Daily Devotion for August 31, 2023
Mosaic in Notre Dame de la Garde, Marseilles, France.
Prayers
Scripture
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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.
Country star Vince Gill shows us that Gospel music is alive and well in Nashville!
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Go Rest High On That Mountain
I know your life
On earth was troubled,
And only you could know the pain;
You weren't afraid to face the devil;
You were no stranger to the rain.
Refrain:
Go rest high on that mountain,
Son, your work on earth is done.
Go to heaven a shoutin',
Love for the Father and the Son.
Oh, how we cried the day you left us.
We gathered round your grave to grieve.
I wish I could see the angels faces
When they hear your sweet voice sing.
Music and Lyrics by Vince Gill
Morning Confession
I confess with faith and adore You, O Light indivisible, Holy Trinity and single Godhead, creator of light and dispeller of darkness. Dispel from my soul the darkness of sin and ignorance, and at this hour enlighten my mind, that I may pray to You according to Your will, and receive from You the fulfillment of my supplications. Have mercy upon Your Creatures and upon me, a great sinner.
Amen.
Mason Barge //2017
A Prayer of Abandonment to the Holy Spirit:
Holy Spirit, God of Love, be present to me; accept the offering of myself which I make to you. Receive these hands, these feet, these eyes, this tongue, and all my senses. Receive my memory, my will, my understanding, my desires, my sighs, the longings and the aspirations of my soul. Receive my every hour, my every moment, and all the happenings of my life.
Holy Spirit, God of Love, knit my soul to you. Let your love possess my whole being - my senses, my powers, my affections, my very life. Let your love rule my labor and my rest, my going and my staying, and move me as it pleases. Let your love disquiet or comfort me, humble or exalt me, and burn away all my faults.
Holy Spirit, God of Love, draw me to yourself. Do with me what you will. Nothing will cause me fear if only your love enfolds me. I ask confidently because your desire to give is greater than mine to receive. Transform me into yourself, so that I may no longer know myself, nor find myself, except in you.
Amen.
~ Thomas of Jesus
Meditation
“[M]y thoughts are not your thoughts . . . .”
~ Isaiah 55:8
Benediction
Finally, may I go forth filled with the joy and confidence of your Spirit; and may everything I do this day, in word or deed, be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
Amen.
Think of the day ahead in terms of God with you, and visualize health, strength, guidance, purity, calm confidence, and victory as the gifts of His presence.
Mark 2:23-28 (ESV)
One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”
And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?”
And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
1 Samuel 21 (abridged) (NLT)
David on the Run
avid went to the town of Nob to see Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he saw him. “Why are you alone?” he asked. “Why is no one with you?”
“The king has sent me on a private matter,” David said. “He told me not to tell anyone why I am here. I have told my men where to meet me later. Now, what is there to eat? Give me five loaves of bread or anything else you have.”
“We don’t have any regular bread,” the priest replied. “But there is the holy bread, which you can have if your young men have not slept with any women recently.” “Don’t worry,” David replied. “I never allow my men to be with women when we are on a campaign. And since they stay clean even on ordinary trips, how much more on this one!” Since there was no other food available, the priest gave him the holy bread—the Bread of the Presence that was placed before the Lord in the Tabernacle. It had just been replaced that day with fresh bread.
David asked Ahimelech, “Do you have a spear or sword? The king’s business was so urgent that I didn’t even have time to grab a weapon!” “I only have the sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah,” the priest replied. “It is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. Take that if you want it, for there is nothing else here.” “There is nothing like it!” David replied. “Give it to me!”
So David escaped from Saul and went to King Achish of Gath. But the officers of Achish were unhappy about his being there. So [David] pretended to be insane, scratching on doors and drooling down his beard. Finally, King Achish said to his men, “Must you bring me a madman? We already have enough of them around here! Why should I let someone like this be my guest?”
Notes on the Scripture
These anecdotes about David fleeing from Saul are full of innuendo. The first priest trembles at David, who was by this time the most famous warrior in Israel, but is astonished that David would be alone. David lies to him, both to allay suspicion and to get extra provisions. He also gets Goliath's sword. The story about David eating the consecrated bread will become a precedent, cited in the New Testament.
David is again recognized in Achish. This time, to hide his identity, he feigns insanity. At last now he has a good sword and some bread; but what is he to do? There is no safe place for him in the entire world.
Angel by Gustave Moreau, ca. 1890. (Detail from King David.)
