It Is Finished (Week 1): SATURDAY

With all the noise in the world, do you hear the voice of God?  Your calendar tells you what to do, but do you remember who you are?  Being comes before doing.  This is a call to put first things first.  Return to the Lord with this daily pattern of prayer and devotion.  Set aside this time as a sanctuary.  Find a space free of distraction and follow this pattern. 

Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  
 
Invitation Prayer
Lord Jesus, we are your disciples and we follow you.  That means we trace your footsteps even to the cross.  You are Friend of sinners.  You are Savior of the lost.  Reform our hearts in the shape of your will.  Release us from guilt and shame.  Restore us to new life in your image.  Lord, have mercy on us.  Amen.  
 
Confession
O God, in the beginning you made us good, even “very good.”  I admit the many things in my life that are far from your good intent.  I try to change, and then find myself in the same place once again. Lord, you know me.  Have mercy.  Make me right.  Forgive my wickedness.  Bring me back to good, as you intended from the beginning.  Amen. 
 
Word: Matthew 6:12
“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” 
 
Meditation
God’s forgiveness is infectious.  In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus tied together God’s forgiveness and ours.  He invites us not only to ask for forgiveness, but to extend it.  We respond to God by doing what he has done for us.  Like a child looking up to a parent, we mimic God’s action.  We do what he does.  We reflect his heart.  

You might ask, “But how can I forgive that person?  After what they did to me?”  

The only way we can forgive someone else, the ONLY WAY, is by the power of our Lord.  We look to what Jesus has done for us so that we may know what to do for others.  We’ve known the sweetness of forgiveness.  Jesus has gifted it to us from the cross, “Father, forgive them . . .”  How can we not also speak these words to others?  The gift is too great to be held back.  

Who must you forgive today?  Who can you bless by speaking these words, “As God has forgiven me, so I forgive you”? 

​Jesus, you taught me to forgive as I have been forgiven.  Give me strength to forgive those who have hurt me.  Amen. 

Sending
You are loved by God.  Your end is not dust.  He has given you life!  Go from this place to a life of service and witness.  Go in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. 

​​*Today's devotion is taken from It Is Finished by Jeff Cloeter, published by CTA – Christ to All at ctainc.com