Dangerous Prayers - Test My Thoughts

Last week we began a look at four dangerous prayers.  These prayers are dangerous because if we are sincere in praying them and take the time to listen for God’s answers and direction, they can change our lives.  The 4 prayers come from King David and are found in Psalm 139:23-24.  Search me, O God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.   And the four prayers are: Search my heart.  Test my thoughts.   Seek out my sin.  Lead my life.

Today our focus is going to be on the prayer, test my thoughts.  As we heard last week, we aren’t asking God to test our thoughts so that God can learn what is there, God already knows what is there.  Psalm 139 says, you perceive my thoughts from afar...  Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely.  So God already know our thoughts.  When we ask God to test our thoughts it is not so He can learn what is there but so we can.  It is important for us to know what we believe and think, because what we think about the world and about our faith and about ourselves shapes everything in our lives. 

To understand just how important our thinking is in shaping our lives, all we have to do is look at the political divide we see in our country.  People on the right and left, conservatives and progressives, see the world very differently and they think very differently about how to solve some of our world’s problems.  Some people think government intervention and social guidelines are necessary in order to ensure equality and justice while others are clear that less government and more personal freedom is the only way to move forward.  There is also a huge divide in what we think about our elected officials – from the president all the way down to state and local leaders.  Those from one party think their people and their ways are not only right but also the only way to move forward, while people on the other side think the same about their ways and their leaders.  So how we think shapes what we believe and how we live. 

So when we ask God to test our thoughts, we are asking God to help us think through what it is we believe about an issue, this can be dangerous because we might find that our thoughts and beliefs will be challenged by the wisdom of God.  What I love about God’s wisdom and truth is that it doesn’t always fit into the neat little boxes we have created in our thinking.  For example, we can look at the values of God’s kingdom and see the value of capitalism.  We are to take the gifts God has given us and use them to make more.  God has always wanted us to be creative and produce things in this world that are of value and we have been called to increase what we have. 

So we can see the principle of capitalism in God’s thinking but the early followers of Jesus also held everything in common.  They sold all they had and gave to the community so that no one would have any need.  So in God’s wisdom and thinking there is a real sense that socialism is the way to go.  The politics and social structures of God’s kingdom don’t fit nicely into the political boxes we have created, so when we ask God to test our thoughts we are opening ourselves up to God’s wisdom challenging and shaping our worldviews and our deeply held beliefs.  Because God’s wisdom is so much greater than ours, we need to always ask God to test our thoughts so that we don’t get mired down in one way of thinking when God might want us to explore other thoughts and different ideas. 

It’s not just our worldviews and intellectual thoughts that are going to be tested in this prayer, because David’s prayer says specifically, test my anxious thoughts. This prayer asks God to reveal to us our fears and anxiety, and the reason this is so important is because what we fear the most is where we trust God the least.  What we worry about the most is where we trust God the least.  When we worry, we are showing our lack of faith and trust in God, which means that what we worry about is often those things we try to control. 

When we worry that we are not good enough or smart enough, then we work harder to try and make up for our insecurities.  We try to take control, which often just leads to more problems and insecurities because we can’t do it all.  When we worry about the wellbeing of our children, we try to control their lives, push them to succeed and hover over them every moment of the day to keep them safe, which often just makes things worse.  When we worry about our finances we try and control them and either work harder to make more money or become selfish and try to keep more money.  Both paths will destroy our physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing.  So worry leads to control, which eats away at our minds, and leads to thoughts that are not accurate or true and fears that lead us away from God. 

But asking God to test our thoughts doesn’t just point out what it is we fear and worry about, it can also help us overcome those fears.  Look at Matthew 6:25-34.

So we worry about our lives and what we will eat and drink and wear.  We ask ourselves, how will I provide for myself and my family?  Now, we can worry about this and fear not having what we need or we can trust God.  But our faith and trust in God is built on sound thoughts and reason.  Jesus said we can trust God, because if God cares for the birds and the flowers, then surely God will care for us.  Jesus uses logic here to remind us that since we are God’s children, who are made in God’s image, then we are more valuable than birds and flowers.  So if God cares for the birds and flowers, than certainly God will care for and provide for us.  How we think about God and ourselves can help us trust God more and worry less. 

God won’t expose our fears and anxiety without giving us the knowledge and wisdom needed to overcome them.  Much of God’s truth and wisdom that will help us overcome anxiety is this:  God is God and God loves us which means God will care for us - so we do not need to be afraid.  In every situation, it is God’s love for us that will cast out our fear and calm our worries. 
While asking God to test our thoughts and reveal our fears is important, we also need to learn how to improve our thoughts and minds.  Here are 4 positive steps that can help. 

1. Don’t believe everything you think.  Just because we think something about ourselves, doesn’t mean we have to believe it, and just because we think something is true about the world, doesn’t mean it is.  It is important to question what it is we think and believe so we can get to the truth. 

When I was in seminary many of my views on the Bible and my faith were challenged.  I could disregard what I was hearing in class or reading in books, but I realized that I had to actually understand what I was learning, and if I disagreed on some issue, then I needed to search my heart and mind and find out why I believed what I did in the light of this new idea.  I wish more people would do this with their beliefs and worldview.  I wish people wouldn’t just put down the views of others because they are different, but search to discover why they believe what they do in light of someone else’s views.  Why do we follow a particular political or social view?  Have we taken the time to learn about the other side so we have made an informed decision?  Too often we are quick to judge our view as right, and other views as wrong, instead of asking questions and seeking God’s direction and wisdom. 

