Proverbs 3:13-17 - Be wise, not a hothead

“Happy (blessed, fortunate, enviable) is the man who finds skillful and godly Wisdom, and the man who gets understanding [drawing it forth from God’s Word and life’s experiences] … Skillful and godly Wisdom is more precious than rubies … Her ways are highways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.”

Proverbs 3:13-17

Today’s verses are like manna for my soul today. God wants me and He wants you to find skillful and godly Wisdom. He also wants us to get understanding. And we do this by learning from God’s Word and life’s experiences. If we walk in skillful and godly Wisdom our ways will be “highways of pleasantness.” God wants our ways to be pleasant. He wants our paths to be peace.

When we listen to the Lord, we make decisions that lead to pleasantness, peace. A hothead is not pleasant and lacks understanding. A hothead does not bring peace or care about keeping the peace at all. A hothead brings division, which is just the opposite of what the Lord desires for the body of Christ (as well as for our families). Acting out in the flesh, puts the enemy and his agents at work instead of the Holy Spirit and His plan for all our lives. We are called to submit and surrender to the Lord’s will and leading. We all know His will. It is found in His Word. He doesn’t keep it a secret from us. The hardest part sometimes is doing the Lord’s will instead of what our flesh would like us to do. The flesh wants to rule over us. As Christians we need to be careful that we never operate this way. If we do, then “we” are in the wrong. It is not a sin to have fleshly feelings or emotions. We all have a flesh and we have a spirit. God made us this way. The two are constantly at war with one another. We want to be sure to keep our spirit in check and not let the flesh rule or act out. If you do, you may do or say something that you will later regret. Consequences from acting out are not pleasant. They do not bring peace.

Wisdom is our friend. The Word of God says that it is like a sister. Love her. Trust that God knows best. It helps us not live in regret, and it helps us make choices now that we will be happy with later on. Choices that truly are best for everyone.

Father, Your Word says that “Happy (blessed, fortunate, enviable) is the man who finds skillful and godly Wisdom.” May each and every single one of us find skillful and godly Wisdom. Your Word says that happy (blessed, fortunate, enviable) is the man who gets understanding, drawing it forth from God’s Word and life’s experiences. May You bless us with understanding and may it make us happy. Your Word says that “Skillful and godly Wisdom is more precious than rubies.” May we know this to be true in our lives. We ask once again for your “Skillful and godly wisdom.” We want to walk in the highway of pleasantness. We want our paths to be peace. May we never be hotheads. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Luke 16:14 - Don't dearly love your money

“The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, naturally scoffed at all this.”

Luke 16:14

The Word of God has much to say concerning the virtues of wise saving and generous giving, but it’s easy to love money too much. In the New Testament, the Pharisees were the strictest adherents of Judaism, yet they loved money and scoffed at all that Jesus said. What did they scoff at? Jesus had just finished saying “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Luke 16:13). This is what they scoffed at. Jesus had insight. He knew the truth. He knew you couldn’t serve both God and money. The sad fact is that that truth sounded like foolishness to the Pharisees. As Christians, we have to be careful that we don’t fall into the same trap as the Pharisees. We need to heed His words, not scoff at them. It can be just as easy for us to love money too much as it was for them. The struggle is real and “No one can serve two masters.” No one can. Not even us Christians. May we not fool ourselves and think that we can serve both. Jesus once told the Pharisees “You like to look good in public, but God knows your evil hearts. What the world honors is an abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:15). God’s kingdom is different than the world’s system. Be wise. Love the Lord and serve Him only!

Father, we know that “No one can serve to masters.” Your Word says that we “will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other.” We want our hearts to belong to You! In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Psalm 16:11 - Joy is the presence of God!

“You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Psalm 16:11

Don’t you want the Lord to show you the path of life so that you can walk in it? I know I do. And He can do just that if we ask Him and are willing to surrender to Him as He leads. Don’t you want to walk in the fullness of joy? I know I do. We do this by walking in the presence of the Lord. The level of joy that we have is a good indication to whether we are drawing near to God or not. If you realize that you are not very joyful, you can always draw near to Him. If you do, He will draw near to you. James 4:8 says “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” God tells us that at His right hand are pleasures forevermore. Hallelujah! May you experience the pleasures that He has forevermore! There is a quote from Jonathan Edwards that I like. It says “The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied.” Isn’t this the truth!

Father, show us the path of life. Grant to us the joy of Your presence. May we have the pleasures of living with you forever! In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Psalm 27:14 - Wait on the Lord

“Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!”

