Opening Prayer: Risen Jesus, come into our lives today and tell us about the lives you long for us to live.
Scripture: Acts 9:1-9
Journal: What is the risen Jesus saying to you today?
Reflection:
resurrection life
when we encounter
Pray
Closing Prayer: “Who are you, Lord? And what do you want?”
Opening Prayer: But those who wait for the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)
Scripture: Isaiah 40:27-31
Journal: How is God asking you to wait for him? How is that waiting an invitation to renewal? How is he inviting your to soar?
Reflection: It is only by waiting for the Lord that we learn to soar. For on our own, all we can do is toil and labor and grow weary. Soaring requires his breath and his strength, not our own. For our strength will eventually give out, but not his. He never gets tired or weary and his strength never fails. So wait for the Lord and let him empower you to heights and depths you never imagined. That is his invitation to you today.
Pray
Closing Prayer: But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, they run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind. (Isaiah 40:31, MSG)
Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you that you are alive! But even alive, you still bear your risen wounds. Why is that? What do you want me to do with that? How does that offer me life and hope and healing? How is it meant to offer life and hope and healing to others? Speak to me this morning about your risen wounds, as well as my own.
Scripture: John 20:20
Journal: How did the wounds of Jesus offer life and healing and hope to the disciples that day? Has do they offer the same to us? What are your deepest wounds? What is the story behind them. How has the healing and wholeness God has offered you something he wants you to pass on the others?
Reflection: Every scar has a story. So it’s not the scar itself that holds the healing power, but the story behind it. The problem is that for many of us we carry the scar but have not completed the story. We’re just stuck in the pain. We haven’t been good stewards of our wounds. For until there is healing, there is no real value in the scar. It has no healing quality to it. So we must be good stewards of our pain. We must let God do his work in us through it. We must begin to understand the story behind our wounds and our scars, or they will never be of value to anyone, including ourselves.
Pray
Closing Prayer: Touch me and heal me, Lord Jesus. Bring me to life and raise me from the dead. Help me show others how you have raised me, healed me, and made me whole. Make my risen wounds a source of life and hope and healing to others.
