Category: Daily Prayer

Our scripture this morning is 1 John 1:5-7 (NLT).

This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

In this letter the apostle John continues the lesson he heard firsthand from Jesus Himself: “God is light and there is no darkness in Him at all”. This represents the darkness of sin and our blind groping when we are separated from God, and His light which reveals the truth and draws all people to Him. The pitfall we face is claiming a relationship with Him while still living outside His love and care.

One of John’s most prominent points is that we can’t continue living as we did before we knew Jesus and still be His followers. Accepting Him as our savior means changing our hearts and minds in order to live as He taught. We are to be the example of His love to the world, and that means engaging with the world.

If we live in the light of His love “we have fellowship with each other”. In Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus taught us that loving God and our neighbor as ourselves are the most important things we can do. Anything less than this means we are still outside the light and need to move closer to the source of all goodness.

Loving Lord, when we try to go it alone, we fail. We need Your love and we need to share that love with the world. Bless us to go in Your name, telling everyone the Good News of salvation. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Psalm 8:3-5 (ESV).

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

I probably heard this as a child, but my best memory of it is singing a choral version at a high school graduation – do any other Omaha Burke Concert Choir members ’72-’74 remember doing this? Even then I was awed and inspired by the message of this passage. God made everything there is in perfect order, including us!

Where there is imperfection, it comes from us and our wrong choices. God formed us in His own image, “a little lower than the heavenly beings” with a responsibility to care for creation. We have not always lived up to this charge, which includes a command to love one another.

In all of God’s wonderful handiwork there is only one of each of us. While we are all similar, we are all unique and God knows us each by name, just as He knows everything He made. It is up to us to accept the “glory and honor” He offers when we return in repentance, and go in His name everywhere.

Loving Lord, we are sorry for the times we have fallen and ask Your forgiveness. Bless us to be the people You intend, sharing Your love with the world. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Romans 12:1-2 (NIV).

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Paul had a pattern for most of his letters that involved teaching about heavenly concepts followed by practical instruction for applying what Christ said to our everyday existence. In this short passage he reminds us that our bodies and our lives are a gift from God and that offering them back to God as a “living sacrifice” is our “true and proper worship”. We must each make this choice for ourselves.

Paul warns us “do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”. Those who have accepted Jesus as Savior must not allow worldly ideas and things lead us back into bondage to sin. Psychiatrist Carl Jung wrote “The world will ask who you are and if you do not know, the world will tell you”.

By defining ourselves as followers of Jesus we make a statement to the world and to ourselves. It is a statement we must make every day, choosing “His good, pleasing and perfect will” over anything the world claims to offer us. God waits for us, it is up to us to respond.

Heavenly Father, we are sorry for the times we allow earthly things to lead us astray. Help us to be transformed and renewed by Your love and share it with the world. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Galatians 1:10-12 (NLT).

Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant. Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.

Paul didn’t care what people thought of him, only that they heard the Good News and accepted Christ as their savior. Some labeled him a people pleaser but he refutes that argument by sharing that he received his call directly from Jesus Himself. I know what sharing one’s call story is like, both humbling and inspiring at the same time. 

There were other traveling evangelists during this time and some taught that you must become Jewish in order to be a Christian. Paul spoke against this at every opportunity, even to Peter when he wavered on eating with Gentile believers (Galatians 2:11-15). Paul preached that the only thing that mattered was our faith, not any action we can perform.

He also speaks to a problem we still encounter, writing “the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning”, as if we could create or understand by our own knowledge God’s wonderful plan and care for us. God wants us to know that there is something better waiting for us. Asking His forgiveness and going in His name is our only hope of salvation.

Gracious God, in your mercy You sent Jesus to be our Savior, teaching us the way of love. Help us to share this gift with all our brothers and sisters everywhere. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Matthew 6:31-34 (NLT).

So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

My daughter and I are doing an online study of the Sermon on the Mount through The Bible Project (BibleProject.com). I highly recommend it. This has led us to some interesting discussion about Christ’s instructions for our lives and relationships. In this passage Jesus warns us about being overly concerned about earthly things which can distract us from the eternal gift God has for us.

He reminds us that by worrying we only wear ourselves out and accomplish little. Part of our ongoing problem is that we often want things we don’t have. God already knows our needs and when we are connected to Him we can release our worries in exchange for the peace only He can provide.

Jesus invites us to live in the present with hope for the future, turning our concerns over to a loving God who wants the best for us. He teaches us “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” We find peace in what our savior has done for us and go to share His love with everyone.

