Good Morning, Lord!
I Am Baptized
And Peter said to them,
"Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for
the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
(Acts 2:38 ESV)
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, my heart still
beats. My lungs draw breath. My body takes nourishment and my digestive system
does its work. I consider my brain and am in awe of the many functions it
performs and I am not even aware. I ponder the complexity of this body that is
me and I know that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I am your workmanship
created to do good works prepared in advance for me to do. I am your beloved child
redeemed to live in your love. I am the temple of Holy Spirit who dwells in me.
Let me rejoice in you today, O God, my Creator, Savior, and Comforter. Amen.
I Believe …
I believe that God has made me
and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all
my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. He also
gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children,
land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I
need to support this body and life. He defends me against all danger and guards
and protects me from all evil. All this He does only out of fatherly, divine
goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is
my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him. This is most certainly true.
To
the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
4 Answer me when I call, O God of
my righteousness!
You have given me relief when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
You have given me relief when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
2 O men,[a] how long shall my honor be
turned into shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah
3 But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.
How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah
3 But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.
4 Be angry,[b] and do not sin;
ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
5 Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the Lord.
ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
5 Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the Lord.
6 There are many who say, “Who
will show us some good?
Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”
7 You have put more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and wine abound.
Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”
7 You have put more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and wine abound.
8 In peace I will both lie
down and sleep;
for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
I
remember hearing an interview with a county commissioner talking about his job.
He was asked what he did when people called with complaints. He spun a long
tale about how when people called about sewer problems he would refer them to
one person. If they called about bad roads, he referred them to someone else.
If they called about a zoning issue, he referred to yet someone else. Then he
said, “But every once in a while, someone will call who is very pleased with
the county’s work.” The reporter asked, “What do you do then?” The commissioner
replied, “I say, ‘Thank you!’”
Has
anyone ever taken credit for work that you did? Have you ever experienced the
injustice of someone taking all the compliments for a project in which they
barely participated?
God is
the, “God of my righteousness.” But all too often we act like there is
something we can do to be righteous. If we’re really pious, we might realize
that we can’t do the whole job of being righteous, but we sometimes get the
idea that there is something, no matter how small, that we add to our
righteousness. Sometimes we believe that Jesus forgave our sins, but now we
better be good and do everything right. There must be something we do be
righteous in God’s sight, right?
No. In
fact, that belief is sort of like trying to take credit for what Jesus has
given us freely as a gift. The Psalm says, “O men, how long shall my honor be
turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies?” When
we believe or teach that there is something, anything, that we must do to be
righteous in God’s sight we turn his honor to our shame, love vain, empty,
hopeless words, and seek after lies. Christ’s righteous is not just enough, it
is everything.
There
is another kind of righteousness – a righteousness that we might equate with
good behavior, doing right things in relationship with our neighbors, and that
sort of thing. We call this civic righteousness. Civic righteousness and the
righteousness of God are not the same thing. We have the power to do what is
right in relationship to our neighbor, but not in relationship with God.
We need
Jesus. He is the truly godly one, being both God and Human. He is the one God
set apart for his own purpose, saving us from sin and death, and reconciling us
to God. “The LORD hears when I call him,” because when we pray through faith in
Jesus, when we pray in Jesus’ name, Jesus prays with us and for us and his
Father hears him, and through him, he hears and answers us when we call.
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 the government and all who are in authority.
Pray
that God grants wisdom, integrity, courage, and safety to all our leaders, to
police, firefighters, health care professionals, and all who work for the
public good.
Petitions of the Lord’s Prayer
The Third Petition: “Thy will be
done on earth as it is in heaven.”
O God, Your will is done even
without our prayers, but we pray that it may be done among us also. Please
break and hinder every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our
sinful nature, which do not want us to hallow Your name or let Your kingdom
come. Strengthen and keep us firm in Your Word and faith until we die. Let Your
good and gracious will be done. Amen.
Benediction
Now may the God of peace himself
sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept
blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thess. 5:23 ESV)
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