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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 Morning

Holy Jesus I am coming and coming to you, because you are my only refuge, my only certainty, my only hope. You are the remedy for all my ills, the comfort for all my miseries, the reparation for all my faults, the supplement for all that is wanting in me, the certainty of all my questions, the infallible and unfailing, inexhaustible source for me of light, of strength, of constancy, of peace and of blessing.

I am sure that you will never leave me and you will not stop loving me, you will never tire of helping me and of protecting me, because you love me with an infinite love.

Have pity on me, Lord, according to your great mercy; and make of me, in me, and for me, all that you wish. Because I abandon myself to you with full and entire confidence that you will never abandon me.

Unk 1/22/2015

Prayer the Gospel May Be Spread

Almighty God, you called your church to be united in faith. By your grace you have given us new life in Jesus Christ, and by your Spirit you have called us to proclaim his name throughout the nations. Awaken in me such a love for you and your world that I may so boldly proclaim Jesus Christ by word and deed that all people may come to know him as Savior and follow him as Lord. And bless and strengthen all those who dedicate their lives to the increase of your church, both at home and abroad. Send your spirit to fill their tongues with your message, and protect them from all harm, to the glory of your Name.

To Put My Trust in Christ

Lord God, let me not put my trust in the words of men, for their minds are weak and their tongues are tainted by the world. Let me not put my trust in the thoughts of my mind, for I am filled with sin and self-deceit; but let me test everything having to do with faith against our only true teacher, Jesus Christ, and the true Word of God that He inspired the apostles to write in the Bible.

In Christ's name, I pray,

Mason Barge 4/4/14

Benediction

May the God of hope fill me and all of us with the joy and peace that comes from believing, so that we may abound in hope, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

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.

Psalm 96:11-13

1 Corinthians 1:18-25 (ESV)

Wisdom and Foolishness

The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe.

For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength.

Notes on the Scripture

The Greeks were the first great philosophers; their writings on morality, good, and evil are profound even today. In fact, Plato arrived at the idea that there might be one great god by using his mind. On the other side of the spectrum were the Hebrews, another people to whom questions of morality, good, and evil were the subject of copious writing. The Hebrews, however, did not depend on their minds, but on their fear and respect for commandments given to them by supernatural means.

In today's Scripture, Paul talks about the failing of both approaches. We cannot achieve salvation through our thoughts, no matter how brilliant we are; nor can we achieve it by mysticism, emotionalism, or following the code of conduct given to us by God. The only path to salvation is by accepting a grace that came to us by the death and resurrection of a man, the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

The Areopagus today.

One of the most startling moments in the Bible is in Acts 17:16-34. During Paul's third missionary journey, he traveled to Athens and was invited to come to the Areopagus (literally, the "Rock of Ares"), an open area marked by a great stone northwest of the city center. By the time of Paul, this had become the informal gathering place of Greek philosophers; without a doubt, the most intellectually elite spot in the Western world.

There, Paul engaged Stoic and Epicurean philosophers in philosophical debate! He even quoted several Greek philosophers while expounding the tenets of Christian belief, and he made several converts. But his tone implied the message of today's Scripture: That God would not be found in reason and talk. And so, at the end of his speech, Paul testified rather than debated. That is, he told the philosophers that they weren't ever going to find God — or truth — by standing around talking, or thinking great thoughts.

A stupid and weak person can find Christ, for salvation is a matter of faith in the spirit. We connect with God in a place deeper than thought; and only by this profound transformation in our souls, a place too profound for words, can we discover salvation.

Daily Inspiration

“Love and Judgment”

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