Jesus, You taught us that if we do not forgive our enemies You will not forgive us. You said to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Yet when the enemy attacks we are inclined to take matters into our own hands. Give us the courage, we pray, to display patience when our lower nature tempts us to “get even”, right now!
What is it that would make heaven perfect for you?
Father God, You have chosen to make us in Your image. We know, for those that love and obey You, that we are not yet what we will become. Life can seem so long when we are hurting yet You have prepared an eternal place of perfection for us all where we will be neither young nor old and certainly not ill. We look forward to something so perfect that it escapes our ability to fully describe it.
Sure, heaven is going to be great…but this is awful!
Father, Peter tells us a very important fact. We have been given a “living hope”. Yes, heaven awaits, but here we learn that our hope, made evident here and now, by our faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Savior, is a present reality.
One day with Jesus better than thousands elsewhere.
Father, the world will witness your power. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that you are Lord, including those who have not yet done so. It is your mercy that we seek. You have chosen us and even now You draw us near to You in spite of our weaknesses.
I keep myself in great shape. In God’s eyes, that’s a good thing; right?
We want to be righteous in Your sight yet we know that any righteousness we might have is not ours at all. Only as we take on Your mantle can we experience Holiness and then only for too short a moment, it seems. We pray for more consistency.
My anguish is such that I actually cry out…who cares?
Father, we too live in a time of many false gods and many are simply without any faith in any god. O’God, help us this day to show men who You are by our faith and obedience to You. We know You care. Give Your strength to Your servant…
How could God possibly forgive me…my sins seem indelible
Father, here King David admits that his iniquities have overtaken him. Father, at times some of us feel the same; our iniquities weigh so heavily on us that we don’t know how You could possibly love us or forgive us. That is the miracle, Father, that makes life worth living. It is never about the present, with its moments of difficulty, but it is about the future. We know that is only true if we admit, as David did, that we need Your help.
Pride, the subtle, but terribly effective, tool of Satan
Father, is there any sin more likely to be in our lives than pride? It seems not as we observe the actions of some of your most committed people. Help us notice how pride can creep into our lives. Show us how to convert prideful tendencies into joy in Your presence, joy in victories made possible by You. We are so tempted to “seek the best seat” but here you teach us how embarrassed, before You, we will be when we are asked to yield that seat to another.
A tandem truth…what we say and what we do, matter to God
You tell us that there is a tandem truth; the fruit of our mouth, what we say, and the fruit of our labor, what we do, will be rendered (delivered) to us. We know You are a just God but oh how we lean upon Your mercy. Our imperfections are ever before us.
Guilt leads to fear, wickedness to judgment.
The wicked applaud the wicked and in spite of the fact that each of them know they are sinning, they look away from Your impending judgment. Help us never develop a hardened heart, one that tries to dismiss You, God. We know, Father that even with the clear evidence that sin will be harshly judged, men and women ignore You and go on sinning.