A CHRISTIAN'S SUNDAY MORNING PRAYER
My Father and My God,
Thank You, Father, for saving me from death, Hell, and Your coming wrath! Thank You, Lord Jesus, for living and dying in my place that I might be granted life everlasting. Thank You for fulfilling all the righteous demands of the Law of God in my place. Thank You for dying on the cross to satisfy the justice of God against my multitude of sins. Thank You for turning away God's wrath from me by absorbing it all in your body and soul on the cross (2 Cor. 5:21). As the hymn writer wrote, "Wonderful grace of Jesus, Reaching the most defiled, By its transforming power, Making him God’s dear child, Purchasing peace and heaven, For all eternity— And the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me!"
Thank You, heavenly Father, for Your forgiveness! Thank You that when I daily confess my sins to You that You are faithful and just to forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Thank You for Your kindness, mercy, grace, love, and compassion to such a sinful, weak, feeble, frail, fragile one such as I! Father, I love You! You have implanted Your love in my heart (Rom. 5:5). I love You because You first loved me (1 John 4:19). My love for You and for others is not what it ought to be. I realize and confess this sin to You. I know that I have not loved You with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength! Nor have I loved my neighbor as myself. I am ashamed of my lack of love for You and my neighbor! I am ashamed of my sinful struggles in breaking Your Commandments. I fail daily to love You with my whole heart. I fail miserably! I have sinful thoughts, words, and actions, and even my best works in this life are all imperfect and defiled with sin! As the Apostle Paul wrote, "For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do" (Rom. 7:15).
But praise Jesus that He never failed to love You, Father, with His whole heart, soul, mind, and strength on behalf of His people. Even while Jesus suffered the inexpressible anguish, pains, and terrors of the cross, He loved you perfectly, O Father, on behalf of His sheep. Praise Jesus that He perfectly loved His neighbor as Himself in my place and on my behalf. What Amazing grace of Jesus that saved a wretch like me! For I once was lost but now I'm found, I was blind but now I see! I am a debtor to Your grace and mercy! As the hymn writer wrote, "A debtor to mercy alone, Of covenant mercy I sing, Nor fear, with God’s righteousness on, My person and off’rings to bring. The terrors of law and of God, With me can have nothing to do; My Savior’s obedience and blood Hide all my transgressions from view."
O LORD, I need Your constant forgiveness as I have not reflected Your glory as I ought. I need Your continual abiding presence and Your face shining upon me lest I slip into despair, discouragement, or depression! I need You every hour! Holy Spirit, fill me with Your power and presence so that I might live solely for Christ! Revive me again to serve You with zeal and vigor! All too often I find myself as frustrated as the Apostle Paul in that I often know the right thing to do, which is to abstain from a particular sin, but quickly fall right back into that sin. Yet because of Your grace, I am determined by the strength of the Holy Spirit to fight sin and overcome temptation. I "feel" the words of the hymn writer reverberating in my soul, "O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be! Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love; Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above."
Bless me, O my great Jehovah, keep me in the palm of Your hand. Keep me from sinning against You! Keep me from drifting away from You, Heavenly Father! Keep me, O Father, keep me I pray, for I am Your slave!
I ask all these things in Jesus' name!
Amen!
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SUFFERING & THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD (1)
SCRIPTURE TELLS US that God ordains everything that comes to pass, and Lamentations 3:37 clearly illustrates this point, “Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it?” The prophet Isaiah proclaims concerning the Lord, “And who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it. Yes, let him recount it to Me in order, from the time that I established the ancient nation. And let them declare to them the things that are coming and the events that are going to take place.” Clearly, nothing comes to pass that the sovereign God of Scripture has not ordained.
THE WORD ORDAINED comes from the Latin word “ordinare”, which means to order. Thus, the Scripture declares that God orders everything that comes to pass, and His eternal decree is the basis for everything that happens (Eph. 1:11). Scripture reveals that God has at least two purposes in everything He decrees: 1. His glory: “For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen” (Rom. 11:36). 2. The good of His elect people: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28). The Scripture also reveals that the God of glory can do nothing that does not glorify Himself. He also cannot do anything that does not work for the good of His elect. God is omnipotent (all powerful); therefore, we must always be careful when we say that God is not able to do something. But we also must never be timid in proclaiming what the Scripture reveals concerning our sovereign God. He does all things for His own glory, and for the good of those whom He has given to His Son from before the foundation of the world (John 6:37). This is what God has revealed in His Holy Word, and so we must proclaim with all boldness that everything God ordains has its chief end in His glory and in the conforming of His elect people into the image of Jesus Christ.
