Dear God, together in heart and unified in mind, we pray aloud Your Word, we speak Your truth back to You. Hear our desperate prayers and cries:
Psalm 11
The Lord Is in His Holy Temple
To the choirmaster. Of David.
In the Lord I take refuge;
how can you say to my soul,
“Flee like a bird to your mountain,
for behold, the wicked bend the bow;
they have fitted their arrow to the string
to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;
if the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?”
The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord’s throne is in heaven;
his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.
The Lord tests the righteous,
but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
Let him rain coals on the wicked;
fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
For the Lord is righteous;
he loves righteous deeds;
the upright shall behold his face Psalm 11.
Today is the day to turn to Jesus, Lord God, Savior. He is the One who saves. He is Redeemer.
Today is the day to call on His name, God of heaven and earth. His dwelling place is in a heart who praises Him in spirit and truth.
Today can be the first day of the rest of your eternal life when you call on the name of Jesus.
Who will join me today, to gather in heart, unified, to praise and march on with Martin Luther’s hymn, A Mighty Fortress is our God from 1529:
A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing.
Our helper He amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe.
His craft and power are great,
And, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
Did we in our own strength confide,
Our striving would be losing,
Were not the right man on our side,
The man of God’s own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is He.
Lord Sabaoth, his name,
From age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.
And though this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us.
The Prince of Darkness grim,
We tremble not for him.
His rage we can endure,
For lo, his doom is sure.
One little word shall fell him.
That word above all earthly powers
Not thanks to them, abideth.
The Spirit and the gifts are ours
Through him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go,
This mortal life also.
The body they may kill,
God’s truth abideth still.
His kingdom is forever. ( A Mighty Fortress is Our God, Martin Luther, 1529.)
Who will agree our hearts are changed and infused with increased faith and hope by taking time to speak God’s Word and an old hymn?
“Dear Lord, help us walk in Your truth and allow You to be our strength and our song throughout this entire day,
in Jesus’ name, Amen.”
If you are not sure you have ever received Jesus’ love and salvation, simply talk with Him now. Pour out your heart to Him. Let Him take your sin and failure and receive His forgiveness and power to new life in Christ. Tell someone you have become a new creation in Christ today. (2 Corinthians 5:17.)
I share children’s voices ringing in God’s truth of becoming a new creation with “Everything New” by the Kanagy girls: