“Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.” (Isaiah 49:13)
“But I pray to you, O LORD, in the time of your favor; in your great love, O God, answer me with your sure salvation... Answer me, O LORD, out of the goodness of your love; in your great mercy turn to me. Do not hide your face from your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in trouble. Come near and rescue me; redeem me because of my foes.” (Psalm 69:13,16-18)
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32)
O Lord, we rejoice in your love and forgiveness! You are faithful to comfort us, to lavish us with heavenly compassion. Father, you have answered us in our distress and come to us in our time of trouble. We thank you, not only with words, but with resolve to extend your compassion and forgiveness to others today. Lead us, we pray, as we carry Christ’s compassion to the desperate, the fearful, the hope-deprived. Amen.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Harvest Time (Sept. 22)
“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that His ways may be known on earth, His salvation among all nations.” (Psalm 67:1-2)
“Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’ ” (Matthew 9:35-38)
“Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” (John 4:35)
Gracious God, Heavenly Father, and Lord of the harvest, as we move into the beauty of autumn, we thank you for loving us with a perfect love. You have blessed us abundantly, O God. With grateful hearts, we pray that you will make your salvation known among the nations through us. Thank you that you have sent us out — and that you have brought the world to our doorstep. Work through us, we pray, in our offices and neighborhoods, in our families and communities, in our day-to-day encounters. We go forth in your name, and in your power, to bring the hope of Jesus to the hurting, the lonely, the lost, the “harassed and helpless.” Let us be part of your reaping of a great harvest of souls that are destined to come fully alive in you. Amen.
“Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’ ” (Matthew 9:35-38)
“Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” (John 4:35)
Gracious God, Heavenly Father, and Lord of the harvest, as we move into the beauty of autumn, we thank you for loving us with a perfect love. You have blessed us abundantly, O God. With grateful hearts, we pray that you will make your salvation known among the nations through us. Thank you that you have sent us out — and that you have brought the world to our doorstep. Work through us, we pray, in our offices and neighborhoods, in our families and communities, in our day-to-day encounters. We go forth in your name, and in your power, to bring the hope of Jesus to the hurting, the lonely, the lost, the “harassed and helpless.” Let us be part of your reaping of a great harvest of souls that are destined to come fully alive in you. Amen.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Strength in Weakness
“So man will be brought low and mankind humbled. But the Lord Almighty will be exalted by his justice, and the holy God will show himself holy by his righteousness.” (Isaiah 5:15)
“Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take [the thorn] away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (Paul, in 2 Corinthians 12:8-10)
One of the main threads woven through the Bible is the idea that true strength comes not from human power, but from a humble acknowledgment of weakness and a desperate dependence upon divine power. This theme is perhaps best captured in the image of a helpless baby, born in squalor, marked for suffering and death…but destined to rise triumphant as the mighty Savior of mankind. I’m not sure about you, but it takes me about 15 seconds each morning to remember my weaknesses. (Some days, just rolling out of bed can serve as an instant humbler.) I hope you find it as encouraging as I do, then, that the Lord not only knows and understands our weaknesses — be they spiritual, physical, intellectual, emotional, etc. — but that he loves to display his strength through us when we realize we are at our weakest.
Heavenly Father and Lord Almighty, we praise you today for your strength and holiness and righteousness, and we thank you that you meet us in our weakness to show your mighty power through our lives. When we are weak, then we are strong in you. Fill us afresh with joy and expectation today as we rely upon your strength. Amen.
“Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take [the thorn] away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (Paul, in 2 Corinthians 12:8-10)
One of the main threads woven through the Bible is the idea that true strength comes not from human power, but from a humble acknowledgment of weakness and a desperate dependence upon divine power. This theme is perhaps best captured in the image of a helpless baby, born in squalor, marked for suffering and death…but destined to rise triumphant as the mighty Savior of mankind. I’m not sure about you, but it takes me about 15 seconds each morning to remember my weaknesses. (Some days, just rolling out of bed can serve as an instant humbler.) I hope you find it as encouraging as I do, then, that the Lord not only knows and understands our weaknesses — be they spiritual, physical, intellectual, emotional, etc. — but that he loves to display his strength through us when we realize we are at our weakest.
Heavenly Father and Lord Almighty, we praise you today for your strength and holiness and righteousness, and we thank you that you meet us in our weakness to show your mighty power through our lives. When we are weak, then we are strong in you. Fill us afresh with joy and expectation today as we rely upon your strength. Amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)