Congregational Church of La Jolla

2012-02-07T11:55:00.000-08:00

Rev. John Benbow will preach on February 12. He's going to keep up Rev. Greening's theme on the first week of creation and talk about the Sixth Day and the place of humans in creation.

2012-01-31T12:37:00.000-08:00

On February 5, we will not only be observing the Lord's Supper, but we will also be renewing our church covenant. I hope that everybody is there to take part in this simple but meaningful ritual. Here are the words to our CCLJ covenant:

We covenant with God and with one another, promising to join together in worship and the celebration of the sacraments, in the study of the scriptures, in sharing the good news with one another and the world around us, in joining in the struggle for justice for the whole human family, and in welcoming into our midst all who seek God and community, that the love of God, the grace of Jesus Christ, and the communion of the Holy Spirit may be known and acknowledged in the life of our congregation.

The main Bible passage will be the 5th day of creation as described in Genesis 1:20-23. Our hymns will include the old standards Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above and This Is My Father's World, as well as one we haven't sung before: It's a metrical setting of Psalm 84 entitled How Lovely, Lord, How Lovely, and the tune is called Merle's Tune. You'll love it. In the sermon we'll learn about a recent blessing on Angela's Garden (on the east side of the Social Hall).

Annual Meeting

2012-01-17T14:16:00.000-08:00

The Annual Meeting of the congregation will be held after worship service on Sunday, January 29. This is also potluck Sunday, so remember to bring goodies to share.

Only members are allowed to vote at the Annual Meeting, however, all are welcome to attend.

Grand Opening

2012-01-13T12:51:00.000-08:00

Join us this Sunday, January 15th, for our Grand Opening of our remodeled Social Hall and Kitchen. Worship service is at 10:30 am, with the Grand Opening following at approximately 11:30.

Sundays in November

2011-11-02T12:05:00.000-07:00

November 6: All Saints Sunday, when we will celebrate the Lord's Supper and remember those who have died in the Lord this past year.

November 13: The theme will be Children of the Light, and we will use Psalm 121 ("Unto the hills I lift up mine eyes...") and close the service with the hymn Be Thou My Vision.

November 20: Thanksgiving Sunday, aka Pie Sunday. If you can, please bring a pie to share at coffee hour. If you can't, please come to help eat everybody else's pies, since there will be more than enough to go around. Worship will end with a commemoration of the 150th anniversary of The Battle Hymn of the Republic.

November 27: The First Sunday of Advent. Worship will open with the beloved hymn, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.

Peace Forum

2011-09-29T12:22:00.000-07:00

A Peace Corp Panel Discussion & Slide Show

Sunday

October 30, 2011

1 PM

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps to promote world peace and friendship. Since then, 200,000+ Americans have served in 139 countries as Peace Corps volunteers.

This year, the Peace Corps will celebrate 50 years of promoting peace and friendship worldwide to those who want to build a better life for themselves, their children, and their communities

Please join us to learn about the mission of the Peace Corps, its history and current endeavors.

Our panel members are four Peace Corps alumni:

ÿ Diana Gomez, UCSD Peace Corps recruitment office,

Armenia

1999
ÿ    Maureen Feeley, UCSD Political Science Department,
      Faculty Lecturer, Kenya 1986
ÿ    Kyle Irwin, UCSD Graduate Student, Panama 2005
ÿ    Brian Camblin, UCSD Graduate Student, Honduras 2004
      and Colombia 2010.

Each panelist will share experiences about volunteering in these countries and how serving in the Peace Corps influenced their life path decisions.

With 8,655 Volunteers serving 76 countries, today's Peace Corps is more relevant than ever. By sharing their peaceful heritage, Peace Corps alumni and volunteers continue to help and inform individuals worldwide. In presenting our Peace Corps panel discussion we hope to inspire the next generation of volunteers through education and engagement.

Come and hear their stories. Invite your friends.

This Peace Forum is free and open to the public.

Childcare will be provided.

Daily Devotion—"What's a Constellation?"

2011-08-31T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

The earth’s depths are in his hands; the mountain heights belong to him.
—Ps. 95:4

Food for Thought

O fill your hearts with the thoughts of God and his ways. If a single act of Providence is so ravishing and transporting, what would many such be, if they were presented together to the view of the soul! If one star is so beautiful to behold, what is a constellation! Let your reflections therefore upon the acts and workings of Providence for you be full—extensively and intensively full.
—John Flavel

Morning Prayer

O God, in whose hands are the earth's depths, the mountain heights, and the stars of heaven, I trust in you to care for me, and in your Providence to work for my good through the events of the coming day; in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"Every Good & Perfect Gift"

2011-08-30T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Every good gift, every perfect gift, comes from above. These gifts come down from the Father, the creator of the heavenly lights, in whose character there is no change at all.
—James. 1:17

Food for Thought

The greatness of God is a glorious and unsearchable mystery. The condescension of the most high God to human beings is also a profound mystery.But when both these meet together, they make up a mathcless mystery. Here we find the most high God performing all things for poor distressed creatures.

It is the great support and solace of the saints in all the distresses that befall them here, that there is a wise Spirit sitting in all the wheels of motion, and governing the most eccentric creatures and their most pernicious designs to blessed and happy issues. And, indeed, it were not worthwhile in a world devoid of God and providence.
—John Flavel

Morning Prayer

O God, forbid that I should look today upon the work of thy hands and give no thought to thee the Maker. Let the heavens declare thy glory to me and the hills thy majesty. Let every fleeing loveliness I see speak to me of a loveliness that does not fade. Let the beauty of earth be to me a sacrament of the beauty of holiness made perfect in Jesus Christ my Lord, in whose Name I pray. Amen.
—John Baillie

Daily Devotion—"All Who Are Thirsty"

2011-08-29T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Jesus shouted, "All who are thirsty should come to me!"
—John 7:37

Food for Thought

My heart is resting, O my God—
I will give thanks and sing;
my heart is at the secret source
of every precious thing.
Now the frail vessel thou hast made
no hand but thine shall fill—
for the waters of the earth have failed,
and I am thirsty still.

I thirst for springs of heavenly life,
And here all day they rise—
I seek the treasure of thy love,
and close at hand it lies.
And a new song is in my mouth
to long-loved music set—
glory to thee for all the grace
I have not tasted yet.

There is a certainty of love
that sets my heart at rest—
a calm assurance for today
that to be poor is best—
a prayer reposing on his truth
who hath made all things mine,
that draws my captive will to him,
and makes it one with thine.

Mine be the reverent, listening love,
that waits all day on thee,
with the service of a watchful heart
which no one else can see—
the faith that, in a hidden way
no other eye may know,
finds all its daily work prepared,
and loves to have it so.
—Anna Waring

Morning Prayer

My heart is resting, O my God,
my heart is in thy care—
I hear the voice of joy and health
resounding everywhere.
"Thou art my portion," saith my soul,
ten thousand voices say,
and the music of their glad Amen
will never die away.
—Anna Waring

Daily Devotion—"Let Him Pray!"

2011-08-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

If any of you are suffering, let him pray! If any of you are happy, let her sing!
—Jas. 5:13

Food for Thought

Genuine prayer must be an expression of truth, and must be based on love for God and neighbor. The one who is suffering should neither deny their condition before God, nor seek vengeance on the perceived source of their suffering, but should instead make their suffering known to the One who listens and cares. By the same token, the one who is happy should express that truth in joyful shouts and songs before God. Such happiness is a gift of God, and it is God who must be thanked. But just as important as the personal emotions of the suffering and the joyful is the community dimension of such feelings. Prayer and singing are both occasions for the church to join together in pouring out their feelings to God. As the Apostle Paul also said, "Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep." The church is one body in Christ, and when one suffers, all suffer, and when one rejoices, all rejoice.
—SG, quoting Romans 12:15

Morning Prayer

Help me at all times to be honest with you, O God. When I am feeling down, may I share my sadness with you. And when I am feeling good, may I give you thanks. Just as I turn to others to share my frustration, may I also be a source of joy to my community of faith. And just as I benefit from others' happiness, may I also take part in their sadness; in Jesus' Name. Amen.
—mmmmmmm

Daily Devotion—'Bethlehem, Thou Dost Excel'

2011-08-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.
—Mic. 5:2

Food for Thought

Earth has many a noble city;
Bethlehem, thou dost all excel;
out of thee the Lord from heaven
came to rule his Israel.

Fairer than the sun at morning
was the star that told his birth,
to the world its God announcing
seen in fleshly form on earth.

Eastern sages at his cradle
make oblations rich and rare;
see them give, in deep devotion,
gold and frankincense and myrrh.

Sacred gifts of mystic meaning:
incense doth their God disclose,
gold the King of kings proclaimeth,
myrrh his sepulcher foreshows.

Jesus, whom the gentiles worshiped
at thy glad epiphany,
unto thee, with God the Father
and the Spirit, glory be.
—Aurelius Prudentius

Morning Prayer

Each year at Christmas, we welcome you, Lord, our humble Savior, to Bethlehem, where we have loved and fought and longed for the peace that the world can never give. Grant us your peace, gentle Jesus; and grant us the courage to live our lives in the strength of your love. Amen.

—after a collect from A New Zealand Prayer Book

Daily Devotion—"Christ Our Healer"

2011-08-25T21:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.
—Isa. 53:5

Food for Thought

We cannot measure how you heal
or answer every sufferer's prayer,
yet we believe your grace responds
where faith and doubt unite to care.
Your hands, though bloodied on the cross,
survive to hold and heal and warn,
to carry all through death to life
and cradle children yet unborn.

The pain that will not go away,
the guilt that clings from things long past,
the fear of what the future holds,
are present as if meant to last.
But present too is love which tends
the hurt we never hope to find,
the private agonies inside,
the memories that haunt the mind.

So some have come who need your help
and some have come to make amends,
as hands which shaped and saved the world
are present to the touch of friends.
Lord, let your Spirit meet us here
to mend the body, mind, and soul,
to disentangle peace from pain
and make your broken people whole.
—John Bell

Morning Prayer

You carried the suffering and sin of the world in your broken body on the cross, O Christ. May the truly be your body, alive in the world, reaching out in healing and forgiveness, carrying the burdens of the world. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"All My Hope on God Is Founded"

2011-08-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Like birds hovering overhead, so the Lord of hosts will protect Jerusalem; he will protect and deliver it, he will spare and rescue it.
—Isa. 31:5

Food for Thought

All my hope on God is founded:
who else can my hope renew?
Still through change and chance God guides me,
only good and only true.
God unknown, grace alone,
calls my heart to be God's own.
—Joachim Neander

Morning Prayer

As the rain hides the stars, as the autumn mist hides the hills, as the clouds veil the blue of the sky, so the dark happenings of my lot hide the shining of thy face from me. Yet, if I may hold thy hand in the darkness, it is enough. Since I know that, though I may stumble in my going, thou dost not fall. Amen.
—unknown Celtic

Daily Devotion—"Don't Repay Evil with Evil"

2011-08-24T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.
—Rom. 12:17

Food for Thought

Christ is the Christian's example of love, and the unity and peace which result from it. In fact, it might be argued that both unity (or "wholeness") and peace are contained within the Hebrew word shalom. In the teachings of Jesus, Christians find the ultimate meaning of shalom, and in the life of Jesus, we find how to put those teachings into action. For Jesus didn't just say, "Love your enemies," he actually loved his enemies. In Jesus we finally see "that to suffer innocently and not to retort or retaliate is to win a far greater victory than can ever be achieved by hitting back. It is to win a victory over evil itself."
—S.G., quoting N.T. Wright in The New Interpreter's Bible

Morning Prayer

Forgive me, Lord, when I my first reaction when I feel wronged is to seek vengeance or to wish someone ill. Help me to forgive, and to seek the good of all. As Christ forgave those who crucified him, help me to forgive those who have wronged me; in his Name. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"A Good Hope"

2011-08-23T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verses

Our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and a good hope. May he encourage your hearts and give you strength in every good thing you do or say.
—2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

Food for Thought

Death cannot be the enemy if it's death that brings us to life. For just as without leave-taking there can be no arrival; without growing old there can be no growing up; without tears, no laughter; so without death there can be no living.
—William Sloane Coffin

Morning Prayer

O God, who by the glorious resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light: Grant that we, who have been raised with him, may abide in his presence and rejoice in the hope of eternal glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be dominion and praise for ever and ever. Amen.
—1979 Book of Common Prayer (USA)

Daily Devotion—"Refined & Tested"

2011-08-22T00:01:00.003-07:00

Today's Verse

See, I have refined you, but not like silver; I have tested you in the furnace of adversity.
—Isa. 48:10

Food for Thought

See the cause why God many times denies the outward blessing of peace to those on whom he has conferred inward blessing of grace; and why he orders adversity instead of prosperity; why he designs their good.

