Daily Devotion for April 24, 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.
Even though you don’t believe
All your sins will be forgiven
And your soul will be redeemed.
So I walked into the water
And I fell down to my knees
And I took out some insurance
And I bought a little peace.
Chorus: But when I lay down, I lied.
When I lay down, I lied.
He said - darling do you love me
And I said - sure I do
And I led him to believe me
As I proved that it was true.
Well I let my body love him
God knows I really tried
And the comfort of it touched him
And his heart was satisfied.
…to make them happy
And I lied so they would care
I lied ‘cause I was lonely
And I lied ‘cause I was scared.
I lied so some would leave me
And I lied so some would stay
I lied until I lied my life away.
I dreamed my life was over
And they laid me in my grave.
I was frightened of forever
And the price I’d have to pay.
And I thought that God would hate me
‘cause I’d lived my life in sin
But I felt the truth embrace me
As heaven let me in.
And when I lay down
I lay down and cried.
Ancient Prayer - For Support of the Holy Spirit
O Educator, be gracious to thy children, O Educator, Father, Guide of Israel, Son and Father, both one, Lord. Give to us, who follow thy command, to fulfill the likeness of thy image, and to see, according to our strength, the God who is both a good God and a Judge who is not harsh. Do thou thyself bestow all things on us who dwell in thy peace, who have been placed in thy city, who sail the sea of sin unruffled, that we may be made tranquil and supported by the Holy Spirit, the unutterable Wisdom, by night and day, unto the perfect day, to sing eternal thanksgiving to the one only Father and Son, Son and Father, Educator and Teacher with the Holy Spirit.
Prayer to Witness Boldly
O Holy One, I call to you and name you as eternal, ever-present, almighty, and boundless in love. Yet there are times, O God, when I fail to recognize you in the everyday routine of my life. There are times timidity clenches my heart and I hide my faith from the world and even from myself. Sometimes fear makes me so small that I miss a chance to express my belief. Doubts and insecurity suppress the wonderful wisdom I have learned, from your holy word, from listening to your teachers, and from the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit.
Heavenly Father, in the daily round from sunrise to sunset and to sunrise again, remind me again and again of your holy presence hovering near me and in me. Free me from shame and self-doubt in expressing my faith. Help me to see you in the fleeting moments of possibility and be filled with your courage and your word. In Christ's name I pray,
Meditation
[The moments of possibility.]
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.
Psalm 89:27-29 (NKJV)
I will make him My firstborn,
The highest of the kings of the earth.
My mercy I will keep for him forever,
And My covenant shall stand firm with him.
His seed also I will make to endure forever,
And his throne as the days of heaven.
Genesis 23:17-20 (ESV)
The Story of Abraham [41] - Ephron the Hittite
So the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre, the field with the cave that was in it and all the trees that were in the field, throughout its whole area, was made over to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at the gate of his city.
After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. The field and the cave that is in it were made over to Abraham as property for a burying place by the Hittites.
Notes on the Scripture
enesis 23 recounts the founding of the oldest Jewish community in the world, at Hebron. Despite his extensive travel, Abraham's later years are spent in a fairly small area, a dry but fertile area in the mountains and valleys west of the Dead Sea. If you draw a line southwest from Jerusalem, Beersheba — the edge of habitable land before you reach the Negev Desert — is only 48 miles away, and Hebron lies halfway in-between.
The Oak(s) of Mamre, where he stopped several times before, was a mile or so to the north of Hebron. He stops there early in his travels and returns to it several times, so perhaps it is accurate to call this area his home base, where he returns to die.
In the New Testament, we don't encounter much of this area, because, although Christ was born in Bethlehem just to the south of Jerusalem, his life and ministry were centered far north of Jerusalem, primarily in Galilee.
Today the region lies mostly in the West Bank area and has a predominantly Arab population; we must remember that Abraham is almost as holy to the Muslims as to the Jews. Nevertheless, Jews have lived at Hebron since the day Abraham bought a field and a cave from Ephron the Hittite, to bury his wife.
