Good morning everyone and praise the Lord for another day and chance to grow in our walk with Him. It’s not an easy task but it’s very rewarding to know that as a blood washed child, you are given the opportunity when you open your eyes and breathe air into your lungs. Praise Him.
TODAY’S PRAYER
The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary…. The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back” (Isaiah 50:4-5).
Dear Lord Jesus, I come before you this day on behalf of my brothers and sisters in Christ to say that we want to be able to say the same thing Isaiah said, and mean it. We want to spend time receiving Your instructions and wisdom through Your Word, speaking with You in prayer, and hearing You through an open mind, willing heart, and listening ears. Please bring to remembrance Your Word so that we may share it with the weary and offer them hope. Please hide Your Word in our hearts that we will remember it and not be rebellious, that it will be a constant guide in our daily walk. Thank you, Lord, for all Your blessings past, present, and future. In Your name I pray, Amen.
Let’s eat.
DEATH WORKS IN YOU
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. – 2 Corinthians 1:8-9
If you are reading this message, at some point in time in your life you have gone through very difficult times. These times make us value life. They make us appreciate the simple things that we took for granted before the crisis. When we are restored from such a trial, it’s as though we have been given a new beginning. We can place a greater value on what we had before and use it for His purposes. Perhaps for the first time we can identify with others who find themselves in a similar trial.
I remember back just a few years ago, having an attitude of superiority over those who went through a difficult financial crisis. Because it had been a very long time since I had experienced any financial crisis in my life, pride kept me from really identifying with such people. Then the Lord brought such a trial into my life. I spent the better part of three years without any significant income. I learned a great deal during that period. I learned that the world and even Christians often treat you like lepers. Like me, they didn’t know how to relate. People that are not directly impacted are often distant to these types of situations. Oh they say the things that make them seem concerned but they do very little to help.
Now, I appreciate the little things that I never would have valued without that trial. The experience taught me greater dependence and faith in the provision area of my relationship with God.
When God brings death to one area of life, he resurrects it in a new way. Death works in us to bring new life and new perspectives. These are designed to press us forward in ways that we never would have moved without the experience. God knows how much this is needed in our lives to gain the prize He has reserved for each of us. It is His strategic mercy that motivates Him to bring such events into our life. Press into Him, learn from Him, and rely on Him.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
Lord, I renounce my desire for human praise, for the approval of my peers, the need for public recognition. I deliberately put these aside today, content to hear you whisper, “Well done, my faithful servant.” Amen.
Anonymous
WITH HOPE AND FAITH; follow us on the foundation community site: http://facebook.com/therelationshipfactory
REV. ELDER G E STERRETT
FOUNDER
GCKRS HELPING HAND FOUNDATION & THE RELATIONSHIP FACTORY