JOY IN THE STORM

PSALM 5:11 (NLT)
Let all who take refuge in you rejoice...

2 CORINTHIANS 6:4, 10 (NLT)
In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God.... Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.

SUMMARY SENTENCE

Circumstances can't rob us of the joy that comes from living close to Christ Jesus.   

DAILY FODDER
How do we live close to Christ when circumstances are pulling us away from him, or so it seems?

PRAYER
Christ Jesus, thank you for being my anchor when the storms are trying to pull me out to sea. But as I hold on to you I realize that it's you holding on to me. Yes, the bad things happening make me sad but your peace and joy are stronger than the storms. I rejoice in the security you provide. 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.

THROUGH FAITH

The Second Sunday of Advent

PSALM 106:6 (CEB)
We have sinned—right along with our ancestors.
We’ve done what is wrong.
We’ve acted wickedly.

ROMANS 3:28 (NLT)
So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.

SUMMARY SENTENCE

God's solution to our sinfulness is a life defined by faith in Christ Jesus.

DAILY FODDER
Some people are naturally better than others, but none of us have the moral stamina to cross the finish line. Our only hope is to piggyback on Jesus who has the strength to cross the line with all who will trust him to carry them.

PRAYER
You, Savior Jesus, are the perfect person we all fail to be. As hard as we try we can't overcome our sinfulness. We know that our only hope is to trust you and what you've done on our behalf. I do trust you and I ask that you increase my faith so that I'm living in harmony with you and your ways. You are my 24/7, moment-by-moment, Savior. 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.

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.