Category: Daily Prayer

Our scripture this morning is Psalms 59:16-17 (NLT).

But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress. O my Strength, to you I sing praises, for you, O God, are my refuge, the God who shows me unfailing love.

David wrote this psalm at a low point in his life. He had been chosen by God as the new king of Israel (1 Samuel 16). Out of jealousy, King Saul is seeking to have David killed (1 Samuel 19). He escapes and even in this deadly situation, he offers praise to God.

David’s example is a guide for us, that in the worst of times God deserves our praise and thanks. We know that when we face difficulties we can still see God’s hand in our lives. Our relationship with Him is not based on our circumstances.

Praising God for all we have (no matter how much we have) strengthens our faith and our connection to Him. When we offer God our issues in prayer, we become part of our own healing process. He already knows everything we go through but by sharing our fears we feel His love and comfort, and are blessed to continue the work He has for us.

Gracious God, we are grateful for Your love and care when we are in trouble. Help us not to forget this when times are good, that we may remain connected to You forever. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Luke 6:27-28 (NLT).

But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.

Jesus has some very challenging things to say to the crowd gathered to hear His Sermon on the Mount. Like the crowd, we probably resonate with His words that teach a new way of living is coming. However, He tells us we need to love our enemies for this to happen. Wait, what?

Jesus says we need to remove the thoughts of retribution and seeing evildoers punished, and love them as children of God. We often find this difficult. Christian writer Kellye Fabian tells us “We commit to not seeking revenge or to tolerating our enemies but doing actual good and praying God would bless them? No way!”

The prophet Ezekiel writes these words from the Lord: “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart” (Ezekiel 36:26). Here’s a challenge from this teaching for us: think of a person or group that you disagree with and pray for them today. We must understand each other’s needs and fears, and that means actually getting to know them as people, not the caricatures we see in the news or social media. 

Gracious God, we are sorry for the hate we harbor for one another. Help us to reach out in love rather than strike out in fear. Bless us to be patient with those who are afraid, and share the joy of our relationship with You. Amen.

Friends, my brother’s arm is healing and his wife returns today. Thank you for your prayers and your patience. I’ll be back in Omaha tomorrow. Bless you all this Sabbath, may you feel God’s love and share it with everyone!

Our scripture this morning is 1 Peter 2:24-25 (NLT). 

He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls.

Peter was a fisherman, not a teacher, but he was taught by the greatest teacher ever. While he stumbled as we all are prone to do, he repented of his sin and Jesus forgave him (John 21). When the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples as Jesus promised, it was Peter who spoke boldly to the temple crowd at Pentecost (Acts 2).

As Jesus often did, Peter refers to scripture that would be familiar to the readers of his letter, specifically Isaiah 53, the prophecy of the Suffering Servant. This lesson tells us that the one who comes is on a mission from the Father, that He will be rejected and sacrificed for our sake. While I have only read it in English, no matter what translation or version it is, there is no denying that this passage points us to the saving work of Christ.

Peter’s experience can be ours as well. No matter how far we have strayed or how badly we have messed up, Jesus is always there for those who are truly sorry for their actions and sincerely ask to be reconnected to Him. He has initiated the process of salvation, it is up to us to accept His forgiveness and go to the world in His name.

Loving Lord, we are sorry for the times we have forsaken Your love and Your lessons. Mend us and send us that all may know the joy of redemption in You. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Proverbs 16:1-3 (NLT).

We can make our own plans, but the Lord gives the right answer. People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives. Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.

God gave us the ability to make our own decisions, but only He “gives the right answer”. Unless our choices are in line with His will, we are straying away from His plan for us. When we ask Him for guidance it enables us to know right from wrong and avoid falling into sin.

This passage encourages us to be aware of the plans we make in the light of God’s love. Are we selfish in what we want to accomplish or does our action meet God’s standards of care for all? The things we do make a difference in the world and in eternity.

We are instructed to “commit your actions to the Lord” in order to be successful. Many have wandered off, involved in themselves with no concern for the consequences. When we ask for God’s help before acting we are blessed with His love and wisdom and can go confidently in His name to all His children.

Gracious God, You have created us in Your image with free will to choose for ourselves. May we choose to serve Your kingdom and bring Your word and Your love to all. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is John 10:10-11 (NLT).

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.

Jesus speaks to us of His mission and His love, while warning of the dangers we face here. In this chapter He uses an example that is familiar to His followers, that of the shepherd and the flock. While being compared to sheep is not a compliment, it is often sadly accurate for our human condition and behavior.

