Daily Devotion for June 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.
Thank You Jesus
Oh dear sweet, loving Jesus: How often I forget that it is because of You that I live. You made all of us from the very dust that You created. Then You did the most wondrous of all things, You made us in Your image and You breathed life into us. I join those praying with me today in thanking you for our lives, and we pray that You continue to sustain us each day. From Your heavenly place accept our prayers and our praise.
For Each of Us in Our Work
Almighty God, heavenly Father, who makes it possible for me to work and who gives every creature its food, declaring your glory and showing your handiwork in the heavens and in the earth; Deliver me, I pray, in my work, from coveting material goods, from falling into the temptation of serving mammon and putting money in the forefront of my life. Help me to perform the work which you have put at my hand, in truth, in beauty, and in righteousness, with singleness of heart as your servant, and to the benefit of my fellow men as well as myself; for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lived and died only to serve us.
For Those Who Die by Human Hand
Holy Christ, who has taught us to forgive our enemies, and promised that as we forgive others, so shall our Father forgive us: I pray for all who have died at the hand of others: Victims of common murder, casualties of war, people chopped down by machete in Rwanda, Muslims stripped and slaughtered by Christian Serbs, people beheaded by Isis, Christians hung on crosses in France. The list of Satan's work is endless and timeless.
I pray for the souls of those who have died, and I pray for the souls of those who have killed. And I pray that those of us left behind can forgive the hardest deed of all to forgive; for the greater the sin we forgive, the greater our love, and the closer we come to you, Lord Christ.
Benediction
Now the God of patience and consolation grant to me, and to all who pray in the name of Christ, to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That we may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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
What verse tells us not to be “conformed to this age”?
Hope
"I have had dreams and I have had nightmares, but I have conquered my nightmares because of my dreams."
~ Jonas Salk
Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV)
Know Peace in Your Life
At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Notes on the Scripture
his passage is a wonderful moment of Christ’s love and peace. He combines the messages of how we should come to Him as children with the message that, when we do, we will find peace and rest.
The burden of living can become terribly heavy. We are weighed down by worries about money, health, marriage and love, family members, politics, crime — we all know how difficult life can be for us, and for others. We have adult worries; children, who are (hopefully) shielded from most of the cares of the world do not yet have to shoulder such burdens, and we think of them as playing, carefree, on a warm spring day.
But Christ tells us that if we come to him with the innocence of children — if we set aside all the sordid lessons we have learned and think we need in order to meet ”harsh reality“ — He will protect us. Because Christ’s burden is light, ever so much lighter than the weight we take onto ourselves.
Because, what is the burden of following Christ, really? We are all going to die — it isn’t like we will succeed in beating reality. So, how taxing is it simply to love the God who gave us all we have? Is it really so very difficult to love other people and forgive them, or to stop lusting after someone else's spouse, or to tell the truth?
The kicker is that studies have repeatedly shown that Christians live longer and happier lives than atheists and agnostics. We will not find heaven on earth by following Christ, but life itself is better; and best of all, we will find heaven — in heaven!
