Psalm 136:1-3
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever. - Psalm 136:1-3
Dear Heavenly Father,
I grew up praying these words at meal time. I was not always aware where they came from. For centuries your people led their hearts to be thankful for your grace and mercy which led you to make us, save us and sustain us with mounds of blessings. As I consider the stinker I am, I'm overwhelmed with just how merciful and gracious you are. You continue to bless me even though I have sinned so greatly. I will cultivate a thankful heart today. I will work hard to show others too.
Amen
Pastor Don Patterson
The fact that we still exist is a monument to God's merciful heart.
Additional Reading: Psalm 105,Psalm 106, Psalm 130
Psalm 127:1-5
Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.
2 In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to those he loves.
3 Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth.
5 Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court.
Psalm 127:1-5
Dear Heavenly Father,
You love to cooperate with us as we throw ourselves into productive work for humanity. Help me to remember that I have your blessing as I work, so I do not experience the weight of loneliness as I carry the burdens of personal industry. I will work hard and then rest in peace at night, trusting that you will bless the work of my hands. In the same way, help me to value the investments I make in the generation following me. I can cascade my impact for good, if I will but recognize that time and energy spent on my children and grandchildren as well as the children of others will always pay off in the multiplication of benefits for all.
Amen
Pastor Don Patterson
It takes great faith to invest in children. But God promises to give everyone a great return.
Additional Reading: Genesis 32
Psalm 121
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains. Where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot stumble. He who watches over you will not slumber. 4 Yes, he who watches over Israel will not slumber. He will not sleep.
5 The Lord watches over you. The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
6 The sun will not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will watch to keep you from all harm.
He will watch over your life. 8 The Lord will watch over your going and your coming from now to eternity. - Psalm 121
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for taking the time to inspire the psalmists to remind me that you never sleep. It gives me great peace to know you have chosen me to be in your family and therefore watch over me like a parent does their own child. I can sleep in peace when I know you are kindly watching over my life. I can also go out into the world and live cautiously but not avoiding every single risk. Your care and concern give me freedom. Protect my heart from all the people who preach gloom and doom about the COVID 19 virus and also from those who want me to think it's nothing to be careful about. Instead, help me be careful while in my heart I am carefree. Otherwise, the anxiety on the one hand and the frustration on the other would infect my soul and steal my peace. With you owning me as your own I will go out and have an impact on my world.
Amen
Pastor Don Patterson
Dump the anxiety so you can carry your impact on others.
Additional Reading: Proverbs 30:7-9
Psalm 19:1-6
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
5 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth. - Psalm 19:1-6
Dear Creator of my life,
Your creation speaks to every human being that we are not our own and did not make ourselves. Your beauty and majesty and perfection are seen when we get to see a sunrise or sunset shining through clouds you have formed. Your stars at night tell us how vast your power and how expansive your reach is. The consistency of your sun to appear and run its course every day reminds us that you graciously hold all things together for us. Your glorious sun has outlived every human being that has enjoyed its light. Thank you for inventing this planet and solar system for us to enjoy with you and thank you for redeeming us after we fell from grace. Give me a holy passion to be as beautiful as your creation today in the way I think, I speak, and I live with those around me.
Amen
Pastor Don Patterson
Worship God when you enjoy nature and you will be getting the most out of it.
Additional Reading: Romans 1
Psalm 2:7-12
I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:
He said to me, “You are my son;
today I have become your father.
8 Ask me,
and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You will break them with a rod of iron;
you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”
10 Therefore, you kings, be wise;
be warned, you rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear
and celebrate his rule with trembling.
12 Kiss his son, or he will be angry
and your way will lead to your destruction,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him. - Psalm 2:7-12
Dear Heavenly Father and his Anointed Son,
In this passage, how lovingly you laid out your foundational plan for all to see. You revealed your relationship to each other and your commitment to save us even though our wayward human race tends to resist you. You promised a time of grace in our lives when we could kiss you with our hearts because we appreciate your sacrifice and forgiveness that flows from it. Don't let me stray away from your kingdom by following the ways of the world. Instead, give me the courage to be salt and light so that through me more people would have an opportunity to know that you are the Father and Son who gave it all for us.
