Prayer Tip: Perseverance and Faith
Daily Scripture
Genesis 23:1-3a, 23:19 (CEB), Colossians 3:12-17 (NIV) and Ephesians 5:25 (CEB)
Sarah lived to be 127 years old; this was how long she lived. She died in Kiriath-arba, that is, in Hebron, in the land of Canaan; and Abraham cried out in grief and wept for Sarah. After he got up from embracing his deceased wife… Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, that is, Hebron, in the land of Canaan.
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
As for husbands, love your wives just like Christ loved the church and gave himself for her.
Prayer Tip
by Ashly Cooley, Executive Assistant to Locations & Care at Resurrection
I am messy. I don’t like to pick up after myself. I leave all of my makeup and hair products all over my side of the bathroom. I shop too much and have trouble sticking to a budget. I am sensitive and get my feelings hurt easily, then I pout. I am stubborn and not easy to live with. My husband has his things, too, but honestly, in my opinion (and I think most people who know us will agree), I am the more difficult of the two of us to get along with.
My husband is easy going and amiable. He is up for almost any adventure I throw his way. I almost always get to pick the restaurant. If I ask him to grill up chicken for a meal or help with anything around the house, he does it with a willing heart. Still, there are things about him that irritate me. It’s impossible not to become irritated with someone you spend so much time with. I have tripped over shoes, I have thought I was done doing laundry (that’s my chore) only to find he has refilled the basket with secret dirty clothes I didn’t know about.
When his quirks bother me, I try to take a deep breath and remember all of the things I do that irritate him. This is a grace that we give each other, and it has blessed us with nine years of happy marriage. This grace that I get to practice with the person I love most in the world helps me extend the same grace to co-workers and people in the grocery store.
Relationships give us opportunity after opportunity to live in unity with others and practice forgiveness and patience. The more these muscles get used, the stronger they become. They spread good fruit into other people around us.
This week spend some time praying over areas where you can show more grace in your relationships. Who is someone who really tests your patience? Why do you think that is? What can you do to work on extending more patience towards this person?
