Love, honor, hope, and no shame

You who honor the Lord, trust in the Lord! ~ Psalm 115:11a (CEB)

This hope doesn’t put us to shame, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. ~ Romans 5:5 (CEB)

Lord,

THANKS: Thank you for loving me. Your love is more powerful than all the shame in my life. You give me hope.

REGRETS: I struggle, though, with disappointment. I'm not important enough to enhance the reputation of my family. I have not made enough of my life to help them. That's a struggle. But it is an unfounded struggle. 

INTERCESSION: Free me from looking for approval in all the wrong places. Through the touch of your Holy Spirit help me to see that I am genuinely loved and am important to you.

PURPOSE: I'm not going to worry about how much honor and recognition I receive in life. Instead I will put my energy into honoring you. You deserve all honor and glory and praise!

Amen.

The body of Christ

They will be my people, and I will be their God, faithful to bring about justice. ~ Zechariah 8:8b (CEV)

Christ is the head of the body, which is the church. He is the beginning. He is the first to be raised from the dead. ~ Colossians 1:18a (NIRV)

Thank you, Lord, for including us in the body of Christ -- your new people constituted through the resurrection. As a member of your body I intend to live according to the new resurrection life -- even now before the resurrection has happened. I want to be a part of your new order -- a new way of doing things as defined by your justice. I do not always live consistently with this desire but it is still my intention. I'm counting on you to renew my life even further so that when people look at me they start to see Jesus. Amen.

Grace and Hope

I’ll make a covenant with them that will last forever, a covenant to stick with them no matter what, and work for their good. ~ Jeremiah 32:40a (MSG)

Jesus treated us much better than we deserve. He made us acceptable to God and gave us the hope of eternal life. ~ Titus 3:7 (CEV)

Generous and kind Lord:

THANKS: Because of your kindness I am way better off than I deserve to be. Thank you for sticking with me -- even when I'm drifting from you.

REGRETS: I take your grace for granted. That might be good. But I sense that at times I'm too casual about your generosity.

INTERCESSION: I know that you will continue to work on behalf of all those whom you call to be your people. 
Fill me with hope so that I am not afraid to take the kind of risks that lead to growth in practical righteousness. 

PURPOSE: I'm going to let the hope that grows from your grace chart the path I'm walking today. 

Amen.

Most powerful everlasting King

But the Lord is the only true God. He is the living God and the everlasting King! ~ Jeremiah 10:10a (NLT)

God is the blessed and only Ruler. He is the greatest King of all. He is the most powerful Lord of all. God is the only one who can’t die. He lives in light that no one can get close to. No one has seen him. No one can see him. Honor and power belong to him forever. Amen. ~ 1 Timothy 6:15b-16 (CEV)

God, I know that this may be a rather silly thought, but I'm used to thinking of myself as the ruler of my own world. I give all of my time and energy over to making things work according to my own plan. That perception is flawed, of course. I am here temporarily. But you are everlasting. My power is limited. But your power is unlimited. Perhaps I need to refocus my life so that I am giving my life and energy over to honoring you as the greatest King over all. Could it be that I will find my own true sense of purpose by attending to you? It sounds like it would be wise to move that direction. Amen.