Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room
February 14, 2024
Matthew 6:9-15
9 Pray like this: Our Father who is in heaven, uphold the holiness of your name. 10 Bring in your kingdom so that your will is done on earth as it’s done in heaven. 11 Give us the bread we need for today. 12 Forgive us for the ways we have wronged you, just as we also forgive those who have wronged us. 13 And don’t lead us into temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. 14 “If you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you don’t forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your sins.
Good Morning! Oh, what a beautiful morning! Enjoy the glorious sun!
Today is Ash Wednesday! It seems just a short time ago, we were entering the season of Advent, and now we are stepping into Lent. Both of these seasons are times of preparation. When we enter Advent, we are working to recapture the love and joy as we prepare to receive the baby into our hearts. Advent is a time of renewal: a time to be born again.
Lent is an interesting time of preparation. As we move through the time representing the final weeks of Jesus’ life, we read about the disciples' challenges to understand as Jesus prepares them for his suffering, death, and resurrection. How do you prepare others for something impossible according to the rules we (humankind) have constructed regarding life and death?
Here we sit, 2000 years later, as the descendants who have read the happenings so many times that we have lost count. Do we understand what Jesus is telling us? We read that Jesus must die to buy the pardon for our sins. Okay. But do we understand?
Along our faith journey, our faith ebbs and flows like the tides approaching the shore. True understanding will come when we join God at our final destination. Until that day, we thank you for your love and bask in the joy that the Holy Spirit keeps alive within us as we move toward the light.
Gracious God, Thank you for this beautiful gift of life. On this day of remembrance, please help us humble ourselves and accept the gift you offer us. We thank you! In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: From the ashes arises a crown of beauty!
Open your heart! Pastor Liz