He designs his servants should not bear a mercenary mind, in making gain of his service, and turning Christian patience into carnal covetousness, making gain of godliness. He designs his people should see need of more faith, and more wisdom; for, in fair weather, little skill in the mariner is required; but when storms arise, and the sea swells and grows troublesome, then he is put to it.

He designs to convince them that this is their inn, and not their home; the wilderness, and not Canaan, a place of refining; whereof yet he says, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. They are chastened of the Lord, that they may not be condemned with the world. Outward and bodily prosperity is not always attended with inward soul-prosperity. No, many have fat bodies and lean souls.

—Ralph Erskine

Morning Prayer

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; taking, as Christ did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that he will make all things right if I surrender to his will; that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with him forever in the next. Amen.

—Reinhold Niebuhr

Daily Devotion—'The Lord Does Not Save by Sword'

2011-08-21T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

All the assembly should know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear.
—from 1 Sam. 17:47

Food for Thought

Last year, the United States, with a budget of $698 billion, spent more on defense than the next 17 nations combined. U.S. military spending is nearly six times that of the next biggest spender, China ($119 billion) and more than eleven times that of Russia ($59 billion).

That same year, the Department of Defense budget accounted for 19% of the United States federal budget and 28% of estimated tax revenues. Though it is home to only 4.5% of the world's population, the U.S. accounts for 40% of the world’s yearly defense outlays.

The U.S. currently has military deployed in more than 150 countries around the world.

Question: On what do I base my security?

Morning Prayer

O Almighty God, the Father of all humanity, turn, we pray, the hearts of all peoples and their rulers, that by the power of your Holy Spirit peace may be established among the nations on the foundation of justice, righteousness and truth; through him who was lifted up on the cross to draw all people to himself, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—William Temple

Daily Devotion—"The Way to Glory"

2011-08-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

But if we died with Christ, we have faith that we will also live with him.
—Rom. 6:8

Food for Thought

Meditate on this: God had but one Son. He came into the world without sin, but he could not get out without a cross.

Art thou poor? So was Christ. Hast thou enemies? So had he. Art thou disdained? Christ went this way to glory, and so must thou.
—Thomas Manton

Morning Prayer

You have told me, O Christ, that the student is not above the teacher, and that the servant cannot expect to be better than the master. And yet I seek glory in this world while avoiding the cross. Forgive me, Lord. Let me glory in your cross; and let me make it mine, knowing that I need not carry it alone. Thank you for your abiding presence. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"The Source of the Universe"

2011-08-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

By faith we understand that the universe has been created by a word from God so that the visible came into existence from the invisible.
—Hebr. 11:3

Food for Thought

The world is not a given, but a gift.
—Michael Horton, The Christian Faith

Morning Prayer

O God, Creator of all that is, help me to experience your creation as a gift of which I am an intentional component. Help me to receive your word as neither a science nor history textbook, but as a glorious affirmation that you made the world, and that you pronounced it good. And finally, help me to remember that your redeeming work is not carried out beyond the created order, but within it; in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"The Temple of God"

2011-08-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Do not trust in these deceptive words: “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.” For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your ancestors forever and ever.
—Jeremiah 7:4-7

Food for Thought

Because Christ alone—with his body—is the temple, holy land, and society of prophets, priests, and kings, there is no nation, building complex, or plot of land to which we may point as the locus of God's kingdom. All places are common—cathedrals no less than public parks. In whatever buildings God's people are gathered around the world on the Lord's day, they are the place, the living stones being built into a holy sanctuary filled with the Spirit of Glory. Since there is no holy land, there can be no holy war.
—Michael Horton, The Christian Faith

Morning Prayer

Though I often seek you in places called holy by others, help me this day to seek you in the face of the stranger, the eyes of the child, the hands of the widow, and in the cries of your oppressed. Wherever you are, Lord, is holy. May you dwell in me, may my body be your Temple, may my voice speak your words, and may my hands do your deeds. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"All the Hell"

2011-08-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

The Lord reproves the one he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.
—Prov. 3:12

Food for Thought

Whatever change or trouble a child of God meets with, it is all the hell he shall have.
—Thomas Watson

Morning Prayer

Help me in all things to seek your will, O God. Open my mind to understanding that which I would resist, and to accepting that which is contrary to my own will. In the Name of your perfect Son, who in the garden, prayed, 'Not my will, but yours.' Amen.

Daily Devotion—"The God of the Poor"

2011-08-16T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verses

What a terrible sin these people have committed! They made for themselves a god out of gold. But now, please forgive their sin!
—Exod. 32:31b-32a

Food for Thought

The first beatitude ("Blessed are the poor in spirit"), is in many ways the most important beatitude. It speaks to us not only of attitude, but also of loyalty to the one God. To understand this better, we need to look at Jesus’ ancestors who were tempted to fashion for themselves idols of silver and gold. They were able to do this:
Because they saw themselves as self-sufficient, and those who are self-sufficient need not turn to a Creator and Protector. Instead they can create for themselves that which they worship.

Because were influenced by others—people whose gods were not only visible, but whose gods reflected their exalted status. Not for them some invisible desert deity who dwelt among nomads, but solid and beautiful deities that matched the décor of palaces and were at home in elegant cities.

Because idols of gold, silver, and precious stones were like insurance. They had tangible worth. They were an investment. They were gods that could be bought and sold. And if their theology changed with the fashion of the times, they could be reworked into something more stylish, into the dieu du jour (god of the day).

As you can imagine, none of these were options for the poor. Idolatry was a luxury only the rich could afford. Those without means had very limited access to anything made of silver and gold. But the God of the desert, the God of the pilgrims, the invisible God who made all things—this was a God for them. This God wasn’t much to look at, but their access to this God was unlimited and immediate.

We live in a time in which the age-old idolatry that is the worship of material things—the worship of money, of silver and gold, of status symbols—has been revived and indeed blessed by a large portion of the Christian church. Just as in ages past, Jesus’ words, whether they are “Blessed are the poor,” or “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” jolt us back to a different reality, perhaps even a different Christianity. Just as Judaism was a radical religion that denied the existence of multiple gods and the worship of idols, true Christianity takes radical Judaism a step further, proclaiming that the most blessed people in the world aren’t those who appear to have been blessed, but the very people who appear to the world to be cursed: These are the ones who have no access to the idols of the rich, or to the silver and gold that either buy them or form them.
—SG

Morning Prayer

Forgive me, Lord, for I have taken material things and made them into gods. Return me to dependence on you. Instead of trying to recast you into my own image, remake me into the Image of your Son who became poor for my sake. In his Name I pray. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"The Light of God's Word"

2011-08-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple.
—Ps. 19:7

Food for Thought

If God is truly the Sovereign, or Ruler, of our lives, then we are led by the Holy Spirit to believe that in God's teachings are found all things necessary to bring life and wholeness to our inmost being. This affirmation is not reserved for the rich, the best-educated, or the most highly respected, but in its light even the poor, the ignorant, and the despised are granted the highest wisdom.
—paraphrase of Ps. 19:7

Morning Prayer

Teach me your word, O God, and in you may I seek wholeness. Give me ears that hear your wisdom in the loftiest of preachers and in the humblest of laity, and grant me the grace to share your word with all, for you send me forth this day in the Name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"Ready Hands"

2011-08-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Whatever your hand finds to do, do with your might.
—Eccl. 9:10a

Food for Thought

Only where hands are not too good for deeds of love and mercy in everyday helpfulness can the mouth joyfully and convincingly proclaim the message of God's love and mercy.
—Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Morning Prayer

Give me open hands, O God, hands ready to share with all who are in want the blessings with which thou hast enriched my life. Deliver me from all meanness and miserliness. Let me hold my possessions in trust for thee, to whom now be all honor and glory. Amen.
—John Baillie

Daily Devotion—"Stand Firm and Take Action"

2011-08-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

The people who are loyal to their God shall stand firm and take action.
—Dan. 11:32

Food for Thought

Nobody is too good for the meanest service. Those who worry about the loss of time that petty, outward acts of helpfulness entail are usually taking themselves too seriously.

We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God. God will be constantly crossing our paths and canceling our plans by sending us people with problems and requests. We may pass them by, preoccupied with our more important tasks, as the priest passed by the man who had fallen among thieves. When we do that, we pass by the visible sign of the cross raised athwart our path to show us that, not our way, but God's way must be carried out. Let us, therefore, not assume that our schedule is our own to manage, but allow it to be arranged by God.
—adapted from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

Morning Prayer

Help me to see, O God, that the action to which you guide me is never self-serving, and seldom convenient, but is directed toward my neighbor: the man on the street, the lonely woman, the lost child. When I encounter the sign of your cross in the form of the person in need, help me to stand firmly at their side; in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus"

2011-08-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
—Exod. 3:6b

Food for Thought

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s a light for a look at the Savior,
and life more abundant and free!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
look full in his wonderful face,
and the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
in the light of his glory and grace.
—Helen H. Lemmel

Morning Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, I thank you that you love me, though I be unworthy. I am the least of saints and the chief of sinners, but in the poverty of my soul I trust in the exceeding riches of your grace. Amen.
—F.B. Meyer

Daily Devotion—"Defeat Evil with Good"

2011-08-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Don’t be defeated by evil, but defeat evil with good.
—Rom. 12:21

Food for Thought

There is nothing more likely to overcome the rough temper and rugged behavior of others than to treat them gently. When Paul arrived in Thessalonica, he found many among them to be rough and untractable people. Yet his rule (as he said to Timothy) was that the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to everyone, an apt teacher, patient, correcting opponents with gentleness. Thus God may perhaps grant that they will repent and come to know the truth (2 Tim. 2:24-25).

And this was Paul's own practice in Thessalonica, for he says, we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children (1 Thess. 2:7). As a nurse bears with the misbehavior of children, and, by all means imaginable, endeavors to quiet them and bring them to good humor, so did the apostle with them. And it is probable that the behavior of those who came to believe—partly by the apostle's teaching and partly by his example—had been no different than that of the unbelievers. The effect of this was, in that place where the gospel was so much opposed at first, he later wrote to them: Pray for us, so that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be glorified everywhere, just as it is among you (2 Thess. 3:1).

