Gift: Listen: Prayers and Poetry

                       Gift

                        Costly gift

                        given freely

                        a life redeemed

                        every step

                        called—justified—glorified

                        all beyond comprehension

                        each unique a personal

                        generous gift

                        to accept or decline

                        to live or to hide.

Reflection: Grace: Listen: Prayers and Poetry

Reflection Questions

1.     Predestined—called—justified—glorified are all works the Lord does for us and in us. Which parts do you think we hold responsibility for as well?

2.     God has given us freewill. How does this verse confirm our spiritual journey?

3.     How would you describe/explain God’s call upon your life to a non-believer or to a fledgling Christian?

Share: Do you think we are only glorified upon death or is it possible to experience it in the present?

Grace: Listen: Prayers and Poetry

Reading: Romans 8:30

“And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.”

Have you ever had a situation in your life where you have so consistently failed that you’ve given up? Heartbroken.

God never gives up on us.

Whether we are listening, or not. Failing, or not. Moving forward, or not.

He stays the course with us and for us at every turn, every stage.

How often do we hinder or frustrate His redeeming journey for us because of our hesitancy to step out in faith and walk into the unknown in trust. In obedience to His plans and His timing?

Gift of His grace ready to sustain us in all circumstances, in all situations, in sickness and in health; His pledge that does not end at death but instead opens to a new beginning. Literally. Daily, now, and into eternity, forever.

With mercy and compassion He protects. He saves.

Lord, please continue to guide us, carry us, in Your Spirit’s power and enable us to take whatever next steps lie ahead.

Psalm of Worship: Proverbs 8:29

“When he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth.”

Conform: Listen: Prayers and Poetry

                       Conform

                        Conform not a thought

we often choose to follow

requires a loss of individual

choice—we think.

Jesus invites us to

a life of grace and

forgiveness—eternal family

beyond measure.

He conformed to God’s

plan. At deathly cost

to share His relationship

with each of us

a one to one offering.

Choice ours to whom

we conform or not.

whose light to follow

whose image to desire.

Comply with a crowd

set on pursuits that

acquiesce to darkness

still in a prison even

when we seem in control.

Or conform to redemption’s

predestined gift

ongoing

image of mercy.

Reflection: Image: Listen: Prayers and Poetry

Reflection Questions

1.     What feelings does the word predestined create in you?

2.     Do you see it as God’s choice or man’s choice to accept His call of redemption?

3.     In this passage family is the center point. Not relatives. What is the difference?

Share: How can conformation to His image become a part of daily living?

Image: Listen: Prayers and Poetry

Reading: Romans 8:29

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family.”

In the beginning. Creation. Life—light—legacy.

Seeded—shaped—shared for eternity. Ongoing growth. Conformed to the foundation laid for it. A unique world—still a mystery.

Broken by sabotage—lies—sin. Decay—disease—despair took root. Still nature remains true to its order, again and again renewing its life. Season by season. Prepared. Waiting for full recovery. Trusting its Creator.

“This is the one who came by water and by blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is there who testifies, for the Spirit is the truth.” 1 John 5:6

Jesus stepped into human darkness—soul despair—hopelessness. Of His own accord. Predestined—prepared to battle for each life from the very beginning. Offers His personal light, conformed to truth. For us to be made new in His image. Not just a surface bath removing the mud stains of our lives but His life’s blood poured out into our new birth.

Invitation to live in His family—His inheritance—His eternal creation.

Lord, please keep us following the light of Your image that in You we may become whole.

Psalm of Worship: Proverbs 8:28

“When he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep,”

Transform: Listen: Prayers and Poetry

                       Transform

                        Even before pen to paper

                        can you see the sketch

                        take shape before your eyes

                        broken bottles, rusted car parts

                        cement, debris, weeds

                        transform into fresh

                        tilled ground—green grass.

                        Fledgling trees like puppet sticks

                        flower beds a rainbow

                        color splashing across despair

                        another season of creation

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                        breathes into a void.