David wrote in Psalm 25:1,3, “O Lord, I give my life to you. I trust in you, my God!….No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced,”

The dictionary defines “disgraced” as shamed, humiliated, and dishonored. My takeaway from this passage is that when we trust God, we should conduct ourselves with confidence, trusting in this, God’s promise. There is no guarantee that people will treat us with respect, but it does not matter, because we have the favor of God on us.

David also writes in Psalm 27:1, “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?”

Dear Lord, we give you are lives, hopes, and dreams and trust ourselves to you. Help us remember to live therefore in the confidence of your love and favor. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

If you are like me, often when you pray you come to God with anxiety and concern about the circumstances about which you are praying. It is human nature to be anxious and fearful when there is risk and potential of tragic consequences.

However, a couple verses in the Bible help us think about prayer a bit differently, with thanksgiving.

Colossians 4:2
Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.

Philippians 4:6
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

It is definitely a difficult task to pray with thanksgiving, when the reason we are praying is because we are afraid. If we try, however, it accomplishes two things in us. It reminds us that God loves us and has control of all the circumstances we face, and when we have a feeling of thanksgiving, it is very difficult to also feel afraid.

Dear Lord, help us come to you with thanksgiving when we pray, even when we are praying for relief from the fear of events we may be facing. We know we can be thankful in everything because you love us and are always with us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

There is an age, maybe 4 or 5 years old, where children seem to be just amazed about everything. When someone captures their attention, they will listen intently, with respect, to learn all they can. They believe what they are being taught and ask questions out of curiosity not suspicion. It is truly amazing to watch.

In Mark 10:14,15, Jesus tells the disciples , “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

We need to approach our Christian faith in this way. With humble curiosity, and a desire to learn and accept.

Dear Lord, help us let our guard down, and come to you with the faith of a child. Help us believe your teaching and promises with curiosity not suspicion. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

There is an expression first recorded several hundred years ago that goes, “There but for the grace of God go I.” This expression was used when seeing someone who’s mistakes or bad behaviors resulted in punishment or terrible consequences. In modern language, it would be like saying, “If not for the grace of God, that could be me.” It was used when looking at someone we would normally be inclined to judge, like the panhandler, drunk driver, or shoplifter.

James says in James 4:11-12, “Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you. God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?”

So when that thought comes to mind tempting us to judge or condemn someone, we should remember, “but for the grace of God, it could be me.”

Dear Lord, Thank you for your saving grace and mercy. Help us remember that it is you working in us that allows us to believe and be saved, not anything to do with our abilities. by your grace we go. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

In the US Military, soldiers are deployed, sent away to different places, for various lengths of time. The military makes a distinction between the types of deployments and moves. There are acronyms for each type. TDY means Temporary Duty; the soldier is deployed for a few days to a few months, PCS means Permanent Change of Station.

On a TDY, the soldier maintains his or her affiliation to the home unit, wearing the insignia on his or her uniform of the home unit. In contrast, during a PCS the soldier has a new “home unit” and becomes part of the new organization.

I use this illustration, because as Christians, we are TDY here on earth, on a “temporary assignment.” Our home unit is with God. In John 15:19 Jesus tells his disciples, “As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world;” and in John 17:14 Jesus is praying for his disciples, he asks God to protect them and says, “for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.” Just like soldiers on TDY, we are away from home, but we represent our home unit; our behavior and performance reflect either positively or negatively on our home unit, Christ and other Christians. As the song goes, “I am but a stranger here, heaven is my home.”

Dear Lord, be with us while we are on this temporary assignment. Help us bring glory to you while we are here. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen