Thursday September 9th

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bride groom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” Matthew 25:1-13

Dear Jesus, You told this parable so my life would be characterized by waiting for you instead of living for myself. You are my bridegroom. My world is about you and not just me and my interests. I know you’re coming back to take us, your bride, to heaven. Everything here seems smaller when I know it will soon be the place I am from but not where I am. I will wait for you the way wedding parties wait for the bride and groom. I will wait for you the way pets and children wait for their parents to get home. My life is about when you return and not just the here and now. If I become self-indulgent in this world don’t hesitate to bring me back to this place in my heart. Amen. If we have no future with God then we really possess not present with him either

Wednesday September 8

“’But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill one will be taken and the other left.’ Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” Matthew 26:36-42

Dear Jesus, Parents warn their children because they love them. It doesn’t ‘t always feel like love coming from their vocal cords, but it is In the same way, these words don’t necessarily feel like love from you but I know they are. You don’t want to catch me off guard when you return. You want me to be ready. So, you remind me that there will be signs that the end is near, but you won’t tell me when you are coming. I see all the signs you have told us about. I feel it could be any moment that you split the skies to end the entire history of this groaning planet. Help me to live like it could be today. Make me ardent in prayer, athletic in service to my neighbor and peaceful in my heart. Help me to feel everything you want me to feel as I wait for your rescue. Amen.

Every sports team plays with more intensity when the game clock reads 2 minutes left. Hint?

Tuesday September 7th

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and the the end will come.” Matthew 24:14

Dear Jesus, As you let troubles go back and forth over your planet, I sometimes wonder what you’re doing. Right here in the middle of your sermon where you list off all the troubles of this age, you tell us what you are doing. You’re making sure the gospel is preached in every corner. So, right alongside of your action to resolve our temporary issues through family, friends, good government, and the medical community,--right along side of these, you are preaching the gospel of rescue to take us to another place. When you told us in this chapter about all these troubles that we would endure, you were in the very week that you would be dying to redeem us. I’m not going to forget that making sure the gospel is preached in every trouble is the biggest thing you are doing. Thank you for “small things” and the “big thing” you do in order to bless my life every day. Amen.

Sometimes our anxieties about our troubles are a sign that we have forgotten about the biggest thing you have done for us

Wednesday September 1st

Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. ‘Do you see all these things?’ he asked. ‘Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; everyone will be thrown down.’” Matthew 24:1-2

Dear Jesus, How hard it must have been for you to foretell the destruction of your Father’s house! Jews loved it as their national treasure. You loved it because it was your Father’s house. There his name was glorified and proclaimed. But his new home would be human hearts. He wouldn’t need this obsolete place anymore. Your saving work would make true spirituality portable. It would go wherever your people went. Where they go, there is your active love, giving and forgiving. The disciples couldn’t wrap their minds around the thought that the destruction of the temple was the birth of the church. They just wanted to know when this would all take place. But you changed their hearts at Pentecost. They never needed a place very much anymore. Now they were the place. In their hearts they had the Holy Spirit. I do too. Give me the wisdom and faith to not need a place on earth as my holy place. Help me live as your “holy place” wherever my body goes since you live in my heart. Amen.

God decided that his most favorite place on earth would be in your heart. Make him feel welcome there

Tuesday August 31st

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. ‘Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.’” Matthew 23:13-15

Dear Jesus, You didn’t pull any punches in your final day of teaching in the temple during your last week. You exposed for me that the measure of a person’s religion is not whether they work hard at it or not. It’s about truth. If they don’t point people to who you are and what you have done for us, they are just law-teachers that lead people to trust in themselves. It’s a recipe for disaster. Lord, help Christian teachers everywhere to allow the gospel to predominate their teaching so those who are searching can find the real you. Keep me from being a moralist who lives and teaches as if keeping the law is the supreme goal of spirituality. Help me to live in the Gospel not just give it lip service. Amen.

