Sing

Lent

I have complete confidence, O God! I will sing and praise you! Wake up, my soul! ~ Psalm 108:1 (GNT)

Are you hurting? Pray. Do you feel great? Sing. ~ James 5:13 (MSG)

KEY IDEA:

Take every opportunity you have to sing praise to God.

PRAYER:

Lord God, I'm grateful that you give me so much about which to be thankful. Yet, I remain unmoved. I don't sing your praises very freely. It's only when you rescue me from something really bad that I get cranked up. Give me, please, a song to sing and freedom to since it. I'm going to sing more. Amen.

God helps

Lent

Cry out to me whenever you are in trouble; I will deliver you, then you will honor me. ~ Psalm 50:15 (CEB)

So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help. ~ Hebrews 4:16 (CEV)

KEY IDEA:

God graciously responds with help when we ask for it.

PRAYER:

Lord, thank you for caring about me. Sometimes I worry that your help is not enough. That's probably because I already have preconceived ideas about how you should do your helping. So I am asking you to save me from my small ideas. I need to trust that you are always going to do what is the very best for me. Amen.

Integrity

Lent

I know, my God, that you examine our hearts and rejoice when you find integrity there. ~ 1 Chronicles 29:17 (NLT)

Love should always make us tell the truth. Then we will grow in every way and be more like Christ, the head... ~ Ephesians 4:15 (CEV)

KEY IDEA:

Integrity and Christ-likeness go together.

PRAYER:

Lord, I'm relieved that you totally understand what is going on in my heart. You know my problems so you can work with them to transform me into a person of integrity. That is what I'm asking you to do. I want to become a totally honest Christ-like person of integrity. And by your grace, it will be so. Amen.

Obedience and Freedom

Ash Wednesday -- the First Day of Lent

Obey me, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. ~ Jeremiah 7:23 (NLT)

Then Jesus turned to the Jews who had claimed to believe in him. “If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you.” ~ John 8:31-32 (MSG)

KEY IDEA:

If we persevere in living out what Jesus calls us to do we will experience true freedom.

PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, thank you for the freedom that you give to us. I love you but I also take a lot of short-cuts when it comes to living your way. I realize that this approach eats away at the freedom that you give to your people. Empower me to be a narrowly focused disciple who finds freedom in obeying you. I'm going to live free. Amen.