Sunday

**During Lent brief Old Testament verses will be used

That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done,
And there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which it may be said,
“See, this is new”?
It has already been in ancient times before us.
11 There is no remembrance of former things,
Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come
By those who will come after. – Ecclesiastes 1:9-11

King Solomon points out that in the lives of mankind, spiritual and emotional issues never change.  Technology changes, but the interior struggle and problems caused by that, particularly sin, effect all around us in the same forms as in the past.

 

Prayer:  We adore Thee O Christ and we bless Thee, for by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

 

Monday

Do not say, “I sinned, so what happened to me?” For the Lord is patient. Do not be so confident of atonement That you add sin to sin; And do not say, “His compassion is great; He will atone for the multitude of my sins,” For both mercy and wrath come from Him; And His anger rests on sinners. Do not delay to turn to the Lord…   Book of Sirach 5:4-7

Do not mistake the patience of  God when we do things we shouldn’t and ‘get by with it’ for His lack of caring or awareness.   At some point in this life or in the next all debts will be paid.  So, repent while there is time.

Prayer:

O Lord and Master of my life, a spirit of idleness, despondency, ambition, and idle talking give me not.

 

Tuesday

Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them.
I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure,
For my heart rejoiced in all my labor;
And this was my reward from all my labor.
11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done
And on the labor in which I had toiled;
And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind.
There was no profit under the sun. – Ecclesiastes 2:10-11

This could be the motto of modern man:  the incessant search for pleasure and ‘things’.   The word ‘vanity’ means ‘meaningless’.  He was able to get all he wanted and at the end saw the emptiness.  We will never get ‘all  we want’ but we much profit from the teachings of others like Solomon and the Lord

Prayer:

But rather a spirit of chastity, humble-mindedness, patience, and love bestow upon me Thy servant.

Yea, O Lord King, grant me to see my failings and not condemn my brother; for blessed art Thou unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Wednesday

Turn to the Lord and forsake your sins, And pray in His presence and reduce your offense. Return to the Most High and turn away from wrongdoing, And hate an abomination exceedingly. – Book of Sirach  17:20-21

Not only should be not sin, we should hate sin.

 

Prayer:

Yea, O Lord King, grant me to see my failings and not condemn my brother; for blessed art Thou unto the ages of ages. Amen.

 

Thursday
And now bless the God of all, Who does great things in every way, Who exalts our days from our birth And deals with us according to His mercy. May He give us gladness of heart, And may there be peace in our days, In Israel as in the days of old. May He entrust with us His mercy, And let Him redeem us in our days. – Book of Sirach 50:22-24

The theme of praising God is found throughout the Old and New Testaments…it should be found throughout our day as well.

Prayer:  O Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. O Lord, blot out our sins. O Master, pardon our iniquities. O Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for Thy name’s sake.

Friday

Do not walk after your own desires, But restrain your appetites. If you fill your soul with the desire for pleasure, It will make you the laughingstock of your enemies. Do not rejoice in great luxury, Lest you become needy by its expense. Do not become a beggar by feasting on borrowed money When you have nothing in your purse. – Book of Sirach 18:29-32

Modern debt is an example of this.

Prayer:  Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (3X)

Saturday
Genesis 1:1…In the beginning God made heaven and earth.  The earth was invisible and unfinished; and darkness was over the deep. The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the water… (Genesis 1:26. .) Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of heaven, over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that moves on the earth.”

 

GOD reveals Himself as the Trinity in the first chapter of the Bible (God is a spirit, the Holy Spirit is mentioned separately and ‘our image’ could only be that of the Son who was fully God and fully man. Our first thought each day should be of the Trinity.

 

Jesus Prayer:  Lord Jesus Christ Son of God have Mercy on me a sinner.