Daily Devotion for October 20, 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.
That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father’s throne
Make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief,
My soul has often found relief,
And oft escaped the tempter’s snare,
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!
Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
The joys I feel, the bliss I share,
Of those whose anxious spirits burn
With strong desires for thy return!
With such I hasten to the place
Where God my Savior shows His face,
And gladly take my station there,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!
Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
Thy wings shall my petition bear
To Him whose truth and faithfulness
Engage the waiting soul to bless.
And since He bids me seek His face,
Believe His Word and trust His grace,
I’ll cast on Him my every care,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!
Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
May I thy consolation share,
Till, from Mount Pisgah’s lofty height,
I view my home and take my flight.
This robe of flesh I’ll drop, and rise
To seize the everlasting prize,
And shout, while passing through the air,
“Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer!”
Music by William B. Bradbury,1861
Lyrics by William W. Walford, 1845
Prayer to do Good
If there be some weaker one,
Give me strength to help him on;
If a blinder soul there be
Let me guide him nearer thee;
Make my mortal dreams come true
With the work I fain would do;
Clothe with life the weak intent,
Let me be the thing I meant;
Let me find in Thy employ,
Peace that dearer is than joy;
Out of self to love be led,
And to Heaven acclimated,
Until all things sweet and good
Seem my natural habitude.
For Refuge
Oh God, who has been the refuge of my fathers through many generations, be my refuge today in every time and circumstance of need. Be my guide through all that is dark and doubtful. Be my guard against all that threatens my spirit's welfare. Be my strength in time of testing. Gladden my heart with your peace; through Jesus Christ my Lord.
Meditation
[Clothe with life the weak intent.]
Benediction
Now all glory to God, who is able to keep me from falling away and will bring me with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault. All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his 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.
Proverbs 15:31-33 (NKJV)
The ear that hears the rebukes of life
Will abide among the wise.
He who disdains instruction despises his own soul,
But he who heeds rebuke gets understanding.
The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom,
And before honor is humility.
1 Corinthians 6:1-8 (ESV)
Lawsuits Against Believers
When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world?
And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!
So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers?
To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud – even your own brothers!
Notes on the Scripture
1 Corinthians is full of tough messages, and this one was as hard for the people of Corinth as it is today. But it is taken directly from the mouth of Christ Himself: “And if anyone would sue you and take your shirt, let him have your cloak as well.” (Matthew 5:40)
Paul is actually a little milder than Jesus was, in this respect, for he will allow church members to have a dispute among themselves settled by other members of the church. (One would suppose, the losing party would be expected to take his loss in good graces.)
eading a passage like this, most of us will simply despair of meeting the demands of Christ and expect to throw ourselves on His mercy for our attachment to the baubles and comforts of this world. For Christ expected His followers to have a total disregard for physical possessions.
If you think this is impossible, consider for a moment the life of a monk, or a married couple who work as missionaries in complete commitment to God’s service. Are they unhappy, compared to those of us who have mortgages and lawnmowers?
Love of money is a trap, a pit with no bottom, for if we love money and possessions, no matter how much we have, we want more. Do you know what you call a man with five hundred million dollars? “A frustrated billionaire,” says an old joke. Young people dream of being rock stars or movie stars, but look at reality. The suicide rate for rock stars is higher than average, the incidence of drug and alcohol addiction horrendous, and the chances of a happy marriage small. They have no more real friends than everyday people.
We should all of us take time, in our prayers and reflections, to realize that life would not become hell on earth if we had less money. Many people who actually are not so terribly attached to their possessions really fear insecurity more than poverty. But this, also, is a worry that Christ taught us to overcome, in one of the Bible’s great passages, Matthew 6:25-34.
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