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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.

Prayer for Morning

Today is a blessed beautiful day and I praise God for allowing me another day to be on this earth. I ask Lord that you touch those whose hearts have turned cold and no longer care. I pray that they see your way is the greater way. Thank you Lord.

Facebook All Gods Children 1/22/2015

Prayer to Witness Boldly

O  Holy One, I call to you and name you as eternal, ever-present, almighty, and boundless in love. Yet there are times, O God, when I fail to recognize you in the everyday routine of my life. There are times timidity clenches my heart and I hide my faith from the world and even from myself. Sometimes fear makes me so small that I miss a chance to express my belief. Doubts and insecurity suppress the wonderful wisdom I have learned, from your holy word, from listening to your teachers, and from the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit.

Heavenly Father, in the daily round from sunrise to sunset and to sunrise again, remind me again and again of your holy presence hovering near me and in me. Free me from shame and self-doubt in expressing my faith. Help me to see you in the fleeting moments of possibility and be filled with your courage and your word. In Christ’s name I pray,

Meditation

“We are all pencils in the hand of a writing God, who is sending love letters to the world.”

~ Mother Teresa

Benediction

I  pray that I may be blessed every step of my path this day by the great God of light. May your sun shine upon me; as the moon moves the tide, may your Spirit move my emotions with every grace and magic; may my heart sing with the voice of your angels and my hearth be warm; and may this and every blessed day You have given me be filled with joy.

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.

Proverbs 24:11-12 (The Message)

Exodus 28 (ESV)

The Priests’ Garments

hen bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests — Aaron and Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. . . .

You shall make a breastpiece of judgment, in skilled work. In the style of the ephod you shall make it — of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen shall you make it. It shall be square and doubled, a span its length and a span its breadth. You shall set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle shall be the first row; and the second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold filigree. . . .

[Excerpts are given here. If you want to read all of Exodus 28, click the link or go to your own Bible.]

Notes on the Scripture

When it comes to getting dressed up, the Pope has nothing on the priests of Israel! The garments ordained by God are elaborate, rich, and expensive.

We are no longer strictly subject to the letter of the law of Moses, but if God ordained such extraordinarily sumptuous garments for His priests, Protestants might take pause at criticizing the ornate and expensive garments worn by priests of other denominations. We may want to worship, and it is fully within Christ’s teachings to worship, in the simplest of settings, with the teacher dressed simply; and the truth cuts both ways, for such a setting warrants no criticism from the high Catholic or Orthodox worshipper.

St. Paul
15th c. breviary

More generally, however, there is a lesson to be learned from the reasons given for creating such extraordinary garments: “for glory and beauty.” It is tempting, when our minds run along a certain track, to view beauty as entirely a sensual delight, and therefore to decide that spending time on the creation of physical beauty as categorically sinful, or at least suspect; a waste of time if not outright wrong. But, where beauty is created or enjoyed to the glory of God, this chapter puts shut to the argument.

God commanded the Hebrews to make these vestments for glory and beauty. It would thus appear that God has commanded, or at the very least authorized, the creation of beauty in His name. It will not do to stretch this thought very far, but it is well to remember.

Also, there is room for personal taste. We might, actually, find extraordinary beauty in the white painted room of a simple meeting house.

But what we cannot say, given these chapters of Exodus, is that beauty is by definition ungodly or un-Christian. Yes, we must ever be on our guard against vanity and pride; there is nothing here that tells the congregation to wear expensive gold ornaments or seek personal glorification. Just the opposite. But where beauty is created to God’s glory, this chapter would appear to encourage it.

We are always reminded of the variety of spiritual gifts, notably explained to us in 1 Corinthians 12. If one person would live in the wilderness eating locusts and wearing a robe of hair, and another would sing or write a beautiful song, or make a beautiful piece of visual art, so be it. We work to the glory of God in many ways.

Ancient brooch depicting a Hebrew priest.

Daily Inspiration

“Utter Faith”

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