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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 Dedicate Myself to Christ This Day

Almighty God, as I cross the threshold of this day, I commit myself to Your care. Mold me in your image. In everything I say and do, let my mind be on the eternal goodness of heaven rather than the vanities of earth, meaningless pride, or the anger and envy that tear apart my precious soul.

I dedicate myself to your holiness, Oh sweet and innocent Christ, and pray that you may be with me, to check my tongue before it can speak evil and to stop my hand when it seeks to sin. I come to you as a child. I will look to you for guidance and wisdom. Let me know the joyful feeling of having done something that pleased you; let me never feel the pain of knowing I have disappointed you. And let me live without fear, without confusion, always steady in the certainty of your forgiveness and ultimate victory, I pray,

Prayer for Goodness (based on Psalm 1)

Heavenly Father, who has given us the gift of your law, so that we might know our sin, and your Son, that we might be forgiven where we fall short: Give me the grace to remember your holy Word, when my surroundings tempt me to confusion and weakness, that I might more nearly approach true obedience to your will. Help me to resist the arguments of the ungodly; let me not be deceived by false beauty; and let me never replace the truth which you have put into my heart with the clever words of men. Through Christ I pray,

Meditation

“To truly know the living God, this begets humility. To acquire learning, information, speculation, theory and theology — and even (in some cases) Scripture — this begets pride. You do not say someone is holy because he puts forth great ideas concerning the knowledge of God and the attributes of God. Look for those who proclaim the love of God in great personal loss and self denial. You will find such wisdom far more among the simple and the humble than it is ever to be found among those who know so much about the things of God but so little of the Lord Himself.”

~ Michael Molinos

A Prayer After Reading Scripture

May the word I have read, Lord, be planted deeply in my mind and heart. Help me not to walk away and forget it, but to meditate on it and obey it and so build my life on the rock of your truth.

Mason Barge 1/14/2017 origin unk.

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.

Anger

Matthew 5:21-26 (ESV)

ou have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.”

Notes on the Scripture

Sermon on the Mount - Anger

Having told his listeners that the law must still be met, and that their righteousness must exceed that of the holiest Jews of the day, Christ proceeds to illustrate his point: He examines several laws of Moses and, rather than minimizing them, pushes them far beyond the boundaries of their literal meaning. In this first instance, the letter of the law prohibits murder. Jesus recites the law and then digs into the underlying concept, the spirit of the law, to make it even more rigorous!

We know that, eventually, Christ will prove one of the great theological points of his ministry: It is impossible for a human being to act well enough to satisfy God. But the new theological framework that will ultimately arise, finalized by his resurrection, is only one part of the message. He also gives an immediate and concrete moral message. He directly challenges the listener to change.

If we are going to call ourselves Christians, are we ready to change? Do we think we are going to heaven? Well, let’s read what Christ just said:

When is the last time you were angry with someone? When was the last time you called somebody an idiot, either to his face, or behind his back, or even just in your mind? For most of us, probably the last time we read a newspaper or drove a car!

For some reason, nobody thinks that they should be punished for violating the law. We complain if we get a traffic ticket. Somehow, our self-righteous brain convinces us that it is unfair for us to get a ticket, even if we were violating the law. How about that guy in the red Dodge who was going faster than I was? And why aren’t the police out arresting murderers instead of hassling me?

But we still have to pay the ticket. And in just the same way, we think our anger is justified and okay. Well guess what? God has a different idea!

We think we are going to heaven when we die. But here, Jesus Christ himself says that people who call another person “you fool” are going to hell. And if we are honest, we have done exactly that, repeatedly, and perhaps within the last day or two.

Christ here calls upon every person who would find God to do battle with their own sinful nature. We are to stop criticizing the foolish or irritating words and actions of others and begin to criticize, instead, our own reaction to them.

Anger instead of understanding, irritation instead of acceptance, lashing out instead of making peace — these are the consequences of original sin. And if we are to find heaven, we must, every day with every tool we can muster, fight our anger and self-righteousness. For if we are not willing to try to change ourselves, every day and with all of our power, we are liable for the fires of hell.

Daily Inspiration

“Faith Enough To Be Wrong”

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