We're taking my sister-in-law out for dinner tonight. It's her birthday. One of those big ones. I'm not saying which one.
Now to see what the Father has for me today.
CHRISTLIKENESS
Father of Jesus,
Dawn returns, but without thy light within no outward light can profit;
Give me the saving lamp of thy Spirit that I may see thee,
the God of my salvation, the delight of my soul, rejoicing over me in love.
I commend my heart to thy watchful care,
for I know its treachery and power;
Guard its every portal from the wily enemy,
Give me quick discernment of his deadly arts,
Help me to recognize his bold disguise as an angel of light,
and bid him begone.
May my words and works allure others to the highest walks of faith and love!
May loiterers be quickened to greater diligence by my example!
May worldlings be won to delight in acquaintance with thee!
May the timid and irresolute be warned of coming doom by my zeal for Jesus!
Cause me to be a mirror of thy grace, to show others the joy of this service,
May my lips be well-tuned cymbals sounding thy praise,
Let a halo of heavenly-mindedness sparkle around me
and a lamp of kindness sunbeam my path.
Teach me the happy art of attending to things temporal with a mind intent on things eternal.
Send me forth to have compassion on the ignorant and miserable.
Help me to walk as Jesus walked,
my only Saviour and perfect model,
his mind my inward guest,
his meekness my covering garb.
Let my happy place be amongst the poor in spirit,
my delight the gentle ranks of the meek.
Let me always esteem others better than myself,
and find in true humility
and heirdom to two worlds.
These continue to be amazing prayers. There are some days that I feel like stopping my devotion after that prayer. The interesting thing about this one was that my "inspirational quote" from SparkPeople today had to do with speaking kindness. It had no religious implications, it was just about being kind to people. That takes humility.
Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.
Asaph continues down this path of almost envying the wicked. He notices that they don't seem to worry about anything, and they get richer and richer.
But envy is sin. We must remember that. Even though the grass may seem greener, it's really not. It's sad to see Christians fall prey to the sin of envy, especially envying those who have no appearance of Christlikeness in their lives at all. But it's marketing. Who has the funniest commercials on TV? The beer people!
Hear, though, two additional Scripture references. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. And 2 Corinthians 4:8 gives us this encouragement: We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;
We are not crushed; we are not driven to despair. God's ways are higher than ours, his thoughts far beyond ours. "Apparently the proper response to perplexity, at least for the Christian, is to trust in the Lord...anyway!"
(From A Musician Looks At the Psalms, by Don Wyrtzen)
But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.
From Matthew Henry Daily Readings:
The seat of Christian unity is in the heart or spirit: it does not lie in one set of thoughts, nor in one form and mode of worship, but in one heart and one soul. This unity of heart and affection may be said to be of the Spirit of God; it is wrought by him, an dis one of the fruits of the Spirit. This we should endeavor to keep. Endeavoring is a gospel word. Peace is a bond, as it unites persons, and makes the live friendly one with another. A peaceable disposition and conduct bind Christians together, whereas discord and quarrelling disband and disunite their hearts and affections. Many slender twigs, bound together, become strong. The bond of peace is the strength of society."
Heavy stuff, that.
I also pray that we, your children, would be kind to the world around us. We can be kind without bending to the ways of the world. Showing kindness to people does not mean that we agree with their philosophies or false religions. However, it does show that we acknowledge that they have value as human beings, and that they are all people who have needs, just like we do.
I thank you that we can come to you when we are perplexed. I pray that I will always come to you when I am tempted to be envious of the "wicked." Let me not envy their riches or their seeming lack of anxiety. You've got it all under control. Let me simply trust you, with emphasis on the word "simply."
Finally, Father, I pray, as the Puritan did, let me walk as Jesus walked. Let my conduct in this world be as a lighthouse for the struggling sailor. Somehow, mark my ways so that I might be a beacon for Christ.
PRAY FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA AND HIS ADMINISTRATION
President Obama will be in Canada for the G-8 and G-20 summits June 24-28. The fragile global economy and
differences in philosophy with European allies remain at the anticipated head of discussions there.
White House Budget Director Peter Orzag plans to leave government in July becoming the first member of President
Obama�s Cabinet to depart. Orzag is likely to join a think tank, colleagues have reported.
Pray for all of the delegates to the summits as they grapple with the economy on an international scale.
The world's economy is still in desperate need of prayer!
Pray for peace in God's Family.
Grace and peace, friends.