As we should do good to such people and try to prevent the evil that might hurt them, so we ought to pray that God would do good to them, and prevent the evil that we cannot.
—based on a 1682 sermon by John Milward (London)

Morning Prayer

As far as it is in my power, Lord Jesus, help me this day to respond to cantankerousness with patience, to hostility with love, and to unfairness with even-handedness. And when it is beyond my power, help me to hand my burdens of resentment over to you who, though you were led as a lamb to the slaughter, still you did not open your mouth. Amen.

Daily Devotion—'All You That Are Weary'

2011-08-10T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
—Matt. 11:28

Food for Thought

When God is writing bitterness upon all other things, why does he embitter the creature, but that you may delight in Christ? When you are disappointed of your expectations from other things—from dear relations and enjoyments—why, then, you are to go a little further. When under despondency and discouragement, fears and faintings of spirits, then you are to take pleasure in the Lord, and hope in him. When you walk in darkness, and have no light; when you find a restlessness of spirit and know not what to do,· then he says, Come to me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. When you come to a place where two ways meet, and know not which hand to turn, then you are to take pleasure in him who said, I will lead the blind by a way they know not, and in paths that they have not known. I will make darkness light before them... [Isa 42:16]. When troubles and afflictions are swelling on every hand, even then you are called to delight in the Lord. When deep calleth unto deep, and waves and billows going over us, yet then the Lord will command his loving-kindness in the daytime, and in the night his songs shall be with us. When the world is so bad that you know not whom to trust, even in this case you are to delight in Christ, who is a trusty friend, closer than any brother, to whom you may tell all your problems. When the world is turning upside down, and all things are out of kilter and nothing but a Babel of confusion, then it is time to delight in the Lord. In all these, and a thousand such cases, you may find pleasure in Christ.
—adapted from an 1865 sermon by Ralph Erskine

Morning Prayer

Jesus, I am heavy laden;
Lord, I come to you.
You promised you would take by burden—
you can take me through
to your life, Jesus, your abundant life—
I long to be found in you.
Only you can break me open;
you can make me whole.
Only you can shine new hope in-
to my weary soul.
Prove your love, Jesus, your everlasting love—
I long to be found in you.
Let your mercy flood my being,
Lord, let your presence fall.
Lead me on when I’m not seeing,
Lord, be my all in all.
Be my life, Jesus, be my everything—
I long to be found in you
with a faith that will last, Lord—
I long to be found in you.
When the feelings are past, Lord,
I long to be found in you.
All my cares i will cast on you, Lord—
I long to be found in you. Amen.
—Sierra Tel

Daily Devotion—"God Is Not Mocked"

2011-08-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verses

The war horse is a vain hope for victory, and by its great might it cannot save. Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love.
—Ps. 33:17-18

Food for Thought

Life swings on an ethical hinge. If you loosen that hinge, all history, and even nature, will feel the shock. For God is not mocked, and the kingdom of God comes through God's judgment, which promises the eventual downfall of every other kind of kingdom.
—William Sloane Coffin

Morning Prayer

Show us your mercy, O Lord, and grant us your salvation. Clothe your ministers with righteousness; let your people sing with joy. Give peace, O Lord, in all the world, for only in you can we live in safety.

Lord, keep this nation under your care; and guide us in the way of justice and truth. Let your way be known upon earth; your saving health among all nations. Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten; nor the hope of the poor be taken away.

Create in us clean hearts, O God; and sustain us by your Holy Spirit. Amen.
—U.S. Book of Common Prayer (1979)

Daily Devotion—"The Ark of God's Mercy Is Near"

2011-08-08T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Jesus prayed, "I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one."
—John 17:15

Food for Thought

We know not the trials before us,
but why should we tremble or fear?
The arm of the Lord will protect us;
the ark of his mercy is near.
We know not the trials before us,
or what our temptations may be,
but stronger than death is the promise,
"My grace is sufficient for thee."

Then cleave to the Savior, cleave to him,
whatever the conflict may be.
Remember the soul-cheering promise,
"My grace is sufficient for thee."
—Fanny Crosby

Morning Prayer

Holy Spirit, come into my heart; by your power I journey to you, God: Grant me charity with fear.

Protect me, O Christ, from every evil thought; warm me with your sweet love, so that each burden may seem light to me.

My holy Father and my sweet Lord, help me always in all my endeavors, through the love of Christ. Amen.
—Catherine of Sienna

Daily Devotion—"Glory and Honor and Power"

2011-08-07T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.
—Rev. 4:11

Food for Thought

Precisely because God is not dependent on anyone or anything he has created, we are assured that nothing will keep him from being there for us.
—Michael Horton

Morning Prayer

O God, creation’s secret force,
thyself unmoved, all motion’s source,
who from the morn till evening ray
through all its changes guid'st the day:

Grant me, when earthly life is past,
the glorious sabbath that shall last;
that, by a holy death attained,
eternal glory may be gained.

O Father, what I ask be done,
through Jesus Christ, your only Son;
who, with the Holy Ghost and thee,
doth live and reign eternally. Amen.
—Ambrose of Milan (4th Century)

Daily Devotion—'Because He Loved Us First'

2011-08-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

We love because he loved us first.
—1 John 4:19

Food for Thought

Because the Lord wills not to lose what is his in us, out of his own kindness he still finds something to love. However much we may be sinners by our own fault, we nevertheless remain his creatures. However much we may have brought death upon ourselves, yet he has created us unto life. Thus he is moved by pure and freely given love of us to receive us into grace. Because he first loved us, he afterward reconciles us to himself.
—John Calvin, Institutes 2.16.3

Morning Prayer

You, great God, are love. Without you, nothing that is would be. And without your love, no one would know love. Help me in the strength of your Spirit to be more loving—toward you and toward my neighbors; in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"Grant Me Wisdom"

2011-08-05T00:01:00.000-07:00

Rodin's The Thinker, University of Louisville

Today's Verse

If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you.
—Jas. 1:5

Food for Thought

Wisdom comes of observation—the hearing ear and the seeing eye, and God made them both that you might become wise in your own time, wise in your own place. Observation means seeing things not simply because they are there, but because they are as they are becoming and as they can be. Observation means looking beyond the obvious in order to see what is obviously meant for you to see. The ear allows you to discern, almost as a dog does, pitches that are far beyond ordinary perception. That hearing gift, that listening spirit, is one of the means to wisdom. You will become as wise by listening and observing as you will by studying and experimenting, for one of the keys to effective scholarship is to see and to listen with care. That is God's intention for you—that you be made wise by the use of these tools, these gifts, and these resources.
—Peter Gomes, to members of a
Harvard incoming freshman clas

Morning Prayer

Grant me wisdom, O Most High, and understanding and strength. Grant me fortitude, O Magnificent, and humility to repent. Grant me light, O Most Merciful, to penetrate my heart. Grant me your Love, O Creator, for you are the greatest. Amen.
—trad. Muslim

Daily Devotion—'Cherished Emptiness'

2011-08-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.
—Rom. 8:30

Food for Thought

All too often we bemoan our imperfections rather than embrace them as part of the process in which we are brought to God. Cherished emptiness gives God space in which to work. We are pure capacity for God. Let us not, then, take our littleness lightly. It is a wonderful grace. It is a gift to receive. At the same time, let us not get trapped in the confines of our littleness, but keep pushing on to claim our greatness. Remind yourself often, "I am pure capacity for God; I can be more."
—Macrina Wiederkehr

Morning Prayer

Thank you God that you chose me. Thank you that you have called me. Thank you that you have restored me to a right relationship with you. And that you that, having been restored, I will one day enter into your glory. I open myself to you this day: Fill me with your word of grace; in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"Be Humble"

2011-08-03T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.
—Philip. 2:3

Food for Thought

More like the Master I would ever be,
more of his meekness, more humility;
more zeal to labor, more courage to be true,
more consecration for work he bids me do.

More like the Master I would live and grow;
more of his love to others I would show;
more self-denial, like his in Galilee,
more like the Master I long to ever be.
—Charles Gabriel

Morning Prayer

Take thou my heart, I would be thine alone;
take thou my heart, and make it all thine own.
Purge me from sin, O Lord, I now implore:
wash me and keep me—thine forevermore. Amen.
—Charles Gabriel

Daily Devotion—"The Harry Potters of the World"

2011-08-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

May God be merciful and bless us. May his face smile with favor on us.
—Ps. 67:1

Food for Thought

The Harry Potter books are wildly popular in our day and age. But there are some conservative Christians who condemn them, saying that we shouldn’t teach our kids about magic and wizardry and witchcraft. But when I think about my own reasons for enjoying these books, I think the magic is just "the icing on the cake." The basis of the stories and their true substance lies not in the fact that Harry and friends can perform magic, but in the fact that Harry was a nobody in the eyes of the world, but he was chosen for something great. Even Harry couldn’t accept his own chosenness. He was an orphan forced to live in a closet under the stairs in his aunt’s and uncle’s house, eating leftovers, and wearing his cousin’s cast-off clothing. But there was an entire world out there—one he didn’t even know existed—that smiled upon him, and thought he was the most important person alive.

John Calvin called the Harry Potters of the world The Broken Blessed—which was the title he gave to his second Beatitudes sermon. They are the ones the world views as nobodies, but are the very ones God has smiled upon, called out from the world, and chosen to make God’s love known in the world. The world may never listen. But that doesn’t make God’s smile any less real.
—SG

Morning Prayer

May seek your face this day, O God, and give me grace to desire nothing more than your smile. Forgive me for judging others according to human standards, and help me to understand that those who are frowned on by others are the very people you have called and chosen to be bearers of your loving word; in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Daily Devotion—'Till Our Soul Is Filled with Sweetness'

2011-08-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in him.
—Nahum 1:7

Food for Thought

How wonderful is the effect of a single verse of Scripture when the Spirit of God applies it to the soul. There is music to a miser in the jingling of his money bag. But what music can equal this: All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose? [Rom. 8:28] If you are in poverty, what melody lies in this: Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shall thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed? [Ps. 37:3] What power would come upon the soul to calm and quiet it, and make it ready for the hand of God, if we would grasp a single line of Scripture and suck the honey out of it till our soul is filled with sweetness.
—Charles Spurgeon

Morning Prayer

Almighty God, in you are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Open my eyes that I may see the wonders of your word; open my ears that I may hear what you would say to me today; open my lips that I may fully taste and know your goodness; and open my mind that I may clearly understand and freely choose the way of your wisdom; through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"God's Most Powerful Instrument"

2011-07-31T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

At the command of the Lord they would camp, and at the command of the Lord they would set out.
—Num. 9:23

Food for Thought

Prayer is God's most powerful instrument for organizing the entire church community toward God's own purpose; in it the community recognizes itself as an instrument of God's will, and accordingly organizes itself in active obedience. This is, therefore, the point of its major thrust, and the devil is more afraid of a thatched roof under which a congregation prays, than of a magnificent cathedral in which many masses are said.
—Dietrich Bonhoeffer, quoting Martin Luther

Morning Prayer

Thank you, Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits you have given us, and for all the pains and insults you have borne for us. O most merciful Redeemer, Friend, and Brother, may we know you more clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly, for your own sake. Amen.
—Richard of Chichester

Daily Devotion—"God Is Revealed in Creation"

2011-07-30T00:01:00.000-07:00

La Jolla Cove

Today's Verse

O Lord, our Lord, your majestic Name fills the earth!
—Ps. 8:1

Food for Thought

Since the earliest days of Christianity, there have been those who would place a wedge between the physical world and the spiritual realm, implying that the physical was inferior to—or even more evil than—the spiritual. And yet the scriptures plainly tell us not only that God created the physical world, but that God pronounced it good... and, indeed, that God is revealed to us in the entirety of creation. "The view that God has revealed himself through what he has made is as old as Genesis, interpreted through the poetry of the Psalms, widely attested in the prophets, confirmed by Jesus and the apostles, with the vision of the whole earth finally having its tongue loosed to sing God's praise."

