Daily Devotion for June 23, 2016
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.
All things work for the good,
Though sometimes we can't
See how they could.
Struggles that break our hearts in two
Sometimes blind us to the truth.
Our Father knows what's best for us;
His ways are not our own.
So when your pathway grows dim
And you just can't see him,
Remember you're never alone.
Refrain:
God is too wise to be mistaken;
God is too good to be unkind;
So when you don't understand,
When don't see his plan,
When you can't trace his hand:
Trust His Heart
He sees the master plan;
He holds the future in his hand;
Don't live as those who have no hope,
While our hope is found in him.
We see the present clearly
But he sees the first and last,
And like a tapestry He's weaving you and me,
To someday be just like him.
He alone is faithful and true;
He alone knows what is best for you.
When you can't trace his hand,
When you don't see his plan,
When you don't understand:
Trust His Heart.
Music and Lyrics by Eddie Caswell and Babbie Mason
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,
Prayer to Treat Others with Courage and Grace
Lord, this day and forever, may I have the courage never to be afraid of anyone. May I have the generosity to bear ill-feeling toward no-one. Lead me to live in such a way as to treat others in the same way as I would like to be treated. Inspire me never to be violent in thought, word or action, and lead me to conquer evil with goodness.
Benediction
May the God of peace, who declared victory over death by the resurrection of His only Son, Jesus Christ, make me perfect in every thought and act through His grace, that my life might be pleasing in his sight and that I might share the perfect peace that is only possible through Him, to whom be glory for ever 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.
John 14:23-24
Jesus said to Judas (not Iscariot), "Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them."
Psalm 90:1-12 (NKJV)
Teach Us to Number Our Days
ord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.
You turn man to destruction; and say, Return, ye children of men.
For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past,
and as a watch in the night.
You carry them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep:
in the morning they are like grass which grows up.
In the morning it flourishes, and grows up;
in the evening it is cut down, and withers.
For we are consumed by your anger,
and by your wrath are we troubled.
You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your countenance.
For all our days are passed away in your wrath:
we spend our years as a tale that is told.
The days of our years are threescore years and ten;
and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years,
yet is their strength labour and sorrow;
for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
Who knows the power of your anger?
even according to your fearsomeness, so is your wrath.
So teach us to number our days,
that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.
Notes on the Scripture
This magnificent psalm treats a theme that is seen many times in the Bible: Life is transitory, just a brief moment in the vastness of eternity. Here, the psalmist (it is attributed to Moses) adds an Old Testament twist, showing that we live our lives in constant peril of God's anger.
This is a very Christian theme, the idea that our lives of all men are tainted by inevitable sinfulness. Although the psalm stops short of declaring an eternal life after death, to be lived in harmony with God, there is a strong implication of just such an idea.
