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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.

For the Day Ahead

Oh Lord God, I come to you in the morning, full of hope that the day to come might be filled with joy and energy. Grant that I may do my work with a light and happy heart; and if there are tasks that I do not look forward to, or even dread, let me undertake them with courage and resolve. For this day could be perfect, if I can only live it in You and with You and for You.

Where I face frustration today, let me handle it with acceptance and faith that the outcome is in Your hands. Lead me away from anger or judgment of other people. Let me tend to my own garden instead of looking over the fence. If my neighbor's yard is filled with weeds, help me not to criticize, and keep me from envy of those whose tree bears more fruit.

And let everything I attempt be filled with the knowledge and guidance of Your Holy Spirit. I pray that the Spirit will be with me at every moment, and that I will always be aware of Him, and live every moment of this day in Your presence. In Christ’s name, I pray,

by Mason Barge

Prayer for Bearing Troubles

O  God, our help and assistance, who is just and merciful, and who hears the prayers of your people; look down upon me, a miserable sinner; have mercy upon me, and deliver me from the troubles that torment me, even though I might deserve them. I acknowledge and believe, O Lord, that you give us the trials of this life for our chastisement, when we drift away from you, and disobey your will; deal not with me according to my sins, but according to your endless mercy, for I am the work of your hands, and you know my weakness. In the name of Christ I pray,

Blessing

May God the Father bless us; may Christ take care of us; the Holy Ghost enlighten us all the days of our life. The Lord be our defender and keeper of body and soul, both now and for ever, to the ages of ages.

by Æthelwold, Bishop of Winchester, 958 A.D.

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.

Current vs. Eternal

Romans 5:18-21 (ESV)

Adam and Christ [Part 3]

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more; so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Notes on the Scripture

he first paragraph is a summation of the preceding section, comparing and contrasting Adam and Jesus. Whether one thinks of Adam literally as a single man, or more metaphorically to describe the way in which all people, by their nature, choose to disobey God’s will, this universal disobedience condemns us to God’s wrath. But Jesus was certainly a specific man, whose act of obedience made God’s grace available to everyone.

The verses form a good example of how words may be read out of context of the entire Bible, resulting in a tragic misstatement of how salvation may be found. There were and are still people who believe in “universalism” and take the first paragraph of the passage to mean that Christ saved everyone, i.e., “one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.” They seek to equate Adam’s curse, which later generations inherited whether they wanted it or not, with Christ’s salvation. Therefore, they reason, everyone was saved.

But the Bible repeatedly tells us that Christ’s salvation does not simply come to everyone. One must actively believe in Him. One must “abide” in Him. (John 15:6) The sentence just before (Romans 5:17) specified “those who receive” Christ’s grace will be justified before God. Even more, Christ himself, many times, made it clear that only those who made a conscious decision to follow him would be forgiven. The easiest example is the very famous quote in John 3:16, “to the end that all who believe in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life.”

The second paragraph, which states that the law “increase[d] the trespass”, may seem a bit odd. The law of Moses resulted in an increase in sin? But this is exactly what Paul means. Adam only had one rule to follow, “don’t eat the apple” (so to speak). But the law gave the Jews a multitude of rules to follow, resulting in a correspondingly great number of violations. (As we have learned previously, Paul’s point is limited; in truth, the sins existed even before the law; God gave the Jews the law only to show them the extent of their sin.)

But grace still triumphs. The main point is, that God’s grace is greater than all sin. No matter how much sin there may be, God’s grace is sufficient to overcome it.

Daily Inspiration

“Fruit Salad”

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