The Patient Farmer

...and you, his crop. 

Verse for the week: “Behold, I send my messenger and he will prepare the way before me.” Malachi 3.1

Prayer for this week of Advent: Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to prepare the way for your only Son. By his coming give us strength for the good fight of faith and shed light on our path through the darkness of this world; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Bible reading for the day: James 5.7-11

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. ⁸ You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. ⁹ Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. ¹⁰ As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

Prayer (based on T.R.I.P. method*): Gracious and almighty Father, you are the most patient farmer of all. Thank you for planting in the living seed, Jesus Christ, in the rough furrows of my ears. I am so slow to bear fruit, Lord. Please tend and water the living Word that you have sown for me in such a way that the precious fruit of your compassion and mercy may bear even through a slow plant like me. In Jesus’ name I ask this, amen.

Hymn: follow this link to a portion of Handel’s “Messiah” that gives further voice to the Lord’s compassionate, merciful purpose: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z864ZIZuQrk  

“I believe in the Holy Spirit…”

What does this mean?  I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him; but the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and preserved me in the true faith. In the same way, he calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and preserves it in unity with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church, he daily forgives abundantly all my sins and the sins of all believers. At the last day, he will raise me and all the dead and will grant everlasting life to me and to all who believe in Christ. This is most certainly true! (from “The Small Catechism, by Martin Luther ©Reclaim Resources, Sola Publishing, 2011)

Benediction: “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4.7

 

*The T.R.I.P. approach to prayer is based on the way Martin Luther prayed and taught others to pray.  It was later developed by Walter and Ingrid Trobisch and then adapted by Mount Carmel Ministries (Alexandria, MN).  The method is founded on scripture and easy to remember:
T: thanksgiving
R: regret (repentance)
I: intercession (asking God to take a specific action)
P: plan or purpose
Reading a biblical text and then applying this method gives one a sound, simple way to form one’s prayers...not to mention that it helps one learn how to faithfully reflect on God’s Word and talk to God.  

Gladness for the dry land and your dry heart

Verse for the week: “Behold, I send my messenger and he will prepare the way before me.” Malachi 3.1

Prayer for this week of Advent: Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to prepare the way for your only Son. By his coming give us strength for the good fight of faith and shed light on our path through the darkness of this world; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.  

Bible reading for the day: Isaiah 35.1-10 (Note: the people of Judah and Jerusalem are in the midst of a nearly 50 year disciplinary “time out” – the Exile to Bablyon, 587-539BC – which they brought upon themselves by their rebellion against God. They have been blind to his favor and deaf to his word. Also, there is a symmetrical structure to v.1-7 of this Hebrew poem: if you fold it in half from top to bottom, the content of the verses parallel each other and God is at the center of the restoration.)

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;
    the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;
² it shall blossom abundantly
    and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
    the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
    the majesty of our God.

 ³ Strengthen the weak hands,

    and make firm the feeble knees.
⁴ Say to those who have an anxious heart,
    “Be strong; fear not!
Behold, your God
    will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
    He will come and save you.”

 ⁵ Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

    and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
⁶ then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
    and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
For waters break forth in the wilderness,
    and streams in the desert;
⁷ the burning sand shall become a pool,
    and the thirsty ground springs of water;
in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down,
    the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

 

⁸ And a highway shall be there,
    and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;
the unclean shall not pass over it.
    It shall belong to those who walk on the way;
    even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.
⁹ No lion shall be there,
    nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
    but the redeemed shall walk there.
¹⁰ And the ransomed of the Lord shall return
    and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
    they shall obtain gladness and joy,
    and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Prayer (based on T.R.I.P. method**): Gracious and almighty Lord, thank you for redeeming rebellious ones, including me, through Jesus Christ; he is the highway to new life. Thank you. Daily unstop our ears that we may be delivered from the drought of the self and listen instead to you. Take my weak hand, Lord Jesus, and lead me to the comforts of you reign; in your name I pray. Amen.

