Category: Daily Prayer

Our scripture this morning is Philippians 2:5-11.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Paul writes “you must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had”. He tells us not to just think of Jesus, we must think like Jesus. It also means we must act like Jesus, because believing in Him and doing His will can’t be separated. 

Jesus came to save us from ourselves. He came to change our hearts to love God and each other. He came to change our minds that we might go in His name to change the world. While we may see this as something new, it’s not – we were created to be like Him in the first place.

Jesus is our example for a relationship with God and each other. He came and emptied Himself for us that we might be saved. For this reason, God exalted Him above all things, “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow”. Jesus has done His part for us, now it’s our turn!

Heavenly Father, we are thankful that You sent Jesus to teach us and save us. Bless us to bring the Good News to all the world. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is 2 Peter 1:3-4.

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

The apostle Peter writes to remind us that “God has given us everything we need for living a godly life”. God created everything that is and only by His power do we have life at all. When we come to know God through Jesus and the lessons found in scripture, we have an eternal connection that can’t be broken.

Knowing Him leads us to trust the promises He makes to us. Throughout human history He has made covenants with us to guide and protect us. God offers us everlasting life when we accept His call and obey His commandments. We are made in His image and when we are in relationship with Him, we find our highest purpose and happiness.

This amazing connection compels us to share His love with the world. Jesus prepared us to carry on His ministry, making disciples of all nations. Through God’s power and promise, we can now participate in the work of His kingdom, bringing the Good News to everyone.

Gracious God, we are sorry for the times we have failed You and one another. Bless us to go in Your name, showing all what You have done for us. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Mark 16:14-16.

Still later he appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together. He rebuked them for their stubborn unbelief because they refused to believe those who had seen him after he had been raised from the dead. And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned.”

Mark is acknowledged to be the oldest of the Gospel accounts. It is a compact testimony focusing on what Jesus did, using the phrases “immediately ” or “at once” to indicate action. Mark’s version of the Great Commission is perhaps different in structure than what we hear in Matthew 28, but the call for us to go share the Good News is exactly the same.

In Genesis 12 we read that all the world was to be blessed through Abraham. Jesus lived, died and rose again as the fulfillment of that covenant. He has called us to carry on the work of making disciples until He comes again to take us home.

Being part of the kingdom work is our response to what Jesus has done for us all. We share His story and how His sacrifice has impacted our lives. Each of us must choose to accept His promise that “anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved”. 

Loving Lord, we are grateful for the gift of Your son who came to save us. Help us to go in faith to share Your word and Your love with everyone. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Lamentations 3:21-24.

Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”

This passage speaks to us of God’s everlasting love and faithfulness. The prophet Jeremiah wrote to the people of Israel with hope even as Babylon was poised to overrun their country and carry them into captivity. God was just in allowing this punishment for their sin, but offers them His forgiveness when they turn to Him in repentance.

In Jeremiah 29:11 we read “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” God wants only the best for us, but our selfish disobedience puts us in opposition to His will for us. If we try to do it on our own, we fail.

The example of Israel in Egypt and the exile to Babylon teach us that He is the God of justice. However, He proves Himself the God of love by sending Jesus that we might all be saved! When we admit our wrongdoing and ask His forgiveness, God is always ready to welcome us back.

Gracious God, we know how often we fail You and each other. Forgive us, strengthen us in faith, and send us to share Your love with all the world. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.

We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. 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 has strong words for the church at Corinth that are still applicable for us today. As believers, we fight not as the world does but with “God’s mighty weapons”. This is the way Jesus brought the truth of God to the world “to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments”.

We read that the faithful “destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God”. This is the call that Jesus has placed on our lives, to share the Good News with everyone. Paul originally opposed this message, but when Christ appeared to him he was forever changed.

Two words describing us stand out in this passage, proud and rebellious. We put so much faith in ourselves that rightly belongs to God! By submitting to His will we can be saved and become part of the kingdom work He has for us all.

Gracious God, we are ashamed of our foolish pride and our disobedience. Forgive us and make us more like Jesus, sharing Your love with the world. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Psalms 32:6-8.

Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there is still time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment. For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory. The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.”

