Oh give thanks unto the Lord for he is good, yes he is good. He woke us for another day and another chance. How will you use yours?

Today’s Prayer 

Father, So many times throughout the day, little things tend to annoy us. We may be in the middle of a work project or getting ready to leave the office, and the phone rings. We may be doing household chores, and someone rings the doorbell. We may be in a hurry to an appointment, and realize the car needs gas or has a flat tire! We may go out the door, heading to church, and the dog gets loose and will not come to us. Seems there’s always something. We pray that we will learn to step back, take a breath, and not get upset over these little annoyances. In fact, We ask You to please help us not see these things as annoyances, but just as part of life and just go with the flow. Help us relax and not stress over these things. Help us stop and do what needs to be done with a smile on our faces and a song in our hearts. Help us find a blessing in disguise. We want to be overflowing with joy. Restore unto us the joy of our salvation and the joy in living. Thank You, for we know with You, all things are possible. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Let’s eat.

Independence That Leads to Sin

So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. – Luke 15:20

I have shared this a number of times over the last 20 or so years. I’m going to take a shot at telling a familiar story from the bible and putting a modern day slant on it but not changing any of the facts. There were two young men who had worked for many years in their family business. One day one of the sons decided he wanted to venture out on his own. He had been under the employment of his father’s business long enough. He felt he had learned all he needed to know. He wanted his independence. He wanted to take his stock options early, which would allow enough capital to begin on his own. The other son remained behind, working day in and day out, faithfully doing his job.

The first son went out on his own only to find it was more difficult than he had ever imagined. The immediate cash gained from the advance from his father’s business was a temptation that was too great for him. He spent all of the money, fell into sin, and failed to invest any of his money in another business. He failed miserably. Finally, he came crawling back to his father, seeking to be taken back as a mere laborer. His father took him back with open arms, fully restoring him to his original place. He experienced grace and love in a way he had never known before.

When we desire independence so much that we launch out without God’s full blessing, we can expect to fall on our face. When pride enters our lives, it discourages us from dependence on anyone but ourselves; yet God says that we are to depend on Him alone. If we think we can go and do everything alone, we will fail. On the other hand, in spite of the prodigal son’s failure, he learned a great lesson of grace that he had not known before. This resulted in humility of the heart, which had a lasting impression for the rest of his life. Therefore, God even turns our failures into successes spiritually when we are willing to admit our failure. Pride always goes before a fall. Check your heart today and ask God if there is any pride that is encouraging independence from your total trust in Him.

Quote of the Day

The Word of God I think of as a straight edge, which shows up our own crookedness. We can’t really tell how crooked our thinking is until we line it up with the straight edge of Scripture. ~Elisabeth Elliot~

WITH HOPE AND FAITH

REV. ELDER G E STERRETT

FOUNDER

GCKRS HELPING HAND FOUNDATION – THE RELATIONSHIP FACTORY