EMPOWERED BY GOD

Devotional for Sunday May 8, 2022

When we speak of a capable person, we are saying that they are suitable, that they have the necessary preparation to do something. From the human point of view, feeling qualified to carry out a task with precision makes our ego and pride grow, producing a feeling of security in ourselves. We feel that we can handle whatever comes and that we don't need anything or anyone to achieve our goals. One day Christ arrives and shows us with love that we did not know how to love, shows us with patience that we were rarely tolerant, and shows us with harsh tests that our ability was only a deception created by ourselves to survive the harshness and filth of this lost and aimless world. Pride is buried in the past; we know through humiliation that we are nothing without him and that our burdens are impossible to bear if he does not bear them for us. With Christ we are qualified for any situation, but we know that it is not because of forces with an expiration date, but because of the One who does not rest, who does not let go of us or move away from us.

Written by Yanet Torres,

Translated by Maria Elena Cardona

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Morning John15:1-7

1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

Noon Psalm 30

1 I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.

2 O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.

3 O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

4 Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

6 And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.

7 LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.

8 I cried to thee, O LORD; and unto the LORD I made supplication.

9 What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?

10 Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper.

11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;

12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

Evening Galatians 2:20

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

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Prayer Guide: [Chile-Santiago-Chile] and [Cuba-Céspedes]

This month's challenge is: Identify each character virtue of Christ and incorporate it into your own character. Spend more time with the people you love. Evaluate daily if your behavior resembles that of Jesus. Constantly ask yourself before making a decision or doing anything, what would Christ have done in my place? Study more deeply the life of Christ and ask God to help you be a better Christian.

Annual Bible reading: Nehemiah 7, 8, 9