We are also too quick to believe whatever we might think about ourselves.  We think we have been offended, so we must be right and others wrong.  We think we are not good enough, or smart enough, so we must be a failure in life.  We feel like things are out of control, therefore our lives are a mess.  Just because we think something doesn’t mean it is true.  As we heard last week, the heart is deceitful above all things, but our mind is not far behind, so we need to question our thoughts and truly ask God to help us test them to see what is right and true.  We need to honestly look at our lives, and with humility, ask God to help, and use God’s wisdom and perspective to see and believe what is true.
2. Guard our minds from garbage.  There is an awful lot of garbage in the world that is competing for our thoughts and minds.  Advertisers are telling us we aren’t good enough so we need to buy their products.  We compare our lives to others by looking at what people post on social media and so we often feel like we don’t measure up.  The world of entertainment is trying to define what it means to love, what it means to be a success, and what it means to be beautiful, but Hollywood’s values aren’t the values of God.  We need to guard our minds and we can do this two ways:  Pray and stay focused. Philippians 4:6-8. 

When we are anxious we need to pray.  When we are afraid, uncertain, insecure and not sure of what is true – we need to pray and ask God to test our thoughts and show us what is true and how we can trust Him more.  We need to pray, but we also need to be intentional about what we allow into our minds.  Only things that are noble, right, true and admirable should be allowed into our minds.  This is hard to do in our society were so many negative messages are fighting to get in, so it takes discipline and focus, but we can do this.  We not only need to test our thoughts, but we need to test the thoughts and ideas that we allow into our minds as well. 

3. Stretch your imagination.  When we ask God to test our thoughts, we are also asking God to test the limitations of our thoughts.  Too often we limit what we think we can do and what we think is possible.  Those self-imposed limits define our lives and keep us from all that God wants for us.  Watch this powerful video about the power of limitations. 

So we need to dream big, and we need to envision the kind of life God wants for us.  What I love about Jesus is that he helped people dream big dreams and see Godly visions.  When Jesus healed people and forgave people and welcomed sinners and outcasts, he was giving people a glimpse of what God’s kingdom looks like.  It is a big kingdom filled with love and grace and power.  We need these kinds of dreams and visions to shape our thoughts.
 
If you want a couple of books that help spark the imagination, I would recommend Dangerous Wonder by Mike Yaconnelli and Love Does by Bob Goff.  You can check these out in the church library. 

4. Keep Learning.  The fourth thing we can do to improve our minds is to keep learning and keep reading.  Yesterday we celebrated the life of Cal Woodring and one of the things I learned about Cal, is that later in his life, he started to read encyclopedias.  He was naturally interested in many things and he loved learning so he kept reading.  We need to keep learning about the world and we need to keep learning about God.  One way we can test our thoughts about God, and learn more about God, is to read God’s word because it is a living word that helps us find God’s wisdom.

We can learn from books certainly but there are other ways to learn.  We can learn through podcasts and videos, we can learn through conferences and training events like the Global Leadership Summit.  We can also learn by serving.  When we serve, we learn something about ourselves, we learn something about our community and those we are serving, and we might even learn a new skill in the process.  When I went on my first mission trip, I learned the right way to tear out flooring and how to disinfect walls and framing after a flood.  I want to invite you to learn something about our community and our church and yourself and sign up to serve at the Blessing of the Backpacks.  You will learn something new.

Now I want you to use your imagination and see how all these ideas can be put into one word.  THINK
Test.  Question your thoughts, don’t believe everything you think.
Helmet.  Guard your mind and what you put in it.
Imagine.  Think big and dream Godly dreams.
Nourish.  Put into your mind only what is good and healthy.
Keep Learning.   Keep reading, and keep reading God’s word. 


Praying, Test me and know my anxious thoughts is dangerous.  It will point out what we worry about, and what we fear, and where we don’t trust God, and it will show us our need to keep improving our minds and thoughts.  It’s a dangerous prayer, but if prayed diligently and honestly, it will lead us to a place of deeper truth and greater trust, which will lead us to a better life, and a better life with God. 

Next Steps
Dangerous Prayers – Test My Thoughts

Pray: Search me, O God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.

1.  In times of silence and solitude, what worries and fears does God reveal to you?  How do these show a lack of trust? 

2. What beliefs and worldviews do you hold that might need to be refined or even redefined by God’s wisdom? 

3.  Follow these four steps to improve your thoughts.
• Don’t believe everything you think: about yourself and about the world.  Question what you think and ask God to show you the truth.
• Guard your mind from garbage. Philippians 4:6-8.  Pray to overcome worry.  Focus and keep only good thoughts coming into your mind. 
• Stretch your imagination.  Dream big dreams.  See God’s vision for your life, your work and the world. 
• Keep Learning.  Read the Bible.  Read books and blogs and articles.  Listen to Podcasts.  Attend the Global Leadership Summit.  Serve at the Blessing of the Backpacks.

Allow this word to shape your mind.  THINK
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Dangerous Prayers - Search My Heart

The next four weeks has the potential to fundamentally change our lives because we are going to learn four simple and yet dangerous prayers.  Most of us pray pretty safe prayers.  We ask God to bless us.  We ask God to help us.  We ask God to watch over us and protect us.  We ask God to provide for us and for our families.  These are all good prayers and they are worthy of being prayed, but they are safe.  They don’t really stretch us or move us to places that might be difficult or uncomfortable - they are safe.  They ask God to bless and help us in what we are doing and don’t move us toward who God wants us to be and what God wants us to do.  What I want to invite us all to do over the next month is to start praying some dangerous prayers – prayers that will force us to face the reality of who we are, how we are living and how our lives need to change. 

These four prayers come to us from King David and while he was known as a man after God’s own heart – he was far from perfect.  David had many great failures in his life and he faced all kinds of accusations from his enemies.  Many believe that David wrote these prayers later in his life when he was being accused of many things and instead of David defending himself he asked God to help him make sure that his motives and actions where pure.  Several times during his life David did this and the prayers he prayed were dangerous because they forced David to deal honestly with the totality of his life – his desires, his thoughts and his actions.  These prayers also moved David closer to God’s heart and invited God to be part of his life which is why he was known as a man after God’s own heart.  It wasn’t because he was perfect it was because he allowed God to shape his heart and life. 

