Daily Prayer 11/10/07

1 John 4:7-11 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son {to be} the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Father You are the Eternal One, Our Creator and Father who set Your mind from eternity past to display Your love to us. Now this is hard for us to understand, but we will spend all eternity marveling at the plan. You know all things and You work all things according to Your will. You could have easily created a perfect universe and a perfect earth with perfect humans and animals and plants....In fact You DID create all things perfect! You could have created this world with no plan for Adam and Eve to sin and cause the earth and all of mankind to be cursed. This was not a surprise to You but part of Your plan. Your love is not just theory but it has been displayed through Your Son Jesus Christ.

Nothing worse could have happened! One third of the angels rebelled against You and followed Lucifer in His rebellion against You. Only You would allow Your GREATEST angel to turn on You. Add to that the sin and rebellion of all mankind! The blackness of the story could not be darker. Great wickedness set against our Creator. Against this black background, like a lighted Diamond, stands Christ, God who became flesh and Whom You allowed to be murdered by that wicked creation that rebelled against You. In the wickedness of man as they bruised Him, at the same time He crushed final judgment and death and paid a great price to redeem us! You offer this free gift of eternal life and reconcilliation with You by faith in that death alone! What a great gift You have given those whom You love! There is no salvation for the angels who fell, yet to display Your love in contrast to Your righteous judgment on the angels, You have been merciful to mankind. We look forward to that day when all things are made perfect again.

The word "propitiation" used here is the strongest word possible for the permanent and total satisfaction of God's Wrath. Either Christ's death for our sins is all and the only thing we need....plus NOTHING.....or else there is no payment for sins at all and we are still under Your judgment.


May we love each other with a self-sacrificing love, even to those who do not deserve it.

Praise for Aubrie who went home today with Crystal and Adam healthy and happy!

Pray for Aubrey who has had another bad day with her kidneys...very bad day....We pray for recovery again.

For Meeja's arm and other needs

For Darlene and her mother's health

For all of us that we would be blessed with a good place to study and learn Your Bible.

Amen!