God Delights In Blessing His Children
Monday’s Verse:
From James 1:17 ESV
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
Daily bread. Warmth of family and friends. Good conversation. A friendly smile. Hope for the future. Unexpected provision. Cool water on a hot day. Grace to go on when the way grows hard.Comfort in times of sorrow. Help for our many needs. Relief of our constant burdens. These are a few of the countless mercies the Lord bestows upon us each day.
“He daily and richly provides me with all that I need to support this body and life,” Luther wrote in the Small Catechism. We receive each of these blessings from our heavenly Father “not because we have deserved it by our righteousness, but because of His fatherly divine goodness and mercy.” He may hide some of these blessings in times of trial, but they are still ours even when we can’t see them. He may delay some of these blessings so we can learn to trust Him in our waiting, but they are still ours even when we have to wait. God’s daily gifts are gifts of His grace, not our deserving, and they always flow from His merciful and constant hand.
In Christ we have the greatest of all His gifts: the forgiveness of sins, peace with God, and eternal life. In faith, we learn to see each and every gift of His, great and small, as leading us to the Giver of all good gifts, the Lord our God, who delights in blessing His children.
Prayers
A Prayer for Today:
Heavenly Father, thank You for all of the blessings You lavish upon us each day. Help us to recognize Your hand in both joy and trial, and to live in gratefulness for Your gifts. Keep our eyes upon Christ and our hearts at peace in the sure knowledge that You are our good and gracious God. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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