The 4 prayers we are going to learn to pray come from Psalm 139:23-24.  Search me, O God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.   The four prayers we are going to learn about and pray are these:
Search my heart.
Test my thoughts.   
Seek out my sin.  
Lead my life.

Search my heart.  It might seem strange to ask God to search our heart because the truth is that God already knows our heart.  David even made this clear in the first part of Psalm 139.  Psalm 139:1-10.  If God knows everything about us and is with us in every moment of every day and even knows our thoughts and words before we do – why do we have to ask God to search us?  We ask God to search us not so that God will find what is there but so that God will reveal what is there to us.  Our asking God to search us is for our benefit and with the understanding that what God finds there God will show us. 

This prayer is dangerous because we are asking God to enter into our hearts with a spotlight to make known to us our motives, passions and desires.  This prayer is asking God to shine a light on those things that we often try to keep in the dark and avoid and the reason all of this is important is because the heart is deceitful.  We like to think that our hearts are good an honest but God says in Jeremiah 17:9 - the heart is deceitful above all things. 

Our hearts are deceitful, they lie but they don’t lie to others, they lie to us.  It’s our heart that tells us we are better than we really are.  It’s our heart that tells us we care more than we really do, that we have forgiven more than we really have and that we love others more than ourselves.  It’s our heart that tells us we work harder than others and that all our answers, motives and attitudes are right. 

It is a deceptive heart that says, I have all my desires under control and I don’t struggle with addictions, materialism and gossip.  It’s because our heart deceives us, it is because we are so good at keeping in the dark the things we don’t want to deal with or even admit, that we need to pray, search me, O God, and know my heart, so that we can understand what it is we really love in life, and make the changes we need to before our darkened and deceptive hearts lead us to destruction. 


When we ask God to search our heart we are not only asking God to show us the truth about ourselves but we are also asking God to show us what it is that we really love, and this is dangerous because for many of us what we really love in life is ourselves. 

Pride is loving ourselves more than others and it is a disease of the heart we all struggle with.  The disciples James and John walked with Jesus for several years listening to him teach about loving others and being a servant and putting the needs of others before their own.  James and John watched Jesus serve and love others first and yet after two years of being with Jesus they asked him to grant them what they wanted – which was positions of power and authority at Jesus’ right and left hand.  They thought so highly of themselves that they ignored all the teaching of Jesus about humility and they pushed aside his examples of sacrifice and service.  Pride affects us all.  Thinking that we know all the right ways, and do all the right things and deserve all the best in life is an expression of self-love and it is often what our heart tells us which is why it is so important for us to ask God to shine the light of His truth into our hearts to uncover our true motives. 

Anger is another love that God may uncover when he searches our heart.  It may sound strange to think of anger as a love, but it is, it is a love of self.  When we are angry with someone it is usually because we have been hurt or offended or someone didn’t treat us the way we wanted or thought we deserved to be treated.  When we hold on to anger we are holding on to pride and a love of self that says we deserve an apology and someone else has to come and make things right with us.  While there are very real hurts and offenses in life, if we choose to hold on to anger it is because we think highly of ourselves and just don’t want to let that go.  If we can see how anger is caught up in pride and love of self then maybe we can begin to let it go and find peace and healing. 

When God searches our heart, he might also shine his light on lust and once again lust is not so much a love or desire for someone or something else, it is a love of self.  Lust is a hunger and desire for us to get what we want.  It is a love of self instead of a love for God or others and it is a self-love that drives us to words, actions and patterns of behavior that destroy families, jobs and our health. 

When we ask God to search our heart it means that a strong light will shine on all the ways our heart deceives us and it will reveal to us all the ways we love ourselves first.  It is dangerous to pray this prayer because once these things are seen and revealed we have to deal with them.  It’s not easy or comfortable to see those things we don’t want to own up to, but God points them out to us for our own well-being.  God doesn’t search our heart and reveal these things because he wants to condemn us and shame us, God searches our heart and reveals what it is we really love and how we really live because he loves us and wants more for our lives. 

In John 3:17 Jesus said, God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through him.  As important as John 3:16 is to our faith, so is this verse.  God searches our hearts and points out what we often want to ignore not to condemn us and make us feel small and unworthy, God shines his light on these things because God wants to save us from where that life will lead.  A life spent loving only ourselves and living a lie is not filled with any peace or joy because we always have to hold up the façade of who we are and we will always end up wanting more. 

When I graduated from college, I got a job at a cable TV company and decided I wanted to change my name so I told everyone that while my name was Andrew everyone should call me Drew, so they started calling me Drew.  Now here’s the thing, when we are living a lie, we have to constantly be on guard, and so at first I was pretty good and replied when people called my name, but in time I wasn’t able to keep it up and when people called out my name, I didn’t respond.  Finally someone called me Andy and I responded and they all laughed, I was caught in my lie.  Silly story I know, but living a lie will catch up to us in time.  There is no peace as long as we are trying to hold up some false image of ourselves. 

Living a lie is hard work and it doesn’t bring any real satisfaction or joy and while our heart is very good at deceiving us, deep down we know the lie that’s there and it unsettles us.  We can ignore the lies and push them back into the dark corners of our heart, or we can acknowledge them and work to overcome them.  If we are willing to be honest with God and ourselves, then with the light of God will come the love of God, which will bring grace and strength and healing.  When James and John asked Jesus for positions of power, Jesus didn’t condemn them but he also didn’t allow them live in the darkness.  Jesus shined the light of truth and love into the hearts and taught them that whoever wants to be first must be last, and whoever wants to be the greatest must be a servant to all.  Jesus loved them enough to help them be honest about their own hearts and see the need to change. 

So we ask God to search our heart not so God will find something we think is hidden but so that God can reveal to us what it is that we are trying to hide.  We ask God to search our heart because we know we are living a lie and caught up in a love of self that is destructive and needs to be changed.  We ask God to search our heart because we know our heart needs to be changed in order to become the person we want to be and the person God wants us to be.  We can ask God to change our heart and we can pray this dangerous prayer, but will we then take the time to look at what God finds and listen to what God shares? 