—quote from Michael Horton, The Christian Faith

Morning Prayer

O Lord, our Lord, your majestic Name fills the earth! Give me grace this day to take nothing you have made for granted, but to thank you for all the blessings which surround me: for the ground I stand on, the air I breathe, the water I drink; for the people I encounter, the creatures which surround me, the food I eat, and the shelter that protects me from the elements. In all things, help me to join in the song of creation which exalts you as Maker and Sustainer, in Jesus' Name. Amen.
—based on Ps. 8:1

Daily Devotion—"Judgment"

2011-07-29T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.
—Eccl. 12:14

Food for Thought

Most modern-day Christians find talk of judgment frightening. Even Jesus' parables, such as the one about the weeds and the wheat [Matt 13:24-30], give us pause: The wheat is gathered and preserved; the weeds are destroyed. Yet is is reassuring that nowhere in this parable is there "the slightest justification for our being judgmental of others." In fact, one of the main points of this parable is that we are not capable of such judgment.

"What I found in the story was a sense that God, knowing us better than we know ourselves, also recognizes that we are incapable of separating the wheat from the weeds in our lives. Any parent, watching a child grow up, can see some weeds in the wheat. And while we try to teach a child right from wrong, when it comes to spotting those weeds and uprooting them, we can't be perfect ourselves and can't expect others to be. As the parable says, in pulling up the weeds, we risk pulling up good wheat along with them."
—see Kathleen Norris, Judgment, Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith

Morning Prayer

I am your son/daughter, O God. Help me to accept your guidance and to trust in your judgment. And as I come to trust in you more and more, help me to let go of the need to judge those around me. They, too, are your children. Give me grace to love and discern, not to judge; in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"The Nature of the Church"

2011-07-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

The surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.
—2 Kings 19:30

Food for Thought

Throughout the Bible, we find examples of how the faithful blend in with the culture around them and either lose or surrender their unique status as God's people. "Yet God always reserves a remnant, called out of the world, to belong to him. The Word creates the church, and where the Word is received, proclaimed, taught, and applied in baptism and Eucharist, the church continues to exist and grow in the world." This idea of the remnant reminds us that the church's origins lie in God, and prevents us from equating church with either an historical organization or a particular kind of church government. "The church's status as church is always questionable," because it exists in both time and eternity, as an institution from past human history and as a creation from God's future, sustained "by the Spirit working through the Word."
—based on Michael Horton, The Christian Faith

Morning Prayer

Father, I lift up to you my church this day. Give it deep roots of faith, that we may be spiritually nourished. May it bear the fruit not of empty numbers, but of hopefulness and love. And though I be but a twig grafted onto one of its branches, may I be nourished in your word through my communion with you and with my brothers and sisters in Christ; for it is in his Name I pray. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"On Infant Baptism"

2011-07-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones.
—Matt. 18:10

Food for Thought

If it was right for little children to be brought to Christ, why not also to be received in baptism, the symbol of our communion with Christ? Why should the church not receive into her bosom those whom Christ received into his? How unjust we should be to drive away those whom he willingly received!
—Francis Turretin

Morning Prayer

Just as you received and blessed the little children who were brought to you, O Christ, may my church receive, bless, and nurture them. Through baptism, they are children of the covenant. And through the faithful teaching of their elders and by the invisible work of the Holy Spirit, may they be delivered to a saving faith in God. I pray this in your Name. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"As One Unknown"

2011-07-26T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verses

Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus: Though he was in the form of God, he did not consider being equal with God something to exploit. But he emptied himself by taking the form of a slave and by becoming like human beings.
—Philip. 2:5-7

Food for Thought

Christ comes to us as one unknown, without a name, as of old by the lakeshore he came to those who knew him not. He speaks to us the same word: "Follow thou me," and sets us to the tasks which he has to fulfill for our time. He commands. And to those who obey him, whether they be wise or simple, he will reveal himself in the toils, the conflicts, the sufferings which they shall pass through in his fellowship, and as an ineffable mystery they shall learn in their own experience who he is.
—Albert Schweitzer

Morning Prayer

Jesus, thou joy of loving hearts,
thou fount of life, thou light of light,
greater than pleasure earth imparts,
thy love is true and pure delight.

O Jesus, ever with us stay;
make all our moments calm and bright;
banish the sin of earth, we pray;
shed o'er the world thy holy light. Amen.
—12th century Latin hymn

Daily Devotion—"The Church at Work"

2011-07-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

The Lord stirred up... the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God.
—Haggai 1:14

Food for Thought

Church is other people, a worshiping community. The worship, or praise of God, does not take place only when people gather on Sunday morning, but when they gather to paint the house of an elderly shut-in, when they visit someone in the hospital or console the bereaved, when the Sunday school kids sing Christmas carols at the nursing home. If a church has life, it's 'programs' are not just activity, but worship.
—Kathleen Norris, Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith

Morning Prayer

Lord, I would be thy instrument. I have nothing to offer except the desire to be a worker in thy harvest. But since thou hast chosen the weak things of this world and the things which are not, wilt thou not also choose me to be thy servant? I cannot of myself speak thy message. But I pray that thou wilt grant me not to speak my own words but thy Word, through which others may come to know and love thee.

Give me courage to confess the Name of Jesus Christ before the world. Help me to care for others, to act as a neighbor to them and to share with them what thou hast given to me. I do not ask to see the results of my work. I would only know that thou art using me in thy work of salvation and that thy kingdom is coming. Send me, Lord, as a witness of the good news of thy love made known in Jesus Christ. Amen.
—W.A. Visser't Hooft (alt.)

Daily Devotion—"Testing the Spirits"

2011-07-24T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Dear friends, don’t believe every spirit. Test the spirits to see if they are from God because many false prophets have gone into the world.
—1 John 4:1

Food for Thought

When Jesus tells us not to judge so that we won’t be judged, I think he meant it. And when we close off the world of judgment to ourselves, the world of discernment opens up. While judging is bad, discerning is good.

This is what the Apostle John was telling us to do. Discern. I do not need to judge the person who is trying to sell me a new refrigerator. But I can try to discern whether or not this refrigerator is the one I need—or even if the salesperson is telling me the truth! I don’t have to judge politicians as bad people or good people, but I need to discern whether or not I think their platform is what I think is best for my community or my country. I don’t even have to judge another religion as being good or bad. But I need to discern whether or not God is speaking truth to me through its teachings.

It is impossible to judge humbly. But we can go about a discernment process with all humility. And the results are not only just as useful, but they’re even better. If I’ve truly asked the Holy Spirit to help me discern, then I have arrived at a conclusion, but I haven’t lost sight of the other person’s humanity. Just because I don’t want to buy your refrigerator does not mean that I don’t like you. Just because I don’t vote for you doesn’t mean that I see you as less patriotic or not as good a Christian. And just because I don’t discern the truth of your religion for my own life does not mean that I cannot join forces with you to do good in the world.
—SG

Morning Prayer

Give me the gift of discernment, dear God. Guide me when I listen for your word and seek your Spirit in others. May I explore the truth without disrespecting any of your children; in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Daily Devotion—'The Name Says So'

2011-07-23T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

O Lord our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but we acknowledge your Name alone.
—Isa. 26:13

Food for Thought

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, Jesus began with a Name for God, and then with an attitude toward the Name: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name." By giving God a relational Name—indeed a family Name—Jesus indicated the nature of our approach to God. God is a Person and is personal; the Name says so. God is not to be addressed as the end of an argument, but as One with whom we dare to claim relationship.
—J. Ellsworth Kalas, The 10 Commandments from the Back Side (alt.)

Morning Prayer

Thank you, God, that you have called me by name. Help me to use your Name properly, with respect and honor. May I live in the power of your Name. Amen.
—J. Ellsworth Kalas, The 10 Commandments from the Back Side (alt.)

Daily Devotion—"All That I Am"

2011-07-22T00:01:00.035-07:00

Today's Verse

Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
—Luke 1:46-47

Food for Thought

Because of Christ's death and resurrection, we have been delivered from a bondage greater than Egypt's and from being swallowed by more foreboding waters than the Red Sea.
—Michael Horton, The Christian Faith [alt.]

Morning Prayer

All that I am, all that I have,
I lay them down before you, O Lord;
all my regrets, all my acclaim,
the joy and the pain, I'm making them yours.

Things in the past, things yet unseen,
wishes and dreams that are yet to come true;
all of my hopes, all of my plans,
my heart and my hands are lifted to you.

Lord, I offer my life to you,
everything I've been through, use it for your glory,
Lord, I offer my days to you,
lifting my praise to you as a pleasing sacrifice.
Lord, I offer you my life. Amen.
—Claire Cloninger & Don Moen

Daily Devotion—"A Broad Place"

2011-07-21T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.
—Ps. 118:5

Food for Thought

Broad spaces are difficult places to defend. They’re far too welcoming of others, and sometimes those others aren’t like me. So this freedom to move about (not just my freedom, but theirs!) does not always seem to be good news. Though I don’t like being confined, I have to admit that confined spaces are often safe spaces. Just as the Israelites found the freedom of the wilderness threatening, so Christians are often challenged by the broad place into which God has delivered us.

Yet this is precisely the kind of freedom God has promised us. It’s a broad freedom in which we are guided not by a rulebook and not by an economic index, but by the very Spirit of God. God surrounds us to defend us; God is before us to guide us; and God is within us to assure us of forgiveness and new life. Let us never fear calling on God for deliverance, for the broad place of the Spirit is the place of transformation.
—SG

Morning Prayer

In the prison of doubt and in the closet of fear, thank you, Lord, for the wide open spaces of your transforming power. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"Forgiveness"

2011-07-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me.
—Jer. 33:8

Food for Thought

Forgiveness is giving up all hope of having had a better past.
—Anne Lamott

Morning Prayer

Thank you, God, both for giving me a past and for forgiving my past misdeeds. Thank you that my life is subject both to your sovereign will and your sovereign grace. I cannot hope to improve on what is behind me. But, through the love of your Son and the power of your Spirit, I have a future filled with hope. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"We Are God's Children"

2011-07-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

The same Spirit agrees with our spirit, that we are God’s children.
—Rom. 8:16

Food for Thought

What Paul means is that the testimony of the Spirit of God is so great, that when he is our guide and teacher, our spirit is assured that God has adopted us. For without the Spirit's testimony, our mind could not conceive of this assurance. When the Spirit testifies to us that we are the children of God, he at the same time pours into our hearts such confidence, that we venture to call God our Father. We do not pray rightly to God as Father unless we are persuaded in our hearts to do so. It is not without reason, then, that Paul makes the habit of prayer a test of whether or not someone has embraced the promise of grace.

