FACING EVIL WITH CONFIDENCE

PSALM 83:1-2 (CEV)
Our God, don’t just sit there,
     silently doing nothing!
Your hateful enemies
     are turning against you
     and rebelling.

MATTHEW 6:13
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
We can face evil with confidence.

PRAYER
You, God, are a stable wall of protection. Yet sometimes it feels like you let evil take over -- and that's frustrating. I confess that my responses are driven by the crashing wave of the moment and that I don't even try to see things from your eternal perspective. Help me to trust that you are saving us from the time of trial. While your enemies rebel at the thought that they're not going to get what they want, I'm going to trust that you will get what you want -- even in the face of evil. Amen.

HOPE

The 22nd Sunday after Pentecost

HAGGAI 2:5 (MSG)
I’m living and breathing among you right now. Don’t be timid. Don’t hold back.

ROMANS 15:13 (MSG)
Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!

SUMMARY SENTENCE
We're lifted above the fray into hope by the Holy Spirit who lives among us.

PRAYER
Holy Spirit, come! Restore my joy and peace in believing. Whenever I fall on hard times, my hope in you is undermined. I trust in you in soft, easy circumstances and lose sight of you when things take a downward turn -- forgive me! Grant me your power that makes me abound with hope. Amen. (Daily Texts, Ground Up Grace edition)

BLESS GOD

DEUTERONOMY 8:10 (MSG)
After a meal, satisfied, bless GOD, your God...

1 CORINTHIANS 10:31 (MSG)
So eat your meals heartily, not worrying about what others say about you—you’re eating to God’s glory, after all, not to please them. As a matter of fact, do everything that way, heartily and freely to God’s glory.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Celebrate all the normal ways that God blesses you by blessing him.

PRAYER
God, thank you for all the ways that you are good to us. I confess that I take so much for granted and don't even stop long enough to recognize where it all comes from. So, right now, I bless you for the food I have today, the air I breathe, the water I drink, and all the ways that you take care of me. Blessed are you, O generous God. Amen.

GOD PROVIDES

ISAIAH 58:11 (CEB)
The LORD will guide you continually
and provide for you, even in parched places.

PHILIPPIANS 4:19 (CEB)
My God will meet your every need out of his riches in the glory that is found in Christ Jesus.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
God provides all that is needed.

PRAYER
Generous God, you provide everything we need. I know this but I confess that there are times when I give in to worry and become anxious over how things will work out. Calm my nerves and help me to trust you more completely. I know that it will be alright. Amen.