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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.

Prayer for the Morning

Heavenly Father, I do not fear this day, for you are with me wherever I might go, your light to shine ahead, your footsteps to lead the way. I do not fear this day, for your word will be my guide. Your strength will sustain me and your love revive me, this day and all days. I do not fear this day, for you are with me. In the name of Christ, I call upon you.

To Find God in His Creation

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,
To which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends he will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.

by Robert Frost

Meditation

[The importance of each hour - We can only live now.]

Dedication

Holy God, I pray to be filled with your Holy Spirit for the rest of this day. Let me go forth, walking with your Spirit in my heart, that I may be filled with the joy and energy and praise for your entire creation, thankful in the many gifts you have given me, and showing forth your light in my every word and deed. This I pray in Christ’s name,

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.

Psalm 96:11-13 (ESV)

1 Corinthians 12:1-3 (ESV)

Spiritual Gifts [1]

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led.

Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

Notes on the Scripture

ittle is said about the Holy Spirit in the Gospels. Christ told us only that we would receive a Comforter after He departed earth, so that we would not be alone. Nor can we learn “facts” about the Holy Spirit directly, for the Spirit is God. We cannot see or hear or smell or touch it (or Him, as you prefer).

We know the Spirit in two ways. We can sense it sometimes, without using our eyes and ears, for the Spirit will make its presence known to us. It is God on earth, with us, and we have the ability to know the Spirit, which can be with us or even in us. We feel touched by it even though our fingers feel nothing.

But also, we know the Holy Spirit by the effect it can have on our conduct and the conduct of others. At Pentecost, when the Spirit descended on the apostles in the upper room, they began to speak in languages they did not know and amazed the crowd. (Acts 2:1–31)

I know, from personal experience, that the Spirit can give us the power to do things that we simply could never have accomplished by ourselves. Many others will testify to this. It is an enormously powerful force for change, and it is always with us if we only ask. Christ told us to cast our cares and anxieties upon Him, and it is the Spirit who will take these from us, if we only believe with truth and sincerity. The Holy Spirit is God with us, on earth, during our lives.

Paul gives us a simple rule. A person cannot say “Jesus is Lord” (at least, not with sincerity) unless the Spirit is with him; and one who has received the gift of the Holy Spirit cannot curse Christ. This reminds us amply that human beings will never become perfect, for we have seen many charlatans seek their fortunes and fame by proclaiming Christ in the manner of carnival barkers, and it is difficult to think that such people are truly our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Yet, it is not for us to judge. One who extols the divinity of Christ may be very flawed, and full of sin; yet, he is our brother, even as he succumbs to temptation. Our duty is to love such people, despite their hypocrisy, and help them find their way back onto the path.

Daily Inspiration

“Inspired by God”

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