When God Calls

“There’s no place like home” comes to mind when I read Psalm 71. Here, God is called our “refuge”, he is our “rock” and our “fortress” – how comforting to know that in Him we have protection, peace, and safety from all who seek to do us harm! Here God is said to “recue me” and to “deliver me” and to “save me”. In Him we have “confidence” enough that He should be “relied on”.

“There’s no place like home” for many is a sentiment that rings true of peace, comfort, and fond memories. The home should be a refuge, a place where we can get away from the stresses of life, and a place where families can reconnect and enjoy one another’s company.

“There’s no place like home” probably doesn’t conjure the same feelings in each of us. Sometimes, home is stressful, home has problems, sometimes home doesn’t bring us peace or fond memories. We live in a fallen and broken world full of broken people, sinful choices, mistakes, and imperfection. Mentioning “home” for some may come off as insensitive, uncaring, or ignorant.

However, there is another home, our true home, that promises us a “peace that passes understanding” (Phil. 4:7), “comfort in our troubles” (2 Cor. 1:4), and hope for a future when “God will wipe away every tear” (Rev. 7:17). The children of God are promised a place with our Heavenly Father in John 14 when Jesus tells his disciples: “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” (John 14:2-4).

In this world, we have trouble (John 16:33), but only for a time. One day, “The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thes. 4:16). On that day, those in Christ will have a new home and can truly say, “There’s no place like home.”

To the angel of the church in Philadelphia

A lot of people take time for reflection in the New Year. It’s a good time to look back at what you wanted to get done, get started, or stop doing and see how that compares with today and tomorrow. Reflection can reveal to us how we’ve slipped back into old habits that we needed to break away from or that we’ve started a new habit we might need to reconsider. Whatever the case may be, let’s always be sure that the standard we use is not judging one another in his or her faithfulness, but is instead comparing our own lives to the standards set by the law of Christ.

For Christians, we don’t need to wait for the New Year for this kind of reflection. Each week, we gather together in the name of God to worship through the offering up of our praises in prayer and in song. We worship through giving and we worship through our time in communion.

This communion, or Lord ’s Supper, is a time that requires reflection. Paul writes to the church in Corinth to remind them of this need. He says that when they would take of the supper “without discerning the body” that they would be found in judgment “against themselves.” (1 Cor 11:29). This is what he means when he says it’s possible to take the supper in an “unworthy manner” -- it’s a manner without thought, without reflection, without discerning the body of believers or the body of Christ (1 Cor 11:27).

So when I worship in communion, Lord help me to discern Christ and His character. His capacity for love & compassion should inspire me to put the needs of others before my own. His capacity for service and devotion should inspire me to find new people to share the Gospel with and in new ways. His humility and submission to the will of the Father should humble me, and allow me to see ways I still need to be conformed into the image of God.

To the Angel of the Church in Ephesus

 

The work of the Christian never ends.

Some people might take issue in connecting work with Christianity. There are a great number of verses that speak of the work of Christ on the cross, the saving grace that Jesus shares with believers, and the loving patience of God that waits for the faithful to come home. While it’s true that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17) and “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith” (Eph. 2:8a), “We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thes 1:3). We remember that for Christians, work, labor, and endurance are vital parts of our lives.

Christians have a call to live holy and righteous lives (Mt. 6:33) but what we might not realize is that living righteously means more than just striving to live without sin, it means doing the work of God. In part, we do the work God has set for us by believing (John 6:29).  Life doesn’t stop at believing, at having faith, at trusting in the blood of Christ. Life continues. And we are to continue living out our faith not just by what we don’t do, but by what we are doing.

Timothy was a believer. He was raised in a believing home by a faithful mother and grandmother. They believed and they taught Timothy what to believe and how to trust in God. Timothy trusted God, but his faith didn’t leave him where it found him. Timothy would go on to become a trusted companion of Paul, serving side-by-side with Paul in the preaching of the Gospel and the ministry to many congregations.