This psalm passage reminds us that only a connection to God can save us. The psalmist sings “you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble”. Going to the Lord with our issues relieves us of the burden. In 1 Peter 5:7 we read “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”

Sadly, not everyone knows the Lord. Isaiah 1:3 tells us “Even an ox knows its owner, and a donkey recognizes its master’s care— but Israel doesn’t know its master. My people don’t recognize my care for them.” Are we the same way, so self-reliant we think we can do it all ourselves? God wants so much for us to be in relationship with Him that He sent His only son that we might be saved.

This is why Jesus gave us the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19) to tell everyone about God’s love for us. God has promised to “advise you and watch over you”. We are all called to go in His name and share the joy we have found in Him.

Loving Lord, we are sorry when we fail to see our need for You. Forgive us and send us to tell the world of Your love. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is James 1:19-22.

Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

James is a letter that shares a lot of wisdom in just a few pages. The writer focuses on Christ’s example for us and applying His teachings in our lives. In this passage we hear we must “all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry”, reminding us that we are responsible for our response to others.

He writes that we must avoid the things that distract us from our intended purpose, and “humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts”. The word we have been given “has the power to save your souls”. We already have the answers from God woven into us from our very creation, but we must choose to hear and apply them.

Later in this letter he teaches that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:20), amplifying the instruction “you must do what it says”. Knowing and doing are linked together in God’s kingdom. If we know the word but do not take on the work that it entails, we are not accomplishing all God has planned for us. Without taking action we are only fooling ourselves.

Loving Lord, thank for the gift of Your son to teach us Your way and save us from our sin. Help us to be attentive listeners and energetic doers of Your word. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Matthew 22:35-40.

One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Jesus was often confronted by religious leaders who tried to make Him look bad. This sounds much like the situations we see today – attempt to win the competition by tearing down your opponent. Jesus had a better way. Instead of condemning them, He taught them with God’s love.

This lesson is a beautiful example of how Jesus leads us to the truth. God’s love doesn’t come at the point of a sword or with fiery rhetoric about how wrong we are, but with gentle words about our relationship with Him and each other. Jesus shows us we can’t do either without the other.

If we put our connection with God first, the relationship with others will follow. As we see in this passage there is no guarantee others will love us, but loving them is what we are called to do. “Love God, love neighbor” is a simple summary of this teaching. If we get this right, many of our other issues will disappear.

Loving Lord, we are sorry for the times we have failed to love as You have commanded us. May we love You with our whole being and others as ourselves always. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Philippians 4:6-9.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

Paul writes from a prison cell to the church at Philippi with encouragement for their faith. He tells them (and us) to “think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise”, focusing our thoughts on what God has given us and our lives on using our gifts. In this way we can demonstrate God’s love and be more like Jesus.

Being a Christian involves more than just knowing the scriptures and attending worship. Both of these are essential, but Jesus came to show us how to share the joy we find in our relationship with God. The fellowship of believers and sharing our faith completes our spiritual life. 

This is what Paul teaches us, saying “keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me”. We are equipped and energized to go in the name of the Lord, ensuring that no one misses hearing the Good News. This is our Great Commission from Jesus and we all work together for God’s kingdom.

Heavenly Father, we are grateful for the gift and example of our Savior. Help us to be the people You created us to be, loving You, loving one another and bringing the Gospel to everyone. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Psalms 30:1-5.

I will exalt you, Lord, for you rescued me. You refused to let my enemies triumph over me. O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you restored my health. You brought me up from the grave, O Lord. You kept me from falling into the pit of death. Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones! Praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.

The psalmist (David perhaps) shares his personal experience of knowing God’s grace and mercy as an example for all. He reminds us that only the Lord can rescue us. Our strength is not equal to the evil we face. Only with His help can we be saved.

This passage encourages us to offer personal and community thanks to God for His love. We read “I cried to You for help and You restored my health”. He may be upset with us because of our selfish behavior but His love is eternal. When we come in repentance for our mistakes, He keeps us from “falling into the pit of death”.

If we rely on God more and on ourselves less, our lives would be in line with His plan for us. God wants us to live in His love and work within the body of Christ for the good of all His children. Then “weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning”.

Gracious God, we know that without You we can do nothing. Energize us to use our gifts wisely. Bless us and send us in Your name to make disciples of all the world. Amen.