Gracious God, we are sorry for the worry that sometimes paralyzes us, keeping us from doing Your work and Your will. Mend us and send us to tell the Good News to the world. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Philippians 1:4-6 (NLT).

Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

Just as Jesus prayed for His disciples, Paul prays for those who are his “partners in spreading the Good News about Christ”. We need to do the same for all who work to share God’s love – including ourselves. Praying that His kingdom may come on earth means there is plenty to do while we are here.

Paul was aware (as are most missionaries) that while he may have brought the Word to a community, it is the members of the congregations he planted that will continue to share God’s love. I’m not sure who said it but it’s true: the church is what’s left after the building burns down and the pastor leaves town.

We are the body of Christ at work here until He returns for us. We each have a mission, no matter what our vocation, to tell everyone about God’s love for us and the way He wants us to live. God doesn’t need our help, but through our outreach we become closer to each other and to Him.

Gracious God, in Your mercy Jesus came to lead us back to You. Help us to be strong in our faith and share it with the world. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Ephesians 3:16-18 (NLT).

I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.

Paul writes with encouragement to us all, reminding us that God has sent the Holy Spirit to strengthen us and that “Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him”. The last part of that sentence is the most important. God has provided the wonderful gift of salvation through Christ’s sacrifice for us; it is up to us to accept His love and go in His name.

He uses an example of growth as seen in nature, but we are rooted in God’s love and His heavenly kingdom rather than in the earth. He is always there, waiting for us to turn to Him. Once we choose to live for Jesus we begin to see “how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is”. 

We have been asked to become part of the work for all His children, sharing the joy we have found in His forgiveness. When we have a personal relationship with God, we want others to know how wonderful it is to be connected to our Creator. We share our faith and His love with everyone in the hope they too will come to know the blessing of a life in Him.

Loving Lord, we are sorry for the times we have trusted in our own feeble strength and limited wisdom rather than Your amazing love. Forgive us and change our hearts that we may be the channel of Your love to all. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Psalms 139:13-14 (NLT).

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

While the entirety of scripture is about our connection to God, Psalms often express our joy and amazement at His work. In this passage David offers thanks for the way we ourselves are made. All of creation is awe inspiring, but humans are made in His image. While that makes us special, it also means we have a special responsibility.

In Genesis 1:28 we read “Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”” We have been given an unbelievable gift but we are called to care for it and use it wisely. In order to do this well, we need God’s wisdom.

The opening of this psalm says “O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me” (Psalms 139:1). God is always here for us, as close as the breath He breathed into us at Creation. Open your heart to His love and go to share it with the world.

Loving Lord, You have made everything that exists, including us. Thank You for all Your wonderful gifts. Bless us to be responsible servants, telling the Good News of salvation to all. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is 1 John 4:15-16 (NLT).

All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.

The apostle John wrote a Gospel, Revelation and three letters to help us understand Christ’s work for us, and the love of God He shared with us. Our task is to carry on His work by sharing that love with all God’s children. This isn’t a choice but a command to anyone who confesses Him as Lord.

In John’s Gospel we hear the same words from Jesus Himself: “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (John 13:34-35). No testimony in the world is better than living out the saving love He brought us. Our words and actions must reflect that love or we are lying to ourselves.

God’s love has been there for us from the beginning. In Isaiah 54:10 we read “For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain. My covenant of blessing will never be broken, says the Lord, who has mercy on you.” God wants all His wayward children back and He sends the followers of Jesus to accomplish this.

Gracious God, when we chose our own way You still loved us and sent Your Son to save us from sin. Bless us to go in Your name to share the Good News with the world. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Romans 12:11-13 (NLT).

Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

Paul has a number of Proverb-like instructions in this passage. While he gave specific guidance to different congregations depending on their situations, Paul was always consistent in his teaching, never wavering from the things Jesus taught. We can be confident in our hope because it is a promise from Christ Himself.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Paul writes “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus”. We can see the same lesson as in today’s passage. Here he includes Jesus’ command to care for those in need, being generous to all.

Being patient in trouble is often hard for us. We need to ask for God’s guidance before jumping into our efforts. However, it doesn’t mean we are to sit idly by when we or others encounter difficulty. This active patience comes only through the presence of the Holy Spirit and our surrender to God’s will for us. Paul knew what it was to be changed by God’s love and to go in His name, and we all are called to the same mission.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your love and care through faithful people in our lives. Help us to follow the example of those who have gone before us, loving You and all Your children. Amen.