“ Comforting Message ” Bread of Life, pursue them with your love and draw them to Calvary. Melt the hardened heart and open the blind eyes to see the truth that they might repent and believe. Amen.
“ Superb Audio ” Well worth listening to this outstanding paean to our Lord, to whom belongs all power, strength, and authority until the end of time and forever. Amen.
“ Leaning on Her Beloved ” By walking with you, O Lord, we are able to lean on your everlasting arms. He who walks with you daily, leaning on your arms, reaps the benefit of your untiring strength. And the closer we walk with you, the farther away from us the world recedes until it loses its attraction altogether, and our old sinful habits begin falling away. Let us walk with you daily. Amen.
“ WORD: With whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Jas 1:17 ” PRAYER: Immutable and Faithful God, thank you that your promises to us are as good today as when you made them. Nevertheless everything you have created changes constantly. Consider the night sky, where stars are born and die, where galaxies collide and black holes devour vast quantities of matter, while the universe continues to expand. And here on earth it is impossible to step into the same river twice, for as it flows it keeps changing. Mountains rise higher, rivers run dry, deserts advance, glaciers retreat, but you remain the same. Culture changes with each new generation. What was considered deviant fifty years ago is now accepted as normal, even celebrated. But your word is forever fixed in heaven, and evil is always evil in your eyes. You will roll up the heavens like a garment, and they will be changed, but you are always the same, and your years have no end. Amen.
“ WORD: A thousand years in your sight are like a watch in the night. 2 Pt 3:8 ” PRAYER: Eternal Lord, our life is but a spark in the night, our days a momentary breeze. Job said his days were like a weaver’s shuttle, and that they end without hope. We are born and grow into the strength of youth. Then old age comes suddenly upon us, and we go out with a sigh. But even if we attain to many years, their span is but toil and trouble. They are soon gone, and we fly away and are no more. Arouse us to number our days that we may grasp how quickly the time passes. Teach us to use it wisely, not investing too much of it in earthly pursuits that have no eternal value. Let us therefore judge all things by the price they gain in eternity. Keep us mindful that we are stewards of everything you have given us, including time, and grant that we may serve you faithfully while we have breath. To you who are eternal, immortal, and invisible be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
“ WORD: The Lord your God loves you. Dt 23:5 ” PRAYER: Dear God Who Loves Me, it is no surprise that the divine love surpasses my own capacity for love, for you have loved me with an infinitely burning love that never grows cold or stale, the very flame of the Lord, unquenchable and constant. Yours is an ocean of love that cannot be diminished even by innumerable acts of love, an ocean without bottom, without limits, overflowing the shores of heaven. How cold, fitful, and momentary has been my love for you when compared to yours for me! Baptize me in this great ocean of yours until my heart burns with the same love for you as your heart has burned for me. To you, who love me beyond all earthly love, be glory and dominion forever. Amen.
“ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Pb 9:10 ” Father in Heaven, the fear of the Lord is the one fear that casts out all others. Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than bulging bank accounts without it. What do you require of men but to fear you, walking in all your ways? In the darkness of night the one that fears you sleeps peacefully, knowing that anything that touches him must first go through you. Renew our minds in the fear of you, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. That wisdom comes from above, and does not fall on us like rain, but is found in the treasure house of Holy Scripture, for from your mouth comes knowledge, understanding, and the fear of the Lord. Make our hearts hungry for your word, to read it, study it, and memorize it. Happy is he who fears the Lord, for the fear of you is wisdom's door. From you derives every good and perfect gift received by men. Amen.
“ But now they desire a heavenly country. Hb 11:16 ” Lord of Hosts, it has been said that life is a bridge. Cross over it, but build no house on it. Let us not forget that we are strangers and pilgrims on the earth, for here we have no lasting city, but we wait for one to come, a city that has foundations, and whose builder and architect is God. Your city will have no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for your glory will be its light. It will sparkle like a rare jewel, the river of life flowing from your throne. There will be no war or violence, and the wolf will graze with the lamb. Let us then scorn even the delightful things of this world, for even its beauty is destined to pass away. When we come to our true home in glory everlasting, you will wipe away every tear and vanquish every sorrow. Awaken us therefore to seek the things that outlast time. Build us an eternal city in which to dwell and praise you forever. To you, whose word is like a fire, be honor and glory forever. Amen.
