AN ECONOMY OF FORGIVENESS

PSALM 130:4 (MSG)
As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit,
and that’s why you’re worshiped.

LUKE 23:34 (CEB)
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.”

SUMMARY
According to God's economy, abundant forgiveness makes this place liveable.

DAILY FODDER
Why do we find forgiveness such a challenge? How do we switch over to an economy built on forgiveness?

PRAYER
Gracious God, your economy predicated on radical forgiveness doesn't make sense in our economy. It's disruptive and unpredictable. I confess that I think first of all the negative things that will happen if we keep letting sinful people off the hook. (I say that knowing full well, you've accommodated my sinfulness through the sacrifice of Jesus.) Help me to grasp your greater picture thinking, where resurrection overshadows the sins of all. I want to embrace a lifestyle of grace and forgiveness because I know that's the direction things are going as you fully establish your kingdom. 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.

RESURRECTION POWER

EZEKIEL 37:11-12 (NLT)
They are saying, ‘We have become old, dry bones—all hope is gone. Our nation is finished.’ Therefore, prophesy to them and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: O my people, I will open your graves of exile and cause you to rise again.'

1 CORINTHIANS 15:42-44 (CEB)
It’s the same with the resurrection of the dead: a rotting body is put into the ground, but what is raised won’t ever decay. It’s degraded when it’s put into the ground, but it’s raised in glory. It’s weak when it’s put into the ground, but it’s raised in power. It’s a physical body when it’s put into the ground, but it’s raised as a spiritual body.

SUMMARY
When God renews creation, he doesn't simply toss out the old and start over again. Rather he transforms the old into something new and improved.

DAILY FODDER
What about you is most in need of transformation today?

PRAYER
Lord of the living, how beautiful are your promises about the life to come! Forgive me for wandering into places of desolation and lingering in the graveyards of negative, hopeless thinking. Pull me out of that negativity, Lord! Set my eyes upon your promises that I may live more for eternity and help others to seek and find you. Amen. (Daily Texts, Ground Up Grace edition)

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.

HOLD TIGHT

PSALM 119:73 (NLT)
You made me; you created me.
Now give me the sense to follow your commands.

2 THESSALONIANS 2:15 (MSG)
So, friends, take a firm stand, feet on the ground and head high. Keep a tight grip on what you were taught, whether in personal conversation or by our letter.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Hold on tight to the guiding wisdom God has given to you.

DAILY FODDER
If God's commands are so wise, why do we so readily ignore them?

PRAYER
Thank you, Lord, for the prophets, scribes, apostles, preachers, teachers, and parents who have sacrificed so much to forward your wisdom to us. Forgive us for treating your guidance as a smorgasbord from which we pick and choose according to our own preferences. Dish me up a full plate of your wisdom. I'm going to savor every spoonful and return to the table for seconds. 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.

THE REAL GOD

JOSHUA 24:14 (NRSV)
Revere the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served... and serve the Lord.

GALATIANS 4:8-9 (MSG)
Earlier, before you knew God personally, you were enslaved to so-called gods that had nothing of the divine about them. But now that you know the real God—or rather since God knows you—how can you possibly subject yourselves again to those tin gods?

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Give your attention and allegiance only to the real God.

DAILY FODDER
What do the fake gods of 2024 look like?

PRAYER
One God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thank you for freeing us from the fake gods that entrapped us. I regret that at times I get distracted again by the allure of the fakes. Steer me around the temptations so that my attention and allegiance can rest on you alone. I know that you are true and real. 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.