Even after all this had taken place, Timothy’s work hadn’t ceased. He continued, and in Paul’s first letter to Timothy, he was charged to continue continuing! After all he had accomplished, there was still work to be done: “But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.” (1 Tim. 6:11).

The work of the Christian never ends. Timothy was told, as we are, to PURSUE – that is, to continue, to keep on, to chase after, to strive for, to reach for, to never give up, to never think that the working has reached its completion. How are you pursuing righteousness in your life? Are you pursuing godliness? How does your pursuit of faith and love show itself in how others see you?

As we think on these things, let’s remember to always keep pursuing, knowing the work of the Christian never ends.

Memorials & Remembering

 God has big plans, but not just for "me", for us!

Yes, our religious convictions and our spiritual life is a deeply personal matter. The love we have or our God is real, full, and complete: “Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’” (Matthew 22:36, NKJV) – that doesn’t leave much out! Your love for God is reflected in all you have and all that you are.

Jesus wants a personal relationship with you: Revelation 3:20 declares “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” Paul prays for us also to have this heart-to-heart relationship with Jesus: “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” (Ephesians 3:16-17).

BUT! This is only part of the story. It’s an incomplete picture we look that if we think that’s all there is. Just like we talked about last week, when we think this way, we’re “thinking small.” The challenge before us is not only to focus on the inside and ourselves, but to ask ourselves “how does Jesus living in me impact others?” There’s more to the story and that’s recognizing that God has big plans, but not just for me, for us!

The Lord says in Isaiah 49:6 “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” Did you catch that? “It is too small” to have a little bit of salvation that is just for some – no the grace of God must reach to the ends of the earth!

Is Jesus in all of your world? Has He reached the ends of your earth? Or are the places in your life and the people you are with that Jesus hasn’t yet reached? It’s too small to keep Jesus to ourselves, to let Him in my heart and never let Him out! No! Let’s be asking ourselves “what do we need to be doing to help share God’s blessings of salvation to all?”

This morning, we’ll talk more about remembering that God has plans for me, but not only me, for us!

Preparing for the Future

 

Sometimes we think our past limits our future. We may have made some seriously bad choices or lived a way that left a mess in our wake and think that because of my past, I’m not “good enough for church”. You might think that you need to “get your life right” or “get right with God” before you can come and worship. The problem is, this line of thinking is just a little backwards.

If past sins kept us from coming to God, then no one would be here today. Paul tells us in the letter to the churches in Rome that “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). Earlier in the same chapter Paul will make reference to Ecclesiastes concerning each person’s status before God without Christ: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.” (Rom 3:10-11).

No, instead what we find in Jesus is the clearing of our debts, the cancelling of what we owe, the payment for our past has been made through the cross of Christ. In Jesus, we are freed from our past, we are forgiven, and we are new. Again turning to Paul, this time to the letter to the church in Colossae, we learn:  “having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.” (Col. 2:14).

Don’t let the mistakes of your past keep you from allowing God to do something new with your future. Christ offers forgiveness. Christ offers a break from the past. Christ offers hope everlasting. Will you accept it?

Dare to be Different

 

The Upside-Down World of the Gospel

 

Faith Seeking Understanding

 

Adding to Faith

If you think too much, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. So one way to avoid feeling overwhelmed, is to just not think about it. That may be easy for some of the little things that might not be that important, but important things have a way about them that let their presence be known. You might try to avoid it by not thinking about it (or not thinking too hard) but that won’t make all our problems go away.

The other way not to get overwhelmed is to pray about it. Having faith in God means that we trust in God that He will care for us and provide for us. God can free us from worry, but His promise to do that is through our having faith (Mat 6:34). 

So when there’s a lot to do, the threat of feeling overwhelmed is present. Even in matters of the church, we too can feel overwhelmed if we worry about how we don’t stack up.

