It is so difficult and confusing for us when we lose someone we love. Nothing can really remove the pain we feel at the time.

The book of Lamentations is believed to be written by Jeremiah after the Babylonians captured Jerusalem and took many of the Jews away into slavery. It is written about the sorrow associated with this, but even in the midst of the sorrow it says in Lamentation 3:22-23,

“The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.” and in verses 31-32, it says “For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love.”

We feel the deep sadness and loss because we love, but even in our loss God will comfort us because he loves us.

Dear Lord, comfort us in our times of sadness and loss. Help us remember that you love us and will not abandon us in our sorrow. Thank you for your faithfulness and for providing us the care we need. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Jesus tells the blind men, in Matthew 9:29, “Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”

Paul tells the Galatians in Galatians 3:5, “I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ”

The way I read this, by our faith and belief in God’s power miracles occur and our prayers are answered.

Are we firmly believing God can and will bring miracles in our lives?

Dear Lord, like the father tells Jesus in Mark 9:24 We do believe Lord, help our unbelief. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Writing to the Christians in Rome, Paul tells them how the many details in the Old Testament laws can be simplified.

In Romans 13:9,10 he writes, “The commandments say, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”

This simplification ties right to the answer Jesus gave to the Pharisees when asked, what was the greatest commandment. Jesus told them loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind, but the second greatest is to love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:40 says, “The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Even today, remembering these two simple rules is the basis for how God wants us to live. If we evaluate our actions against these two rules, we can see if we are staying on the right course.

Dear Lord, “Love You and love our neighbor,” is really the essence of living the Christian life. Help us all to remember that. If we all did, our world would become a much better place. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

The Bible has many references to the fact that there are demons and evil spirts influencing people physically and psychologically. We may not think this is as commonplace in modern times, but how can we know? Is this the reason for the many horrible things people do in our world today?

We know from Paul’s writing in Ephesians 6:12, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evils spirits in heavenly places.”

If we believe this, what then are these evil rulers and authorities trying to do? They are working to interfere with God’s plan of love and salvation, and have been since Adam and Eve.

I recently read a couple novels that have been around for some time that dramatize how this might be occurring in our country and communities. This Present Darkness, and Piercing The Darkness, by Frank Peretti, though fictional stories, give us an idea what types of influence the devil may be using and directing in our world.

We know on our own we are no match for the evil powers of the devil, but we know also that the devil and evil are no match for God’s power and Jesus salvation. Our job is to steer clear of evil temptations that would expose us to the devil’s influence, and pray for God’s protection when attacked with one of the devil’s many tools, like fear, despair, discouragement, anger, hopelessness, addiction, greed, lust, envy, etc.

Prayer is our greatest tool to protect us, our families, friends and communities from the evil influences of the devil.

Dear Lord, as you taught us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Deliver us from evil.” Protect us, our families, friends, communities, countries and leaders from the evil influences of the devil. Defeat the evil forces that are working around us so that we may live safely in your grace and peace. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

If you have learned to read music to play an instrument, or sing, you are familiar with the many small characters, accents, symbols and notations on sheet music that tell you to play faster, louder, with different techniques, or how to navigate the sections of the piece. It is kind of like a code, and if you don’t know it, you cannot really understand how the music should sound.

In a way, this is like the situation in Matthew 13:10-13, “Jesus’ disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?” He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. That is why I use these parables, For they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.”

The parables are like a code that can only be deciphered by someone who has his or her heart open to receiving God’s message. The more open our heart is to hearing the message, the more understanding we are granted.

Dear Lord, We praise and thank you that you have given us the ability to understand your parables, and have given us the Holy Spirit working in us. Help us use this ability to become more knowledgeable and use this knowledge to help others come to understand as well. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.