Amen
Pastor Don Patterson
No one will escape the great judgment before Christ's throne. That's why he died for all people, not just a few.
Additional Reading: John 3, 2 Corinthians 5:6-15
Psalm 1:1-6
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers. 4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,but the way of the wicked leads to destruction. Psalm 1:1-6
Dear Heavenly Father,
I have experienced the prosperity of meditating on your word instead of the unending diet of worldly messages. You have so designed your word to water my soul that if I choose to think about your words and what they mean for my life, I will be fruitful even in the dry seasons, because I have water for my soul that doesn't come from my circumstances. It comes from you. Help my family and friends to turn off the TV, the radio, their phones and their laptops to drink deeply from your word so they will grow and be fruitful. Give us the prosperity of life that comes from godliness. Make us a reflection of how you bless people you have made and saved.
Amen
Pastor Don Patterson
The mind is divinely invented soil meant to be fertilized with God's word to grow good things for everyone to enjoy. Don't pollute it with the garbage of unbelievers.
Additional Reading: Psalm 25, Psalm 119
Ruth 1:11-13
11 But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? 12 Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons— 13 would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me!” - Ruth 1:11-13
Dear Heavenly Father,
I have felt like Naomi before. I felt like you turned your hand against me. Sometimes it seems that one problem follows another before the first one gets resolved. Like Naomi I can't always see how there is any way that I can fix what you allow to break. But I know from this story that Naomi's perspective was too small. She was short sighted by her losses. You had plans for her that fit into your much bigger design for the whole world. It would include the blessing of restoration in this life for her too. Give me the faith to trust your goodness even when you allow difficult circumstances to overshadow my life. Make me an optimist based on your promises no matter what is happening in my life. Help me to cling to your Son through every circumstance.
Amen
Pastor Don Patterson
When you cannot see a way out, remember that God sees the way in to his gracious plan to save.
Additional Reading: Genesis 50, Ephesians 1
Ruth 1:1
“In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab.” -
Ruth 1:1
Dear Jesus,
Oh how Elimilech tried to fix his family‘s situation! But you Lord we’re doing something far bigger and far more traumatic than he could ever imagine. Although it seems that no matter what he tried it would all just get worse, you were preparing the soil to plant a beautiful rose that would teach us so much about earthly life and heavenly hope. I get hope from even the dark part of the story of Ruth because it reminds me that the darkness of this present era is only a few threads in the fabric you are creating. Give me faith and wisdom to steadily shine no matter how complicated or disappointing life may seem. I am your servant. Let it be to me according to your word.
Amen
Pastor Don Patterson
God makes us shine brighter the more darkness we encounter.
Additional Reading: Romans 8:25-39
Colossians 3:23-24
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. - Colossians 3:23-24
Dear Jesus,
I do not want to be hindered by a bad attitude when I am serving my family, church or community. But sometimes the circumstances between them and me are difficult. It makes it hard to do my job with joy. This word from Paul helps me stay focused. I am serving you, my creator and loving Savior, when I am serving them. I can do this for you even when they are a pain. You will be happy, and I will be blessed. Thank you for this golden nugget of truth to carry with me into every situation.
Amen
Pastor Don Patterson
When you do everything for Jesus first, then everyone is benefited including you.
Colossians 1:3-5
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel - Colossians 1:3-5
Dear Heavenly Father,
I have faith because I learned about your love me in the gospel since infancy. My parents and my home church taught me about your unconditional love for my little sinner's soul. That message has given me hope for an eternal rescue during all of my life. It has accompanied me at the most difficult times. Since I trust I have a great inheritance waiting for me in heaven, I'm not caught up in the "dog eat dog" world of anxious pursuits. I'm free to love people boldly and to give generously for their benefit. You freed me from that worldly, boring, dead-end life, right from the start. Oh how thankful I feel for the truth of the gospel of your Son. Keep me in the center of his love all day today.