Let’s take a look at 2 Peter 1 for a moment. Here God is promising to do great things in my life, but if I read this with the wrong attitude then something meant to be encouraging might just do the opposite.

Peter writes, “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:5-8).

Now, if I’m feeling like I just don’t have and won’t have the knowledge, or the godliness, or the effectiveness that Peter says God promises me, I might need to take a step back.

Peter says here to “add to your faith” and then give us several areas we need to grow in. If I find this list discouraging instead of encouraging, I might just need to “add faith to my faith”. We might need to cry out to Jesus like the man in Mark 9: “I believe, help my unbelief!”

This morning we’ll build on our lesson from last week about how Jesus says with only a mustard seed of faith God can do great things through me.

But what if I don’t even have that much?

Where do I begin?

How do I add to my faith, faith?

https://youtu.be/B0g5ZU_BQt0

Godly Sorrow

Darkness is a funny thing. Often, it can represent fear. When I think about “darkness” one thing that comes to mind is “fear of the unknown.” Fear of what may be lurking in the darkness can be distressing or paralyzing. The darkness contains all the dangers of my wildest imagination and so I fear not only the things that may be in the darkness, but even darkness itself seems to take on a life of its own as something to be feared. The fear of the unknown prevents me from taking risks, taking chances, or making changes. Fear of rejection, fear of honesty, fear of facing the ugly truth about my situation can lead to a strange irony.

You see, as much as we might fear the darkness, we can also find the darkness comforting. Or, at the very least, we find ways to be comfortable staying in one spot in some dark corner. In the darkness, I can find safety and refuge because who I really am isn’t known by anyone. I can hide in the darkness with my pride, envy, selfishness. I can build a wall for myself in this dark corner of solitude and no one has to know the real me. I can keep on pretending because in the darkness, no one can see the truth.

In truth, we know that there is no hiding our sin. Just as last week when we looked at Jonah trying to run from God, Jesus will teach us in John chapter 3 that the darkness we hide in won’t last. John 3:19-20 “the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed.”

In the book of 1 Corinthians, we see the Spirit working though Paul to expose some of these evil deeds that were going on in the church at Corinth. They preferred the darkness, because in it they could get comfortable with sins of selfishness, pride, lust, anger, and the like. These evil deeds were exposed and it was a painful but necessary experience. This very issue is revisited in 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 “yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”

Worldly sorrow tells us that darkness is our friend, that we can keep our evil thoughts and deeds secret, that we can live a life of holiness on the outside but inside our sin can thrive. This is a lie. This is not true holiness. This is not the life that God had designed for us. Godly sorrow brings salvation (10) through an eagerness to be cleansed (11).  

Are we more eager to change, or are we content to keep on trying to live in the dark?

We are known. Our deeds are known. Our thoughts are known. And we are living a lie if we find safety in the dark. Thankfully, Jesus calls us out of darkness and into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). 

How will you answer the call?

Counter-Intuitive Christianity: Guided by New Heart

 David led a fascinating life. God used him in powerful ways. As shepherd, David protected the flock from outside threats and put his life on the line to do so. As a make-shift soldier, David went into battle armed with only a sling, a few stones, and his faith in God.  As king, David let the people of God into battles against the enemies of God and against foreign idols.

Of all of these ways God used David, it could be said that David’s failures and repentance is the most powerful. David expressed his sorrow and repentance in deep prayers and sincere confessions that we find in the book of the Psalms.

David knew his failures came from within. It was his own sinful heart and his own ungodly desires that led him to sin first by nurturing a relationship born outside of God’s desire for a healthy marriage and further sinned through deceit, corruption of his office, and ultimately murder though his orders as Israel’s leader. David’s relationship to a person he wasn’t married to in the sight of God and his attempts to cover up this fact led to David to heap sin upon sin as he ran from the simple truth that God had a plan for his life and he wasn’t following it.

David was eventually confronted by the prophet of God. Facing the reality of his sins, David would go on to write these words in Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Ezekiel records a similar sentiment in Ezekiel 36:26 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

David knew his failures came from within.

