Daily Devotion for October 14, 2021

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.
This is a soft-rock number, and there are people to whom it won’t appeal. For myself, I think Matt Maher is a genius and I hope everyone will give it a try!
You are not alone if you are lonely,
When you're feeling frail, you're not the only.
We are all the same in need of mercy,
To be forgiven and be free.
It's all you got to lean on,
But thank God it's all you need.
Refrain:
And all the people said Amen, whoa oh,
And all the people said Amen.
Give thanks to the Lord for His love never ends,
And all the people said Amen.
If you're rich or poor, well it don't matter,
Weak or strong, we know love is what we're after.
We're all broken but we're all in this together.
God knows we stumble and fall,
And He so loved the world He sent His son to save us all.
Blessed are
The poor in spirit who are torn apart;
Blessed are
The prosecuted and the pure in heart;
Blessed are
The people longing for another start;
For this is the Kingdom,
The Kingdom of God.
Written by Matt Maher, Paul Moak, and Trevor Morgan
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.
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
Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.
~ Mark Twain

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.

Comments (8)
Oh you people are such a blessing to me.
I remember coming here for the first time about 6 years ago, and from time to time I was amazed that the readings, prayers and comments were exactly what I needed?! Wow!
Now it happens practically daily, and if I don't notice I began to question "what am I missing?"
Paul, me too. Romans 7:15. Every night when I say my last prayers for the day and I have to shake my head, confessing "I did it again" but I tell Jesus I am not going to give up.
Jenny, me too. Proverbs 3:5. Or as I like to say (I may have posted this before), I used to know so much, now I find I get a little dumber every day (and I am happy for it!)
I love this place and this community, I hope my (probably too may) words are helpful.
Wonder after wonder, Jenny's inspirations shed bright light into the deepest spaces of the heart.
Amen to Paul's comment. I prayed for guidance in this area and the devotional gave it, so instant answer.
As far as numbers, you are right in not worrying about how many but in who. All it takes is one to be set on fire and change the world. So it is good to have as many as possible to hear the word and someone become the one. Many people came to hear Christ but it only takes a few to follow and spread the gospel. So there is nothing wrong about being happy that more and more are hearing.
I am not familiar with the musician you chose for today but I did enjoy the song .Thank you. Great job as usual.
Jenny, Your article today was thought provoking and so true. Your writing is such a blessing. Mason, thank you so much for all of your hard work and dedication to spreading the gospel. I love starting my day with you all! And...the song today was great!