Psalm 27:14

Waiting for the Lord is wisdom. Running ahead of him and trying to help Him to answer or bring something to pass is not. Let’s say you want to bake a batch of brownies for your grandchildren to enjoy when they come over. You preheat the oven. You spray your 9x13 inch pan with Pam. You add all the necessary ingredients to a mixing bowl. You pour the brownie batter into the pan and then you place it in the oven. As you wait for the brownies to get done, in your excitement you decide to take the brownies out early instead of leaving them in the oven for the appropriate amount of time for them to get done. Because of this, the brownies are only partially baked. They have gooey spots everywhere and they aren’t fit for consumption. This would be ridiculous wouldn’t it? Yet many times as Christians we try to outrun God’s timing and take ourselves out of His preparation time too soon. We do not let Him answer our prayer requests in His timing and in the way He knows best. We run ahead of him and try to help Him. Only doing this, we make a whole mess of things. I know this for a fact as I have been there and done this. I had to learn the hard way that we should do this, but thank God I did learn. Now I trust in Him to take care of things, in His ways, and in His timing. Look at Abraham and Sarah. They were promised a son. And then when the Lord tarried on the answer, they ran ahead of Him and tried to make the promise come to pass in ways that He had never planned. Our world is still suffering the consequences of their choice of not waiting on the Lord. God knows what you need. He hears your prayers. Let Him answer them in His way and in His time. Don’t give up waiting and try to satisfy that need in your own way. Wait on Him, and He will take care of you according to His greatness. Some Scriptures that will encourage you to wait are Psalm 27:14 “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!” Be of good courage as you wait. He promises to strengthen your heart. Psalm 37:34 says “Wait on the Lord, and keep His way.” Keep His way as you wait on Him to answer and move on your behalf. Isaiah 40:31 “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” There are blessings in store for you as you wait.

Father, Isaiah 8:17 says “And I will wait on the Lord … and I will hope in Him.” Father, may I wait on You to answer all my prayers in Your timing and in Your ways. I trust You with my life and I put my hope in You. Help me to be patient as you work everything out. Strengthen my heart. Make me be of good courage. Renew my strength. I give you praise! In Jesus’ name I pray.

Proverbs 31:10-12 Looking for a spouse

“Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life.”

                                                                      Proverbs 31:10-12

When a man looks for a spouse they should look for someone that is virtuous, a lady that is of moral worth and excellence. If you find someone like that, today’s verse says that their worth is far above rubies. I like what it also says that “The heart of her husband safely trusts her.” He can put his confidence in her, he doesn’t have to fear what she is going to do. An added plus to this is that “he will have no lack of gain” as she will do “him good and not evil all the days of her life.” She will be a blessing. Your home, your life, and your children will be blessed because of her, the Lord, and her walk with the Lord. This is why it is so important that you listen to God and God’s Word when choosing a mate. If you chose someone that is not of moral worth and excellence, you will suffer the consequences of this choice for the rest of your life. You won’t be able to trust them. You will have a hard time getting ahead in this world. They will do evil things regularly and sometimes they will not be good to you because they operate and live in the flesh, therefore they are fleshly. If you make a mistake in this one area, it is a drastic one. Pray for yourself if you are single, pray for your children, and pray for your grandchildren to find a virtuous, Spirit-filled, godly mate. The right mate is one of the most important decisions one can make in their life, for it affects the rest of it.

Father, may You help us ladies to be virtuous women. We want to be ladies of moral worth and excellence. We want our worth to be far above rubies. We want our husbands to be able to put their confidence in us and be able to safely trust us in each in each and every aspect. Our men shouldn’t have to fear what we are going to do. Help our men prosper, having no lack of gain. And may we do our husbands good and not evil all the day of our lives. We want to be a blessing to our homes and we want your hand of blessing to be upon us all. Help those that are looking for a spouse, to find a virtuous, Spirit-filled, godly mate that You have handpicked for them if You so desire for them to marry. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.    

Ephesians 6:24 - Love the Lord with an undying love. If you do, His grace will be upon you.

“May God’s grace be upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.”

Ephesians 6:24

Many can live the Christian life with outsiders, or those that we have little contact with. It is in our homes and in our churches that we can find applying the Lord’s precepts to be difficult. Why, because our real self comes through to those who know us well. They see us for as we really are. Much of the time they see us at our best. Sometimes, though, they see us at our worst. We should remember that we should love the Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love. Having an undying love for Him should make us have an undying love for others, keeping us in check. I like today’s verse for it says “May God’s grace be upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love” (Ephesians 6:24). “May God’s grace be upon” you and “May God’s grace be upon” all your relationships. “May God’s grace be upon” me and upon all my relationships as well. The NKJV says “Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.” The Living Bible says “May God’s grace and blessing be upon all who sincerely love our Lord Jesus Christ.” May we love Him in actuality, and may we love Him sincerely, with an undying love and heartfelt devotion.

