PATIENT

JOEL 2:13 (MSG)
God is kind and merciful.
He takes a deep breath, puts up with a lot,
This most patient God, extravagant in love,
always ready to cancel catastrophe.

1 THESSALONIANS 5:9-10 (MSG)
God didn’t set us up for an angry rejection but for salvation by our Master, Jesus Christ. He died for us, a death that triggered life. Whether we’re awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we’re alive with him!

SUMMARY SENTENCE
It's a good thing that God is so patient with us.

PRAYER
Loving God, thank you for being so patient with us. I confess that I often don't give you enough credit. It's hard to believe that you would put up with so much. Show me how I can patiently communicate this good news with the people around me. I'm going to live a life defined by your kindness and mercy. Amen.

FORGIVEN

JEREMIAH 31:34 (MSG)
I’ll wipe the slate clean for each of them. I’ll forget they ever sinned!

ACTS 10:43 (CEV)
Every one of the prophets has said that all who have faith in Jesus will have their sins forgiven in his name.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
God is really into forgiveness.

PRAYER
Savior Jesus, thank you for giving me salvation through believing in your name. I am sorry that my outward actions don't match what you do within me. You have forgiven me over and over again. You don't remember my sin. Encourage me to witness to what you are doing for me. May I forgive others over and over again. Amen. (Daily Texts, Ground Up Grace edition)

FACE GOD

JEREMIAH 2:27 (CEB)
They have turned their backs to me
and not their faces.
Yet in their time of trouble they say,
“Arise and save us!”

HEBREWS 11:1 (CEB)
Faith is the reality of what we hope for, the proof of what we don’t see.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Turn to face God, even when you can't see him.

PRAYER
Gracious God, you rescue us from our blindness. Forgive us for looking away from you -- even when we most need to look to you. We fail to trust you for the moment -- let alone for the future. Restore my eternal vision as I turn to you. Amen.

COMPASSION AND MERCY

The 19th Sunday after Pentecost

JONAH 4:10-11 (MSG)
GOD said, “What’s this? How is it that you can change your feelings from pleasure to anger overnight about a mere shade tree that you did nothing to get? You neither planted nor watered it. It grew up one night and died the next night. So, why can’t I likewise change what I feel about Nineveh from anger to pleasure, this big city of more than 120,000 childlike people who don’t yet know right from wrong, to say nothing of all the innocent animals?”

JAMES 5:11 (CEB)
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

PRAYER
I'm grateful for your compassion and mercy, which extends to even the least of creatures. Forgive us for treating the powerless as disposable. We are more concerned about our own comfort and convenience than about the lives of people and animals who need care. Help us to grasp the extent of your compassion and mercy so that we can more fully participate in the renewal of your creation. I'm going to honor you, the creator, through my attention to the well-being of all creation. Amen.