The solution: to replace the sinful heart with a new, pure heart. Jesus gives hope. Jesus redeems us with His blood. Jesus promises us His transforming, renewing grace when we believe in Him, trust in Him, and act on those beliefs about Jesus to submit our lives to Him. We too cry out like David did: “Jesus, wash our sins away and make us clean!”

More than that: “Give us a new heart that we can always be guided by your will for us and your desires.”

This morning, we’ll look at a few other passages that describe the heart and challenge us to be led not by our own sinful nature but to be transformed into humble followers of God and His will.

Nehemiah and the Need for Continual Renewal

This week, we will wrap up our focus on the book of Nehemiah but we must never lose our focus on renewal. Throughout the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, we see a people that have overcome their oppression by a foreign and hostile government only through the graces of the Almighty God. Out of His love and compassion for them, they were taken into captivity to learn and to grow in their faith and practice. Their discipline remains for us to learn from but let us not think that we too would not also be subject to discipline.

Hebrews 12 reminds us, “My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, or lose heart when you are punished by him; for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves, and chastises every child whom he accepts.” In fact, rather than thinking by virtue of being in the family of God we may avoid discipline, we should expect it: “If you do not have that discipline in which all children share, then you are illegitimate and not his children.” Therefore, discipline is something we expect, even though it’s not something we would desire! “Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Heb 12:11).

Discipline is required because in our imperfect walk with Christ we all stumble. We make mistakes and bad choices. We succumb to the temptations of sin and we wrestle with the old way of life as we strive to live as transformed followers of Jesus. Israel failed in their walk and then came the exile. But the exile was not the end of the story. Redemption came and the Lord returned the people to the Promised Land. So too with us, Jesus Christ is our redemption and hope for the future.

Each day, we feel the tension between living for a higher calling and living for self. Jesus tells us the best way to combat sin is to die to it: “And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” Luke 9:23-24.

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah show us what a grand, wide-scale, intense renewal looks like. What we’ll see this morning is that not only is there a need of wide-scale reform, but we also need changed deeply. Unfortunately, many of the changes we have read about were short-lived. The focus on renewal lasted for a season and faded. Jesus tells us that renewal must come day after day, every day, until that great day when all will be made new (Revelation 21:1-8).

Rebuilding Relationships: Nehemiah 5

I’m reminded this week that when God works in our lives, He doesn’t just work on part of it. When we pray to God to lead us, when we seek Him in His word, when we earnestly knock on the door of faith (Mat. 7:7-8) we must know that God isn’t interested in only changing some of us.

No, God desires a transformation such that the whole person is changed. If we are changed, but only some, then our lives won’t be that different. We can be the person we used to be at work, or at home, in our hobbies, and in our sins. When Jesus changes us, that change should impact everything we do and everything we are. If the things we do, the things we think, or the things we say aren’t in line with this new creation (2 Cor. 5:17) then those areas of our life need to change as well.

These changes can lead us to some difficult choices. Can we work in the same field, with the same people, or for the same company or are there places of business so out of alignment with the Gospel that I just can’t stay? Can I treat my family and friends the same or have I found in my personal life great sins in need of repentance and redemption? Jesus warns us in Matthew10:37 that we will need to make these very choices: “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”

Love of family, friends, and neighbors are not necessarily in conflict with our love for Christ. It is only when family, friends, neighbors, politics, careers, hobbies or anything else keep us from walking in the light that the conflict arises. Jesus’s words are clear and plain: following Christ is costly. (Luke 14:25-33).

This morning, we’ll look at Nehemiah chapter 5 and see how alack of transformation in some parts of life leads to more suffering. Nehemiah’s remedy, as we’ve seen time and again in this series, begins with prayer. Once he learned of the suffering, Nehemiah’s actions show us that we can’t be who God wants us to be if we don’t allow God to work on the whole person. We need to have transformed hearts and minds (Rom. 122), and we need to love with more than just words (1 John 3:18).

