Daily Devotion for October 13, 2009
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.
Prayer for the Morning
Oh Lord, most heavenly Father, Almighty and everlasting God, who has safely brought me to the beginning of this day; I give you thanks for my creation, preservation, and all the blessings of my life. Grant that this day I fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger; but that all my doings, being governed by your will, may be righteous in your sight. Through Christ our Lord, I pray.
Prayer for Grace and Strength
Lord God, I pray that you will fill my heart with the blessing of your Holy Spirit. Grant me this day the strength to be temperate in all things, diligent in my duties, and patient under my afflictions. Direct me in all my ways. Give me grace to be just and upright in all my dealings; quiet and peaceable; full of compassion; and ready to do good to all people, according to my abilities and opportunities. For the sake of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
Community of Prayer
Heavenly Lord, I know I am not alone saying these prayers or reading your Word this morning, but many people unknown to me, from all stations of life, have joined together in this brief moment of devotion. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be among the community of all who pray in the name of Christ this morning, and remain among us always.
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.
Gospel of Matthew 12:30-37
By your words you will be saved
He that is not with me is against me; he that does not gather with me, scatters.
Men will be forgiven for sin and blasphemy; but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come.
Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by its fruit.
Generation of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? The mouth speaks what is in the heart. The good man stores up goodness in his heart, and from it brings forth good things; but the evil man stores evil, and brings forth evil things.
And I tell you, that in the day of judgement, men shall give account for every idle word they have spoken. For by your words you will be saved; and by your words, condemned.
Comment on the Scripture
Many people find this the most frightening passage in the Bible. Christ plainly states that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. To be more accurate, he says that "whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit" will not be forgiven, and he says it twice.
The passage has gotten an enormous amount of theological interpretation, which we are not qualified to comment upon. But as is usually the case, there is a simple point of truth, understandable to anyone: Don't say bad things about God's Holy Spirit. Indeed, why would anyone want to? The Holy Spirit comes to those who ask for it, and brings comfort, guidance, blessings, power, or some other gift to the fortunate recipient. It seems wiser to pray that the Spirit will abide with us and guide us through our day, that we may live closer to God.
