Daily Prayers and Scriptures: Saturday, April 4

During this time in which the whole world is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, we are posting Daily Bible Readings from the International Bible Lessons for Christian Teaching, Spring 2020, plus a meditation to help guide your prayers, for your inspiration and encouragement.  Do you know someone that would benefit from these emails?  Please forward this link to friends, family, and your church. Isaiah 42:1-10, NRSV God Will Not Forsake the People 10 Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the end of the earth! Let the sea roar[a] and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants. 11 Let the desert and its towns lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits; let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy, let them shout from the tops of the mountains. 12 Let them give glory to the Lord, and declare his praise in the coastlands. 13 The Lord goes forth like a soldier, like a warrior he stirs up his fury; he cries out, he shouts aloud, he shows himself mighty against his foes. 14 For a long time I have held my peace, I have kept still and restrained myself; now I will cry out like a woman in labor, I will gasp and pant. 15 I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbage; I will turn the rivers into islands, and dry up the pools. 16 I will lead the blind by a road they do not know, by paths they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I will do, and I will not forsake them. 17 They shall be turned back and utterly put to shame— those who trust in carved images, who say to cast images, “You are our gods.” God has not gone to sleep By The Right Reverend Leopold Frade III, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida, Our Little Roses Ministries “You shall not be afraid of any terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day; Of the plague that stalks in the darkness, Nor of the sickness that lays waste at mid-day. A thousand shall fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand, But it shall not come near you.” -Psalm 91:5-7 What marvelous and comforting words from the psalmist assuring us that those who dwell in the shelter of the Most High and abide under the shadow of the Almighty will be delivered from this overwhelming virus devastating our communities. It is indeed a wonderful reassurance for us who trust God at this time of pestilence. What we are living during this Lenten season is not new for our planet, even in our recent memory we have lived other dreadful challenges. Yes, we are told to stay home, avoid crowds, wash our hands often and protect others if we sneeze or cough. We should do all of those things but there is one more thing we should do and that is to dwell in the shelter of the Most High and abide under the shadow of the Almighty. God has not gone to sleep and continues caring for us even in our old age. Isaiah 46:4 says: “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” As you care for yourself and your loved ones close to you do not forget the girls and staff of Our Little Roses Home for Abandoned, Abused and Orphaned girls in San Pedro Sula, Honduras where I volunteer year-round since my retirement. I am happy to inform you that all the girls are healthy so far. They are going through the same trauma. sacrifice and challenges and doing all that is required for them. Please pray for us and we will be praying for every one of you. Trust God and follow the instructions from the health experts but never forget that God is watching over you: “So do not fear, for I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” -Isaiah 41:10 You can follow our daily readings, prayers, and meditations on our website at http://nationalcouncilofchurches.us/topics/daily/.  Be safe, healthy, and blessed during this time.

Serving as a leading voice of witness to the living Christ in the public square since 1950,  the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC) brings together 38 member communions  and more than 40 million Christians in a common expression of God's love and promise of unity.  http://nationalcouncilofchurches.us