations or employment decisions and need Your wisdom to come to the best decision. Some are hurting for their kids and the decisions they have made which create fear and anxiety in their hearts. Help them Lord to be honest with their kids and yet love where they are.

myself.

I have had days recently Lord when waves of loneliness, soul pain, evil, anger, and self-pity have swept over me and I have found myself nearly drowning  in all of it. I turn to You Father to help me get back on the boat and not be afraid to tell others what is going on inside of me. But I am grateful as well for Your grace, mercy, and love for it and You have sustained me in ways large and small. Thank You for Your saving grace which graciously grabbed hold of me many years ago as a child.

Take us through this day with faith, hope, and love in our hearts and strengthed our resolve to follow You through Your Holy Spirit.

Amen

Nehemiah, when he finds out, is angry and acts to correct the situation. And as we talked about leadership, in the context of Nehemiah’s leadership, it hit me. Leaders do not know everything.

Now you may already be thinking, “Jim I already know that!”

“Do you? Do you really already know that?”

Have you ever been in a situation where you had to address a conflict/complaint that came out of nowhere and broadsided you? I have!

I realized yesterday that Nehemiah was not a bad leader because this conflict was occurring . He had no knowledge of it.

But when he did hear about it, he did something then.

As we discussed this, I looked into the faces of those gathered and said to them, “I know things about each of you but I only know a small part.”

I supposed you had to be there to understand. But for me it was an important ‘ah ha!’ moment when I realized that I, as a pastor and a leader, do not know the back stories of those I have cared for over 11 years. And it means that I shall never know them all.

But it also was serendipitous moment when I realized that I do not know everything that people think I know. God knows everything there is to know and I think that as I need to know ‘things’ I will… know them.

And I will continue to be blindsided from time to time, in part, because the expectation will be that I know about “this” and that I am hiding something… when I do not and I am not.

The implications here are profound and large – there are liability issues to such things and there are  credibility to them as well.

But when I do know ‘things’ then I have the responsibility to act and act quickly and well and deeply.

Nehemiah did and the situation improved for those rebuilding not just a wall but a nation.

What would had happened if Nehemiah would have never found out?

Description – Third in the Series “40 Days in the Word”

Today, we are going to experience the third method of Bible study as we continue in our ’40 days in the word’ experience.

But before we do that, here are five basic principles of Bible study from Rick Warren that are worth writing down and remembering:

1. Learn to ask the right questions
2. Write down your observations
3. Don’t just interpret it, apply it!
4. Study it systematically.
5. Read it over and over again.

These are excellent suggestions and they are in line with today’s approach that is called Probe It!

But first here are a couple of stories that provide us some perspective on Bible study and the importance that should come from doing it.

A gentlemen who, in times past, would have been known as a tramp or hobo, stopped at a nearby church shortly before Christmas and told the pastor, “Pastor, I’ve been wondering around the country for a long time and it is time to settle down. Can I join the church and settle down here?” The pastor was more than pleased with the request but felt a little exam about the faith was in order.

Since it was Christmas time the pastor asked the man, “Where was Jesus born?” “In Pittsburgh!” was the quick reply.

The pastor shook his head “no” and the man quickly replied with, “Philadelphia!”

The pastor shook his head again and simply said, “Jesus was born in Bethlehem.” And the man replied, “That’s right! I knew it was somewhere in Pennsylvania.”

Then there was a very wise group of 4 year olds who were asked by their Sunday school teacher if they knew what that particular Sunday was. “Palm Sunday,” came the reply. “Correct!” said the teacher, “Now what is next Sunday?”

“Easter Sunday!” came the reply. “And what happened on Easter Sunday?” “Jesus rose from the dead,” came the reply from one of the students. And to which another student said, “And if he sees His shadow he has to go back inside for six weeks.”

Again our method for this morning is ‘Probe It!’ And, we are going to learn this method with a unique acrostic that you will never forget and is out of this world! Please take out your half-page insert

And here it.is… (drum roll please!)

Spacepets.

You heard me right.

Spacepets.

Write this word, one letter at a time in the spaces down the left side of your half-page insert.

Now, with this information before us, let us turn to our main text for this morning, Mark 8:31-38:

Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead. As he talked about this openly with his disciples, Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things.

