Daily Devotion for October 25, 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.
Joseph took his wife and her child
And they went to Africa
To escape the rage of a deadly King
There along the banks of the Nile.
Jesus listened to the song
That the captive children used to sing;
They were singin':
My deliverer is comin', my deliverer is standin' by;
My deliverer is comin', my deliverer is standin' by.
Through a dry and thirsty land
Water from the Kenyon heights
Pours itself out of lake Sangra's broken heart.
There in the Sahara winds,
Jesus heard the whole world cry.
For the healin' that would flow from His own scars,
The world was singin':
My deliverer is comin', my deliverer is standin' by,
My deliverer is comin', my deliverer is standin' by.
He will never break His promise.
He has written it upon the sky.
My deliverer is comin', my deliverer is standin' by, (3x)
I will never doubt His promise
Though I doubt my heart, I doubt my eyes.
My deliverer is comin', my deliverer is standin' by, (3x)
He will never break his promise
Though the stars should break faith with the sky.
Music and Lyrics by Rich Mullins
Prayer for Morning
In the morning when I rise, I give praise to my God, who shows His glory in the sun. O Lord God, you are the source of all warmth, all light, all sustenance. You brings us out of the darkness of ignorance and the blindness of death every day, that we might remember who made us and who sustains us. Your sun is a promise, that the night of death will end and you will rise again, and with you, all who confess the name of your blessed Son, Christ Jesus.
Let me remember you when I rise and all the day, my God, every waking moment; and let me sleep each night in peace, confident that I will rise with your sun once again, in the time you have chosen for me.
For Open Eyes
Lord Jesus, light of the world, open my eyes to notice the magnificence of creation. Open my eyes that I may always value and appreciate all who are part of my life. Open my eyes that I may be quick to notice when people are going through difficulties. Open my eyes so that I share your vision and see truly and deeply, outside of myself.
For Faith
Most High, Glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my mind. Give me a right faith, a firm hope and a perfect charity, so that I may always and in all things act according to Your Holy Will.
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
Where (and why) does the Bible tell us to “boast of [our] weaknesses”?
Psalm 84:1-3 (NKJV)
How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, yes, even faints
For the courts of the Lord;
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Even the sparrow has found a home,
And the swallow a nest for herself,
Where she may lay her young —
Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts,
My King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in Your house;
They will be always praising You.
1 Corinthians 7:1-11 (ESV)
Principles for Marriage
Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband.
For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
Now as a concession, not a command, I say this. I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another.
To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single as I am. But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife.
Notes on the Scripture
The very odd thing about this passage is Paul's encouragement of married couples to have sex. And even odder, he realizes that women can have a sex drive and tells husbands that it is their duty to satisfy their wives' needs!
aul does encourage people to abstinence, not because there is anything wrong with sex, but because it interferes with service to Christ. But he recognizes that, like all gifts, the gift of chastity is not given to all. (He elaborates on the diversity of gifts at some length in Chapter 12, his famous essay about the diversity of gifts among Christians, comparing the church to a body and members to various parts.)
But again, oddly, although he mildly encourages people not to marry, if they do marry, he encourages them to intimacy.
His words about divorce echo those of Christ. Paul, however, recognizes that women as well as men can end a marriage. A woman could not initiate a divorce at law, but she could certainly leave her husband and take up with a new man. The passage even seems to grant such a second relationship the status of a “marriage,” although it appears to forbid (or at least strongly discourage) the practice.
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