The good news of Christ
Lord, thank you for the screens going up on our windows, and the screen door being installed in the kitchen, to help keep the house cool this summer, and the bugs from entering.
Help us keep our minds well screened, to prevent evil thoughts from entering and to keep temptation from overcoming us. Let our hearts be aerated by your Spirit, our souls protected by your Word, our wills reinforced by each step we take toward fulfilling your will in our lives.
Father, everything we want to see happen in this world — justice, peace, prosperity, joy, love — is contained in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We desire and pray for a peaceful and and quiet life in our respective cities and countries. We pray that persecution, when it comes, may not cause us to question our faith.
Let our constancy be firm, our kindness always evident, our love unwavering in the face of hatred, meanness, and evil.
Let no one rob us of our joy in Christ.
Father, just as every person is different from all the other human beings who have ever lived, or who will ever exist, so every day brings its own uniqueness.
Help me to know how to rejoice in these daily varieties and to see in them the richness of your goodness.
Show me the special opportunties that each day brings, the challenges that I face, the people and their thoughts and feelings at this point in time.
Let me be aware.
Sometimes it seems that the days are repetitive, but so many details are different: food, sleep, work, people, weather, events, timing. Such things come together to make today a far different one than all the others that have come before. With those differences come great blessings!
And, Lord, I look forward to that eternal day that will be different not only in detail but in kind.
By John Henson, Dibrell congregation, McMinnville TN
Isaiah 11:2
Father, let me set aside my thoughts
To hear — really hear — my neighbor’s heart;
Let mine be genuine love that promotes
Acceptance, understanding of joy and hurt.
With harsh and mean opinion, let judgment cease —
I’d look upon the other as fellow prey
Of Satan, fellow goal of grace, remiss
In holiness, where mercy and patience apply.
To hear another’s need, I must assume
My own — confess, in all humility,
That I as well require, in your good time,
O Lord, a kind, expansive maturity.
In me make love unselfish and complete,
As you bless both the righteous and unjust;
Let prejudice meet, at last, its full defeat,
And victory come to meekness, as it must.
By John Henson, Dibrell congregation, McMinnville TN
Colossians 2:11-14
An empty cupboard, closet, or tank
Cries out to be filled with fuel or clothes
Or food. ‘Tis you, O Lord, I thank,
Who fills me with grace that overflows.
Lord God of heaven, who rules the affairs of men, bless the newly chosen president of the US with wisdom, discernment, desire for peace, to promote freedom of religion, movement, activity, and expression.
May the new president choose the government’s cabinet and counselors wisely.
May the election cause a change of heart, a moment of reflection upon past sins and immoralities. Not only in the president-elect, but in many others as well.
Upon taking office, may the American leader pursue policies that will promote justice and righteousness among the people.
Father, the US has great influence in the world still. Let it promote good will and peace.
And let all your people in every nation remember that you sent your Son to be Savior of the world, particularly of those who believe in him. Let us remember that, like him, we have been sent into the world to proclaim freedom from sin and reconciliation to every creature, great and small.
Weylan Deaver works with the Sherman Drive congregation in Denton TX and shares this PDF, a detailed outline about the most popular verse in the Bible. He uses chapter 3 to show that faith mentioned in verse 16 is not faith only.
Download the file by clicking here: 2016-11-john-3-16-in-chapter-context.