Category: Life around the World

Friday Morning Prayer: 14 Aug 2020 – Psalm 103, Romans 11:25-36 ~ God’s mercy is for you.

Friday Morning Prayer, 14 Aug 2020

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening:

Surely, it is God who saves me;
I will trust in him and not be afraid.
For the Lord is my stronghold and my sure defense,
and he will be my Savior

“God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.” – Romans11:32

Collect for Purity

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Scripture: Psalm 103

Bless the Lord, oh my soul
And all that’s in me, bless His holy name
Bless the Lord, oh my soul
And forget not all His benefits
And forget not all His benefits.

103 (Bless the Lord) – The Prestonwood Choir

Who redeems
Who restores
Who renews your youth like the eagle soars
Who forgives every sin
Who is raising us to new life again

Oh my soul will
Oh my soul will bless the Lord

High as the heavens are above the earth
So great His steadfast love
Toward those who fear Him
Bless the Lord
Bless the Lord, Oh my soul

Far as the east is from the west
So far does he remove our trespasses from us
Bless the Lord
Bless the Lord, Oh my soul

Bless the Lord

Who redeems
Who restores
Who renews your youth like the eagle soars
Who forgives every sin
Who is raising us to new life again

Oh my soul will
Oh my soul will bless the Lord
The Lord
Bless the Lord
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Scripture Reading

Romans 11:25-36 (NLT)

I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say,

“The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem,
and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness.
And this is my covenant with them,
that I will take away their sins.”

Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn. Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead. Now they are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share in God’s mercy. For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.

Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!

For who can know the Lord’s thoughts?
Who knows enough to give him advice?
And who has given him so much
that he needs to pay it back?

For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.

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Reflection: God’s Mercy Is for Everyone

” God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.”
(Romans11:32)

If God used the disobedience of Israel for the good of Gentiles, He can also use the mercy shown to Gentiles for the mercy of Israel….

God has committed them all to disobedience: The idea is that God has shut up both Jew and Gentile into custody as lawbreakers. God offers mercy to these prisoners, based on the person and work of Jesus….

Who would have planned the whole scenario with Israel, the Gentiles, and the Church as God has planned it? Yet, we can see the great wisdom and compassion in God’s plan.

(David Guzic)

Prayer: For God’s Mercy For Everyone,

Gracious God our Heavenly Father: You show mercy to all who cry out to you. Lord have mercy –

+ on all who seek forgiveness and want to return to you and change the direction of their lives….
+ on all who find themselves in difficult circumstances, whether or not they caused it themselves….
+ on all who feel overwhelmed by the pressures of life, especially during this pandemic season….
+ on all who are weak and afraid and turn to you out of desperation as their last and only hope….

Gracious God our Heavenly Father: Your ways are beyond our understanding; nevertheless we trust you to deliver and rescue all who call on your name, through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, and to the glory of your name.
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“- Ashuv Eleicha (Coming Back to You)” – Messianic Jewish Alliance of Israel

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Closing: Romans 11:

“Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead. Now they are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share in God’s mercy. For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.

Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!“

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+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Thursday Morning Prayer: 13 Aug 2020 – Psalm 99: 1-5, Romans 10:9-17 ~ “Jesus is Lord!”

Thursday Morning Prayer, 13 Aug 2020

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening:

Surely, it is God who saves me;
I will trust in him and not be afraid.
For the Lord is my stronghold and my sure defense,
and he will be my Savior

“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.” – Romans10:9

Collect for Purity

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

__________

Scripture Reading

Psalm 99:1-5 (NLT)

Exalt the Lord our God!
Bow low before his feet, for he is holy!

Psalm 99  – Sons of Korah

The Lord is king!
Let the nations tremble!
He sits on his throne between the cherubim.
Let the whole earth quake!
The Lord sits in majesty in Jerusalem,
exalted above all the nations.
Let them praise your great and awesome name.
Your name is holy!
Mighty King, lover of justice,
you have established fairness.
You have acted with justice
and righteousness throughout Israel.
Exalt the Lord our God!
Bow low before his feet, for he is holy!

