Today We Pray

Dear Lord, let Your forgiveness find me. Hold me in Your strong arms and give me Your new life. Live in me and with me this day, that I may by Your power find forgiveness and be made ever anew, reborn from above, living fully in Your Spirit every minute.

Let me not forget all of those around the world who are frightened at this moment. Help those who are victims of terrorism and war. Hold us all in Your loving arms and let us be comforted by the strength and peace You make available to us through the birth of Your son, Jesus; and thank You for all the many gifts You offer us, during our life on earth and for all eternity.

The Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord make his face to shine upon us, and be gracious unto us. The Lord lift up his countenance upon us, and give us peace, this day and evermore.

Amen

Today's Godly Reminder - Matthew 28:19

Help the people to learn of God, believe in Him, and obey His words. Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Go to the people of all nations and make them His disciples. Go and make followers of all people in the world.

This is the great commission to our Lord. Make Jesus known and famous. Take this challenge to reach out to the lost and share the love of Christ to them. So that, they can enter the kingdom of God.

The Daily Grace - Taming the Untamable

From Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs to Siberian foxes, humans have learned to tame wild animals. People enjoy teaching a monkey to "act" in commercials or training deer to eat out of their hands. As the apostle James put it, "All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind" (3:7). But there is something we cannot tame. All of us have trouble getting a little thing called the tongue under control. "No human being can tame the tongue", James tells us (v. 8).

Why? Because while our words may be on the tip of our tongue, they originate from deep within us. "The mouth speaks what the heart is full of" (Matt. 12:34). And thus the tongue can be used for both good and evil (James 3:9). Or, as scholar Peter Davids put it, "On the one hand, [the tongue] is very religious, but, on the other, it can be most profane".

If we cannot tame this unruly tongue of ours, is it destined to be a daily problem for us, always prone to speak evil? (v. 10). By God's grace, no. We are not left to our own devices. The Lord will "set a guard over my mouth"; He will "keep watch over the door of my lips" (Ps. 141:3). He can tame the untamable. To rule your tongue, let Christ rule in your heart.

Today We Pray

Dear God, Lover of Your people, help me this day to live entirely to Your glory. Let me be deaf to unmerited criticism and the praise of men. Nothing can hurt my new-born inner self, it cannot be smitten or die; nothing can mar the dominion of Your Spirit within me; it is enough to have Your approval and that of my conscience.

Let me not put my trust in the words of men, for their minds are weak and their tongues are tainted by the world. Let me not put my trust in the thoughts of my mind, for I am filled with sin and self-deceit. But, let me test everything having to do with faith against our only true teacher, Jesus Christ, and the true Word of God that He inspired the apostles to write in the Bible.

By Your Holy Spirit You have made me one with Your saints in heaven and on earth. Grant that in my earthly pilgrimage I may always be supported by this fellowship of love and prayer, and know myself to be surrounded by their witness to your power and mercy. I ask this for the sake of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

Amen

Today's Godly Reminder - James 3:18

The seed whose fruit is righteousness or spiritual maturity is sown in peace by those who make peace by actively encouraging goodwill between individuals. The harvest of the righteousness of conformity to God’s will in thought and deed is the fruit of the seed sown in peace by those who work for and make peace in themselves and in others. That peace means concord, agreement, and harmony between individuals, with undisturbedness, in a peaceful mind free from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness.

You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor. When peacemakers plant seeds of peace, they will harvest justice. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. Be a peacemaker today!

The Daily Grace - In The Car Wash

I'll never forget my first experience using an automatic car wash. Approaching it with the dread of going to the dentist, I pushed the money into the slot, nervously checked and rechecked my windows, eased the car up to the line, and waited. Powers beyond my control began moving my car forward as if on a conveyor belt. There I was, cocooned inside, when a thunderous rush of water, soap, and brushes hit my car from all directions. 

What if I get stuck in here or water crashes in? I thought irrationally. Suddenly the waters ceased. After a blowdry, my car was propelled into the outside world again, clean and polished. In the midst of all this, I remembered stormy times in my life when it seemed I was on a conveyor belt, a victim of forces beyond my control.

"Car-wash experiences", I now call them. I remembered that whenever I passed through deep waters, my Redeemer had been with me, sheltering me against the rising tide (Isa. 43:2). When I came out on the other side, which I always did, I was able to say with joy and confidence, "He is a faithful God!" Are you in the middle of a car-wash experience? Trust God to bring you through to other side. You'll then be a shining testimony of His keeping power. A tunnel of testing can produce a shining testimony.

Today We Pray

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for being close to our broken hearts. Free me from doubt and indecision. Guide me through this day and show me my next step.

Let Your Holy Spirit be powerful to direct my thinking today so that it be empty of self pity, dishonesty, self-will, self-seeking and fear. Inspire my thinking, decisions and intuitions. Help me to relax and take it easy.

Show me what I need to do to take care of any problems. I ask all these things that I may be of maximum service to You and my fellow man. In the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, I pray.

Amen