HERE COMES GOD

ISAIAH 40:15 (MSG)
All the nations add up to simply nothing before him—
less than nothing is more like it. A minus.

REVELATION 21:3 (CEB)
I heard a loud voice from the throne say, "Look! God’s dwelling is here with humankind. He will dwell with them, and they will be his peoples. God himself will be with them as their God."

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Don't pursue the attention of the fleeting powerful, but look to please God who is coming to establish himself among us.

PRAYER
Glorious God, thank you for caring so much that you'd not only save the world but that you'd set in motion plans to relocate your headquarters into our midst. I confess an unhealthy amount of attention devoted to keeping the currently powerful happy. Help me to redefine my priorities according to your coming Jesus-led kingdom. I'm going to make your agenda my agenda. Amen.

SAVIOR OF THE WORLD

HOSEA 13:4 (MSG)
I’m still your GOD,
the God who saved you out of Egypt.
I’m the only real God you’ve ever known.
I’m the one and only God who delivers.

1 JOHN 4:13-14 (CEV)
God has given us his Spirit. That is how we know that we are one with him, just as he is one with us. God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. We saw his Son and are now telling others about him.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
God sent his Son Jesus into the world to rescue the world; and when we hook-up with him we experience that salvation ourselves.

PRAYER
Thank you, for being and sending a Savior. You're the only God worth mentioning. Yet, my spoken witness tends to be weak and I don't know how to fix that. So, I am turning to you and asking that you'd give me the words to say and the Spirit-directed wisdom to speak them at the appropriate time. I'm going to share your story. Amen.

PERSEVERANCE

ISAIAH 53:1 (MSG)
Who believes what we’ve heard and seen?
Who would have thought GOD's saving power would look like this?

1 TIMOTHY 6:12 (CEB)
Compete in the good fight of faith. Grab hold of eternal life—you were called to it, and you made a good confession of it in the presence of many witnesses.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Complete your faith through perseverance.

PRAYER
Lord, thank you for allowing us to press on to greater faith. I admit that a lot of the time I feel stuck -- that my spiritual disciplines and my devotional activity isn't really moving me forward. Grant me the stamina to stay in the competition even when I don't see the progress. I suppose that perseverance is the progress you desire. I'm not going to let my frustrations with myself knock me out of the race. Amen.

HEALING

2 SAMUEL 14:14 (NLT)
All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God does not just sweep life away; instead, he devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from him.

LUKE 5:30-31
But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with such scum?”

Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Jesus is more into gathering those who need healing than in creating a community defined by rule-keeping.

PRAYER
You are a big-hearted God who wants to restore people to whole and healthy lives. Thank you for your warm welcome for people like me. I confess, though, that the longer I walk in faith the easier it is to be critical of those who do not. Give me a heart for all who are in need of your healing grace. I'm going to live a life which supports Jesus' healing ministry. Amen.