3rd. July. 2021. Daily Devotion.

Self-Delusion

You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. ~ Matthew 7:5

Remember that, as I said, the right direction leads not only to peace but to knowledge. When a man is getting better, he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still left in him. When a man is getting worse, he understands his own badness less and less.

A moderately bad man knows he is not very good: a thoroughly bad man thinks he is all right.

This is common sense, really. You understand sleep when you are awake, not while you are sleeping. You can see mistakes in arithmetic when your mind is working properly: while you are making them, you cannot see them. You can understand the nature of drunkenness when you are sober, not when you are drunk.

Good people know about both good and evil: bad people do not know about either.

Lord, let me my shortcomings clearly. Amen. ~ C. S. Lewis, from “Mere Christianity”

Prayer for the Morning

I bless you for the day you have made, Mighty Lord God, and pray that I may spend this day rejoicing in your creation. I pray for your Holy Spirit to fill me with the joy of my salvation, so that your light may shine through me into the world, that your honour and glory may be known to all people.

Remind me of your blessings, I pray, with every tribulation I may face, so that I may act with energy, forgiveness and love, ever mindful of the grace You have shown to me. Through Christ I pray, Amen.

Remember, O Lord, what you have wrought in us and not what we deserve, and as you have called us to your service, make us worthy of our calling; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Leonine Sacramentary (6th century)

Eternal God, your steadfast love is as high as the heavens are above the earth and your everlasting arms are underneath us. In Jesus you made your home among us,
and you long for us to find our home in you – safe and free from fear.
Alpha and Omega, beginning and end, the one holding all things together, give us liberating confidence to renew our trust in you, seek your will, and choose your paths. Amen.

Strength for a Friend   

Lord, I come before you today knowing that all power is in Your hand.
I know that you are the Lord and that you care for your people.
Right now, my friend is struggling with a difficult trial.
I can see her/his strength is faltering, Lord, and know that you have all of the strength that she/he needs.

I pray that you will reach down and touch her/him right now wherever she/he is at this moment.
Let your presence fill the room where she/he is and let her feel an extra portion of your strength that can help her/him to get through this day.

She/He needs you now, Lord, and I thank you in advance for meeting her/him where she/he is and shoring up her/his strength during this difficult time. In Jesus’ name. Amen.