Prayer for Today, Tuesday, July 12

O Holy One,

You are at work in the world. May we have the insight, strength and determination to join with You in what You are already doing. The values of the culture often stand opposed to Your grace and peace, yet You are still there, working in people’s hearts and lives. Help us as people of faith and as the church to move beyond the boundaries, the walls, the fences that separates us from those in need. May we reach out as compassionate followers of Jesus and be the living Body of Christ for the world. It is in His name we pray, AMEN.
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Good worship at the General Assembly yesterday evening. Brian McClaren, one of my favorite authors on the Emerging Church, was the preacher. Still seeing lots of friends and colleagues.

Kandy sent the following email:

John, here is the news for today— July 11, 4pm

Sue McClendon—in St. Mary’s room 586
Elbert Wheeler—in St. Mary’s room 225
Maribel Moore—who was supposed to have surgery on July 12th—it has been postponed.

Please pray for our hospitalized.

The scripture for today is Romans 4:13-25:
For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation. For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us,
as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”) —in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So numerous shall your descendants be.”He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Therefore his faith “was reckoned to him as righteousness.”
Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.

Grace and peace,

John McLemore