If you are like me, sometimes you may find it difficult to figure out what direction God is pointing for you; What is he calling me or you to do.

Paul writes in 2 Thessalonians 1:11,12. “So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him.”

I think what Paul is telling the people of the church in Thessalonica, and what God is telling us through this text, is that God has a calling for each of us and he is prompting us to pursue it. We need to listen for this prompting in a state of faith. I think what the last part of this text is telling us is, when we do this, it brings glory to God and it feels right to us. We know we are doing what God wants for us.

Dear Lord, As Paul prays, we also pray that you will enable us to live lives worthy of your call, give us the faith to receive your prompting and the power to accomplish your will. Thank you that when we do this, we will know that we are following your calling for us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

I think that sometimes, difficult things happen to people because God is trying to get their attention and draw them to him. He gives them things that are too big to handle on their own, as motivation to turn to him.

Revelation 3:19-20 says, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

God’s “rebuke and discipline,” which we may experience as struggles in our lives, are examples of him knocking at the door. When we let him in, he will help us through these trials.

Dear Lord, We know you want us to include you in our daily lives. Help us see our struggles as you knocking at our door to join us and help us through and overcome. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

I have always been a musical person. It runs in my family, and in my denomination, Lutheran. People joke that one way you know that you are Lutheran, you can join in singing Happy Birthday in four part harmony.

Even if you are not Lutheran or musical, however, most people can appreciate that there is something special about music. It is much more than just words, or sounds. Putting together melodies, harmonies, rhythms, and lyrics creates something completely new, different, and powerful.

Paul writes about the significance of music in Ephesians 5:18-19, saying “Be filled with the Holy Spirit singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.”

I had heard and remembered the first part of this passage, but this time I read it, I was impacted by the final section “making music to the Lord in your hearts.”

When we can get to that place of peace and joy in ourselves that only the Holy Spirit working in us can provide, whether we are musical or not, we can create music for the Lord in our hearts, through our thoughts, attitudes, and demeanor.

When we do this, we are living another expression heard occasionally around the Lutheran church, “One who sings, prays twice.”

Dear Lord, music is another one of those beautiful things that you created for our joy and your glory. Help us come to that state in our lives where we have your peace and joy and can create music for you in our hearts. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Stanford University was founded over one hundred years ago by a very wealthy couple who had lost their son as a teenager. There is a incredibly beautiful chapel on the campus that was built at the direction of the wife after her husband died.

My attention was caught by the inscription on the dedication plaque in the chapel wall. It says “To the glory of God and in loving memory of her husband.” I suppose this is not a surprising statement on a chapel dedication, but the simplicity of dedicating the amazing facility that was painstakingly constructed at a tremendous cost, “to the glory of God,” made me think about the things we all work on in our lives.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

We should all take a moment when we are starting or finishing a project, goal, or objective, and dedicate these things “to the glory of God,” which is why we are here.

Dear Lord, as you tell us in Isaiah 43:7, we were made for your glory. Help us remember to bring glory to you in all that we do. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Proverbs 4:23

The author of this proverb, likely Solomon, was obviously not writing about our physical heart, but that part of our consciousness that controls our moral outlook, strongest feelings, and our passions. It is also the part of us that can be manipulated into false beliefs.

I think what the Proverb is telling us is that our heart, this moral consciousness, must be controlled by our mind, our conscious decisions and disciplines, not the other way around. By guarding or hearts from manipulation we stay in control of our lives, and even better, we direct our passions to the noble pursuits God desires.

Dear Lord, we are each beautifully and wonderfully made, but unless we follow your design for ourselves, we can be misled away from your will. Help us guard our hearts so that we will use them to bring passion and energy to your glory. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.