JESUS' BUILDING PROJECT
DEUTERONOMY 2:7 (NLT)
For the LORD your God has blessed you in everything you have done. He has watched your every step through this great wilderness.
MATTHEW 16:18 (ABP)
Jesus said, "You are Peter -- the rock on whom I'll build my church. And the forces of death will not be able to defeat it."
SUMMARY SENTENCE
Be encouraged because no matter how grim things look at times, Jesus' building project will be completed according to his plans.
PRAYER
Thank you, Jesus, for your church. I confess that I sometimes have trouble saying that. It's easy to get discouraged over her shortcomings and ugly failures. My perspective is so limited that I see only the setbacks and don't notice how you are leading and expanding your church. Open my eyes so that my attitude more accurately reflects the glory of what you're doing. Amen.
TRANSLATIONS
ABP = Authorized Boydston Paraphrase — my own freestyle biblical adaptation — somewhere between paraphrase, commentary, and sermon
CEB = Common English Bible (©2011, the Common English Bible)
CEV = Contemporary English Version (©1995, American Bible Society)
MSG = The Message (©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson)
NIRV = New International Reader's Version (©1996, 1998, Biblica)
NIV = New International Version (©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, Biblica)
NLT = New Living Translation (©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, Tyndale House Foundation)