Building and Rebuilding: Nehemiah 4

This morning, we’ll revisit the topic of “context.” When we think about “context”, maybe a few different ideas come to mind. The first thought might be that we want to be careful about reading just one verse when we study. Bible verses might seem to have a range of meanings and the surrounding verses, even up to the book you are studying, will help you narrow down that meaning.

That one verse might contain the key idea of the passage or it might be spoken by a voice in opposition to the Gospel so another aspect of context is knowing who is speaking, and who they are speaking to. You’ll also want to know when a verse was written. For instance, you may not be sure if a prophecy is fulfilled in Christ already or if there is still a future fulfillment that could take place. Many Hebrew prophets will speak about both the coming of Jesus but also about the Day of the Lord.

Much more could be said, but the kind of context we are talking about today is less about studying itself and more about application. When I study, I want to not only consider the context of a passage, but I want to ask, “Where in my life do I see this passage?” or “Where do I see myself in this passage?” Am I the soldier that forces the subject to go with me one mile, or am I the servant that goes two (Matthew 5:41)? Am I the servant that sends others to prison for their unpaid debts or am I one that will forgive a debt (Matthew 18:21-35)? Trying to understand my context will help me see if I am more like the rich man or more like Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31).

This morning, we’ll take a look at a few passages that show that context changes. God will take His servants and use them in ways maybe they didn’t plan for or feel prepared for. But God has prepared you to accomplish His purposes. Sometimes you might feel like you’re “taken out of your context” when God wants to use you in new ways. It might make us feel like a fish out of water, but God’s plans for us will not fail (Isaiah 55:11).

Nehemiah Chapter 2: Keep on Building

    This week, we’ll continue our study of Nehemiah. Nehemiah’s perseverance really inspires me. He saw a problem, he prayed about, and then he did something about it. There are a lot of problems in this world. There is injustice, crime, and poverty. There is sadness, loneliness, and depression. There is hate, evil, and rage. None of these things are desirable, but they are here. None of these things are sought after, sacrificed for, or cherished but there are here. The things we long for, strive for, and sacrifice for seem so out of reach. We desire peace, mercy, justice, and righteousness but sometimes all we see is misery.

    Nehemiah saw past the problems of his current situation and took steps to make changes. When all we see is darkness, we will blind ourselves to the light. But when we ask, seek, and knock the Lord will open our eyes and not only give us the direction, but also give us the will to act to fulfill his good purpose (Phil 2:12-13). Prayer is a powerful tool. We can accept the situation we are in or we can reject the promises of the world. The world promises us riches, fame, and glory in exchange for our soul. Christ frees us and forgives us of our past sin and gives us riches and glory beyond what we can imagine (1 Cor 2:9).

    Let us then pray that the strength of Christ be in us. Let us pray that the Spirit’s promises made through Paul in Philippians 2 will be fulfilled in our lives. Let us pray that we have eyes to see like Nehemiah, who saw not only injustice but a path to justice. Who saw not only despair but a path to rejoicing. Who saw not only evil but also love.

       How will God use us to make the world a better place? Where are the opportunities I’m blind to? Open my eyes Lord, and give me the strength I need to always be following after you!

Planning for Success

This morning starting at 9:30 -- "Does God Want Me to be Happy?"

This morning starting at 10:30 -- "Keys to Success, Asking the Right Questions"

Hope you can join us!

 

Rebuilding

 With some of the major holidays behind us, I can’t help but look forward a bit. No one could have predicted how this year has gone so I won’t pretend to know much about what is ahead. No predictions from me on when we are back to normal, or what that normal is. I won’t try to give you a date or any other guesses, but I won’t let that stop me from guessing there’s ways God is still planning to use our ministries here at Lakeview.