Hymn: follow this link to the portion of Handel’s “Messiah” that proclaims this news from scripture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z864ZIZuQrk

Benediction: “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4.7

*The T.R.I.P. approach to prayer is based on the way Martin Luther prayed and taught others to pray.  It was later developed by Walter and Ingrid Trobisch and then adapted by Mount Carmel Ministries (Alexandria, MN).  The method is founded on scripture and easy to remember:
T: thanksgiving
R: regret (repentance)
I: intercession (asking God to take a specific action)
P: plan or purpose
Reading a biblical text and then applying this method gives one a sound, simple way to form one’s prayers...not to mention that it helps one learn how to faithfully reflect on God’s Word and talk to God. 

The crown fits better on Jesus than on you

Verse for the week:  Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.  Zech 9.9

Prayer for the 1st week of Advent: “Almighty God and Lord, come to us with all your power and help us who are anxious and troubled.  Send us the Savior, that he may enter our hearts, and with your light illumine our night, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” (K.B. Ritter, Gebete fur das Jahr der Kirche, 1^st ed.  Kassel: Barenreiter Verlag, 1933, p.35.)

Bible reading for the day: Psalm 72.1-7

Give the king your justice, O God,
    and your righteousness to the royal son!
² May he judge your people with righteousness,
    and your poor with justice!
³ Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people,
    and the hills, in righteousness!
⁴ May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
    give deliverance to the children of the needy,
    and crush the oppressor!

 

⁵ May they fear you while the sun endures,
    and as long as the moon, throughout all generations!
⁶ May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,
    like showers that water the earth!
⁷ In his days may the righteous flourish,
    and peace abound, till the moon be no more!

 

⁸ May he have dominion from sea to sea,
    and from the River to the ends of the earth!
⁹ May desert tribes bow down before him,
    and his enemies lick the dust!
¹⁰ May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands
    render him tribute;
may the kings of Sheba and Seba
    bring gifts!
¹¹ May all kings fall down before him,
    all nations serve him!

Prayer (based on T.R.I.P. method*): Gracious and almighty Father, thank you for Christ the King, your royal Son… in him alone are justice and righteousness for sinners who don’t deserve it. Until his reign falls on the earth in all its fullness and time is fulfilled, repent me and your whole church of all our daily attempts – small and large – to put ourselves on the throne. Your kingdom come, O Lord, your righteousness in Christ alone, for us; in his name I pray. Amen.

Hymn: follow this link to a beloved classic that gives further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If-svStcvS8

 “I believe in Jesus Christ…”

 What does this mean?  I believe that Jesus Christ — true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary — is my Lord. He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, and has freed me from sin, death, and the power of the devil, not with silver and gold, but with his holy and precious blood and his innocent suffering and death. He has done all this in order that I might be his own, live under him in his kingdom, and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, even as he is risen from the dead and lives and reigns for all eternity. This is most certainly true! (from The Small Catechism, by Martin Luther ©Reclaim Resources, Sola Publishing, 2011)

Benediction: And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you this day.  To him be the power forever and ever.  Amen. (1 Pet 5:10) 

 

*The T.R.I.P. approach to prayer is based on the way Martin Luther prayed and taught others to pray.  It was later developed by Walter and Ingrid Trobisch and then adapted by Mount Carmel Ministries (Alexandria, MN).  The method is founded on scripture and easy to remember:
T: thanksgiving
R: regret (repentance)
I: intercession (asking God to take a specific action)
P: plan or purpose
Reading a biblical text and then applying this method gives one a sound, simple way to form one’s prayers...not to mention that it helps one learn how to faithfully reflect on God’s Word and talk to God. 

Pointing us in the right direction

Verse for the week:  Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.  Zech 9.9

Prayer for the 1st week of Advent: “Almighty God and Lord, come to us with all your power and help us who are anxious and troubled.  Send us the Savior, that he may enter our hearts, and with your light illumine our night, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.” (K.B. Ritter, Gebete fur das Jahr der Kirche, 1^st ed.  Kassel: Barenreiter Verlag, 1933, p.35.)

Bible reading for the day: Matthew 3.1-2 (note: Matthew spent the previous chapter laying out God’s fulfillment of the Old Testament in Jesus, the fellow from Nazareth. Now appears John the Baptist to bear witness to the same… a testimony that within a year or two will cost John his head.)

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ² “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” ³ For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
    make his paths straight.’”

