By God's Grace

In today's verse, Paul was referring to the fact that he was the lowest of the apostles and shouldn't have even been one because of his persecution of the church, but by the grace of God he was a great one! Many of us weaken our ministry with worry about being good enough for the task at hand. Concern about if we are being effective, saying the right thing, or praying the right words can hinder the work God has for us. When we stop and realize that by God's grace He has chosen us to do His work, not for our great talent or assuredness, but for our willingness to put Him first not matter what others think, then we will be effective in God's eyes. By the grace of God we are what we are, so today let God work through you as never before. Let go of the thoughts that you aren't good enough and let His grace flow through you.

1 Corinthians 15:10 NIV

10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

All That We Need!

As many of us are preparing the Thanksgiving dinner or traveling somewhere to prepare it, we are worried we have forgotten something or don't have enough of something. As in years past, we may forget the cool whip or the onion, or the cat may nibble on the defrosting turkey, but we always have what we need! Family and friends gathered together, sharing and caring. When we focus on what God desires us to do then we will always have what we need. Seek first His righteousness! When we share a meal, listen to another's concerns, and are obedient to God's prompting, then we will have every last thing that we need! Look today to see what God is providing you!

Matthew 6:31-33 NIV

31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Where Does Our Help Come From?

Today society wants a quick fix for everything.  A pill, a program, a book, and the list goes on. The world has tons of ways to "help" us. But our true help come from the Lord, only He can truly help us fix or get through our problems. Our church experienced this yesterday. A young mother and toddler came into the church during service who had lost her husband and child. She had seen our steeple and just felt like she had to come. Only God's love shown through His people could begin to sooth her pain. As we prayed over her and cried with her, she felt the love of God and His gentle hand slowly starting to release her foot from the snare.  Look to God always, look for the steeple, and help will be on the way!

Psalm 25:15 NIV

15 My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare.

Christ the King

Today is Christ the King Sunday and as I was preparing the Children's sermon for today, I thought about what that meant. In the verses today, we see what kind of King Christ was. He was obedient to His Father and willing to sacrifice Himself so that we might live in eternity. He didn't demand the recognition He deserved, He paid the price for what we deserved. We have all wished to be a king for a day, but have we wished to be the King that Christ is? As you go through your day today, remember Christ the King and all He gave for us!

Romans 8:31-32 NIV

31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

Unity

Now is the time to come together in unity. To live in unity means all of us putting each other first, we let go of our need for our way, our security, our rights, and be willing to sacrifice for our neighbor. Are we truly working towards unity with one another or only to the extent that it doesn't cause us to give up something? What makes my rights more important than another's? Today, be willing to make the first move towards unity!

Psalm 133:1 NIV

1 How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!

Pray

Prayer is powerful! Our prayers may not be answered as we want them to be, but rest assured they are heard. There are many crazy things happening in our lives and in the world right now, today take a few minutes each hour to pray for whoever God puts in your thoughts. If you have a need, share it here so we can all pray about it. Prayer is something that all of us can do and there is not a wrong or right way, we just have to do it!

Acts 4:24a NIV

24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God.

Here I Am

We have all said "I can't do that" for one reason or another, we are too busy, too tired, don't know how, we just can't. But as Philippians 4:13 reminds us, "we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us." Abraham was so obedient and trusting in the Lord that he was willing to sacrifice his son, even though he had been promised that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. Abraham didn't say "I can't", he said "Here I am". What have you told God you couldn't possibly do? Was it make dinner for someone, provide a bed to a stranger, teach children about God, get up early to spend time with Him, or to stop gossiping. When we are obedient and say "Yes Lord" instead of "I can't Lord", then He provides what we need to do the task, just as He provided Abraham a ram. As God asks you to do something today, make sure your response is "Here I am!"

Genesis 22:15-17a NIV

15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore.