Morning Prayer
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Inspiration
Propitiation is a seldom used and little understood term but still conveys a very important Biblical concept. When Christ "propitiated" our sins on the cross, he makes full satisfaction to the righteous demands of God's justice. He satisfied the wrath of God in our place and bore in his body the pain of a Roman cross. That is love.
Prayer
O Lover of my soul, when you revealed to me that love with which you loved me from all eternity, it was then that I knew what love really was. You taught me what it is to love on the cross of Calvary. Teach me to love you and others the way that you have loved me. Show me wherein I have failed to truly love, and help me to follow the example of your steps of love and holiness. Amen.
Night Prayer
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Inspiration
We despise the thought of a pile of dirty dishes in the sink. The outside is easy to clean; it's the caked-up residue on the inside that's so difficult to remove. Jesus compares the scribes and Pharisees with dishes that have been wiped clean on the outside while dirty inside. The Pharisees took exceptional care of their outward appearance and neglected their inward spirits. We are guilty of allowing our hearts to be left filthy as well. We look and act as we should while our souls are full of darkness. We must continue to converse with the Holy Spirit daily and trust His guidance to cleanse our sinful nature.
Prayer
Dear God, Please forgive our sinful nature. We yearn for cleansing from within, so we are genuine witnesses to Your name. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
