Daily Devotion for April 1, 2017

Front view of the magnificent Ghent Altarpiece by Hubert and Jan van Eyck, 1432.
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.
For our Saturday Oldie, we again have an earthly “King” praising the true King.
Another day is through.
Someone slipped and fell.
Was that someone you?
You may have longed for added strength,
Your courage to renew.
Do not be disheartened,
For I have news for you.
Chorus:
It is no secret what God can do.
What He's done for others, He'll do for you.
With arms wide open, He'll pardon you.
It is no secret what God can do.
There is no night for in His light
You never walk alone.
Always feel at home,
Wherever you may go.
There is no power can conquer you
While God is on your side.
Take Him at His promise,
Don't run away and hide.
Music and Lyrics by Stuart Hamblen (1954)
prayer for morning (e. e. cummings)
i thank God for most this
amazing
day; for the leaping greenly
spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;
and for everything
which is natural, which is
infinite, which is yes
Prayer to Be Filled with Christ’s Love (from Ephesians 3)
Heavenly Father, when I think of the wonder of your great plan for our salvation, I fall on my knees before you, who has named every name in heaven or on earth, and I pray that out of your richness of your glory, you will strengthen me in my inner being with your Spirit, so that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith. And I pray that I may be rooted and grounded in love, that I may have strength to comprehend with all the saints the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ Jesus, the love that surpasses knowledge, and be filled with the fullness that only you can give. In the name of Christ, I pray,
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.
Today’s “Remember the Bible” Question
Where does Jesus tell us that no one comes to the Father except through Him?

Proverbs 17:3 (NKJV)
But the Lord tests the hearts.

John 14:6-14 (ESV)
I Am the Way
Jesus said to Thomas, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, `Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.”
Notes on the Scripture

here are many people in the world who, if they hold a preconception, will not abandon it no matter how much evidence they see to the contrary. A person who has a superstition about Friday the 13th could win the lottery and find out his cancer is cured on a Friday the 13th, and he would still be afraid of it.
Nowhere do we see this more clearly than in the Bible. God led the Hebrews out of Egypt and fed them in the wilderness, all the while performing visible miracles right in front of them; yet, as soon as Moses went up the mountain, they built a golden calf. Here, the Apostle Philip, who has seen Christ perform miracle after miracle, wants Him to “show us the Father”.
There may be people beyond salvation; who on earth knows why some people are called, and some die unrepentant? But it is not for lack of proof. There are people who could witness a true miracle and not believe (and there are some who believe, who will claim an ordinary happening is a miracle, as if they are desperate to reinforce their faith).
I do not see how people can doubt God's existence. Perhaps they are so accustomed to the phenomenal miracles of life that they become blind to them, like a rich child who never really questions why he has so much money and others don't. It is a hallmark of human pride, that we accept our gifts as if they are somehow our due.
But people can be called; they are not inescapably trapped into taking everything for granted. They can hear and understand. Philip, who like many people sought “just one more” sign from God, was convinced by Christ's words into accepting the miracles he had seen. It is so easy for us to fall into complacency; even if we are Christians, we can come to take our faith for granted and let it slide into rote habit, losing its meaning. Our faith is a living word, that needs renewal and revival as a plant needs to be watered.

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