Daily Devotion for May 8, 2017

Prayers
Scripture
Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.
Prayer for God‘s Protection
Heavenly Father, I live in your shelter. You are my refuge and my fortress. You are my God, in whom I trust. Deliver me and all those who love You from the dangers of the world, both the physical dangers that can crush our bodies and the deadly pestilence that can lay waste to our souls. Cover us with your mighty wings and protect us with your steadfast shield, and we will not fear the terror of the night or the perils of the day.
The world in its darkness curses you, the only truth, the only love, the only salvation; it seeks to destroy us by force, by sarcasm, by seduction, by compromise. But if a thousand fall to the lies of the world, if ten thousand should fall away, it will not affect me. For I have made you my dwelling place, O God. You have sent your angels to guard the faithful. On their hands, they bear us up, that no stone shall strike our foot, and no viper strike our heel.
Deliver me, O Lord, for I hold fast to you even in my fear. No temptation or power of earth can separate me from your love. You answer me when I call to you; you protect me because I call on your name. You have satisfied me with long life and salvation. All praise to the God of Jacob, all praise to Jesus Christ.
Prayer to Give Witness When Called Upon
Oh my God, I wish I could convert as many lost souls as there are grains of sand in the sea, as many as there are leaves on the trees, plants in the fields, atoms in the air, stars in the sky, rays in the sun or the moon, creatures on the face of the earth. Loose my tongue Oh God that it may never be still in the face of embarrassment or hostility; put your words upon it, that I might serve you and know what to say, that I may never be at a loss of words when I am called upon to help those who seek you. And let me speak always in love and respect of others, this day and always,
Parting Prayer
Oh Lord as I face creation
Let me see with eyes made clear
By Your promise of salvation,
Never to return to fear.
Think of the day ahead in terms of God with you, and visualize health, strength, guidance, purity, calm confidence, and victory as the gifts of His presence.
Today’s “Remember the Bible” Question
What verse specifically tells us not to take our values from contemporary society?
Answer: Romans 12:2
“Do not be conformed to this age . . . .”

Pride
After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box.
~ Italian Proverb

Genesis 24:62-67 (ESV)
The Story of Abraham [49] - Rebekah
Now Isaac had returned from Beer-lahai-roi and was dwelling in the Negeb. And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there were camels coming.
And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel and said to the servant, “Who is that man, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.
Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.
Notes on the Scripture

o you remember Beer-lahai-roi? It is the well in the northern Negeb Desert where God's angel led Hagar, when she was pregnant with Ishmael and was having one of her fights with Sarai. She had run away and was about to perish of thirst in the wilderness. (The story of Hagar at Beer-lahai-roi, in Genesis 16, can be found in the Daily Devotion for Feb. 22.)
We can only speculate that Isaac is living somewhere in the vicinity of Beersheba, possibly among the little band of Philistines whom Abraham had befriended much earlier in life. Again, the details have been lost in the annals of time, for this happened well over 3000 years ago. Isaac possibly has his own household; he would not have meditated somewhere he felt unsafe, so perhaps it was a field he owned, where he grazed his livestock.
The meeting of Isaac and Rebekah is so romantic! He sees his lovely young bride, and she him, at a distance across a field; she is modest and covers her face, truly a “blushing bride”. And then, without any recorded fanfare, he apparently marries her simply by the act of taking her into his tent, pretty much in the middle of nowhere. And . . . “he loved her”.
It is a happy ending to a happy story; Hollywood could not do any better.

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