Daily Devotion for August 5, 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.
Our "Virtual Sunday Church" takes us somewhere fancy this week: Winchester Cathedral, where we hear an anthem This is the Day the Lord Has Made specially commissioned by the Dean of the Cathedral.
Prayer for the Morning
I call upon you, O Lord. In the morning you hear me; in the morning I offer you my prayer, watching and waiting.
I lift my heart to you, O Lord, to be strengthened for this day. Be with me in all I do, my God; guide me in all my ways.
I will carry some burdens today; some trials will be mine. So I wait for your help, Lord, lest I stumble and fall.
I will do my work, Father, the work begun by your Son. He lives in me and I in him; may his work today be done.
Prayer for Goodness (based on Psalm 1)
Heavenly Father, who has given us the gift of your law, so that we might know our sin, and your Son, that we might be forgiven where we fall short. Give me the grace to remember your holy Word, when my surroundings tempt me to confusion and weakness, that I might more nearly approach true obedience to your will. Help me to resist the arguments of the ungodly; let me not be deceived by false beauty; and let me never replace the truth which you have put into my heart with the clever words of men. Through Christ I pray,
Irish Blessing
Deep peace of the running wave to you.Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you.
Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you.
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.

What is Love?
To love someone means to see him as God intended him.
~ Feodor Dostoevsky

1 Corinthians 7:12-16 (ESV)
Marriage to Unbelievers
To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.
But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace. For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?
Notes on the Scripture
In this long section about sex and marriage, Paul addresses the often difficult situation of a mixed marriage, where one spouse is a Christian and one is not. He recognizes that the situation may be intolerable for the non-Christian spouse; most of these situations at the time would have occurred when one spouse found Christ after the marriage had occurred, which would have come as quite a shock to the other, whether they were Jewish or Gentile.
One can imagine an episode on Oprah or Dr. Phil, "My husband became a Christian, what do I do?", with several distraught panelists.
But the decision in these cases lies with the non-Christian spouse. If they want to continue the marriage, the Christian partner should go along with it. It is good for the nonbelieving spouse and the children. But if they nonbeliever want to end it, the Christian partner should not go chasing after them, with the thought that the one will save the other. Rather, the Christian spouse should enjoy the freedom and peace of not being tied to a nonbeliever.


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