   

Father, Oh, that we might have an undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, that we would love Him in sincerity. May Your grace and blessing be upon us all and all our relationships. We know that You are our all in all. We want and desire to be Yours through and through. May we love You day after day; and in the process, may Your grace meet our every need. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Proverbs 26:20 - Getting rid of the strife that is in our lives

“Where there is no wood, the fire goes out. And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases.”

Proverbs 26:20

Do you have strife in your life? If so, examine your tongue. Proverbs 26:20 says “Where there is no wood, the fire goes out.” You may be fanning it and keeping it alive. It just may be that if you stop talking, the strife will cease and the fire may go out. Many of us don’t like to think of ourselves as talebearers. We don’t gossip, we say. But do we complain and grumble about someone to another party? Proverbs 16:28 says that “A perverse man sows strife, and a whisperer separates the best of friends.” We really don’t want God to think of us as perverse. Do we? We really don’t want to sow strife. And we really don’t want to be a whisperer. Whispering separates. God wants us to unite and be held together by His love. Make a decision today to watch your tongue. Use your tongue only for His glory. Remember the old saying “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” Apply that to your everyday lives.

Father, we are tired of the strife that is in our lives. We want it to stop. We are reminded today that “Where there is no wood, the fire goes out.” Help us to watch our tongues and say only that which is good. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Genesis 7:1 - Be a righteous person

“… I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.”

Genesis 7:1

Noah lived in the midst of a very perverse generation. We live in the midst of a very perverse generation in this day and age as well. But just because the people were evil in the Lord’s sight, didn’t mean that Noah was. God’s Word says that Noah was a just man. It says that he was perfect in his generations. It even goes on to say that Noah walked with God. It says this in Genesis 6:9 “Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God” (NKJV). The NLT words it this way. It says “Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless man living on earth at the time. He consistently followed God’s will and enjoyed a close relationship with Him.” The Word of God may use the words just, righteous, perfect, and blameless, but this does not mean that Noah never sinned. What it means is that Noah wholeheartedly loved and obeyed the Lord. He was a godly influence and example to his family. His right heart not only saved Noah, but it also saved Noah’s wife, his sons, and his sons wives from the worldwide flood that destroyed everything living that was not brought into the Ark. Be encouraged today. Even though many in the world are evil, doesn’t mean that it has to affect you. You can stand apart from the crowd and be just. You can be perfect in your generations. You can walk with God. God can and will see this, and He can encourage you with the very same words that He encouraged Noah with. He can say “I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.” Live your life for God. Be a righteous man. Be blameless. Consistently follow God’s will. Enjoy a close relationship with Him. It will make a difference in this life and in the life to come, for you and for others!

Father, above all I want to be known as righteous. I want to be blameless. I want to be just. I want to consistently follow Your will and enjoy a close relationship with You. It’s not money, fame, nor power that I desire. I desire to be Yours and Yours alone. Help me to make a difference in the lives of others by my sincere and heartfelt walk with You. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

2 Corinthians 4:17,18 - The hardships we face

“Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”

2 Corinthians 4:17 (NLT)

I read today’s verse and it just jumped out at me. It strengthened me in the faith and it seemed to have “power” in it when I read it. Ponder this verse a moment. See if it does the same thing for you. I have another NLT Bible in my house (dated a different year) and it words this verse a little different. It says “For our present troubles are quite small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever!” Last forever! How great! It goes on to say in verse 18 “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.” Hallelujah! “For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.”

Our troubles should not diminish or dampen our faith. God loves us. Just because we are facing something, does not mean that He doesn’t care or that He has withdrawn His love from us. We should know without a shadow of a doubt that God always has a purpose for our troubles, difficulties, and trying times. They draw us to Him, causing us to have a closer walk with Him if we respond accordingly. Not only that but we can be certain that we are going to receive “an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”

Some of our troubles are not small in our eyes. They can seem to be very big. To God, though, they are small. Why, because He see’s the whole picture. He is doing something behind the scenes (and in our spiritual lives) that only He knows what He is doing, only He knows what He is accomplishing through it. He wants us to bring our troubles to Him in prayer and to lay them at His feet. Then He wants us to keep our eyes on heaven, what we have not seen, and the glory that will be ours when we get there.

I don’t know what you are facing today. I don’t know what hardship you are being asked to endure. Just be sure to endure it for His sake and by His Spirit. Remember that you will be rewarded in proportion to what you have suffered. Not only this, but know that your very life will be a positive example of His love, mercy, and grace for others to see His greatness and power flow in!