Jesus turned around and looked at his disciples, then reprimanded Peter. “Get away from me, Satan!” he said. “You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?Is anything worth more than your soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Now, let’s study this passage using this memorable acrostic. As I share what each letter means, I am going to give you some time to write down some initial observations to the question that each letter asks and then I will share my observations.

(Ready? Here we go!)

 The S asks the question: Is there a Sin to confess? (Go ahead and write your answer to the question.)

I believe that the primary focus of this passage is Jesus’ words in verses 34 – 38 which is in response to Peter’s statemen in the early part of the passage in which he tells Jesus to knock off all the death talk because it is not going to happen and to which Jesus says, very bluntly, “You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

To me this is disbelief and it is a sin because of Jesus’ strong and harsh words to Peter. Jesus really got angry with Peter’s rebuke because He saw that Satan was at work trying to keep Him from fulfilling His mission through Peter’s words. And disbelief can lead a person to not obey the Lord’s direction and purposes in life which is another emphasis in Christ’s words in this passage.

Let’s move on to the next letter.

The P asks the question: Is there a Promise to claim? (What do you think? Take a moment and write your thoughts down.)

And yes there is a promise to claim!

But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.

A central part of this passage is the three-fold aspect of obeying the Lord as found in verse 34 “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.”

Our life is saved, not just from an eternal and just punishment in the life that is to come for those who refuse to believe and obey Christ, but in the here and now. Believing and trusting in Christ brings a greater life here and now!

The A asks the question: Is there an attitude to change? (Take a moment to write your response.)

Well, Peter definitely needs an attitude change and very much implied in Jesus’ words is a proper attitude that is embodied in believing, trusting, and obeying Christ. And Peter’s attitudes about Jesus were also shown in his reprimand of Jesus. Attitude is a very important part of our faith. The opening verses of 1 Corinthians 13 are a reminder of the place of attitude in our faith.

(5c)The C asks the question: Is there a command to obey? (What do you think?)

Those here who have been in the military know firsthand the link between commands and obedience! When the person in command says, “Move!” you moved!

The central command of this passage is “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.”

The command to obey Christ is a command to obey by turning from one’s own agenda, picking up your cross (more about that in a moment), and following Jesus. This is easy to start doing but very difficult to keep doing.

The E asks the question: Is there an example to follow?

The example to follow is Jesus’ example. And Peter, and the rest of the disciples are still learning what this means. Each of us have people who have lived out for us, who have exemplified a life of faith, but our ultimate example will always be, Jesus Himself and St Paul reminds us of this when he said in 1 Corinthians 11:1 “…you should imitate (or follow) me, just as I imitate (or follow) Christ.”

Now, here is the PETS part of our memorable word:

The P asks the question: Is there a prayer to pray? (What do you think?)

I think that a prayer to pray in this passage is a prayer of continued commitment and help for continued faithfulness. I don’t exactly know when in the course of the three years of Christ’s ministry this took place but Peter still had much to learn about follow Christ. I still have a great deal to learn about following the Lord as well. Each of us does.

The E asks the question: Is there an error to avoid?

Obviously Peter finds out that he has made an error in rebuking Jesus and I think Jesus’ words make clear the error of Peter’s thinking resulting in the error of putting one’s life and one’s agenda ahead of God’s.

The T asks the question: Is there a truth to believe?

There is definitely truth here and it is scattered throughout this passage but I think that the core truth is found in Jesus’ call in verse 34 to follow Him.

Finally, the S asks the question: Is there Something to praise God for? (Write down your response one last time.)

Basically, as I step back and look at this entire passage I praise God for others who gave up their agendas to follow God and helped me come to faith. And I praise the Lord for Christ’s resolute obedience to God’s plans and purposes.

So here is the Probe it! method of Bible study.

Now earlier I said that I would come back to the command of ‘taking up your cross’ for a very important reason. The Bible contains several phrases that leave people scratching their heads as to what they mean. For example, Jesus said in Matthew 5:28-29 “So if your eye—even your good eye—causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your hand—even your stronger hand—causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.”

Did Jesus really mean to gouge your eye out or cut your hand off? If He did not then what did Jesus mean?

