DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS

Transcription

1 DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS HOW TO USE THESE DAILY DEVOTIONS Complete this in the morning each day. Hold the Scripture passage in your heart for the day, and journal your feelings and the impact it had on your day. Make a point of doing something good for somebody today, whether a work colleague, or a total stranger - journal what you did and your response. WHY JOURNAL? I ve written journals for years. I have several notebooks full of thoughts and prayers. To me, writing a journal is a great way of recording my daily feelings and discernment after I ve have completed a devotional or read a passage in the Bible. I can look back through the weeks and months to see what God has done in my life, where He has carried me through the rough times, and where I have celebrated and given thanks for his faithfulness, grace and love. It provides reassurance and comfort, strengthening and hope. I record scripture references that God places on my heart knowing that there will also be another times when I will need to rely on the words, or give it to somebody else that may also need to hear it. ~ Jayne Coy, Gratitude Group Member 1

2 SUNDAY OPENING PRAYER Our Lord God, we thank you for all your blessings, for life and health, for laughter and fun, for all our powers of mind and body, for our homes and the love of dear ones, for everything that is beautiful, good and true, but above all we thank you for giving your Son to be our Saviour and friend. May we always find our true happiness in pleasing you and helping others to know and love you, for Jesus Christ s sake. Amen. O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for his steadfast love endures forever. Psalm 136 Heavenly Father, open the eyes of my heart so that I may truly see all of the abounding love, faithfulness, mercy and favour that you have so freely bestowed upon me. Lord, help me walk with ever increasing gratitude in my heart. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. 2

3 MONDAY OPENING Psalm 136 (1-9) O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, O give thanks to the God of gods, O give thanks to the Lord of lords, Who alone does great wonders, Who by understanding made the heavens, Who spread out the earth on the waters, Who made the great lights, The sun to rule over the day, The moon and stars to rule over the night, for His steadfast love ensures forever. He himself is before all things, and in him, all things hold together Colossians 1:17 Eternal God, you create us by your power and redeem us by your love. Guide and strengthen us by your Spirit, that we may give ourselves today in love and service to one another and to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 3

4 TUESDAY OPENING PRAYER Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we, your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving kindness to us and all who you have made. We bless you for your creation, preservation, and the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to who with you and the Holy Spirit, be honour and glory throughout all ages. Amen. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord Romans 8:38-39 Creator of the universe, the light of our glory shines in the darkness of our lives. Make us attentive to your presence, prompt to serve you and ever eager to follow in the steps of the one who is our true light, Jesus Christ your son our Lord. Amen. 4

5 WEDNESDAY OPENING Psalm 100 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing. Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise, give thanks to him, bless his name. For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life John 3:16 Christ Jesus, by nature divine, did not grasp for himself a rank as equal with God. He chose to empty himself becoming a humble slave, and living the life of a man. And human in every way, He abased himself still more, obedient to death on a cross. So God has exalted him on high and given to him the name the greatest of all the names; So that at Jesus name every knee should bend low in Heaven, on earth, in the depths. And every tongue proclaim Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father. Amen. 5

6 THURSDAY OPENING PRAYER Heavenly Father, in the busyness of my day, I sometimes forget to stop and thank You for all that is good in my life. My blessings are many and my heart is filled with gratefulness and gratitude for the gift of living, for the ability to love and be loved, for the opportunity to see the everyday wonders of creation, for a mind that thinks and a body that feels. I thank you, too, for those things in my life that are less than I would hope them to be. Things that seem challenging, unfair, or difficult. When my heart feels stretched and empty, and pools of tears form in my weary eyes, still I rejoice that you are as near to me as my next breath, and in the midst of life s turbulence, I thank you for your unending faithfulness. In the silence of my soul, I thank you most of all for your unconditional and eternal love. I pray all of this in the sweet name of Jesus. Amen. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 2 Corinthians 5:17 Heavenly Father, open the eyes of my heart so that I may truly see all of the abounding love, faithfulness, mercy and favour that you have so freely bestowed upon me. Lord, help me walk with ever increasing gratitude in my heart. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. 6

7 FRIDAY OPENING PRAYER Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all you have done for us. We thank you for the splendour of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love. We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care which surrounds us on every side. We thank you for setting us tasks which demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy and delight us. We thank you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone. Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the truth of his word and the example of his life; for his steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying, through which he overcame death; for his rising to life again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom. Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know Christ and make him known; and through him, at all times and in all places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into the barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more valuable than they? Matthew 6:26-27 We thank you Father, for all our joy and all our longing. You have given us in this world of beauty and love; you have also given us the ordinary, of provision of the necessary things of daily life. We thank you Father, not only for these things but for the gift of hope, and for all that reminds us of your promise of eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 7

8 SATURDAY OPENING Canticle 3 Song of Thanksgiving Isaiah 12:2-6 Surely it is God who saves me; I will trust in him and not be afraid. For the Lord is my stronghold and my defence and he will be my Saviour. Therefore, you shall draw water with rejoicing from the springs of salvation. And in that day you shall say, give thanks to the Lord and call upon his name; make his seeds known among the peoples; see that they remember that his name is exalted. Sing the praises of the Lord, for he has done great things, and this is known in all the world. Cry aloud, inhabitants of Zion, ring out your joy, for the great one in the midst of you is the holy one of Israel. Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 Almighty God, we lift up our hearts in gratitude for all your loving kindness to us your children. For life and health, for love and friendship, and for the goodness and mercy that have followed us all the days of our life. For the wonder of beauty of the world, and for all the things true and honest, just and pure, lovely and of good report. For the gift of Jesus Christ your Son; for the grace and truth which came by him; and for his obedience unto death, even death on the cross. For his glorious resurrection, his ascension to your right hand, and for his everlasting kingdom and glory. For the holy spirit, the comforter, the Lord and life giver, the author and perfector of our faith; for your holy church throughout the world; for your Word and Sacraments and all the means of grace; and for the fellowship of the redeemed Heaven and earth. Glory, thanksgiving and praise be yours, O Father Almighty; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen. 8