Devotional Thots

This morning was a fruitful time of journaling for me. Probably the coffee, God bless it. Below are some thoughts from my time in the Word and a prayer offered up for The Netherlands.

The prayer for The Netherlands is a result of a European prayer calendar I’ve put together that guides me in praying for every country in Europe throughout the year. This week just happens to be The Netherlands. I’ve taken the “Operation World” CD-ROM and copied/pasted prayer info. into Word documents so that I know how to pray for them. The Word documents allow me to print the information and even drag the info. into my PDA.

Anyway, here are my thoughts and prayers from the morning.

JOHN 7.21-24
Jesus speaks of the Law in ways that are seemingly almost a foreign language to the Pharisees. They read the law for how they can control their ability to fulfil it perfectly. Jesus’ view of the Law is a question of how he can use it to serve others and help them into the Kingdom. Hmmm . . . . This idea needs some more thought regarding how Jesus used truth.

Do church leaders (and other Christians in general, including myself) have a tendency to put reigns on Christianity in the same ways that the Pharisees tried taming the Law of Moses? Could it be an issue of throwing around the label “biblical” to canonize our theological opinions and preferences? We say that truth is objective, but too often it feels like we use that as an excuse to elevate our theological perspective above that of those around us who we disagree with and whom we vilify as “unbiblical.” Our “objective truth” philosophy, it seems, tends to give way too easily to an inflated ego.

Prayer for The Kingdom of the Netherlands
Holy God, we ask for your mercy to be poured down on the country of The Kingdom of the Netherlands. We recognize that their sinful depravity is an abomination to your eyes and you cannot but unleash your wrath on such wickedness.

However, we also recognize that their wickedness is no more deserving of your judgment than any other people group or nation on the earth. Therefore, we pray that, by your grace, you would strengthen your Church in The Netherlands. Cause Dutch believers to be a light of truth, goodness, and beauty amongst their people. Let this presence of a peculiar and alien people shed light on the misery of sin and unrighteousness, that those who do not know you will be drawn to you through their collective light.

Let your people in The Netherlands be separated by doctrinal squabbles no more. Help them find and promote only those truth principals that are necessary to your mission on the earth. Confront them with their finiteness and intrigue them with the mysterious wonder of knowing you intimately, yet with trembling.