Tag: right living

Morning Prayer: Psalm 119:81-88; Judges 6:11-14; Hebrews 12:11-12 ~ get a grip

Morning Prayer: 

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

Opening sentence

One thing I have asked of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life; to behold the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.

You will find the Lord your God, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Morning readings

HANGING ON

Psalm 119:81-88 NLT:

I am worn out waiting for your rescue, but I have put my hope in your word. My eyes are straining to see your promises come true. When will you comfort me? I am shriveled like a wineskin in the smoke, but I have not forgotten to obey your decrees.

How long must I wait? When will you punish those who persecute me? These arrogant people who hate your instructions have dug deep pits to trap me. All your commands are trustworthy. Protect me from those who hunt me down without cause. They almost finished me off, but I refused to abandon your commandments.

In your unfailing love, spare my life; then I can continue to obey your laws.

Judges 6:11-14 NLT:

Then the angel of the Lord came and sat beneath the great tree at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash of the clan of Abiezer. Gideon son of Joash was threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!”

“Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.”

Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!”

Hebrews 12:11-12 NLT:

No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.

So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees.

Reflection/Prayer:

The story is told of a man who tripped and fell off a cliff. Clutching at the grasses on the edge of the cliff he found himself for a moment or two able to hang on and delay his fall.

‘Is there anyone up there?’ he cried out desperately. ‘Yes,’ came the reply, but no further response. ‘Who are you? Why don’t you help me?’ shouted the man. ‘I’m God,’ said the Voice, ‘and I will help you. But you must do exactly as I say.’ ‘OK,’ whispered the man, ‘what have I to do?’ ‘First, let go!’ ‘Is there anybody else up there?’ called out the man?’

Poor fearful little Gideon had to do something just like that to become the mighty man of valour God saw him as. Against an army which far outnumbered them, God’s solution was to cut back even further on numbers!!

With decrease thou shalt increase. Count not as men count. Do not look into thy hand and say, ‘I have not enough,’ for with less, even with the decrease, nothing shall be impossible to thee. Like with the army of old – I can do more even with less.

Spiritual Song: “Where No One Stands Alone” – Mosie Lister

Canticle

Christ, as a light… illumine and guide me. Christ, as a shield… overshadow me. Christ under me; Christ over me; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful. Be in the heart of each to whom I speak; in the mouth of each who speaks unto me. This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.

Christ as a light; Christ as a shield; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

Blessing

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever He may send you. May He guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you. May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
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Peanut Gallery: The Morning Prayer readings are from the Daily Office of the Northumbrian Community as available online here… and in the book form, Celtic Daily Prayer available on Amazon.com.

The website and prayer book are rich in prayer resources and I commend them to you. For our purpose here, I will limit my selections to the Morning Prayer resources.

Morning Reading: Luke 7.24-35 NLT – living proof

Reading: Luke 7.24-35 NLT

After John’s disciples left, Jesus began talking about him to the crowds. “What kind of man did you go into the wilderness to see? Was he a weak reed, swayed by every breath of wind? Or were you expecting to see a man dressed in expensive clothes? No, people who wear beautiful clothes and live in luxury are found in palaces. Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet. John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say,

Chrisitian orthodox priests baptize a pilgrim in the waters of the Jordan River
Chrisitian orthodox priests baptize a pilgrim in the waters of the Jordan River

‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way before you.’

I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is!”

When they heard this, all the people — even the tax collectors — agreed that God’s way was right, for they had been baptized by John. But the Pharisees and experts in religious law rejected God’s plan for them, for they had refused John’s baptism.

“To what can I compare the people of this generation?” Jesus asked. “How can I describe them? They are like children playing a game in the public square. They complain to their friends,

‘We played wedding songs, and you didn’t dance, so we played funeral songs, and you didn’t weep.’

For John the Baptist didn’t spend his time eating bread or drinking wine, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’ But wisdom is shown to be right by the lives of those who follow it.”

Baptismal Declarations:

    • I renounce Satan and turn away from all his evil works and empty promises.
    • I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins and welcome him as my Savior and Lord.
    • I put my whole trust in his grace and love and – with God’s help – will be his faithful follower.

Prayer: Grant, O Lord, that all who are baptized into the death of Jesus Christ your Son may live in the power of his resurrection and look for him to come again in glory; who lives and reigns now and for ever. Amen.

Spiritual Song: “Creed” – Third Day