Heavenly Father,
You are the almighty God. You are the king of kings, and lord of lords. You are the God of unbeatable armies, the God of fire from heaven, the God of lightning and thunder. And you are the God of Jesus Christ, your beloved son, who suffered much, was rejected by his people, and was killed. That alone should tell us how amazingly you love us. We should be living a life of constant fear of a vengeful God who wants to punish those who rebel against him, as we so constantly do. You would be absolutely within your rights to sentence us to death for our rebellion. But we don't have to live in fear, because you are a loving God, so loving that not only do you forgive us for killing your son, but you use your son's death to cleanse us of our sin. That is amazing. It is breathtaking. Please give us a better and better understanding of that as we seek to live our lives for you, in thankfulness or the great and loving God you are.
Lord, there are so many things in our lives that seek to pull our attention away from you. We worry about our lives. While many of us don't have to worry about what we will eat or what we will drink or what we will wear, we make up other things to worry about: we worry about our safety and security in this age of uncertainty and terrorism. We worry about what people think of us. We are attracted to money and wealth, because it makes our lives comfortable and easy. We follow our own desires, and we seek to put ourselves first. Please God, transform our minds, so that we might see that there is nothing more valuable than your son Jesus, and his message that your kingdom has come with power.
There are so many people in this world who see Jesus as something else: a teacher, a role model, a tragic hero, a rebel leader, or a mythical storybook character. Help us to proclaim to others the truth - that Jesus is the messiah, Jesus is your son, and that his coming ushered in the coming of your kingdom. Give us strength and courage so that we won't be ashamed of your good news to all humanity. Help us to carry that message in every part of our lives - when things are good and we are praising you for them, or when things are bad and we throw ourselves at your feet and trust in your sovereignty. And help us to carry that message in how we relate to others. Give us a love for those who are sick, for those who are struggling financially, for those who are stuck in life situations that they can't get out of. Free them from these terrible problems, and make us your hands and feet in helping them. And we pray for those we can't help - those who languish in prisons and detention centres, those who hide their problems, those who suffer for your name on the other side of the world. We ask that you might stretch our your hand and alleviate their problems. Give your people across the world faith that you are in control. In the same way that the disciples could not understand that Jesus must die as part of your plan, we can't begin to understand the complexities of your plan in this age. So let us remember that you are almighty loving God, and that yours is the only plan that is guaranteed to succeed, and that it is absolutely built on your love for us.
We praise you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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