Seeking Our Daily Bread

 “Give us this day our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11)

One of the things that we absolutely had to make sure we brought with us when we moved from North Carolina back to South Carolina was our bluebird house. In fact, the very first load from our storage unit to our new house included the bluebird house, which I promptly set up in our yard.

For the first couple of years when we were in North Carolina, we had no birds use the birdhouse in our backyard. But in 2020 and 2021 we had at least three families nest, hatch, and fledge from the house: two chickadee families, and one bluebird family. We loved watching the birds take up residence, carrying grass clippings and other nesting material. Then we would wait patiently for signs that the eggs had hatched. We would notice much more frequent trips to and fro by the mother bird, as well as more frequent visits from the father bird in the case of the bluebirds. The mother birds would be carrying seeds or bugs in their beaks (or mealworms that Carol had placed on nearby feeders).

Every once in a while we were fortunate enough to see a tiny head from one of the chicks peek out from the birdhouse, obviously waiting for its next meal. On even more rare occasions, I was able to get a picture of the baby bird. In the nest, the baby birds look only to the mother to for nourishment. They depend wholly on their mother to give them what they need to live.

"Bless the Lord... who satisfies your desires with good things."

(Psalm 103:1, 5) 

Where do you turn for what you need to live? On what or Whom do you depend for life itself? In the middle of the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray we find the simple petition, “Give us this day our daily bread.” That simple petition is the acknowledgment that we depend on God. When we pray that petition, we are asking God for the physical and spiritual resources we need in order to live.

That simple petition, “Give us this day our daily bread,” refocuses our heart. It reminds us that we have a good and loving God who provides us with what we need and who nourishes us, body and soul. To pray that petition is to affirm that God is the object of our faith and trust in our pursuit of health and well-being and happiness and satisfaction.

The psalmist urges us, “Bless the Lord, O my soul; all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits – ...who satisfies your desires with good things.” (Psalm 103:1-2, 5) To pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” is to recognize that it is God to whom we look to satisfy the desires of our hearts. 

And because God is good and loving and compassionate, then we expect that God will answer us by satisfying our desires with good things.

And that is a good thing.

God Is Good. Let's Tell the World.

May God be gracious to us and bless us 

     and make his face shine on us

Selah

so that your ways may be known on earth, 

     your salvation among all nations. 

May the peoples praise you, God; 

     may all the peoples praise you. 

(Psalm 67:1-3)

We speak of these days as a crisis, O God.

And, well, it is true, 

for the burdens and troubles 

of the people of the world is, indeed, very great.

We are living in anxious times,

filled with worry, and even fear.

Bless us, O Lord. 

Bless even us, and deliver us, we pray.

But why should we always dwell upon

the troubles and worries?

Can we not also have hope?

Can we not also see these times

as an opportunity to make known your glory?

For as dark as the days may be, O God,

your light always shines brighter.

As great as our troubles may be,

your goodness is far more abundant.

Selah

As we experience your blessings and mercy

during the pandemic –

and we surely will, for you are so good – 

then we will bear witness to your loving kindness.

Blessed, to be a blessing,

as the saying goes.

Let it apply to us.

Bless us, indeed – that is our prayer.

But bless us, so that we can make known 

your goodness and faithfulness.

Bless us, and send us as your ambassadors,

your Kingdom representatives.

Use us, O God, as instruments

by which you: 

  

  heal the broken hearts,

    calm the anxious spirit,

      comfort those who mourn,

        assure the lonely of your presence,

      offer relief to the poor,

    encourage those who are downcast,

  deliver hope to those who despair.

Bless us, O Lord.

Bless us, so that we may make known

your salvation and your grace

unto all the world.

Selah

For this we know: 

"How are they to call on one in whom

they have not believed? And how are they

to believe in one of whom they have

never heard? And how are they to hear

without someone to proclaim him? And how 

are they to proclaim him unless they are sent?

