God's Minute

December 21

I will magnify Him with thanksgiving.--Psalm 69:30

GOD of all mercies, Saviour and Sanctifier of men, we worship Thee, the Triune God, and call upon our souls and all that is within us, to praise and magnify Thy Holy Name.

We confess our sins, but rejoice that they are constantly being blotted out by the blood of our blessed Lord, and because He is righteous, we who have our lives hid in Him are also righteous.

We come to Thy mercy seat with joy and thanksgiving, as we count our innumerable blessings, knowing that no good thing shall be withheld from those who love Thee and put their trust in Thee. As Thou hast delivered us from all perils, sorrows and trials in the past, so we are assured that Thou wilt keep that which we commit to Thee for the future. Enrich our hearts with Thy Word, that we may lead clean, holy lives, and have power to be winners of souls for our Master.

We pray for Thy rich grace to be upon our beloved in our home and elsewhere, and for the world which lies in sin, that Thy Kingdom may come, and Thy will be done, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen.

J.H. Jefferis,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Perspectives

From the TV listing:

"Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first woman she meets and then teams up with three complete strangers to kill again."

Would you be likely to sit down and watch a show like this? Me, either. Sounds like a gruesome sci-fi made-for-TV movie, doesn't it?

However, I think I can safely say that in all likelihood, 100% of my readers have not only watched this movie, but most would even say they love it.

You see, it's all in the perspectives.

When my computer crashed, it seemed a very bad thing to happen--inconvenient, expensive, and time consuming. All those things are true, but it hasn't been all bad. Having to re-build the computer (or at least pay someone who knows what he is doing to re-build it) and then re-install programs and hunt down documents and passwords and re-set preferences is may seem bad, but having the necessity opportunity to pick and choose and set things up in a more user friendly way is proving to be worth the effort. It all about how you choose to look at it. An expensive computer emergency or and opportunity to reclaim space and speed set up proper recovery and backup systems so that this never happens again. Not something I would ever have chosen, but something I, or at least my computer, needed.

That's the way it is in life, too. Sometimes the things that God brings into our lives seem painful, inconvenient, and not at all what we would choose for ourselves. But, with time and perspective, it's always just what we need, just when we need it.

Oh, and the movie?

It's all in the way you look at it. . .

God's Minute

December 20

He shall save the children of the needy.--Psalm 72:4

O LORD, our Heavenly Father, we praise and magnify Thy Holy Name for all Thy loving kindness and Thy tender mercy which Thou hast bestowed upon us. Thou hast opened Thy hand and supplied all our wants. We thank Thee, O Lord, that when we were without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly, that He might ransom our souls from sin and death, and give unto us eternal life. Grant, O Lord, that each one of us, now in Thy presence, may receive Christ Jesus as our eternal Saviour. We praise Thee, O God, for the gift of Thy Holy Spirit, Who tabernacles in our hearts, and Who takes of the things of Jesus and reveals them unto us day by day, moment by moment.

Grant Thy blessing, we beseech Thee, upon every member of this household, and upon all our loved ones, wherever they may be at this hour. We thank Thee that "in Jesus' keeping we are safe, and they." Remember in mercy, O Lord, any who are in distress at this time, in mind, body or estate. Comfort all who mourn. Let all the earth remember and return to Thee, O God; let all the kindreds of the nations worship Thee, in spirit and in truth. Grant unto us the forgiveness of all our sins, in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Rev. Charles George Smith B.D.,
Belleville, Ontario, Canada

God's Minute

December 19

"O give thanks unto the Lord, call upon His name."--1 Chronicles 16:8

LORD, our God, our Heavenly Father, we come into Thy holy presence as Thy children who would begin this day in Thy name. We thank Thee that Thou hast so revealed Thyself unto us, in Christ Jesus, that we know Thee indeed as our Father whose loving watch-care has been about us all our lives and in Whose keeping we have rested safely in the past night. We thank Thee for the new opportunities that are ours with this morning to which Thy grace has brought us. Make us willing to use this day to Thy glory and strong to so live among men that by word and deed we may bear witness that we are indeed Thine own. Cause us, therefore, to know Thy presence with us, as we go about our ordinary duties this day. Keep us from sin. Should temptations beset us, grant that in the power of Thy name the victory may be ours. And if this day should bring us to trials and sorrows, help us to meet them with courage and that trust in Thee which will cause every experience that life has in store for us to draw us into closer fellowship with Thee. Be with our loved ones and with all Thy children everywhere. Cause the hearts of men to seek Thee, and reveal Thyself in the fulness of Thy love to all who reach out unto Thee. Let the day soon dawn when men shall permit Thy love to right every wrong, and when truth and justice and love shall overrule all the affairs of men. We ask it in the name of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Saviour.

Amen.

Rev. Louis W. Goebel,
Chicago, Illinois

Yippee!

Yahoo!

One re-built computer and a new external hard drive later and I'm back! (not to mention the better part of two weeks!) I'll still probably be pretty scarce for a day or two while I re-install my programs and go searching in the back up folders to find my data and move it over, but it is nice to be able to check email again and post up the prayers without borrowing a computer!

I'll be answering my emails ASAP, too! Thanks for all the kind notes of encouragement. I missed you, too!