Live it!

The 6th Sunday in Eastertide

May the Lord help us obey him and follow all the laws and teachings... ~ 1 Kings 8:58a (CEV)

My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving. ~ Colossians 2:6-7 (MSG)

SUMMARY SENTENCE

Live out your faith in the ordinary -- tangible and intangible -- happenings of life.

PRAYER

Thank you, dear God, for the gift of Christ and all that he means to me. I confess, though, that at times my faith is no more than emotional attachment to him. Help me to go deeper and wider so that Christ defines every aspect -- every moment -- every thought -- every interaction -- of my life. I'm going to live according to him and it's going to spill over with more thanksgiving than I can contain. Amen.

Invest in what lasts

Look up at the skies,
   ponder the earth under your feet.
The skies will fade out like smoke,
   the earth will wear out like work pants,
   and the people will die off like flies.
But my salvation will last forever,
   my setting-things-right will never be obsolete.
~ Isaiah 51:6 (MSG)

Jesus said: The sky and the earth won’t last forever, but my words will. ~ Luke 21:33 (CEV)

SUMMARY SENTENCE

Invest in what lasts.

PRAYER

God, you have given me so much for which I am grateful. Even though many of the gifts are temporal in nature your generosity is unending -- like your salvation and your message to us. I confess that I get overly attached to the temporary aspects of life and don't emphasize enough that which is unending. Continue to school me in how to invest my life in what lasts. I'm going to go after the things which matter most to you. Amen.

Just call

The LORD heard our call. God saw our misery, our trouble, and our oppression. ~ Deuteronomy 26:7b (CEB)

Won’t God provide justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he be slow to help them? ~ Luke 18:7 (CEB)

SUMMARY SENTENCE

The Lord responds to the cries of his people.

PRAYER

Thank you, God, for listening. Forgive me for doubting when things aren't happening as fast or in the manner I expect. Help me to trust you and your timetable. I'm going to move forward today with confidence that you're involved in making things right. Amen.

No foolin'

Perhaps you're good at fooling people. But how can you possibly imagine that God is so gullible? ~ Job 13:9b (ABP)

Test yourselves and find out if you really are true to your faith. If you pass the test, you will discover that Christ is living in you. But if Christ isn’t living in you, you have failed. ~ 2 Corinthians 13:5 (CEV)

SUMMARY SENTENCE

Don't be so gullible as to think that you can fool God. If Christ is living in you it will show inside and out.

PRAYER

Gracious God, thank you for sending the living Christ to live in me. I confess that I've gotten pretty good at fooling myself into believing that I'm more Christ-like than I am. Put me to the test so we can cook out the impurities and so that Christ can fully live through me. I'm going to become more realistic about who I am and what I can become. Amen.