SUFFERING, AFFLICTION, and tribulation are all used by God to conform the believer into the image of Jesus Christ; and our sovereign God ordains all such events to that end. 1 Peter 4:19 says that we suffer according to the will of God; “Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.” Knowing that any suffering experienced by believers is part of God's overall sovereign plan provides its own comfort. “What is your only comfort in life and in death? That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who with His precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and redeemed me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, that all things must work together for my salvation. Wherefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live unto Him” (Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A #1). All trials, tribulations, persecutions, slanders, reproaches and infirmities that inevitably come our way in this life are all ordained by our loving heavenly Father for the furtherance of the believer’s salvation.
Friday Devotional: March 28, 2025
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry
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CHRIST RULES OVER ALL
“Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
—Hebrews 1:3
SCRIPTURE TEACHES that Jesus Christ upholds, preserves, and governs the world which He has made. “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:3). “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:16-17).
THEREFORE:
• ALL CREATURES: from the smallest creepy crawly insect which can be seen only by the microscope, to the archangel which worships before the eternal throne of God.
• ALL EVENTS: from the uprooting of a tiny hair of our head and the sparrow falling in a dense wooded forest, to the destruction of great nations by famine, pestilence, earthquake, flood, or war.
• ALL RULE AND AUTHORITY: from the city official, to the thrones, principalities and powers in the heavenly places.
• THE MATERIAL UNIVERSE: from the smallest subatomic particles which float in the beams of the sun to the greatest galaxies in our solar system —each, every, and all these things depend upon our Lord’s powerful providence.
AND IF ONE link in the chain of this dependence is broken, they would all rush headlong to destruction. Jesus has always governed this world, and He shall always hold the scepter over it until His last enemy is defeated and His Church is made victorious. For Jesus said, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18), and Isaiah wrote the following words about Jesus Christ: “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this” (Isaiah 9:6-7). Therefore, the Psalmist writes, “Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name” (Psalm 30:4).
Tuesday Encouragement: March 25, 2025
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry
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A SABBATH BLESSING
Psalm 92:1: A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath Day. It is good to give thanks to the LORD, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High."
This psalm was designed for the “Sabbath Day” worship.
This means that it is appropriate for the church to sing praises to the Lord on the Sabbath Day.
The Lord's Day, or Sabbath Day, is a good day to recall the mercies of God to our mind.
Remembering God's mercies, and singing His praise spreads joy over the other six days of the week.
It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord. Literally, “Good is it to give thanks unto Jehovah.”
The act of giving thanks is appropriate, and the effect of giving thanks produces good results.
It is appropriate under all circumstances to be thankful for: life, breath, health, food, houses, clothes, air, water, friends, etc.
And above all, thanks to the Lord for the blessings of redemption, and the assurance that we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
All these temporal things shall fail, but the hope of heaven, the assurance that Christ died as our Redeemer and Substitute, cannot fail.
"For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Cor. 4:18).
Salvation merited by Christ is ours, and can never be taken away.
Jesus said, "I give them eternal life and they shall never perish" (John 10:28).
Knowing that our redemption by Christ can never fail, no matter how bad or good the believer may be, causes joy, contentment, and peace.
This is why we are called to "think on these things" (Phil. 4:8).
And notice that all our singing in worship is "to sing praises to Your name."
In other words, our singing is to the Lord Most High for He is good!
That God is the O Most High means He is exalted over all.
That “He” is exalted over all, the world and all things in it, is an appropriate thought when we come before Him to praise Him.
Our thinking on the Lord as the Most High should be at all times, and in all circumstances of life, but especially during worship.
This will elevate our thoughts and worship of the Lord in a wondrous way!
When we dig down deep in theology, we will rise high in doxology, which means praise to our God!
May the Lord be "Enthroned in the praises of this His people" (Psalm 22:3) this Lord's Day and always!
—Pastor S. Henry
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