 There are three questions that Rick Warren suggests we ask and answer to understand such passages. (Warren calls them the application bridge)

What did it mean then? This is called the interpretation question.

To pick up a cross then meant that you were picking up an instrument of death, most likely your death, and carrying it to the site of your execution. Pretty sobering isn’t it? The cross therefore, was a sign of death, of paying an ultimate price – one’s life.

So, is Jesus saying that we have to be hung on a cross and die to follow God? People have died for their faith and their refuse to turn from Christ. And it still happens today.

This leads us to the next question, What is the timeless truth? This is the implication question.

The timeless truth is that to pick up one’s cross is to die to one’s agenda and way of life. He means that the goals and agenda we follow in life are no longer our goals and agenda. We know follow God’s goals and agenda. We now follow Jesus and His way and not ours.

“You want to be my follower? Ok, that’s great! But turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross and follow me. You cannot hang on to your way of life then, it.has.to.die.” This is the timeless truth.

And this is where the application question comes in. How does it apply now?

Begin with this question, “What do I need to give up/let go of so that I am living for God the way I need to be living for God?” Is there a habit that must go? Is there an attitude that must change? Is there a relationship that needs to be mended or simply ended?

So what is God saying to you today? So what does this mean for you this day and this week? How is the Holy Spirit applying this to your life situation right now?

The call to pick up one’s cross and follow Jesus is a call to full obedience and service to and with God. It means that you are to follow Jesus starting…where you are and let God lead you… where He wants you to go.

Amen.

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the One Word Campaign. And my one word this year is ‘follow.’ (It is listed in the side bar of this blog. Thank you Melanie Moore of http://www.onlyabreath.com/ for designing the buttons for this year’s campaign!)

This week I have been reminded of the cost of following as I have been writing my sermon, based on Mark 8:31-38 which includes these words “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. (verse 34)

The fresh impact of those words reminded me all over again just how intentional and hard it is to follow Christ. For to follow Christ is to surrender my agenda and accept Christ’s agenda. That is hard to do because of 1.  the inner battle which Paul painfully and eloquently writes of in Romans 7 “So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin…” (verse 14) and 2. the cultural pull to find your path and do your thing.

As I contemplate this journey I am being reminded of the holistic nature of following Christ and have composed a prayer to give me a daily starting place to follow the Lord. This helps me with the intentional aspect of following:

These are my Thursday Thoughts

We pray for those today who are in bondage.

Some are in bondage to others as sex slaves and slave workers.

We ask O God that you move in the hearts and minds and wills of all those who can do something TO do something to bring freedom from this bondage for someone’s daughter or son.

Some are in bondage to an addiction – alcohol, drugs, sex, food, the internet, approval, etc

We ask  Holy Spirit that you would again this day move and act within the hearts and wills of those who are in bondage that they would see their powerlessness and make that first step of admission of that powerlessness to You, themselves, and those who can help them get on the path of/to recovery.

Some are in bondage through domestic violence or they are in an abusive relationship.

We pray dear Jesus that You will intervene in the right way, NOW, on their behalf and bring freedom both physically as well as in every other way, to them. And we pray for the children caught in these situations, even now we ask that You will help them know You are there with them and that You are doing something about it.

Father others are in bondage to a state because they choose to worship God in a different faith and are being held because of their refusal to renounce that faith. We stand with them this day as they stand for You and Your wonderful and redemptive grace and love. Help them to stand strong in the face of harassment, imprisonment, and even death so that You will receive them into Your great and Holy presence until that day when You will return and put all things to right.

And Lord many of us are in bondage though the lives we live are normal and free.

We are in bondage to fear, anxiety, and there is a smoldering resentment and anger that causes us to lash out and/or withdraw from our family and friends who, though they be seemingly powerless to help us, are the very ones who can often help us get started out of the inner hole we have dug for ourselves.

So God this day, we who have freedom, the freedom to move about, the freedom to protest, the freedom to say ‘NO!’… and ‘Yes!’ we pray for those who are not so fortunate. We ask for Your love, grace, and mercy, to do its good and wondrous thing now and in the days ahead for them that they will be… free!

Amen.