ALL-POWERFUL GOD

The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

2 SAMUEL 7:22 (CEV)
LORD All-Powerful, you are greater than all others. No one is like you, and you alone are God. Everything we have heard about you is true.

REVELATION 1:17-18 (CEV)
He put his right hand on me and said: Don’t be afraid! I am the first, the last, and the living one.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
God is without peers.

PRAYER
Glorious God, you are incredible. There is no one and nothing like you. Yet, I am among those who can become very casual about you and your word. I let the world influence me. Refresh my vision of you and what you're about. I am going to rest under your care and move forward at your direction. Amen.

HEALED

PSALM 147:3 (CEB)
God heals the brokenhearted
and bandages their wounds.

MARK 16:2,4 (ABP)
The women went to the tomb at sunrise on the Sunday morning after the crucifixion. As the daylight grew brighter they could see that the large stone which had sealed the tomb had been rolled back from the entrance.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
All life's brokenheartedness is temporary, wiped out as the light of the resurrection illumines the situation.

PRAYER
Thank you, Father, for the empty tomb. Jesus is risen! He lives with me and in me each day, healing my brokenness and binging up all that causes me pain. Forgive me when I hold onto myself too tightly, not allowing your grace and mercy to permeate my being. Today, I open myself to you, gracious God. Amen. (Daily Texts, Ground Up Grace edition)

LIVE THE LIFE

PSALM 142:5 (NLT)
Then I pray to you, O LORD.
I say, “You are my place of refuge.
You are all I really want in life.

LUKE 20:38 (CEB)
He isn’t the God of the dead but of the living. To him they are all alive.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Stay alive by staying in Christ.

PRAYER
Jesus, give me eyes to see the world as you see it. Forgive me for classifying people as saved or condemned, alive or dead. Let me leave judgment to you and instead embrace others in the family of your life. Let me dance instead of doubt, sing instead of censure, rejoice instead of rebuke. This may not be a safe life, but it is good! Amen. (Daily Texts, Ground Up Grace edition)

ENDURE

EXODUS 16:11-12 (CEB)
The Lord spoke to Moses, “I’ve heard the complaints of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat. And in the morning you will have your fill of bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”

HEBREWS 10:36 (CEV)
Learn to be patient, so that you will please God and be given what he has promised.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Endure the tough times with patience and in the end what God has promised will be yours.

PRAYER
God, thank you for your faithfulness and your call to endurance. I confess that I'm inclined toward spiritual sprints -- occasional bursts of energy directed toward you and your goals. I know that you're looking for endurance runners who build up to running spiritual marathons. Coach me in patient endurance. I'm going to quit whining about the difficulties and embrace some long-term thinking. Amen.