LIVING AS TAUGHT

1 SAMUEL 12:15 (MSG)
But if you don’t obey him and rebel against what he tells you, king or no king, you will fare no better than your fathers.

COLOSSIANS 2:6-7 (MSG)
My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.

THE ESSENCE
Do what you’ve been taught.

DAILY FODDER
The ancient Hebrews described in 1 Samuel, had convinced themselves that if they had a king, like all their neighbors, that they'd become an unstoppable force. God didn't want them to function according to coventional wisdom but he eventually gave them what they wanted. And, of course, that didn't work out for their best. The point is that if we trust him and act according to his instructions, in the longrun things will work out in a way that generates thanksgiving rather than anxiety. 

PRAYER
Generous God, thank you for your instructions. Forgive us for pushing to be able to do things our way. Help me to start living according to all that I’ve  been taught. I'm looking forward to seeing what YOU'LL do. I'll break out in thanksgiving. 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 CHALLENGE OF SIN

ISAIAH 44:22 (MSG)
I’ve wiped the slate of all your wrongdoings.
There’s nothing left of your sins.
Come back to me, come back.
I’ve redeemed you.

1 JOHN 3:5-6 (MSG)
Surely you know that Christ showed up in order to get rid of sin. There is no sin in him, and sin is not part of his program. No one who lives deeply in Christ makes a practice of sin.

THE ESSENCE
Sinless Christ invites us to join him.

DAILY FODDER
While we don't wallow in our sinfulness, we are matter-of-fact about it. Such straightforwardness allows us to entrust it all to Christ, our redeemer.

PRAYER
Gracious Redeemer, you have removed the fog of my sinful ways. Forgive me when I turn back to that fog because it's familiar. Stop me from thinking that I just need better fog lights when I really need a whole new lighting system. Create in me a clean heart, O God, that makes your grace my light. 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.

TOUGH LOVE

JEREMIAH 31:20 (CEB)
Isn’t Ephraim my much-loved child?
   Don’t I utterly adore him?
Even when I scold him,
   I still hold him dear.
I yearn for him and love him deeply,
   declares the LORD.

ROMANS 11:2 (GNT)
God has not rejected his people, whom he chose from the beginning.

THE ESSENCE
God's unwavering love for the Jewish people demonstrates his tenacity.

DAILY FODDER
Even when God is ignored or rejected by his own people, his love remains constant. Sometimes God has to discipline those he loves. But this doesn't mean he loves them less than before.

PRAYER
Thank you, God, for your willingness to discipline those you love. Forgive me for interpreting hard times as your rejection. Help me to see beyond my noise and to notice how your love is expressed. I celebrate your tenacity, even when it shows up in tough love. You really do love us. 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.

UNWORTHY

GENESIS 32:10 (NLT)
Jacob: I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant.

1 TIMOTHY 1:16 (NLT)
But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.

THE ESSENCE
Our relationship with God is predicated on our willingness to recognize that we are unworthy of that relaionship. Yet, God pursues it anyway.

DAILY FODDER
Mercy, by definition, is undeserved. No one is worthy of it. This continually points to the fact that God gives himself to undeserving people. 

PRAYER
Lord, I'm grateful that your love is so vast and excessivly merciful. Obviously, I benefit from that mercy, even if I act like I’m entitled to attention. Help me to thoroughly absorb your mercy. I want to be so aware of it that your mercy saturates my soul, and drives me to care for unworthy people — including myself.  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.