Daily Devotion 1 2 2015

[Suzuki Johnny]

To Keep God in Mind This Day
Lord, let me begin this day in devout meditations, in joy unspeakable, and in blessing and praising You, who has given me such good hope and everlasting consolation.
Lift up my mind above all these little things below, which are apt to distract my thoughts; and keep it above, until my heart is fully resolved to seek You every day, in the path where Jesus has trod before me.
Amen.
Prayer to be Free of Anger
Lord Christ, you taught us that anger with our brethren is a violation of your law, that it condemns us just as murder condemns us. Let me see clearly that anger is moral filth, as your servant James taught us. And yet, anger arises in my mind. I repent my anger, and ask that I be forgiven for this sin, by my faith in you.
Holy Spirit, be with me now and help me to recognize my anger instead of denying it. Teach me to forgive each and every act that makes me angry. Where I have been directly offended, grant me the spirit of forgiveness; where I have become angry over things I have seen other people do or heard them say, imbue me with such a powerful sense of acceptance that my anger will disappear. Let me remember always, Holy God, that I am not in charge of the world; You are. Give me total faith that you know what you are doing.
I pray not to live with suppressed anger, nor to deceive myself by denying my anger when I have merely suppressed it, but let it be utterly abolished within me. Grant me to live in love and peace, as my Savior did and taught us to do. Let my anger be crucified, I pray in your name, Lord Christ,
Amen.
Benediction
Now all glory to you, mighty God, who is able to keep me from falling away and will bring me with great joy into your glorious presence without a single fault. All glory to you who alone are God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are yours before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time,
Amen


Religious Observances
Christian : Feast of St Georgia (St Georgette)
Orthodox : Meeting of the Lord/Purification of the Virgin
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of Sts Faustinus & Jovita, martyrs
Anglican : Commemoration of Thomas Bray, priest/missionary

Religious History
1386 King Jagiello of Lithuania was baptized into the Christian faith. Lithuania being the last heathen nation in Europe, Jagiello's conversion finalized the Macedonian Vision in Acts 16:9, leading St. Paul to begin taking the Gospel to Europe.
1762 Anglican hymnwriter John Newton wrote in a letter: 'We serve a gracious Master who knows how to overrule even our mistakes to His glory and our own advantage.'
1860 Wheaton College was chartered in Illinois under Methodist sponsorship. (The following year the school passed into Congregational control. Today, Wheaton is non-denominational.)
1930 Death of Franklin L. Sheppard, 78. He served on the editorial committee of the 1911 edition of the Presbyterian Hymnal, but is better remembered for composing the hymn tune TERRA BEATA, to which "This Is My Father's World" is most commonly sung.
1986 Living Bibles International moved to its present headquarters in Naperville, IL. Founded in 1968 by Ken Taylor, editor of the Living Bible, LBI is an interdenominational Bible distributing agency, working in 45 countries.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer for the Morning

Lord, God, who has safely brought me to the beginning of this day; I give you thanks for my creation, preservation, and all the blessings of my life. Grant that this day I fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger; but that all my doings, being governed by your will, may be righteous in your sight. Through Christ our Lord, I pray.

Amen.
For Those Who Suffer

God of time and of eternity, in your hands you hold the souls of the righteous, and in your heart there is room for all people; shine forth upon all who are tried in the furnace of suffering and illness, and especially on those for whom I pray today; in your grace and mercy may we know that you watch over us; bring us at the last to abide with you in love; I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.
Prayer to Use Our Gifts Wisely

Lord, give me each day the wisdom to see which things are important, and which things are not. Show me how best to use the time and talents you have given me. Help me to use all my opportunities wisely, that I may share, through service to others, the good gifts I have received from you.

