Daily Devotion for February 1, 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.
And perhaps we'll never meet any more,
Till we gather in Heaven's bright city
Far away on that beautiful shore.
Chorus:
If we never meet again this side of Heaven
As we struggle through this world and its strife,
There's another meeting place somewhere in Heaven
By the side of the river of life.
Where the charming roses bloom forever
And where separations come no more,
If we never meet again this side of Heaven
I will meet you on that beautiful shore.
Oh, they say that we shall meet by the river,
Where no storm clouds ever darken the sky,
And they say that we'll be happy in Heaven,
In the wonderful sweet by and by.
Prayer for the Morning
You are ushering in another day, untouched and freshly new, So here I come to ask You God if You'll renew me too?
Forgive the many errors, that I made yesterday, And let me try again dear God, to walk closer in Thy way.
But Father, I am well aware, I can't make it on my own. So take my hand and hold it tight, for I can't walk alone.
Prayer of Thanks for This Life
O God in heaven, I was born a weak, defenseless child, but your angel spread his wings over my cradle to defend me. From birth until now your love has illumined my path and has wondrously guided me towards the light of eternity; from birth until now the generous gifts of your providence have been marvelously showered upon me. I give you thanks for every step of my life's journey, together with all who have come to know you, who call upon your name. All glory be to you, O God, from age to age,
Benediction
Lord, support me all the day long of this troublous life, until the shadows lengthen and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over and my work is done. Then of Thy mercy, grant me a safe lodging, and a holy rest and a peace at last through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
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.
Proverbs 14:8-9 (ESV)
The wisdom of the prudent
is to understand his way,
But the folly of fools is deceit.
Fools mock at sin,
But among the upright there is favor.
Genesis 13:8-13 (ESV)
The Story of Abraham [5]
Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.”
And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east.
Thus they separated from each other. Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.
Notes on the Scripture
bram sensibly points out that there is plenty of land, and no need for Lot and him to be getting into disputes caused by overcrowding. Lot moved his operation southeast to a plain near the Dead Sea. The delta of the Jordan River is drastically different today than 4000 or even 1000 years ago; it was formerly covered with plant life, in places a jungle of papyrus and palms trees. The Roman historian Flavius Joseph called it “the most fertile spot in [the Roman colony of] Judea.”
Zoar is a city known to archaeologists, although it might have been so small that it would hardly be called a “town” today; the very name, zoar, means “insignificant.” It still appears on the our old map of Palestine; you can see it just below the Dead Sea (called “Sea of the 'Arabah” on the map). Today, it is a desolate spot.
Sodom, the closest city to Lot's ultimate stopping point, will become central to the early events in Abraham's history. The lands of the Negeb east of the Jordan, where Lot has pitched his tent, will eventually come under the rule of the Moabites and the Edomites, and later, the Kingdom of Jordan. They were never part of Israel or Judah.
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