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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.

Lord of All Hopefulness

Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy, whose trust, ever child-like, no cares can destroy, be there at my waking, and give me, I pray, your bliss in my heart, Lord, at the break of the day.

Lord of all eagerness, Lord of all faith, whose strong hands were skilled at the plane and the lathe, be there at my labors, and give me, I pray, your strength in my heart, Lord, at the noon of the day.

Lord of all kindliness, Lord of all grace, your hands swift to welcome, your arms to embrace, be there at my homing, and give me, I pray, your love in my heart, Lord, at the eve of the day.

Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm, whose voice is contentment, whose presence is balm, be there at my sleeping, and give me, I pray, your peace in my heart, Lord, at the end of the day.

~ Jan Struther, 1931

Prayer for The Unsaved

O  God, the everlasting Creator of all things, I pray for the souls of unbelievers, for they were made by you and formed in your image. Jesus, your Son, endured a most bitter death for their salvation. Permit not, I beseech you, Holy Lord, that your Son should be any longer despised by unbelievers, but accept the prayers of those who remember them and be mindful of your mercy. I pray you to forgive their idolatry and blasphemy, in the hopes that they too may some day know Him whom you have sent, the Lord Jesus Christ, that they may yet be redeemed and delivered, as was always the deep desire of your Son.

Meditation

[I don’t want to focus on what I don't have.]

Dedication

As I travel through the rest of my day, may the God of hope fill me with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit I may abound in hope.

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.

Our Actions

1 John 4:7-11 (ESV)

Knowing God Through Love

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Notes on the Scripture

ow much does God love us? There is no way to describe it fully. God made us for a reason we do not fully understand, but one thing is certain, and that is, He made us to love us. Our very existence is proof positive of God’s love.

God gave us free will. He made us real. We are not figments in a dream world, we exist in true reality. We are independent of God, just like, if you have a child, you will soon discover that the child is independent of you and has a mind of his own. And like children of human parents, we immediately began to use our free will to misbehave and to rebel against our creator.

Then, God showed how much he loved us again. Instead of destroying us for our rebellion, or clicking his fingers and making us behave like robots without being able to choose to sin, he left our free will intact but made it possible for us to avoid punishment. He made it possible for us to ask for forgiveness for our sins.

To accomplish this, He had to become fully human and suffer death, the worst thing we could imagine. And truly, Christ suffered at his death. He felt the same pain as any human being who is tortured and then subjected to a slow, agonizing death. And He did it for the very sake of the people who were filled with sin and hatred. What greater love could there possibly be?

Let God’s love wash around you today. When you do, when you feel this infinite love, you will want to love other people as God loves them, no matter how unattractive or bad you may think they are. When you understand God's love, you will feel your heart go out to others.

15th century cloissoné enamel icon of St. George, from Georgia. In this version of the legend, the king’s daughter is leading the defeated dragon by her belt, tied around its neck.

Daily Inspiration

“ With Generous Hands ”

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