The Glorious Deeds of Christ

 

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak (Isa. 40: 28-29).

Lord, we are tired and weary. Some days, we groan in our weakness. Our financial battles, daily responsibilities, and worn-out bodies weary us to the bone. But you, O’ God, do not grow tired and weary. Your Holy Spirit is always with us. You do not sleep or slumber. Your eye is always on us and your presence is always with us. You are never absent.  You never forsake us.

Lord, you give us strength and courage to face our on-going struggles.  You bring us great joy in our darkest hours. O’ Lord our God, we pray for your joy today in knowing that your strength will carry us through our trials. We declare that our hope in you will never be found wanting. In Jesus’s name. Amen!

–India B. Davis

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse (Rom 1:20 ESV).

Father, we thank you for your creation. You spoke the heavens and earth into existence by the Word of your mouth. Thank you for stars and planets and moons. Thank you for the warmth of day and the cool rest of night. You are good, and you made your creation good. Thank you for the sea and the land and for all the delightful, frightening, and adorable creatures that inhabit them. Thank you for establishing order and structure and beauty. You have not left us without a witness to your power and presence.

Forgive us for ignoring and desecrating your witness through our wasteful consumption of creation. Thank you that you have not abandoned this world to bondage and corruption, but that you will one day redeem both it and us. Pray, make us more appreciative of the good things of creation and more careful in how we use them. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

~ ~Nicholas Beckham

 

“’And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’ And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:29-31 ESV).

Father, you know I am afraid of rejection, of being seen as one of those weird Christians, but I know that so many around me need Jesus as I need Him. Open my eyes to opportunities to tell people about Him, to share how He has been my help in times of need, my healer and friend. Give me boldness and words to speak when these opportunities come. And show yourself strong on their behalf by healing, providing, encouraging and meeting them in their deepest needs. In Jesus’s name, Amen. 

~~Fr. Scott Howard

SaveSave

And [Jesus] is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent (Colossians 1:18 ESV). 

We praise you precious Jesus, glory and honor be to you. Blessed Christ who for our sake condescended from your heavenly throne, you came into our fallen misery and became God incarnate in human flesh–one with us. We seek you, make our hearts a precious dwelling place for your presence, adorn our lives with your fruit, replenish our ministries with your gifts, and possess our hearts fully and completely.

You are Jesus our Savior, be our complete and total deliverer and rid us of the sin that so easily ruins the sweet fellowship of your presence. Grant us committed hearts full of affection and devotion, give us compassion for others’ pain, trials, and struggles. Pray that we may love others as you have loved us, that we may forgive as you forgave us and that we may show mercy to the merciless. In your blessed name, we pray. Amen.

~~ Fr. Glenn E. Davis

Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved (Psalm 55:22 ESV). 

Lord, we cast our burdens upon you for they are heavy. Our hearts are broken and downcast. Our spirits are burdened over loved ones who are sick, lost, and dying. Please come and sustain us as you have promised. Please heal and save those we fervently love and diligently serve. Let us not be moved from steadfast faith and complete trust in your all-mighty power. Do not allow Satan to come and steal our hope in your faithfulness. We thank you, Lord, that you hear our prayers on behalf of our loved ones. Come and have mercy on us, we pray in Jesus’s name. Amen!

~~India B. Davis

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people (Titus 2:11 NLT).

Almighty God, God of grace and God of glory, whose Son, Jesus, is full of grace and truth. Thank you that your grace relentlessly pursued us and never stopped pursuing us until you won our hearts by your great love. Your grace was undeserved and unmerited, You rescued us from a just judgment of our own making. Your grace called us to trust Jesus Christ as our Savior, the one who took all our sin upon himself. Your grace lifted us out the pit of our sin, renewed us, empowered us, and elevated us into Your presence.

Assist us, Lord, to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Assist us to know that your grace is available at all times, in every need, and for every good work (2 Cor. 9:8). Assist us to experience your grace enabling us to say, “no,” to ungodliness and to upright and godly lives (Titus 2:12); through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

~~ Cn. Glenn E. Davis

For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels (Mark 8:38 ESV).

Lord, I confess making an idol of what other people think. I am a slave to the fear of man. Too many times I am reluctant to be associated with you, the cross, and the gospel. Too many times I keep silent when I know I should share your good news with others who desperately need it. Forgive me for accepting things that you disapprove in order to be accepted by the world that disapproves of you. You chose to be rejected as the worst criminal rather than be accepted by the wealthy and influential. Forgive me for valuing the approval of my friends and co-workers more than your approval. I thank you for the blood-bought forgiveness of Jesus. Amen.

~~Nicholas Beckham

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. (Hebrews 12:1–2 NIV).

Lord, our God and Father, we thank you for letting us walk in the way of Jesus Christ, for helping us on the way to the Cross. Come what may, we belong to the Savior, and we are your children. We want to be joyful and full of faith, full of hope, full of patience, for your mercy leads us on. In all, we experience how often we can say, “Thanks be to God. He has helped us here, he has helped there, he helps every day in spite of all the evil in the world. Praise and thanks and honor be to him forever!” In Jesus’s name. Amen.

–Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt

ht: daily dig

God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will (Heb 2:4 ESV).

O’ Lord God, you are mighty. Though we believe this truth with our minds, please make it real in our hearts. You are the God who parted the Red Sea leading your people out of slavery in Egypt. You defied Pharoah with plagues, signs, and wonders. You healed the sick, provided manna, and delivered Israel from her enemies. You have taken down the mighty and lifted up the poor and needy.

O’ Lord, our God, we ask to witness your miracles again. We are desperate for your power to pour out on us and through us. We ask during this Lenten season that your church will not be barren. But, your Holy Spirit will work freely in our daily lives blessing the lonely and hurting. We ask that your kingdom power manifest where we live and work: our homes, offices, hospitals, schools and government. In our darkest hours, we seek your face and place our hope in you. Come, almighty God in and among your people and let us see your wonder-working power again.  We ask through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God and forever. Amen.

–India B. Davis

I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” Psalm 40:8.

Heavenly Father, through the ascension of your Son Jesus, our Lord, you sent the Holy Spirit to come along side us and to fill us, to give us power to live lives of faithful obedience, to love our neighbor and minister effectively. We know you to be a good Father who gives good gifts to His children and the Holy Spirit to those who ask. Fill me, my family, and my fellow believers afresh with your Holy Spirit today. Give us the gifts of the Spirit so we may minister to each other and our community in His power. Lastly, manifest through us the fruits of your Spirit so that our lives display Jesus and bring you glory. Amen.

~~ Fr. Scott Howard