The shamrock is a symbol that we associate with St. Patrick’s Day which will be celebrated this Friday. Apparently, St. Patrick used the shamrock as a way of explaining the Trinity-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When we are living our everyday lives, how aware are we of the significance of the Trinity? When we pray, how do we invite and give thanks for the initiatives of God the Father; God the Son; and God the Holy Spirit? We know that God the Father out of His intense love for our world and for us sent Jesus His Son. As we continue our journey towards Good Friday and Easter Sunday, we know that Jesus, God’s Son willingly came to give His life for us. Jesus chose to secure our salvation from sin by surrendering Himself for us. He overcame death forever when He was raised back to life. This is the triumph of Jesus the Son that gives us eternal hope. Then there is the Holy Spirit, Who was promised as a Counselor and Guide when Jesus was returning to heaven. The Holy Spirit is meant to remind us of Jesus’ teachings and to empower us to live for Him. We need all three of the members of the Trinity and we can appeal to them when we pray. Jesus emphasized the inclusion of all three expressions of God when He commissioned His disciples with these words, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:18,19) This week when we share our WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER tomorrow March 15th at 1 pm, we will pray inviting the united and consistent work of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Trusting that God will continue to reveal Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Pastor Lola
God our Father, we thank You for Your love for us that caused You to send your own Son Jesus into our world. You knew, God our Father, that Jesus Your Son was the only One Who could make it possible for us to be set free from our sin. You were willing to arrange this for us at great cost. We consider You knowing that this was the only way to overcome sin and death and proceeding with what would be so heart wrenching for You, Your Son, and the Holy Spirit. We are astounded at Your love for us Your creation. Father God, we think of You revealing Yourself to people through history leading up to the revelation of Jesus Christ. Over and over You compelled people to come to You and to live their lives for you, but they would not listen. We see that same pattern in our world today. As desperate as things have become, people still turn away from You instead of towards You. Thank You Father God, that whoever will turn to You is welcome. And Jesus, God’s Son, we think now of You entering our world as one of us. You became human and therefore understand us and our humanity. In facing the reality of the cross, You did not turn away from what was planned to bring about our salvation. Jesus, still today, we read Your teachings and are amazed at Your wisdom. You have given us a way to live that is completely contrary to the selfish pursuits of our world. You gave Yourself as an example of living in daily rhythms of love and grace. We fall short of this, but will keep asking You to bring to our minds what it means to follow You wholeheartedly. We are praying that in this season leading up to Easter that our hearts will again be transformed by the wonder of what You did Jesus in dying and being raised back to life. We pray that this miraculous event will never be taken for granted, but will instead increase in its intensity of importance to us and our faith. Lord Jesus, we want You to be more and more important to us with each new day. We want to understand how You intend us to apply Your teachings to our daily lives. And here God, the Holy Spirit, we are so grateful for Your purpose and mission in our lives. Thank You that You remind us of the teachings of Jesus. Thank You Holy Spirit that You are for us a constant Counselor and Guide. We need the power that You can give us to live faithful to God every day. We do pray that the evidence of being filled with Your Holy Spirit will be apparent in us. We long for the fruit of Your Holy Spirit to flourish in us. Thank You Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that You work together to accomplish Your purposes and to transform us and our world. We want to be Your disciples and we want to fulfill Your commission for us. We openly admit that we cannot do this without You Father, Son, and Holy Spirit continually providing us with Your empowerment. As we see evidence of how You Father, Son, and Holy Spirit exist together and work cooperatively together, please enable us to work together with each other to accomplish the work of Your kingdom. All of this we commit to You as we recommit ourselves to You in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. AMEN.