Good Morning, Lord!
I Am Baptized
You were washed, you were
sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the
Spirit of our God. – 1 Corinthians 6:11
Make the sign of the cross as
you say, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.”
A Morning Prayer
O Lord Jesus Christ, it was on a
Friday that you bore the cross to rescue me from sin and death. On this Friday,
help me take up my cross and follow you. You were lifted up to draw all people
to yourself, draw me, too, and help me know your love for me more fully and,
knowing your love, enable me to love my neighbors. Let me bear your marks on my
body – marks of love, mercy, forgiveness, truthfulness, and faith. If it is my
lot to suffer today, help me to do as you did trusting in our heavenly Father.
If it is my lot to have good things today, help me to receive it as a blessing
in gratitude. O Savior of the world, who has redeemed me by the your cross and
precious blood, save me and help me, now and forever. Amen.
I Believe …
You shall have no other gods.
You shall not misuse the name of
the LORD
your God.
Remember the Sabbath Day by
keeping it holy.
Honor your father and mother.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not give false
testimony against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your
neighbor’s house.
You shall not covet your
neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or
anything that belongs to your neighbor.
Save Me, O My God
A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his
son.
3 O Lord, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
2 many are saying of my soul,
“There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah[a]
Many are rising against me;
2 many are saying of my soul,
“There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah[a]
3 But you, O Lord, are a
shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
4 I cried aloud to the Lord,
and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
4 I cried aloud to the Lord,
and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah
5 I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.
I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.
7 Arise, O Lord!
Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.
Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.
It was Saturday, March 28, 2015.
I met some from friends for a morning run. The weather had been beautiful, but
that morning the temperatures had plunged into the teens and it had snowed. I
started out, but about twenty-yards into the run, while I was still in the
parking lot, I slipped on a patch of ice and came down hard striking the back
of my head on the pavement. Everything went dark, and the next thing I knew my
friends were above me and I was looking up into some very concerned faces.
I knew I was hurt, but I didn’t
know how bad. I decided to drive home. (Pro Tip: If you hit your head really
hard, don’t drive home.) I remember feeling something like darkness pushing in.
I got home, but I was struggling to put words to thoughts. It was very
frightening. My wife took me to the Emergency Room, where they looked me over
and declared that I had a concussion, but they said that I should be fine if I
took it easy and rested.
I was not fine. I never had a CT
scan or anything of the sort, but driving to church the next day (the doctor
said that would be okay) I had a panic attack. The lights and music during
worship hurt and I had to hide in my office between services. I was not fine,
and I still experience what I think are residual effects of that injury. One of
those effects is that I cannot read as fast as I once could. On one hand, I
find this very frustrating. I like to read and get through things quickly. On
the other hand, this has been a blessing because it has forced me to slow down
and re-read - and sometimes re-re-read. This can be good, particularly when you
are reading the Scriptures.
My foes at that time were not
people, but the injury in my brain and the frailty of my mind and emotions. I felt
hopeless – will I recover? Is there hope that God will save me? I cried out to
Jesus and learned what it meant to need him more fully than I ever had, and I
experienced what it means to be sustained by him. I’m a fairly competent
person. I learned that I tend to lean on myself … trust in myself … to get
things done. That wasn’t possible … I needed to rely on others, my wife and
children, members of my congregation – and they became Jesus’ hands and feet to
help me in my troubles.
When we experience troubles and
hardships, we often ask, “Why is this happening to me?” Perhaps it is enough to
accept that it is happening, and to cry out to God to place our struggles in
his hands to trust that everything will be okay because of his love and
faithfulness. We can lay down and rest knowing that we will wake again – even
if we lay down and rest in the grave we will wake again – because Jesus has
become our salvation and in Him we need not be afraid.
Question for Meditation
What does this reading teach you
about Jesus, what He said and did, or what He wants His followers to believe?
What does it teach you about God’s love and forgiveness?
What does this reading lead you
to be thankful for?
What behavior, thought, or
attitude does this reading challenge? What sin does it lead you to confess?
How might you pray for God to
have a richer impact on your life through this reading?
Prayer
Pray
for those who are sick, injured, grieving, dying, lonely, bullied, and
experiencing injustice.
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven;
give us this day our daily
bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those
who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom
and the power and the glory
forever and ever. Amen.
Benediction
Now to him who is able to keep
you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his
glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus
Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time
and now and forever. Amen. (Jude 1:24-25 ESV)
[1] English
Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good
News Publishers.
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