Don’t Worry. Be Happy!
Tuesday’s Verses:
From 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
“Pastor, you’re going through chemo. You feel like crap. How can you be happy?”
That paraphrased question has been spoken to me many times over the past year and a half, including yesterday at the cancer center. Honestly, cancer sucks. It makes you feel terrible. There is nothing anyone can do about it. In my case, I’m always worried about dying, especially after treatment, as I’m sitting alone resting in my twelve-year-old Ikea Poang chair. So how can I be “happy?”
It’s simple. Through all the stuff I go through, I know that my God loves me. He sent me His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay for my many sins. He promised me that by believing in Him, forgiveness of my trespasses and eternal life are mine. No matter what happens to me in this life, nothing can take that away from me.
No one can take God’s grace and love from you, too!! We live in this fallen world and experience the brokenness all around us. Yet through it all, we know that we’re loved by the Almighty, forgiven of our sins, and one time in the future, we’ll experience heaven and the resurrection into eternal life. Jesus loved us beyond what we deserve by giving His life on the cross for ours. This knowledge alone brings a smile to my face - and I am sure it will get one to you!
So on this Tuesday, let us pray, praise, and give thanks to our Lord above who sent His Son to be our Redeemer! For only through Jesus can we say, “I rejoice in my God!”
Prayers
A Prayer for Today:
Almighty God, I thank You for giving me Your Son, my Lord Jesus Christ, who paid for my sins. Please grant me the strength of body and soul this Tuesday, and the gift of showing joy and happiness to those I meet. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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