Christian Living on Surrender

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Hebrews 4:16, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Lamentations 3:22-23, Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 147:3, James 4:10

Healing begins when, in the face of our own darkness, we recognize our helplessness and surrender our need for control… we face what is, and we ask for mercy.

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When your Good Christian World Falls Apart

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Tammy Maltby

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1 Kings 19:1–18, Job 3:42 , Lamentations 3:17–26, Luke 15:11–32 , 2 Corinthians 12:7–10, Psalm 34:18

In her memoir, Confessions of a Good Christian Girl, Tammy describes the internal turmoil she experienced trying to be a good, rule-following Christian who had unexpectedly built an entire life arou...

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Author

Annie Johns Flint

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Scripture

Exodus 16:1-36, 2 Corinthians 11:23-30, Matthew 14:13-21, 1 Kings 17:7-16, Lamentations 3:22-23, Philippians 4:19, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

When we have exhausted our store of endurance, When our strength has failed ere that day is half done, When we reach the end of our hoarded resources, Our Father’s full giving has only begun. His lo...

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Loving God, you show us grace and

Author

Chip Hardwick

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Scripture

Micah 6:8, Hebrews 12:28, Ephesians 2:4-5, Colossians 3:13, Lamentations 3:22-23, Luke 15:11-32, Jonah 3:1-10

Loving God, you show us grace and mercy, again and again and again. You shower gifts on us that we could never earn, and you are slow to punish us when we most deserve it. All too often, we forget to ...

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Father, as adults, we can fool

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

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Lamentations 3:22-23, Psalm 136:1, Matthew 19:13-15, 1 John 4:9-10, Mark 10:21, Proverbs 3:5-6, John 15:5, Psalm 121:1-2

Father, as adults, we can fool ourselves into being quite self-sufficient. Yet, You have called us to be precariously dependent upon You. When we see how Jesus welcomes the little children, we can als...

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“No Fishing Allowed”

Author

Jerry Bridges

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Scripture

Romans 7:15-20, 1 John 1:9, Hebrews 10:26, Romans 8:1, 1 John 1:9, Lamentations 3:22-23

He hurls our sins overboard. What a picture of the way God treats our sins. Corrie ten Boom, a dear saint of the last century, used to say, “And then God put up a sign saying, `No fishing allowed.”‘ W...

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How Good to Center Down!

Author

Howard Thurman

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Psalm 46:10, Psalm 62:1, Isaiah 30:15, Psalm 25:4-5, Lamentations 3:40, Matthew 6:19-21

How good it is to center down! To sit quietly and see one’s self pass by! The streets of our minds seethe with endless traffic; Our spirits resound with clashing, with noisy silences, While some...

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Author

Charles Wesley

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Mercy

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Psalm 86:5, Isaiah 55:7, Lamentations 3:22-23, Ephesians 2:4-5, 1 Timothy 1:15-16, Micah 7:18

Depth of mercy! Can there be Mercy still reserved for me?

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Loving and gracious God, we know we do

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

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Scripture

Lamentations 3:22-23, Jeremiah 31:3, Micah 7:18-19, Romans 8:38-39, 2 Chronicles 7:14, Isaiah 1:18

Loving and gracious God, we know we do not always live the life to which we are called: We turn away from You, and from our true selves. You command us to shine Your light, but we often hide it instea...

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Author

Rainer Maria Rilke

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Scripture

Psalm 23:4, Philippians 3:13-14, Lamentations 3:22-23, Isaiah 43:2, 2 Corinthians 4:16-17, Psalm 30:5, Romans 5:3-5

Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.

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Most holy God, we continuously lose

Author

C. Hassell Bullock

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Scripture

Ephesians 2:8-9, Lamentations 3:22-23, John 1:14, Isaiah 53:5, Psalm 46:10

Most holy God, we continuously lose sight of your sovereign rule over our world and in our lives, and our failing vision obscures every aspect of our lives. So we come to you for grace. Forgive us for...

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Almighty God, we have failed to trust

Author

Laura B. Murray

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Scripture

Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalm 46:1, Isaiah 41:10, Lamentations 3:22-23, Philippians 4:6-7, Romans 8:28

Almighty God, we have failed to trust you. Overwhelmed by the pains of life, we have taken charge and pushed you aside. O God, be gracious to us. Remind us of your daily mercies and redemptive power t...

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Lord, we confess that we do not love

Author

Jacob Traeger

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Scripture

Isaiah 57:15, Psalm 42:1-2, 2 Corinthians 8:9, Matthew 18:3-4, Lamentations 3:22-23, Matthew 5:3-12, Luke 19:1-10

Lord, we confess that we do not love you with our whole hearts And we do not love our neighbour as ourselves. We seek the blessing of others Rather than the blessing of your grace We seek comfort in w...

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Gracious God, you forgive us whenever

Author

Chip Hardwick

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Scripture

1 John 1:9, Romans 7:15-20, Galatians 5:16-17, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 2:8-9, James 1:22-25, Lamentations 3:22-23

Gracious God, you forgive us whenever we ask, and so we ask you now to forgive all of our sins. We need your grace again, for we often return to the same sins, over and over again. Your Spirit longs t...

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The Silence of God

Author

Shusaku Endo

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Scripture

Psalm 22:1, Psalm 42:3, Habakkuk 1:2, Isaiah 45:15, Job 30:20, Lamentations 3:28-30

In the deeply moving novel Silence by Shusaku Endo, the protagonist, a young Jesuit priest named Sebastião Rodrigues describes in horror what it is like to watch two of his disciples, Japanese nationa...

