God's Minute 1/25

January 25

The righteousness which is of faith.--Romans 9:30

HOLY FATHER, we thank Thee for the sweetness and goodness of Thy love. Thou hast sheltered our home, daily bearing our burdens, carrying our sorrows, and supplying all our needs.

We thank Thee for Jesus our Saviour, for the Holy Bible, and for the Church. We praise Thy Name for the Gospel, and for all who are making known the goodness of salvation.

We pray that Christian brethren may dwell together in unity, and put on love which is the bond of perfectness. May Thy righteous and peaceful Kingdom come, till all men everywhere may hear and know of Jesus, and learn to live as He lived, and love as He loved.

Teach us to be kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving. Give to us patience, meekness, gentleness, goodness, faith. May we have the blessedness of the pure in heart, and of the merciful. Fill us with the light of Thy presence, and lead us forth to do good unto all men. Keep Thou our going out and our coming in, from this time forth, and for evermore. Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Rev. Robert E. Elmore,
Cincinnati, Ohio

Prayer List for the Church

Rebecca, over at Rebecca Writes, has hit another home run , this time with the help of her readers. Even though I suspect that most of my readers were sent here by Rebecca in the first place, *grin* I still want to link to one of her current posts regarding how we can best pray for our churches, and by extension our Pastors and each other.

If you haven't already, take a few minutes to check out her post. Copy and paste it into a document, print it out, and tuck it into your Bible like I have. And don't forget to pray.

God's Minute

January 24

He ever liveth to make intercession for them.--Hebrews 7:25

GRACIOUS GOD, our Father in Heaven, we bless Thee that hour by hour our lives have been enriched with the knowledge of Him who graciously interpreted the Infinite to our minds, and Who in reconciling love and saving mercy, brought us near to our Father in Heaven.

Remembering our sinfulness of heart and proneness to sin, we would humble ourselves before Thee. Though, indeed, we have sought to do Thy holy will, yet have we fallen short in many things. We now confess our sins: "forgive us our trespasses."

Once again, we ask that by the Holy Spirit given unto us, we may find our delight in the ways of God, and so be enabled in our daily walk to commend the Gospel of Christ to those among whom we move.

Further, we beseech Thee to hear us on behalf of loved ones far and near, that they may share the blessings which we now ask for ourselves. And may Thy Kingdom come, and Thy will be done on earth as it is done in Heaven.

These and other favors we beg in the Name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

James. W. Thirtle, D.D., LL.D.,
London, England

Jingle, Jingle, Jingle

Most days I really like the fact that we trained Ivy to ring a bell to let us know when she needs to go out. But every once in a while, after several days of rain or snow, she starts to play the "in and out" game. Jingle, jingle, jingle. Every 10 minutes. Or less. All day long. She rings the bell to go out and she (loudly) sticks her nose through the mail slot and snorts to come back in. (We didn't teach her that one. . .)

Today is one of those days. Eve is very happy to play along. She hasn't started ringing the bell, but she thinks if Ivy has been in and out (again!) then there must be something very interesting outside that she needs to investigate. Sigh.

So today I am letting dogs out and letting dogs in--over and over. And trying to remind myself that the jingle bell on the front door really WAS a good idea.

[update]

I've had plenty of opportunities to try to capture Ivy ringing the bell because she's still at it! I finally gave up trying to capture it with the camera so here are three pictures taken from a video. The quality isn't real good because there wasn't quite enough light, but you'll get the idea. And yes, I spent WAY too much time fooling around with this today. You know what they say: if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

God's Minute

January 23

Blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his trust.--Psalm 40:4

ALMIGHTY GOD, our Father, we come to Thee in the early morning hour to give thanks for that loving care which has kept us during the night, to renew our strength, and to seek preparation for the work and responsibilities of the new day. In our blindness we cannot see what is before us, but Thou knowest; so we place our hands in Thine, that we may be led in a way that will glorify Thee, and make better and more fruitful our own lives. Share Thy richest morning blessings with our dear ones wherever they may be, and put about them Thy everlasting arms. Graciously manifest Thyself to the needy and distressed, to the sick and dying, and to all who look for salvation from sin. May the Holy Spirit of promise and power minifest Himself to all hearts and homes, and thus energize and make effective the agencies ordained for the saving of the whole world. Pardon our sins. May great peace fill our souls, enabling us to constantly walk in the quiet of Thy presence. At the close of the day may we possess consciences void of offense toward Thee, and toward all men, and realize that we have made another day's journey toward the heavenly home. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive riches, and wisdom, and glory, and dominion, forever and ever.

Amen.

Bishop William H. Weekley, D.D.,
Parkersburg, West Virginia