Daily Devotion for September 14, 2015
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.
and watch us where we go
And help us to be wise,
in times when we don't know.
Let this be our prayer,
as we go our way:
Lead us to a place,
guide us with your grace
To a place where we'll be safe.
La luce che tu dai
I pray we'll find your light
Nel cuore resterà
And hold it in our hearts
A ricordarci che,
When stars go out each night,
L'eterna stella sei
Nella mia preghiera
Let this be our prayer
Quanta fede c'è:
When shadows fill our day:
Lead us to a place,
guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe.
Sognamo un mondo senza più violenza
La forza che ci dia
We ask that life be kind
È il desiderio che
And watch us from above
Ognuno trovi amor
We hope each soul will find
Intorno e dentro a sè.
Another soul to love.
Let this be our prayer
Just like every child.
E la fede che
Need to find a place,
Hai acceso in noi
guide us with your grace
Sento che ci salverà.
Give us faith so we'll be safe.
Music and Lyrics by David Foster and Carole Bayer Sager
Italian lyrics by Alberto Testa/Tony Renis
Prayer for the Morning
Heavenly Father, I thank you this morning for all that I have. Even if I have problems with my health, I am alive today. If I have money problems, I will eat today. I have clothes to wear, a roof to protect me, and air to breathe.
Let me never take for granted these gifts of life, oh Lord, but always remember that they come from you; without you, no man could make the sun shine or the tree bear its fruit. I pray to live this day in joy and thankfulness for what I have, remembering always who made me and who keeps me. In the name of Christ I pray,
To Treat Others with Love and Understanding
Heavenly Lord, you have commanded us to love one another, but sometimes even when I am pleasant to another person it is not sincere. Help me, I pray, to be sincere in choosing good over evil. Let my love and concern for others not be a sham. When I work for you, fill me with your Holy Spirit, that I might be committed and enthusiastic in your service. Let me live in your presence, and not get so wrapped up in my life that I forget about you.
And may I be patient when difficulties arise and not give way to frustration and anger, knowing always that the result belongs to you. Let me not take offense at others, let me not be thin-skinned; but shielded by the power of your Spirit, let me not hear insult where none is intended, and shrug off even the most intentional. In Christ's name, I pray this.
Meditation
[Let me not be thin-skinned.]
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.
Conquest
As King, he fought for us, as Priest he offered himself for us. When he fought for us, he seemed indeed to be conquered, but in reality he conquered; for he was crucified, and by his cross, whereon he was nailed, he slew the devil, and thereby is he our King.
~ St. Augustine
Exodus 7:25, 8:1-7 (ESV)
The Second Plague: Frogs [1]
Seven full days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country with frogs. The Nile shall swarm with frogs that shall come up into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls. The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your servants.”’”
And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt!’”
So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. But the magicians did the same by their secret arts and made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.
Notes on the Scripture
The first detail given (actually the end of the account of Plague One) is that a week passed after the first plague until the second. This may seem trivial. In Near Eastern storytelling, however. a frequent device in a compound tale or story involving a sequence of similar events is to give a detail in an early incident, particularly the first, and then omit it thereafter. The reader is to assume that it is true of all. Scholars call this a "programmatic" statement.
This device occurs often in the Old Testament. If we look at the ten commandments, for example, after the first four dealing with respect for God, there are six about conduct with respect to other people, the first being "Honor thy father and thy mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you." (Exodus 20:12) Why, we may wonder, are we given a specific reward of long life for honoring out parents, whereas we are simply told not to commit murder, etc. (which actually would seem more thematically tied to long life)? The answer is that the "so that you may live long, etc." phrase is programmatic. It attaches to all six commandments in the group, not specifically to number five.
o unless we are told specifically otherwise, we are to understand that the ten plagues are coming a week apart. Once the time becomes right, God wants Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go now. He is given just enough time to think about what is happening, to digest the events, before being hit with the next wave.
We would assume that the plagues might be progressively worse, and indeed, the second plague has grown in the extent of its effect. The red Nile and the frogs are both merely annoyances; there was potable water when the Nile went red, and the frogs are not fatal. The frogs, however, are everywhere. Pharaoh and his court could shut themselves off somewhere and not have to deal with the bloody Nile, except by report; but these frogs are everywhere. Pharaoh himself will have a frog on his pillow when he goes to bed and a frog in his shoe when he wakes up. It hits him and his nobles and priests directly, just like everyone else.
Note that the magicians, although they make frogs appear from the earth, do not make Aaron's frogs disappear. Pharaoh's response is really rather absurd. Imagine somebody is breaking your windows by throwing rocks, and you show him that he isn't so tough by picking up rocks and breaking your own windows. The most Pharaoh can do is create even more frogs!
So, the battle is not about the plagues, but about pride and power. Pharaoh's magicians do not defend him or his people; rather, they only try to show that Pharaoh is as great in power as God.