Without Jesus and his completed work, the finest religious teaching is a heap of rubble

Monday August 30th

“Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: ‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’ Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:34-40

Dear Jesus, I do love you, the Father and Holy Spirit and I do love the people around me, but I know my love for God and my neighbor is deeply flawed. I often choose myself over everyone else and when I meet someone hard to love, I easily justify turning away from them. I repent of such fickle love. Lord, fill me with your unconditional love for everyone. Make me love my enemies as much as my dearest friend. Give me the love that you demand. I don’t have the wherewithal to love like you want unless you give me your enabling grace. I know that by meditating on your cross I can see and feel the love I’m praying for. So, that will be meditation today, you on the cross for all other sinners and me. Amen

.Love is life’s goal and love from God is the power to reach i

Saturday August 28th

.“That same day the Sadducees, came to him with a question. ‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for him. Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. Finally, the woman died. Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?’ Jesus replied, ‘You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. But about the resurrection of the dead-have you not read what God said to you,“ I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”’ When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.” Matthew 22:23-33

Dear Jesus, It’s the most comforting argument you ever won. The question those Sadducees raised struck at the heart of my biggest fear (death) and your biggest promise, (resurrection from death.) I’m like the crowd in the last verse. I’m astonished at your teaching and encouraged in my faith. I feel safe. The Bible they doubted really does teach eternal life beyond the grave. It’s even assumed in passages where it’s not taught explicitly. When we get to heaven we will be like the angels in fact that we won’t be married. We’ll all be close friends with everyone in every way. When I watch you win that argument, I go from doubt to faith-filled anticipation. You are my champion and my Lord. How could I ever thank you enough for including me, of all people, in the knowledge of your victory over this otherwise dead end life? I will live in joy and grace today as my tribute to you. Amen.

When you know you are going to live forever, you live differently in the here and now.

Friday August 27th

“Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him I his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. ‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed others, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, when is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?’ But Jesus ,knowing their evil intent, said, ‘You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax.’ They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, ‘Whose image is this? And whose inscription?’ ‘Caesar’s,’ they replied. Then he said to them, ‘So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.’ When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.” Matthew22:15-22

Dear Jesus, I’m sad that those men sent their underlings to trap you in words about taxes. What a grand miscue that they would want to talk about taxes when you were laying down your life for their salvation. How tolerant you were to answer them, even though they wouldn’t listen. In your answer I hear the freedom of faith and love. It’s freedom to pay taxes to a grossly imperfect government because I believe in God. Faith in your heavenly Father leads me to submit to the government he has afforded me. It’s very flawed but it’s built on principles of freedom and opportunity for all. They strive for fairness and protection of their citizens. There are checks and balances and room for me to speak my mind. Give me the faith to live in peace under my government because I know you are guiding the entire world with your saving hand. Amen.

God gives us a government to live under while he gives us a message of hope that helps us live larger than that government

Wednesday August 25th

“Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the LORD will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.’” Genesis 28:20-22

Dear Heavenly Father, Jacob had ruined his family and his testimony. He stole the blessing you were going to give him anyway. Then you chased him down, but not to hurt him. No, you chased him down to restore him in redeeming grace. What an amazing Creator you are! You must have smiled with parental, condescending mercy when he promised that if you would travel with him, he’d bless you with a 10thof all you gave him. How patient you are with us people who flatter ourselves when we give back to you part of what you already owned anyway! Thank you for the grace you have in every corner of our stinking lives. It’s the air we breathe ,the water we drink and the food that we crave. Accept my small life as my way of saying thanks for chasing me down to save me. Amen.

When you give something to God from your heart, don’t forget to thank him for the privilege of participating in his universe

Tuesday August 24th

“Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family, and do not go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes you-better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.” Proverbs 27:10

Dear Heavenly Father ,During recent winter storms that knocked out our electricity, water, propane gas, and cell phone connectivity as well as our morale, we were blessed with good neighbors who made room for us in their lives, cooked meals for us and shared the burden of inconvenience. They were as faithful to us as any family member. Thank you for using this storm to give us time and reason to share life with each other like family. As much trouble as the week was, I came from it. You are an amazing God that gives to people even when it looks like you are taking away. Help me to live in faith, hope and love with my neighbors as we try to get our homes and lives back to normal. Amen.

When you go through an epic struggle expect to find an epic friend here and there too

Monday August 23rd

Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John’s baptism-where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin? ”They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin’-we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.” Matthew 21:24-27

Dear Jesus, How carefully you exposed their unwillingness to humbly trust in you. You had cleansed the temple and taken away their earthly gain from the commerce there. You had condemned their leadership for allowing it too. You had gathered hundreds to hear your word. You had healed droves of people even moments before. But they were still hardened to you. They would not believe that you had come to save their souls. So, they tried to trap you with the question about why you felt you had authority to act without their approval. It was the same question they posed to John the Baptist in John 1. They refused to believe that God had visited them according to prophecy. Lord Jesus, I know what authority sent you. It was the authority of your Father’s love for me. You obeyed that authority because I haven’t. You followed his will to get rid of the rap sheet I had amassed. I’m so grateful today that on that day in the temple you stood up to those men. In doing so, you stayed on track to save the world. Give me the courage to speak up for you among my friends and family because you spoke up for me in the temple courts on the week you died for me. Make me a light to people that shines so brightly they have to reckon with who you are one way or another. Make my life count for something other than just me. Amen.