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Scripture Reading

Romans 10:9-17 (NLT)

If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”

But not everyone welcomes the Good News, for Isaiah the prophet said, “Lord, who has believed our message?” So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.

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Reflection: 

“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.” – Romans10:9

We believe everything which the Lord Jesus has taught, but we must go a step further, and trust him. It is not even enough to believe in him, as being the Son of God, and the anointed of the Lord; but we must believe on him… The faith that saves is not believing certain truths, nor even believing that Jesus is a Savior; but it is resting on him, depending on him, lying with all your weight on Christ as the foundation of your hope. Believe that he can save you; believe that he will save you; at any rate leave the whole matter of your salvation with him in unquestioning confidence. Depend upon him without fear as to your present and eternal salvation. This is the faith which saves the soul.” (Spurgeon)

Prayer: For Grace To seek God In Every Way (Benedict of Nursia)

Gracious and holy Father, please give me intellect to understand you, reason to discern you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, a spirit to know you, a heart to meditate upon you, ears to hear you, eyes to see you, a tongue to proclaim you, a way of life pleasing to you, patience to wait for you, and perseverance to look for you. Grant me a perfect end, your holy presence, a blessed resurrection, and life everlasting. Amen.

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“Jesus Is Lord” – Harding University Concert Choir

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Closing: Romans 10:9

“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

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+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Wednesday Morning Prayer: 12 Aug 2020 – Psalm 95:6-9, Romans 9:16-18, 30-33 ~ God chose you

Wednesday Morning Prayer, 12 Aug 2020

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening:

Surely, it is God who saves me;
I will trust in him and not be afraid.
For the Lord is my stronghold and my sure defense,
and he will be my Savior

“It is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it.”
Romans 9:16

Collect for Purity

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

__________

Scripture Reading (NLT)

Psalm 95:6-9

Come, let us worship and bow down.
Let us kneel before the Lord our maker,
for he is our God.
We are the people he watches over,
the flock under his care.

If only you would listen to his voice today!
The Lord says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah,
as they did at Massah in the wilderness.
For there your ancestors tested and tried my patience,
even though they saw everything I did.

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Psalm 95: ‘Come let us’ – Half a Mile

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Scripture Reading (NLT

Romans 9:16-18, 30-33

It is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it.

For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, “I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth.” So you see, God chooses to show mercy to some, and he chooses to harden the hearts of others so they refuse to listen.
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What does all this mean? Even though the Gentiles were not trying to follow God’s standards, they were made right with God. And it was by faith that this took place. But the people of Israel, who tried so hard to get right with God by keeping the law, never succeeded. Why not? Because they were trying to get right with God by keeping the law instead of by trusting in him. They stumbled over the great rock in their path. God warned them of this in the Scriptures when he said,

“I am placing a stone in Jerusalem that makes people stumble,
a rock that makes them fall.
But anyone who trusts in him
will never be disgraced.”

__________

Reflection: God’s Sovereign Choice.

“It is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it.”
(Romans 9:16)

  • Remember what mercy is. Mercy is NOT getting what we DO deserve.
  • We have no right to God’s mercy; God is under no obligation to us.
  • God is never less than fair with anyone, but fully reserves the right to be more than fair with individuals as He chooses.
  • Sometimes God will glorify Himself through showing mercy;
  • Sometimes God will glorify Himself through a man’s hardness.

“[Israel] stumbled over the great rock in their path.” (Romans 9:32)

Israel is responsible for her present condition. This is the other side of the same coin.

  • On the one side is God’s sovereign choice;
  • On the other side our human responsibility.
  • The coin itself is our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus Prayer

“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

__________

“Oh the mercy of God “ – Geoff Bullock

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Closing (Romans 9:16

“It is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it.”

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+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Tuesday Morning Prayer: 11 Aug 2020 – Psalm 93, Romans 8:31-39 ~ God is for you!

Tuesday Morning Prayer, 11 Aug 2020

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening:

Surely, it is God who saves me;
I will trust in him and not be afraid.
For the Lord is my stronghold and my sure defense,
and he will be my Savior

“If God is for us, who can ever be against us?”
Romans 8:31

Collect for Purity

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

__________

Scripture Reading (NLT)

Psalm 93

The Lord is king! He is robed in majesty.
Indeed, the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength.
The world stands firm
and cannot be shaken.

