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Gospel paradoxes

By Joe Slater, Justin, TX

  1. If you would be wise, you must become a fool (1 Cor. 1:18-27; 4:10).
  2. If you would be happy (blessed), you must mourn (Matthew 5:4)
  3. If you would be victorious, you must surrender (James 4:7; 1 Cor. 15:57; John 5:2-4)
  4. If you would live, you must die (Romans 6:2-4)
  5. If you would be free, you must become a slave (Romans 6:17, 18)
  6. If you would be rich, you must become poor (Matthew 19:21)
  7. If you would be great(est), you must become a servant/slave (Luke 22:24-27; John 13:12-15)
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Upset our routines

Our Father in Heaven, make happen among us what will edify the church, strengthen it in truth, and give it impetus for the gospel.

Shake loose our fears, upset our routines, open our eyes to the needs of our neighbors.

We thank you for food and drink, for homes and rest, for work and times of enjoyment.

Help us open our lives to the risk of the gospel, to the willingness of intimacy, to the communion of saints, to the entry of problematic people into our comfort.

Enrich our lives with the salvation of souls, the joy of your family, the hope of eternal communion with you.

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Careless with the gospel

Put my mind behind the eyes of my neighbor, dear God, that I might see from his perspective and have insight in how to speak to him and reach him for eternal salvation.

At the same time, let me be, to a point, careless with the gospel, seeking to share it at every moment, with every person, regardless of their station in life.

Give me compassion for all. Increase my love for your creation and for your word.

Move us forward in our own walk with you and in service to our fellow man.

In all, O Lord, may you be glorified in us.

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Grateful for improvements to life, increase the fear of you

God who cares for the smallest detail of creation, thank you for the many improvements to life that we enjoy in our world. How much prosperity so many of us enjoy! What a privilege to live in these days of convenience and increasing options.

We are grateful that poverty has decreased in the world, but we are aware that many still lack basic necessities of life. Continue reading “Grateful for improvements to life, increase the fear of you”

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The essence of the gospel

  1. Salvation, 1 Tim 4.16. Jesus saved man by his death; man saves himself and others by teaching about Jesus.
  2. Suffering, Col 1.24. Jesus suffered for man, and man suffers for his gospel.
  3. Sanctification, Jn 17.19. Jesus sanctified himself that he might sanctify his followers.
  4. Service, Mt 20.25-28. Jesus served man by giving his life as a ransom, and his people serve God and others by giving their lives for the gospel.
  5. Simplicity, Jn 14.28-31. Jesus gives us his peace, his promise, his power, his proof of love in obedience—this is all we need in order to rise and go.
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Physical vs. spiritual

Lord God, what a blessing that, even though as we get older our physical hearing tends to worsen, our spiritual hearing can get ever so sharper! Thank you for appealing to our mind so that we can hear and understand the Good News of Jesus Christ.

We know that you have chosen the means of speaking by saints and hearing by sinners to bring salvation to all, and that there is no other means by which you save. We are humbled, O Lord, to have heard the message. Let us listen more carefully than ever to the Word we received. And let us be the ones through whom others hear about this marvelous plan of salvation in Jesus Christ!

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Take Us High

Make us see, O Lord, the power in prayer,
Take us high in heaven under your care,
To ask unceasingly, in time alone,
That Christ in every place be preached and known.