Living in the Spirit
Light a Candle for Children
October 1, 2014
Scripture Reading: Psalm 19
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. — Psalm 19:14
Such familiar words, but do we practice them? This is not a prayer for God to clean up our language. It is a prayer that we live our lives in such a way and speak in such a way that what we do and say gives honor to God. The next question we must consider is: What is acceptable to God?
The prophet Micah gives us some clues when he writes: He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)
Jesus addressed the issue when he answered a question: ‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ He said to him, ‘“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ (Matthew 22:36-40)
Put God first, love your neighbor, and do justice. These surely are enough to keep each of us busy for a lifetime. We are called to do justice particularly for those who cannot do justice for themselves. Our children need us to do justice for them. Restorative justice for parents is justice for their children too.
Oklahoma Fact: On any given day, more than 26,000 Oklahoma children have a parent in an Oklahoma prison.*
Prayer: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.