Daily Devotion

5 May – Blessed be the God…

Audio

Today is Monday, 5th of May. Take a moment to be still in His presence.

We declare in the words of Psalm 27:1-5

¹ The Lord is my light and my salvation;
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
    of whom shall I be afraid?

² When evildoers assail me
    to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
    it is they who stumble and fall.

³ Though an army encamp against me,
    my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
    yet I will be confident.

⁴ One thing have I asked of the Lord,
    that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
    and to inquire in his temple.

⁵ For he will hide me in his shelter
    in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
    he will lift me high upon a rock.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as It was in the beginning, is
now, and shall be forever. Amen.

The Scripture Reading is taken from Ephesians 1:3-10. This is a very rich passage. We will read it slowly and meditatively.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, ⁴ even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, ⁸ which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight ⁹ making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ ¹⁰ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

Reflection

Reflect on the spiritual blessings you have in Christ. These blessings will never fade, unlike all other earthly ones.

You have been chosen, that before Him, you may be blameless and holy.

You have been predestined for adoption as His children. It is a plan that God has hatched a long time ago.

As for His grace, it has been lavished on us. We seldom feel we are deserving to be redeemed or forgiven. We have not done enough. We have not been enough. Yes, through Christ, His purpose for our lives has been revealed.

He has fitted each one of us in His grander scheme of life, time and eternity.

Like Paul, these are reasons enough for us to break out in rapturous praise and declare: Blessed be God!

Further questions for Reflection:
What is the Lord saying about Himself in this passage?
What is He saying to you?

Collect

Almighty Father,
who in your great mercy gladdened the disciples
with the sight of the risen Lord:
give us such knowledge of his presence with us,
that we may be strengthened and sustained by his risen life 
and serve you continually in righteousness and truth; 
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Link to today’s Morning Office