—John Calvin (adapted)

Morning Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you that you have both taught me a prayer and taught me how to pray. And may my desire to do as you taught assure me that because you are my Teacher, Brother, and Sovereign, your Father is my Father, both now and for all eternity. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"An Instrument of Peace"

2011-07-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

When the ways of people please the Lord, he causes even their enemies to be at peace with them.
—Prov. 16:7

Food for Thought

The way to get peace and safety in evil times is not to comply with enemies, but to comply with God, who holds the hearts of all people in his hands, as he holds rivers and oceans.
—Thomas Manton (alt.)

Morning Prayer

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury,pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying
that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
—attributed to Francis of Assisi

Daily Devotion—"Sufficient Security"

2011-07-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

They will fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you.
—Jer. 1:19

Food for Thought

God's presence with his messengers is a guard, and a safeguard, all-sufficient against any opposition whatsoever. Earthly princes and sovereigns do not usually accompany those whom they send as ambassadors, but God always goes along with those whom he sends, and will, by his powerful presence, protect and defend them against opposition, at all times and in all places, when all others fail and forsake us. Christ's presence is sufficient security, for if he be with us, who can be against us?
—Thomas Brooks (alt.)

Morning Prayer

O God, come to me, I pray, with the resources of your power, that I may be strong within. I ask not for an easy life, but for adequacy. I ask not to be freed from storms, but to build my house on rock that will not fail. I pray not for a smooth sea, but for a stout ship, a good compass, and a strong heart; in the Name of him who faced enmity and death without flinching, your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
—Harry Emerson Fosdick (alt.)

Daily Devotion—"Once an Alien, Now a Citizen"

2011-07-16T00:01:00.001-07:00

Today's Verse

So now you are no longer strangers and aliens. Rather, you are fellow citizens with God’s people, and you belong to God’s household.
—Eph. 2:19

Food for Thought

You, my beloved, once an alien, are now a citizen of heaven: once a stranger, are now brought home to the family of God. You have owned my Lord as your Lord, my people as your people. Under Jesus the Messiah we are one. Mutually embraced in the everlasting arms, I embrace you in mine: your sorrows shall be my sorrows, and your joys are my joys. Joint debtors to the favor of God and the love of Jesus, we shall jointly suffer with him, that we may jointly reign with him. Let us, then, renew our strength, remember our Sovereign, and hold fast our boasted hop unshaken to the end.
—Alexander Campbell

Morning Prayer

Once I was a stranger to you, O God, but now I am a full citizen of your realm, a member of your family. Forgive me when I judge others based on their birthplace or circumstances. Help me to embrace the stranger just as you have embraced me, through Jesus Christ your Son. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"Pursuing Peace"

2011-07-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
—Hebrews 12:14

Food for Thought

Peace—that is, the things which make for peace, for the quiet and order of individuals, of families, of neighborhoods, and of nations—is a great blessing; and, where principle is not sacrificed, it is never purchased at too great a cost. The great means of seeking and promoting peace are uprightness, kindness, forbearance, forgiveness, gentleness, quietness. We are at liberty—in some cases we are bound—to sacrifice our own rights for the sake of peace. We are to pursue peace, if she seems to flee from us, until the further pursuit would involve faithlessness or an evil conscience.
—William S. Plumer (alt.)

Morning Prayer

Help me to pursue peace, Lord. May the people I encounter this day perceive in me your kindness, your gentleness, your love, and your understanding. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"Renewed Every Morning"

2011-07-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Certainly the faithful love of the Lord hasn’t ended; certainly God’s compassion isn’t through! They are renewed every morning. Great is your faithfulness. .
—Lam. 3:22-23

Food for Thought

Get over it.

If it is your past that is dragging you down, that you are lugging in all those suitcases, get over it. Get over your past failures and frustrations; get over also your past victories and glories. Put those trophies in the closet. Put those citations in the desk drawer. Forget all the things that have been so vital to you in the past, and get on with it. The past is both a blessing and a burden. You are no longer what you were. Put away your past triumphs and defeats. Do not try to re-create your old world...

Be prepared, be exposed to encounter what God has in store for you here in this place, now. Listen, watch, wait for moments of revelation and discovery, and, as for the burden of your past, whatever it is, get over it.
—Peter Gomes

Morning Prayer

I thank you for all that you have done for me, O God, and for all that has made me what I am. In your Providence, you have brought me to this day. Help me to live it as a new creation in Jesus my Lord. Because of the resurrection, the life that I live is not dependent upon who I was, but is part of the risen life of Christ, in whose Name I pray. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"The Promise"

2011-07-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

The one who is calling you is faithful and will do this.
—1 Thess. 5:24

Food for Thought

View the present through the promise,
Christ will come again.
Trust despite the deepening darkness,
Christ will come again.
Lift the world above its grieving
through your watching and believing
in the hope past hope's conceiving:
Christ will come again.

Probe the present with the promise,
Christ will come again.
Let your daily actions witness,
Christ will come again.
Let your loving and your giving
and your justice and forgiving
be a sign to all the living:
Christ will come again.

Match the present to the promise,
Christ will come again.
Make this hope your guiding premise,
Christ will come again.
Pattern all your calculating
and the world you are creating
to the advent you are waiting:
Christ will come again.
—Thomas Troeger

Morning Prayer

God of peace, help me to be completely dedicated to you; and keep my spirit, soul, and body intact and blameless at the coming of my Lord Jesus Christ. I pray this in his Name. Amen.
—based on 1 Thess. 5:23

Daily Devotion—"An Excellent Speech of Christ"

2011-07-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Jesus said to them, “When I sent you out without a purse, bag, or sandals, did you lack anything?”

They said, “No, not a thing.”
—Luke 22:35

Food for Thought

Labor for faith, that you may overcome the world. It was an excellent speech of Christ when he sent forth his disciples, 'Did you lack anything?' and they said, 'Nothing at all.'

Labor therefore for faith to rely on the promise; for provision, protection, and all things needful. If God be our shepherd, we are sure to lack nothing.
—Richard Sibbes

Morning Prayer

Thank you, O Christ, that I can rely on you. Wherever you send me in the day to come, remind me that you are with me, and that I will have all that is needed for every situation. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"My Only Comfort"

2011-07-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
—Rom. 8:1

Food for Thought

Q. What is your only comfort in life and in death?

A. That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. Christ has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.
—Heidelberg Catechism

Morning Prayer

Thank you, Lord, that I am yours and you are mine. You give me life and preserve it, and in your Son, nothing can snatch me from your loving hand. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"Thou Art the Potter"

2011-07-10T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

You have everything backward! Should the potter be thought of as clay? Should what is made say of its maker, “He didn’t make me? Should what is shaped” say of the one who shaped it, “He doesn’t understand”?
—Isa. 29:16

Food for Thought

We should be simpler in our praying, spending as much time in silence as in speaking. We should bring our needs to God, but not instruct God in how to meet those needs. Opening up our lives to all of God's possibilities isn't giving up—far from it! When we cease telling God how to answer our prayers, the number of possible answers begins to multiply beyond anything our human minds might imagine on their own.

Morning Prayer

Have thine own way, Lord; have thine own way!
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after thy will,
while I am waiting, yielded and still. Amen.
—Adelaide Pollard

Daily Devotion—"Suffering What Others Dare Not"

2011-07-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

Protestant Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani,
sentenced to death in Iran for "apostasy"

Today's Verse

Then the Name of our Lord Jesus will be honored by you, and you will be honored by him, consistent with the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
—2 Thess. 1:12

Food for Thought

Christians who live up to their principles demonstrate that their religion produces the most noble and excellent spirits in the world—indeed, divine spirits. They are above all dangers, because their greatest interests are secured elsewhere. Their hearts are enlarged to all that is excellent, and they can do and suffer that which others dare not.
—Thomas Manton (alt.)

Morning Prayer

Forgive me, God, for neglecting the faith of my forebears, and for taking for granted the Name for which others still risk their lives. Help me to live fearlessly in you, and may my life be a beacon to the hopeless and a sign of love to the forgotten; in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"The Journey Is Worth the Trouble"

2011-07-08T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Return the joy of your salvation to me and sustain me with a willing spirit.
—Ps. 51:12

Food for Thought

When God took the children of Israel out of slavery, out of Egypt, and through the Red Sea on their way to the promised land, for a short while they were very grateful and happy. Soon, however, they began to complain and to fuss, and some even wished that they were back in Egypt, where they had had regular meals. The wisdom of that transforming moment was this: God has not brought you this far to abandon you now. The essence of faith is that knowledge. You have been brought here for a great purpose; you have been given eyes and ears—as gifts of God—with which to observe and see, with which to seek wisdom and to gain happiness. Using those gifts, using these resources, and using God's abundant grace, which has saved you so far and will preserve you for a great day to come, you will find that the journey is worth all of the trouble.
—Peter Gomes

Morning Prayer

O from your presence cast me not,
your face no more to see;
your Holy Spirit and your grace
take not away from me.
Restore me to salvation's joy,
my willing heart uphold;
then others shall be turned to you
when I your ways unfold. Amen.
—from Ps. 51, based on the 1912 Psalter

Daily Devotion—"Received As Friends"

2011-07-07T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

We take pride in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, the one through whom we now have a restored relationship with God.
—Rom. 5:11

Food for Thought

When you are reconciled to God, you may look to be received as friends; being adopted in Christ, you may look for a son's or daughter's inheritance. If God would pardon your sins, and take you with all your faults, place a higher priority on eternal life, and use your strength in that direction. You will have many ups and downs in the world. But you may bear it with patience, for heaven will pay for all.
—Thomas Manton (alt.)

Morning Prayer

I take pride in so many things, dear God, and too often neglect to give you the glory. Forgive my selfishness and vanity, and help me to look only to Christ for my Savior, and to your grace as my validation. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"Joyful, Joyful"

2011-07-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

The Lord had made them joyful.
—Ezra 6:22

Food for Thought

Lord, we hear your word with gladness;
you have spoken—we rejoice:
words of love and life and freedom—
help us make their truth our choice!
Now in holy celebration
for your word we worship you;
spoken, written, known in Jesus,
ours today to prove anew.

You have spoken, yours the fullness,
ours the wealth of this your word.
Debtors, then, as living letters
we must make your gospel heard!
By your Spirit's power transform us;
shed your saving light abroad
till our lives by love in action
show our world the truth of God.
—Margaret Clarkson

Morning Prayer

Joyful, joyful, I adore you,
God of glory, God of love;
hearts unfold like flowers before you,
opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness,
drive the storms of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness,
fill me with the light of day. Amen.
—Henry van Dyke, alt.

Daily Devotion—"Christ Our Refuge"

2011-07-05T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Your faithful love is priceless, God! Humanity finds refuge in the shadow of your wings.
—Ps. 36:7

Food for Thought

In proportion to the number of professed Christians who obey the gospel by judging for themselves, so will be the happiness of the church, and the hastening on of the kingdom of Christ. No one is a Christian that receives their doctrine from a prelate, priest, or minister, without prayerfully comparing it with the written word.

O mortal, take not the water of life as doled out by other people; go to the river for yourself—survey yourself as reflected in those crystal streams. Christ does not say to the heavy-laden, sin-burdened soul, Go to the church; but, Come unto me, and find rest. Blessed is the one who loves the river of water unpolluted by human devices, forms, or ceremonies; who flies to the open bosom of Christ, and finds refuge from every storm.
—John Bunyan (alt.)

Morning Prayer

Oh, bring me nearer, nearer still,
that thine own peace my soul may fill,
and I may rest in thy sweet will;
Lord, draw me close to thee.