Find out what “Truth” thinks before you worry about what people think and you will always find your way through any dilemma

Saturday August 21th

Then the LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.’” Job 2:3

Dear Almighty God, Your word in Job both reveals and conceals for me. First of all, it reveals that there is a spirit world around us in which you allow the angels and demons to roam where we humans never get to tread. Secondly, it reveals to me that if I were to try to understand the reason for everything that happens tome (good and bad) and do not factor in that it might be a struggle that you and Satan are having on the playing field of my life, then I could be wasting precious time and energy trying to make sense of it all. Finally, it conceals from me the logic and the meaningful good that can come from suffering when you say to the devil ‘You incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.’ Like Job, I’m left to trust totally in your person and promises without any explanation about the details. What reasonless faith you demand! I do find myself believing in you more and more without explanations. As the book of Job unfolds you reveal how you carried Job through to the end. I see how he clung to your Son in Job 19. I will cling to Jesus along with him. I trust you will see me through to the gateway to eternal life, even though you hide the reasons for the troubles along life’s journey. Until I get to that glorious end, give me wisdom and peace during my travels and accept my childish request that you not allow Satan to test me as much as he did Job or your Son, Jesus. Amen. God is almighty, good and gracious. That’s all you need to know when you slide into a ditch along life’s journey

Friday August 20th

“The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David,’ they were indignant. ‘Do you hear what these children are saying?’ they asked him. ‘Yes,’ replied Jesus, ‘have you never read, ‘“From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise?” And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night. ”Matthew 21:14-17

Dear Jesus, When you rode into Jerusalem and the people praised you, the Pharisees objected. You told them the rocks would cry out if the people stopped. (Luke 19:40) Then here on the next day, when the Jewish leaders objected again, you led them to the Scriptures which say your Father ordained praise from even infants. How hardened people can be to prevent themselves from seeing you for who you are, their Make rand Redeemer! You gave too many convincing proofs that you’re the long promised Messiah. How sad that anyone would miss it. I want my life to praise you too. I want to praise you with my lips, my hands, my feet and my thoughts. I am nothing without you. I’m going nowhere without you. I have no hope without you. Today, give me the purity of a child and the boldness of a rock to speak your praises no matter who might object.

If our lives do not reflect appreciative praise for his life, then we are surely darkened no matter how enlightened we claim to be

Thursday August 19th

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.”

Isaiah 49:15-16

6Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for making sure that I know how much you love and take care of me. I forget how much you remember me. Your word reminds me that I am never forgotten. You study my ever hair, and know intimately my every thought. Nothing is hidden or unaccounted for. How well you know me !I’m blown away that you still love me too. I will live without spiritual separation anxiety today. I have you and you have my back. Let’s go do something helpful for your world today. Amen.

God is incapable of forgetting us

Wednesday August 18th

“Then, Salome, the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. ‘What is it you want?’ he asked. She said, ‘Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.’ ‘You don’t know what you are asking,’ Jesus said to them. ‘Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?’ ‘We can,’ they answered. Jesus said to them, ‘You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.’ When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave-just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:20-28

Dear Jesus, I read what Salome and her boys asked you and I say to myself, “Did she really just do that?” It blows my mind that someone would be so bold as to ask you if they could have the most honored places for all eternity next to you. But then I think about how in my closest circles I still crave honor, respect, and recognition. When we are the most comfortable with someone we are the most bold. Salome and her boys followed you everywhere. They were all in! They believed you were the world’s messiah. Even though you had just told them about your death, they clung to your words about resurrection. Those words played into their earthly kingdom Israeli hopes. I hear your answer to them loud and clear. Our earthly lives are great when they are serving and not being served. All of my desires are to be focused on blessing others in the best possible way. Give me a servant’s heart today. I want to get lost in making other people’s lives better. Amen.

Personal ambition is the enemy of greatness

Tuesday August 17th

“Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!” Matthew 20:17-19

Dear Jesus, You knew so much more about how your earthly life would unravel than I know about mine. But you faced it all with a faithful and loving heart. I don’t have to know how my life turns out because I knowhow yours turned out. You followed the plan, even though it meant a terrible death. When you took the twelve aside to prepare them, it blew right over their heads, but it doesn’t blow over. You win me over by the willing way you faced the worst torture in order to free me from my terrible mistakes. I’m glad you knew about your resurrection too. It gave you a light at the end of the tunnel. (Hebrews 12) Your light is my light too. I have hope in my own resurrection to eternal life. Help me live in hope today no matter what challenges you unfold for me. Amen.

