EMPOWERED

ISAIAH 45:6-7 (NIRV)
Then people will know there is no God but me.
Everyone from where the sun rises in the east
     to where it sets in the west will know it.
I am the LORD.
     There is no other LORD.
I cause light to shine. 

     I also create darkness.
I bring good times. 

     I also create hard times.
I do all these things. 

     I am the LORD.

2 THESSALONIANS 3:5 (NIRV)
May the Lord fill your hearts with God’s love. May Christ give you the strength to go on.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
In Christ we not only encounter the one true God but we are empowered to do the loving thing that needs doing.

PRAYER
Gracious God, you are without a peer -- everything hinges on you. Forgive me for living as though everything hinges on me and my experiences. Help me to keep the big picture in focus even when I'm tackling the smallest of challenges. Empowered with the love of Christ I'm going to push forward. Amen.

GOD'S PROMISES

JOSHUA 21:45 (CEB)
Not one of all the good things that the LORD had promised to the house of Israel failed. Every promise was fulfilled.

GALATIANS 4:28 (CEB)
Brothers and sisters, you are children of the promise like Isaac.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Allow God's promises to define your life.

PRAYER
Thank you, God, for your loyalty and faithfulness. What you say goes -- even if I'm not seeing it at the moment. I confess to allowing unseen fulfillments to drag me down at times. I so want everything spelled out in a clear and timely (my time frame) manner. Help me to trust you and embrace the "not yet" as a sign that you are busy doing what you've said you'd do. So far, even though things haven't turned out the way I expected, they've actually been better. I'm going to trust that your promises all work that way. Amen.

CHRIST IS THE SACRIFICE

ZEPHANIAH 3:14-15 (MSG)
So sing, Daughter Zion!
Raise the rafters, Israel!
Daughter Jerusalem,
     be happy! celebrate!
God has reversed his judgments against you
     and sent your enemies off chasing their tails.

1 JOHN 2:2 (CEV)
Christ is the sacrifice that takes away our sins and the sins of all the world’s people.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
God deals with all sin and sinfulness through the sacrifice of Christ.

PRAYER
O loving Savior, you suffered and died for this broken world. Yet in spite of your great sacrifice, we choose to live independently from you, building our lives on the false securities of wealth, position, and power. Turn us away from these false gods and toward you. Amen. (Daily Texts, Mount Carmel Ministries edition)

HOPE AND FREEDOM

ISAIAH 66:10 (CEV)
If you love Jerusalem,
     celebrate and shout!
If you were in sorrow
     because of the city,
     you can now be glad.

LUKE 2:38 (CEV)
At that time Anna came in and praised God. She spoke about the child Jesus to everyone who hoped for Jerusalem to be set free.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Celebrate Jesus, who is the embodiment of the hope that delivers freedom.

PRAYER
Thank you, God, for Jesus, and the freedom that belongs to all as they trust him. Forgive me for latching onto counterfeit forms of freedom and looking for hope in all the wrong places. Help me to let go of all my faulty assumptions and expectations so that I can fully embrace Jesus as the sole source of the hope in my life. I'm going to celebrate this gift. Amen.