Amen

Religious Observances

Christian : Feast of St Elias
Christian : Feast of St Juliana of Nicomedia
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Gregory X, pope (1271-76)
Religious History

1741 English revivalist George Whitefield advised in a letter: 'Use the world, but let it be as though you used it not.'
1801 In Baltimore, the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church officially separated from its parent, the Methodist Episcopal Church. The denomination later became part of the AME Church, reconstituted in 1816 under Richard Allen. It held its first national conference in 1821.
1865 English clergyman Sabine Baring-Gould, 31, first published the hymn, "Now the Day is Over." It was based on the text of Prov 3:24: 'When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid...and thy sleep shall be sweet.'
1911 William P. Merrill, 44, first published his hymn, "Rise Up, O Men of God," in the Presbyterian periodical, "The Continent."
1916 Under the leadership of Henrietta Szold, 52, the Hadassah Study Circle at New York's Temple Emanuel reconstituted itself. Szold afterward made this sisterhood of U.S. Jewish women a nationwide Zionist organization. Szold herself headed the group until 1926.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Thanks to God for Coming to Us
Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my un loveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would have not been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now may I never more take a breath without a heart filled with your Spirit .
Amen.
Prayer of Thanks for God's Creation
O Lord God of the nations, you are the only God in heaven above or the earth below. I walk before you with all my heart. I bless your name in the morning when I rise and in the evening when I sleep, and all the day when your creation fills my eye. Bless me to remember you this day. When I see and hear the thousand miracles of your creation, let me see them anew, recalling that you have made them, and no other; that I may live in your presence among the common miracles I take for granted. Through Christ I pray,
Amen.

Blessing
The Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord make his face to shine upon us, and be gracious unto us. The Lord lift up his countenance upon us, and give us peace, this day and evermore.
Amen

Religious Observances

Ancient Rome : Quirinalia-Feast of Quirinus (a d xiij Kal Mar)
Christian : Feast of St Silvinus
Christian : Commemoration of Flight into Egypt
Roman Catholic : Memorial of 7 Holy Founders of the Servite Order (opt)
Religious History

1741 English revivalist George Whitefield advised in a letter: 'Be content with no degree of sanctification. Be always crying out, "Lord, let me know more of myself and of thee."'
1815 In deciding the legal case "Terrett v. Taylor," the U.S. Supreme Court declared unconstitutional an act of the Virginia Legislature which denied property rights to Protestant Episcopal churches in the state. The Court ruled that religious corporations, like other corporations, have rights to their property.
1816 Birth of Edward Hopper, American Presbyterian clergyman. He is remembered today as author of the hymn, "Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me."
1889 Billy Sunday, 27, baseball player-turned-preacher, made his first appearance as an evangelist in Chicago. A strong fundamentalist, Sunday preached temperance and opposed scientific evolution. Over 100 million are estimated to have heard Sunday preach before his death in 1935.
1969 Russian-born, Milwaukee-raised Golda Meir (n‚e Mabovitch [Myerson]), 70, was sworn in as Israel's first female prime minister. (She would hold the office for five embattled years.)

[Suzuki Johnny]

Wisdom of years be yours

Joy of friendships be yours

Wealth of memories be yours

Fruit of endevor be yours

Hope of heaven be yours

Peace of God be yours

Religious Observances

Christian : Commemoration of St Bernadette
Christian : Feast of St Angilbert
Christian : Feast of St Constantia (St Constance)
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Simeon, bishop of Jerusalem, martyr
Orthodox : Feast of St Leo I, the Great
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of Bl Fra Angelico, Florentine painter
Lutheran : Commemoration of Martin Luther, renewer of the Church
Religious History

