A daily prayer for April 3, 2020.

This coming Sunday is Palm Sunday, on which we mark the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, where he would be crucified. It is a strange and bittersweet Sunday because it acknowledges the worship and praise of Jesus Christ, even as it anticipates his death at the hands of Rome and religious leadership.

I learned a few years ago that one of the most effective ways to get through a hard time in life, at least in my experience, is the practice of gratitude. This attitude was instilled in me at an early age, growing up on the mission field in Brazil, South America with my parents.

A daily prayer for April 2, 2020.

As followers of Jesus, what do we value most, the lives of people or the strength of the economy? Do we value only what a person can produce, or do we value the life of that person? The question is central to our faith – are we important to God for what we do, or for who we are as persons created in the image of God?

There is a Christian tendency to speed right through the crucifixion to the resurrection of Christ. I confess my own proclivity to do such a thing: to cut grief and tears short with a reminder that death is not final. In this way, we avoid the uncomfortable feelings of sadness, of loss, and of powerlessness. This is not always healthy.