Today We Pray

Dear Lord, You have reclaimed us, and You are remaking us. Thank You for Your love and Your care despite our self-centered and destructive ways. Thank You for true forgiveness and unity in You.

Grant, O Lord Christ, peace, love and speedy reconciliation to Your people whom You have redeemed with Your precious blood. Make Your presence become known to those who have turned away from You and do not seek You, so that none of them may be lost, but all may come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved. May all the earth praise Your holy Name, living in the true love and harmony You purchased for us by Your suffering.

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within me all this day. And whatever I do in word or deed, may I do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. This I pray, in Christ's name.

Amen

Today's Godly Reminder - Lamentations 5:21

Return to the Lord, so that you may be restored. Turn to Him and you shall be turned and restored. Bring yourself back to Him. And, be ready to come back in His presence. Allow yourself to be given a fresh start.

This is our only hope! He can give us back the joys we used to have if we will just turn to Him. Help yourself to be restored by Him. There's always a room for change.

The Daily Grace - Out of the Ruins

In the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem, you'll find Tiferet Yisrael Synagogue. Built in the 19th century, the synagogue was dynamited by commandos during 1948 Arab-Israeli War. For years the site lay in ruins. Then, in 2014, rebuilding began. As city officials set a piece of rubble as the cornerstone, one of them quoted from Lamentations: "Restore us to yourself, Lord, that we may return; renew our days as of old" (5:21).

Lamentations is Jeremiah's funeral song for Jerusalem. With graphic imagery, the prophet describes the impact of war on his city. Verse 21 is his heartfelt prayer for God to intervene. Still, the prophet wonders if that is even possible. He concludes his anguished song with this fearful caveat: "unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure" (v. 22). Decades later, God did answer that prayer as the exiles returned to Jerusalem.

Our lives too may seem to be in ruins. Troubles of our own making and conflicts we can't avoid may leave us devastated. But we have a Father who understands. Gently, patiently, He clears away the rubble, repurposes it, and builds something better. It takes time, but we can always trust Him. He specializes in rebuilding projects. God will one day restore all the beauty lost before.

Today We Pray

Dear God, the heavens are telling of Your glory and the wonders of Your love, the sun by day, and the moon and stars by night. Yet, as clouds will cover Your sky in the gloom, as the ceilings of men's buildings hide the sky from my sight, so the cares of this existence block Your majesty from my mind. I look with hope to the day when my knowledge of Your glory will never be hidden by the concerns of the world, and I may know You every moment of time, forever.

My heart is filled with praise for all that You have done for me. You have changed the focus and purpose of my life because You sent Your Son. Thank You for redeeming me.

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip me with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in me what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.

Amen

Today's Godly Reminder - Psalm 107:2

Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has saved you from your enemies. All of you set free by God, tell the world! Tell how he freed you from oppression. 

Everyone the Lord has rescued from trouble should praise Him. Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—those he redeemed from the hand of the foe. You are set free because of Him. Tell others about this so that they will be redeemed by His blood, too.

The Daily Grace - He Changed My Life

Following the death of computer pioneer Steve Jobs in 2011, more than one million people from around the world posted tributes to him online. The common theme was how Jobs had changed their lives. They said they lived differently because of his creative innovations, and they wanted to express their appreciation and their sorrow. The screen of one tablet computer said in large letters: iSad.

Gratitude fuels expression, which is exactly what Psalm 107 describes: "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy" (v. 2). The theme of this psalm is people in great trouble who were delivered by the Lord. Some were homeless and in need (vv. 4-5); some had rebelled against God's Word (vv. 10-11); others were at their wits' end when they cried out to God (vv. 26-27). All were rescued by God. "Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!" (vv. 8, 15, 21, 31). When we consider the greatness of God's love, His grace in sending Jesus Christ to die for us and rise again, and what He has delivered us from, we cannot keep from praising Him and wanting to tell others how He changed our lives! Our gratitude to God for salvation fuels our witness to others.

Today We Pray

Dear Lord, thank You that we have the Scriptures to search, given by Your inspiration in total truth, that we might gain the profit of salvation from them. I give thanks for all those who toiled to preserve Your Word for our learning. I give thanks that through the patience and comfort of the Bible we may have hope: a light of prophecy and truth, as sure as a bright star in the darkness, leading us to Christ.

Your death on the cross has set me free. I can live joyously and freely, without fear of death. Your mercy knows no bounds, o Lord.

Stay by my side always. Gain for me a trusting heart. Thank You for loving me.

Amen