Hoping

The Lord is all I have, and so in him I put my hope. ~ Lamentations 3:24 (GNT)

He has brought us by faith into this experience of God's grace, in which we now live. And so we boast of the hope we have of sharing God's glory! ~ Romans 5:2 (GNT)

KEY IDEA:

The hope given to us by Christ is what fills our gas tanks and keeps us going.

PRAYER:

Lord, you are all I have. No one or no thing is reliable enough to carry me through. You are my only hope. I say that on days when I'm thinking clearly. But there are times when I am not thinking and I begin to believe that if we could change politicians or come up with a new invention that would cure the common cold -- then life would be good. But even if those things happen that will not fix everything. Remind me when necessary that you are our only hope. I'm going to live in anticipation -- of the day when the glory of Christ outshines all the darkness. Amen.

Whatever

...do whatever you would like to do, because God is with you. ~ 1 Samuel 10:7b (CEB)

And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. ~ Colossians 3:17 (NLT)

KEY IDEA:

We are often given the freedom to make our own decisions about what to do, assuming that we're informed by the mind of Christ and are acting to represent him.

PRAYER:

Thank you, Lord, for giving us the freedom to make choices. You have included us in your plan -- not as robotic soldiers but as your image-bearing people making actual decisions on your behalf. I admit that I don't always make good decisions, but you include me anyway. Please give me wisdom so that I can act like someone whom you are with -- someone who represents Christ Jesus well through word and deed. Amen.

Your protector never slumbers

God won’t let your foot slip. Your protector won’t fall asleep on the job. ~ Psalm 121:3 (CEB)

Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him, saying, “You man of weak faith! Why did you begin to have doubts?” ~ Matthew 14:31 (CEB)

KEY IDEA:

Don't give in to doubt because the Lord is a reliable protector.

PRAYER:

Lord, thank you again, for watching out for me. I confess that sometimes I get distracted by the circumstances around me and lose sight of you. I begin to slip. But you always seem to intervene in some way. Save me from my doubts and refresh my faith so that I can continue walking on water. Amen.

Hope for the Future

The Fourth Sunday in Lent

There is hope for your future,” says the Lord. ~ Jeremiah 31:17a (NLT)

His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” ~ John 9:8 (NLT)

KEY IDEA:

The Lord gives us hope for the future.

PRAYER:

Lord, I'm so grateful that you're concerned about the future. Like many of my neighbors, I live for today. But unlike them, I do it because the future scares me. I hear the crazy things that our leaders say and the way that people with money and responsibility act. Those things do not instill confidence about what is coming. Help me to rest in your promises and to trust that you are full of healing. We need it. I need it. In Jesus' name, Amen.