1571 A group of Spanish Jesuits in the Chesapeake Bay area, led by Fray Batista Segura, were murdered by the Indians they had come six months earlier to convert. The massacre led ultimately to the withdrawal of all Jesuits living in Florida as well.
1678 John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" was first published, in England. Bunyan was frequently imprisoned for preaching without a license. During these sequestered times, between 1660-72, Bunyan collected the ideas enabling him to pen this masterpiece of Christian literature.
1688 At a monthly meeting in Germantown, PA, a group of Quakers and Mennonites became the first white body in English America to register a formal protest against slavery. The historic "Germantown Protest" denounced both slavery and the slave trade.
1781 Birth of Henry Martyn, Anglican missionary to Persia. Martyn first sailed for the East in 1805. His great linguistic gifts led him to translate the New Testament both into Hindustani and Arabic, before his premature death at 31.
1867 The Augusta Institute was founded in Georgia. Established as an institution of higher learning for black students, it moved to Atlanta in 1879, and in 1913 changed its name to Morehouse College.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer of Thanks
For the gladness here where the sun is shining at evening on the weeds at the river,
Our prayer of thanks.
For the laughter of children who tumble barefooted and bareheaded in the summer grass,
Our prayer of thanks.
For the sunset and the stars, the women and the white arms that hold us,
Our prayer of thanks.
God, the game is all your way, the secrets and the signals and the system; and so for the break of the game and the first play and the last.
Our prayer of thanks.
Amen.
Benediction
Finally, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, let me think about these things. What I have learned and received, let me do; and the God of peace be with us all.
Amen

Religious Observances

Christian : Feast of St Conrad
Anglican, Roman Catholic : Ember Day
Religious History

842 The Medieval Iconoclastic Controversy ended, when a Council in Constantinople formally reinstated the veneration of images (icons) in the churches. (This debate over icons is often considered the last event which led to the Great Schism between the Eastern and Western Churches.)
1568 Death of Miles Coverdale, 80, translator and publisher of the first complete Bible to be printed in English (1535). Coverdale was also editor of the Great Bible of 1539.
1812 Congregational missionaries Adoniram Judson, 23, and his wife Ann, 22, first sailed from New England to Calcutta, India. (Judson eventually concentrated his labors in Burma.)
1869 Death of Elizabeth Clephane, 39, an orphaned Scottish poet who left the Church with two hauntingly beautiful hymns: "Beneath the Cross of Jesus" and "The Ninety and Nine." (All of Clephane's poetry was published posthumously.)
1942 Presidential Executive Order 9066 began placing 100,000 persons of Japanese ancestry (of which over 2/3 were American-born citizens) into ten "relocation centers" for the duration of WWII. During confinement within the armed, barbed-wire surroundings, however, prayer meetings, Bible studies and worship services were held.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Lord God, thank you for giving me another morning! I am lucky to be alive on your beautiful planet, so full of marvelous things and the beautiful plants and animals and all the people you have created in your image. Fill me with your Holy Spirit, now and all day long, until I go to sleep, because I want to live with you every minute of this day. The time and opportunities I have right now will never return, so help me make the best of it, Lord.
And let me remember this one thing: You know what you are doing, whether I can see it or not; so I will try to remember today that you are in charge, that you put me here for a reason and that, by your grace, things will turn out with your triumph and the Kingdom of Heaven, for all those who live by your grace. All praise to you forever,
Amen
Walk with me, dear Lord, so that I may not be alone as I face this day, but always in your presence. Your joy is a lighthouse in a world often dark with sin, and I pray that I may reflect the light of your truth to be inspired. In the name of Christ, bless me this day, and all whom I may meet.
Amen

[Suzuki Johnny]

I pray, Lord, for all who will need strength and courage in the day ahead: For those who face danger. For those who risk themselves for others. For those who must make an important decision today. For people who are seriously ill. For those facing persecution or torture. I ask you, Lord, to give them the power of your Spirit,

Amen


Religious Observances

Christian : Feast of Bl Noel
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Peter Damian, bishop of Ostia, confessor/doctor
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Robert Southwell, English Jesuit, martyr
Religious History

