For God�s anointing on Vice President Biden
Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and everything in it, and so consecrated them.
�Leviticus 8:10
Heavenly Father, we express our appreciation to You for the importance You�ve placed on being dedicated to You. Throughout Scripture, especially the Old Testament, You showed us time and again how vital it was to You for people or things to be set apart for service to You. Moses not only anointed the tabernacle, but everything in it�each item�because of the premium You�ve placed on holiness.
Today, God, we ask you to place Your anointing on Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., only a man, but the one You�ve set apart to serve as vice president of our country. Lord, let him be dedicated to serving You as he serves the United States. Consecrate him, Lord, to accomplish Your purposes while in office. For the many ways You are going to use Vice President Biden, we glorify You. In the name of Jesus we pray, amen.
Priase him with trumpet sound, praise him with lute and harp!
Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
Praise him with sounding cymbals;
praise him with loud crashing cymbals!
Let everything that hath breath praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD! Verses 3-6
How can anyone say that we aren't supposed to use instruments to praise God??
Oh, and that concludes this reading of the Psalms. I've already started a new devotional book for this year that includes selections from John Calvin's commentary on the Psalms. Starting tomorrow, I'll just post the passages from those readings, so I'll be somewhere around Psalm 10 or so.
1 Timothy 2:1-2,8-9
Paul gives us some very simple instructions on prayer here. He tells Timothy to "pray every way you know how, for everyone you know." That pretty much covers everything, eh? But then he goes on to tell him to pray especially for rulers and governments. We need to pray for them to "rule well" so we can get on with our business. And what is our business? "living simply, in humble contemplation..."
Paul wants men to pray, "not shaking angry fists at enemies, but raising holy hands to God." Seriously...as Christians, is there ever any need to worry about our enemies at all?? In fact, what does Jesus tell us concerning our "enemies?" He tells us to love them! Right?
Finally, Paul says that he desires for women to "get in there with the men in humility before God, not primping before a mirror or chasing the latest fashions." Heh. That one amuses me a little bit. Especially as one who couldn't care less about the "latest fashions."
Point is, both men and women need to get our priorities straight. Prayer is important. Retribution and fashion are not.
So how is God telling me to pray in this passage? I believe that I need to do exactly what Paul tells Timothy. Pray every way I know how for everyone I know. God is telling me that I need to be more involved in the work of prayer. I need to be more concerned with prayer than finding the latest tunes for my mp3 player.
Most of all, help me live simply, in humble contemplation, not being concerned about any "enemies," or situations that might otherwise suck the life out of me.
Maranatha, Lord Jesus!!
Grace and peace, friends!