Empathy

Transfiguration Sunday

For he’s always at hand to take the side of the needy, to rescue a life from the unjust judge. ~ Psalm 109:31 (MSG)

They kept on asking Jesus about the woman. Finally, he stood up and said, “If any of you have never sinned, then go ahead and throw the first stone at her!” ~ John 8:7 (CEV)

KEY IDEA:

God is available to take the side of the victims of injustice.

PRAYER:

Lord, thank you for standing with us when we face injustice. I need my own attitude adjustment, though. I am pretty quick to make decisions about people on the limited information I have. Grant me a heart full of empathy. I am going to learn how to treat all people -- whether good or bad -- with the same grace that you extend and which is passed on to us through Jesus our Savior. Amen.

Word-formed

Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. ~ Deuteronomy 8:3 (NLT)

The Spirit is the one who gives life! Human strength can do nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are from that life-giving Spirit. ~ John 6:63 (CEV)

KEY IDEA:

We can count on God's word to sustain us.

PRAYER:

Lord God, thank you for giving us your life-giving words. We are especially grateful for Jesus who is your living word. Yet I pay too much attention to the messages that the world is feeding me. I am too in love with the ideas of fame, fortune, power, and honor. Use your words to change me so that I can live by your word. Amen.

Overcoming

I am the one who cut a path through the mighty ocean. ~ Isaiah 43:16 (CEV)

Be brave when you face your enemies. Your courage will show them that they are going to be destroyed, and it will show you that you will be saved. God will make all of this happen... ~ Philippians 1:28 (CEV)

KEY IDEA:

The Lord is the one who works things out for us.

PRAYER:

Leading God, you have brought your people through far worse than I am facing today. Why, then, am I afraid? Train my eyes to not see the rising floodwaters around me, but to see the world through the gracious waters of baptism. Give me courage to love those who seem to be my enemies, turning us into friends. Amen. (Daily Texts, Mount Carmel Ministries edition)

Reliable word

We humans are merely grass, and we last no longer than wild flowers.... Flowers and grass fade away, but what our God has said will never change. ~ Isaiah 40:6,8 (CEV)

Jesus says: The sky and the earth won’t last forever, but my words will. ~ Matthew 24:35 (CEV)

KEY IDEA:

God's message is a constant. It is not subject to change.

PRAYER:

Lord, you are totally reliable. You do what you say you are going to do -- although many times you don't treat us in the way your word says we deserve. I appreciate both your reliability and your grace. I place too much stock in things that are fleeting -- temporary. Grant me the wisdom to discern between that which is temporary and that which is eternally reliable. I am going to lean on you and your word. I pray in the name of Jesus who is your living word. Amen.