Category: Daily Prayer

Our scripture this morning is Ephesians 6:10-12.

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

If we’re not trained and equipped, we can’t do what is required of us. We have established schools to teach our children what they need to survive in this world. We have made safety equipment to protect them. Paul says we as the church must be prepared in the same way.

In Romans 13:12 Paul writes ”The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living.“ This illustration is one he uses frequently to teach us that we are in a battle against evil we are unable to win on our own. Without Christ’s sacrifice and the unity of the church, we will fail.

Later in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 he tells us ”We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.” Paul emphasizes this is not a physical battle against other people. We can only fight evil together as the body of Christ.

Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your son to teach and inspire us. May we love one another as You command and stand with our brothers and sisters against evil in this world. Amen.

He is risen, Hallelujah! Our Easter scripture is Matthew 28:1-6.

Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint. Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.“

“He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen.” Why then are we amazed? Jesus told us exactly what was to come and yet we still have trouble believing. Nothing like this has ever happened before or since.

Jesus knew we couldn’t conceive of anything this fantastic, so He told us what was to come. It certainly wasn’t what anyone expected. The enormity overwhelms us. God has made a way for us to be saved from our sin through the death and resurrection of His only son, and the world will be changed because we believe.

It’s easy to think that this is the end of the story, but it is actually a new beginning for all of us. We have always been part of the story, but now we all have a new responsibility. Jesus came that we might have life and share God’s love with everyone through all the generations since and all the generations to come until He returns for us. 

Gracious and glorious God, in Your mercy You sent Your son to save us from sin and death. May we go in His name now and forever to tell the world what You have done for us. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Romans 6:5-8.

Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him.

Paul was trained as a Pharisee and while He left that life behind by giving it to Jesus, he still writes and argues in that manner, only now as an advocate of Christ. This is why even in modern translations it seems Paul is presenting a court case. Here he lays out a logical explanation of how the crucifixion and resurrection break the power of sin in our lives.

He states that those who have given their lives to Christ “have been united with Him in His death” and “will also be raised to life as He was.” The truth here is that those who have died can no longer be affected by sin. Evil believes it has won if we die in sin.

Christ’s sacrifice for us was to die an innocent death having never sinned.  He was raised from the dead and if we place our faith and our lives in His care, we too can be “raised incorruptible” as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:52. This is how we can all be saved, by dying to sin and living for Jesus.

Gracious God, You loved us so much You were willing to give up part of Yourself to redeem us from evil and bring us to eternal life. Bless us to go in Your name to tell the world of Your gift. Amen.

Our scripture this Good Friday is Hebrews 4:14-16.

So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Often when someone is enduring sickness or grief we say “I know how you feel.” It’s not an attempt to minimize what they are going through but to humanize it, to let them know we understand and are with them in spirit. We want them to feel the presence of God through our words and actions that they may find strength and comfort and reconnect with Him.

That’s a very simplistic explanation of what Jesus has done for us on a cosmic scale. He came to show us that God is there for us always and wants us to be released from the burden of sin. However, we must accept God’s forgiveness through Christ in order to do this.

Jesus was obedient to God in all He said and did, and needed no forgiveness because He did not sin. By His sacrifice for us, we can be washed clean and reconciled to God. While we are humbled that He died for us, we are blessed by His resurrection and ascension, and know He waits at the right hand of God to take us home.

Gracious God, in Your mercy You sent Jesus to make a way for us to be reunited with You in love. Bless us to tell everyone of His coming, that we may all be part of Your eternal kingdom. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is John 13:14-17.

”So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.“

After Jesus had thoroughly surprised and confused His disciples by washing their feet, He explains His actions and the significance it holds for all of us. We are to love one another by fulfilling needs, no matter how menial that task may be. We hear the words “Christian Service” in our world, but this is the example that we must follow in faith.

I remember on a youth mission trip we went to help at a large food distribution program. One of our group was very excited to hand out food to families. When we arrived we found that only the staff actually interacted with people and we were needed to clean the kitchen and storeroom. She was very disappointed and while she did the work, she was unhappy. 

However, later that night when we shared our experiences she said “I learned that I can serve God and others by washing dishes and sweeping because that was what was needed. While I was not happy initially, I remembered Jesus washing feet and if He could do it, I can too!” We may not be called to give our lives on a cross as He did for us, but we are all charged to accomplish the small, thankless, sometimes dirty jobs because that is what is needed. Jesus did what was needed for us, we can do no less.

Loving Lord, we are sorry for our selfish attitude that the world exists for our benefit. Help us to see the needs of the world and accept the responsibility You have given us to love one another. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Matthew 26:21-24.

While they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, “Surely not I, Lord?” He answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.”

