THE FUTURE

ISAIAH 66:22 (CEV)
I also promise that you will always have descendants and will never be forgotten, just as the new heavens and the new earth that I create will last forever.

MATTHEW 8:11-12 (MSG)
This man is the vanguard of many outsiders who will soon be coming from all directions—streaming in from the east, pouring in from the west, sitting down at God’s kingdom banquet alongside Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Then those who grew up ‘in the faith’ but had no faith will find themselves out in the cold, outsiders to grace and wondering what happened.”

SUMMARY SENTENCE
God's grand future is more than we can imagine with stable places for the insiders and the outsiders.

PRAYER
Gracious God, as you restore heaven and earth you are turning it into a warm and welcoming place for all who will accept your grace. I acknowledge that my understanding of the future is small-minded and unimaginative. Help me to grasp the bigness of your grace. I'm not only going to savor the welcome but I'm going to help others find an honored place at your table. Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name, your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.

FACING OPPOSITION AND SUFFERING

ISAIAH 53:4 (MSG)

But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—

our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.

We thought he brought it on himself,

that God was punishing him for his own failures. But...

HEBREWS 12:3 (MSG)

When you find yourselves flagging in your faith,

go over that story again, item by item, 

that long litany of hostility he plowed through. 

That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!

SUMMARY SENTENCE
When you face any kind of pushback let the suffering of Christ motivate you to press on in faithful living.

PRAYER
Faithful God, you've seen and endured it all. You've allowed yourself to experience affliction and rejection for our sake. We can't possibly grasp all that you've gone through but we flinch every time someone says a mean word to us. We allow the opposition to eat at us. Help us to find strength in an ongoing awareness of your faithful suffering. I'm going to let your faithfulness through Christ Jesus shape my faithfulness. Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name, your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.

SACRIFICES ARE US

EXODUS 35:29 (ABP)
All the Israelite men and women who were willing volunteered these gifts to carry out the work that GOD had through Moses commanded them to do.

1 PETER 2:5 (ABP)
Y'all are living stones being used to build a spiritual house -- a temple where you are collectively the designated priests offering Christ-approved God-pleasing sacrifices.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Sacrifices are us.

PRAYER
God, it is a great honor to participate in your work. Forgive us for treating your call as something we do at our convenience. We like the honor that goes with being your designated people but fail to get beyond that. Help us to embrace the sacrificial nature of our priestly calling. Show me what it means to be offering sacrifices to you in my situation today. I'm eager to give. Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name, your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.

RIGHT AND HONORABLE

ISAIAH 5:22-23 (ABP)
Those who accept bribes to spare the guilty, while robbing the innocent of justice are DOOMED!

PHILIPPIANS 4:8 (CEB)
Focus your thoughts on these things: all that is true, all that is holy, all that is just, all that is pure, all that is lovely, and all that is worthy of praise.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Saturate your life with the right and honorable stuff.

PRAYER
Holy God, how easily I exclude myself from the wrongs I see in others. Help me to change direction and follow the way of Christ who chose to suffer rather than inflict suffering. Help me endure scorn and misunderstanding rather than stay silent in the face of injustice. May the purity of Christ embolden me to suffer for him. Amen. (Daily Texts, Ground Up Grace edition)

THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name, your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.