The scripture for today, January 12, is James 1:12 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:          “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

Ah, Lord God. I praise you for your greatness and minuteness.  You dwell in the cosmos and you dwell in each tiny atom. You are directed energy, determined love, the head, heart and soul of the universe. Nature praises your reliability and predictability. My spirit praises you for bringing life and brightness and wonder into the world. When the sun shines on me, I know it is you. When rain drops happily onto the ground, I know it is you. When the rainbow emerges among dark clouds, it, of course, is you.

Help me not look down on people with weaknesses. When I do, it makes me weaker than them.

Your patience with mankind through the centuries is beyond comprehension. You answer sometimes silly (to you) daily prayers while having to keep everything in the cosmos synchronized. And, Jesus, you came at just the right time after mankind had tried everything to be perfect and realized it is impossible. Oh glorious thought ~ all you have done and continue to do to rescue me from Satan and keep the way clear for me to live on the heights with you someday forever. Thank you, too, for seekers around the world.  Send more to me so I can reach out to them. Thank you for their souls that I may offer up to you.

The scripture for today, January 11, is 2nd Peter 1:11 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:          “And you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

You are the fountain of all things, the cause of all things, the manifestation, the life-giver and mover of all things. The thought of you is staggering and beyond my comprehension.  Still you reveal yourself and leave it up to me to understand what I can. That understanding is just a shadow, a whisper in this vast cosmos. Someday I will understand ~ well, maybe. Will it ever be possible? I am only human. Still, on that Someday, I will comprehend and praise you more than I ever imagined.

If I stayed to myself and minded only my own business, I would not be opening myself up to insults. That’s just being a coward. Help me open myself up to taunts. Help me share in the suffering of Jesus.

Your Bible is such a blessing. It is not confusion. It is not chaos in its wondering about this and that. It is not madness in careless guessing. It is order and harmony, peace and tranquility, it is ultimate truth. There it is just waiting for me to discover it. You open your mind and heart to me in your Bible, along with your plans, your movings, your yearnings for me. A love letter from God it is. When I read, it is as though I am in a mist and seeing you afar. Thank you for your Bible.

The scripture for today, January 8, is 1st Peter 1:8 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:          “Though you have not seen him, you love him! And even though you do not see him now, you believe in him! And are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy!”

Ah, my Lord Jehovah, I praise you ~ God the Father and First Cause of all things, God the Son who carries out the will of the Father, God the Spirit and Life Bringer.  In every way you have revealed yourself. In every way you are the white radiance of eternity quivering in the intense delight of divinity.  I am not in the dark, wondering about your glorious will for me. You provide light in your Word. You are Word. You are Light.  The rays of your wisdom stream down to me, I catch them, and my heart is filled with You.

Lord God, help me work through forgiving seventy times seven. That’s 490 forgiving the same person for sometimes the same thing. So hard to do. Make me die to self so I can.

Your Bible is a gift I shall never tire of because I never have to guess what is going on in the world. It is so astounding, I never comprehend all that is in it ~ about the past, the right now, and the forever future. Your Plan for this world affects the next world ~ your place of ethereal love and joy. I thank you for revealing all this to me through your Words and keeping my heart as receptive as that of a little child.

 

The scripture for today, January 4, is Philippians 1:4 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:          “In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy.”

Lord God in whom I live, I move, and I have my being. I touch you with my spirit, feel your presence with my heart, and hear you in the wind. Oh, to be able to be with you. How I long for that day of days. I care not how I leave this world and enter yours. I care not if it be by disease or injury, whether in peace time or war, whether while at my ease or by torture. Your world is as far beyond my imagination as living in the dark and one day seeing everything through rays of sun.

 

Forgive me those fleeting moments when I fear death. Help me see that all I do is close my eyes in this world and open them in yours. Everyone fears the unknown. But with you beside me, there is no unknown.

 

Thank you for friends. No matter how difficult the world gets, you give me friends. A friend is like honey when I am hungry, a stream of living water when I am thirsty, a barrier between me and my disappointments. We mirror each other, we encourage each other, we lift each other up, and in the doing give each other a little bit of heaven on earth. Most of all, you are my Friend and walk with me through life as friends do, hand in hand. Ah, the very thought of walking and talking with my God lifts me to the pinnacle of imagination.

Oh, how I praise you, God of magnificent glory who does everything just right.  You made angels to be in your presence as your servants. You made us to be farther away, but as your children. How you do love us. I guess sometimes I envy the angels because they are always in your presence. But they envy humans.  I am your child. I belong to your royal family.  What honor. What privilege.  What dignity you bestow upon me. And some day, I will behold you as you are and worship you on bended knees.

Forgive me when I become afraid of people because I fear they will turn on me.  If I was dead and only Jesus lived in me, they would not be able to hurt me. Help me not be selfish.

Thank you, God, for all you have done for us through history. We are the center of your world as children are to a loving parent. How you grieve when we fall, and rejoice when we return. Thank you for materializing your words in the form of Jesus.  Oh, to have been able to see and touch him. I am convinced that will happen someday and I will be one with you as the golden rays of sunshine are one with the steadfast sun.

The scripture for today, January 2 (1.2(, is 3rd John 1:2 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:         “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.”

I praise you, Lord Jehovah, Creator of all things, lover of all people, and keeper of my soul. You gave me freedom of will so I could choose my own path. You gave me freedom of will to acknowledge you or not, follow you or not, love you or not. You gave me the freedom to allow you into my life, my heart, my soul.  Without this freedom I would just be a robot. If I declared I loved you, it would not be true love. True love has a choice. Such love is like an easy breeze on a warm day, like gentle snowflakes on a cold day. So, at the beginning of this new year, I proclaim my love for you.

I thank you for being with me all last year. It held surprises, of course. Among them were the many ups and downs. My dreams were dreamed and a few came true. And now I look out my window at another spectacular dawn. You have given us a new dawn how many times since you created us? Each dawn holds a promise of starting anew. You are the God of second chances. Thank you for standing by mankind no matter how bad we get. Thank you for standing by me. I know you are there and my heart bows to you in crystal gratitude.