 Father, “Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” To this, we give thanks. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Acts 20:36 - Be a giver

“And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Acts 20:35

Most of Jesus’ words were written about in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The above words were not written about in the four Gospels. This tells us that not all of Jesus’ words were written down by the disciples. Although this spiritual truth wasn’t written down by one of the twelve, it still circulated. Paul heard it and knew it in his heart to be true. Most of the time the Bible uses the words “Blessed are …” and it leads into a spiritual truth. This verse says “more blessed,” meaning that there is a greater blessing to be had if we are to know this truth for ourselves. Yes, it is always a blessing to receive something from the hand of God. But you are more blessed when you choose to give of yourself, or something, to others as the Lord leads. When we receive, we’re taking something for ourselves. It is a “me” thing. But when we give, we’re acting like our Heavenly Father and it is a “Christ-like” thing. Oh, that we should be more and more like Christ. Oh, that we would give, and give, and give. Remember Christ’s words, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Let’s know the truth of these words for ourselves.

Father, You love a cheerful giver. May I be a cheerful giver each and every day. May I seek to give of myself and whatever You so desire. May I know in my own heart the truth that “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” I want to be “Christ-like.” I want to think of You and not just “me.” In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.   

1 Peter 4:8 - Our love for others should be at full strength

“Above all, keep your love for one another at full strength, since love covers a multitude of sins.”

1 Peter 4:8

Women get married and have the belief that they are going to live “happily ever after.” The years go by and before we know it we can begin to take our spouses for granted. I was blessed by the verse for today for it tells us “Above all, keep your love for one another at full strength.” What excellent relationship advice. We should not let our love wane or wax cold. God’s Word even goes on to say that if we keep our love for one another at full strength, then our love for one another will cover a multitude of sins. This makes for a healthy marriage and a happy home. It also makes for a healthy and happy church. Colossians 3:14 is another verse that starts with “Above all.” It says “Above all, put on love—the perfect bond of unity.” Love always unites hearts. It also leads all parties to spiritual growth. Today, let’s choose to let our love for one another to be at “full strength.” May we also be encouraged to let our love for God to be at full strength as well. If we do these two things, we will be keeping the two commandments that Jesus has given us. These were given in Mark 12:30-31 “‘And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Father, Thank You for the reminder from Your Word today. Above all, may we keep our love for one another at full strength. May we do this with those we are married to, those that we have relationships with, and, last, but not least, those that we attend church with. Christ’s blood covers over our sins with His great love, may we be willing to allow our love for others to cover over their sins too. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Joshua 1:8 - God wants us to be strong

“Above all, be strong.”

Joshua 1:8

Above everything, God wants us to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. He doesn’t want us to be weak or our faith to be small. Psalm 28:7 says “The Lord is my strength … therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him.” Being strong in the Lord gives us a reason to sing and causes us to greatly rejoice. If we begin to get weak in our faith or to falter, God is faithful and He can strengthen us once again. Ephesians 3:16 says “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man.” We are blessed. We have the Holy Spirit living inside of us. The joy of the Lord can be ours, and this joy will give us strength.

Father, above all You want us to be strong in the Lord and in the power of Your might. May You grant us, according to the riches of Your glory, that we be strengthened with might by Your Holy Spirit in our inner man. We are reminded of Nehemiah 8:10 today. This verse says that this day is holy to You. We are not to be sorrowful, for the joy of the Lord is our strength. Father, may we have this joy of the Lord. Above all, we ask You to make us strong. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

2 Corinthians 13:11 - God is a God of love and peace

“Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you”

2 Corinthians 13:11

God wants us to be complete. We can only be complete if we are complete in Him. God wants us to be of good comfort. We can only be of good comfort if we have Him. God wants us to be of one mind. We can only be of one mind if we have the mind of Christ and think according to His Word. God wants us to live in peace. We can only live in peace if we have a close relationship with Him.

We recently got a new cat from the humane society. He was a barn cat before he went the humane society. Then he was mainly around other cats. He wasn’t used to people. When we went to the pound  to chose a family pet, the health department worker told us that Kristoff wasn’t a lap cat as he wasn’t very social. We wanted a lap cat, but we took him home anyway (as he was the one that came to us – and yes, sat on my lap). When we first brought him home he hid behind the entertainment center for most of the first and second day. He warmed up to Brittney and I, but was not ready to receive love from David and Nicole. We encouraged them to be patient and not to force themselves on him. We knew that eventually he would warm up to. Now he loves them and everyone that comes into our house. He sits with them on the couch, plays with them, and even lets them pet him.