In all of these prayers, the temptation will be for us to avoid the silence and solitude needed to confront in ourselves what God will point out.  Many of David’s prayers came from times when David was alone, often running or hiding from his enemies, but that time away helped David deal with the reality of his heart and life.  Jesus sought time alone to pray and it was during those times that Jesus searched his heart for what it was he really loved and asked for the clarity he needed to love and follow God’s will.  It was during a time of prayer that Jesus heard God’s call to be a teacher and preacher and not just a healer and miracle worker.  It was during a time of prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane that Jesus asked God to search his heart and help him focus on and follow God’s will and desire for his life and not his own. 

Silence and solitude are not part of our lives anymore.  We take our phones with us and allow our silence to be interrupted by texts alerts, and phone calls, which means we are neither silent nor alone.  It will be dangerous to create silence and solitude because when we give up our phones, we might find out just how addicted we are to them and to the idea that we are so important that we need to be connected to people at all times.  It will be dangerous to spend time alone with God, but I invite you to create this time and space where you can be alone to pray. 

Leave your phone behind and get away from people, maybe you will have to leave your house and sit in a park or even a parking lot, but find some time and space to be alone so you can listen to what God says when you pray this simple but dangerous prayer…

Search me, O God, and know my heart. 

 
Next Steps
Dangerous Prayers – Search My Heart

1. Memorize Psalm 139:23
Search me, O God, and know my heart,
Test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me and
Lead me in the way everlasting.


2. Find a place of silence and solitude where you can pray and then listen for God’s voice.  Spend 15 minutes or longer in prayer.  Write down what you hear God saying.


3. Jeremiah 17:9 says, the heart is deceitful above all things. 
• In what ways has your heart deceived you about yourself? 
• What lies have you believed that need to be addressed? 


4. Identify the ways that you love yourself more than you love God and others. 
• In what ways do you struggle with pride, anger and lust? 
• How do you see these as areas of self-love that need to be overcome? 

Shipwrecked!

On the last recorded journey of the Apostle Paul, he was sailing as a prisoner from Caesarea to Rome.  The journey would have taken him along the coast where waters were calmer and the trip would have been safer but then they would have had to enter into open waters on their way to Rome.  It was here that a storm came up that threatened the boat for 2 weeks before it finally shipwrecked on the Island of Malta.

I would encourage you to read the full story of this event in the book of Acts.  It is written in great detail and actually makes for some great reading.  What I want us to do today is learn how Paul dealt with this situation so that we can learn how to better handle the storms and shipwrecks in our own lives.

We all face storms in life.  There are times we all feel shipwrecked because everything that supported us and made our lives stable has been pulled away.  Storms come in forms of sickness and disease in our bodies or in those we love.  Storms come when we hear the diagnosis of cancer, face sudden heart problems or diabetes or disabilities that will significantly change our lives.

Shipwrecks come when jobs are downsized or the business closes.  They come when our financial world collapses because of sudden changes in the market and investments or needs among our family increases.  Shipwrecks come when we come home to find that our spouse has moved out and the note says things are over.  When friends we had trusted suddenly let us down and those we love have died.  In all these situations we feel like life as we know it might be forever changed and maybe over.

How we handle these situations makes all the difference.  Being able to move forward with faith and trust doesn’t just happen, finding the strength and courage to keep going doesn’t just come we have to work to make it happen and we learn from Paul some key lessons to help us not just survive but thrive.
The first lesson we need to learn from Paul is to expect the unexpected.  The storm that suddenly struck the boat Paul was sailing on was not something unexpected, in fact Paul knew that a storm was coming.  For several months the ship Paul had been sailing on had been battling rough seas.  Acts 27:7-11.

Paul knew that danger was a real possibility.  Paul knew that things were not going to be smooth sailing (no pun intended) and he warned the sailors to take note.  They didn’t listen to Paul and sailed forward anyway without taking all the necessary precautions.  Being prepared isn’t just a motto for the scouts – it is how we need to approach life.  Have we taken the time to look at the situations around us and identify potential problems and pitfalls?  Have we prepared ourselves for the storms that will come by making sure we have resources and support for when the wind starts to blow?

Let’s just look at this from a financial standpoint for a moment.  Financial experts say that we should have enough money on hand to cover 3-6 months’ worth of household expenses in case of an emergency but a recent survey said that 69% of US households had less than $1,000 in their checking or savings account.  If we go through life assuming that we will never have a financial problem – then the smallest set back creates a big storm.

Let’s look at this in relationships.  If we are content going through life alone and don’t work to develop solid relationships with our family and friends then when we are in need of support or encouragement – there is no one around.  We feel shipwrecked and are left asking ourselves, how did we end up here all alone?  About 15 years ago I faced knee surgery and assumed I could handle all my needs after surgery alone so turned down all offers of help.  Then I found out that I would be on crutches and not able to drive for six weeks.  Suddenly I was shipwrecked and had to pick up the phone and start contacting all the people who had offered help to see if they were still available and willing.  They graciously were but I learned a lesson.  Expect the unexpected and be prepared in relationships to have support and help when needed.

Being prepared is perhaps most important, however, when we look at our faith.  The only way that we can make sense of the trials, disappointments and even tragedies of life is to have a solid relationship with God where our faith helps us make sense out of what we see happening around us.  All too often I hear people say, Why me and why has God allowed this to happen and where is God in the midst of this tragedy and while I try to offer encouragement and support I also realize that without the foundation of a strong faith it is hard to make sense of the storms of life.  It is only in building a relationship of love and trust with God that we are able to say with the apostle Paul, I know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  (Romans 8:28)  It is only those who know they have been called, who have the solid foundation of faith that are slowly able to make sense out of life’s storms.

