“ 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.
“ WORD: From the foot to the head there is no soundness. Isa 1:6 ” PRAYER: Great Physician, please admit me to the hospital of your incomparable grace. Sin has infected me and injured every faculty of mind and spirit. Like a hideous disease it requires emergency treatment and long-term care. Thank you that in the greatness of your love, not only do you pardon the sinner but heal the sick. In the days of your flesh you made the blind to see, the deaf to hear, and the lame to leap like a calf from the stall. Let your Spirit, your word, and your grace bring me to good health, for only you are able to guarantee the well-being of those that languish from this disease. Amen.
“ WORD: Lord, help me! Mt 15:25 ” PRAYER: O Lord, listen to my prayer and let my words touch your heart. May your mercy come to me, for your word is my delight. Lift my feet out of the mire and set them on solid ground. Turn to me and lend me your strength, for I am broken and afflicted. Sustain me according to your lovingkindness and the promises of your word. My soul clings to the dust. I am like a lost child, alone and knowing not where to turn. There was a Gentile woman of Tyre who called to you, "Lord, help me," and you graciously attended to her need. So I draw near to the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Do not turn me away, O Lord, for you chose me before the world was made to walk holy and blameless before you. Enable me to fulfill my calling. Deliver me that l may glorify the Lord Almighty, who delights in deeds of deliverance, and whose arm is not too short to save. Amen.
“ Affliction ” Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep your word. It is good for me that I was afflicted that I might learn your statutes. Ps 119:67, 71
“ Who Is This? ” Who is this who sleeps calmly in the stern of a fishing boat while the angry tempest roars? His companions fear for their lives. He rebukes the storm, and all is serene. He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the firstborn of all creation, and firstborn from the dead. He is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, the One through whom all things were created, and without whom nothing would exist. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the bright and morning star, the faithful and true witness. He was in the beginning with God, and in him all things hold together. He is light to us and life. He is Immanuel, God with us, and his favor is like dew on the grass. Great power resides in the atom, the volcano, the supernova. How much greater must his own power be? He has the authority not only to quell a raging sea, but to save us from sin and death, eradicate all evil, and remake the earth for those whom he has chosen. To him belong all power, strength, and authority until the end of time and forever. Amen.
“ Great Sermon! ” Living Word, it has been said that we must carry our cross patiently and submissively, and in the end it will carry us. Help us to see that our own sufferings are a continuation of yours. And since it is evident that in the cross reside strength of mind and hope of future honor, awaken us not to fear it but to embrace it. Share with us your strength that we may submit to its demands, for through much tribulation we must enter the kingdom of God. May reverence and blessing be yours forever, O Savior and Conqueror of death. Amen
“ Great Sermon! ” Dr. MacArthur gives such clarity to what “taking the Lord’s name is vain” means and backs every point with Scripture in this sermon. I thank God for giving the world John MacArthur in my lifetime. His teaching is always biblically sound, deep, and thought provoking.
“ Lead Us On! ” Shepherd of Israel, your greatness, wisdom, and power were on display when you guided the twelve tribes on their journey from Egypt to Canaan. And today we look to you also in our journey through the present world to our promised rest in the New Jerusalem. For we also must walk through a wilderness no less barren than the Sinai. Forgive us for griping and bellyaching as did they, who left thousands of corpses in the desert because of their disobedience. They craved the fleshpots of Egypt, wishing they had died there. Grant that we not pine for our former life but forgetting what lies behind, endeavor forward to what lies ahead, for he that puts his hand to the plow, looking back, is not fit for your kingdom. Let us remember, O Lord, that this journey takes us to an imperishable inheritance, whose glory will more than compensate for the trials we endure in this wilderness. Yours is the glory, the greatness, and the majesty forever. Amen.
“ By the Grace of God! ” Eternal and Almighty God, O that we might find favor in your eyes as did Moses your servant. By your abundant grace you gave him a glimpse of your magnificent glory, and granted to him the wisdom and strength to lead the Israelites out of slavery and into Canaan, the land you had promised to Abraham’s descendants. By your grace you had called Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldeans to show him this land of promise. You led him, protected him, and made a covenant with him because he too had found favor in your sight. By this same grace you chose Jacob over his elder brother Esau, in the end rescuing him and his twelve sons from starvation. Your grace turned meek Gideon into a military hero, calling him a mighty man of valor, as he threshed grain in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites. By your grace you saved Israel and Judah from their enemies repeatedly, and preserved a remnant for yourself. All these men, the nation of Israel, and we too are compelled to say with the Apostle Paul, “By the grace of God I am what I am.”* Let your grace to us not be in vain, for without your undeserved favor, we would be devoid of hope in a fallen and hostile world. Thank you, O Lord, for the grace you pour out on undeserving sinners. To you who give even more grace be glory forever. Amen.
“ Unsurpassable Wisdom! ” Holy One of Israel, all things have been designed and are managed by your unsurpassed wisdom. You have preordained both prosperity and adversity, Job’s gains as well as his losses. It follows then that you may lead us beside still waters one day, but turn to lead us into the valley of the shadow of death another. Thank you for your promise that all things work together for our good. Let us then rest in the assurance that everything in this world lies in the hands of benign providence. You who direct the fall of a sparrow love us eternally, and you allow into our lives nothing that contradicts that love. You alone are God, who do all these things. Amen.
“ I Am an Exile on the Earth ” Eternal Father, grant to your servant a pilgrim attitude and spirit, keeping me aware always that my true home is above, and that I am but a stranger and an exile on the earth, as were all my fathers before me. To you be glory, honor, and wisdom forever and ever. Amen.
“ You Are Our Portion ” Sovereign and Majestic Lord, though we may be poor in this life, you have blessed us with a portion that outlasts time and that satisfies us in your absence. You are our share of the goodness that exists in the cosmos, a helping of boundless magnitude. While the unbeliever’s portion exists in this life only, the portion of your redeemed transcends time and space, for you who are the fount of all goodness are our share. You are the strength of our heart and our portion forever. Amen.
“ Unerring Wisdom ” His providence, like a finely tuned watch movement with all the gears, wheels, and springs, moves every part of creation toward time's end in harmony with his perfect will. Divine engineering allows for no flaws in the machinery, no slips or hiccups. The workmanship is exquisite, and we progress inexorably with it. Let us then give thanks and praise to him who has designed with unerring wisdom this prelude to eternal life.
“ Nonor the Brey-headed! ” WORD: You shall honor the presence of an old man. —Lv 19:32
PRAYER: Creator God, thank you for the gray-headed among us. They have had a lifetime of gains and losses, and their years have given them wisdom, for is not wisdom found among the aged, and does not long life bring understanding? You have blessed us with the elderly so they can teach us, inform us, and save us from repeating the errors of the past. It has been said that the death of an old man is like the burning of a library. If we ignore them and shut them away, it is folly and sin. Lead us to give them proper respect and care lest we cover ourselves with reproach. No one is immune from old age and the evils that it brings. It comes upon us like some fearsome creature, wrapping us in its coils and robbing us of strength. It is an integral part of the human condition, a consequence of our iniquity. Seeing as how we ourselves must pass through it, help us treat with reverence and empathy the ones who have come before us. Scripture tells us to regard the gray head as a crown of glory. Remember us in your goodness when we are old. Do not cast us off in our latter years, nor forsake us when at last our strength is gone. Let us rise before the aged and honor them, as is commanded in your law. Amen.
8/26/2024 3:22 PM
