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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.

Dwell with Me

Alone with none but you, my God,
I journey on my way.
What need I fear, when you are near, O king of night and day?
More safe am I within your hand
Than if a host did round me stand.
So dwell in me, I pray to you, ’til breath shall pass away.

by Mason Barge, based on a prayer of St. Columba (@ 560 A.D.)

~ Inspired by a prayer of St. Columba (@ 560 A.D.)

For Forgiveness Among Fellow Christians

Teach me, O Lord, to act so that all my deeds will glorify your holy name and your wonderful creation. Take pity, O Lord, on all Christians. Hear the desires of all who cry out to you, and deliver them from evil. Send them comfort in distress, consolation in sorrows, and your holy mercy to forgive their misdeeds.

I especially pray for those who have in any way insulted, abused or aggrieved me. Do not punish them for the sake of me, a sinner; but pour your mercy upon them. I also pray to you for all those whom I, a sinner, have insulted or tempted in word, deed, thought, whether knowingly or without intending or realizing I had done so. O Lord God, forgive us our sins and offenses and insults against each other. Dispel from our hearts all indignation, suspicion, anger, remembrance of evil, quarrels, and all that might hinder and lessen brotherly love. Replace resentment with forgiveness, I pray, in the name of Christ.

Meditation

“When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.”

~ Charles A Beard

Benediction

Oh God Almighty, send me Your light and truth, to keep this day and all the days of my life. And may Your mighty hand protect me, and all my brothers and sisters who have joined me in prayer this day, blessing our homes and our lives.

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.

Acts 8:3, 9:1-2 (ESV)

Galatians 1:13-14 (DP Bible)

Paul’s Early Days (Galatians #7)

ou have heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how intensely I used to persecute the church of God and was trying to destroy it. And I was getting ahead of many contemporaries of my generation in Judaism, being extremely zealous about the traditions of my father.

DP Parallel Bible (3-Column) - Galatians 1

Notes on the Scripture

The verses from Acts are actually not the first time we encounter Paul (Saul) in the New Testament. He was present when the first martyr, Stephen, was stoned to death by the Sanhedrin: “Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.” (Acts 7:58) So we know that, at least in the first few months after the Pentecost, Paul was already a young up-and-comer; one might guess that he had a position with the Jewish establishment akin to an internship or apprenticeship.

Saul was an educated Pharisee from Tarsus in Cilicia (southeast Turkey). He was a Roman citizen, so clearly, his father had been a person of note himself; and his Roman connection would have served him well. We know he was gifted at rhetoric and oratory. When we see him in Acts 9, he has moved up the ladder, from cloak-holder in the Sanhedrin to its agent in the field, rounding up Christians and bringing them back to Jerusalem in chains, to face punishment by the Sanhedrin.

In a word, young Saul was a star. His credentials as a Christian-hater were golden. But why does he bring this up? One would think, if he wanted people to trust him as an emissary of Christ, he might want to play down his past. A Christian of the day would be justifiably paranoid: we know that the Pharisees sent spies into churches, posing as believers. (And in fact, the Christians of both Damascus and Jerusalem were suspicious of Paul at first. Acts 9:26.)

His purpose is to convince the Galatians that his conversion was not that of a normal Christian. His conversion was not like other people’s; there was no period of preparation. He was not converted by an evangelist, or an apostle, who might then sponsor him as a true convert. He was, with a flick of God’s mighty finger, utterly transformed, forced instantly into a 180-degree change of direction by Christ Himself. He was chosen by God, and he was ordained by God.

This is the first plank in his proof that his Gospel is a revelation of Christ and, therefore, the revealed Word of God, in all ways superior to the aberrant theologies the Galatians were hearing. Paul was the “real deal.” His Gospel was not merely better or more truthful; it was divine.

Daily Inspiration

“Live Quietly”

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