The Gospel Coalition

     As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 1 Pet. 2:4-6

Heavenly Father, I used to think that “coming to Jesus” was a phrase whose meaning is exhausted when we first trust your Son to be our Savior—that magnificent merciful moment of crossing over from death to life, from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the Son you love.  For sure, that is the most glorious and essential “come-to-Jesus-meeting” we’ll ever have. How I praise you for showing me how much I needed the gospel, and for giving me the faith to trust Jesus-plus-nothing for my salvation.

But it’s obvious to me now that the whole Christian life is about coming to Jesus. The day we stop coming to Jesus is the day we no longer need grace. We need Jesus today as much as the first day he entered our lives. In fact, we’ll never exhaust our need for what he alone can give. Even as we enjoy life in the new heaven and new earth, we’ll forever discover more and more reasons to give Jesus the worship, adoration, and praise of which he alone is worthy. Father, we arise and come to your beloved Son right now…

Indeed, Lord Jesus, you are the life-giving living Stone for your beloved people; the precious cornerstone of the living temple called the body of Christ; the rock of refuge that’s higher than I am (Ps. 61:2-3); the rock from which God gave water in the wilderness in Moses’ day (1 Cor. 10:1-4). You are the honey-giving rock of whom Asaph spoke (Ps. 81:16), and you are Daniel’s stone, cut from a mountain by the hands of God, which will become an everlasting kingdom of redemption and restoration (Dan. 2:36-45).

Lord Jesus, we exalt you and delight in you. The more precious you become to us, the more we watch our shame melt away. The more we treasure you, the more our other “treasures” become like empty-nothings, fool’s gold, and broken cisterns. The quicker and more often we come to you, the more we realize that it’s you who is always coming to us first. We can’t outdo you at anything except sinning.

Jesus, we come to you right now—we come bringing our thirst to the fountain of your fullness; we bring our misery to the commissary of your kindness; we bring our weakness to the endless supply of your strength; we bring our brokenness to the infirmary of your infinite mercies; we bring our weariness to the oasis of your refreshing affection. We come to you right now, Lord, for enough gospel manna to meet the demands of this one day. So very Amen, we pray in your precious and shame-freeing name.

     Many followed him [Jesus], and he healed them all and ordered them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory; And in his name the Gentiles will hope.” Matt. 12:15-21

Dear Lord Jesus, I’m greatly moved today as I ponder your compassionate heart for the broken and suffering. Surely there’s no Savior like you: entering, not running from our chaos; taking, not despising our shame; shouldering, not ignoring our burdens. “Bruised reeds” and “smoldering wicks” love your appearing. Justice will be fully victorious because you have been the willing Sufferer.

For sure, most gloriously sure, your sufferings as our sin-bearer are over, done, complete! As the Lamb of God, you offered yourself once and for all upon the cross. No additional sacrifice for our sin remains to be offered—none. I no longer fear being judged by God for my sin, for you were judged in our place. Your perfect love continues to drive away all fear of punishment, anxiety about Judgment Day, and uncertainty about eternity. I boast and rest in your sufferings for me, Lord Jesus, and I also shout several hearty, “Hallelujahs!”

But I also cry out, “Help me, Lord Jesus—free me, lead me.” Take me with you into the sufferings of friends and family; further into the groans of my own heart, deeper into the injustices and brokenness of my community.

Like most, I have an aversion to pain and suffering. Like many, I’d love the Christian life to be an antidote for all discomfort and distress. Like some, I get overwhelmed and overtaxed by the sufferings of others.

Here’s our peace, our consolation, our ballast, Jesus: you’re not calling us to suffer for you but to suffer with you, and that makes all the difference in the world. We’re called into the fellowship of your sufferings, not into the isolation of our sufferings. Your tear-wiping hand comes to us and reaches through us.

You’ll never lead us into hard places where you’re not present. You’ll never ask us to do anything all by ourselves. You’ll never leave us or forsake us, Jesus. You’ll never give us more than we can endure. You’ll never give us less than sufficient grace.

