LOVING

EXODUS 20:13 (CEV)
Do not murder.

JOHN 15:12 (CEB)
This is my commandment: love each other just as I have loved you.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Jesus' expectations (loving as Jesus loves) exceed those of the Law (not murdering).

DAILY FODDER
How can Jesus expect us to love people who hate us? 

PRAYER
I thank you, God, for your love. You've given us some solid rules for life but then you went way beyond and sent us Jesus, to live out perfect love. I confess that I'm inclined to focus on the tangible rules like not murdering. But this idea of loving people instead of murdering them is harder to swallow. I need the power of your love active in my life to make that happen. I can't do it alone but I trust that you will be the source of love in my life. 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 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.

THE GOAL

1 KINGS 8:61 (ABP)
You must be whole-heartedly committed to our GOD—fully in.

PHILIPPIANS 3:13-14 (MSG)
I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Focus on one thing—advancing Jesus and his agenda.

DAILY FODDER
What is your mission statement? 

PRAYER
God, I'm grateful for the eternally significant purpose to which I've been called. I confess that I'm easily distracted and can get off track. Help me to focus on the goal of serving Jesus and his agenda. I look forward to the prize that comes with that. 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 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.

PEOPLE OF LIGHT

ISAIAH 51:4 (CEV)
The LORD says:
   You are my people and nation!
   So pay attention to me.
   My teaching will cause justice
   to shine like a light
   for every nation.

LUKE 2:28, 30-31 (CEV)
Simeon took the baby Jesus in his arms and praised God,
   “...With my own eyes I have seen
   what you have done
   to save your people,
   and foreign nations
   will also see this.
   Your mighty power is a light
   for all nations,
   and it will bring honor
   to your people Israel.”

SUMMARY SENTENCE
God has put us here to light up the world through Christ.

DAILY FODDER
How are the lives of the people around you lighter because you are here?

PRAYER
Glorious God, I'm grateful for your light that has invaded the world through Jesus. Forgive me for reflecting the dark and snarky attitudes of the world to which you've called me to reflect your light. Reverse the flow and shine through me so that the world's hopelessness is blasted away in bursts of light. 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 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-SENT

EZEKIEL 20:11 (CEB)
I gave them my regulations and made known to them my case laws, which bring life to all who observe them.

1 JOHN 4:9 (MSG)
This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
God keeps sending, until we get life. 

DAILY FODDER
How is the presence of God's Son in the world an upgrade over the regulations and laws previously given? 

PRAYER
Thank you, God, for sending your Son, Jesus, into the world to represent you and save us. The law before was great but now we have the greatest. Forgive me for trying to apply the demands of the law to others without extending gospel. Show me how to share the life of Christ that frees us from the burden of all those rules and regulations, as helpful as they are in their context. I'm going to live in your love. 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.