Being prepared for the unexpected is important if we want to make it through the storms so I encourage you to first and foremost, develop a strong and vital relationship with God so that the unexpected moments in life can be managed and God’s hand can be seen as a source of strength and support.  Spend time with God in reading the Bible, commit to being in worship and join a small group where together you can learn how God helps us through triumphs and tragedies, joys and sorrows, successes and shipwrecks.

The second thing we learn from Paul when facing a storm is to remember God’s purpose.  While storms and setbacks come in life, God does have a larger purpose for us that God will work to accomplish.  Paul was reminded of this when during the storm an angel came to him in a dream.  Acts 27:23-25

God had a purpose for Paul, he was to stand before Caesar in Rome and talk about Jesus being the Messiah and Savior of the world.  God reminded Paul of this purpose which helped Paul not lose hope but stay focused.  God has a purpose for all of us in life.  The purpose may be specific, like a call to a unique task or plan, but it might also be general – like the call to be a good parent, faithful child or supportive friend.  When sickness strikes someone in our family can we remember our purpose to be a support and encouragement to those around us?  Whether that means walking with our parents through a period of loss or decline or supporting our children through periods of disappointment and pain, we need to remember God’s purpose for our lives.

When we ourselves experience a loss that unsettles us we need to remember that God has made this promise to us Jeremiah 29:11  I know the plans I have for you, " declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  It is important for us to remember that this promise was given to the people not when things were going well but when they were completely shipwrecked.  The people of God had been defeated and were living as captives and slaves in a foreign land and it was then God told them, I have a purpose and plan for you so don’t lose hope and don’t lose heart.  Whatever storm we are going through – God still has a purpose and plan for us that we need to remember and use as our focus and as a motivation for us to keep going.

The third lesson we learn from Paul during the storms and shipwrecks of life is to act.  Do something.  Paul had noticed that during the weeks of the storms at sea the people had not been eating.  Maybe they were too busy or too afraid or maybe they just weren’t able to keep anything in their stomachs because of all the movement, but Paul could see that the people were weak and so he told them do something – eat.  Acts 27:33-38.

While they were not able to do anything to control the boat or keep it grounded or going in the direction they wanted it to go – they could eat.  They could keep up their strength.  So it is Paul who tells them to do something.  Sometimes during the midst of chaotic times it is important for us to just act and do something.  Choosing to do something does give us a sense of control and it can help us to feel secure.

When my mom was battling cancer many years ago she was not able to work and she was not able to go to church or be around people.  For a very social person this was devastating to her but she didn’t lose heart or hope because she did something.  She started to do puzzles.  My Grandmother had just died before my mom’s battle with cancer and so many of the puzzles my grandmother did were at our house so my Mom started doing them.  She realized that when everything else was out of her control and she saw no progress from day to day – the puzzles kept her focused.  Doing something gave her a sense of mission and she could see not only progress but completion.  She acted.

I’ll be honest, when I’m stressed I clean and organize and sort through things.  A friend in seminary heard about me doing this and she laughed saying, you are doing that Andy because everything else is out of your control but you control what your apartment looks like and where you put things.  I have to confess – she was right and I’ve learned to embrace it.  I can act on something.  I can do something to move myself forward.

Doing something gives us a sense of control – not that we want to take control away from God but we need to know that the circumstances of life have not overwhelmed us to the point of hopelessness and inaction.  Every positive act that moves us forward gives us strength to face the unexpected and uncertain moments that will come.  Paul told the people to eat and get strong which was good advice because the next day their ship broke apart and people had to swim to shore.  Acts 27 tells us that those who could swim were told to jump in and swim to shore while those who couldn’t swim were to find pieces of the boat and make their way to shore.  They did this and everyone reached land safely.

These three lessons from Paul can help us make it through the storms and shipwrecks of life.  We need to be prepared for the unexpected, remember the purpose God has for us and then act.  This process just needs to be repeated over and over again.

When Paul got to shore they continued to expect the unexpected and be prepared.  They gathered wood and built a fire to keep themselves safe and warm.  Paul remembered his purpose, not only to get to Rome but also to share the gospel with the gentiles so he started to preach and teach on Malta and healed many people who lived there.  Paul acted.  He worked and served and led the people which got them through the winter until a ship arrived and took them to Rome.

So be prepared in life and especially in faith.  Remember God’s purpose and plan for your life and who God has called you to be as his child and servant and act.  Do something.  Keep moving forward trusting that God will see you through all the storms and shipwrecks of life.



Next Steps
Shipwrecked – Lessons from the Apostle Paul

Read about Paul’s journey through the storm and shipwreck at sea - Acts 27:1-28:11

1. Expect the Unexpected.  Where in your life do you need to prepare for emergencies?
• Finances.  Do you have adequate savings to handle an emergency?
o Set aside money each pay period to establish an emergency fund for unexpected expenses and problems.
• Friends and Family.  Are your relationships with family and friends strong?
o What relationships do you need to work to improve so you have support for the future?
• Faith.  How has your faith helped you in a past emergency or crisis?
o Faith is developed through consistent Bible reading, worship, prayer, small group discussions and serving.
o Which of these areas can be a focus for you in the months to come?

2. Remember God’s Purpose.
• Identify all the purposes God has for your life.  Some may be as simple as being a good parent, child, sibling and friend while other might be specific to your gifts, talents and jobs.
• Keep this list handy to help keep you moving forward.

3.  Act.  Do Something.
• What activity helps you feel grounded and secure?
• Commit to doing one thing this week that will move you forward in one of the above areas.

The Call - Called to Faithfulness

Today we are finishing up a series of sermons looking at the life and mission of the Apostle Paul.  Paul is an important figure for us to learn from because it is his life and teaching that has shaped our faith.  Paul not only established churches throughout the Roman Empire, he set forth a missionary zeal that helped spread Christianity around the world.  Paul wrote 13 of the 27 books in our New Testament and half of the book of Acts records Paul’s life and ministry so his influence on our faith remains strong to this day.  Paul was called by God to take the good news of Jesus to the Gentiles and while he faced opposition all along the way – Paul was faithful to that call and as we will see, he was faithful to the end. 

