“Lord, we are often tempted.”
- “Lord, we are often tempted.”
Lord, we are often tempted - tempted to forget all about You.
The pull towards self-centred living is so strong.
We think that we can go it alone.
We think that we don’t need You.
We think that can manage all right without You.
Where does this kind of thinking come from?
Does it come from You? - To ask the question is to give the answer.
You would never make us think like that!
This kind of thinking must come from somewhere else - from someone else.
It can only come from Satan - the devil.
He’s the one who wants us to forget all about You.
Lord, You are “our Father” (Matthew 6:9).
Satan is very different. He’s “the father of lies” (John 8:44).
Lord, help us to stop listening to Satan - and to start listening to You.
- “Lord, we have wandered far from You.” Lord, we have wandered far from You.
There seems to be no way back.
We feel like we’re ready to give up in despair.
Is this all that there is - wandering around in the wilderness of life, always travelling but never arriving at our destination?
We’re groping around in the darkness - then something happens, something wonderful.
Lord, You come to us.
You come to us in our darkness.
You come to us with Your light.
It’s the light of Christ. It’s the light of love. It’s the light of salvation“
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).
- “Lord, we have failed You ...” Lord, we have failed You over and over again.
It never seems to stop - failure, failure, failure ..!
This is the story of our life - from beginning to end.
Can we escape from this - failure, failure, failure ...?
This is nothing new - It goes back to the Garden of Eden.
It started off so well - but it turned out so badly.
Is there a way out of this - failure, failure, failure ...?
Lord, we thank You that there is!
Jesus has succeeded - where everyone else failed.
“There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin,
He only could unlock the gate of heaven and let us in.”
- "Lord, we feel like ..."
Lord, we feel like we're making a right mess of things.
Everything's going wrong.
This is the story of today's world.
It's not just everybody else's story. It's our story.
None of us can escape the truth - we're sinners.
Thank You, Lord - That's only part of the truth concerning us.
We are loved by You.
We hear this, Lord - but still we wonder, "Can You do anything with us?" Has this world reached the end of the road?
Is our situation hopeless?
Is there any hope for any of us?
We feel ourselves being dragged into a black hole - then we hear Your Word speaking to us: ‘the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Romans 6:23).
Gift? - It's not earned by us. It's given to us.
Hope? Where does it come from? - From Jesus Christ our Lord!
- "Lord, when we come to You ..."
Lord, when we come to You, we come with our sin. We can’t do anything else.
We can’t escape from our sin. It follows us everywhere we go.
Sin is a part of what we are. It’s the heart of what we are.
Lord, when we come to You, You speak to us wonderful words of love, wonderful words of forgiveness, wonderful words of cleansing.
You say to us, “the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses you from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
We worship You. We bring our praise to You.
We sing to You, “Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven, who like me His praise should sing?”
Lord, lead us to the Cross. Lead us to Jesus - and may He lead us out of the emptiness of our life without Him and into His fullness: “a life made up of praise in every part.”
- "Lord, our life is a journey."
Lord, our life is a journey.
We can be travelling with You – or we can be running away from You.
Day-by day, we are further down the road – closer to You or further away from You.
Day-by-day, we must choose: Will we travel with You, Lord? or Will we go our own way?
Often, we make bad choices. We take a wrong turning.
Things go from bad to worse.
We lose sight of You. We get lost.
We wonder, “Is there a way back home? Is there a way back to the Lord?”
We thank You, Lord, that are waiting for us.
In love, You are waiting for us to turn around – to make our way back to You.
You are waiting for us to stop wandering – and start returning.
Lead us, Lord. Lead us to Yourself.
Lead us out of the wilderness of our sin.
Lead us into the promised land of Your salvation.
- “Lord, You are always with us…”
Lord, You are always with us - but we are not always with You.
There is never a time when You are not there at our side – but there are many times when we don’t realize that You are right there, beside us at every stage in our journey through life.
Life isn’t easy! Bad things happen to us – and we take our eyes off You.
Before we know it, we’re going round in circles – getting nowhere quickly.
What are we to make of all this?
Are we to say, “Why have You left me, Lord?”
Our difficult circumstances are shouting at us, “God has left you. You’re on your own. Make the most of it – without Him.”
Lord, help us, when we feel like this, to keep on listening for Your “still, small voice.” Help us to hear the “gentle whisper” of Your love (1 Kings 19:11-12).
When our emotions are pulling us this way, pulling us that way, pulling us all over the place, help us to hear and believe Your precious promise: “I will be with you always” (Matthew 28:20).