“ WORD: Before I was afflicted, I went astray. Ps 119:67 ” PRAYER: Merciful Lord, you have chastened me severely, but you have not given me over to death. Blessed is the man you chasten and save from ruin. Your chastening is merciful albeit painful at the time since its fruit is known only later. You shook the earth, O Lord, and I hastened back to you. I know that your judgments are right, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me. You took me by the hand and led me on pathways I know not, and which I would never choose myself. Though I may recoil from your correction, in eternity I will know that all my trials were appointed for my good by the benign hand of infinite love and mercy. It was good for me that I was afflicted so I could learn your statutes. Yes, correct me, O Lord, but with mercy, not in anger lest you break me in pieces. Let me not be dispirited when I am rebuked, for whom you correct you love, and you reprove every son you receive. Though you crush, you also revive, and though you scourge, you also make whole again. Amen.
“ WORD: You have made my days as handbreadths. Ps 39:5 ” PRAYER: Lord of Hosts, the years roll by, taking me swiftly from my beginning to my end. Teach me to appreciate the brevity of my life, in which the days pass so quickly they blur in the memory. Satisfy me daily with your lovingkindness, that I may know joy and gladness until I am no more. You have charged me to be watchful and alert, but my daily routine sometimes lulls me to sleep. Therefore make me vigilant, living each day as though it were my last, for I know neither the day nor the hour when my soul will be required of me. You have reserved heaven and earth for fire, that a new world may emerge where justice and righteousness prevail. Search my motives and purify my desires that I may please you during the remaining days you have allotted me. Shelter me under your silvery wings, for I offer myself freely to your cause. Would that I might dwell forever among the pilgrims that call you their king. Amen.
“ Great Little Message ” It is brief, but it packs a punch. Keep looking up! A friend of mine is fond of saying, "Keep looking down" because we have been seated in heavenly places with Christ (Eph 2:6).
“ XLNT Message ” This reader, whoever or whatever he is (AI?), enhances Philpot's devotional. I recommend Cornelius Plantinga's book "Not the Way It's Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin." It picks up on Philpot's message and discusses how our culture has tossed out the concept of sin. We live in a culture in which nothing is wrong anymore. Who has the guts today to say that homosexuality is wrong? No, it's just another life choice, while true Christians are either laughed at or condemned as judgmental. The New America is despicable, corrupt, hedonistic, and decadent.
“ Hard Hitting Truth ” In 9 glorious minutes, and with judicious humor, Robert Morley upends humanism & Arminianism and everything else that opposes He who works all things according to the counsel of His will.
“ WORD: He was led as a lamb to the slaughter. Isa 53:7 ” PRAYER: O Jesus Christ, Desire of All Nations, remember the sufferings you endured during the terrible hours of your passion. Remember the agony of Gethsemane, your soul sorrowful to the point of death, and how you prayed that the cup might pass from you. Remember how you acquiesced to drink that cup on behalf of sinners such as me, and how the temple guard, led by your betrayer, came for you as against a criminal with swords and clubs. O Jesus of Nazareth, repository of all virtue, remember how the Jews reviled you, delivering you to the Romans, who mocked and struck you, while the Jews said, We have no king but Caesar. Remember, O Lord, how they stretched you out on the bitter tree, having crowned you with a diadem of thorns. O Lamb of God, remember the torment and the anguish, and remembering, enable me to keep your commands, and help me to endure my trials. Remember, O Lord, and when the time comes, hide me in your wounds so as to receive me at the hour of my death. Amen.
3/23/2025 6:49 PM