Jesus and His closest followers gather to celebrate the Passover, a remembrance of God’s saving power when the children of Israel escaped from Egypt. During this meal Jesus institutes the Last Supper as a way to remember His sacrifice for us. Then He stuns them with the words “one of you will betray me.”

“Surely not I, Lord?” the disciples ask. While in this specific moment Jesus knows Judas is the betrayer, He is speaking to us as well. Sadly, we all fail Him just as they did, shrinking and scattering before the fear of human reprisal. We may not face the physical threat they feared but we worry about “what people will think” and are as spiritually paralyzed as the disciples were following His statement.

Afterward there was failure – most of the disciples run away from the Roman cohort in the garden. John follows the Lord to the High Priest’s house, and Peter tags along but when questioned he denies even knowing Jesus. There were many failures that night and through the rest of history, but there was also forgiveness. Christ’s cry from the cross “Father, forgive them” was not just for His executioners but all of us.

Loving Lord, we are ashamed of our fear and failure and how we have deserted You. Forgive us and make us strong in faith to tell the world the Good News of Your love for all. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Mark 11:23-25.

”Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.”

In this passage Jesus teaches about faith, prayer and forgiveness. He shows that these are all connected, that when we forgive others and pray in faith, amazing things can happen. However, we must remember we can only move the mountains God wants moved, not our own personal choices.

This is a prime example of His will, not ours. We hear this in The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) and His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:39). The things we pray for must align with God’s intent for us and the world.

Finally Jesus reminds us we can’t expect forgiveness if we don’t forgive others. Jesus shows this most poignantly from the cross with His request “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). If Jesus can forgive us, we can certainly forgive those who have wronged us.

Gracious God, in Your mercy You sent Your son to save us. Help us to accept this wonderful gift and share it with the world. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is John 12:4-8.

But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

In this passage we begin to see more clearly that Judas is not in line with what Jesus is doing. His condemnation of Mary’s “waste” is not sincere, indeed it is self-serving as John records “he was a thief.” Jesus puts Judas in his place telling him “leave her alone.”

Mary’s gift was extravagant but it showed her love for Jesus. She not only gave up a costly item but humbled herself in public by washing His feet and drying them with her hair. This was not the behavior of Jewish women in polite society, but her devotion was stronger than her pride.

Judas was envious of the gift that was not his to give. He wanted it for himself, as it is unlikely that more than a token amount would have reached the poor. Jesus tells Him “you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” We know Jesus cared for the poor more than anyone; His statement is merely to put our focus on Him, even when we give. We must love as He did, not just expect money to solve the problem.

Loving Lord, sometimes we find ourselves thinking like Judas as money, time or talent is “wasted” on worship. Let us remember that generosity flows out of our love for You and we shouldn’t worry what or how others are giving. Amen.

Our Palm Sunday scripture is John 12:12-15.

The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord— the King of Israel!” Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written: “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”

As Jesus rode into Jerusalem the people cried “Hosanna!” It is part of the festival chorus from Psalm 118: ”Save us, we beseech you, O Lord!“ Unfortunately, they were expecting a king who would save them from Roman domination. In 1 Samuel 8 we read that they had been down this path before, asking for a king and God warning them against it.

The prophecy from Zechariah 9:9 says ”Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.“ This is the difference between Jesus and human kings – earthly titles and power are nothing to Him. He comes not to save us from external oppression but from ourselves!

Sadly, many were disappointed by this and turned against Jesus when He didn’t act as they expected. This has been our downfall throughout history, wanting our way instead of God’s way. However, Jesus is always ready for us to cry “Hosanna, save me Lord!” and He was willing to die for us in order to do so.

Loving Lord, forgive our foolishness, wanting earthly freedom when we could have Heaven. Bless us to be the people You intend, loving You and one another. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Esther 4:12-14.

When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

I must admit, I haven’t written many (if any) devotionals from Esther. It is a wonderful story with great lessons for us but other than the main phrase from today’s passage, I probably couldn’t quote anything else. Perhaps I need to spend more time in scripture I’m less familiar with to gain new understanding.

Queen Esther learns of a plot to kill the Jews and is asked to go to the king unbidden to speak for them. There was a law that said any who appear before the king without an invite would be put to death, and his queen was no exception. Mordecai, her cousin tells her “who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” and even though there is personal danger, Esther goes to the king for her people.

She could have ignored the plea and avoided the penalty, but she trusted in God and went to the king anyway. We are called to stand up for those in danger as well, risking our popularity, reputation and if needed our lives to protect the oppressed. Esther is an example to all of us that what is right is more important than what is comfortable.

Heavenly Father, give us strength to go in Your name to stand up for those who are in danger. Help us to speak in love, not anger, even when we encounter evil. Amen.