I Trust When Dark My Road

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“Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered…” (Psalms 105:5 ESV)

What do you remember that teaches you God is there for you?  What do you remember that seeks to prevent you from hearing God’s mercy?

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What does it mean to be cleansed of sin?  Why should we care?

This is a great post from one of the sites I regularly read. Check it out:

Prayer initiated by the Father: “O My Soul:

Prayer is a conversation with God that He begins with Baptized souls in His Word.

This understanding of prayer is not popular, taught much, or trusted even by the baptized soul. I often thought prayer started with me talking to God. I think that’s why I often quit, felt distracted, and bored with my own thoughts.

The unbaptized soul is dead to God. (alive to his neighbor but dead to God) And dead men don’t talk. So God is pleased to give life to the dead through His gift of water and Word.

Since my soul is baptized, what then is prayer?

Prayer is a conversation God our Father initiates with the baptized through His Word. My soul responds. First by listening. Then by speaking a little bit. And then by listening some more. I am learning His vocabulary; His thoughts.

This understanding of prayer has been a blessing to my soul.

When depression strikes, I feel so utterly alone. But I am not alone. I am in Christ who is my advocate with the Father. He invites me into His prayers for me and for others as well.

The appointed prayer of the week from the historic lectionary is a prayer passed down over the centuries and has been a daily blessing to my soul this past week.

Here it is. May it be a blessing to your soul as well:

O God, You see that of ourselves we have no strength. By Your mighty power defend us from all adversities that may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts that may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

”

(Via O My Soul, Why So Downcast Within Me?.)

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darkmyroad10.mp3

And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” (Mark 8:4)

God excels at making great things out of nothing…

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darkmyroad09.mp3

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.” (Psalms 22:1–2 ESV)

Why do pastors suffer such feelings of abandonment over their parishioners? There are many reasons. One of them I think is a matter of wrong headed or unrealistic expectations. If I am looking for people in my congregation to give me the eternal presence of Christ, I have set myself up for serious disaster. Christ promises to give Himself to me in Word and Sacrament, not in my flock. No obviously, God is at work in them, taking care of me in so many ways. But it is unfair and simply not helpful to load all kinds of unreal expectations on them. So what is the pastor to do when He takes such things so personally? Listen in…