Each of us has also been called by God.  We have been called to live for God and to be faithful to following the way of Jesus in our own personal lives and we have been called to use our own unique gifts to serve God in this world.  This doesn’t mean we have to work in a church or mission or non-profit and it doesn’t mean travelling around the world talking about Jesus but it does mean we need to figure out how to serve God right where we are in school at home and at work.  No matter where we spend our time, we are called to serve God and to take the message and love of Jesus with us and we have learned from Paul how to be faithful to that call. 

Last week we heard about the work Paul did on his third missionary journey that took him to Ephesus and how the power of the Holy Spirit was at work in that community changing people’s hearts and lives.  After 2 years in Ephesus, Paul left and travelled throughout Macedonia but the rest of this trip wasn’t just to encourage the people, Paul was also collecting an offering for the church in Jerusalem. 

Paul had told the churches he established to set aside an offering for those in need in Jerusalem.  1 Corinthians 16:1-3 

Paul had heard about a famine that hit Jerusalem and how the Jewish believers were in need, by encouraging the gentile churches to help the church in Jerusalem Paul was not only helping people in need but he was working to form one church.  For Paul there was neither Jew nor Gentile because we are all one in Christ and reaching out to serve others is one way to bring people together.  Paul asked the people to set aside an offering and told them he would come and pick it up and take it to Jerusalem and when Paul left Ephesus – that was his mission. 

Paul made his way to Troas and then journeyed all through Macedonia visiting churches and collecting the offerings.  On his way back, Paul didn’t stop in Ephesus but went to a small town called Miletus where he asked the leaders from Ephesus to come and meet with him.  Paul knew this would be the last time he would see these people that he had come to know and love.  Acts 20:21-24

Paul knew that hardship and persecution was coming.  While he didn’t know what it would look like, Paul knew that whatever awaited him would mean that he would never return to Ephesus.  After lots of tears and prayers, Paul sailed toward Syria and landed in Tyre where he was urged not to go to Jerusalem because danger awaited him.  Paul went anyway and sailed south to Caesarea where he was met by a prophet who again told him not to go to Jerusalem.  Acts 21:11-14

This was the second time Paul had been warned not to go to Jerusalem but Paul was not deterred.  He was not afraid of what would happen to him in Jerusalem, he was confident of his call and determined to do all that God had asked of him, so instead of running away from danger Paul ran right into it.  Paul could do this not because he was brave but because he was faithful.  Paul said, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace. 

What gave Paul confidence and strength to face the danger that awaited him was that he had seen the risen Christ and had been called by Jesus.  It was Paul’s faith that kept him going forward. 

Following Jesus often means we will be called to run toward danger and not from it.  Like the best in our military and first responders we are not called to an easy life where we avoid hardships but to a life where we are called to share the good news of Jesus on the front lines.  At home, at work, in school and in the community we are the ones who need to run to where we see a problem and get involved.  We need to be the ones who run to where people are hurting and feeling hopeless and offer help. 

What has always encouraged me about Faith Church is that you are a church willing to run head first, heart first and hands first to meet a need.  Last year when money was needed to support the pastors of Sierra Leone, $31,000 was given in a week to make sure pastors could continue their ministry in one of the poorest nations on earth.  The year before when Ebola was devastating the nation of Sierra Leone, $15,000 was given to support communities and bring hope. 

Close to 15 years ago when there was a need to care for people in Bellefonte this congregation ran head, heart and hands first to create the Faith Centre which continues to meet the needs of hundreds of people every week in our community.  I hear from those who manage the food bank that every week people stop in the food bank to quietly give gift cards to help feed the hungry and this is what it looks like to run toward a problem and not from it.  Like Paul, we may not know what we are getting into – but because we have heard the call of God – we move forward.  As followers of Jesus we need to be running toward the problems of our society and not from them and we need to be faithful in sharing Jesus with a world that wants to turn from him. 

Paul went straight to Jerusalem and when he arrived, Jewish leaders accused him of teaching people to turn away from the laws of God and a riot broke out.  Paul was beaten by the crowds and it was the Roman Guards who rescued Paul by arresting him and carrying him away in chains.  This began a series of trials for Paul that gave him the opportunity to share his testimony and faith in Jesus Christ. 

First Paul spoke before the crowds and shared how Jesus called him and then he spoke before the Jewish leadership council called the Sanhedrin.  After a plot was discovered to kill Paul, he was transferred to Caesarea where he spent the next several years in prison sharing the good news of Jesus with the Roman Governors Felix and Festus and then finally King Agrippa.  I invite you to read these encounters this week, you can find them on the next steps.

Finally Paul realized that he would never have his situation resolved in Caesarea so he appealed to Rome where his case could be considered.  What I love about this request is that Paul managed to get himself to Rome, which was a goal of his, but didn’t have to pay for the trip because he was being sent as a prisoner.

Paul was put on a ship and sent to Rome.  They would have sailed along the coast to stay in calmer waters and then crossed over the open see.  It was just south of Malta that the ship hit a storm and was shipwrecked.  What you see here today is not just a glimpse of VBS this week, but also a teaser for next week’s sermon because we will come back to look at the story of Paul’s shipwreck and what we can learn from it, but for now let’s just say that after some time in Malta, Paul continued on and landed at Puteoli and then travelled by land to Rome. 

All that the book of Acts tells us about Paul’s time in Rome is that he was held under house arrest but given the freedom to meet with people and share the good news of Jesus with others.  Here is how the story of Paul ends in Acts 28:30-31. 

But this is not the end of the story for Paul.  By the time the book of Acts was written, Paul had already died and everyone reading this would have known the rest of the story which makes us wonder why the author, Luke, didn’t tell that story.  Maybe he was going to write another book or maybe he wanted to leave the readers focused on the power of Paul’s life which was being faithful to the call of God to preach to the gentiles. 