Here, Lord, I would forever bide,
and never wander from thy side;
beneath thy wing do thou me hide,
and draw me close to thee. Amen.
—Martha Cook

Daily Devotion—"God's Name"

2011-07-03T21:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

I will make known my holy Name among my people Israel. They will never again degrade my holy Name, and the nations will know that I, the Lord, am holy in Israel.
—Ezek. 39:7

Food for Thought

John Milton, at times the most eloquent and perceptive commentator on Scripture, imagines in Paradise Lost a scene at the naming of the animals. Adam asks God by what name he may address God, who 'surpassest far my naming,' so that he may rightly adore him. In Milton's account, Adam's question is left unanswered.

But in truth, wonder of grace, we are given a Name; indeed, several. And with those names, we enter into some measure of the dignity, the majesty, the beauty, and the power of the One named. This is why the Name should never be wasted, whether by profane or casual use, or by dreadful neglect. The commandment not to take God's name in vain is God's grand Yes—the divine invitation to enter into the name of God, and of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
—J. Ellsworth Kalas (alt.)

Morning Prayer

Thank you, dear God, that you have called me by name. Help me to use your Name properly, with respect and honor, and may I live in its power; in Jesus' Name. Amen.
—after J. Ellsworth Kalas

Daily Devotion—"Life in God's Presence"

2011-07-02T21:01:00.001-07:00

Today's Verse

Fill us full every morning with your faithful love so we can rejoice and celebrate our whole life long.
—Ps. 90:14

Food for Thought

When we get a vision of the God of whom Jesus speaks we will want fellowship with this one who combines the best qualities of a good father and a good mother. We are children. There is no question about Abba's receiving us. All we need to do is acknowledge our childishness and come. This is the reason why the broken and simple, the poor in spirit, the anxiety-ridden, the mourning, the meek, the unsatisfied and unfulfilled, the hungry and thirsty, the persecuted and ridiculed find it so easy to turn to the God Jesus reveals. Those who are doing quite well on their own and think that they have life securely within their grasp don't like to admit their ultimate helplessness and come as children before Abba. They don't feel the need of it.
—Morton Kelsey

Morning Prayer

O God, you invite me to spend each day with you. Help me this morning to make your word my home, that I may follow where you lead me, through Jesus my Lord. Amen.
—after A Guide to Prayer for All God's People

Daily Devotion—"Redeem My Life"

2011-07-02T00:01:00.004-07:00

Today's Verse

My Lord! Plead my desperate case; redeem my life.
—Lam. 3:58

Food for Thought

Humility and lowliness of spirit qualify us for friendly communion and intercourse with God in Christ. Pride makes God our enemy. Our happiness here and hereafter depends on our friendly intercourse with heaven. If we have not that, nothing can make up our loss. If we have that, nothing can make us miserable. "If God be for us, who can be against us?" [Rom. 8:31]

Now, who are they whom God is for, but the humble and lowly? They who being in Christ are so made like him. He blesses them, and declares them the heirs to the crown of glory: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" [Matt. 5:3]. He will look to them, be their condition ever so low. He will have respect to them, however they be despised: "Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect to the lowly; but the proud he knoweth afar off" [Ps. 138:6]. He will dwell with them, however poorly they dwell. He will certainly exalt them in due time, however low they lie.
—Thomas Boston

Morning Prayer

Lift me up, O God, when I am low; and when I feel superior, cut me down to size. Redeem my life, place me in the position to look all my brothers and sisters eye-to-eye, whether in the eyes of the world they be the least or the greatest among us; in Jesus' Name. Amen

Daily Devotion—"Christ Set the Example"

2011-07-01T00:01:00.001-07:00

Today's Verse

Jesus went up onto a mountain by himself to pray... and he was alone.
—Matt. 14:23

Food for Thought

Shall we think ourselves in no need of that help to which Christ would himself submit? Those who proudly think themselves above prayer should remember Christ had no need to pray as we have—after all, he had the fullness of the Godhead dwelling in him bodily—yet he was not above prayer. And even if he had need of prayer, he had no need to go and pray alone—his affections always served, and he was not pestered with any distraction, and all places and companies were alike to him—and yet he would depart into a solitary place that he might bè private with God.

So the pattern of Christ is very encouraging; for whatever Christ did, he sanctified in that respect—his steps in every duty leave a blessing:

As Christ sanctified baptism by being baptized himself, and made the water of baptism to be saving and comfortable for us;
And the Lord's supper, by being a guest himself, and eating himself at his own table,
So he sanctified private prayer—when he prayed, a virtue went out from him, he left a strength to enable us to pray.
And it is encouraging in this respect, because he hath experienced this duty. He knows how soon human strength is spent and put to it, for he himself hath been wrestling with God in prayer with all his might. His submitting to these duties gave him compassion, for he knows the heart of a person wrestling with God in all earnestness; therefore he helps us in these agonies of spirit.

Again, his praying is an encouragement against our imperfections. Christians, when we are alone with God, and our hearts are as heavy as a log or a stone, what a comfort it is to think Christ himself prayed earnestly, and was once alone wrestling with God in human nature! And when the enemy came to attack him, he was alone, striving with God in prayer. He takes all occasions for conversation with God; and if you have the Spirit, you will do likewise.
—Thomas Manton, Exposition on the Lord's Prayer, alt.

Morning Prayer

Come, O thou Traveler Unknown,
whom still I hold, but cannot see!
My company before is gone,
and I am left alone with thee;
with thee all night I mean to stay,
and wrestle till the break of day.

I need not tell thee who I am,
my misery and sin declare;
thyself hast called me by my name:
Look on thy hands, and read it there;
but who, I ask thee, who art thou?
Tell me thy Name, and tell me now.

My strength is gone, my nature dies,
I sink beneath thy weighty hand,
faint to revive, and fall to rise;
I fall, and yet by faith I stand;
I stand and will not let thee go
till I thy Name, thy nature know.

’Tis Love! ’tis Love! Thou diedst for me!
I hear thy whisper in my heart;
the morning breaks, the shadows flee,
pure, universal love thou art;
to me, to all, thy mercies move;
thy nature and thy Name is Love.

My prayer hath power with God; the grace
unspeakable I now receive;
through faith I see thee face to face,
I see thee face to face, and live!
In vain I have not wept and strove;
thy nature and thy Name is Love.
—Charles Wesley

Daily Devotion—"Glory to God in the Church"

2011-06-30T00:01:00.001-07:00

Today's Verse

Glory to God, who is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us; glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus for all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
—Eph. 3:20-21

Food for Thought

Far down the ages now,
her journey well nigh done,
the pilgrim church pursues her way,
and longs to reach her crown.

No wider is the gate,
no broader is the way,
no smoother is the ancient path
that leads to light and day.

Thus onward still we press,
through evil and through good,
through pain, or poverty, or want,
through peril or through blood.

Still faithful to our God,
and to our Captain true,
we follow where he leads the way,
the kingdom still in view.
—Horatio Bonar

Morning Prayer

Glory to you, O God, for, by your power at work within me, you are able to accomplish more than I that could ask or imagine. May I never fail to glorify you in your church, in the Name of Jesus Christ, my whole life long. Amen.

—Eph. 3:20-21, paraphrase

Daily Devotion—"God Is Our Portion"

2011-06-29T00:01:00.001-07:00

Today's Verse

You are all I have in the land of the living.
—from Ps. 142:5

Food for Thought

God is a present portion, a portion in hand, a portion in possession. Scriptures such as Ps. 142:5 demonstrate that God is a portion in present possession, and not a portion on reserve. The psalmist does not say, You will be my portion in the world to come, but rather ...all I have in the land of the living.

Look, as a bird in the hand is worth two—nay, ten—in the bush, so a portion in possession is worth two—nay ten—on reserve. Now, God is a portion in present possession, and that speaks out the excellency of the saints' portion. As Plutarch said of the Scythians, that although they had no music nor vines among them, yet, as a better thing, they had gods, so I may say, though the saints have neither riches, nor any other earthly portion among them, yet, as a better thing, they have God as their present portion; and what can they desire more?
—Thomas Brooks, alt.

Morning Prayer

Jesus, merciful and mild,
lead me as a helpless child:
On no other arm but thine
would my weary soul recline.
Thou art ready to forgive,
thou canst bid the sinner live;
guide the wanderer, day by day,
in the straight and narrow way.

Thou canst fit me by thy grace
for the heavenly dwelling place;
all thy promises are sure,
ever shall thy love endure;
then what more could I desire,
how to greater bliss aspire?
All I need, in thee I see;
thou art all in all to me.
—Thomas Hastings

Daily Devotion—"The Most Princely Gift"

2011-06-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I give to you not as the world gives. Don’t be troubled or afraid.
—John 14:27

Food for Thought

Christ gives peace with God, and peace with conscience, and peace with creation. The Hebrews, when they wished all happiness to any, used but this one word, Peace be with you; and the ancients were wont to paint peace in the form of a woman, with a horn of plenty in her hand, representing all blessings. Ask any soul that has been under terrors of conscience, and they will tell you that, of all gifts, inward peace is the most princely.
—Thomas Brooks, alt.

Morning Prayer

They cast their nets in Galilee,
just off the hills of brown—
such happy, simple fisherfolk,
before your Son came down—
contented, peaceful fishermen,
before they ever knew
the peace of God that filled their hearts
brimful, and broke them too:

Young John who trimmed the flapping sail,
homeless in Patmos died;
Peter, who hauled the teeming net,
head-down was crucified.
Your peace, O God, it is no peace,
but strife closed in the sod;
and yet, I pray for but one thing—
your marvelous peace, O God. Amen.
—William Alexander Percy, alt.

Daily Devotion—"Christ's Care & Keeping"

2011-06-27T00:01:00.004-07:00

Today's Verse

God guards the lives of his faithful ones.
—from Ps. 97:10

Food for Thought

Those whom Christ has illumined with the knowledge of his Name and has introduced into the bosom of his church, he is said to receive into his care and keeping. All whom he receives, the Father is said to have entrusted and committed to him to keep unto eternal life.

What would we have? Christ proclaims aloud that he has taken under his protection all whom the Father wishes to be saved. Therefore, if we desire to know whether God cares for our salvation, let us inquire whether he has entrusted us to Christ, whom he has established as the sole Savior of all his people.

If we still doubt whether we have been received by Christ into his care and protection, he meets that doubt when he willingly offers himself as shepherd, and declares that we shall be numbered among his flock if we hear his voice.

Let us therefore embrace Christ, who is graciously offered to us, and comes to meet us. He will reckon us in his flock and enclose us in his fold.
—John Calvin, Institutes, 3.24. 6

Morning Prayer

I am thine, O Lord, I have heard thy voice,
and it told thy love to me;
but I long to rise in the arms of faith
and be closer drawn to thee.

Draw me nearer, nearer blessèd Lord,
to the cross where thou hast died.
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessèd Lord,
to thy precious, bleeding side. Amen.
—Fanny Crosby

Daily Devotion—"Mutual Confession"

2011-06-26T00:01:00.001-07:00

Today's Verse

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous person is powerful in what it can achieve.
—James 5:16

Food for Thought

Let us take the apostle's view, which is simple and open: Namely, that we should lay our infirmities on one another's breasts, to receive among ourselves mutual counsel, mutual compassion, and mutual consolation. Then, as we are aware of our brothers' and sisters' infirmities, let us pray to God for these.
—John Calvin, Institutes 3.4.6 (alt.)