⁴ Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, ⁶ and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹ And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰ Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹ “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Prayer (based on T.R.I.P. method*): Gracious and almighty Father, thank you for sending rustic John the Baptist to point us to your promise kept for us in Christ alone. Deliver me and my congregation from trusting in any religious pedigree of the flesh. Loose the winnowing fork of your word in our ears, make all that is crooked about us straight, and gather us in for your use; in Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Hymn: follow this link to a beloved classic that gives further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbcBXYP4AlE

“I believe in Jesus Christ…”

What does this mean?  I believe that Jesus Christ — true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary — is my Lord. He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, and has freed me from sin, death, and the power of the devil, not with silver and gold, but with his holy and precious blood and his innocent suffering and death. He has done all this in order that I might be his own, live under him in his kingdom, and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, even as he is risen from the dead and lives and reigns for all eternity. This is most certainly true! (from The Small Catechism, by Martin Luther ©Reclaim Resources, Sola Publishing, 2011)

Benediction: And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you this day.  To him be the power forever and ever.  Amen. (1 Pet 5:10) 

*The T.R.I.P. approach to prayer is based on the way Martin Luther prayed and taught others to pray.  It was later developed by Walter and Ingrid Trobisch and then adapted by Mount Carmel Ministries (Alexandria, MN).  The method is founded on scripture and easy to remember:
T: thanksgiving
R: regret (repentance)
I: intercession (asking God to take a specific action)
P: plan or purpose
Reading a biblical text and then applying this method gives one a sound, simple way to form one’s prayers...not to mention that it helps one learn how to faithfully reflect on God’s Word and talk to God.   

All the endurance and encouragement we need

 ...is already ours in Christ.

Verse for the week:  Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.  Zech 9.9

Prayer for the 1st week of Advent: “Almighty God and Lord, come to us with all your power and help us who are anxious and troubled.  Send us the Savior, that he may enter our hearts, and with your light illumine our night, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.” (K.B. Ritter, Gebete fur das Jahr der Kirche, 1^st ed.  Kassel: Barenreiter Verlag, 1933, p.35.)

Bible reading for the day: Romans 15.4-9 (note: Paul writes this most likely in 58 AD.)

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. ⁵ May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, ⁶ that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁷ Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

 ⁸ For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, ⁹ and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,

“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,
    and sing to your name.”

Prayer (based on T.R.I.P. method*): Gracious and almighty Father, your promise made long ago to Abraham and the patriarchs and kept in the flesh in Christ means forgiveness and welcome for sinners of every nation, including me. Thank you. Lord, let not the devil and our pride separate us from you and from one another. In Christ you have given us all the encouragement and endurance we need to live in harmony and sing praise to your name rather than our own. Amen.

Hymn: follow this link to a beloved classic that gives further voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbcBXYP4AlE

Benediction: And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you this day.  To him be the power forever and ever.  Amen. (1 Pet 5:10) 

 

*The T.R.I.P. approach to prayer is based on the way Martin Luther prayed and taught others to pray.  It was later developed by Walter and Ingrid Trobisch and then adapted by Mount Carmel Ministries (Alexandria, MN).  The method is founded on scripture and easy to remember:
T: thanksgiving
R: regret (repentance)
I: intercession (asking God to take a specific action)
P: plan or purpose
Reading a biblical text and then applying this method gives one a sound, simple way to form one’s prayers...not to mention that it helps one learn how to faithfully reflect on God’s Word and talk to God. 

Is there breath in your nostrils?

Verse for the week:  Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.  Zech 9.9

Prayer for the 1st week of Advent: “Almighty God and Lord, come to us with all your power and help us who are anxious and troubled.  Send us the Savior, that he may enter our hearts, and with your light illumine our night, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.” (K.B. Ritter, Gebete fur das Jahr der Kirche, 1^st ed.  Kassel: Barenreiter Verlag, 1933, p.35.)

Bible reading for the day:  Isaiah 2 (note: Chapters 1-39 were proclaimed first to the people in Judah and Jerusalem from 742-701 B.C. The ox knows its owner and even the donkey its master’s crib, but God’s own people have rejected him.)

The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

² It shall come to pass in the latter days
    that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
    and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,
³     and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
    and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
    and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
⁴ He shall judge between the nations,
    and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
    and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
    neither shall they learn war anymore.

 ⁵ O house of Jacob,
    come, let us walk
    in the light of the Lord.

