Reading: Psalm 51:10-19
This honest and heartfelt prayer from David can relate to all of us. We can follow this example daily and pray these words in the midst of our sin. David not only has cried out for forgiveness, but he has now cried out to defeat his sin. When we mess up, we tend to feel far from God and His ways. We see David is longing to hold on to that here. God is never far from us, nor do we lose our salvation because of our sins, but we can distance ourselves from God, and we can lose the joy of our salvation. David cries out to cling to those things, and when we make this our prayer daily, we can experience the joy of salvation and the presence of the Holy Spirit each day, not because they are far from us, but because we are more open to them. Make this adding your prayer today and experience the joy and presence of God in the midst of dark times.
Reading: Luke 24:1-35
You can imagine the defeat the disciples and followers of Jesus felt after His death. They were without a leader and seemingly without hope. But in this reading, we see a huge turn of events. When the women approach the tomb to anoint Jesus' body with the spices they had prepared, they discover His body is gone. An angel is there, and tells them not to seek the living among the dead. As the women recall what Jesus told everyone about rising from the dead, they see that the prophesy has come true.
The disciples probably felt as if their dreams had died when Jesus died. They were probably crushed and didn't know what the next step was. I can't help but reflect on this past week for me and my church family, as we have lost a great leader of our church to pancreatic cancer. Not to compare him to Jesus (as he would not like this at all), but many of us have felt unsure of the future and the direction to go in next. But when the disciples see Jesus living, an even break bread with Him, they see that God indeed takes brokenness and hopelessness and turns it into the ultimate dream. As a church family, we can fall apart and go our own ways, or we can stand together and keep the dream alive and continue on the path God has laid out for us.
Though we face times that feel like our dreams and hopes have died, we can see just how powerful God is and that in Him all things are possible. When hard times come in the church, we must stand united, as we see how communion unifies the church. I believe Jesus had a great purpose in breaking bread with the disciples after this dark time in their lives, but shown that hope is greatly restored. When we break bread, we remember the hope we have in God.
Take heart when your dreams die. Jesus has made the ultimate victory for us and we can find hope in Him no matter what defeat we may feel. Cling to Him and His victory.
Reading: Joshua 11:1-12:24
It is clearly evident that God wanted these people to have this land. The whole, crazy journey and battles fought prove just how much He wanted them to have it. We read of another string of battles that Joshua fights and wins to take control over the land, just as God told Moses to do. This entire story can sure give us hope that if God wants us to do something, or to have something, He'll give us the victories to get there.
When we put this reading together with the Luke reading, we can clearly see that anything is possible through Christ, and if it is His will, then His will will surely be done. When we are on track for Him, we have nothing to fear because we are the tool of His grand plan. We are simply following His direction and guidance, and He'll take care of the rest. Don't sweat His will.
We can take heart in the midst of broken dreams and lost hope. As we read about the ultimate victory we have in Jesus as He rose from the dead, we can press on with the dreams He lays out for us, and they turn out much better than our own plans. When we sin, we can turn to Him to regain victory, as David cries out in Psalms. We can take confidence from Joshua's many victories over the kings of the land God intended for the Israelites. We shall not fear when we are walking on His side.
(Photo Credit: http://thereforenow.com/2013/06/faith-is-the-overcoming-victory-1-john-54-5/)
You can imagine the defeat the disciples and followers of Jesus felt after His death. They were without a leader and seemingly without hope. But in this reading, we see a huge turn of events. When the women approach the tomb to anoint Jesus' body with the spices they had prepared, they discover His body is gone. An angel is there, and tells them not to seek the living among the dead. As the women recall what Jesus told everyone about rising from the dead, they see that the prophesy has come true.
The disciples probably felt as if their dreams had died when Jesus died. They were probably crushed and didn't know what the next step was. I can't help but reflect on this past week for me and my church family, as we have lost a great leader of our church to pancreatic cancer. Not to compare him to Jesus (as he would not like this at all), but many of us have felt unsure of the future and the direction to go in next. But when the disciples see Jesus living, an even break bread with Him, they see that God indeed takes brokenness and hopelessness and turns it into the ultimate dream. As a church family, we can fall apart and go our own ways, or we can stand together and keep the dream alive and continue on the path God has laid out for us.
Though we face times that feel like our dreams and hopes have died, we can see just how powerful God is and that in Him all things are possible. When hard times come in the church, we must stand united, as we see how communion unifies the church. I believe Jesus had a great purpose in breaking bread with the disciples after this dark time in their lives, but shown that hope is greatly restored. When we break bread, we remember the hope we have in God.
Take heart when your dreams die. Jesus has made the ultimate victory for us and we can find hope in Him no matter what defeat we may feel. Cling to Him and His victory.
Reading: Joshua 11:1-12:24
It is clearly evident that God wanted these people to have this land. The whole, crazy journey and battles fought prove just how much He wanted them to have it. We read of another string of battles that Joshua fights and wins to take control over the land, just as God told Moses to do. This entire story can sure give us hope that if God wants us to do something, or to have something, He'll give us the victories to get there.
When we put this reading together with the Luke reading, we can clearly see that anything is possible through Christ, and if it is His will, then His will will surely be done. When we are on track for Him, we have nothing to fear because we are the tool of His grand plan. We are simply following His direction and guidance, and He'll take care of the rest. Don't sweat His will.
We can take heart in the midst of broken dreams and lost hope. As we read about the ultimate victory we have in Jesus as He rose from the dead, we can press on with the dreams He lays out for us, and they turn out much better than our own plans. When we sin, we can turn to Him to regain victory, as David cries out in Psalms. We can take confidence from Joshua's many victories over the kings of the land God intended for the Israelites. We shall not fear when we are walking on His side.
(Photo Credit: http://thereforenow.com/2013/06/faith-is-the-overcoming-victory-1-john-54-5/)
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