One of the necessities of life is making decisions with incomplete and imperfect information. “Do I buy the non-refundable airline tickets for the trip 6 months from now?” “Do I take the new job, or stay where I am?” “What curriculum should I choose?” “What college should I choose?” The problem with making these decisions is that we fear that we might learn something along the way that would have changed our decision.

Paul writes about this as it applies to our Christian life in 1 Corinthians 13:12, “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.”

We may not have the complete picture in order to make the perfect decision every time, but God does. Paul finishes this, well known, text in verse 13 with, “Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.” So if we put our faith and hope in God’s guidance and live in love for him and our neighbor, he will be there for us, and guide us on our journey through life.

Dear Lord, you know everything, our every thought, our secret hopes and dreams, and you have plans for each of us. Help us remember to trust your guidance to make decisions and take actions boldly, knowing that if we do things in obedience to you with love for others, you will protect and support us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Happy Father’s day to all the fathers reading! Yes, this is a day set up to recognize us and our fathers, and we should take the moment to accept and be grateful for the attention that may be given.
It is an incredible joy and an incredible responsibility to be a parent, a father. It is another level of influence we have to shape our world. As an individual, we have only our own actions to affect things, but as a parent, our influence can continue for generations, just as our fathers and mothers are influencing the world by how they raised us.

Paul writes in Ephesians 6:1-4, “Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.”

Some may not have had fathers that were good examples, but it is still a lesson that can be learned, by not repeating it.

My brothers and I have been incredibly blessed to have a father and mother who are amazing Christian examples. We can only hope and pray we will be parents like them.

Happy Father’s Day dad!

Dear Lord, how blessed are those of us who have and had fathers who brought us up to love and follow you; Fathers who provided us example of your loving instruction and discipline. Help us all as parents learn from these examples, and from Jesus’ example of loving instruction and raise our children to love, trust, and follow you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

We all occasionally get angry about something. I have found that we are much more likely to become angry, lose our control, and say or do something we shouldn’t when we are either tired or hungry.

Psalm 4:4 gives us good advice in this regard, “Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Think about it overnight and remain silent.”

It is unrealistic to think we can avoid ever becoming angry, but we can avoid letting that anger control us. You have probably heard it said, “things look better in the morning.” We need to take the Psalmist’s comments to heart, and hold our comments when we are angry. In the morning we can re-evaluate the situation, and typically it will look much better.

Dear Lord, We thank you that you give us the will to control ourselves and not just follow each emotional whim. Help us hold our comments when we are angry until we can address those items productively and intelligently. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

The book of Exodus tells the story of the Jews after God brought them out of captivity in Egypt. God was leading them to a new land, but even though he was there with them the entire time in the form of a pillar of cloud in the daytime, and a pillar of fire at night, they still had problems keeping their focus on him and his direction.

Just like the Jews in the desert, God wants us to look to him for our direction and strength and he will guide us.

In Hebrews 3 Paul recounts this story, and explains how God was leading them, showing them the path. In Hebrews 3:9-10 he writes, “But God was patient with them forty years, though they tried his patience sorely; he kept right on doing his mighty miracles for them to see. “But,” God says, “I was very angry with them, for their hearts were always looking somewhere else instead of up to me, and they never found the paths I wanted them to follow.”

God also has paths he wants us to take, but we need to look to him for guidance to know where they are.

Dear Lord, help us have the faith to look to you for guidance. Show us the paths you want us to follow. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Prior to being betrayed and arrested, Jesus prays as recorded in the gospels including John 17. He prays asking that God’s will is done, he prays for his disciples, and He also prays for each of us.

“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.” John 17:20-21

He prays that we would be one with him, and be a way to bring the world to believe in Jesus and the salvation he brings.

Dear Lord, as Jesus prayed, may we be in you so that the world will believe you are the Savior. Amen.