Subject: Devotional | July 11 | evening (full)
Take a moment to slow down and turn your thoughts to God. Use this email as you are able, in whole or in part. Call to PrayerFor God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6) Opening PrayerLook with mercy, O God our Father, on all whose increasing years bring them weakness, distress, or isolation. Provide for them homes of dignity and peace; give them understanding helpers, and the willingness to accept help; and, as their strength diminishes, increase their faith and their assurance of your love. This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP 830) Prayer of ExamenTurn your attention to Christ who is present with you now. With him, review the ordinary events and emotions of your day with gratitude. Praying the PsalmsPsalm 141A psalm of David. 1 I call to you, Lord, come quickly to me; 3 Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; 5 Let a righteous man strike me—that is a kindness; 6 Their rulers will be thrown down from the cliffs, 8 But my eyes are fixed on you, Sovereign Lord; Old Testament ReadingProphesying after Jeremiah, Ezekiel gives us visions of God’s holiness and glory as he spoke to a people who were under the weight of judgment. Yet even this would not stop God in His purposes–He would breathe new life into a people who were dead in their sin. Reflect on the passage, asking how you can humble yourself before God. Ezekiel 31Pharaoh as a Felled Cedar of Lebanon 1 In the eleventh year, in the third month on the first day, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes: “‘Who can be compared with you in majesty? 10 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because the great cedar towered over the thick foliage, and because it was proud of its height, 11 I gave it into the hands of the ruler of the nations, for him to deal with according to its wickedness. I cast it aside, 12 and the most ruthless of foreign nations cut it down and left it. Its boughs fell on the mountains and in all the valleys; its branches lay broken in all the ravines of the land. All the nations of the earth came out from under its shade and left it. 13 All the birds settled on the fallen tree, and all the wild animals lived among its branches. 14 Therefore no other trees by the waters are ever to tower proudly on high, lifting their tops above the thick foliage. No other trees so well-watered are ever to reach such a height; they are all destined for death, for the earth below, among mortals who go down to the realm of the dead. 15 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day it was brought down to the realm of the dead I covered the deep springs with mourning for it; I held back its streams, and its abundant waters were restrained. Because of it I clothed Lebanon with gloom, and all the trees of the field withered away. 16 I made the nations tremble at the sound of its fall when I brought it down to the realm of the dead to be with those who go down to the pit. Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, the well-watered trees, were consoled in the earth below. 17 They too, like the great cedar, had gone down to the realm of the dead, to those killed by the sword, along with the armed men who lived in its shade among the nations. 18 “‘Which of the trees of Eden can be compared with you in splendor and majesty? Yet you, too, will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth below; you will lie among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword. “‘This is Pharaoh and all his hordes, declares the Sovereign Lord.’” Prayers of ThanksgivingRelationships
Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping; that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace. (BCP 134) BenedictionThe Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26) Wonder what your next step in spiritual formation is? Consider getting involved in a community group. For a handy guide to the devotional elements and an archive of past issues, visit redeemer.com/daily. |
Biblical summaries by David Whitehead, author of Making Sense of the Bible.
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