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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.
Amen.
Save Your Servant
Bow down Your ear, O Lord, hear me;
For I am poor and needy.
Preserve my life, for I am holy;
You are my God;
Save Your servant who trusts in You!
Be merciful to me, O Lord,
For I cry to You all day long.
Rejoice the soul of Your servant,
For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,
And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.
Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
And attend to the voice of my supplications.
In Christ’s name, I pray,
Amen.
~ from Psalm 86
For Married Persons
Father God, you have consecrated the state of matrimony between men and women to represent the spiritual marriage and unity between Christ and his church. Look with mercy, I pray you, upon those who are married, that they may love, honor, and cherish each other, and so live together in faithfulness and patience, in wisdom and true godliness, that their home may be a haven of blessing and of peace for them.
Let your Holy Spirit dwell with them, and guide them from pride and selfishness, and into the spirit of service for one another, and any children they might care for, as Christ humbled himself to serve us. This I ask in Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Meditation
“You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.”
~ James 4:3
Parting Prayer
Lord, pour your love into my heart, that I may love you above all things, and my neighbors as myself. Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
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.
If you listen to this brief bit of advice from Andrew Peterson, I guarantee your day will go a tiny bit better. It's a hard enough life to be living; why walk when you can fly?
Lyrics to “Why Walk When You Can Fly?”
Why Walk When You Can Fly?
In this world there's a whole lot of trouble, baby
In this world there's a whole lot of pain
In this world there's a whole lot of trouble, but
A whole lot of ground to gain
Why take when you could be giving?
Why watch as the world goes by?
It's a hard enough life to be living
Why walk when you can fly?
In this world there's a whole lot of sorrow
In this world there's a whole lot of shame
In this world there's a whole lot of sorrow
And a whole lot of ground to gain
When you spend your whole life wishing
Wanting, and wondering why
It's a long enough life to be living
Why walk when you can fly?
And in this world there's a whole lot of golden
In this world there's a whole lot of pain
In this world you've a soul for a compass
And a heart for a pair of wings
There's a star on the far horizon
Rising bright in an azure sky
For the rest of the time that you're given
Why walk when you can fly?
Music and Lyrics by Mary Chapin Carpenter
Scripture
Thinking about Tomorrow
Live as though Christ died yesterday, rose from the grave today, and
is coming back tomorrow.
~ Theodore Epp
Exodus 16:22-30 (ESV)
Bread from Heaven [3]
n the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers [two omers = one gallon] each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, he said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’”
So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it. Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.”
On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.”
So the people rested on the seventh day.
Notes on the Scripture
Early glazed terracotta depicting Moses, Jethro and Zipporah.
For those who have not actually read Exodus before, the lengthy section on gathering of manna and the early imposition of Sabbath laws comes as a surprise. The Hebrews immediately discover that the manna goes bad after one day. Although God has promised to send it daily, they still try to rely on their own skills; they gather extra to store up just in case, one supposes, God changes His mind. They do not trust Him fully.
Then, having established firmly to the Hebrews that manna is a gift from Him, God advances their training to the next level. Having learned to gather one day’s food each day, now they must learn that they must gather two day’s provision on Friday and that the manna will keep for a day, for God intends that the Sabbath be kept as a holy day.
One would think that they would be happy for a day of rest. Life is grueling in the desert. One would anticipate nothing nicer than a chance to lie around the tent all day, worshipping, talking, singing — anything but working. But no; some of them have to go out and try to gather manna. So, they get another lesson: there is none.
“The Lord said to Moses, ‘How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?’” This rhetorical question actually has an answer; for neither the Jews, as a people, nor Christians, as a church, would ever keep God’s laws as an entirety. Those who really tried — such as the Catholic Church, the Puritans, the Pharisees — have inevitably broken down into politics, ungodly superstition, and physical coercion.
But the greatest difficulty has always been sheer disobedience, the triumph of self-will and earthly appetite over life in the Spirit.