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Author

Stanley Kunitz

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 5:3-4, Lamentations 3:31-32, Psalm 73:26, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Philippians 4:6-7, Matthew 11:28-30, Isaiah 61:3

How shall my heart be reconciled to its feast of losses?

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Joyful, joyful we adore Thee, God of glory

Author

Richard Herman

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Scripture

Psalm 145:1-3, Psalm 51:10-12, Isaiah 1:18, Lamentations 3:22-23, 1 John 1:9, Romans 5:8

Prayer of Adoration Joyful, joyful we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love – Holy and wonderful are You: Your grace is without measure, and Your purpose sure and true; Your power is unequaled and Y...

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Praising Slowness

Author

John Mark Comer

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Scripture

Psalm 37:7, Proverbs 19:2, Lamentations 3:25-26, 2 Peter 3:9, James 5:7-8, Ecclesiastes 3:1

In our culture slow is a pejorative. When somebody has a low IQ, we dub him or her slow. When the service at a restaurant is lousy, we call it slow. When a movie is boring, again, we complain that it’...

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Let us love the Lord God with all our

Author

Francis and Clare of Assisi

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Scripture

Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14, Psalm 34:1, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Lamentations 3:11-23, Romans 3:23-24

Let us love the Lord God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength. Let us love Him with all our understanding, powers, and fortitude. Let us offer to Him our every effort, ...

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Standing Together: Pardon

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

John 17:21-23, Exodus 14:13-22, Lamentations 3:22-23, Romans 15:13, 1 Corinthians 13:13, 2 Timothy 1:7, Ephesians 4:15-16

Nothing can stand against You Nothing No sin, no death No prejudice, no division Nothing can stand against our God You’re making us whole and holy in your mercy and grace Standing together in truth an...

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Author

J. R. R. Tolkein

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Scripture

Jeremiah 29:11, Lamentations 3:21-23, 1 Peter 1:3-4, Psalm 27:13-14, Isaiah 40:31

It is not despair, for despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not. (Spoken by Galadriel)

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Gracious God, you have given us great

Author

Laura B. Murray

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Scripture

Matthew 5:7, Luke 5:36, Ephesians 4:32, James 2:13, Colossians 3:12-13, Micah 6:8, Lamentations 3:22-23

Gracious God, you have given us great mercy through Jesus, yet we have withheld mercy from others. Our hearts have been hardened by the world and our sin. Would you soften our hearts? And give us a de...

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Author

Thomas Merton

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Scripture

1 John 1:9, Psalm 51:17, Romans 3:23-24, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Lamentations 3:22-23, James 4:6

But the man who is not afraid to admit everything that he sees to be wrong with himself, and yet recognizes that he may be the object of God's love precisely because of his shortcomings, can begin...

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The Power of Silence in a Prayerful Life

Author

John Climacus

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Scripture

Habakkuk 2:20, Lamentations 3:26, Psalm 46:10, Zephaniah 1:7, 1 Thessalonians 4:11

The Desert Saint John Climacus placed a strong emphasis on the role of silence in the life of prayer. In his guidebook to the spiritual life, he had this to say: Intelligent silence is the mother of...

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Heavenly Father, give us hearts that

Author

Allen Thompson

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Scripture

Psalm 27:13-14, Isaiah 40:31, Philippians 4:6-7, Romans 8:28, James 1:2-4, 1 Peter 5:7, Lamentations 3:25-26, Psalm 37:7, Colossians 3:15, James 5:7-8

Heavenly Father, give us hearts that wait with faith. Build in us the assurance that you are at work and in control. Forgive us for our impatience, our uneasiness, and our wandering desires when we do...

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Wound With Mercy Round and Round

Author

James Bryan Smith

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Scripture

Romans 8:38, Psalm 139:7-10, Luke 15:11-32, Isaiah 54:10, Psalm 103:17-18, Lamentations 3:22-23, Jeremiah 31:3

Nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate us from God’s love. St. Paul reminded the Romans of this when he wrote, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things p...

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While God’s love never fails, our love does fail.

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

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Scripture

1 Corinthians 13:, Lamentations 3:22-23, Psalm 103:8-12, Romans 5:8, Romans 8:1

Leader: While God’s love never fails, our love does fail. All too often, our experience of love is confused, distorted, and disappointing. That is due to the sin in the world and the sin in our own ...

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Waiting: Leaning into the Pain

Author

Ashley Hales

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 16:2–4, Isaiah 40:31, Lamentations 3:25–26, Matthew 4:2–4, Romans 8:24–25, Psalm 130:5–6

With the global coronavirus pandemic in spring 2020, life stopped. Overwhelmed by the threat of a disease we couldn’t stop and for which we didn’t have the hospital capacity, everyone moved work and s...

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Your mercies are new every morning, oh

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Lamentations 3:22-23, Psalm 51:10-12, 1 John 1:9, Romans 12:2, Isaiah 40:31

Your mercies are new every morning, oh Lord. You renew us on a regular basis. Every day we fall short. You have made us righteous through the power of Jesus, but take Jesus’ sacrifice for granted. Ple...

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Hope Can Be Hard to Come By

Author

John Piper

Keywords

Hope

Scripture

Psalm 18:6, 2 Corinthians 1:8-9, Romans 8:28, Psalm 34:17-18, Isaiah 41:10, Lamentations 3:21-23, Philippians 4:13

But hope is hard to come by. I should know. I remember the time when I was once busy dying. It wasn’t long after I had broken my neck in a diving accident that I spent one particularly hopeless week i...

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