May 4: Morning Devotion

Pastor Tritten · May 4 - Morning Devotion

Good Morning, Lord!

I Am Baptized

For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (Gal. 3:27 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

Heavenly Father, today we begin a new workweek, some businesses are reopening and some people who have not been able to work for while are going to return to their offices, and others are going to keep working from home. As the state loosens some of the restrictions we are under because of the pandemic, we pray for patience, health, and safety to avoid a new surge in the spread of the virus.

Thank you for the skills, talents, and abilities with which you have blessed us. Please help us to use those blessings as we go about our daily lives. Help us to see the opportunities You give us to use those blessings to bless our neighbors and to worship You. Help us see our daily interactions as the places and times You have given us so that we might love You with all of our heart, soul, strength, and mind, and love our neighbors as ourselves. Reorient our hearts away from fear and self-preservation to love and compassion for others. We ask these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.

I Believe …

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the

virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He

descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven

and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge

the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the

forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Bible Reading – Psalm 1

The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked

1 Blessed is the man^[a]
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
² but his delight is in the law^[b] of the Lord,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.

³ He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
⁴ The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
⁶ for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.[1]

Questions 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 God to help you to understand and believe His Word.

Pray for increased faith, hope, and love.

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 do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Eph. 3:20-21 ESV)

Question

Have you ever felt blessed from meditating on God’s law? How so?

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[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.