Prayer in Temptation iii

•March 11, 2014 • 3 Comments

Isaiah 55:1-13 (CEV)

The Lord’s Invitation

55 If you are thirsty,
    come and drink water!
If you don’t have any money,
    come, eat what you want!
Drink wine and milk
    without paying a cent.
2 Why waste your money
    on what really isn’t food?
Why work hard for something
    that doesn’t satisfy?
Listen carefully to me,
and you will enjoy
    the very best foods.

3 Pay close attention!
    Come to me and live.
I will promise you
the eternal love and loyalty
    that I promised David.
4 I made him the leader and ruler
of the nations;
    he was my witness to them.
5 You will call out to nations
    you have never known.
And they have never known you,
but they will come running
    because I am the Lord,
the holy God of Israel,
    and I have honored you.

God’s Words Are Powerful

6 Turn to the Lord!
He can still be found.
    Call out to God! He is near.
7 Give up your crooked ways
    and your evil thoughts.
Return to the Lord our God.
He will be merciful
    and forgive your sins.

8 The Lord says:
“My thoughts and my ways
    are not like yours.
9 Just as the heavens
    are higher than the earth,
my thoughts and my ways
    are higher than yours.

10 “Rain and snow fall from the sky.
But they don’t return
    without watering the earth
that produces seeds to plant
    and grain to eat.
11 That’s how it is with my words.
    They don’t return to me
without doing everything
    I send them to do.”

God’s People Will Celebrate

12 When you are set free,
you will celebrate
    and travel home in peace.
Mountains and hills will sing
as you pass by,
    and trees will clap.
13 Cypress and myrtle trees
will grow in fields
    once covered by thorns.
And then those trees will stand
as a lasting witness
    to the glory of the Lord.

I wander,
lost,
hungry,
thirsty,
with nothing.

I have left behind
the things I relied on,
things
that I thought
kept me secure.

For so long
I chased after the wrong things,
things that hindered
rather than being the help
I longed for,
when all along
you had
what I needed.

If I’m looking for life
I should seek it in you.

And so I cry out to you
from my pain,
my anguish,
the temptation to do otherwise,
from deep within the wilderness,
I call

and you wait,
ready,
longing to forgive,
refresh,
restore.

I would run if I could,
but I turn,
exhausted,
hurting,
thirsty,
in need of strength,
to you.

In place of prickly,
sharp,
thorny plants
you will place
beauty,
scented,
life-enhancing growth;
in you
sadness and struggle
will turn
to joy,
peace
and hope.

Strength
to endure the journey;
strength
to travel in peace
home to you.

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

Posted in bible, faith, God, Lectionary, lent, Religion, theology
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Prayer in Temptation ii

•March 10, 2014 • Leave a Comment

Temptation of Francis of Assisi

Continuing this week, with reflecting on temptation, the behaviour we slip into, often without realising, and asking God for help to resist, his strength to be strong.

Leviticus 19:11-18 (CEV)

11 Do not steal or tell lies or cheat others.

12 Do not misuse my name by making promises you don’t intend to keep. I am the Lord your God.

13 Do not steal anything or cheat anyone, and don’t fail to pay your workers at the end of each day.

14 I am the Lord your God, and I command you not to make fun of the deaf or to cause a blind person to stumble.

15 Be fair, no matter who is on trial—don’t favor either the poor or the rich.

16 Don’t be a gossip, but never hesitate to speak up in court, especially if your testimony can save someone’s life.

17 Don’t hold grudges. On the other hand, it’s wrong not to correct someone who needs correcting. 18 Stop being angry and don’t try to take revenge. I am the Lord, and I command you to love others as much as you love yourself.

How do I live my life?
What can I resist?
What do I do without even realising it?

Forgive me Lord,
when I cheat
and lie
and steal,
not just physical things….
not just when it is from others,
(though I do that all the time)
but when it is to myself too.
When I pretend,
avoid myself,
settle for less
than I am intended to be.

Forgive me
when I bandy
your name around,
trying to sound impressive,
using you
to validate what I want to say
and do;
suggesting
perhaps
that I am something I am not,
holier than I am,
nearer to you than the reality,
implying that I have
your definitive word…

Forgive me
when I take what I don’t warrant
and don’t give to others
what they do deserve.

Forgive me
when I look at others failings
(or what I perceive to be)
and not all that they have to offer
to me,
to you,
to our community.
Forgive me for being blind to others,
their needs,
their burdens,
their gifts;
forgive me for failing to hear
what others have to say,
that may speak to me
if only I listen.

Forgive me
for making snap decisions,
being swayed by the wrong things,
not searching for truth
and justice.

Forgive me
for being quick to gossip,
to pass opinion
(usually uninformed),
to delight in passing on
those little snippets,
for not caring
for the person behind the news.
Forgive me
for not speaking up
for good character,
for right,
for standing up for the truth.

Forgive me Lord
for hanging on to wrong
and upset,
for holding tight
to hurt.
Forgive my anger,
my desire to be even
and my inability to love
others
and myself.

Lord,
lead me not into temptation,
give me your strength
to resist,
and when I fail,
save me.
Build your Kingdom
afresh in me
I pray.

Build Your Kingdom Here

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Prayer in Temptation i

•March 9, 2014 • Leave a Comment

Matthew 4:1-11 (CEV)

Jesus and the Devil

4 The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert, so that the devil could test him. 2 After Jesus had gone without eating for forty days and nights, he was very hungry. 3 Then the devil came to him and said, “If you are God’s Son, tell these stones to turn into bread.”

4 Jesus answered, “The Scriptures say:

‘No one can live only on food.
People need every word
    that God has spoken.’”

5 Next, the devil took Jesus to the holy city and had him stand on the highest part of the temple. 6 The devil said, “If you are God’s Son, jump off. The Scriptures say:

‘God will give his angels
    orders about you.
They will catch you
    in their arms,
and you won’t hurt
    your feet on the stones.’”

7 Jesus answered, “The Scriptures also say, ‘Don’t try to test the Lord your God!’”

8 Finally, the devil took Jesus up on a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms on earth and their power. 9 The devil said to him, “I will give all this to you, if you will bow down and worship me.”

10 Jesus answered, “Go away Satan! The Scriptures say:

‘Worship the Lord your God
    and serve only him.’”

11 Then the devil left Jesus, and angels came to help him.

Alone,
with God,
with myself,
with my demons.

Faced with the stark realities
of my life.

Where do I put my trust,
where do I look for nourishment.
where do I seek validation?

Do I try to live without God?
Filling my life with stuff
that fails to satisfy?

Do I think I can look after myself?
Or trust God to rescue me
when I have got myself into a mess?
Or do I seek him first,
before I jump?

Do I want to test God?
To see how far I can push him?
how far I can go?

Do I put my trust
in the wrong things?
Am I distracted by shiny,
and lose my focus on God?

Lord,
this lent,
I want to walk with these questions,
to come again
to you.
Deepen my trust,
my faith,
my worship,
my service,
I pray

Lenten Song

Posted in bible, faith, follow, God, Jesus, Lectionary, lent, Religion, theology
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