Suffering

He was hated and rejected; his life was filled with sorrow and terrible suffering... ~ Isaiah 53:3a (CEV)

Pilate freed the man who was in jail for rioting and murder, because he was the one the crowd wanted to be set free. Then he handed Jesus over for them to do what they wanted with him. ~ Luke 23:25 (CEV)

KEY IDEA:

Our Savior Jesus suffered a lot when he was carrying out his mission.

PRAYER:

Lord, I am so grateful for salvation. I am sorry that Jesus had to suffer so much for us -- for me. I take that suffering for granted and I even live as though suffering is not normal. I think that something must be wrong if I am having a hard time. Fix my thinking, please. And prop me up so that I can continue to stand when I encounter hard times, too. I want to live out the whole mission of Jesus in my life. Amen.

Blessed to bless

You make my life pleasant, and my future is bright. ~ Psalm 16:6 (CEV)

God can bless you with everything you need, and you will always have more than enough to do all kinds of good things for others. ~ 2 Corinthians 9:8 (CEV)

KEY IDEA:

God blesses us so that we can bless others.

PRAYER:

Lord, You make my life pleasant and give me a bright future. Thank you. I am so blessed. Help me to grow beyond just receiving the blessings. Nudge me so that I'm more into giving than receiving. That's why you bless me so that I can bless others. And I'm determined that with your help I'm going to live that way. Amen.

The Lord's staying power

The Third Sunday in Lent

The Lord your God will have mercy—he won’t destroy you or desert you. ~ Deuteronomy 4:31a (CEV)

Paul writes: I’m sure about this: the one who started a good work in you will stay with you to complete the job by the day of Christ Jesus. ~ Philippians 1:6 (CEB)

KEY IDEA:

The Lord will stay with you and get you to where you need to be.

PRAYER:

Lord, thank you for sticking around. Thank you for being close -- day in and day out -- through the good times and the bad times. I know that I don't make things easy for you. But you don't seem to have trouble keeping up with my drifting. Still, I need your help getting over my wanderings. I'm going to stay close to you -- not because I have to -- but because I want to. You are so faithful. You are the one I want to be close to. Amen.

Immigrants

I’m an immigrant in the land. ~ Psalm 119:19a (CEB)

Our citizenship is in heaven. We look forward to a savior that comes from there—the Lord Jesus Christ. ~ Philippians 3:20 (CEB)

KEY IDEA:

We live like outsiders in the world system because we are citizens of the heavenly system -- the system built around the administration of our Lord Jesus Christ.

PRAYER:

Lord, thank you for providing a true home island for me -- heaven. I have to live as an immigrant in the world. And that is frustrating because they currently do things differently in the world than Jesus does. Save me from discouragement. Help me to remember that I am not a citizen of the world empire and that I need to look to heaven for instructions on how to live. Sometimes I get caught up in the world's ways but I am trusting you to keep me free from all that. Amen.