Mike Fisk & Built with Grace

This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down. Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we remember when you walked on this earth with your disciples. We are reminded of the constant bickering among the 12. The constant striving to determine who was greatest among them and who would be greatest in your kingdom. We confess to you that it’s been over 2000 years and we haven’t gotten much better! As the Apostle James wrote, we don’t see victory because…

In that day you will say: “I will praise you, Lord. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me.  Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.” With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.  In that day you will say: “Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. Shout aloud and sing for joy, 

This week the Springfield community desperately seeks to get our hearts and minds around the fact that one of our own neighbors decided to extinguish the vibrant life of an innocent ten-year-old. These neighbor-to-neighbor conversations have taken place all over the region in churches, workplaces, gyms, retail stores, sports practices, classrooms, and so many other places. Hard questions, tender questions, poignant questions, whispered questions, tearful questions, just questions. No one is immune to the heartache and sadness of these events. All of us wonder how best to respond to this atrocity.

So we respond. Porch lights all over the world burn bright in Hailey’s memory. An entire region dresses in pink and purple to show solidarity with each other and her family. Memorial funds bulge with individual contributions in an effort to ease the family’s pain. Restaurants offer special meal deals in an effort to raise gifts for the Owen…

It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving   to overflow to the glory of God.   Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I read the line “Therefore we do not lose heart” and…