You will lead justice to victory, and in your name all the nations will put their hope. You are beloved of the Father and we are beloved of you. What privilege, joy and comfort. So very Amen we pray, in your kind and compassionate name.

     Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. Hebrews 6:17-19

     Heavenly Father, stunned, awe-filled, and grateful is what I feel as I pray through this Scripture today. I know it’s euphemistic and cliché; colloquial and provincial, dated and nowhere to be found in erudite tomes of theological discourse, but you “rock”. There is no other “god” like you—singularly worthy of my heart’s adoration, affection, and allegiance. Though the “Michal’s” of the world might object (2 Samuel 6), I would gladly dance before you today like King David, dressed in the righteousness of Jesus alone.

Should the idol factory of my heart work overtime, in my wildest, most self-centered days, I could not even begin to imagine or fabricate a god as good, generous and loving as you. All my idols are “empty nothings,” miserable mirages, tottering temples of wood, hay and stubble—mute, blind and impotent (Isa 44:9-20). You alone are the fullness of everything I need, much more than I want, and eternally beyond all I could ever deserve.

You have made promises you alone can keep—promises of redemption, reconciliation and restoration. You neither exaggerate nor lie. You are the God of all hope who fills us to overflowing with hope, not hype—living hope, leaping hope, laughing hope (Romans 15:13; I Peter 1:3). The anchor of our guilt and shame has been severed from its tether, and sent into the bottomless ocean of your grace. We are now anchored to hope—firmly, securely. No matter the how rough the sea, high the waves or threatening the sea beasts, we are anchored to hope—and hope does not disappoint (Romans 5:5).

Through Jesus, everything broken will become unbroken. All things made bad by sin will be made new by grace. Systemic evil will be trumped and replaced with systemic beauty—never to be sullied again.

The curse will not just be lifted, it will be crushed and sent eternally packing (Revelation 22:3). The despair of the fall will be run off and overrun by the delights of the new heaven and new earth. We will never again hurt one another or be hurt by one another. Tongues of gossip and gangrene will be transformed into tongues of wonder and worship. We will as lovely and as loving as Jesus (1 John 3:1-1). That cannot happen one day too soon.

Father, by the power of the gospel, “out” and flush out our whinings, gripes and complainings. As heirs of eternity, it’s so unbefitting that we should live as paupers in praise. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ triumphant and transforming name.

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Ps. 34:18

Jesus, your mercy is measureless; your patience is limitless; your grace is boundless. None is more bighearted towards the brokenhearted than you. We begin, enter and will end this day enveloped in your love and guided by your hand. Everywhere we look, we will find you there. There’s no dark, hard, crushing place you are not present. Continue to open the eyes of our hearts.

When we look into the deep well of the Word, we see your commitment to set us free from our imprisonment to sin and death, guilt and shame, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. In the gospel we see and we savor lavish love, irrepressible power, and living hope. You are constantly singing these words over us: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). You see in us what we’ve yet to see, and we have peace.

When we look at places like Haiti, Calcutta, and Darfur, we see your footprint, hand and heart; because you came to preach good news to the poor—not just good news concerning spiritual poverty but also the good news of a kingdom which provides food for the hungry, clean water for the thirsty, shelter for the homeless, advocacy for the marginalized, family for the orphan.

When we look at systemic evil in the world—human trafficking, the idolatry of greed, an ideology of terror, the pornography industry, to name a few—we’re so thankful that you’ve also come to proclaim the day of vengeance of our God. No one is a greater champion of justice than you, Lord Jesus. One day, all the pillaging weeds of unrighteousness will be replaced with mighty oaks of righteousness—”a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor” (Isa. 61:3). We see weeds, you see garden.

Today, Lord Jesus, this very morning, we’re especially thankful that you’re close to the brokenhearted and that you save those who are crushed in spirit. Help us see you in the valley of death’s shadow; in the wilderness of wails; in heartland of heartache. Today we pray for parents who will bury their babies; friends who will receive painful life-altering news; brothers and sisters in Christ beginning to deal with very old wounds with very present power; neighbors to whom you feel distant and cruel.