As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of

those who bring good news!’”*

Let it be us, O God.

Let it be us – your people, your Church – 

who have the beautiful feet which

bring good news 

into this crisis.

We will shine your light, O Lord,

and make known your goodness and mercy.

Your steadfast love compels us.

May the peoples praise you, God;

may ALL the peoples praise you.

Amen.

And Amen.

* Romans 10:14-16a

During the season of Lent, I am "Praying with David," using prayers from the psalms as inspiration for personal prayers.

Sunset, Sunrise

“I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now.”- Philippians 1:3-5 

“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”- Lamentations 3:21-23

I take a lot of pictures of sunsets and sunrises. The sky is transformed in the moments preceding and just after the sun sets in the evening, and rises in the morning. Beautiful shades of red, orange, yellow, purple appear out of nowhere, fanning out across the horizon. They are, truly, brushstrokes of the Divine Artist. Each day provides a new canvas for God to display God's amazing glory.

It's not just the beauty of the sunsets and sunrises that captivates me. It's also the joy, gratitude, and hope that stir within me as I witness God's glory unfolding before me. At the end of the day, when I watch the sun set over the bay, or behind the spanish-moss in a grove of cypress and live oaks, my heart wells up with gratitude for God's goodness and mercy. I find myself overcome with appreciation for another day in which God has been good to me, and granted me grace and life. Likewise, at the beginning of a new day, as I scan the horizon and see the darkness transform into beautiful daylight, I am filled with hope and optimism for the day that awaits me; I am inspired by God's glory to offer myself anew unto God's service.

I mention these things because I am currently experiencing a sunset and a sunrise in my vocation as a pastor. After nearly 12 ½ years of service as the pastor of the Georgetown Presbyterian Church, the sun has set on my tenure with that amazing congregation. And likewise, the sun is rising on the new church God is calling me to serve, the Graves Memorial Presbyterian Church in Clinton, North Carolina. Much like my experience of the sunsets and sunrises I photograph on a regular basis, my heart is full of gratitude and hope as I pass through this particular sunset and sunrise in my vocation.

The apostle Paul wrote lovingly to the Philippians, “I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now.” That is, truly, how I feel as I reflect on my time in Georgetown. My family and I have been on the receiving end of incredible love and kindness from the people of Georgetown Presbyterian Church. We have discovered the riches of grace, we have grown together in faith, we have experienced joy and gladness, and we have journeyed together through some very painful tragedies. Every step of the way, though, we have experienced the goodness of God together and we have sought to be faithful in administering God's grace in our everyday lives.

At the end of the day, my heart is filled to overflowing with love and gratitude. The sun may be setting, but there is so much beauty and grace to behold. I am, indeed, thankful, even if my gratitude is mingled with grief and sadness at the close of this day.

And I am also filled with hope, both for my family and me and our new church, and for Georgetown Presbyterian. I know that the setting of the sun on this particular day will be followed by an equally spectacular rising of the sun for the tomorrow that awaits us. I stand firmly alongside the writer of Lamentations who said, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; God's mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness (O Lord)!” Glory, splendor, and new mercy await us all tomorrow. There will be a beautiful new day of ministry and partnership in the gospel in Clinton, North Carolina. And there will be a beautiful new day of ministry and partnership in the gospel for the people of Georgetown Presbyterian Church. I know this, because I know that each day God gives us is full of glory and mercy and love; every day is different, to be sure, but every day brings God's goodness to us.

At the end of this day, I give thanks. I give thanks for a wonderful church family that has accompanied me through an incredible journey of faith and gospel ministry over the past 12 ½ years. I give thanks for my wife and four beautiful children (the fourth of whom we gained through marriage this year!), and for the daily demonstration of God's love that I experience through them. I give thanks to God for the opportunity to serve in Clinton, North Carolina.

But most of all, I give thanks for God's faithfulness. God's mercies are new every morning.

Really, they are.