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Hey everybody! We are still in the time of Lent, a Spiritual spring cleaning. If you have missed any of the series, you can go back and listen to parts 1-5). As we explore the Prayer of Saint Ephrem today, I want to focus on the final phrase of the prayer: “Grant me to see my own error and not to judge my brother”.
The Lenten Prayer of Saint Ephrem
O Lord and Master of my life!
Take from me the spirit of sloth, faint-heartedness, lust for power, and idle talk.
But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Your servant.
Yes, O Lord and King! Grant me to see my own errors and not to judge my brother; For You are blessed unto ages of ages. Amen.
- 1 John 1:5-2:11
- When I turn from the path of love, I embark upon a journey into darkness.
- When I betray the law of love I enter a world of self-deception.
- When I betray the law of love, I begin to see the world in a way that justifies
- When I see a self-justifying world, my view of reality becomes distorted.
- When I betray the law of love, I start walking in darkness. When I do something that is contrary to the law of love darkness and deception cloud my heart, mind, emotions, thinking, etc
- Over time, certain dark places become characteristic of me and I carry it with me wherever I go.
- By being in the darkness, I provoke others to be in the darkness (reverse of this is Heb. 10:24-25)
- While in the darkness, I invite mutual resentment and obtain mutual justification for my own self-deception.
- Love says: You should …
- Choice to Make “Honor or Betray the Law of Love”
- In the darkness the only thing you are aware of is yourself.
PRAYER: May God, by the Holy Spirit, give us this kind of love, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
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I am among the more than two dozen missionaries supported by the Foursquare Missions International Global Missions Fund. To support our global missions efforts, visit The Global Missions Fund.
Debbie and I serve as the FMI Global Associate Director for MENACA and Europe. We focus on cultivating disciples, leaders, and church planting movements.
