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, in the morning you hear
my voice; in the morning I turn my thoughts to You to remember Your love and
faithfulness as I begin a new day. Thank you for keeping us safely through the
night. Please let me recognize today as a blessing from You, and the events of
the day as divine appointments to exercise my faith in You. Please give me
peace and joy and help me to live in such a way that my attitude and actions
reflect that I am your child; adopted into Your family through Jesus, in whose
name I pray. 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.
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.
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.
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]
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]
The idea of meditation is
largely foreign to us modern Christians. Which is really unfortunate.
Meditation has been a habit of God’s people for thousands of years. I want to
return to this point because it is an important habit that has blessed God’s
people. The Psalmist points to this habit as a characteristic of a person who
is blessed.
The subject of that meditation
is very important. The meditation focuses on God’s law. You might recognize the
word that is translated as law here. It is Torah. The torah, however, is
broader than what we would strictly call the law. Normally when we hear the
world law we think of God’s commands, sin, and condemnation. People’s response
to the law in this sense is usually either despair or some form of
self-righteousness, both of which are contrary to God’s teaching. This concept
of the law is incomplete, and it certainly would not leave a person feeling
happy or blessed.
The fullness of God’s Word, the
full teaching God gives us in the Scriptures, contains both Law and Gospel. The
Gospel proclaims God’s love, forgiveness, mercy, and salvation to us. It
reveals God’s attitude toward us, and shows us that God’s desire is not to
condemn the world. Indeed, it is already condemned! His desire is to save the
world, and the way he saves it is by giving his only begotten Son that whoever
believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life.
When you meditate on God’s Word,
when you let his message marinate in your mind and heart, you begin to see the
whole scope of God’s message; the history of the Creator and his creatures, the
sorrowful tale of sin and rebellion, and the amazing account of God’s
compassion, patience, love, and sacrifice to save and redeem you. That is a
story that changes you when you take it to heart and believe the promises
connected to it.
But, wait! Doesn’t the law teach
us to be good, and isn’t that the reason we should meditate upon it? I’ll leave
this to you. When you consider the Law and the Gospel; which part focuses on
what you do, and which part focuses on what God has done for you? And, at the
end of the day, which part of that message do you think has the power to save
you; your attempts at obedience or God’s work of salvation through Jesus?
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.
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 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)
Question
Is there a part of God’s Word
that brings you particular comfort; and account or a verse? What is it? Share
it in the comment section below!
[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.
Comments
Proverbs 3:5-6
One of my favorites!
Patti Holub