STAY GROUNDED

ECCLESIASTES 5:7 (NLT)
Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead.

COLOSSIANS 2:18-19 (MSG)
Don’t tolerate people who try to run your life, ordering you to bow and scrape, insisting that you join their obsession with angels and that you seek out visions. They’re a lot of hot air, that’s all they are. They’re completely out of touch with the source of life, Christ...

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Stay grounded with Christ.

PRAYER
God, you are more real and more grounded than anything in existence. Yes, you are mysterious and we get sucked into endless theories that seek to demystify you. Forgive our unrestrained imaginations. Thank you for the revelation of yourself that comes through Christ Jesus. Help me to stay in touch with him. I'm going to live a life grounded in Christ. Amen.

THE LORD'S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.

CUT SOME SLACK

PSALM 19:12 (NRSV)
But who can detect their errors?
Clear me from hidden faults.

1 CORINTHIANS 4:5 (CEB)
He will bring things that are hidden in the dark to light, and he will make people’s motivations public. Then there will be recognition for each person from God.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Trust that God will be the insightful judge.

PRAYER
Lord of order and justice, thank you for your promise to bring to light all that needs to be revealed. I'm way too eager to jump the gun and pronounce judgment before I have enough information. Grant me patience and help me to trust that your insights are true and total. Because Christ is at work in my life I'm going to cut people a lot of slack. Amen.

THE LORD'S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.

TRUST THE LORD

The First Sunday after the Epiphany

ISAIAH 31:1 (CEV)
You are in for trouble
if... you depend on
an army of chariots
or a powerful cavalry.
Instead you should depend on
and trust
the holy Lord God
of Israel.

HEBREWS 2:1 (CEB)
This is why it’s necessary for us to pay more attention to what we have heard, or else we may drift away from it.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Put your trust in the Lord rather than in commanding and controlling power.

PRAYER
God, you are the almighty -- the one to whom all are accountable. Yet, we rely a lot on having access to the kind of power which is so prevalent in the current world system. Forgive us our false dependency and free us to trust you to make things right. I'm going to look to you not only as the measure of justice, but also as the source of it. Amen.

THE LORD'S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.

Trust God.

JOB 16:19 (CEV)
Even now, God in heaven
is both my witness
and my protector.

HEBREWS 11:1 (MSG)
The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Trust God.

PRAYER
Thank you, Holy Witness, for advocating for me on high. I also need you desperately here below. I am alone and lonely, blinded by weak faith. I need hope in this dark hour. Pausing now, I sense your presence. Yes, your comforting Spirit surrounds me. Hope is dawning and I am grateful. Thank you, loving Savior! Amen. (Daily Texts, Ground Up Grace edition)

THE LORD'S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.