1109 Death of Anselm of Canterbury, 76, priest and theologian. Best remembered for his 1099 classic, "Cur Deus Homo" ("Why God Became Man"), Anselm is regarded as the most original thinker in the Catholic Church since Augustine. His most often quoted saying was: 'I believe, in order that I may understand.'
1173 Pope Alexander III canonized Thomas Becket (1118-70). As Archbishop of Canterbury, Becket had been martyred three years earlier on orders of English King Henry II a former friend until Becket was elevated to Archbishop in 1162.
1795 Freedom of worship was established in France under the constitution that came out of the French Revolution of 1789.
1945 Death of Eric Liddell, 43, Scottish Olympic champion runner. Later a missionary to China, Liddell was captured by the Japanese during WWII and died of a brain tumor while still imprisoned. (His college running days were portrayed in the 1981 British film, "Chariots of Fire.")
1988 During a live TV broadcast, televangelist Jimmy Swaggert, 52, admitted to visiting a prostitute, then announced he would be leaving his ministry for an unspecified length of time. (Defrocked in April by the Assemblies of God, he was ordered to stay off TV for a year, but returned after only three months.)

[Suzuki Johnny]

I call upon you, O Lord. In the morning you hear me; in the morning I offer you my prayer, watching and waiting.
I lift my heart to you, O Lord, to be strengthened for this day. Be with me in all I do, my God; guide me in all my ways.
I will carry some burdens today; some trials will be mine. So I wait for your help, Lord, lest I stumble and fall.
I will do my work, Father, the work begun by your Son. He lives in me and I in him; may his work today be done.
Amen


Religious Observances

Christian : Feast of Blessed Isabel
Moslem-Qatar : Amir's Assumption of Amirship
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of Chair of St Peter at Antioch
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Margaret of Cortona, Franciscan tertiary
Religious History

1680 Death of Thomas Goodwin, 79, famed English Congregational Nonconformist preacher. His last words were: 'Ah, is this dying? How I have dreaded as an enemy this smiling friend.'
1805 Birth of Sarah Flower Adams, English religious writer. Her most enduring verses today comprise the lyrics to the hymn, "Nearer, My God, To Thee."
1906 Black evangelist William J. Seymour first arrived in Los Angeles and began holding revival meetings. The "Azusa Street Revival" later broke out under Seymour's leadership, in the Apostolic Faith Mission located at 312 Azusa Street in Los Angeles. It was one of the pioneering events in the history of 20th century American Pentecostalism.
1944 English apologist C.S. Lewis wrote in a letter: 'Heaven enters wherever Christ enters, even in this life.'
1980 American Presbyterian apologist Francis Schaeffer wrote in a letter: 'None of us are normal, even after we are Christians if we mean by that being perfect. What is possible, however, is for us to live in the fullness of life in the circle of who we are, constantly pressing on the border lines to try to take further steps.'

[Suzuki Johnny]

Lord, I come before you today and I thank You for all the blessings that You have given me. Many times my life is so full of busy work that I neglect my relationship with You. I know that You never neglect me, for if You did my very life would cease to be. Continue to pull me to Yourself, guide me in my journey, and hold me close until the day I come home to be with You forever. Be with me, and with those who pray with me, for although we are in different places around the world, we gather spiritually in Your name. May we feel your presence among us. In Jesus precious name I pray.

Amen
For the Human Family

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human race, O Lord; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth.

That, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen


Religious Observances

Ancient Rome : Terminalia; festival of Terminus, god of boundaries
Anglican, Lutheran, Roman Catholic : Memorial of St Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, martyr
old Roman Catholic : Feast of St Peter Damian, bishop of Ostia/confessor/doctor (2/2)
Lutheran : Commemoration of Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg, missionary
Christian : Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras)
Moslem : 1st day of Ramadân (1413 AH)
Religious History

