CARE FOR EACH OTHER

ZECHARIAH 7:10 (MSG)
Don’t plot and scheme against one another—that’s evil.

1 PETER 3:8 (CEB)
Finally, all of you be of one mind, sympathetic, lovers of your fellow believers, compassionate, and modest in your opinion of yourselves.

THE ESSENCE
Care for each other.

DAILY FODDER
How does humility nurture sympathy and empathy in our lives? What is the relationship between those qualities? 

PRAYER 
Thank you, Lord God, for loving me. As I've grown to recognize how much you care, my life has been changing. I acknowledge that I don't change as fast as I should. I'm not as caring and compassionate as you've taught me to be. Continue to pour out your love so that I can love others in accordance with your love. Amen. 

THE LORD’S PRAYER (ABP)
Our Father in Heaven,
     we hold your name in the highest regard.
Please come and establish your reign here on earth
     so that everything that happens here will align
     with what is happening in heaven.

Give us enough food for today.

Forgive us our wrongdoing,
     and we’ll forgive those who have wronged us.
Shield us from the trials and temptations that come our way.
Lastly, we pray that you will protect us from all forms of evil. Amen.

THE ETERNAL

JEREMIAH 14:22 (MSG)
You’re the one, O GOD, who does this.
So you’re the one for whom we wait.

1 JOHN 5:11 (MSG)
God gave us eternal life; the life is in his Son.

THE ESSENCE
God gives us eternal life so we put our hope in him. 

DAILY FODDER
The term eternal life in the Bible speaks primarily of its richness. Because it comes to us from the realm of the eternal, it is so wonderful that it goes on forever. Often in the New Testament the term "eternal life" is abbreviated as "life."

PRAYER 
Thank you, Eternal God, for the gift of eternal life that comes to us through Christ Jesus. I confess that my approach to life is often too short-term. I neglect the long-term implications because I want to move forward with the least amount of resistance (and with the most pleasure). Reorient my living to eternal life. I want my hope to rest in the eternal rather than the fleeting. Amen. 

THE LORD’S PRAYER (ABP)
Our Father in Heaven,
     we hold your name in the highest regard.
Please come and establish your reign here on earth
     so that everything that happens here will align
     with what is happening in heaven.

Give us enough food for today.

Forgive us our wrongdoing,
     and we’ll forgive those who have wronged us.
Shield us from the trials and temptations that come our way.
Lastly, we pray that you will protect us from all forms of evil. Amen.

BOUNDLESS LOVE

PSALM 103:11 (CEB)
As high as heaven is above the earth,
that’s how large God’s faithful love is for those who honor him.

ROMANS 5:20-21 (MSG)
All that passing laws against sin did was produce more lawbreakers. But sin didn’t, and doesn’t, have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace. When it’s sin versus grace, grace wins hands down. All sin can do is threaten us with death, and that’s the end of it. Grace, because God is putting everything together again through the Messiah, invites us into life—a life that goes on and on and on, world without end.

THE ESSENCE
God's love and grace is so great that you can't out sin it. 

DAILY FODDER
If God's grace is so great, what prevents people from abusing it—from saying, "It doesn't matter because God will forgive me anyway"? 

PRAYER 
Your love, O God, is greater than we can comprehend. Your grace has no bounds. Yet, we struggle to take you seriously. Forgive us for loving the wrong things in life. Renew me so that through Christ Jesus my life is lived in total alignment with your faithful love. I expect that such a life will be boundless. Amen. 

THE LORD’S PRAYER (ABP)
Our Father in Heaven,
     we hold your name in the highest regard.
Please come and establish your reign here on earth
     so that everything that happens here will align
     with what is happening in heaven.

Give us enough food for today.

Forgive us our wrongdoing,
     and we’ll forgive those who have wronged us.
Shield us from the trials and temptations that come our way.
Lastly, we pray that you will protect us from all forms of evil. Amen.

GOD'S COMMANDMENTS

 PROVERBS 7:2 (MSG)
Do what I say and you’ll live well.
My teaching is as precious as your eyesight—guard it!.

MATTHEW 19:20 (NLT)
“I’ve obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else must I do?”

THE ESSENCE
The irony is that we seem to be incapable of actually living up to God's expectations, on our own.

DAILY FODDER
Was the question in Matthew 19 one of exasperation or genuine inquiry? His statement "I've obeyed all these commandments..." suggests a lack of self-awareness. 

PRAYER 
Thank you, God, for your commandments. Sometimes they feel like a burden, especially when I fail to keep them. Yet, I know that they open the door to life, if just to help me realize my lack of discipline. Forgive me and train me to become a faithful follower of Jesus. I want to be someone who consistently follows your instructions, something that can only happen through your intervention. I depend on you. Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER (ABP)
Our Father in Heaven,
     we hold your name in the highest regard.
Please come and establish your reign here on earth
     so that everything that happens here will align
     with what is happening in heaven.

Give us enough food for today.

Forgive us our wrongdoing,
     and we’ll forgive those who have wronged us.
Shield us from the trials and temptations that come our way.
Lastly, we pray that you will protect us from all forms of evil. Amen.