Tag: Lent

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

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. Assist us to experience your grace enabling us to say, “no,” to ungodliness and to live upright and godly lives; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

~~ Fr. Glenn E. Davis

 

Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

Luke 17:13.

O’ Lord, Father of all mercies, whose compassions never fail and whose mercies never cease. Your mercy is gracious goodness to those of us who are miserable and distressed because of our sin. Look upon us, your servants, with Your never failing love, extend to us your compassion on our many struggles, failings, shortcomings, and sins. We are frail, yet You are strong. We are needy, yet You are compassionate. We are sinful, yet You are forgiving. Lord, your mercy is boundless and free through our Lord Jesus Christ, bestow upon us Your compassion now in our present distress; through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

~~ Fr. Glenn E. Davis

Yet a time is coming and has come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

John 4:23-24

Father, we love and adore you and we desire to worship you in Spirit and in truth. You seek worshipers who long for you as a deer seeks water. Only through your grace can we lay down our personal desires for our needs, set aside the way we want things to turn out and surrender our will to yours. As we release our demands, change our hearts so that we can be true worshipers; those who know the truth about you and your will toward us and who blissfully gaze on your holiness and are remade in your image. Let our hearts be flooded with the kind of love that leads us to seek your face, not your hand. In Your Blessed Name. Amen.

~~Nancy Beckham

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).

Lord God, you are always with us. Your Scripture teaches us that you will never leave us or forsake us. Even when we stray, rebel, and flee Your presence, You promise to pursue us and draw our hearts back to You. You are with us even when all seems dark and empty. You comfort us in life and death. We are grateful that Your presence goes with us and that You give us rest. Satan cannot take away anything you have promised. You protect us under your mighty wings. We praise you that we do not have to fear any evil because you have overcome darkness with your light. Let your light shine forever in our lives. We pray, teach us to trust Your Word and promise. Let your presence reign on Earth. In Jesus’name. Amen!

~~India B. Davis

 

Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Matt. 11:11

Insight: George Eldon Ladd, the American Biblical scholar, wrote about this verse that so much greater is this new age God ushered in with Jesus that even the least member in the Kingdom of God is greater than the greatest in the previous age. Imagine that! John the Baptist was greater than Moses who parted the Red Sea, received the Ten Commandments and led the children of Israel to the Promise Land. He was greater than Abraham who believed God to the point of being willing to sacrifice his own son. Greater than David, the man after God’s own heart. Greater than Solomon whose unsurpassed wisdom lead Israel in its most glorious days. This is the age we live in, the age of the Kingdom that advances across the globe, the age of free access to God through the blood of Jesus, the age when the Holy Spirit resides in every believer. The age the prophets of old strove to understand and angels longed to look. (1 Peter 1:10-13)

Prayer: Father, we thank you for allowing us to live in this new age of the Kingdom when we can experience you personally and intimately. We thank you for filling us with your Holy Spirit who is our counselor, companion, power for life and ministry. Above all we thank you for Jesus who made this all possible through his sacrifice of love. Amen.

~~ Fr. Scott Howard

 

 

The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go” (John 11: 38-44).

Lord, Your miracles remind us of how powerful you are. You are a powerful God who leads all of us out of bondage, who delivers us from the grips of the evil one, who feeds the five thousand with one loaf and two fish, who heals the sick and raises people from the dead.

You are more powerful than oppressive governments, dictatorial authorities, extreme sickness and evil itself. Forgive us for not remembering Your miracles found in the Bible. We pray, increase our faith. Your awesome power is at work in our daily lives. You make the impossible, possible. You are worthy to be praised when the impossible happens, our lives are changed forever. Your great miracles come only from Your loving hands. We glory in your Name. Amen. 

~~ India B. Davis

 

You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by. Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning. You will be secure because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety.

Job 11:16-18

Lord God, we worship you and put our faith in you because you are powerful and loving. You are a glorious representation of a father who lovingly adores his children and protects his young from trouble. Our hearts are overwhelmed by your goodness and kindness to us. Our hearts swell with humility and our eyes with tears for your unfailing love and goodness towards us. We rest in your arms, Lord.

It is Your arms that so carefully carry us in times of tribulation. We are secure because of your love. We continue to put our hope in You, our Creator, the God of the universe, who created the earth in six days and made us in Your image. It was Your love that sent Your only Son to be born of a virgin, to walk among us, die on the Cross, bear our sins and rise from the dead. We put our hope in You because You are God and worthy to be praised! We praise you through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

~~ India B. Davis