A Sabbath Prayer

Heavenly Father, on this Sabbath morning we come before you and offer up our prayers and our petitions. We are mindful, not only that you are our Father, but that you are Holy and righteous. We are thankful that Christ Jesus, our Savior and our Elder Brother, goes before us and intercedes for us in Your presence. We are amazed that You have called us to be Your children and have united us with Christ.

As we prepare to enter into worship with Your people, help us to compose our thoughts and prepare our hearts to meet with You. May Your Word be preached in Spirit and in Truth. May your servants tremble at Your Word. Some will be communing with You at Your table this morning. Father, help Your people to come to You prepared to receive in a worthy manner and so be refreshed and sustained in Your presence.

There are those who come burdened down by trials and temptations. Through the preaching of Your Word, help them to lay their burdens on Christ and receive rest for their souls. There are those who are discouraged and in despair. Help them to cast their cares upon You. There are those come disinterested and resentful, their eyes being blind to the Gospel of Grace. Lord, if it be Your will, help them to see that they are poor in spirit--having nothing, in need of everything; open their eyes and ears so that they can see their need and run to the One who is able to save them.

May You be glorified in the church today.

In the Name of Christ, our Savior and our King,

Amen.

God's Minute 2/18 and 2/19

As you can see, there will be no prayers posted for February 18th and 19th. A page is missing. It appears to have been torn out at some point. Makes me wonder if my Grandpa or Grandma passed it along to someone or maybe one of them tucked it into the pages of his/her Bible. I was given one of my Grandma's Bibles after she died. She had this poem taped to the fly sheet, so in lieu of the regular prayer, I offer you this little piece of advice from my dear Grandma, Mildred Smith:

The Secret

I met with God in the morning
When the day was at its best,
And His Presence came like sunrise,
Like a glory in my breast.

All day long the Presence lingered,
All day long He stayed with me,
And we sailed in perfect calmness
O'er a very troubled sea.

Other ships were blown and battered,
Other ships were sore distressed,
But the winds that seemed to drive them
Brought to us a peace and rest.

Then I thought of other mornings
With a keen remorse of mind,
When I, too, had leased the moorings
With the Presence left behind.

So I think I know the secret,
Learned from many a troubled way:
You must seek Him in the morning
If you want Him through the day.

--Ralph Spaulding Cushman

And think, now she is ever living in the Presence of the One Whom she loved best. His Presence is no longer a simile, "like a sunrise", for He is the Light:

22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

For Missmellifluous. . .

. . .who lives in a sunny clime.

Yesterday's weather was very strange. The morning started out with a light layer of snow that fell during a "thunder snow." The thunder was quite loud at times, rumbling and sustained and occasionally accompanied by lightening. This was followed by a gentle rain, escorted by a thin fog. It was not warm enough to melt the early snow; it was not cold enough to freeze the later rain. This created a sort of soupy mix of water and slush. Next came the freezing rain--not a lot, but enough to set the soup like gelatin. This was followed by a rapid decline in temperature and a swift increase in wind. The day ended, book-ended with another light snow; this time blown about on the surface of the icy soup.

The pictures really don't tell the story. It was strange!

God's Minute 2/17

February 17

Sing unto the Lord with Thanksgiving.--Psalm 147:7

HEAVENLY FATHER, we thank Thee for opening to us the doorway of a new day; and now that our feet stand upon the threshold of this great opportunity, we pray for guidance, wisdom, love, and power. Thou hast seen fit to draw a curtain before our eyes, so that we know not what a day may bring forth. As we journey into the wilderness of the future, a pillar of cloud has hovered about us so that we cannot tell what enemies shall meet us today, what duties shall present themselves for performance, what temptations may grapple with us by the wayside, what sloughs of despair may await our unwary feet, yet we know that with Thy divine help we shall be more than victors through Him Who loved us. Keep us, O God; our boat is so small, and Thy ocean is so vast. Enable us to lay aside every weight and sin which does so easily beset us. May Thy Fatherly protection be over those who are dear to us. Bless our enemies, if we have any, and give us right spirits to all mankind. Hasten the coming of Thy Kingdom, when injustice, impurity, unhappiness, and sin, shall be put down, and when love, truth, honor, and justice shall prevail in the Name of the Lord. Hear us now in this, our pryaer. In Jesus' Name.

Amen.

Rev. Charles C. Selecman,
Los Angeles, California

Under the Weather

We're under the weather in more ways than one at our house. We all have head colds that have progressed to chest colds. Yuck. Amazing how many boxes of Kleenex a family of four can go through in a couple of days!

We're also getting some strange weather today. Snow with thunder, rain with fog, rain, snow, ice, sleet--if it's precipitation of any kind it seems we've had some. It's a good day to snuggle up with the dogs and take a nap. Wish I had time. . .