Daily Scripture and Prayer
Safe Harbor Presbyterian Church
June 2019
Meditations from Eugenia
Eugenia is a PCUSA pastor who has served the church for more than 30 years.
She served pastorates in Alabama, Colorado and California. She has served the church at every governing body level in both staff and elected positions. She is an author, speaker, preacher, and retreat leader who loves nothing more than helping the Bible come alive for people. With the assistance of PW Birthday Offering, and an amazing team of leaders from First Presbyterian Church in Birmingham Alabama, Eugenia was a founding pastor of First Light, Inc. a center for homeless women and children. Her articles and essays and short stories have appeared in numerous publications. She is the author of the 2019-20 denomination wide Bible study for Presbyterian Women, Love Carved in Stone: A Fresh Look at the Ten Commandments, and was on the Committee of Fifteen to work on A Brief Statement of Faith for the PCUSA. She is married to Rob Phillips, lives on the central coast of California with their beloved Keeshond, Abigail, and is the proud grandmother of two girls, Penelope Rose and Melody Harper Phillips.
June 1 – I Cor. 12:4-5
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord
Dear God, I thank you for your gifts to me and in me. Use me today to glorify your name. Fill me with compassion for all those I meet or think of today. In your holy name I pray. Amen.
June 2 – I Cor. 12:7
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
Dear God, sometimes I feel alone and not worth much. Help me today to remember that I am your home and the you want to use me for others. In your holy name I pray. Amen.
June 3 – I Cor. 12:12
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
Dear God, it is hard sometimes to feel close to you and a part of you. Help me today to look at others around me and know that we are all a part of you and beloved by you. In your holy name I pray. Amen.
June 4 – I Cor. 12:27
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
Dear God, today I ask your blessing on people I do not know and will never meet. Each is precious to you and therefore connected to me. Help your people, O God. I lift them up to you. In your holy name I pray. Amen.
June 5 – I Cor. 13:4-5a
Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude.
Dear God, patience is not my strongest suit! Sometimes I feel mean and act rude to those around me. Forgive me, God of Love, and help me today to look and act more like you. In your holy name I pray. Amen.
June 6 – I Cor. 13:8a
Love never ends.
Dear God, there have been many endings in my life. All of my loves are not in tact and my heart is sometimes broken. Help me to remember that all true love is eternal because it is you. In your holy name I pray. Amen.
June 7 – I Cor. 13:13
And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
Dear God, love is indeed the greatest thing! I thank you today for all of those that I have loved and especially for your great love for me. In your holy name I pray. Amen.
June 8 – I Cor. 14:1a
Pursue love and strive for the spiritual gifts.
Dear God, sometimes the idea of striving for anything, even spiritual gifts, seems like just one more thing to do. Show me today, O Lord, how your gifts are to work in and through me for my own good and that of others. In your holy name we pray. Amen.
June 9 – I Cor. 15:3
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I received; that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures.
Dear God, I thank you and rejoice that you have dealt with all of my sin. Sometimes I don’t even know what my sin is. Sometimes I am all too aware. Thank you in either case for removing it from my life and helping me to start over. In your holy name I pray. Amen.
June 10 – I Cor. 15:58
Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Dear God, some days I just barely muddle through. Duties overwhelm me and there is little ease or joy. Help me today to find joy in my daily tasks. Remind me that work in love is never wasted and resting in love is always healing. In your holy name I pray. Amen.
June 11 – I Cor. 16:13-14
Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.
Dear God, give me courage today to face what life brings with love and confidence in my heart. In your holy name I pray. Amen.
June 12 – 2 Cor. 4:5
For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake.
Dear God, I ask you boldly today that when anyone sees me, that one may see your eyes of love mirrored in my own. In your holy name I pray. Amen.
June 13 – 2 Cor. 4:7
But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.
Dear God, I feel like my clay jar has sprung a leak and my energy and hope are slipping out. Plug the holes in me with your power today, O Lord. It is the only thing that cannot fail! In your holy name I pray. Amen.
June 14 – 2 Cor. 4:16
So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.
Dear God, life is funny and fast. Sometimes when I look forward I become discouraged. Help me today to remember that you are with me, renewing me in my inner life everyday. Help me to remember and rehearse all of your blessings and provisions in the past so that, resting in that faithfulness, the future will dawn secure. In your holy name I pray. Amen.
June 15 – 2 Cor. 5:1
For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
Dear God, I don’t understand much about heaven, but I love the idea of you building a solid house for me. Your tender care and provision are eternal. Thank you! In your holy name I pray. Amen.
June 16 – 2 Cor. 5:17
So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
Dear God, today I long to feel brand new! I give to you all my old burdens and thank you that you restore and renew my life everyday. In your holy name I pray. Amen.
June 17 – 2 Cor. 5:20a
So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us.
Dear God, it is my great honor to represent you today. Please speak through me and empower me to do your bidding in every situation of the day. In your holy name I pray. Amen.
June 18 – 2 Cor. 5:21
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Dear God, thank you so much for sending your Son Jesus to do for me what I cannot do for myself. It is amazing to me that when you see me you see me perfected in Christ. Thank you! In your holy name I pray. Amen.
June 19 – 2 Cor. 9:6
The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
Dear God, I am ready to plant seeds today, not just one or two! I am ready to sow your love and care and patience and power lavishly. Please show me where and how to invest in you. In your holy name I pray. Amen.
June 20 – 2 Cor. 9:7
Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Dear God, help me today to know how you want me to use my resources. Sometimes I get afraid about money. Please replace that fear with confidence and cheerfulness. In your holy name I pray. Amen.
June 21 – 2 Cor. 9:8
And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.
Dear God, thank you for your sure promise to provide enough for me. Help me to trust that promise and live in security and peace. In your holy name I pray. Amen.
June 22 – 2 Cor. 12:9
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”
Dear God, I don’t like feeling weak and would so much rather feel strong and in control. Help me to remember that your grace is enough for every situation and help me learn the lessons of being small. In your holy name I pray. Amen.
June 23 – Heb. 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight…and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.
Dear God, I thank you today for all of those who have gone before me in the faith and taught me to love and serve you. Help me today to follow their examples. In your holy name I pray. Amen.
June 24 – Heb. 12:12
Therefore, lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees
Dear God, today I want to lift my hands in praise of you! You are my strength and I thank you for making me stronger in every way that really matters. In your holy name I pray. Amen.
June 25 – Heb. 12:14
Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
Dear God, let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me! In your holy name I pray. Amen.
June 26 – 1 John 1:5
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.
Dear God your light has been my guide and source all of my life. I trust you today to light my path and I know that you are with me. In your holy name I pray. Amen.
June 27 – 1 John 1:7
…If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
Dear God, there is much darkness in our world and sometimes even in my life. Help me today to look to you, my light, to find in you a patch of light in which to stand. In your holy name I pray. Amen.
June 28 – 1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Dear God, your forgiving grace makes my life so sweet. Thank you for your love and patience with me. Help me today to walk faithfully with you. In your holy name I pray. Amen.
June 29 – 1 John 2:3
Now by this we may be sure that we know him, if we obey his commandments.
Dear God, I want to obey you today in everything I do and say. Help me to understand the deep truth of your commands so that I can dedicate myself to following them. In your holy name I pray. Amen.
June 30 – 1 John 2:10
Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling.
Dear God, please increase my love today especially for those who are closest to me or those who especially depend on me. Please remove any resentment from my heart and give me your eyes to see my loved ones. In your holy name I pray. Amen.