INSPIRATION

Eternal God, our Father, we praise Thee that we are now invited into Thy presence with many invitations and promises: "Lo, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; Come, let us reason together", says the Lord, "tho your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as wool; tho they be red like crimson, they shall be as white as snow." "Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." We want to claim these promises and come boldly to Thy throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find help in our time of need.

We thank Thee for many blessings--even for the blessing of difficulty, pain and failure, which rid us of pride and self-sufficiency, and cause us to remember that we are creatures dependent upon Thee. We thank you most of all for the revelation of Thyself in our Lord Jesus Christ. He has shown that you are not a God far off in the distant heavens, but present here with us. He was in all points tempted like we are yet without sin. Therefore He can help us in our own temptations. He died for our sins and was raised for our justification.

We wish our world knew the Saviour and the peace He came to bring. We wish that we ourselves knew Him better and could represent Him to our world more completely. O Lord, stay the hand of evil men and turn our world toward peace. We pray for peace in Vietnam and in the Middle East. WE pray for peace in our nation and in our community--not just the absence of conflict, but the kind of peace that is based on love for Thee, obedience to your commandments, and love for our brothers for whom Christ died.

Warm the hearts that have grown cold. And may those who are in the far country wasting their lives come to themselves and arise and return to Thee, the Father of us all.

Meet our needs this hour through the riches of Thy grace in Christ Jesus. Speak to each of us, O Lord, and let us know that it is our name that is being called. All that we ask is in Jesus' name. Amen