Lord our God, we thank you that throughout our lives you continually renew your Spirit in us. We thank you that your Spirit enables us to understand Jesus Christ and to follow him all our days on earth. Bless us, and let the revelation of your Spirit come to the world, to the people of all nations, a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit in each heart. But there must still be punishment for sin. For the sake of justice the world has to suffer punishment through judgment. For you, Almighty God, are Lord, and not even Satan, the prince of this world, can act against your will. You will carry out your will through the Holy Spirit. Our task is simply to follow Jesus all our days. This shall be our joy, this priceless gift of following the Lord Jesus. Praise to your name that we have him and his witness in the gospel every day. Praise to your name that every day, even through great distress, we can joyfully follow him in the strength of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
