DEALING WITH SIN

GENESIS 4:10 (MSG)
GOD said to Cain, “What have you done! The voice of your brother’s blood is calling to me from the ground.

1 TIMOTHY 1:15 (CEB)
This saying is reliable and deserves full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I’m the biggest sinner of all.

SUMMARY SENTENCE

Acknowledging our sinfulness is essential to receiving the gift that Christ gives.

DAILY FODDER
How do the 12 Steps crafted by Alcoholics Anonymous help us understand this reality?

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

PRAYER
Merciful God, I'm grateful that your grace is greater than all my sin, guilt, and shame. Even as I acknowledge my sinfulness I'm aware of my inability to control it. I can only turn to you and receive the salvation that Christ Jesus secured through his death and resurrection. I'm forever aware of this incredible gift and want others to experience it, too. 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.

BELIEVING IN JESUS

JEREMIAH 32:17 (CEB)
LORD God, you created heaven and earth by your great power and outstretched arm; nothing is too hard for you!

JOHN 3:16 (CEB)
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him won’t perish but will have eternal life.

SUMMARY SENTENCE

God uses his limitless power in the service of his love.

DAILY FODDER
What is it about Christ Jesus that reels you in to believe in him?

PRAYER
Powerful and merciful God, my heart is moved by your gift of Jesus our Savior. I confess that my belief is intermittent and that I haven't begun to fully grasp what it means to entrust my life to him and his ways. But I have enough belief to know where I want my life to go—and that is with him—now and forever. I am trusting you to strengthen my faith so that Jesus is the Commander and Chief of my life—today and always. 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'S PEACE

ZECHARIAH 8:19 (MSG)
Embrace truth! Love peace!”

PHILIPPIANS 4:7 (CEB)
Then the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus.

SUMMARY SENTENCE

God is eager for us to experience his powerful peace, which comes to us through Christ Jesus.  

DAILY FODDER
The Hebrew concept of peace or shalom is richer than ours. We think of peace as the absence of conflict. But shalom can be peace happening in the midst of conflict. It's a rich complete life unphased by danger.

PRAYER
Thank you, God, for the peace you initiated through Jesus. I desperately want to be a part of the peace he is spreading. But I still allow the chaos of the times to create angst in my mind. Wrap your reassuring arm around me so that I can represent you as an unanxious presence in our hellbent 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.

HOPING FOR PEACE?

ISAIAH 48:18 (NLT)
Oh, that you had listened to my commands!
   Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river
   and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea.

JAMES 3:18 (ABP)
Those who work to create peace in a peaceful way sow seeds of justice.

  

SUMMARY SENTENCE

If you want peace do things God's way. 

DAILY FODDER
Why does peace through strength fail in the longrun?

PRAYER
Almighty God, Prince of Peace, great Counselor, I'm grateful that you have a peace plan. I regret that we ignore it because we think we know better. Override all our scheming and saber-rattling to subvert our antics with changed hearts. If we want this we'll look to you for direction. That is our only hope. 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.