FEB. 18 The First Sunday in Lent
GENESIS 9:8-17 PSALM 25:1-9
1 PETER 3:18-22 MARK 1:9-15
God, I am in a desert again. It is full of rocks
and loneliness, sand and frustration. I tried
to follow you. I stepped out in faith, and you
brought me into sorrow. I have no joy to give
you, no hope, no right spirit. I am left with my
disappointment and hurt. This is not the life I
wanted. This is not the way things were supposed
to go. And yet even here will you meet me?
What could you want with someone like me?
But oh God, do not give up on me! You did not
bring me here to die. In Christ, even in this
desert, I am your beloved. God, I believe this,
and I don’t. Give me courage to live in this desert
and to leave it when you call. Give me the faith
to know that you are all that I need. Only then
will I live. Only then will I proclaim, with Jesus,
the good news of your kingdom come. Amen.
Andrew Lawton
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