Revolution

5-18-2013

Morning:

I have blotted out your transgressions

Like a cloud

And your sins like

Mist;

Return to me, for I have redeemed you.

Sing, O heavens,

For the Lord has done it;

Shout, O depths of the

Earth;

Break forth into singing,

O mountains,

O Forest, and every tree in it!

Isaiah 44:22-23a

Prayer:

--Thank you for seeing my sins, forgiving me, and wanting me anyway

--I love that you’re so incredible that all Creation shouts your name

--If the trees and the mountains do it, why aren’t we??

--Trees can’t even see, but all your wonders are laid out in front of us and we still hide your word.

--We let embarrassment, persecution, and fear of losing our reputation silence our vision and our voice of an all-consuming God

--I pray for more than a revival, I pray for a revolution

--I pray we would cast off the chains of wanting to fit in and not offend anybody, and we would begin to proclaim your name loudly.

--I pray for the strength and wisdom to start leading people in this revolution

--Put my focus off of me and onto you.

--I pray for the gift of learning languages quickly, so that I may share this revolution with other parts of the world.

Ask for the Gift

4-15-2013

Father,

My generation, at least much of it, is full of hopelessness, fear, negativity, and yearning.  We cling to the shadows thought they are the source of our blindness.  We chain ourselves tighter as we search for liberation.  Because of this seemingly endless cycle, the Color Life fades grayer and grayer.

Father, you’ve given me a gift; the gift to see.  I get swept up in your light and love to the point of giddiness.  You have shown me the value of peace and joy, and taught me that I have nothing to complain about.  This is a very, very powerful gift.  I cannot be comfortable keeping it to myself, I must share it with the world. 

May your love and your spirit be a fuel for my eyes that never goes out.  Take over and touch the world through me.

Mark

Release

4-11-13

Father,

You have taken the time to search and know me.  You know me far better than I do, or even than my best friends do.  You know who I am now and who I’ll grow to be.

So there is no need to worry.

Something I’ve been working on lately is learning to give all I have to you.  I used to worry so much about my future, thinking about how everything I do could help or hurt my plan for what I want to be.  But I’ve learned not to have a plan for my life, Lord.  Life is so complex that I wouldn’t know how to get there and would end up angry and disappointed.  But you, Lord, know the way, and you know the destination.

Help me to release any worry or stress I have, Lord.  Part of Faith is believing ridiculously in you.  Help me to let go of my plan and trust yours, even if I don’t know it. 

Mark

Open My Eyes

4-3-2013

Morning:

Father,

You are magnificent.  The stars and sky truly proclaim the works of your hands.  So many people take stuff like that for granted, but you have shown me how beautiful it is. 

In your wonders, in your works, I find peace.  I see your glorious creation and it shows how much you truly care about me. 

Open my eyes, Father.  There’s so much that I miss on a daily basis because of how I let myself get consumed with school and [learning] Spanish and guitar and photography, and so much more!  Those things are not worth your grace. 

Thank you, Lord,

Mark

Light vs Darkess

4-1-13

Morning:

Father,

You are light.  This world is filled with darkness and negativity, but you have provided a way that I can be joyful, thankful, and content.  However, the ignorance of our world really saddens me....  It is real; there ARE children being manipulated and mutilated, stolen and forced to do terrible acts.  Why must people be so apathetic to decry a powerful cause so they don’t actually have to get up and DO something in this world?  It’s awful Lord; the world is so lacking in compassion and brotherly love. 

Help me to be someone who burns away the darkness of their negativity with light.  We have so much to be thankful for.  While some people devote their lives in hatred of something.  

 

Darkness will not be my default.

Mark

NOTE: Mark had been watching documentaries about human trafficking and mistreatment of women and children around the world. 

The Most Fulfilling Life

May 28, 2014

Morning:

Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;

Shout, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart,

O daughter of Jerusalem!

Zephaniah 3:14

Teach me to love, God.  Teach me how to show people they’re valued and how to bless them.  Give me your eyes of perfect love so that I may see what you see and feel what you feel toward those around me 

Humble me, Father.  If I have a selfish perspective God, break it.  The most fulfilling life is a life of loving you and others so much that I don’t have time to be self-centered. 

Longing for Light

3-30-2013

Morning

Father,

2,000 years ago you died so that I may be free from sin as your child.  And that’s what I am, a free child of you.  You have given me strength, zeal, passion, joy, peace, love for the service of you.  My sin is not failing, and does not make me a failure.  It just means I’ve still got some human in me.  The holiest, most righteous person still sins; I am not evil for sinning.

I live in a beautiful world.  It is broken and permeated with sin, but it is also ablaze with your beauty and glory.  That doesn’t mean it’s a failure, it just means it needs to be cleansed.  The same goes for me.  I may have darkness in me (as a result of my mortality) but I am ablaze with your Holy Spirit as well.  Someday, all that darkness will be gone. 

I can’t let that hold me back, though.  I may be mortal, but so is everyone around me, and they’re longing for light.  And I must show it to them.

Mark