God sole intent is to be close to us. He longs for and desires for all of us to love Him in return for the love that He has for us. But one thing He does in love is that He give us time to warm up to Him and His love. He doesn’t force us to return His love. He waits for it to be from our heart when we are ready.

I don’t know if you return your love to God or not. If you do, praise God! If you don’t, realize that the Father wants to become Your Father today. He has loved you from the very beginning. He knit you together in your mother’s womb. He wants a relationship with you. He is a loving God. He wants your life to be complete. He wants you to be of good comfort. He wants you to be of one mind with Him. He wants you to live in peace. If you receive the love He has for you and love Him in return, you will make Him very happy; and He (the God of love and peace) will be with you. What more could you want?

Father, thank You for making us complete. Thank You for making us of good comfort. Thank You for making us of one mind with You and those that are a part of the body of Christ. You want us to live in peace and we want this as well. We thank You for loving us enough to wait for us to respond to Your love. We respond to Your love in the name of Jesus Christ right now, and we thank You that You-- the God of love and peace-- will be with us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Acts 20:28 - Have a balanced life

“take heed to yourselves.”

Acts 20:28

One of the things we do often is check our balances in our checkbooks to see if they balance out and come out to be even. Since it is important for us to see if our checkbooks balance out, how much more important it is to see if our lives balance out. We have a private life and we have a public life. We are to keep the two balanced. Jesus spent a lot of time interacting with his disciples and with people, but He also spent a lot of time with the Father. He rose up early to be alone with Him, and He also often withdrew from the crowds to be with Him some more. His time alone with the Father gave Him a sound mind and the strength He needed to interact with others so He could sup with them, instill and teach them, as well as heal and bless them. If it was important for Jesus to do this, how much more important is it for us. We should “take heed” to ourselves. If we see that we are alone too much, we should ask the Father what we can do for Him. His Holy Spirit can reveal to us who we can call, visit, invite out to lunch, or do something with. If we see that our life is much too busy, we can ask the Father to show us how we can slow down a bit so we can spiritually be recharged. We were created in his image, but we were also created to be balanced. Today is as good a day as any to check your balances. God loves you and He wants and desires for you to have a balanced life.

Father, may we “take heed” to ourselves today. Reveal to us our hearts true condition. Show us if we need to spend more time with You or not. If you show us that we are unbalanced and need to spend more time with You, may we heed this and make You our number one priority. We know that it will bring more peace within our lives. If we see that our time with You is great but that we need to interact with others more, may we “heed” this and reach out to every person that Your heart desires for us to. Above all we want to know You and have a balanced life. Thank You for Your love. And thank You for guiding us by Your love. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. 

Deuteronomy 3:28 - We should encourage and strengthen our brethren

“But command Joshua, and encourage him and strengthen him; for he shall go over before his people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which you will see.”

Deuteronomy 3:28

We each have a job to do for the Lord, and each of us need to be encouraged and strengthened from time to time. Without the encouragement and strengthening of our brothers and sisters in the Lord from time to time, we may get discouraged and feel like we should give up. Moses was a man of God. Even though he was a man of God, he was forbidden to enter the promised land. God had called Joshua to lead them to the promised land instead. Moses could see the land, but he could not enter it. Moses knew that Joshua was to lead them there, and Moses was supposed to be the one to encourage and strengthen him.

I once heard a story about the famous baseball legend, Lou Gehrig. When he was first starting his baseball career, he went into a slump and almost quit. One of his friends heard about it and went to him. Lou Gehrig poured his heart out to his friend. His friend listened. After a while, his friend began to encourage Lou by telling him that he was a good hitter. He told him that every good hitter gets into slumps from time to time. This was okay. He told him that when you get into a slump eventually you will out of it. The next day, Lou started hitting the ball well again. Over the next eleven games he had twenty-two hits. Six of those hits were home runs. From there, his career took off.

Lou had a good friend. Thank God Lou had that friend. That friend made a difference in the outcome of Lou’s life. Because of that one friend’s encouragement, Lou got out of his slump and he even went on to become one of the greatest ballplayers that ever lived. Who around you could use you as a friend today? Who could you encourage, strengthen, and build up in their most holy of faith? Ask the Lord to bring someone to mind if no one comes to mind. Then reach out to them. They aren’t meant to walk their walk alone. Your loving care and concern for them may just be what they need. Who knows, you may even be blessed as well.

Lord, use us all to bless and encourage the body of Christ. Reveal to us anyone that may be in a slump spiritually. Give us an opportunity to listen to them and to give them words of life. Deliver them from their slump and move them onward. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.