Daily Devotion for August 4, 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.
This extraordinary footage of Ethel Waters and two small boys singing His Eye is on the Sparrow -- a capella! -- is taken from a 1952 movie, “The Member of the Wedding”.
Why should the shadows come?
Why should my heart feel lonely
And long for heaven and home?
When Jesus is my comfort (portion) -
Oh, my constant friend is He -
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me.
I sing because I'm happy,
I sing because I'm free,
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me.
Prayer for the Armor of Light
The night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let me then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Most merciful Father, I beseech you, for your mercy’s sake, continue your grace and favor towards me this day; let the sun of your gospel never go down out of my heart; let your truth abide and be established with me, and among all of us, forever. Help my unbelief, increase my faith, give me a heart to consider the time of my visitation. In faith clothe me with Christ, that he may live in me, and your name may be glorified in me, in the sight of all the world.
Prayer for the Departed
Into your hands, O Lord, I commend the souls of your servants departed from this life and beseech you to grant them rest in the place of your rest, where all the blessed repose, and where the light of your countenance shines forever.
And I pray also to grant that my present life may be godly, sober, and blameless, that I too may be made worthy to enter into your heavenly Kingdom with those I love but see no longer: for you are the Resurrection, and the Life, and the Repose of your departed servants, O Christ our God, and unto you I ascribe all glory: to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto ages of ages.
Prayer of St. Jerome
Lord, thou hast given us thy Word for a light to shine upon our path; grant us so to meditate on that Word, and to follow its teaching, that we may find in it the light that shines more and more until the perfect day; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Benediction
Now all glory to you, mighty God, who is able to keep me from falling away and will bring me with great joy into your glorious presence without a single fault. All glory to you who alone are God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are yours before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time,
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
Which Bible verse asks the rhetorical questions, “[W]ere you baptized in the name of Paul?”?
Isaiah 58:8 (NASB)
If you do these things, your salvation will come like the dawn. Yes, your healing will come quickly. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.
1 John 2:12-14 (ESV)
I am writing to you, little children,
because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.
I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have overcome the evil one.
I write to you, children,
because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God abides in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
Notes on the Scripture
John’s poem unfortunately loses most of its impact in translation. Although it was written in Greek, the poetic form is Hebrew. An introductory phrase is repeated, followed by a variety of answering phrases. We still see this basic construction occasionally in modern poems and songs, such as the chorus of His Eye is on the Sparrow:
I sing because I’m free . . .
ut there is an oddity in John’s song. Why does he write? You would think he would write someone because they are doing something wrong and he wants to straighten them out, or because they don’t understand something. But he says that he writes because the recipients are doing something right. Take the first line: “I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.”
This is different from what we would expect. We would expect something more like, “I am writing you to tell you the good news, that your sins can be forgiven . . .”
John is, in effect, practicing what he preaches. He has spent much of his epistle instructing the reader in how they should love one another, and now, he is going to do it instead of just telling others what they should do. He wants to take the time to share fellowship with his audience, to tell them that they are the same as he is. It is an act of love, the writing of a poem of shared joy and belief. It is not quite praise, but at least affirmation, that the reader is fully loved and forgiven in the eyes of God.