While Acts doesn’t tell us the end of Paul’s story, we need to hear it and learn from it.  Paul did spend time under house arrest but he may have also been released to continue sharing the gospel across the Roman Empire and maybe as far away as Spain.  In 64 AD there was a fire in Rome and the Emperor Nero placed the blame for the fire on the Christians.  Many were arrested and thrown into prison.  Both Paul and Peter were in Rome at this time so both of them were arrested and we believe Paul was kept in the Mamertine prison in Rome before he was beheaded. 

Inside Mamertine Prison in Rome

From this dark, damp dungeon Paul may have written some of his final letters to the churches, actually he would have dictated them to those who were sitting up above him.  It is hard to imagine what it would have been like to be in this kind of prison, but I imagine it to be similar to what those young boys are experiencing in a cave in Thailand.  Picture yourself in a dark prison waiting to die, would you be able to say this…

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 - Do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal.  

Philippians 1:20-21 – I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life of by death.  For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.  

And this may have been some of Paul’s final words…
2 Timothy 4:6-8 – I am already being poured out like a drink offering and the time for my departure is near.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 

From the time Paul left Ephesus until his final moments in Rome, a span of about 8 years, Paul was faithful to the call of God.  He didn’t run from opposition and persecution but straight into it.  When the road in front of him was difficult Paul didn’t look for an easier way or more comfortable conditions.  Sitting in prison and waiting to die Paul doesn’t say “Why me?”  Paul was willing to be poured out in order to be faithful.  Paul was willing to be humble and give himself completely in order to be faithful and he did it with boldness and joy.  Yes joy, some of his other final words written from prison were these:  Philippians 4:4 – Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again, rejoice.

Paul was faithful to the end and his story needs to be our story.  When we face disappointments we need to turn from the temptation to ask “why me” and simply pick up and keep going knowing that God goes with us.  When we face failure or opposition we need to stop feeling sorry for ourselves and continue to make sure we are following God’s purpose and plan.  Even when tragedy strikes or our health may fail, we need to remain faithful to God and the call of God in our lives.  Like Paul, when we face any and all problems we need to remember the power of God, present in our lives, and make this our focus and prayer, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.  God has called us – let us be faithful and press on in Christ Jesus our Lord until the very end.   


Next Steps
Called to Faithfulness

Paul’s final journey takes him from Jerusalem to Rome. 


1. Read about Paul’s legal trials and his defense.
• Acts 22:1-21 – Paul’s testimony before the crowds.
• Acts 24:1-27 – Paul’s testimony before Felix.
• Acts 25:23-26:32 – Paul’s testimony before Festus and King Agrippa.


2. Paul returned to Jerusalem, in part, to bring an offering to help the church. 
• What needs do you see, near or far, that can use your help and support? 
• Set aside money each pay period to support the work of the local church, global missions and the needs of the poor. 
• Our VBS Offering next Sunday will help fill and send the container in our parking lot to Belize.  Help support this mission with your gifts next Sunday in worship. 


3.  Like our Armed Forces and First Responders, Paul didn’t run from danger but straight into it.  Take some time to thank our Armed Forces and First Responders with notes of appreciation and prayers for safety.  What needs do you see that the church can run towards to offer hope, help and healing? 


4. Paul wrote several of his letters while in prison.  Pick one of these letters to read this week: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, I & II Timothy or Titus. 

The Call - Called to Power

Today we are going to look at Paul’s third missionary journey and our focus is going to be on the 2 years that Paul spent in Ephesus.  Paul’s journey started out where all his journeys did which was in Antioch.  Paul then travelled back through the region of Galatia, stopping in Derbe, Lystra, Iconium and Antioch. These were all places Paul had visited before and most of these towns he was forced out and told never to return.  One of the things we have learned about Paul is that he was a determined man who simply did not give up.  He had been called by God to preach to the gentiles and share the good news that Jesus was the Messiah and Paul never stopped doing that and he never stopped encouraging the churches that he started.  We cannot give up when God calls us. 

At the very end of Paul’s second journey he stopped in Ephesus for a short visit.  Acts 18:19-21.  Paul had promised to return to this city and on his third journey he fulfills that promise.  Paul was excited to teach and preach in Ephesus because this was the 4th largest city in the Roman Empire and a very strategic location.  All roads in this region led to Ephesus because it was a port city.  It was a center for business, culture and learning and Paul could see how Ephesus could be key for the spread of Christianity around the world.   If the community of Jesus could penetrate this city, then its influence and message could spread around the world both by land and sea.  In many ways, Ephesus was the crossroads of the world so it was an important place for Paul to spend time teaching, preaching and establishing a center for the Christian faith.

When Paul arrived in Ephesus he met some followers of Jesus who knew about Jesus and John the Baptist but they didn’t know about the gift and power of the Holy Spirit.  Acts 19:1-7

The baptism of John was an act of repentance. It was a way for people to acknowledge sin and express a desire to live a new life.  John’s baptism led people to Jesus who then showed them what this new life was like and it led people closer to God, but it wasn’t a baptism in the name of Jesus and it was missing the power of the Holy Spirit.  The people of Ephesus were missing so much in their faith because they didn’t have the Holy Spirit and it leads me to ask how much of our faith are we missing because we have not fully accepted and experienced the power of God’s Holy Spirit? 

Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would come to be a comforter, to lead us into all truth, to guide us in the way of life and to form our lives as a potter forms and shapes clay.  But the Holy Spirit was also going to give power.  After his resurrection, Jesus said to his disciples, I am going to send you what my Father has promised; stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.  Luke 24:49.  The power Jesus is talking about is the power of the Holy Spirit and it is still the Holy Spirit who gives us power. 

