Daily Devotion for June 4, 2017
Feast of Pentecost
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.
Quia respéxit humilitátem ancíllae suae:
Et misericórdia eius in progénies et progénies timéntibus eum.
Fécit poténtiam in bráchio suo: dispérsit supérbos mente cordis sui.
Esuriéntes implévit bonis: et dívites dimísit inánes.
Glória Patri, et Fílio, et Spirítui Sancto,
Traditional
Hymn Before Prayer
I bending my knee
In the eye of the Father who created me,
In the eye of the Son who purchased me,
In the eye of the Spirit who cleansed me,
In friendship and affection.
Through Thine own Anointed One, O God,
Bestow upon us fullness in our need:
Love towards God,
The affection of God,
The smile of God,
The wisdom of God,
The grace of God,
The fear of God,
And the will of God
To do on the world of the Three,
As angels and saints do in heaven;
Each shade and light,
Each day and night,
Each time in kindness,
Give Thou us Thy Spirit.
Prayer of Confession
Most merciful God, I confess that I have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what I have done, and by what I have left undone. I have not loved you with my whole heart; I have not loved my neighbors as myself; and I sorrow for these wrongful acts and omissions from the bottom of my heart. I humbly and fully repent all of my misdeeds, and pray that for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, you will have mercy on me and forgive me, not by my merits, but by that grace that He has granted those who confess his name. And I pray that you will be in my heart and walk with me, that I might sin no more.
To Withstand the World
O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, do not permit vanity, self-love, sensuality, carelessness, nor anger to rule over me and steal me from Thy love, O my Lord and Creator, all my hope! Do not leave me without a portion of the blessed eternity. Grant also that I may follow Thy Holy example, that I may submit to the authorities placed over me. Grant me the clean soul, the simplicity of heart that makes us worthy of Thy love.
Meditation
[Being ruled by carelessness.]
Blessing for the Day
Oh God, hold me in the palm of your hand. I pray that you will mold me into what you want me to be. May I joyfully fill the role you have given to me and feel your peace deep in my soul, today and always,
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.
Acts 2:1-8 (KJV)
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
1 Peter 2:9-10 (ESV)
Chosen Race
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Notes on the Scripture
Peter here continues a strong testament to our role as Christ's disciples. Remember, once we are reborn in the Holy Spirit (frequently by baptism but, in some denominations, even before we are baptized), we become the “living stones” from which Christ's church is built.
e are a “chosen race”: God has chosen us to be the living edifice of his Word and we are bound together by it, forming a cohesive group.
We are a “royal priesthood”: Our God is King of all creation, and we are his priests.
We are a “holy nation”: More important than being Catholics or Lutherans or Baptists, more significant than being Americans or Chinese or British, we are members of one great nation that covers the planet. This is God's nation, a nation of people speaking hundreds of languages, who have received Christ and become His.
But why do we receive the Holy Spirit while we have so much life left? Why does Christ simply not forgive us for our sins at our death?
Because we are meant to proclaim “the excellencies” of Christ. If we tell the truth and speak from a sincere heart, we cannot help but tell the glory of God and the beauty of Jesus Christ to the world. Let the joy of salvation, the certainty that the miracle of Christ has saved us from an eternity of death, fill your heart. Go ahead and let Christ make you feel good!
We know the enormous beauty of life in Christ, the beauty of His message and sacrifice. Look around at the world, mired in the misery of bottomless envy, trapped in a spiral of pride, filled with sexual immorality, fogged with drugs and drunkenness, crippled by self-pity. They cannot see the beauty of life and do not know the greater beauty to come to us.
And who will possibly tell them about it, if not us? It is why we have been chosen. We seek our own salvation. But also, like Peter, once we see the glory of salvation, we cannot help but seek to show the path to others, so that they, too, may be filled with the joy of Christ.
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