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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 to Live for God's Glory

O  God, lover of Your people, help me this day to live entirely to Your glory. Let me be deaf to unmerited criticism and the praise of men. Nothing can hurt my new-born inner self, it cannot be smitten or die; nothing can mar the dominion of Your Spirit within me; it is enough to have Your approval and that of my conscience.

Keep me humble, dependent, supremely joyful, as calm and quiet as a dependent child, yet earnest and active. I wish not so much to do as to be, and I long to be like Jesus; if You make me right, I shall be right; Lord, I belong to You, make me worthy of Yourself.

~ adapted from an old Puritan prayer.

Mason Barge 4/24/2015

To Put My Trust in Christ

Lord God, let me not put my trust in the words of men, for their minds are weak and their tongues are tainted by the world. Let me not put my trust in the thoughts of my mind, for I am filled with sin and self-deceit; but let me test everything having to do with faith against our only true teacher, Jesus Christ, and the true Word of God that He inspired the apostles to write in the Bible.

In Christ’s name, I pray,

Mason Barge 4/4/14

A Prayer for Lent

Father in Heaven, the light of your truth bestows sight to the darkness of sinful eyes. May this season of repentance bring me the blessing of Your forgiveness and the gift of Your light. Grant this through Christ our Lord.

Benediction

Almighty God, by your Holy Spirit you have made me one with your saints in heaven and on earth. Grant that in my earthly pilgrimage I may always be supported by this fellowship of love and prayer, and know myself to be surrounded by their witness to your power and mercy. I ask this for the sake of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

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.

What Do You Fear?

1 Samuel 10:17-27 (NLT)

Saul is Made King of Israel

Later Samuel called all the people of Israel to meet before the Lord at Mizpah. And he said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, has declared: I brought you from Egypt and rescued you from the Egyptians and from all of the nations that were oppressing you. But though I have rescued you from your misery and distress, you have rejected your God today and have said, ‘No, we want a king instead!’ Now, therefore, present yourselves before the Lord by tribes and clans.”

So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel before the Lord, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by lot. Then he brought each family of the tribe of Benjamin before the Lord, and the family of the Matrites was chosen. And finally Saul son of Kish was chosen from among them. But when they looked for him, he had disappeared! So they asked the Lord, “Where is he?”

And the Lord replied, “He is hiding among the baggage.” So they found him and brought him out, and he stood head and shoulders above anyone else.

Then Samuel said to all the people, “This is the man the Lord has chosen as your king. No one in all Israel is like him!” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

Then Samuel told the people what the rights and duties of a king were. He wrote them down on a scroll and placed it before the Lord. Then Samuel sent the people home again.

When Saul returned to his home at Gibeah, a group of men whose hearts God had touched went with him. But there were some scoundrels who complained, “How can this man save us?” And they scorned him and refused to bring him gifts. But Saul ignored them.

Notes on the Scripture

oth Samuel and Saul himself seem to have misgivings about the events of this fateful day in 1020 B.C. Samuel (reflecting the “opinion” of God Himself) believes that a king would not be necessary if the Hebrew people had sufficient faith in God, but the great majority of them demand a king, primarily to increase the military efficiency of their armies. Also, they apparently want to be like “other nations.”

Saul, on the other hand, is simply blindsided. Gobsmacked. He’s a young man from a good, but not prominent, family — really just a “regular guy” from an upper-middle-class background. His one distinction is that he is unusually tall. He is completely unprepared to be told, one day out of the blue, that he is the King of Israel — his great aspiration for his journey was that he would be able to find his father’s donkeys.

So what does he do when he finds out God has chosen him to be the King of Israel? He runs and hides in the baggage!

The political problems begin immediately. Samuel writes a rudimentary constitution, a set of regulations for the monarch. But some people don’t like the choice and immediately begin grumbling about it, refusing to honor Saul with gifts.

Daily Inspiration

“Going Through The Motions”

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