This Week:
Tue 10 AM Zoom Huddle (All welcome)
Wed 10-12 Bread Min; 6 PM Rita's Chill Out
Sat. 10-1 Clothing Closet
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Good Morning! Please keep praying for me. I had one full night's sleep yesterday in over a month. Today seems to be back to no sleep. Gonna try again as soon as I hit send. This is really getting old! Satan be gone!
We had a great day of worship, sharing, and praying yesterday. Keep praying for our church to experience and bring revival and new life and learn to live,, love and make disciples like Jesus! Ask God what your part is in His Good News Delivery Company and step out in faith and with some friends. He has great plans for you and us! Amen! Kathy verified yesterday that we are very much growing to become the dynamic movement God and our bishop have called us to be for such a time as this. PTL!
Check out these devos. Do you see the thread? Is God speaking to your heart? Who are you processing that with? Many need deliverance and healing today. Sarah Young's devo spoke to my heart today about relaxing in God's healing. Chuck Swindoll reminds us of the importance of trusting God completely and how that can bring much inner peace. Our Daily Bread talks about persevering and running our races well and of God's loving mercy and grace when we fall short. The Upper Room reminds us how we can be part of something bigger God is doing and stepping out to advocate for and bless our neighbors. Try it!
OK. Enough! I thin God has spoken and I am now able to sleep. Please Lord!
Sarah Young
Chuck Swindoll
ODB
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“Not winning is in fact more powerful than winning,” Professor Monica Wadhwa argues. Her research reveals that people tend to be most energized and motivated not when they win but when they almost win. Falling just short of one’s ambitions tends to give people the motivation to keep growing and striving. Easy victories, on the other hand, tend to cripple energy and motivation.
Wadhwa’s perspective gives fresh insight into Paul’s analogy used in two passages that compare following Christ to running a race: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 and Philippians 3:12-14. In both instances, Paul emphasizes that believers ought to give their pursuit of Christ and the gospel their all, “straining toward what is ahead” (Philippians 3:13) and running “in such a way as to get the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24).
The paradoxical truth is that what we’re striving for—faithfully sharing the gospel (v. 23) and knowing Christ (Philippians 3:8)—aren’t things we can ever say we’ve achieved. We’ll always fall short. We’ll never be able to say we’ve “already arrived” (v. 12).
But that’s okay—because it’s the experience of drawing ever closer to Christ that matters. It’s only His strength that empowers and motivates us to pour our whole hearts into pursuing Him—the one who will one day carry us to victory.
By Monica La Rose
REFLECT & PRAY
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How have you experienced growth through falling short? How can falling short encourage you to rely on Christ?
Dear God, thank You that I don’t need to fear falling short, but that You use these moments to continually draw me closer to You.
For further study, read Why Is Confession So Hard?
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The athletic imagery of running a race used in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 is also seen in Hebrews 12:1-2. The Greek word trechō, translated “run,” is used in both passages. We’re to “run in such a way as to get the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24) and “run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1). The “great cloud of witnesses” (v. 1) included the “sometimes winning, sometimes losing” Old Testament believers. Though perfection will continue to elude us, as we “[fix] our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (v. 2), we can grow in faith and endurance.
Arthur Jackson |
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UR: Advocates
I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life. - 1 Timothy 2:1-2 (NRSVUE)
Montez Bailey and his two friends were shot in my quiet neighborhood park. Montez died.
The community didn’t want revenge against the gang initiate who was responsible. They wanted healing. Several people in the neighborhood began to advocate for the area. They wrote grants. They lobbied. They urged the neighborhood council to take action.
Before long, they turned a run-down park into a gathering place with expansive lawns, soccer and baseball fields, basketball courts, a splash fountain, a playground, and picnic areas. The city agreed to establish The Forgiveness and Peace Garden — the only city-supported public garden where local people can tend a garden plot. Now families and groups enjoy a safe and peaceful time at the park.
The city built a community center nearby, one which had originally been planned for a wealthier area. My neighbor, one of those involved in this effort, told me how it impacts the lives and attitudes of the local teens. They now play sports in the park or go to the community center to hang out, study, and pursue fitness.
Advocacy is powerful. This is the heart of what it means to follow Jesus, our advocate in crisis and brokenness. Jesus is our source of peace.
Today's Prayer
Healer of all things, give us the courage to stand with others to advocate for justice and peace. Amen.
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