Morning Prayer

Thank you, God, for my sisters and brothers in Christ. As you lay it upon my heart to pray for them and to forgive them their faults, so lay it upon my heart to ask them for their prayers and to receive their forgiveness as well; in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"Jesus and the Father Are One"

2011-06-25T00:01:00.001-07:00

Today's Verse

Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been with you all this time? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
—from John 14:9

Food for Thought

The fulness of the Godhead is in Christ. The tent of meeting between God and the sinner is the flesh of Christ; in him they have the enjoyment of God as their God. Taking Christ by faith, God is theirs, for he and the Father are one: thus in Christ they are complete. In him, their desires are met, for having God as their God, they have all. And thus the soul may feed on all the perfections of God: on his power, as theirs, to protect them; his wisdom, as theirs, to guide them; on his word and all the promises of it, which are theirs. Here there is both plenty and variety.
—Thomas Boston

Morning Prayer

"We would see Jesus"—
show us thy loving face;
draw us, dear Lord, to thee,
close in thy fond embrace.

"We would see Jesus"—
let us thy glory see;
shine with a brighter ray,
bidding the darkness flee.

"We would see Jesus"—
nothing of earthly din
coming, O Lord, between,
nothing of pride or sin.

Nothing between, dear Jesus,
nothing between;
O come in love so near us,
nothing between, nothing between.
—Anzentia Chapman

Daily Devotion—"Rise Before the Sun"

2011-06-24T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the entire earth, to strengthen those whose hearts are true to him.
—from 2 Chron. 16:9

Food for Thought

When first thy eyes unveil, give thy soul leave
to do the like; our bodies but forerun
the spirit's duty; true hearts spread and heave
unto their God, as flowers do to the sun:
Give him thy first thoughts, then, so shalt thou keep
him company all day, and in him sleep.

Yet never sleep the sun up; prayer should
dawn with the day, there are set awful hours
'twixt heaven and us; the manna was not good
after sun-rising, for day sullies flowers.
Rise up before the sun; sleep doth sins glut,
and heaven's gate opens when the world's is shut.

Walk with thy fellow creatures; note the hush
and whisperings amongst them. Not a spring
or leaf but hath his morning hymn; each bush
and oak doth know I Am—canst thou not sing?
O leave thy cares and follies! Go this way,
and thou art sure to prosper all the day.
—Henry Vaughan, 1631-1695

Morning Prayer

O God, who hast been the refuge of my forebears through many generations,  be my refuge today in every time and circumstance of need.  Be my guide through all that is doubtful.  Be my guard against all that threatens my spirit’s welfare.  Be my strength in time of testing. Gladden my heart with thy peace;  through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.
—John Baillie, A Diary of Private Prayer (alt.)

Daily Devotion—"Return to Me"

2011-06-23T00:01:00.002-07:00

Today's Verse

Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you.
—Zech. 1:3

Food for Thought

The longest, most arduous trip in the world is often the journey from the head to the heart. Until that round trip is completed, we remain at war with ourselves. And, of course, those at war with themselves are apt to make casualties of others, including friends and loved ones.
—William Sloane Coffin

Morning Prayer

Heal my heart, O God, and restore me to your path. Be with me in joy and in sorrow, and surround me with your love. Revive in me the hope of your salvation; in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"No Other Name"

2011-06-21T21:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Salvation can be found in no one else. Throughout the whole world, no other name has been given among humans through which we must be saved.
—Acts 4:12

Food for Thought

As Luther once said, "I have no other name than sinner," let us confess with Peter that there is no other name through which a sinner can be saved than that of Jesus Christ.

Morning Prayer

Eternal God, you gave to your incarnate Son the holy Name of Jesus to be the sign of our salvation: Plant in every heart, I pray, the love of him who is the Savior of the world, my Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
—trad. Anglican (alt.)

Daily Devotion—"Save Your People"

2011-06-21T00:01:00.002-07:00

Today's Verse

Save your people, God! Bless your possession! Shepherd them and carry them for all time!
—Ps. 28:9

Food for Thought

This verse is a prayer for the church militant, written in short words, but full of weighty meaning. We must pray for the whole church, and not for ourselves alone.

"Save thy people." Deliver them from their enemies, preserve them from their sins, help them in their troubles, rescue them from their temptations, and ward off from them every ill.

There is a plea hidden in the expression, "thy people;" for it may be safely concluded that God's interest in the church, as his own portion, will lead him to guard it from destruction.

"Bless thine inheritance." Grant positive blessings, peace, plenty, prosperity, happiness; make all thy dearly-purchased and precious heritage to be comforted by thy Spirit. Revive, refresh, enlarge and sanctify thy church.

"Feed them also." Be a shepherd to thy flock, let their bodily and spiritual wants be plentifully supplied. By thy word, and ordinances, direct, rule, sustain, and satisfy those who are the sheep of thy hand.

"And lift them up for ever." Carry them in thine arms on earth, and then lift them into thy bosom in heaven. Elevate their minds and thoughts, spiritualise their affections, make them heavenly, Christlike, and full of God. O Lord, answer this our petition, for Jesus' sake.
—Charles Spurgeon

Morning Prayer

Save your people, God! Bless your possession! Shepherd them and carry them for all time! Amen.
—Ps. 28:9

Daily Devotion—"On Sharing"

2011-06-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Whoever has two shirts must share with the one who has none, and whoever has food must do the same.
—Luke 3:11

Food for Thought

May the rivers of wealth
be undammed and flow
freely over the earth.
May the gifts move through
increased hands until
all people experience the
abundance of life.
—Marion Rockefeller Weber

Morning Prayer

Help me to be more generous, God. Give me the grace to remember that my blessings are not mine to keep, but yours to share; in Christ's Name. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"Acquitted by God"

2011-06-18T21:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Who will bring a charge against God’s elect people? It is God who acquits them.
—Rom. 8:33

Food for Thought

This shows fully how the security of believers is provided for by the plan of redemption. What do we have to fear under the government of a just and powerful God? There is nothing to be dreaded but sin—and if sin is pardoned and removed, there is nothing left to fear. In the strongest manner possible, the apostle declares that the sins of believers are pardoned, and shows the ground on which that pardon rests. To them, therefore, there can be neither a disquieting accusation nor condemnation.

The question is in the form of a challenge, and implies the strongest confidence that no accuser against God's elect can appear. If the law of God be satisfied, "the power of sin" — its condemning power — is destroyed. Even conscience, though it upbraids, does not terrify. It produces the ingenuous sorrow of children, and not the despairing anguish of the convict, because it sees that all the ends of punishment are fully answered in the death of Christ, who bore our sins in his own body on the tree.

—Charles Hodge, Commentary on Rom. 8:33

Morning Prayer

Imprint upon my heart, O God, that because I belong to you, no one can pluck me from your hand; and because I fear you, I need fear no other. Amen.
—A New Zealand Prayer Book (alt.)

Daily Devotion—"Life Is Consequential"

2011-06-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

I will save them from all the apostasies into which they have fallen, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
—from Ezek. 37:23

Food for Thought

Life is consequential. We are punished not so much for as by our sins. We do not so much break the Ten Commandments as we are broken on them. Consequential for us as individuals, life is even more so for the nations of this nuclear world. Hadn't we better learn to be merciful when we live at each other's mercy? If we do not learn to be meek, will there be any earth for anyone to inherit.
—William Sloane Coffin

Morning Prayer

Most holy Lord and God of heaven,
who to the glowing sky hast given
the fires that in the east are born
with gradual splendors of the morn;

who, on the fourth day, didst reveal
the sun’s enkindled flaming wheel,
didst set the moon her ordered ways,
and stars their ever winding maze;

that each in its appointed way
might separate night from day,
and of the seasons through the year
the well-remembered signs declare:

Illuminate my heart within,
and cleanse my mind from stain of sin;
unburdened of my guilty load,
may I, unfettered, serve my God.

O Father, that we ask be done
through Jesus Christ, thine only Son;
who, with the Holy Ghost and thee
doth live and reign eternally. Amen.
—Ancient Christian hymn, ca 500

Daily Devotion—"Spiritual Rest"

2011-06-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

A sabbath rest is left open for God’s people.
—Hebr. 4:9

Food for Thought

Under the repose of the seventh day the heavenly Lawgiver meant to represent to the people of Israel spiritual rest, in which believers ought to lay aside their own works to allow God to work in them.
—John Calvin, Institutes 2.8.28

Morning Prayer

Thank you, God, that in the day of rest you gave your people a foretaste of the gospel. May I live my life trusting that you are at work in me and depending on your grace alone, for you are my hope and my salvation. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"Forgiveness of Sins"

2011-06-16T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Be encouraged, my child, your sins are forgiven.
—from Matt. 9:2

Food for Thought

God loved the world, and loving gave
a wondrous gift, the lost to save,
that all who would in Christ believe
would everlasting life receive.

Be of good cheer, for God in Christ
forgives the flock, by sin enticed,
and, justified by Jesus' blood,
your baptism grants the highest good.
—18th century German hymn found in the New Century Hymnal

Morning Prayer

I turn to you, O merciful God! To whom else could I Go? My sins are many, but your mercy is great; my sins are swift, but your anger is slow; my tears are bitter, but your tenderness is sweet and sure. Let your gentleness make me great. Amen.
—F.B. Meyer

Daily Devotion—"God's Good Promises"

2011-06-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Not one of all the good things that the Lord had promised to the house of Israel failed. Every promise was fulfilled.
—Josh. 21:45

Food for Thought

The covenant of grace is grounded upon God's everlasting love, upon God's unchangeable love, upon God's free love: Whom God loves once, he loves for ever. God can as well cease to be as he can cease to love those whom he has taken into covenant with himself. And as the covenant of grace is grounded upon God's everlasting love, so it is grounded upon God's unchanging counsel. And as the covenant of grace is grounded upon the unchanging counsel of God, so it is grounded upon the free purpose of God. Thus, the decree and purpose of God's election stands firm and sure.
—Thomas Brooks

Morning Prayer

You are infinitely greater than my moods, dear God, and more powerful than my opinions. Remind me this day that my state of grace is not dictated by my state of mind. I am yours, and you are mine forever: So you have willed it, and so it will be; in Christ's Name. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"God's Guidance"

2011-06-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

You have guided me with your advice; later you will receive me with glory.
—Ps. 73:24

Food for Thought

Why blame the compass, if you don't steer exactly by it? How many people are there, that neglecting this rule, will try to coast to heaven by their own reason?
—John Flavel (alt.)

Morning Prayer

In days past, dear God, I have followed too much my own counsel, ignoring your guidance. But give me grace this day to heed your word, to trust your faithfulness, and to abide in your love; in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"All Things New"

2011-06-13T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look! I’m making all things new.”
—from Rev. 21:5

Food for Thought

You spoke and made the sunrise,
to light up the very first day.
You breathed across the water,
and started the very first wave.
It was you—you introduced your glory
to every living creature on earth,
and they started singing,
the first song to ever be heard:
They sang for you.

You make all things new.

Then the world was broken,
fallen, and battered and scarred.
You took the hopeless,
the life wasted, ruined and marred
and made it new.

You make all things new.
You redeem and you transform.
You renew and you restore.
You make all things new,
and forever we will watch and worship you.

You turn winter into spring;
you take every living thing,
and you breathe your breath of life
into it over and over again.

You made the sunrise, day after day after day;
but there's a morning coming,
when old things will all pass away,
and everyone will see:

You make all things new.
—Steven Curtis Chapman, All Things New

Morning Prayer

You, O God, have the power to make all things new. So help me to see myself as a new creation: May I learn from my mistakes and then bury them in your forgiveness; and may the life that I live be lived in your Spirit, surrounded by your grace. Amen.