Some stories and moments make us wonder, “Why, O Lord?” and “How long, O Lord?” Thank you for not despising our weakness and weariness. But of course you wouldn’t, for no one was broken in heart and body like you, no one was crushed in spirit like you, and you did it all for us, Lord Jesus.

Anywhere you are we need not fear going. Because you are near, we don’t have to be afraid of drawing near to our friends in crisis. Give us heart, words and tears to love to your glory. O for the Day when we will forever be done with a spirit of despair and will only wear the garment of praise. So very Amen we pray, in your kindhearted, ever-present name.

  “In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you..” 1 Cor. 11:17-18

 (Jesus) is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. Col. 1:18  

     Dear Lord Jesus, forgive us. Forgive us for how poorly we love as your people. Forgive us for contradicting grace and sabotaging kindness. There couldn’t be a more painful and humbling indictment from heaven, than to hear you say to us, “your meetings do more harm than good.” Forgive us for our niggling pettiness and gossipy petulance. Forgive us for turning wine back into water, or worse, into vinegar.

Forgive us for being preoccupied with the fly-weight issues of our agendas than the weightier matters of your law—justice, mercy and faithfulness (Matt. 23:23). Forgive us for being better at guarding the status quo, than preserving the unity of the Spirit (Eph. 4:3). Forgive us for being more paranoid about the budget than preoccupied with your beauty. Forgive us when our planning meetings outnumber our praying gatherings ten to one. Forgive us when we have more heated conversations than fresh conversions.

Forgive us that we ever joined these two words together, “my” and “church”. The church is your Bride to love, not our clay to mold. We can make an idol of anything, including your church.

Forgive us for giving non-believers way too many excuses not to take you and the gospel seriously. Forgive us for fulfilling more stereotypes than hearts. Forgive us for making your church more like an ingrown club than a welcoming community; more like a walled city of protection, rather than a magnetic city of mercy; more like a museum for old memories than an incubator for new stories.

Forgive us for being better at manipulation than ministry; more known for self-righteousness than gospel-heartedness; for being more concerned with being a church of “first buzz” rather than being alive with “first love.” Forgive us for being more sad when we think about people transferring to other churches, than when we think about people going into a Christ-less eternity.

Lord Jesus, it’s a good thing that one Day you WILL have the supremacy in all things (Col. 1:18), including in your church. You are not only the head, but the heart of your Bride. Send your Spirit and do a great grace-work, in this day. Humble us. Break us. Melt us. Mold us. Fill us. Use us. The time has come for us to have done with lesser things and smaller dreams. Forgive us… forgive me. So very Amen we pray, in your holy and loving name.

     Sometime later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. Acts 15:36-40

Most loving Lord Jesus, I start this day grateful that there are many examples of broken relationships and Christians loving poorly included in the Scriptures. I’m not glad life in the Body of Christ gets quite messy and painful. But I am thankful these stories weren’t edited out, for they give us perspective and hope. The Bible is brutally honest about our weaknesses and failures, as your followers. We need you all the time, all the time.

In particular, I’m thankful today for this story of two good friends, Paul and Barnabas, having “such a sharp disagreement that they parted company.” Lord, I’ve been in that situation, and right now I’m watching “sharp disagreements” divide good friends, old marriages and a few churches. Being “diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:1-6) doesn’t seem to be as high of a priority as being determined to win. Have mercy, Jesus, have mercy and reveal your might. May the gospel trump divisiveness and pettiness.

Jesus, the good news is you’ve come to destroy hostilities; to tear down walls of division; to make peace and be our peace. You reconcile enemies to God and to one another, so I am confident you are faithfully at work in these tense and complicated situations. But my confidence doesn’t mask my weariness. How long, O Lord? How long before the Day when we no longer misrepresent you to our watching world? How long before the Day of no more bitterness or brokenness?