Amen
Pastor Don Patterson
Christ is enough to make our lives complete.
2 Peter 3:8-9
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. - 2 Peter 3:8-9
Dear Heavenly Father,
Now I understand why you told us that a day is like a thousand years to you. it's because you don't keep track of our sins. It's because you live in the moment constantly focusing on each of us humans in love, and waiting for one more to come back to you. You are keeping score so the wait doesn't seem so long to you. Teach me to live in the moment of grace like you do, so I don't carry the burden of remembering the failures of others nor do I make them carry them either. Help me to live in the peace of not keeping track.
Amen
Pastor Don Patterson
God designed grace to help us live in the peace of relationship made clean from the clutter of guilt, shame and blame.
Additional Reading: 1 Corinthians 13
1 Peter 1:3-5
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. - 1 Peter 1:3-5
Dear Jesus,
Everything I own is in a constant state of decay. Things get scratched, break, and become dirty. Relationships struggle and ultimately stop when one dies. Even the garden my wife has planted is blighted with grasshoppers, worms and other insects, eating away at their precious leaves. I cannot seem to keep any earthly inheritance very long. But while I live with earthly disappointment, I still hold this one treasure that no bug or bill can take away; I have salvation from this earthly life. By grace, my soul will live on forever and my body will rise up brand new. I have hope in your promise even when nothing but your word remains for me to cling to. It's the one hope that will not let me down. In that hope alone, I am rich.
Amen
Pastor Don Patterson
Jesus and the gift he brings us is the only non-disappointing blessing you will ever receive.
Genesis 50:19-21
But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. - Genesis 50:19-21
Dear Heavenly Father,
It's one of the most impressive stories of grace and forgiveness this world has ever seen. What's more fascinating is that Joseph rose up to forgive and maintain grace toward his disappointing family long before your Son hung on the cross and cried out, "Father forgive them." Joseph embraced your promised plan to redeem his disappointing life and make it serve a much higher purpose. He refused to play God and make a judgement on his situation. He recognized your intervening hand in all times, good and bad. He trusted your motives to work everything, even the worst things for a good and divine purpose. Oh God, give me the faith of Joseph so I heal from all my disappointments.
Amen
Pastor Don Patterson
Our lives are but a paragraph in a chapter of an epic story of redemption for the entirety of humanity. They make no sense apart from that insight.
Additional Reading: Romans 8:18-39
Philippians 4:10-13
10 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength. - Philippians 4:10-13
Dear Heavenly Father,
If I know that I'm right where you want me, then I can be content. If I find joy in my present situation It is extra nice for me. But if I find joy in your promises in spite of my circumstances, that too is a great place to be. Either way, as long as I know I'm where you want me to be, I can live in it with faith, hope and joy. I know you will send friends like the Philippians were for Paul. So, even in bad times someone will rise up to be a surprise blessing. Thank you for teaching me this secret of contentment. I can do all circumstances through Christ, your Son who gives me spiritual strength.
Amen
Pastor Don Patterson
Contentment is knowing God has you where he wants you in all circumstances.
Additional Reading: 2 Samuel 16, Acts 16
Philippians 4:8-9
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. - Philippians 4:8-9
Dear Jesus,
What great permission your Apostle gives us to take a vacation from dwelling on the negative even if it's a reality. Paul certainly could have been down in the dumps after all he had been through on top of what he was enduring at the moment. But he didn't dwell on the negatives. So, he leads us to follow his example and learn the secret of contentment, that is; finding the positives and celebrating them even in the most negative situation. Give me this spiritual positive mental attitude. I want to live in the blessings of every moment you grant me. Help me to model this kind of spiritual optimism to my family and friends too.
Amen
Pastor Don Patterson
Being a positive person is a spiritual possibility for every human being. No one is left out on this one.