Daily Devotion—"Pentecost"

2011-06-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Rejoice always. Pray continually.
—1 Thess. 5:16-17

Food for Thought

Prayer leads you to see new paths and to hear new melodies in the air. Prayer is the breath of your life which gives you freedom to go and stay where you wish and to find the many signs which point out the way to a new land. Praying is not simply some necessary compartment in the daily schedule of a Christian or a source of support in time of need, nor is it restricted to Sunday morning or as a frame to surround mealtimes. Praying is living.
—Henri Nouwen

Morning Prayer

Almighty and Holy Spirit, O Comforter, pure, living, and true: Illuminate, govern, and sanctify me; and confirm my heart and mind in the faith and in all genuine consolation. Preserve and rule over me, that, dwelling forever in God's house, I may behold the beauty of the Lord, praising him with a joyful spirit in union with all the saints; in Jesus' Name. Amen.
—Philip Melanchthon (16th century)

Daily Devotion—"The Door That Is My Lips"

2011-06-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep close watch over the door that is my lips.
—Ps. 141:3

Food for Thought

We should pray to be delivered not from the world, but from the evil—from sins rather than afflictions. Children of God seek grace rather than deliverance in their afflictions, direction as well as protection, that they may do nothing unseemly while they suffer. And they desire improvement rather than a discharge; for the prayers of God's children do not come from selfish consideration, but spring forth from the new creature. To an eye tuned to God's grace, sustenance at the foot of the cross is to be preferred to deliverance from our problems: Such deliverance is a common mercy, but such sustenance is preserved for sons and daughters of God.
—Thomas Manton (alt.)

Morning Prayer

Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O God, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.
—Ps. 19:14

Daily Devotion—"My Cause Is with the Lord"

2011-06-10T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

But I said, “I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my cause is with the Lord, and my reward with my God.”
—Isa. 49:4

Food for Thought

Whatever my success or lack of success, I won't be discouraged: Only God is my judge, and all that I do is God's work.
—after William Bridge

Morning Prayer

You are with your people, faithful God, revealing yourself in every experience of our lives. Help me this day to stand firm against all that would take me from you, and to rejoice in steadfast perseverance, preferring nothing to your love; in Jesus' Name. Amen.
—Work of God (Benedictine), alt.

Daily Devotion—"You Satisfy the Hungry Heart"

2011-06-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

God satisfied the one who was parched with thirst, and he filled up the hungry with good things!
—Ps. 107:9

Food for Thought

As when the shepherd calls his sheep,
they know and heed his voice;
so when you call your family, Lord,
we follow and rejoice.

You satisfy the hungry heart
with gift of finest wheat.
Come give to us, O saving Lord,
the bread of life to eat.

You give yourself to us, O Lord;
then selfless let us be,
to serve each other in your Name
in truth and charity.
—Omer Westendorf

Morning Prayer

O God, your steadfast love endures forever, and your faithfulness from one generation to another: Rescue me from my distress, still the storms of my self-will, and bring me to the haven you have prepared for those who turn to you; in Jesus' Name. Amen.
—Celebrating Common Prayer, alt.

Daily Devotion—"Every Barrier Swept Away!"

2011-06-08T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Your iniquities have been barriers between you and your God.
—Isa. 59:2

Food for Thought

When God seems absent in times of trouble, it is not because God is too weak to overcome our present circumstances. Indeed, God is no less present during the bad times than during the good times. Yet our willingness to listen to other voices than God's, our priorities which place so many things above God, and our concerns which place so much value on appearances and so little on relationships all to often place barriers between us and God's love. Only in coming to our senses—regaining our true selves—are we free to rest in the assurance of God's almighty grace, and realizing that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God. [Rom 8:38-39]

Morning Prayer

Blessèd Lord, in thee is refuge,
safety for my trembling soul;
power to lift my head when drooping
'midst the angry billows' roll.
I will trust thee... all my life thou shalt control.

In the past, too, unbelieving,
'midst the tempest I have been,
and my heart has slowly trusted
what my eyes have never seen.
Blessèd Jesus... teach me on thine arm to lean.

Faith triumphant! blessèd victory!
Every barrier swept away—
heaven descending, joy and fullness,
dawn of everlasting day!
Jesus only... thee to love and thee obey. Amen.

—Herbert Booth

Daily Devotion—"The Cable-Strong Rope of Prayer"

2011-06-07T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

The Lord has listened to my request. The Lord accepts my prayer.
—Ps. 6:9

Food for Thought

Though he does not show us his face, he will lend us his ear. When God is out of sight, he is not out of covenant.
—Thomas Watson

Morning Prayer

You, O Christ, who were despised and rejected, know how I feel when, by fault or failure, I am cast into lonely pits of depression. Draw me up from such despair on the thin—yet cable-strong—rope of prayer to praise you. Amen.
—Eugene Peterson, Praying with the Psalms

Daily Devotion—"Nonviolence"

2011-06-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Put the sword back in its place. All those who live by the sword will die by the sword.

—from Matt. 26:52

Food for Thought

The end of violence or the aftermath of violence is bitterness. The aftermath of nonviolence is reconciliation and the creation of a beloved community.
—Martin Luther King, Jr.

Morning Prayer

You lived, Jesus, not by sword but by scripture. Yet I continue to use violence, even when I am attempting to do right things. Teach me to do it your way—your goals, yes, but also your methods. Amen.
—Eugene Peterson, Praying with Jesus

Daily Devotion—"Bought and Paid For"

2011-06-05T00:01:00.001-07:00

Today's Verse

You have been bought and paid for, so honor God with your body.
—1 Cor. 6:20

Food for Thought

Jesus, Master, whose I am,
purchased thine alone to be:
By thy blood, O spotless Lamb,
shed so willingly for me,
let my heart be all thine own,
let me live for thee alone.

Other lords have long held sway;
now thy Name alone to bear,
thy dear voice alone obey,
is my daily, hourly prayer.
Whom have I in heaven but thee?
Nothing else my joy can be.

Jesus, Master, I am thine;
keep me faithful, keep me near;
let thy presence in me shine
all my homeward way to cheer.
Jesus, at thy feet I fall,
O be thou my all in all.
—Frances Havergal

Morning Prayer

O Christ, the Master Carpenter, who at the last, through wood and nails, purchased our whole salvation: Wield well your tools in the workshop of your world, so that we who come rough-hewn to your bench may here be fashioned to a truer beauty of your hand. We ask it for your own name’s sake. Amen.
—Iona Community, Scotland

Daily Devotion—"Endless Peace"

2011-06-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
—Isa. 9:7

Food for Thought

Let us today think about our conflicts, acknowledge our problems, and imagine that in the midst of it all, peace can break out. Indeed, someday enough hearts will acknowledge the Prince of Peace that peace will be more than a temporary truce, but the day of our Lord, promised by the prophets of old.
—SG

Morning Prayer

Almighty God, your Son came to be the Savior of the world and the Prince of peace. Give us grace to follow in his ways and to fulfill our calling as peacemakers in his Name. May his Holy Spirit so move in the hearts of all people and among the nations of the world, that the barriers of fear, suspicion, and hatred which separate us may crumble and fall, and the peoples of the world be united in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Common Order, Church of Scotland

Daily Devotion—"Seek God"

2011-06-03T00:01:00.001-07:00

Today's Verse

The Lord is with you, while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you abandon him, he will abandon you.
—2 Chron. 15:2

Food for Thought

Let those refuse refuse to sing
who never knew our God,
but children of the heavenly King
may speak their joys abroad!

—Isaac Watts

Morning Prayer

Whoever I am, you know me, O God. You know I am yours. Amen.
—Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Daily Devotion—"Ascension"

2011-06-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Lord, you listen to the desires of the suffering. You steady their hearts; you listen closely to them.
—Ps. 10:17

Food for Thought

The primary symbol for Protestant Christianity is an empty cross, a cross with no figure on it, and the meaning is clear enough. The suffering of the crucified one is over and done with. Christ the victim of the world becomes Christ the victor over the world. Christ who is conquered by human evil and death, himself conquers them both—conquers evil by forgiving it, conquers death by life. The empty cross is a symbol of victory, Christ's victory and the victory of all who hold tight to his cross.

In the Russian Orthodox tradition, the cross is also empty, but it is a different kind of cross. Instead of an upright with just one crosspiece, it has two other smaller crosspieces as well, one just slightly above the central one and the other down toward the foot. The little one above represents the sight that they nailed over hs head which bore the words 'Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews' written out in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. so that everybody would be sure to get the point—What a king! The second little crosspiece down toward the bottom of the cross represents the block placed beneath his feet so that he would not fall off and end his punishment prematurely. It is placed not at right angles to the upright like the other two but at a slant, one end lower than the other. This is to show that when the pain got very bad, he pressed down on one foot, hard.

So in terms of the Russian cross, the suffering of the crucified one is never over and done with, and Christ the victor is also Christ the victim still. He suffers still at the hands of the world, and he also suffers wherever anyone suffers, and he suffers for the world's sake.

—Frederick Buechner, The Me in Thee,
from The Magnificent Defeat

Morning Prayer

O Lord, you are the hope of the weak, the orphaned, and the oppressed. You subvert the wicked and their plans and strengthen the hearts of the helpless. Blessed are you, Lord God, Sovereign of the universe. Amen.
—PCUSA, Daily Prayer

Daily Devotion—"God's Mercy"

2011-06-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Mercy overrules judgment.
—from Jas. 2:13

Food for Thought

Many that live deserve death. And some die that deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then be not too eager to deal out death in the name of justice, fearing for your own safety. Even the wise cannot see all ends.
—J.R.R. Tolkien

Morning Prayer

In full assurance of thy grace
to thee my prayers ascend.
In thine abounding love and truth,
O God, salvation send.

Because thy mercy, Lord, is good,
O answer me in grace,
and in the riches of thy love
O turn to me thy face.

Hide not thy face from my distress;
a speedy answer send.
Draw near to me, my soul redeem,
from all my foes defend. Amen.
—from Ps. 69 (Psalter, 1912)

Daily Devotion—"All of God's Paths"

2011-05-31T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

All the Lord’s paths are loving and faithful for those who keep his covenant and laws.
—Ps. 25:10

Food for Thought

The very worst of human guilt can never affect God's settled purpose.
—John Calvin, Sermon on Mark 3:13

Morning Prayer

I am serene because I know thou lovest me. Because thou lovest me, naught can move me from my peace. Because thou lovest me, I am one to whom all good has come. Amen.
—Ancient Scottish Prayer

Daily Devotion—"Childlike Faith"

2011-05-30T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Verse

Allow the children to come to me. Don’t forbid them, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to people like these children.
—Matt. 19:14-15

Food for Thought

Faith is the word that describes the direction our feet start moving when we find that we are loved. Faith is stepping out into the unknown with nothing to guide us but a hand just beyond our grasp.
—Frederick Buechner

Morning Prayer

O thou, in all thy might so far,
in all thy love so near,
beyond the range of sun and star,
and yet beside us here:

What heart can comprehend thy Name,
or, searching, find thee out,
who art within, a quickening Flame,
a Presence round about?

Yet, though I know thee but in part,
I ask not, Lord, for more;
enough for me to know thou art,
to love thee and adore.

And dearer than all things I know
is childlike faith to me,
that makes the darkest way I go
an open path to thee. Amen.
—Frederick Hosmer