Good Morning Inviting, Proclaiming, Loving, Servants of the Lord--Teammates! Let us choose to work on becoming these and doing more of what God created us to do together. Amen!
Who are you praying for to come to Christ? Have you asked Him to send you someone or to send you to someone? Try it! He loves and uses those prayers and open hearts! Check out Our Daily Bread below speaking into this.
Have you asked God to anoint your mouth and words and to speak through you? Have you asked Him to examine and cleanse you or to help take every word and choice captive before Him? When's the last time you asked Him to help you to die to self, take up cross and follow Him better? Try it! Use the Upper Room devo as you abide and contemplate these with God. Ask for a right and willing heart and worship Him for His refining, cleansing and very patient love.
Don't forget about your motivation and want to that flows from your love and gratitude for all God is and has done for you! Meditate on The Word for You . And just worship and behold our new born King! The King is with us and coming again! PTL! Focus on and follow Him !
One final thought...we are called to team up and co-labor. It's the only way to really produce good and lasting fruit. Pray for and reach out to some friends to serve with in '26 and beyond. We worked on words of things of God we wanted to grow at in '23. God wants us to pick some new words and co-laborites and accountability partners. Keep praying and praising for these and God's perfect plans for you. Ask for wisdom, discernment and what He'd like you to focus on and do. He does have some awesome things ahead! PTL! be willing, available and ready to step out in faith with Him and your partners. I'm praying for all of us to move closer to our fuller potential in Christ throughout the next few years. Join us! Join God as we become His dynamic movement. Amen!
ODB:
Send Me Your People
We were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body. 1 Corinthians 12:13
When my friend Maritza took a job that required traveling to many different cities by herself, she often felt lonely. But over dinner one night, she leaned in and told me, “Jen, I prayed and asked God to send me His people.” She went on to say it wasn’t long before she’d begun to meet other believers in Jesus on a regular basis. Once, she met three in one day!
When we encounter others who have faith in Jesus, we share a spiritual connection. In a hard-to-explain way, this lights a spark within us. We have the most important thing in common because we believe what the Bible says about Christ and how it’s possible to have a relationship with God through Him (Romans 10:9).
Most importantly, the Spirit of God lives in each believer, knitting us together so powerfully that the Bible compares us to the interconnected parts of the human body. First Corinthians 12:13 says, “We were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body”—the body of Christ.
God often works in our lives through others who love Him, whether they’re near or far, known or new acquaintances. In our loneliest times, we can ask Him to send His people—even as we offer ourselves to be used by Him to encourage others.
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
REFLECT & PRAY
Where do you turn when you feel lonely? How has God worked through other believers in your life?
Dear heavenly Father, thank You for including me in Your family. Please use me to encourage my brothers and sisters in Christ .
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The metaphor of believers in Jesus forming one body is used elsewhere in Scripture. Paul employs the same imagery in Romans 12:4-5. He also speaks of the church as God’s “building” (1 Corinthians 3:9; Ephesians 2:19-21). These metaphors point to an essential unity among the members of the church at large. We may be tempted to downplay certain roles as less prestigious while esteeming others that have more visibility. The apostle cautions against this mistake by pointing out the essential role of each gifting: “If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be?” (1 Corinthians 12:17). Earlier in this passage, he emphasized how God gifts each of us “for the common good” (v. 7). Just as we receive gifting to help others in the body of fellow believers in Christ, when we’re lonely, God uses others to encourage us.
Tim Gustafson
UR: Final Words
My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long. - Psalm 71:8 (NIV)
Sometimes I ask myself, What will be the last words people hear from me? The last words I heard from my cousin Javier were, “Take care of yourself, dear.” He died from a heart attack the following day. I remember, too, a friend who lived in another city and who loved God greatly. She would always end our phone conversations with, “God bless you.” These words from my cousin and friend encouraged me and showed their care for me.
I recall Jesus’ final words to his disciples: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). He calls them and all of us who follow him to proclaim his name, giving us the power to do so through the Holy Spirit.
Will my last words encourage or cause distress? Will they comfort or cause pain? We do not know what our final words will be, but if our words are filled with praise to God, surely those words will build up, encourage, and bless those around us.
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's Prayer
Source of all good things, help us to honor you and bless others with the words we speak. Amen.
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