Good morning!
Welcome to your morning coffee! May our Heavenly Father remind us of how much He has done for us through His son Jesus. Father, you have welcomed us daily into your presence in prayer. Please hear us and help us to see whatever might be hindering our prayers to you. Help us to be obedient to your word. Help us to repent and forgive. Help us to worship with clear consciences. Help us to rest in your Spirit within us and strive mightily to please you Father! In the name of your son Jesus, set our mind's eye and hearts desire on who you are, what you desire, and your great design. Help us to please you Heavenly Father.
Your Morning Song: "You Bled" by Rend Collective
Your Morning Scripture: Isaiah 53:5
But He was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on Him,
and by His wounds we are healed.
...
Sometimes I struggle with feeling discouraged, when life is hard, when life hurts, when temptations of all sorts pull at me. Maybe its home, or work, or the roads that run between the two. There have been some days for me that felt so full of struggle that I just wanted to quit. Quit trying to obey God's voice in my life. Quit trying to resist temptation. Quit trying to so hard at being a husband and a father. Just quit.
But Jesus didn't.
He stayed up on that cross, suffering, struggling to breathe. He was fully capable at any moment of stepping down from the cross. But Jesus didn't. Jesus didn't just die for us. He suffered for us.
And with His suffering He does not guilt us into just trying harder at life. Jesus understands our struggle, sympathizes with our weakness, and did for us what we could not do for ourselves.
If you pay even moderately close attention as you read the Bible you will notice a very common repetition. And the verse above is a great example (John 3:16 and Psalm 23 also). Over and over, He is the one who acts for us. He is one crushed for us. He is the one who heals us. He is the one who receives our punishment to give us peace.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, live daily in the peace that only we, as those forgiven and healed, can have. Each day as we seek to obey our Father in Heaven and become more like His son Jesus. God acts for us. He does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He has made a way for us to enter into His presence now in prayer and someday face to face forever.
And so, when we struggle to obey God and trust God and rest with God in our daily lives, let us be confident. Let us be confident not in what we have done, what we have endured, but confident in what Jesus has done. For us. In us. Through us.
He did not only die, but suffered greatly, willingly, able to stop it at any moment. He could have abandoned us. He could have avoided His suffering.
But instead, He loved you. And does forever still.
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