Dave Dishman

I try to pray for my friends and family, but I’m often at a loss of what to pray. So I appreciate reading the prayers of those who’ve gone before me.

Paul once asked for prayer from a church in Thessalonica, and prayed for them in turn. His short prayer for these friends forms a meaningful guide for us today: May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

Paul asks the Lord to aim the church’s attention toward God and his love, turning their heads away from the affairs of the world. Then he prays they would draw hope from Jesus Christ and stand firm in their faith.

Paul knew the challenges facing this congregation. He admonished those who were busybodies and others who lounged around in idleness. He urged them to not grow weary in doing good, leading me to believe they hesitated at times to live out their faith. Much like I do today.

So Paul prayed these no-nonsense lines. May we pray it for one other: Lord, direct our hearts to your love, and ground us in the steadfastness of Christ.

2 Thessalonians 3:5

Photo by Nik

The trees in my yard stand decked out in full regalia. I love the various shades of green formed into canopies cooling our back porch on hot summer days. I enjoy the whisper of wind through their leaves. Sitting quietly in their company nourishes my soul.

Proverbs describe certain words like a healthy tree: Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.

The right words at the right time bring wisdom, healing, and vitality. When I make the effort, speaking with kindness and truth nourishes the people around me. Serious power exists in the words we express to one another.

I watched a podcast recently where Steven Bartlett, a popular interviewer in Great Britain, conversed with John Lennox, a highly respected professor and apologist for the Christian faith. At one point Lennox said to Bartlett, when I look at you, I see someone of infinite value made in the image of God. Taken back, Bartlett (who’s not a practicing Christian) smiled in appreciation. Lennox expressed a truth that struck Bartlett somewhere deep. His words brought life.

I pray the Lord works through my heart to produce life-giving responses in my daily interactions. How much better to be known as a person who speaks wisdom and vitality than a person with a sharp tongue.

Holy Spirit, control my speech and make my words a tree of life to someone I meet today.

Proverbs 15:4

Photo by Jan Huber

I sat with my mouth hung open watching A Thief in the Night in a crowded upstairs room in our church. The film depicts the days after Jesus returns and resurrects his followers, leaving everyone else behind. In the story a young woman struggles with the post-rapture world, lost and confused.

As a teenager I loved the movie. It was scary and made me think about what was coming. At that time the return of Jesus felt imminent, with the mess of the Vietnam war, drugs plentiful and hippies tuning in and dropping out.

But Jesus never appeared. Today this teaching rarely gets mentioned. All of us have more pressing issues to deal with. Two thousand years and nothing, so the idea is moot. But remember that a thousand years is like a day to the Lord, so it’s only been two God-days since Paul’s warning. Not much time at all.

Also muse on the fact that the Lord wants no one to perish but all to come to repentance, so he delays, waiting patiently for folks to find him.

What am I to do in the meantime? Maintain my faith, love and serve others, and make the way of salvation known to those around me. Look for Jesus and avoid the lullabies of the world.

The exact timing may be obscure, but the day of the Lord will eventually arrive.

1 Thessalonians 5:2; 1 Peter 3:8-9

Photo by Greg Rakozy

One of the pleasures of reading Proverbs rests in its clear-minded wisdom. No hemming and hawing—truth laid bare.

This gem stood out to me recently: The righteous despise the unjust; the wicked despise the godly.

I read about fraudsters bilking the government out of millions of dollars and cannot help but detest their actions and feel contempt for their persons. On the other hand, those engaging in these illegal activities scorn anyone looking over their shoulder. They prefer to remain anonymous in the shadowy corridors of their criminal behavior.

Is it OK to despise the unjust? Solomon doesn’t give a moral judgement, he just says what’s true. My first reaction to get angry, which in Solomon’s mind is the expected response. Should we bring such actors to justice, and give them a chance to repent and repay? Absolutely. We can even forgive.

But one thing is certain. Those enjoying the fruits of their corrupt behaviors won’t rise up and call us blessed. They will claw and spit and litigate. Why? Because they despise laws put in place by good people. The wicked are why we have laws in the first place.

Do I deplore those who cheat the system and take advantage of the vulnerable? Certainly, as all fair-minded citizens should. These criminals steal from the society that sustains them and then voice their disrespect for anyone questioning their actions. As Solomon pointed out all those years ago, in the see-sawing of justice one feeling is mutual—both sides despise the other.

Proverbs 29:27

Photo by Artem Kniaz