He endured the worst for the worst so I might live the best

Monday August 16th

For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. “He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ “Because no one has hired us,” they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’ “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’ “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for adenarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ “So the last will be first and the first will be last.” Matthew 20:1-16

Dear Jesus, Peter wanted to know that you would take care of him since he had left all things to follow you .You told him that you would bless him with friends, family and possessions in this life mixed with trouble and persecution (Mark 10) too. You knew that below his question stuck the thought, “I want God to be fair with me compared to others.” So, you told him there would be some who were last but they would enter heaven first. You told him there were some who were first that would be moved the end of the line too. You would not be trapped by our childish desire to compare our lot in life with others. You love us all the same while you give everyone a unique path in life. Some live longer and sin harder before they are saved. Others trudge along as Christian foot soldiers for decades before being relieved by heaven. You reverse the right to hide your plan for each with letting them be compared. All of us receive the same grace, the same love, and the same inheritance in heaven. Use this beautiful parable about your equal grace to unequal people to jar me out of my natural inclination to compare my life to others. Help me freely love forgive and hold grace out to everyone without discrimination regarding their sins or spiritual stature. Amen.

Two undeniable truths collide when you meet God: 1) He loves everyone the same. 2) He treats everyone differently in regard to their earthly life.

Saturday August 14th

“Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, ‘Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?’ ‘Why do you ask me about what is good?’ Jesus replied. ‘There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life keep the commandments.’ ‘Which ones?’ he inquired. Jesus replied, ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ ‘All these I have kept,’ the young man said .‘What do I still lack?’ Jesus answered, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he has great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’ When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, ‘Who then can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’“ Matthew 19:16-26

Dear Jesus, That young man thought he needed one more little tweak in his already healthy, wealthy life and then he would be set for eternity. He didn’t realize he needed a complete makeover. He was sincere but he was sincerely wrong about spirituality and eternal life. He thought it was earnable. His perspective started with himself and moved upward and outward, instead of starting with you and moving downward toward him. Everything he thought he was earning was already a gift that came at a huge price for you. He thought you were a good teacher, but you were his sacrificial Redeemer. He thought you were only human but you were his God, his Creator. Our life is a gift of grace and our salvation is too. Until we realize that we are really not amassing anything of value before you, we will always live in counterfeit wealth. Our possessions and our good works look like Monopoly money to you. It’s all temporary and worthless in the heavenly kingdom. Help me to live in the freedom of faith filled detachment from my wealth, health and personal accomplishments. Make me a giver like you. My life and salvation are a gift from your divine hand. Help me give it back to you by sharing it with people you place near me who need it. Amen.

I fit feels like something is missing in your life, you may be much more off track than you think.

Friday August 13th

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet .You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven-as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.’ “Luke 7:44-47

Lord Jesus, You and I know more than anyone else the multitude of sins of which you have forgiven me. It wasn’t just with a flick of your wrist either. It was through your innocent, gruesome death. You carried all the blame for all of them. I will live every day grateful to you for covering my life with your grace. I feel like I should kneel down next to that woman and anoint your feet. Help me always appreciate how freely you have erased my shame so I can restart my walk with you each day. Give me the power to honor you in how I gently treat everyone around me. Amen.

We can tell how much your appreciate grace by how you talk about Jesus

Thursday August 12th

“Peter answered him, ‘We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.’” Matthew 19:27-30

Dear Jesus, I’m just like Peter, the changes that have happened in my life because I chose to follow you are huge. Serving you took me in a whole other direction. I am well aware of the way it made me “lose” in certain situations and I wonder, “Does God see and then bless me since I am special to him and have given up people and things for him?” You watch me thinking these things and I know you smile. Certainly you bless me in this life and the next. If I will just take the time to count those blessings I will be encouraged. I have new friends, new support and new open doors. I hear what you are saying in this passage too. Your blessings for me won’t just be in this life. They will come in greater numbers when I step into heaven by grace. Calm my fearful heart and give me the eyes of faith to see the blessings you are giving me. Make me a willing servant in your army as we trudge through this wilderness holding out your wonderful light for all to see. Amen.

God takes care of his troops. Don’t waste any time or energy worrying if you will have a blessed life when you follow him