Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! (first of all, to myself) 1 Cor. 9:16
Lord Jesus, all day long, we’re being “preached at” by multiple hucksters of hype, false hope, and hysteria. And we also “preach” something to ourselves—me-first, me-worse, paralyzing fears, tribal-glory … and the list goes on.
Free us from everything non-Gospel and anti-Gospel, Jesus. We want our joys to be defined by the incalculable riches of the one true and trustworthy Gospel—the Gospel of God’s grace—the Gospel of everything you are, and everything you’ve done.
May our thinking be shaped by the liberating truths of the Gospel; our dreams be fueled with the wondrous future of the Gospel. and our hopes be bound up with the guaranteed inheritance of the Gospel.
May our peace be strengthened by the resurrection power of the Gospel; our choices be regulated by the kingdom priorities of the Gospel; and our satisfaction be intensified by daily manna of the Gospel.
Make us the kind of people for whom all of life is measured in terms of THE Gospel—hearing and believing it; marinating in it and making it known.
Forgive us, Jesus, when we waste our woes on self-pity, selfishness, and all forms of “self-ism.” So very Amen we pray, in your most awesome and loving name.