155 Martyrdom of Polycarp, an early Church Father who was a disciple of the Apostle John. Arrested at age 86, Polycarp was burned at the stake for refusing to deny the Christian faith.
1744 Colonial missionary to the American Indians David Brainerd wrote in his journal: 'There is a God in heaven who over-rules all things for the best; and this is the comfort of my soul.'
1775 Anglican hymnwriter John Newton wrote in a letter: 'How great and honorable is the privilege of a true believer! That he has neither wisdom nor strength in himself is no disadvantage, for he is connected with infinite wisdom and almighty power.
1834 Scottish clergyman Robert Murray McCheyne wrote in his journal: 'Rose early to seek God and found Him whom my soul loveth. Who would not rise early to meet such company?'
1970 The Holy Eucharist was distributed by women for the first time in a Roman Catholic service.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Oh Lord Jesus: How often I forget that it is because of You that I live. You made all of us from the very dust that You created. Then You did the most wondrous of all things, You made us in Your image and You breathed life into us. I join those praying with me today in thanking you for our lives, and we pray that You continue to sustain us each day. From Your heavenly place accept our prayers and our praise.
Amen
Now all glory to you, great God, who is able to keep us from falling away and will bring us with great joy into your glorious presence without a single fault. All glory to you who alone are God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are yours before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time!
Amen


Religious Observances

Anglican, Lutheran, Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Matthias the Apostle (non-leap years)
Christian : Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras)
Religious History

303 The first official Roman edict for the persecution of Christians was issued by Roman Emperor Galerius Valerius Maximianus.
1208 St Francis of Assisi, 26, received his vocation in the Italian village of Portiuncula. He founded the Franciscans the following year, and is regarded by some Catholics as the greatest of all Christian saints.
1500 Birth of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Reigning 1519-56, it was Charles who officially pronounced Martin Luther an outlaw and heretic.
1782 Pioneer American Methodist bishop Francis Asbury wrote in his journal: 'It is my constitutional weakness to be gloomy and dejected; the work of God puts life into me.'
1967 Swiss Reformed theologian Karl Barth wrote in a letter: 'The statement that God is dead comes from Nietzsche and has recently been trumpeted abroad by some German and American theologians. But the good Lord has not died of this; He who dwells in the heaven laughs at them.'

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer for the Morning
Heavenly Father, I give you a million thanks that I have woken up alive this morning, once again to witness the magnificence, the glory of your creation. Even on the dreariest of days, when the weather doesn't suit me, let me rejoice in the taste of heaven you give us on earth. For the hottest, muggiest day; the coldest and most bitter weather; the clouds, the rain, the wind and snow, the lightning and thunder — these are all your creations, oh Lord, and all of them have a great beauty if I just take the time to see it.
Should I be blind, what would I give to see the cloudy rainy day that I complain about? Should I be deaf, how much I would long to hear your thunder! When I lie dying, how sweet it will seem to have been bundled up against a chill wind, or to be soaked in sweat as I work in the heat and humidity.
Let me be always filled with gratitude for the world you have given me, great God, Father and creator of all that is.
Amen

[Designer]

Prayer for the Morning
Heavenly Father, I give you a million thanks that I have woken up alive this morning, once again to witness the magnificence, the glory of your creation. Even on the dreariest of days, when the weather doesn't suit me, let me rejoice in the taste of heaven you give us on earth. For the hottest, muggiest day; the coldest and most bitter weather; the clouds, the rain, the wind and snow, the lightning and thunder — these are all your creations, oh Lord, and all of them have a great beauty if I just take the time to see it.
Should I be blind, what would I give to see the cloudy rainy day that I complain about? Should I be deaf, how much I would long to hear your thunder! When I lie dying, how sweet it will seem to have been bundled up against a chill wind, or to be soaked in sweat as I work in the heat and humidity.
Let me be always filled with gratitude for the world you have given me, great God, Father and creator of all that is.
Amen

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[Suzuki Johnny]

Lord of All Hopefulness
Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy, whose trust, ever child-like, no cares can destroy, be there at my waking, and give me, I pray, your bliss in my heart, Lord, at the break of the day.
Lord of all eagerness, Lord of all faith, whose strong hands were skilled at the plane and the lathe, be there at my labors, and give me, I pray, your strength in my heart, Lord, at the noon of the day.
Lord of all kindliness, Lord of all grace, your hands swift to welcome, your arms to embrace, be there at my homing, and give me, I pray, your love in my heart, Lord, at the eve of the day.
Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm, whose voice is contentment, whose presence is balm, be there at my sleeping, and give me, I pray, your peace in my heart, Lord, at the end of the day.
Amen


