Lord, we have been amiss in our worship. We have failed to see the splendor and majesty of the true and living God. Man has created a god after his own image. The modern church worships a god who is not sovereign. They worship a god who is not holy. They even worship a god who did not create the world in six days and thus they fail to give God the glory for the very creation they see every day of their lives.

Modern man has his own religion. He believes that everyone is a child of God. He believes that everyone is going to heaven. He believes that he is the law-giver and final judge of truth. What fools they are! What fools their leaders are! The blind lead the blind. Men are thirsty and they are given poison to quench their thirst.

Lord, what we know, we know by grace. Except by the grace of God we too would be blind. We confess that we have erred and strayed from Thy ways, like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended Thee by transgressing Thy law. We have left undone things we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we ought not to have done. There is no health in us.

Lord, by Thy grace and by the blood of the Lamb, You have chosen to spare us, even though we are offensive and odious in Thy presence. If a man confesses his sin, turns from them, and reaches for the Lord Jesus Christ, he can know forgiveness and adoption as a child of God. We must be public. We cannot hide. We cannot straddle the fence. We must confess before men the Lord Jesus Christ and be baptized into the visible Church. Ordinarily, apart from the sacraments of the Church there is no possibility of salvation. There is a great battle raging in this world, and we must side with the Lord Jesus Christ. If we deny Him, He will deny us.

Lord Jesus, while You were on earth, You healed every kind of sickness. You gave sight to the blind and enabled the lame to walk. Men and women pushed their way through the crowds just to touch the hem of Your garment. They were desperate. Lord, some of us are desperate today. Sickness takes its toll on the body and on the mind. Sometimes we think death would be better than life. Sometimes, we become angry and take our anger out on the ones we love and who love us most. Sometimes, we sink into depression. Lord, where is the hem we can touch? Lord, where is the voice that says, “Arise and walk?” Lord, when our anger tunes into tears and then our tears turn into guilt, deliver us from ourselves. Help us to see that life on this earth is very short. Soon we shall fly away and be forgotten. There is a land indeed that flows with water from the crystal sea, and it is for the healing of the nations. There is a river that flows from the presence of the throne of God and the Lamb. In that fair land, there will no longer be any curse, there will no longer be any death, or mourning, or crying, or pain. The first things will pass away.

Our Father, for those who have sacrificed much in this world, they shall be repaid for their loss. If we lose our lives in this world, we shall gain it in the next. If we savor our lives in this world, then we shall lose it in the next. Lord, help us to overcome. Help us to conquer. Give us the Spirit of God in full measure that we shall persevere to the end. We have considered quitting. We have considered throwing our lot in with the world. A life lived for Christ can be hard. It can be disappointing. It can be frustrating. Yea, some do leave us. Some have gone. Some have quit the race and quit the Church. Lord, the road is hard and the gate is narrow, but when it comes down to the root of the matter, like the Apostles, all we can say is “Where else can we go, for You O Lord, have the words of eternal life.” Lord, grant us even a mustard seed of faith in the times of trial and tribulation.