To Be...Different
These two are very different!
April 10
Our pastor is preaching a series called "It's Complicated." Below is an email I sent to our small group who gathers after church to discuss the sermon.
The prayer I wrote was taken from these passages:
Matthew 6:33
Luke 10:27
Ephesians 4:31-32; 5:1-2, 8, 10
The email:
In my quiet time this morning, God’s lesson for me came in His gentle reminder that we really are not in control of much surrounding our lives. What we do control are our actions and responses to others and to circumstances. In the past couple weeks, I’ve been reminded we have no control over when babies will be born, when cancer comes into a life, or death takes a loved one away. We have no control over April snow showers, when builders complete houses, flat tires or traffic. We also have no control over what others think or say about us.
We do have control over how much time we invest in our relationship with Christ and our ability to be DIFFERENT from the world. Not normal, as Pastor Stan said. Also, we control the time we commit to praying for one another. What a treasure it is to have friends who pray without ceasing.
What I’d like to do the next few weeks of this “It’s Complicated” series is turn some of the verses Pastor Stan gives us into prayers for our lives and our relationships.
Father, prepare our minds for action, keep us sober-minded and keep our hope fully set on the grace that will be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus. May we be found to be your obedient children, not conforming to the passions of our former ignorance before Christ came into our lives, but as You have called us to be holy, may our conduct be holy. May others look at us and say, “That person is different! That person looks like a beloved child of God, whose desire is to imitate Him!”
Lord God, we sincerely want to love you with all our heart, all our soul, all our strength, all our mind and also love our neighbors as ourselves. Please fill us with Your Holy Spirit to be able to live in such a way as we seek first Your kingdom and your righteousness. Today we ask for Your equipping of the Holy Spirit to be able to put aside all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander and malice. Instead, we desire to be followers who walk in love showing the fruits of kindness, tenderness and the same forgiveness that we ourselves have received from Christ. By faith and perseverance we will try to discern what is pleasing to you Lord. We recognize that love is not a feeling, it’s a commitment full of sacrifice, unconditional love and forgiveness. How blessed we are to receive that kind of love from You. We pray we will be found faithful to give that same love away to others. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
