Honor and humility

You are the one we trust to bring about justice; above all else we want your name to be honored. ~ Isaiah 26:8 (CEV)

Be humble in the presence of God’s mighty power, and he will honor you when the time comes. ~ 1 Peter 5:6 (CEV)

KEY IDEA:

God eventually honors us when we focus on honoring him by humbly embracing his agenda.

PRAYER:

Lord, I want to honor you. But I want it to be more than words and songs. Those are good but I need a new and humble approach to life. I'm afraid of asking you for humility -- but I'm going to trust you to teach me in the right way. So I am going to ask anyway. I want to make sure that you and your name are properly recognized. Amen.

Enjoy life

The 22nd Sunday after Pentecost

So I decided it was more important to enjoy life. The best that people can do here on earth is to eat, drink, and enjoy life, because these joys will help them do the hard work God gives them here on earth. ~ Ecclesiastes 8:15 (NCV)

Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks. ~ 1 Timothy 4:4 (NLT)

KEY IDEA:

God made life to be enjoyed.

PRAYER:

Thank you, Lord, for life -- and especially for the new life that has been established through Christ. I confess, though, that I don't really enjoy life in the way you intend. I'm quick to reduce it all to keeping rules and trying to get more stuff. It's not that the rules are bad or that the stuff should be rejected. It's just that I'm so easily tricked into allowing those things to become life. Help me to keep my priorities straight so that I can receive all the good things you have given to me with thanksgiving. Amen.

Flaky or faithful?

"...You were like a burning stick snatched from the flames. But you never looked my way. You continued to ignore me." God’s Decree. ~ Amos 4:11b (MSG)

The fact is that many of the people whom God enlisted ended up being unfaithful to him. But there is no way that their unfaithfulness somehow cancels out his faithfulness. It doesn't work that way. Their lies simply highlight by contrast God's unwavering truthfulness. ~ Romans 3:3-4a (ABP)

KEY IDEA:

Even though we flake out God remains faithful to his word. So you can still trust him.

PRAYER:

Lord, you are such a solid and faithful God. You never stop pursuing the best for us even when we become flaky people. And I can be pretty flaky. It's not so much that I intend to be deceptive -- I just buckle and fall into deceitfulness when I feel pressure or depressed. Help me in the midst of my most flaky moments to notice again your faithfulness. I'm going to stick with you because I know that's the only way I can grow past my failure. In Jesus'name I pray, amen!

Light shune

Noah was the only person who lived right and obeyed God. ~ Genesis 6:9b (CEV)

Make your light shine, so that others will see the good that you do and will praise your Father in heaven. ~ Matthew 5:16 (CEV)

KEY IDEA:

Rightliving does not just benefit us, but others see and are challenged to consider how they might live to honor God, too.

PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, thank you for empowering us to live compelling lives radiating your light. But I confess that I can be pretty hohum about the whole thing. It's not that I think it is untrue. It's just that I allow competing priorities to capture my imagination and energy. Crank up the power so that your light radiating from my life is the most obvious thing about me. This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine. Amen.