Religious Observances

Christian : Feast of St Nestor
Christian : Commemoration of St Ethelbert, king of Kent; baptized by Augustine
Jewish : Purim-Feast of Lot (Adar 14, 5762 AM)
Religious History

1732 In Philadelphia, Mass was celebrated for the first time at St Joseph's Church the only Roman Catholic church built and maintained in the American colonies before the Revolutionary War.
1807 Birth of Johann K.F. Keil, German Bible scholar. His Old Testament commentary, written in collaboration with Franz Delitzsch, first appeared in 1861. Known today as "Keil & Delitzsch," the multi-volume set is still in print!
1840 Scottish clergyman Robert Murray McCheyne wrote in a letter: 'Our soul should be a mirror of Christ; we should reflect every feature: for every grace in Christ there should be a counterpart in us.'
1846 Birth of George C. Stebbins, American Baptist music evangelist. A composer of over 1,500 songs during his lifetime, Stebbins is still remembered today for writing the melodies to such hymns as: "I've Found a Friend," "Take Time to Be Holy," "Have Thine Own Way, Lord" and "Jesus is Tenderly Calling Thee Home."
1963 The Lutheran World Federation's missionary radio station at Addis Ababa, in Ethiopia, was dedicated.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Lord, be with me and all who love you, this day: Within us to purify us; Above us to draw us up; Beneath us to sustain us; Before us to lead us;
Behind us to restrain us; Around us to protect us. In Christ's name we pray,
AMEN

Religious Observances

Christian : Feast of St Leander
Anglican : Commemoration of George Herbert, priest
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Gabriel Possenti [non-leap years]
Religious History

280 Birth of Constantine the Great, the first Roman emperor to be converted (ca. 312) to the Christian faith.
1838 Birth of William J. Kirkpatrick, American Methodist sacred composer. He edited his first collection of hymns at age 21, and is still remembered today for composing the melodies to such hymns as: "He Hideth My Soul," "'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus," "Redeemed, How I Love to Proclaim It" and "Lord, I'm Coming Home."
1839 Scottish clergyman Robert Murray McCheyne wrote in a letter: 'Most of God's people are content to be saved from the hell that is without. They are not so anxious to be saved from the hell that is within.'
1849 William Jewell College was chartered in Liberty, Missouri, under Baptist sponsorship.
1938 English Bible expositor Arthur W. Pink wrote in a letter: 'Slackness and carelessness are inexcusable in a child of God. He should ever present a model and example of conscientiousness, painstaking care, and exactness.'

[Suzuki Johnny]

The night has passed, the sun shines its light upon us, and the day lies open before me. As I rejoice in the gift of this new day, so may the light of your presence fill me with love for you and my fellow man, holy God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Abide with me, I pray, now and forever.

AMEN


Religious Observances

Christian : Feast of St Romanus
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Hilarius, pope (461-68), calendar reformer (non-leap years)
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Gabriel Possenti (leap years)
Christian : Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras)
Religious History

1759 Pope Clement XIII granted permission for the Bible to be translated into the languages of the Roman Catholic states.
1784 English churchman John Wesley, 80, formally chartered the movement within Anglicanism which afterward came to be known as Wesleyan Methodism.
1873 The Society of Mary, founded in 1816, was officially recognized by Pope Pius IX. This religious order seeks to combine the work of education with foreign missions.
1947 U.S. Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall prayed: 'Let not the past ever be so dear to us as to set a limit to the future. Give us the courage to change our minds when that is needed.'
870 The Fourth Constantinople Council closed, under Pope Adrian II in the West and Emperor Basil I in the East. The council had condemned iconoclasm, and became the last ecumenical council held in the Eastern Mediterranean area.

[Fred]

And so it came to pass that a Suzuki rider did stop at the wayside with a fuel problem. He was surely wise and dist carry with him tools for the job. As he did so a gang of Harley riders did pass by with contempt,-- they made no contact and did ride pass.

