"Blessed Is the Man Who Makes the LORD His Trust" - 14 August 2016


“Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie! You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told” (Psalm 40.4-5). We lift our hearts to you, mighty God, merciful God, majestic God, because you have cared for us in spiritual and bodily needs, and with our hearts and hands and voices we resound with your praises!!!!

Father, giver of all good gifts: we pray for the poor and hungry…., the homeless and mentally ill…, the unemployed and heavily employed…, the sad and scared…, the sick and lonely…, that help unlooked for may arrive at just the right time; that you would draw them up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set their feet upon a rock, making their steps secure. That you would put a new song in their mouth, a song of praise to our God, so that many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD (Psalm 40.2-3).

Saving God: we pray for those who do not rest on your Son Jesus – maybe some in here and those out there…; as well as those who are in deep spiritual need…; that by your Spirit active in their lives, they may find conviction, courage, and comfort in Jesus Christ.

Governor and Ruler of all creation, nations and peoples: we pray for the peace and security of the world’s nations, for an end to unjust war and violent oppression; that all of the peoples of the earth may come to receive the Prince of Peace.

Eternal God, who has made us pilgrims and sojourners: we pray for our own country, for those who govern, for all the people in this land. May we have justice, security and well-being. In these days of racial tensions, political rodeos, hot headedness, and terror threats, show yourself a mighty God on our behalf, that our own nation would finally say with deep conviction, “In God we trust!”

Lord God, our Father: we pray for your one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church – especially in Singapore; Sint Maarten; Slovakia; Slovenia; Solomon Islands; Somalia; South Africa; Spain; and Sri Lanka. We pray for all of her Bishops, elders, pastors, ministers, servers, that they would all be faithful to the Word of God and guide your Church to prove herself to be the light of Christ to the nations.


Abba, Father: For this congregation, all of our parents and the children in our homes; our students and young adults seeking to take out on their own path, for each of us in our vocations and conditions; that in all we do we would show ourselves Christ’s disciples in word and deed.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?" (Rev. Ed.) by John Fea. A Review

Image
  John Fea is a professor of history at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, PA. A university founded in 1909 by the Brethren in Christ Church. He originally published "Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? A Historical Introduction" in 2011, and it was revised in 2016. This 328-page paperback is packed full with Colonial and American history, drawing from original sources to answer that question. It is a book written "for the historically minded and thoughtful reader who is looking for help in sorting" out this question, avoiding polemics (xix). Since we live in a sound-bite culture, Fea recognizes that it is difficult to have a sustained dialogue on this topic, but he makes a valiant effort toward having that sustained dialogue. The book reads fairly straightforward, and doesn't seem to get bogged down in the contentious mudpuddles or bogs. In the end, Fea seems to get his point across. To answer the reigning question if America was founded as a Christian...
Read more

Union with Christ - An Application

Image
  (This was my weekly letter to my congregation on Wednesday, 21 February 2024) This morning in my devotional reading, I was working through 1 Corinthians 8. Though I’ve read these words a huge number of times over the years, today one verse caused me to stop and take stock.  Paul wrote, “ Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ ” (1 Corinthians 8:12). What struck me is a couple of things. First, in God’s saving work, we are – by grace alone – united (hitched, bonded, ingrafted) to Christ so much so, that what happens to us happens to him, and what is his becomes ours (think of Galatians 2:20, for example). As Sinclair Ferguson put it, “through union with Christ all that is his by incarnation becomes ours through faith” (“The Christian Life,” 110). Let that percolate in your heart for a while. Your fear, anxiety, tears, and so forth, he feels. And his “ Peace, be still ” is yours. Second, the way we treat one an...
Read more

"Ah, Lord! We are Animated by Anger and Anxiety, Fear and Fury..."

Image
I hesitate to put this out there because of the combative environment we are in at present. But I think some souls will take courage from this, and some will also join with me as we get to the end of this little composition. I am struck by the words of God in Zechariah 8. As he rehearses the waywardness and faithlessness of his people in the past, he clearly declares that he " set every man against his neighbor " (8:10). That got me thinking long ago. I started putting the pieces together and realized that one of God's acts of judgment is division, setting a man against his neighbor. That's what happened when he divided his people into the northern tribes and southern tribes (see 1 Kings 11:26-40). Because of Solomon's turning aside, allowing his wives to turn his heart away from the God of his father, David, the Lord brings about a rift in God's people. And this pattern of divisive judgment runs throughout Scripture. On the other hand, truthful unity is the g...
Read more