It took time plus grace for Paul and Barnabas to get back together. I don’t know what “time plus grace” will look like in each of these painful stories. To the extent you would have me get involved, help me listen from the heart and offer a non-anxious presence. Help me pray in the Spirit, reason from the Scriptures, and love by the gospel. Help me to wait upon you, Lord, and not just weigh my options.

Enable me to engage with different sides without taking sides—to stay present in the chaos without giving in to the pulls. Keep my heart from becoming more cynical and my words from only sounding critical. Show up Jesus, show up big, show up soon. No one is better at sticky-situation loving than you, so I abandon myself to you with my fears, my confusion, my anger and my very real hope of your showing up. So very Amen I pray, in your powerful and reconciling name.

Fools show their annoyance at once, but the prudent overlook an insult. Prov. 12:16

A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense. Prov. 19:11

Dear Lord Jesus, these Scriptures confront my lousy attitude and convict me today. Far from overlooking offenses, I’m having a hard time not rehearsing them. It’s like I just had laser surgery and I can see other people’s stuff with 20-10 precision. I’m annoyed, irritated and wound up tight. I have been for several weeks. Please gentle and soften my edgy and crusty heart, by your grace and for your glory.

I can offer explanations, but I won’t make excuses. I just come to you as the knotted mess that I am, grateful that you, Jesus, are the consummate “over-looker.” It’s not that you don’t take my annoying ways seriously, because you do; but you never deal with me according to my sins or reward me according to my iniquity. You are filled with mercy, compassion and patience. You convict me without condemning me. You humble me without humiliating me. You don’t just tell me what to do, you give me yourself. What would I do without you Jesus?

This side of glorification, I don’t really expect to be annoyance, irritation and touchiness-free. But certainly the gospel is big enough to help me show my annoyance less quickly, less often, and less harmfully; and certainly the gospel is powerful enough to help me repent quicker when I do act foolishly—taking irritants and offenses way too seriously.

I repent of keeping a record of annoying things done around me or to me. I repent of repeating these things to others. I repent of not repenting.

Lord Jesus, please help me be far more aware of when I’m the irritant in someone’s day, week or month. Convict me when my sense of humor reveals a lack of kindness; when my poor manners show a lack of love; when my words and body language tear down more than they build up. Help me give other people fewer reasons to pray this very prayer I offer today. So very Amen I pray, in your powerful and holy name.

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Selah Psalm 68:19

Lord Jesus, there’s no Savior as compassionate, kind-hearted, engaged and “daily” as you. How will we ever be able to give you the thanks and praise of which you are so worthy? As this day begins I feel like I’m carrying seventeen backpacks of weariness and worries. My shoulders are not broad enough; my heart is not big enough; my wisdom is not deep enough. O merciful and mighty Jesus, as I fall down before you, I upload these needs to you.

Jesus, it’s only because you bore the burden of the law’s demands and judgment for me; it’s only because you say to me, “Cast all your care upon me, for I care for you” (1 Pet. 5:7); it’s only because you call to me, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28) that I will neither deny my needs nor ignore the burdens of others. Only you know why there’s such an avalanche of broken stories converging on my doorstep at this time. Where else can I go but to you?

Help me not be afraid of the emotional messiness that certain burdens bring. Help me know how to rely on your presence more than I rely on my words. I want to be aware of my limits, for sure, but I want to be even more aware of your limitless mercy, grace, power, and peace.

For the faithful friend facing an unexpected triple by-pass heart surgery today; for more stories of divorce papers being served and family ties being severed; for the couple whose two-year wait to welcome their adoptive child just ended childlessly, again; for Christian friends who are acting like children vying for the last cookie; for the young woman whose eating disorder continues to consume her mind and body; for missionaries running out of money and mercy; for two churches I love in which gossip is presently more powerful than the gospel; for those who keep this reoccurring theme always before me, “This is too much, I cannot and will not go on”…

Jesus, I bring all of these stories and friends to your throne of grace, and I will seek to fulfill “the law of Christ”—the law of love, the way of the gospel—as you give me strength, wisdom, and grace. Come back soon, please Lord, make all things right and all things new. Please Lord, come back soon. So very Amen I pray, in your persistent and sufficient name I pray.

