The light of Christ

The 11th Sunday after Pentecost

Thus may all God’s enemies perish, while his lovers be like the unclouded sun. ~ Judges 5:31 (MSG)

You yourselves used to be in the darkness, but since you have become the Lord's people, you are in the light. So you must live like people who belong to the light... ~ Ephesians 5:8 (GNT)

KEY IDEA:

Our exposure to the light of the Lord makes us shine like him.

PRAYER:

Lord, I'm thankful for the light of Christ who has come into the world to shine. I confess that I worry about all the darkness in the world. I want to trust that your light will outshine it. But at times I have doubts. Help me to trust you more so that I can shine with the light of Christ. Amen.

Living life-giving hope

Your sun will never go down, your moon will never fade. I will be your eternal light. Your days of grieving are over. ~ Isaiah 60:20 (MSG)

Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Because of his great mercy he gave us new life by raising Jesus Christ from death. This fills us with a living hope... ~ 1 Peter 1:3 (GNT)

KEY IDEA:

Christ Jesus is our living life-giving hope!

PRAYER:

Merciful and faithful God -- thank you for the promises. Thank you for the hope. I deserately need hope in my life. I need something significant to look forward to. Sometimes I allow the despair of the world to get to me. I act as though I have to fix everything because it all revolves around me. Rekindle your living hope in me so that I can trust you for a bright future in the presence of Christ Jesus. Amen.

Got water?

Joyfully you’ll pull up buckets of water from the wells of salvation. ~ Isaiah 12:3 (MSG)

Jesus stood up and shouted, “If you are thirsty, come to me and drink! Have faith in me, and you will have life-giving water flowing from deep inside you, just as the Scriptures say.” ~ John 7:37-38 (CEV)

KEY IDEA:

Jesus quenches the deep thirst inside of us.

PRAYER:

Thank you, Jesus, for being the living water that satisfies my soul. I need to drink more of your health water. I need to stop drinking unhealthy things. I am trusting that as I drink from you that you will remove all the other less-healthy types of thirst. When something tastes as good as you, it is hard to accept anything less. Amen.

God to the rescue

The good and godly person has to deal with a lot of problems, but the Lord is the problem solver who rescues his people each and every time. ~ Psalm 34:19 (ABP)

As you remember, we had been mistreated and insulted at Philippi. But God gave us the courage to tell you the good news about him, even though many people caused us trouble. ~ 1 Thessalonians 2:2 (CEV)

KEY IDEA:

Even though we experience problems because of our faith, we can count on the Lord to overcome the problems.

PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, I'm thankful for the way that you have rescued humanity from the grip of death and sin. I confess that I still sin -- even though you have saved me. I have failed to fully live according to your rescue plan. But because you share your goodness and godliness with us, you still count me as among your good and godly people. Help me to live into who you consider me to be. I want to deal with the problems that come my way in a good and godly way. Amen.