Daily Devotion for January 10, 2017
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.
The beautiful and touching Hosanna from the Soweto Gospel Choir, a renown professional choir from South Africa.
To Have One Will with Christ
Grant me, most merciful Jesus, your grace, that it may be with me and labor with me and dwell within me, this day and all the days of my short life.
Give me grace always to desire and seek what is most acceptable to you; whatever is most pleasing in your sight, let me do that. Let my will always follow yours; let your will be mine. Reform me into a spiritual perfection impossible for the world, which might be gained only by your grace; and help me to live in accord with it.
Let there be between you and me only one will, so that I may love what you love and hate what you hate; make me unfit to want anything that is unworthy in your sight, or to disdain whatever you might approve. Save me, Christ, I pray, out of love; for unworthy I might be, yet I love you dearly.
Prayer for Renewal
Lord, I am one of your people, the sheep of your flock. I pray for you to heal those who are wounded; touch those who are in pain; clean those who are soiled; warm those who are cold; help me to know the Father's love through Jesus the shepherd, and through the Spirit.
Help me to lift up that love, and show it all over this land. Help me to build love on justice and justice on love. Help me to believe mightily, hope joyfully, and love divinely. Renew me that I may help renew the face of the earth.
Meditation
[The meaning of patience.]
Blessing
Now may the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the eternal high priest himself, the Son of God Jesus Christ, build you up in faith and truth and in all gentleness and in all freedom from anger and forbearance and steadfastness and patient endurance and purity.
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.
God’s Limits
“We expect to receive again our own bodies, though they be dead and cast into the earth, for we maintain that with God nothing is impossible.”
~ Justin Martyr (100-165)
Galatians 5:22-23 (Daily Prayer Bible)
Fruits of the Spirit - Patience (Galatians #80)
22-23 The Spirit, on the other hand, produces fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, fidelity, tolerance and self-control. In this, the Law and the Spirit agree, because the Law does not forbid such things.
American Bible
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience under tribulation, kindness, goodness, faith,
23 meekness, self-control; no law is contrary to such things.
Notes on the Scripture
here are two related ways to describe the virtue, generally translated as “patience” in this passage. The first is the one that comes immediately to mind, the general meaning we give the word “patience” in English; that is, remaining in a tranquil state while awaiting an outcome. The application of patience to the Christian mindset is immediately obvious. After all, we have been waiting for the return of Christ for 2,000 years, now, and we might wait thousands more.
It is also, surely, a virtue when dealing with other people, as it leads to kindness. Does it take Aunt Agnes five minutes to understand something you are trying to tell her? Well, there's no use in trying to hurry her. You'll either hurt her feelings or else tear yourself up with internalized resentment or frustration.
But the Greek word Paul uses here has a more specific connotation, as well as the general one. It refers to how we react to provocation. It is one thing to stay calm when someone unintentionally wastes our time. It is another thing altogether to remain calm when someone knowingly or even intentionally provokes us.
So we see, immediately, that patience ties directly to the preceding fruit of the Spirit, peace. It is the attitude that allows us to keep the peace when we are provoked. The range of time is from the very short term — such as somebody disagreeing with something we know to be true, or cutting in front of us in line — to the very long term. Underlying it is faith that God is in charge, and that He knows what He is doing!
The idea of remaining calm in the face of provocation applies to much more serious acts than cutting in line. It includes real suffering, and in the extreme, death. What virtues did Christ show when He was put on trial for imaginary charges, tortured, and hung up to die? One of them was patience. He endured His pain without cursing those who inflicted it. He let things run their course without anger or complaint.
With faith we inherit the Spirit, and with the Spirit, we can demonstrate patience; for we know God’s will shall be done and His plan accomplished, making it possible for us to endure the worst that the world can throw at us. For we are certain that evil will pass, and Christ will return in glorious victory.