We are all vulnerable to the ways of the world. Very early in our history we were tempted to go our own way and did so, with disastrous consequences. However, God loved us too much to let us stray and made a way for us to be saved and reconnected to Him through Christ’s sacrifice for us.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd, guarding and guiding us with the Holy Spirit, God’s presence within us. He wants us to follow Him and help assure all God’s children can experience the “rich and satisfying life” we are offered through repentance and faith. When we go to God seeking forgiveness He is always ready to make us part of His flock again.

Loving Lord, when our love failed, Yours never did. Forgive us and bless us to go in Your name to all the lost sheep of the world. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Romans 8:10-11 (NLT).

And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

Paul writes some really deep truth in Romans, things that are difficult for us to understand at first. However, I have heard pastors recommend that seekers and new believers should read the Gospel of John to learn about Jesus, and Romans for an explanation of faith. Paul’s words are intended to make us see the the love God offers us, the joy we find in Him and the sad alternative for those who refuse to believe.

We read that “Christ lives within you”, the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised us in John 14:16. Those who accept Him as their Savior can have the closest possible connection with Him, His spirit with us constantly to guide and protect us. This is our blessing, that “just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”

It is only through our faith that we can be made whole, restored to the original relationship for which we were created. We need the Lord and each other. God is always ready to welcome back prodigal souls who have been trying and failing to do it on their own.

Gracious God, You sent Your Son to love and save and free us. Help us to see His light in all Your children and share the Good News of salvation offered to all. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Psalms 34:8-9 (NLT).

Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him! Fear the Lord, you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need.

The Psalms cover a wide range of human emotions, but in every case God knows what we experience and is there for us. These songs tell us of joy and sorrow, loss and victory, but they always offer praise to the Lord. Being connected to Him means we can find comfort, strength and peace.

David wrote many psalms expressing what he felt and how God answered his needs. When we read these we can relate to the situations, even though they happened long ago. Sadly, we still suffer many of the same self inflicted issues people did then through our jealousy and greed.

This passage tells us “Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!” When we bring our issues to God and honestly beg forgiveness, He is always ready to raise us up with His love. Then we can return to the tasks we have been given to care for His children and all of creation.

Loving Lord, we know all good gifts come from You alone. Forgive us when we stray and put us back on the path You have set for us that we may be energetic and effective disciples. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Proverbs 19:20-21 (NLT).

Get all the advice and instruction you can, so you will be wise the rest of your life. You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.

Studying Proverbs can give us wisdom from the Lord. That’s the heart of this passage. Holy conversation with other believers can also light our path with knowledge. While most of the teaching from Proverbs comes in individual verses, they all point to God’s love for us and the instruction He wants us to follow.

Earlier in Proverbs 3:5-6 we read “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” God wants us to learn and be wise on our own, but we can never do without His loving guidance.

The last verse of this passage reminds us that no matter what we think or do, “the Lord’s purpose will prevail”. We can choose to be part of it and go in His name to share His love with everyone. Repenting of our sin, accepting Christ’s sacrifice for us and telling the Good News to all is the only way to be saved.

Heavenly Father, thank You for sharing Your love and wisdom with us. Bless us to learn and grow and go to tell the world the blessing of salvation. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Galatians 5:25-26 (NASB1995).

If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.

Paul concludes his message on the fruits of the Spirit with encouragement to us that “if we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit”. This guidance is from Jesus Himself warning about the Pharisees: “So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach” (Matthew 23:3). We who accept Jesus as our Savior must live what we believe on a daily basis.

This doesn’t mean we are perfect here, but we strive to be good disciples, sharing the Gospel and caring for all God’s children. Will we make mistakes? Of course. Will God forgive us? If we come in true repentance, sorry for what we have done and wanting to do better He will. 

God wants us all back to be with Him eternally. We need to give up the competitiveness, envying or demeaning other’s situations. Living for the Lord means sharing what we have been given out of thanks to Him, and helping all people to know His love.

Gracious God, in Your mercy You sent Your Son to save us. We are sorry for the times we have failed You and Your children. Strengthen us in faith and send us in Your name that all the world may come to You. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Galatians 5:24-26.

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.

Today’s passage continues yesterday’s lesson about giving up our own way in order to follow Jesus. When we choose His path for us we die to the earthly things that distract us from our call and rise to a new life in service to God and each other. 

Paul warns “let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.” These are selfish motives and if we have truly died to the world and risen with Christ, they have no place in our lives. Instead we share the Good News and the love of God with everyone.

When we give up what we want in favor of what God wants for us, this striving to outdo each other ends. We become more focused on the salvation we are offered and less on temporary, earthly things that we once found so attractive. Jesus told us it wouldn’t be easy, but that eternity with the Father is worth any hardship.

Loving Lord, You sent Your Son to teach and save us. Help us to go in Your name to continue the work, that all the world may know You. Amen.