Additional Reading: Psalm 103, Psalm 145, Romans 11:33-36
Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:4-7
Dear Heavenly Father,
I long to be immune from the edginess coming from the stress of thinking I have to carry the world on my own shoulders. You have worked out so many situations for my blessing, even when they looked like terrible dead ends from where I sat. And your promises to keep working out my life for good, hold me up when I forget. I find joy in your grace. it leads me to be gentle and to pray instead of push, fight, manipulate and gripe to get my way. I have experienced your peace that passes understanding that comes when I really turn my problems over to you in trusting prayer. Please help me to pray the way you ask me to, so I can experience your peace more and more as I sojourn here in my pilgrim land.
Amen
Pastor Don Patterson
Gentleness is a fruit of the Spirit that leads a heart back to the Creator that made it.
Additional Reading: Psalm 131, Romans 8:28-29, Galatians 5:22-23
Philippians 4:2-3
I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life. - Philippians 4:2-3
Dear Jesus,
You led Paul to call out two women in a letter to the whole congregation and their names go down in history for all time as two people who struggled to get along. But I look closely at what Paul wrapped his words with. He said that they had contended at his side for the gospel, that they were co-workers and that their names were written in the book of life. The fact remains, although I struggle like them to get along with everyone, my name is still written in heaven by grace. I am a sinner saved by grace. I can live with the humbling reality that I am not perfect at getting along. But I can strive to get along with others in your church, because you call me to it. Give me the perseverance to keep striving with Christian loved ones. Make the peace you won for us the power between us to live together in peace. Help us fight the insidious desire to live a selfish life instead of fighting with each other.
Amen
Pastor Don Patterson
Two people can stink up a whole batch of people or permeate them with the smell of Christ.
Philippians 3:20-21
Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. - Philippians 3:20-21
Dear Jesus,
What comforting passages these are! Especially after a long night wrestling with pains in my body. You did not just redeem my soul. But you also redeemed this body of mine. It gives me great hope to thing that although I will ultimately fail at preserving my body, yet you will raise it up glorious body to live forever someday. The thought relieves me of the stress of worrying about my health. I can settle in to taking care of myself best I can and leaving the rest to you. I can use what little extra energy I have to serve others in your name instead of dwelling on myself. I am free to live and love because of your redemption of the body too. Thank you for putting my thoughts about my body in proper perspective.
Amen
Pastor Don Patterson
Aging with grace has much more to do with attitude and peace than with looks.
Philippians 2:19-24
19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. 20 I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. 21 For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. 23 I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. 24 And I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon. - Philippians 2:19-24
Dear Jesus,
I love the example you gave us in Paul, so willing to share his closest friends with others. I find an inertia in my being that wants to hang on to friends and the attention they bring. I can easily get jealous and resent the time they spend with others. It's hard to admit but it's true. I repent of such self centeredness. Give me the kind heart that Paul had so I learn to share people with people that need them more than me. Help me to look for ways to encourage others network for the benefit of all. Make me a benevolent member of the community of faith and of this world.
Amen
Pastor Don Patterson
Sharing people is one of the most powerful acts of kindness we can do.
Additional Reading: 1 Samuel 20, John 15
Philippians 2:1-4
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. - Philippians 2:1-4
Dear Jesus,
I hear how softly you "Shhhh" my complaints by reminding me that everything I have from you is the big "Why" for every way I'm called to serve joyfully. It's so easy to think that my joy should come from m circumstance. I'm tempted to be joyful serving only when it is received with praise and gratitude, only when I see the results of the effort, only when I like what I get to do. But you lead me to a joy that comes from knowing that I am letting yo sacrifice and save the planet through me. I sense when others have this same inner joy and it draws me to them as closest friends. Give me this joy, dear Jesus. I want to the joy of serving from a heart full of selflessness and tenderness.
Amen
Pastor Don Patterson
Selflessness leaves one full and not empty.