The Lord God Reigns / Psalm 93 – Mark Baldwin

Your throne, O Lord, has stood from time immemorial.
You yourself are from the everlasting past.
The floods have risen up, O Lord.
The floods have roared like thunder;
the floods have lifted their pounding waves.
But mightier than the violent raging of the seas,
mightier than the breakers on the shore—
the Lord above is mightier than these!
Your royal laws cannot be changed.
Your reign, O Lord, is holy forever and ever.

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Scripture Reading (NLT

Romans 8:31-39

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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Reflection on: “God is for us” David Guzik)

Most all men say or think that God is for them – terrorists commit horrible crimes thinking that God is for them. Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit guards this statement with an “if,” so we may know that just because a man thinks God is with him does not make it so. God is only for us if we are reconciled to Him through Jesus Christ.

We certainly can be deceived into thinking that God is for us when He actually is not (as do cultists and those like them). Yet it cannot be denied that for those who are in Jesus Christ, God is for them!

The evidence that God is for us is the gift of Jesus Christ.

Prayer

Heavenly Father: Thank you for including me in your family, and thank you for giving up your Son, Jesus Christ, for me.

+ You are for me, even in times of trouble or calamity….
+ You are for me, even in times of persecution or danger….
+ You are for me, even in times of want for basic needs….
+ You are for me, even when threatened with imprisonment or death….

Heavenly Father: Thank you for loving me and making things right between us forever.

+ You love me, in life and death….
+ You love me, even when I’m afraid or worried….
+ You love me, even when I’m under assault by the powers of hell….
+ You love me, in spite of any earthly powers aligned against me….

Heavenly Father: Thank you for giving me overwhelming victory despite all these things, through Jesus Christ who loved me. It’s in his name I pray, and humbly appeal to his intercession for me.Amen.
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“If God” – Casey J

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Closing (Romans 8:39

“Nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

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+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Monday Morning Prayer: 10 Aug 2020 – Psalm 90, Romans 8:9-17 ~ God’s Spirit lives in you

Monday Morning Prayer, 10 Aug 2020

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening:

Surely, it is God who saves me;
I will trust in him and not be afraid.
For the Lord is my stronghold and my sure defense,
and he will be my Savior

“you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children.
Now we call him, “Abba, Father.””
Romans 8:15

Collect for Purity

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

__________

Scripture Reading (NLT)

Psalm 90:1-2, 14

Lord, through all the generations
you have been our home!
Before the mountains were born,
before you gave birth to the earth and the world,
from beginning to end, you are God.

-PSALM 90 – New Era

Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love,
so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.
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Scripture Reading (NLT

Romans 8:9-18

You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

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Reflection on: “God’s Spirit lives in you”   (David Guzik)

How does one know that they have the Spirit? Answer these questions.

· Has the Spirit led you to Jesus?
· Has the Spirit put in you the desire to honor Jesus?
· Is the Spirit leading you to be more like Jesus?
· Is the Spirit at work in your heart?

We cry out, “Abba, Father.” It is easy for us to think of Jesus relating to the Father with this joyful confidence, but we may think we are disqualified for it. However, remember that we are in Christ – we have the privilege of relating to the Father even as Jesus Christ does.

“And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.”
(Romans 8:17)

Prayer

Abba Father: Thank you for sending your Son, Jesus Christ, to save us;
and thank you for giving us your Spirit to lead us into newness of life,
as your adopted children

+ Thank you for the Kingdom family that we have inherited in Christ….
+ Thank you for the full and satisfying life that we have inherited in Christ….
+ Thank you for the strength to endure suffering that we have inherited in Christ….
+ Thank you for the certain hope of eternal glory that we have inherited in Christ…

Abba Father: Fill us again with your life-giving Spirit; that we may live confidently and courageously and glorify your name, through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
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“Children of the Heavenly Father” – Sharon Mennonite Bible Institute Singers

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Closing (Romans 8:15-17

Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

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+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.