Death to life

Then God said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Listen to what they’re saying: ‘Our bones are dried up, our hope is gone, there’s nothing left of us.’

“Therefore, prophesy. Tell them, ‘God, the Master, says: I’ll dig up your graves and bring you out alive—O my people! ~ Ezekiel 37:11-12 (MSG)

And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear my voice—the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live. ~ John 5:25 (NLT)

KEY IDEA:

God is giving life to our dead selves.

PRAYER:

Lord, it appears that you have no respect for death. You want to rob the grave to restore life in us all. Forgive me when I doubt. I am so used to living in the realm of the dead that it seems normal. Grant me a fresh sense of hope along with a fresh sense of life. Because of you I am going to live. Amen.

All honor

Who compares with you among gods, O God? Who compares with you in power, in holy majesty, In awesome praises, wonder-working God? ~ Exodus 15:11 (MSG)

And we know that the Son of God came so we could recognize and understand the truth of God—what a gift!—and we are living in the Truth itself, in God’s Son, Jesus Christ. This Jesus is both True God and Real Life. Dear children, be on guard against all clever facsimiles. ~ 1 John 5:20-21  (MSG) 

KEY IDEA:

Put your trust in the one true God, who is known through Jesus Christ, and him alone.

PRAYER:

Thank you, God, for revealing your glorious self through Jesus. No one compares! I confess, though, that I push the limits and way too often rely on lesser powers to solve problems. And I tend to admire people and organizations which want my allegiance. Lord, help me to limit my allegiances to you and the forces which are aligned with you. I am going to save all honor for you. Amen.

Jesus saves

But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, the Lord raised up a rescuer to save them. ~ Judges 3: 9 (NLT)

Jesus Christ... is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world. All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us. He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen. ~ Revelation 1:5-6 (NLT)

KEY IDEA:

Jesus saves.

PRAYER:

Almighty God, thank you for sending Jesus into the world to save us from all that is evil and deadly. I embrace him as my Savior. That, however, does not stop me from trying to fix all my problems on my own. It is such an ingrained response. Help me to set all that aside so that I can live consistently in the community of the delivered. I am going to be free from the self-help burden and more fully trust in my Savior. Amen.

Hope for the hopeless

Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them. ~ Psalm 10:17 (NLT)

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. ~ Romans 15:13 (NLT)

KEY IDEA:

God is the only source of the kind of hope we truly need.

PRAYER:

Gracious God, better than anyone you know the desires of the helpless and vulnerable; for you became one of us. I confess to believing the silly idea that my problems are totally unique and greater than you could understand. Shame on me! Fill me with fresh insight into the work of Jesus and the great suffering he endured to grant us hope. I am going to trust him so that hope oozes from every poure of my being. Amen.