And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned? When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest:  for this man is a Roman. Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea. And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born. Acts 22: 25-28.    Gracious God and Father of humankind,...

Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, this is the word which the LORD has spoken concerning him: . . .  'He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor build a siege mound against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return; and he shall not come into this city,' says the LORD. For I will defend this city, to save it for my...

Then Hezekiah prayed to the LORD, saying:  "O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes O LORD, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. Truly, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of...

Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; then Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD and spread it before the LORD. And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD . . . " Isaiah 37: 14, 15a, NRSV. Merciful God, we come in joyful expectation before You. We are grateful for Your mercy; and we are thankful for Your grace. We pray that Your kindness will not depart from us, and that You will teach us how to apply our hearts unto divine wisdom. In the name of Jesus we do pray. Amen. I...

Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands- O prosper the work of our hands! Psalm 90: 17, NRSV. Gracious God, as we enter Your holy presence, we do it recognizing how finite we are, and how infinite You are! This makes us aware, that all good things do come from You, and for this we say, "Thank You," in the name of Jesus. Amen. We live in an age when the Prosperity Gospel is at an all-time high! We say things like, "Somebody is living in my...

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried, with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, Amen:  Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. Revelation 7: 9-12, KJV.  Gracious God, as we come into Your presence today,...

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried, with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, Amen:  Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. Revelation 7: 9-12, KJV. Our Father and our God, we come before You...

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried, with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, Amen:  Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. Revelation 7: 9-12, NRSV. Merciful God, here we are again in Your holy...

After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power to our God . . . .  And from the throne came a voice saying, Praise our God, all you his servants, and all who fear him. small and great." Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying out, 'Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the...

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will rise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Nations shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses' arms. Isaiah 60: 1-4, NRSV. Holy God, in these days of darkness that...