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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 for an Advent Morning

Thank you, dear God in Heaven, for this day. What a gift you give us each day, with the blazing sunrise through a cloudy winter sky. It is hard getting up these dark mornings, Lord, and yet when I do, you gift us with a sight that we miss at other times of year. I stare out the window at the red and purple light, gloriously framed by the gold of the rising sun. Let me remember your words when I see it, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Let me watch your day unfold in silence, filled with a sense of your presence in my life.

I am filled with gratitude this day, that I could witness such a treasure and could feel it and see it as a gift from you. Thank you for your love. Today, let me carry a sense of how much you love me to send me such a gift. Let that awareness of your love change the way I treat others today. Let me be more peaceful in the face of the irritations of the day. I ask your help to move through my errands and holiday preparations today with peace and a sense of your sunrise in my heart. Your glory fills my spirit and I want only to give thanks with my life this day.

Creighton University/RMB

For Forgiveness

Oh Holy God, look down upon me, a miserable sinner, and forgive me for the terrible things that I do, against your love for us and against the love that you have commanded us to show for our brothers and sisters. The people of the world are your holy and beautiful children, oh Lord, and I am one of them also. I pray that you will fill me so full of your might and love that I will not sin against myself or anybody else, this day, or ever; but if I do, I plead with you, give me that undeserved grace you showed by the life and sacrifice of your Son, my Lord, Jesus Christ.

Mason Barge 2/2/14

Benediction

Now to him who by his power within us is able to do far more than we ever dare to ask or imagine — to him be glory in the Church through Jesus Christ 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.

A Season of Hope

Micah 5:1-5 (ESV)

The Ruler to Be Born in Bethlehem

Now muster your troops, O city of troops;
siege is laid against us;
with a rod they strike the judge of Israel
on the cheek.

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days.

Therefore he shall give them up until the time
when she who is in labor has given birth;
then the rest of his brothers shall return
to the people of Israel.

And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great
to the ends of the earth.

And he shall be their peace.

Notes on the Scripture

icah lived roughly 700 years before the birth of Christ. Here he predicts that the savior of Israel will be born in the tiny town of Bethlehem Ephrathah. There were two towns called “Bethlehem” in Canaan; one of them had been previously called Ephrathah, so Micah uses the word to specify which of them he meant. And there is no confusion — this is the exact town in which Christ was born seven centuries later. The area was actually famous from very early in Hebrew history, as the birthplace of Benjamin (and the home of the small tribe that remained under the rule of David's blood descendants after the split of the Kingdom of Israel). (See Genesis 35.)

This passage is, truly, one of the great miracles of the Bible, for it is historically proven that the prophecy was made prior to 701 BC, when Micah died. The birth of Jesus of Nazareth in that very town, and his role as the savior of Israel (and all of humanity), standing and shepherding his flock in the strength of the Lord, “great to the ends of the earth,” can be nothing except the fulfillment of this ancient prophecy.

Daily Inspiration

“God is Great”

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