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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.

To Turn My Mind to Heavenly Things

Lord Jesus Christ, who returned from this world to the Father and loved those who were here in this world, make my mind turn from worldly preoccupations to the contemplation of heaven, to despise everything transitory and to yearn only for celestial things, and to burn with the glowing fire of your love. And you, Lord, who deemed yourself worthy to wash the feet of your holy apostles with your sacred hands, cleanse also my heart by pouring in the radiance of the Holy Spirit, so that I may be able to love you, our Lord Jesus Christ, in all things and above all else.

11th century prayer, tr. Bernard Muir

Prayer of Thanks

For the gladness here
where the sun is shining at evening on the weeds at the river,
Our prayer of thanks.

For the laughter of children who tumble
barefooted and bareheaded in the summer grass,
Our prayer of thanks.

For the sunset and the stars, the women
and the copper arms that hold us,
Our prayer of thanks.

God, the game is all your way, the secrets and the signals and the system; and so for the break of the game and the first play and the last.
Our prayer of thanks.

from Our Prayer of Thanks by Carl Sandburg

For Work

The things, great Lord, that I pray for, give me thy grace to labour for.

~ Thomas More, 1525

Meditation

[What everyday things am I thankful for?]

Parting Prayer

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip me with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in me what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever.

Mason Barge 5/2/2014

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 89:5-6 (NKJV)

Genesis 20:8-13 (ESV)

The Story of Abraham [29] - Abimelech

So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid. Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.”

And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?”

Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, 'There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.'

Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. And when God caused me to wander from my father's house, I said to her, 'This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, ”He is my brother.“'”

Notes on the Scripture

fter the destruction of Sodom, Abraham and his family went back to the southeast, towards Egypt, and stopped to live in a village in the Negev called Gerar. As he had done earlier in Egypt, he told everyone that Sarah was his sister. He feared that some ruler would take Sarah from him, because of her beauty. If he was her husband, he would be killed, but her brother might be allowed to live.

And indeed, the local ruler, Abimelech, did take her; but, unlike the Pharaoh, the Lord did not let Abimelech “touch” her. Since the covenant was made between them, God has been more protective of Abraham.

And now, God visits Abimelech to tell him that he will kill him if he does touch her, and that he has committed a grave sin by taking her. Abimelech is naturally both fearful of God, and angry at Abraham and he chides Abraham for lying to him, and getting him into trouble. So Abraham justifies his lie. He tells Abimelech, frankly, why he has done what he did, and also, that it really wasn't untrue. Sarah is his half-sister!

As we have discussed earlier, Abraham is set in ancient times, so ancient that morals we take for granted had not developed; here we find out that it predates the strict taboo against incest. In Egypt, also, Pharaohs would often marry a full sister or brother.

Daily Inspiration

“Presenting Our Requests”

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