Daily Devotion for September 14, 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
Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy,
Whose trust, ever child-like, no cares could destroy,
Be there at my waking, and give me, I pray,
Your bliss in my heart, Lord, all of this day.
Prayer for Peace
I thank you, master and lover of mankind, King of the ages and giver of all good things, for destroying the dividing wall of enmity and granting peace to those who seek your mercy. I appeal to you to awaken the longing for a peaceful life in all those who are filled with hate for their neighbors, thinking especially of those at war or preparing for war.
Grant peace to your servants. Implant in us the fear of you and confirm in us love for one another. Extinguish every dispute and banish all temptations to disagreement. For you are our peace and to you we ascribe glory: to the Father and the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever and unto ages of ages.
Benediction
Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, I pray that you direct my way unto you, and make me and all of us to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you; to the end that we may establish our hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.
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.
Take Your Time
“Hurry is the death of Prayer.”
~ Samuel Chadwick
1 Corinthians 16:5-14 (ESV)
Travel Plans
I will visit you after passing through Macedonia, for I intend to pass through Macedonia, and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may help me on my journey, wherever I go. For I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.
When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am. So let no one despise him. Help him on his way in peace, that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers.
Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity.
Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.
Notes on the Scripture
On his third journey (this letter being written on his second journey during his long stay in Ephesus), Paul would indeed return to Corinth — twice. It was a large and influential church and, as we have seen, much in need of loving guidance.
Timothy was one of the greatest of the new generation of disciples, people who had not known Christ in the flesh but would become filled with the Spirit and continue to spread salvation at great risk. Paul treated him nearly like a son. They traveled together for years, Timothy acting as Paul's assistant. Non-biblical history tells us that Timothy became the Bishop of Ephesus.
He died at age 80, in poor health, but not of natural causes. As an old man, he tried to stop a pagan procession through the streets, carrying and chanting to idols; the outraged people beat him, dragged him through the streets and stoned him to death.
Apollos, an Alexandrian Jew of great intelligence, is less well-known or celebrated. From what little we know, he was a powerful orator and theologian. Earlier in this book, Paul says several times that he would leave a church in Apollos' hands after getting it started, e.g., "I planted, Apollos watered . . . ." (1 Corinthians 3:6)
He also appeared open to instruction and correction from others. Despite his strengths — he was mentioned as one of the nominal leaders of the sectarianism in Corinth in Chapter 1 — he was apparently unable to deal with the kind of disharmony occurring in Corinth. History has him traveling to Crete and, eventually, returning to Corinth as its bishop after Paul had brought the Christians there into unity.