     For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. Rom. 8:5-9

Heavenly Father, this portion of your Word lands on my heart today like refreshing dew from heaven, like living water in a dry desert, like a fountain of grace for manifold weakness. It’s a gift to know our need. It’s a greater gift to realize everything you do for us through the ministries of the Holy Spirit.

Just as assuredly as Jesus stood outside of Lazarus’s tomb and said, “Come forth,” so you sent the Holy Spirit to preach the gospel to my heart and I came out of the tomb of my sin and death, raised to newness of life in Jesus. How I praise you for your sovereign goodness and power. Unless you had breathed new life into my dead spirit, I would’ve never, could’ve never believed the gospel.

Indeed, you baptized me with the Holy Spirit, making me a member of your family and Christ’s bride. You sealed me for eternity by the Spirit, marking me as your very own possession. Your Spirit is the firstfruits and guarantee of the full inheritance of the salvation that Jesus earned for us.

Now the Spirit lives as a permanent resident in my heart—to constantly preach the gospel to my heart, convict me of my sin, make me like Jesus, and tell me over and over again that I’m your beloved child. What a generous and loving God you are, Abba, Father!

Though it doesn’t always seem this way to me, according to your Word, I’m controlled by the Holy Spirit, for the dominion of sin in my life has been broken. And you’ve given me every Spirit gift I need to live as a functioning member of the Body of Christ, and a caring servant in your kingdom. Forgive me for whining about what I don’t have. You’ve enriched me beyond my wildest dreams through the work of the Spirit.

Blessed Father, make my theology my doxology—my confession my possession.  I don’t just want to “right” about the Holy Spirit; I want to be filled with the Spirit, keep in step with the Spirit, know the joy of the Spirit, bear the fruit of the Spirit, experience more of the power of the Spirit!  Right now, by faith, I set my mind on what the Spirit desires. Bring much glory to yourself and freedom to my soul. So very Amen I pray, in Jesus’ beautiful and bountiful name.

     Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Mark 2:3-5

Dear Lord Jesus, today I woke up thinking about various people and friends who live with broken health and chronic illnesses—those with mental and emotional issues in particular. Because you are such a wonderful, merciful Savior, I come boldly to your throne of grace. Like the friends who brought their paralyzed friend to you on a pallet, I come bringing you both the sufferers and the caregivers, confident of your great compassion.

Jesus, I cry out to you for those whose memories are fading and ability to reason is being skewed; for those whose emotions are being held hostage by different thieves. I pray for those who suffer with various degrees of melancholia and depression; for friends trying to figure out how hard providences and your promises fit together; for friends sidetracked and stuck in the journey of grieving losses and betrayals in a healthy way.

I pray for those whose days are marked by angry despair or the sadness of hopelessness; for those whose war with self-contempt makes death look like a good choice. Have mercy on them, Lord, have mercy. You know the names, stories and the details. Jesus, it’s this kind of suffering that makes me wish for miracles on demand.

Help those of us who walk with the broken, and grant physicians and caregivers wisdom. I wish it was a lot easier to discern what’s physiological, psychological, demonic, or just the absence of the gospel. Give us what we need to love and to serve these broken ones well. May we love to your glory.

When we’re fearful and confused, when we are fed up and used up, give us all the wisdom, compassion, and faith to love well. Help us trust you for supernatural intervention and grace for supernatural long-term caring. Write the stories that will maximize your glory.

How we long for the Day when every effect of sin, expression of brokenness and result of the fall will be eradicated forever. Jesus, please hasten the Day of spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional wholeness. Your death has secured our life—eternal life. So very Amen we pray with gratitude, in your holy and healing name.