Be Still
Find a quiet place where you won’t be interrupted. Get comfortable. Let your body relax and your mind quiet down. Take a few deep breaths and then ask God to make his presence known to you. Be still. Take some time to sit and soak up God’s presence.
Prayer of Approach
My God, I put myself before you to receive instructions for the course you assign me today. Give me strength according to my burdens and finish your good work in me so that I may grow to be your faithful and obedient child. Amen.
Psalm 92
A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day.
It is good to praise the Lord
and make music to your name, O Most High,
proclaiming your love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night,
to the music of the ten-stringed lyre
and the melody of the harp.
For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord;
I sing for joy at what your hands have done.
How great are your works, Lord,
how profound your thoughts!
Senseless people do not know,
fools do not understand,
that though the wicked spring up like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they will be destroyed forever.
But you, Lord, are forever exalted.
For surely your enemies, Lord,
surely your enemies will perish;
all evildoers will be scattered.
You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox;
fine oils have been poured on me.
My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries;
my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
planted in the house of the Lord,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”
Devotional Thought
All too readily we say: Why the suffering of the world, why the pain of the innocent, why hunger, why war? We should do better to say: We rich nations have sucked the blood of the poor, and now we wonder why there are starving babies in Brazil. You, mighty nation bent on extending your influence, sell guns and tanks to poor nations and then say: Poor nations have no idea how to live and let live. What would the world be like if the mighty and the weak began respecting one another, began respecting human beings, and above all began helping one another? What would happen if we became, or tried to become, brothers? Earth would be a paradise, suffering would be immeasurably reduced. I am certain that the mighty mountain of universal suffering afflicting us on earth is due first and foremost to human sin, to our violence, pride, lust, selfishness and greed.
Let me be plain: the immense catastrophes of war, social struggle, tribal clashes, famine, ecological imbalance, and so on are due to our disobeying the clear and simple laws of God, nature and life. And that is no small thing.
— Carlo Carretto
Acts 11:19-26
Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
Reflection
Take time to pause and reflect on your time with Jesus through the Scriptures and devotional thought. What thoughts are being drawn out of you? What emotions are being provoked? What might God be saying? Consider using a journal to write as you process, reflect, and pray.
Time for Prayer
God invites us to cast our cares on him because he cares for us. God is all-together good, already knows what we need, and is eager to give us good things. So we don’t need to pray out of anxiety or fear, but confident trust. Spend a few minutes making your requests known to God.
- For the church
- For others
- For myself
Closing Prayer
Help me, my God, to manage the affairs of life this day as though it were my last. Hold constantly before me the brevity of my fleeting days and the joy of hearing your “well done… enter into the joy of your Lord.” I pray to be worthy of these words, today and always. Amen.