MANAGERS

PSALM 8:6 (ABP)
You put the people in charge of everything you created, managers over the whole shebang.

1 CORINTHIANS 6:12 (MSG)
Just because something is technically legal doesn’t mean that it’s spiritually appropriate. If I went around doing whatever I thought I could get by with, I’d be a slave to my whims.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
God gave us freedom so that we could carry out our mission of being stewards over his creation.

DAILY FODDER
Write out your personal mission statement. 

PRAYER
Gracious God, I don't understand why you'd give us responsibility over creation. It is an undeserved honor. We haven't done responsibility well. Help us—help me—to stay on task. Energize me through your Spirit that I might be faithful in carrying out my mission. I'm going to use whatever life I have to serve you and your agenda for the world. Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER (ABP)
Our Father in Heaven,
     we hold your name in the highest regard.
Please come and establish your reign here on earth
     so that everything that happens here will align
     with what is happening in heaven.

Give us enough food for today.

Forgive us our wrongdoing,
     and we’ll forgive those who have wronged us.
Shield us from the trials and temptations that come our way.
Lastly, we pray that you will protect us from all forms of evil. Amen.

LIVE AT PEACE

PROVERBS 12:20 (NLT)
Joy fills hearts that are planning peace!

ROMANS 12:18 (CEB)
If possible, to the best of your ability, live at peace with all people.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Live at peace with all people. 

DAILY FODDER
How do we live at peace with people whose intentions are not peaceful? 

PRAYER
Prince of Peace, pursuing peace is not only wise but it's also part of the mission to which we're called. Forgive us for giving up on peace when we can't see any way forward except through violent words and actions. Renew us as peacemakers so that we can defuse conflict and pursue reconcilliation. Just as you stepped down into the world to reconcile us with God we're going to step up as ambassadors of this peace and reconciliation in an unpeaceful world. As impossible as it all seems we're going to act in faith and trust you for peaceful outcomes. Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER (ABP)
Our Father in Heaven,
     we hold your name in the highest regard.
Please come and establish your reign here on earth
     so that everything that happens here will align
     with what is happening in heaven.

Give us enough food for today.

Forgive us our wrongdoing,
     and we’ll forgive those who have wronged us.
Shield us from the trials and temptations that come our way.
Lastly, we pray that you will protect us from all forms of evil. Amen.

CHRIST-DEFINED FREEDOM

EXODUS 10:3 (NCB)
Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him, "The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says, ‘Let my people go so that they may serve me.'"

GALATIANS 5:1 (MSG)
Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Christ has set us free so that we can serve him. 

DAILY FODDER
The Galatians 5:1 verse is about not submitting to the law (the religious regulations) that some were asserting to be the means to knowing God. How does something about serving God end up as a tool of enslavement?

PRAYER
Almighty God, today I celebrate the freedom you gave us through Christ. Unfortunately, we have misinterpreted that freedom as an invitation to do what seems right to us. As such we've become enslaved by our own egos. Show us the true and full meaning of Christ-defined freedom. I want to freely serve him alone. Amen. 

THE LORD’S PRAYER (ABP)
Our Father in Heaven,
     we hold your name in the highest regard.
Please come and establish your reign here on earth
     so that everything that happens here will align
     with what is happening in heaven.

Give us enough food for today.

Forgive us our wrongdoing,
     and we’ll forgive those who have wronged us.
Shield us from the trials and temptations that come our way.
Lastly, we pray that you will protect us from all forms of evil. Amen.

GOD CARES

The Third Sunday after Pentecost

JOB 31:4 (NLT)
Doesn’t God see everything I do
and every step I take?

LUKE 12:6 (CEV)
Five sparrows are sold for only a few cents, but God doesn't forget a single one of them.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Even the most insignificant of creatures are under God's watchful care—so we can count on him.

DAILY FODDER
There are no little people in God's economy. How does this shape the way we relate to him? How does this shape the way we relate to the "nobodies" around us? 

PRAYER
God, you are both all-seeing and all-caring. What a powerful combination! Forgive me for wallowing in my self-perceived insignificance. Forgive me for treating others as though they aren't important. I pray for all who feel they are insignificant and unimportant. Help us grow in our awareness of what it means to be created in your image. Shape the way we treat creation, others, and ourselves so that we can live caring lives that acknowledge the lordship of Christ Jesus over all creation. Amen. 

THE LORD’S PRAYER (ABP)
Our Father in Heaven,
     we hold your name in the highest regard.
Please come and establish your reign here on earth
     so that everything that happens here will align
     with what is happening in heaven.

Give us enough food for today.

Forgive us our wrongdoing,
     and we’ll forgive those who have wronged us.
Shield us from the trials and temptations that come our way.
Lastly, we pray that you will protect us from all forms of evil. Amen.