Later that day the Suzuki rider did pass the Harley gang broken down at the wayside and he did stop. He asked them if all was well, but the Harley gang said they needed no such assistance as there Harley was a true bike and with faith they feared no break downs so did not carry tools for which to repair.

So the Suzuki rider started to make his way when a Harley rider didst say unto him, please may I have a 10 mm spanner and he did give it to him.

The Harley gang did scorn their member for such betrayal and did leave him at the way side on his own in the wilderness. Then the Harley guy did ride with the Suzuki rider. On the way home together they did stop at a wayside refreshment.

The Harley guy said unto the suzuki rider I see now the folly of my way,s a gang of ignorance is no better than one man of kindness and you are now my brother, I see I do not need Harley as a leader or have faith in anything or anyone, my strength lies in myself and I am now a better and stronger man.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Prayer for the Morning
Heavenly Father, I give you a million thanks that I have woken up alive this morning, once again to witness the magnificence, the glory of your creation. Even on the dreariest of days, when the weather doesn't suit me, let me rejoice in the taste of heaven you give us on earth. For the hottest, muggiest day; the coldest and most bitter weather; the clouds, the rain, the wind and snow, the lightning and thunder — these are all your creations Lord, and all of them have a great beauty if I just take the time to see it.
Should I be blind, what would I give to see the cloudy rainy day that I complain about? Should I be deaf, how much I would long to hear your thunder! When I lie dying, how sweet it will seem to have been bundled up against a chill wind, or to be soaked in sweat as I work in the heat and humidity.
Let me be always filled with gratitude for the world you have given me, great God, Father and creator of all that is.
AMEN


Religious Observances

Ancient Rome : Matronalia (Feast of Juno); Kalend Mar
Bahá'í : leap day (in Gregorian leap years) (Ayyám-i-Há 5)
Anglican, Roman Catholic-New Zealand : Commemoration of St David, patron Wales
Bhutan : Buddhist New Years
Lutheran : Commemoration of George Herbert, priest
Religious History

1633 On his deathbed, English poet and clergyman George Herbert, 39, uttered these last words: 'I shall be free from sin and all the temptations and anxieties that attend it...I shall dwell... where these eyes shall see my Master and Savior.'
1692 The Salem Witch Trials in the Massachusetts colony officially began with the conviction of Rev. Samuel Parris' West Indian slave, Tituba, for witchcraft.
1810 Georgetown College was chartered in Washington, D.C., making it the first Roman Catholic institution of higher learning established in the United States.
1910 The first issue of "The Evening Light and Church of God Evangel" was published in Cleveland, Tennessee. A. J. Tomlinson, the publishing editor, was an instrumental figure in the history of the Church of God (also headquartered today in Cleveland, Tennessee).
1966 Swiss Reformed theologian Karl Barth wrote in a letter: If Jesus is and does what we read in 1 John 2:2, then He prays for all men: for those who already pray and for those who do not yet pray.'

[Suzuki Johnny]

Grant me, I pray, your divine helping grace; endow me with patience and strength to endure my tribulations with complete submission to your will. You know my misery and suffering and to you, my only hope and refuge, I flee for relief and comfort; trusting your infinite love and compassion, that in due time, when you know it is for the best, you will deliver me from my troubles, and turn my distress into comfort, and I will rejoice in your mercy, and exalt and praise your Holy Name, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
Amen


Religious Observances

Bahá'í : Beginning of month of 'Alá (19 days of fasting)
Anglican : Commemoration of Chad, Bishop of Lichfield
Lutheran : Commemoration of Charles Wesley
Lutheran : Commemoration of John Wesley
Jewish : Purim (feast of Lot) (Adar 14, 5759 AM)
Religious History