 ⁶ For you have rejected your people,
    the house of Jacob,
because they are full of things from the east
    and of fortune-tellers like the Philistines,
    and they strike hands with the children of foreigners.
⁷ Their land is filled with silver and gold,
    and there is no end to their treasures;
their land is filled with horses,
    and there is no end to their chariots.
⁸ Their land is filled with idols;
    they bow down to the work of their hands,
    to what their own fingers have made.
⁹ So man is humbled,
    and each one is brought low—
    do not forgive them!
¹⁰ Enter into the rock
    and hide in the dust
from before the terror of the Lord,
    and from the splendor of his majesty.
¹¹ The haughty looks of man shall be brought low,
    and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled,
and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.

 

¹² For the Lord of hosts has a day
    against all that is proud and lofty,
    against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low;
¹³ against all the cedars of Lebanon,
    lofty and lifted up;
    and against all the oaks of Bashan;
¹⁴ against all the lofty mountains,
    and against all the uplifted hills;
¹⁵ against every high tower,
    and against every fortified wall;
¹⁶ against all the ships of Tarshish,
    and against all the beautiful craft.
¹⁷ And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled,
    and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low,
    and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
¹⁸ And the idols shall utterly pass away.
¹⁹ And people shall enter the caves of the rocks
    and the holes of the ground,
from before the terror of the Lord,
    and from the splendor of his majesty,
    when he rises to terrify the earth.

 

²⁰ In that day mankind will cast away
    their idols of silver and their idols of gold,
which they made for themselves to worship,
    to the moles and to the bats,
²¹ to enter the caverns of the rocks
    and the clefts of the cliffs,
from before the terror of the Lord,
    and from the splendor of his majesty,
    when he rises to terrify the earth.
²² Stop regarding man
    in whose nostrils is breath,
    for of what account is he?

Prayer (based on T.R.I.P. method*): Gracious and almighty Father, thank you: in Christ you have judged all of us and rescued us from the chastisement we deserve. Thank you. The only way we have breath in our nostrils is from you, O Lord. While we wait for Christ’s return, make us repent of our lofty pride, our chariots and swords, our treasures and idols, our alliances, the work of our own hands… the lies of fortune-tellers and philosophers. Humble us, O Lord, that we may walk in your light rather than recline in our own. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Music: follow this link to an excerpt from Handel’s “Messiah” which gives profoundly beautiful voice to today’s conversation with the Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v7cs2mHnFg

Benediction: And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you this day.  To him be the power forever and ever.  Amen. (1 Pet 5:10) 

*The T.R.I.P. approach to prayer is based on the way Martin Luther prayed and taught others to pray.  It was later developed by Walter and Ingrid Trobisch and then adapted by Mount Carmel Ministries (Alexandria, MN).  The method is founded on scripture and easy to remember:
T: thanksgiving
R: regret (repentance)
I: intercession (asking God to take a specific action)
P: plan or purpose
Reading a biblical text and then applying this method gives one a sound, simple way to form one’s prayers...not to mention that it helps one learn how to faithfully reflect on God’s Word and talk to God. 

Grateful

 
“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits--
who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.            Psalm 103.1-5
 
Excerpt from Gratefulness, by George Herbert
Dear Lord,
Thou that hast giv’n so much to me,
Give one thing more, a grateful heart.
See how thy beggar works on thee
                        By art.
Wherefore I cry, and cry again;
And in no quiet canst thou be,
‘Till I a thankful heart obtain
                        Of thee.
Not thankful, when it pleaseth me;
As if thy blessings had spare days:
But such a heart, whose pulse may be
                        Thy praise. 
Amen.

 

“Give us this day our daily bread,”

What does this mean?  God gives daily bread to all people though sinful, but we ask in this prayer that He would teach us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanks.

What is meant by “daily bread”?  Daily bread includes everything required to meet our earthly needs, such as food, drink, clothing, home, property, employment, necessities, devout parents, children, and communities, honest and faithful authorities, good government, seasonable weather, peace, health, an orderly society, a good reputation, true friends and neighbors, and the like. (The Small Catechism, by Martin Luther, Reclaim© 2011)

A beloved new hymn for you to sing along… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXDGE_lRI0E

Benediction: “The Lord bless you and keep you;
²⁵ the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
²⁶ the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” Numbers 6.24-26