Daily Devotion for June 19, 2012
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 the Morning
Father, as I face this new day, let me be aware of the work you have done for me as I slept. I praise you that your loving care never slumbers, but has been with me while I was least aware of it; and that you renew me and the whole world, fresh every day, preparing your plans for me.
I pray that I may seek your will this day, your plan for my life, and carry out your plan in my every action. I lay my hopes and fears on an altar before you, that your Holy Spirit may guide my hopes toward the light of your holiness, and may quiet my fears with the knowledge of your infinite peace, in total confidence that your grace will save me from the evils of this world. In Jesus' name I pray,
A Prayer of Repentance
O Lord our God, good and merciful, I acknowledge all my sins which I have committed every day of my life, in thought, word and deed; in body and soul alike. I am heartily sorry that I have ever offended you, and I sincerely repent; with tears I humbly pray you, O Lord: of your mercy forgive me for all my past transgressions and absolve me from them. I firmly resolve, with the help of Your Grace, to amend my way of life and to sin no more; that I may walk in the way of the righteous and offer praise and glory to the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Benediction
Now unto him that is able to keep me from falling, and to present me faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever.
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
This year, or this month, or, more likely, this very day, we have failed to practice ourselves the kind of behaviour we expect from other people.
~ C. S. Lewis
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
How 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.