1930 American missionary Gustav Schmidt, 39, opened the Danzig Instytut Biblijny in the Free City of Danzig (Gdansk), Poland. It was the first Pentecostal Bible institute established in Eastern Europe.
1934 Birthday of Dottie Rambo, contemporary gospel singer and songwriter. She has authored such country gospel favorites as "In the Valley He Restoreth My Soul," "Build My Mansion Next Door to Jesus" and "I Just Came to Talk With You, Lord."
1948 U.S. Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall prayed: 'O God, forgive the poverty and the pettiness of our prayers. Listen not to our words but to the yearnings of our hearts. Hear beneath our petitions the crying of our need.'
1959 American Presbyterian apologist Francis Schaeffer wrote in a letter: 'Christianity is the greatest intellectual system the mind of man has ever touched.'
1979 Over 1,100 Christian organizations combined to form the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA). This oversight agency was created to demonstrate to the public that religious groups wanted to make themselves accountable for the funds they raise and spend.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Dear Lord, Your mercies have brought me to the dawn of another day. Vain will be its gift unless I grow in grace, increase in knowledge; ripen for spiritual harvest. Let me this day know You as You are, love You supremely, serve You completely, admire You fully.
Through grace let my will respond to You, knowing that power to obey is not in me, but that Your free love alone enables me to serve You. Here then is my empty heart, overflow it with Your choice gifts; here is my blind understanding, chase away its mists of ignorance.
Amen

Religious Observances

Religious History

1547 The Seventh Session of the Council of Trent declared: 'If anyone says that one baptized cannot, even if he wishes, lose grace, however much he may sin, unless he is unwilling to believe, let him be anathema.'
1744 Colonial missionary to the American Indians, David Brainerd wrote in his journal: 'In the morning, spent an hour in prayer. Prayer was so sweet an exercise to me that I knew not how to cease, lest I lose the spirit of prayer.'
1931 American linguistic pioneer Frank Laubach wrote in a letter: 'If we only let God have his full chance he will break our hearts with the glory of his revelation. That is the privilege which the preacher can have. It is his business to look into the very face of God until he aches with bliss.'
1950 Trappist monk Thomas Merton wrote in "Sign of Jonas": 'The Christian life...is a continual discovery of Christ in new and unexpected places. And these discoveries are sometimes most profitable when you find him in something you had tended to overlook or even despise.'
1959 By a vote taken in both bodies, the Unitarian Church and the Universalist Church, along with their fellowships __ the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of America merged into a single denomination.

[Suzuki Johnny]

Heavenly Father, I pray for all my Christian brothers and sisters and for each and every family member in their households. I pray for peace to come in their hearts; I pray for love and joy to abound in their homes; I pray that they might enjoy good health, that they are not in debt, and that all their needs are met.
I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than you, Mighty God. Every battle is in your hands for you to fight, Lord. I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees them and every mouth that confesses them. In Christ’s name,
Amen


Religious Observances
Anglican : Commemoration of Cornelius the Centurion
Feast of St Gilbert of Sempringham
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Andrew Corsini, bishop of Fiesole/confessor
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St John of Britto, Portuguese Jesuit
Religious History
1441 Pope Eugene IV published the encyclical "Cantante domino." It asserted that the biblical canon of the Roman Catholic Church contains both the 66 protocanonical books (i.e., the complete Protestant Bible) and 12 deuterocanonical (aka "apocryphal") books 78 writings in all.
1810 The Cumberland Presbyterian Church was organized in Tennessee as an outgrowth of the Great Revival of 1800. Standing between Calvinism and Arminianism, the denomination holds a "medium theology" which affirms unlimited atonement, universal grace, conditional election, eternal security of the believer and salvation of all children dying in infancy.
1873 Birth of George Bennard, American Methodist evangelist. He penned over 300 Gospel songs during his lifetime, but is primarily remembered today for one: "The Old Rugged Cross."
1874 English poet and devotional writer Frances Ridley Havergal, 37, penned the words to the popular hymn of commitment, "Take My Life and Let It Be [Consecrated, Lord, to Thee]."
1950 American missionary and martyr Jim Elliot resolved in his journal: 'I may no longer depend on pleasant impulses to bring me before the Lord. I must rather respond to principles I know to be right, whether I feel them to be enjoyable or not.'