Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Matthew 22:37–39, NIV
Lord our God, through your Spirit help us to live in love to you. Open our eyes to see your goodness and truth surrounding us your children, even in this troubled world. We look to you, Almighty Father. Protect us in these difficult times. We plead for our country, entrusting it to your care so that love to you may be awakened. Where shall we turn except to you? Where shall we find help except in Jesus Christ, whom you have sent to us to win the victory, to subdue and end all evil in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and to become Lord, to the glory of your name? Amen.
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The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Romans 13:12, NIV
Father in heaven, we thank you for giving us light. We thank you for the great hope for a day whose light is not of our making, whose source is in you, a day to come that can touch our lives already today. Keep our hearts steadfast, free of all human wavering. May we always hold to the love you have given through your grace, and may we find joy in your love, which is full of light and understanding. Amen.
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Fyodor Dostoyevsky
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J. L. Wall
The greatest strain on our marriage, my wife and I agree, is building our sukkah. Read now
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Nadya Williams
Jesus paid attention to people whom others considered useless or a burden. Read now
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Jack Nicholson
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George Eliot
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I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way – with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge. 1 Corinthians 1:4–5, NIV
Lord our God, we thank you that you are so near to us that we may feel and know we are your children, your children who are in your hands with all that belongs to our earthly life, all our needs and temptations, all our efforts and pain. We come together to thank you, and our thanksgiving wins a victory over everything that makes life difficult for us. In this thanksgiving the harshness, crookedness, and injustice on earth cannot harm us. Protect us with your light, which gives us wisdom for all situations and which lifts us above everything that is base and meaningless and must pass away. Amen.
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J. L. Wall
The greatest strain on our marriage, my wife and I agree, is building our sukkah. Read now
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Nadya Williams
Jesus paid attention to people whom others considered useless or a burden. Read now
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Jack Nicholson
I found myself having tomato soup with an aged Northumbrian hermit in a Thomas the Tank Engine bobble hat. Read now
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George Eliot
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Morf Morford
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On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:12–13, NIV
Dear Father in heaven, we come into your presence as imperfect, sinful children, who do many foolish things and who are involved in much that is evil and corrupt. We come to you, Father, knowing that your fatherly love is with us through all eternity. Be gracious to us and free us from all the harm and injury we are bound to suffer in this earthly life. May the grace your kingdom brings on earth finally blot out the sins of all people, so that as your children they may rejoice because you have helped them. May your name be praised among all people. Amen.
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Robert Donnelly
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I will listen to what God the Lord says; he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants – but let them not turn to folly. Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land. Psalm 85:8–9, NIV
Lord our God, you are help, comfort, and life to us in everything we have to endure. We gather before you as poor, weak people, but you can make us rich and give us new life so that our lives prove we hold to your will and to the justice you bring on earth. May we be one in spirit through all we experience in our hearts, to the glory of your name. May the praise and thanks of many people ring out into all the world because you are help and deliverance from all evil. Amen.
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In her novel Middlemarch, George Eliot describes the “epic life” of Saint Teresa of Ávila. Read now
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Morf Morford
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Robert Donnelly
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And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So through God you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then an heir. Galatians 4:6–7, RSV
Dear Father in heaven, we come before you as your children, longing to be assured through your Spirit that we are and may remain your children. We long to live to the glory of your name under the shelter and guidance of the Lord Jesus in expectation of the great day which shall fulfill all promises made to us. Strengthen us, especially in dark and troubled days. Help us when danger threatens and when evil tries to make headway among us. Deliver us from all evil, for yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
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George Eliot
In her novel Middlemarch, George Eliot describes the “epic life” of Saint Teresa of Ávila. Read now
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Robert Donnelly
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Forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us. Matthew 6:12, TEV
Lord our God, we thank you for the great light you send throughout the world to let us know that you forgive, that no sin is too great for you to forgive. Grant that people may cry out, “Have mercy on me, O God!” Give them the spirit of prayer in their hearts to call, “Father, forgive us our sins.” Send your Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth and humility, and then forgive their sins. Wherever a soul is sighing, wherever someone is calling to you, hear him. May our prayers come before your throne. Hear and answer us. We have so much on our hearts that we cannot rightly express it all. We pray for others too. Father, forgive them. Clear away all the obstacles so that your judgment can be merciful toward those whom you forgive. Be with us. May we be a church community of Jesus Christ, washed in his blood, with strength to face every bitter outburst of the world’s fury and still forgive. May our prayer remain, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” Amen.
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Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:3– 4, NIV
Dear Father in heaven, we love and honor your ways even when they are bitter ways. We long for courage and strength. Lord, help us to believe. Grant faith to the millions surrounded by death, faith that overcomes everything through utmost self-denial. Let your light shine out to bring life to the nations in the midst of all that is happening. Your light shall lead and guide us, and peace will come, a deeper peace than we have ever known. Remember each of us in all our concerns, and grant that the struggles of life may lead us to peace. If hard and bitter ways should be our lot, help us to remain steadfast, never complaining about our burdens even in the most difficult days, for through grief and trouble the way leads to you. Amen.
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…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood – to be received by faith. Romans 3:23–25a, NIV
Lord our God, we praise your name because you have set up a mercy seat on earth, because you forgive our sins through the blood of Jesus Christ. May your mercy be seen at work in many hearts. Shed your light upon all people, and let your glory be known. Let your glory shine in all hearts, to the praise of your name and the deliverance of those who are still in misery. Keep us in your Word, which works miracles. Protect in us all that Jesus Christ has brought to the earth, and may we use his gifts in simplicity of heart. Grant that much may be accomplished to the glory of your name and that we may draw nearer to the day of Jesus Christ, for which we wait in hope and longing. Amen.
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Joseph M. Keegin
Dad’s obsession with outrage media gradually alienated him from nearly everyone as he crawled into a cave of conspiratorial logic and monomania. Read now
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Stephanie Ebert
I learned a few things from my attempt at the simple life in a tiny hand-built home for three, then four… Read now
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Sharla Moody
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Santiago Ramos
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Eduard Thurneysen
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They were standing by the sea of glass, holding harps that God had given them and singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: “Lord God Almighty, how great and wonderful are your deeds! King of the nations, how right and true are your ways! Who will not stand in awe of you, Lord? Who will refuse to declare your greatness? You alone are holy. All the nations will come and worship you, because your just actions are seen by all.” Revelation 15:2b–4, TEV
O Lord God, we thank you that in our times we may feel and see that you are at work. This is a joy and comfort to us and we take heart, although the misery on earth sometimes brings us to tears. We find joy again because you are at work. You are carrying out your will, which includes your plan for our life and salvation. Grant that fruits may appear in our times, for our times are in your hands. Grant that many people from all nations may come to you. May they turn to you in their need and know the happiness of receiving your help. May your name be honored, your kingdom come, and your will be done on earth as in heaven. Amen.
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Santiago Ramos
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Emmy Barth Maendel and Susannah Black Roberts
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