"My Rock" - 29 November 2020

 


“I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation” (Psalm 18:1-3, 46).

Holy God, we pray for all nations and countries, these United States of America, and for the leaders of the world. O God be gracious to us and bless us and make your face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you (Psalm 67:1-5)!

We give you thanks for the bounty of the rain and showers this year. Help us in this State to be good stewards of all you have bestowed on us. Also, you know the financial situation we are in, our economic future, and all the reasons why; and so correct what needs to be corrected and supply what is (or will be) lacking that we may be sensible, shrewd, and sound-minded in our fiscal responsibilities, both personally and civically.

We pray on behalf of your universal Church; for this congregation; Word of God Church; Deliverance and Praise Church; Eagle’s Crest Fellowship; and First India Pentecostal Church. At whatever point we may have turned away from listening to the truth, restore us and grant us repentance. Fill us all with your Holy Spirit that we may be strengthened for greater service; be guided into all truth; and powerfully testify of your gospel and your reign.

Lord be with our young adults, whether in college, in the military, or exploring new careers, and preserve them from harmful circumstances, hurtful ideologies, and hostile peoples. May they show forth your love and tell forth your good news. Uphold them with your righteous right hand, and may their adventures enrich them, for your honor’s sake.

We bring to you those on our hearts who continue to look away from you, and have turned their back to you; and also those who deny either your existence or your importance (…). Grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and bring them to come to their senses to escape from the snare of the devil, having been captured by him to do his will (2 Timothy 2:25-26).

No matter how it all played out, may this Thanksgiving memorably etch into our hearts that you are the One who has given us all things richly to enjoy. And as a result of this recent Thanksgiving, may strained families and friends be reconciled and restored in grateful joy. 

Finally, Lord God, you who are our rock and refuge; be with these who are in need and in hurt (…). May they find your refreshment, renovation and restoration. Amen.

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