Mar 4 Mon- Rom 8

Mar 5 Tues- Phil 1

Mar 6 Wed - Mt 6

Mar 7 Thr– 1 Cor 3

Mar 8 Fri- John 3

Mar 9 Sat – John 15

PRAYER:A - Adoration(prayer of centering; focus on God's goodness); C - Confession(prayer of repentance and asking for God's forgiveness); T - Thanksgiving(prayer of gratefulness, content, joy, avoiding pessimism); S - Supplication(prayer for others; then pray for yourself)

S - STOPand listen... give God some time to speak to you--- end with the LORD'S PRAYER

Where to begin: What's the state of your soul today? Who is going to heaven because of you?

A. Should God really get the blame (our wrath) when we or our loved ones suffer?

1. Self-Inflicted Suffering - Consequences of our Free Will

- result of our own choices/accidents, which we don't want God to manipulate

2. Suffering inflicted on us by Others - Consequence of theirFree Will

- from their free will choices/accidents, which we don't want God to manipulate

3. Suffering related to our "poverty" - Result of true Poverty or Free Will?

- What's God's responsibility related to human wealth? Production? Distribution?

4. Suffering related to Natural Law (natural disasters, cause and effect, etc)

- Nature has both good and bad, and they are designed by God as part of Natural Law (Laws of Physics/science; which we LOVE as humans); Often, we choose to live in the path of greatest natural risk, because with risk comes reward.

5. Suffering concerning Physicals Illness and Ultimately, Death

- Immortality + Evil = terrible combination

- When you think about it, is this life truly where we want to end up anyway?

B. Our Response? It Depends, right?

World - Atheism (God doesn't exist); Agnosticism, Buddhism, and Hinduism (God doesn't care); Islam, Judaism, and Flawed Christianity (God is judging you)

Vs. Jesus - "John 3:16-17, "16 God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him won’t perish but will have eternal life.17 God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be savedthrough him."

C. To be Saved (from what exactly?) = Jesus' purpose/mission

- Rom 6:23, "The consequences of sin = death"

- Rom 8:1-12, "we suffer with Him, that we might be glorified with Him"

- Rom 8:35-38, "nothing (no suffering) can separate us from Jesus"

D. Defining Life by Your Boundaries vs. By Jesus Your Center

- the more you allow your boundaries (people and circumstances that don't meet your expectations), the more miserable you will become. Why?

- Jesus did not come to fix, align (w/our expectations) or manipulate the externals (the boundaries), rather He came to saveus(the "center" of you)

Application?The more centered you become (daily), the less you will suffer...

Mt 6:33, "Seek God's Kingdom and His righteousness 1st...

Gal 2:20, "I no longer live, but it is Christ who lives in me...

Phil 1:21, "To live is Christ, to die is gain...

1 Cor 3:11, "There is only 1 true foundation, which is Christ Jesus...