Christ showed us that if there is work that must be done on the Sabbath, one may do it without offending God. But His examples were work that could not wait a day: pulling an ox out of a ditch, healing a sick man. He did not, by His own assertion, come to abolish the Law, and His infringement on the Pharisees’ rules for the Sabbath was not an open invitation to ignore the fourth commandment. (Catholicism numbers this the third commandment.)
God loves us and would not have given us the Sabbath law if it were not beneficial to us. Yet, very few Christians or Jews keep the Sabbath (or technically, in the case of most Christians, the Sunday “Sabbath,” which almost all scholars agree fulfills the fourth commandment). It is an issue worth considering and, perhaps, modifying our lives a bit. If we believe in God, then we must trust that following the commandment will ultimately have beneficial consequences.
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Today in Daily Prayer
Bible Verse of the Day
We have a Bible verse-of-the-day feature (called “Bible Moment”), a single Bible verse delivered to your phone (or device) as a text message. The idea is that we get so wrapped up in the world, we need just a brief bit of the Word during the day to re-center us on Christ.
If you want to try it, just send a JotForm email to Daily Prayer. I am sorry, at the present time our SMS service cannot deliver these texts outside the United States.
Memory Verse
Romans 14:1: Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.
In the Crime and Punishment devotion discussion on 9/6/26, it was written: We will come before Christ at the time of His choosing, and He will judge us for our actions and, hopefully, forgive us for our sins by His grace. I thought when we repent of our sin, we are forgiven and the sin is forgotten. When Jesus comes again, are we judged by the list of our past and forgiven sins? If so, I can't do enough good to out do the sins of my life Scary! Carol
Always always remember the first principals when you read these "stop sinning!" parts of the Bible. Lock this in your brain:
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9
There is a second point to be made, which is told to us time and time again in Romans. We are saved by God's grace through faith. Here, this is one of our memory verses: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." Ephesians 2:8-9
Rejoice in your salvation, for it has been promised to you by God, and in your joy work to obey God's commandments and by prayer and all means possible, try to give up your sins. But again, know first, where we do not succeed, God has PROMISED to forgive us.
Carol and Pete, I am with you. I have run into Christians who live with Christ still on the cross and they are miserable.They make statements that contradict Christ. I'm an Easter Sunday Christian and my Christ has risen and my sins are no more.By His blood, I am redeemed. I am with Him now and will be forever.
I think it hilarious that, According to those who made that statement, we are supposed to remind God of our sins while He has forgotten them.
Carol, that hit me the same way. I ran so far and sinned so much, that statement gave me a cold chill. I trust they will be forgiven and forgotten as far as east is from the west, lest I be doomed.
In the Crime and Punishment devotion discussion on 9/6/26, it was written: We will come before Christ at the time of His choosing, and He will judge us for our actions and, hopefully, forgive us for our sins by His grace. I thought when we repent of our sin, we are forgiven and the sin is forgotten. When Jesus comes again, are we judged by the list of our past and forgiven sins? If so, I can't do enough good to out do the sins of my life Scary ! Carol Salt Lake City, Utah
Thanking both Mason and Jenny today! Mason, I always enjoy your insights into Scripture. And your choices in Art and Music. I especially enjoyed todays music. I miss these songs I heard when I was young. Jenny, today's Daily Inspiration was just what I needed. Sometimes, I don't feel welcomed, but I realize, it may be my own mind that makes me think that. I may always, as long as I'm in this world at least, feel the guilt & shame of my sins, but I know and believe that Jesus Christ, was born on this earth, lived, taught, was crucified and ascended to be back with God the Father. And I believe that by His great sacrifice, He has washed away my sins. Again, thank you both. Sherry in Washington
Stephanie, thank you for sharing your"two cents". I appreciate you doing so. And Cynthia, you are so right. Guilt and shame are the human response to sin. Our loving God says "come to me, and I will give you rest. " Jesus took our sin and through faith in Him replaces the guilt and shame with joy and peace. And, although I can't say that exchange is immediate for me, believing this gives me hope and the desire to start again. Carol Salt Lake City, Utah
Carol, Just a thought on the 9.2 inspiration; I read it as “the trials are given to us” as, they happen to us - and not as God gives them to us….just thought I’d share my 2 cents.. Stephanie, Venice Fl
