Heavenly father
give us grace to be forgiving today14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15 But if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.Heavenly father
give us grace to focus on you when no one is looking (and when they are!)16 “Moreover when you fast, don’t be like the hypocrites, with sad faces.
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For they disfigure their faces that they may be seen by men to be fasting.
Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward.
17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
18 so that you are not seen by men to be fasting, but by your Father who is in secret;
and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you…Heavenly father
give us grace to treasure the things of heaven in our hearts today.19 “Don’t lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal;
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves don’t break through and steal;
21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.Heavenly father
give us grace to see the light today22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light.
23 But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness.
If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!Heavenly father
give us grace to use money today in the context of serving you, rather than using you to serve money.24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other.
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You can’t serve both God and Mammon.
25 Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life: what you will eat, or what you will drink;
nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26 See…‘No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Matthew 6:24
Richard Rohr challenges the ways we allow personal possessions and national boundaries to define us:
Jesus primarily talked about the kingdom of God as his defining worldview. Yet, the vast majority of Christians in history have identified with their own much smaller kingdoms for which they were willing to fight, kill, surrender, and grant pledges of…
moreDo Not Worry
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life) 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour…
moreHeavenly father
give us grace to allow you to clothe us today.27 “Which of you by being anxious, can add one moment to his lifespan?
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28 Why are you anxious about clothing?
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin,
29 yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these.
30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists and tomorrow is thrown into the oven,
won’t he much more…Heavenly father
give us grace to seek first your kingdom today.31 “Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’
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32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33 But seek first God’s Kingdom and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.
34 Therefore don’t be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious…“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”
Authors Adam Bucko and Rory McEntee envision what a “new monasticism” could mean today:
Monastic [life], then, represents for us a complete commitment to the transformative journey, … which takes us into the fullness of our humanity, allowing divinity to flower within us in increasing degrees of love, compassion, joy, sorrow, and wisdom. The monastic is the one who devotes his or her life to this ideal, and allows all life decisions to flow out…
moreHeavenly father
give us grace to be generous in the measure we use for those around us today1 “Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged.
2 For with whatever judgement you judge, you will be judged;
and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you.3 ‘Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?…
moreHeavenly father
give us grace to see our own imperfections today and deal with them3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye,
but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye?
4 Or how will you tell your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’
and behold, the beam is in your own eye?
5 You hypocrite! First remove the beam out of your own eye,
and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.Heavenly father
give us grace to be careful today and to be able to discern when to hold back in relationships6 “Don’t give that which is holy to the dogs,
neither throw your pearls before the pigs,
lest perhaps they trample them under their feet,
and turn and tear you to pieces.Heavenly father
give us grace to ask, seek and knock today.7 “Ask, and it will be given you.
Seek, and you will find.
Knock, and it will be opened for you.
8 For everyone who asks receives.
He who seeks finds.
To him who knocks it will be opened.Heavenly father
give us grace to desire good today, for ourselves and for others9 Or who is there among you who, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?
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10 Or if he asks for a fish, who will give him a serpent?
11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
12 Therefore, whatever you desire for men to do to you,…Heavenly father
give us grace to seek today the way that leads to life, particularly when others do not.13 “Enter in by the narrow gate;
for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction,
and there are many who enter in by it.
14 How the gate is narrow and the way is restricted that leads to life!
There are few who find it.Heavenly father
give us grace to be attentive to the actions of others, particularly when it is at odds with their words.15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.
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16 By their fruits you will know them. Do you gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles?
17 Even so, every good tree produces good fruit, but the corrupt tree produces evil fruit.
18 A good tree can’t produce evil fruit, neither can a…15 ‘Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognise them. Do people pick grapes from thorn-bushes, or figs from thistles? …
moreHeavenly father
give us grace to do your will today21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven,
but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
22 Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name,
in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’
23 Then I will tell them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.’
Daily Bible Verses
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