As I look forward a bit, I start to get excited and my mind will race at the possibilities. Whether we are talking about mission efforts, cards and mailers, new classes and Bible studies, or service opportunities in our community, I see so much potential for what is next for us. Sometimes I have to take a moment to just step back and wait for things to work out in God’s time, and other times it seems like there’s enough time for waiting already, it’s time to start doing!

Well, with anything new, it’s going to be different. Doing something new or different can be uncomfortable. Sometimes, I need to push through the discomfort to see the blessing God is giving when I serve. Doing something new or different can be challenging. My prayer is that God will give me the growth I need to rise to the challenge, rather than taking the easy way out when things start to get tough.

When new and different don’t compromise the Gospel message, let us run with endurance towards the prize. Let us be cautious, yes. New doesn’t always mean better. Different doesn’t always mean right. But if God is leading us towards serving Him in some new way, let us not follow the example of Jonah who ran from his call. No, let us follow in the steps of Peter who recognized God’s power working in the lives of the Gentiles and welcomed them into the family of God. Jonah resisted bringing the message to a new land and a new people. Peter saw God working, and preached the Gospel.

So, let us ask ourselves then: “What am I resisting that could be God calling?” or “What is God trying to do through me that I just don’t see?” or “Where is there more room for ministry in my life?”

A Season of Giving - Never Giving Up Hope

 

Giving Heed to God's Word

"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." (Heb. 4:12).

This morning, we will take a look at a few passages and try to view them in their proper context. Whenever we study the Bible, we are looking for answers. The challenge we will always face is ensuring we are looking for the answers provided as opposed to the answers we want. Many people over many years have found ways to make the Bible say what they need it to say, or what they want it to say, so that it will support their view or help them win their argument. This has been happening from the very beginning of the church. So soon in fact, Peter had to address it concerning the NT texts that Paul had written through inspiration of the Holy Spirit: "He writes this way in all his letters, speaking in them about such matters. Some parts of his letters are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction." (2 Peter 3:16)

The warning stands for us also. If we ask, seek, and knock then we will find. But if we are trying to twist the words of God to fit our perspective or our preconceived ideas, we are doomed to fail. Instead, the right perspective is to approach the Word with a humble heart, an open mind, and as a faithful witness to the revelation before us. Scripture will challenge us. It's our job to wrestle with it and allow it to shape us, rather than casting for ourselves a god made in our likeness.

 

A Season of Giving: Sharing in God's Gifts

It’s the time of year when people are thinking about giving – I hope! This time of year, more than ever, we are bombarded with ads for the latest greatest of anything and everything from cars, to games, to toys for all ages. It’s easy to think more about what we might be getting from someone instead of thinking about ways that we could be giving.

Granted, the giving of things is itself something that is hard to do. Many of us have been through or are going through hard times in life and just can’t give like we want to give or feel like we should be giving. This happens when we think about giving in too narrow of terms. We shouldn’t just think about things when it comes time to give, instead we need to realize we have a great many other gifts that people need so much more than things and stuff. We can give a kind word, a listening ear, a tear with a broken heart, or share in the joy of simple moments.

Another way that we can give is to speak. In our world, there are people that are having a difficult time keeping work, finding a place to stay, or having their basic needs met. What difference can we make the lives of these families and individuals that have so little? When we speak the truth in love, when we speak about the care and compassion that Christ showed, we can be leaders in the world that can help to meet these needs that we find very hard to meet alone. Alone, I can do very little. But through Christ, I can do all things (Philippians 4:13).

The world is at odds with Christ and His love. If more people had the love of Jesus in their hearts, the world would be a much different place. Our mission is to bring that love of Christ into the world (2 Corinthians 5:20) in a way that shows others and leads others on a path of discipleship (Ephesians 4:15).

This morning, we’ll take a closer look at what it means to speak for those without a voice and we’ll look at ways that we can help make a difference in the lives of the struggling and hurting. Prayers and love should be the beginning of our actions, not the beginning and end of all we do.