The Holy Spirit gives us power to live for God in a world that often pushes back against the way and will of God.  Last week David talked about how the call of God often leads us to live in ways that are different than the world around.  God calls our values to change and it is the Holy Spirit that gives us the power to make that change.  The Holy Spirit also gives us power to follow the unique call God has given to us when forces work against us or we experience disappointments and failures.  It is the Holy Spirit that gives life to God’s call; it shapes it and guides us and it is the Holy Spirit that gives us the courage, strength and determination to live out that call in our lives.  Paul baptized the people in Ephesus in the name of Jesus, and we know they received the Holy Spirit because the power was given to them to speak in tongues. 

This gift of tongues allowed people to speak in other languages and sometimes in unknown languages and the reason it was important in this time of the church was that it was an immediate and outward sign that the Holy Spirit was present and at work.  There has always been a certain amount of controversy around the gift of tongues and Paul often addressed it in his teaching.  While tongues was a gift – Paul said it was more important to speak plainly so others could hear and learn about God and Paul encouraged people to seek after and nurture other gifts instead. 

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul talks about the gift of wisdom, knowledge and faith, as well as healing, prophecy and miracles and in his letter to the Romans Paul talks about the gifts of serving, teaching, encouragement, giving and leadership.  All of these gifts are also manifestations of the Holy Spirit working in our lives.  They often aren’t seen as clearly or immediately as the gift of tongues but they are perhaps more powerful because they impact the lives of others in more significant ways.  When we are compelled to serve or encourage or give or lead than we know that the Holy Spirit is present and moving in our lives.  The big question is this – Have we asked the Holy Spirit to be present and at work in our lives? 

To receive the power of the Holy Spirt we don’t need to be re-baptized, but we do need to pray and invite the Holy Spirit to fill us and use us and guide us in life.  If we ask the Holy Spirit to lead us and are praying daily for this to happen, it will.  Let me share with you an amazing story about the work of God’s Holy Spirit in the life of Donna and Tom Taylor.  Many of you know Donna and Tom, they were very active here at Faith Church and moved to Florida a few years ago. 

Donna contacted the UM Children’s Home in their area to see if they needed afghans and quilts for the children and youth.  She was told that what they really needed were laundry bags since most of the kids arrived with their few belongings in plastic bags.  The Holy Spirit was leading Donna to do this project because a neighbor had already given her a lot of fabric that she could use for these bags.  Donna then discovered that Walmart had drapery fabric on clearance for $1 a yard so she went and bought most of what they had. 

Two weeks later, Donna travelled to another Walmart that had some fabric on sale and as the saleswoman was measuring the fabric, she asked what Donna was making.  Donna told her about the children’s home and their need and she immediately said pick any of the fabric that you want and we will give it to for $1 a yard.  Donna said, the story could have stopped there but it didn’t…the saleswoman then pulled out her charge card and paid for the purchase.  They told her that wasn’t necessary but she insisted and said that she couldn’t sew but she could help this way.  Donna said, I walked away more firm in my mission and feeling so blessed by the power of GOD in everyday lives.

But the story doesn’t end there, after Donna and Tom delivered the laundry bags to the children’s home they stopped at a JoAnn’s Fabric store.  The saleswoman, who Donna knew, looked up and said, “I have something for you!”  The woman went into the back and returned with a new sewing machine.  She told Donna that someone had recently purchased it and didn’t like the way it worked so traded it in for a different model and she knew that Donna was the one to have this barely used machine.  When they asked how much it would be, the woman said nothing.  She had taken care of it. She then told Donna that if she was not working, she would be serving alongside her in her mission and ministry.

This is just one example of how the power of the Holy Spirit can move in our lives.  When we invite the spirit to be at work in us every day, God is able to do great things.  Will these kind of events happen all the time?  No.  Remember, Paul was persecuted and driven out of places, but there were also miracles and powerful leadings of God mixed in as well.  Daily inviting the Holy Spirit to work in us opens the door for God’s power to be seen and God’s love and grace to be shone and most importantly for God’s will to be done and God’s kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven. 

As the power of the Holy Spirit fills people and miracles and wonders like these are seen one thing that happens is that people stop trusting in many of the things they used to trust and they start trusting in God.  We hear this in Acts 19:18-20

In Ephesus, and throughout the Greek world, people turned to sorcery for help.  We aren’t talking about the Harry Potter kind of sorcery, but spells and incantations that people would buy to help them in life.  If someone needed healing or strength or maybe they wanted a child or needed help in business they would purchase a small scroll with a spell on it that they were supposed to repeat.  Here is a scroll found in Egypt, it says, Give me your strength, Abaras.  Say this 7 times while holding your 2 thumbs.

These spells written out on scrolls were some of the things that people turned to for comfort, healing, strength and guidance but as more people started turning to God and found all of this in Jesus they found these scrolls meaningless, so people brought their scrolls to Paul and instead of selling them – which they could have – they saw them as meaningless and destroyed them.  The gospel of Jesus Christ had made such an impact on people’s lives that instead of trusting in the spells and incantations of the day and instead of trusting in the 50,000 drachma (more than $5 million) they could have gotten if they sold them, they just gave them up. 

The Holy Spirit can still bring this kind of power into our lives.  The Holy Spirit gives us the power to turn away from the things of this world that we used to trust in so that we can trust more fully in God.  While most of us don’t have spells and incantations that we repeat to bring about health and good luck, there are many things in this world that we still trust more than God. 

When I was growing up I was a sucker for the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes and every year I would follow the directions and return the entry sure that I was going to win.  Their commercials still kind of tug at my heart and mind and I think – well, someone has to win why not me.  But when I go down that road I am trusting in the idea of monthly checks more than God.  For some people the same is true with the lottery, or gambling, or reading your horoscope.  Now there is nothing evil in these things –but we need to ask ourselves – what is it that I trust?  Where am I placing my hope and looking for strength?  Am I turning to and trusting in God or the things of this world?  Anything other than God is an idol that needs to be removed from our lives.

Speaking of idols, Ephesus was the center of worship to Artemis, the goddess of fertility. 

A statue of the goddess Artemis.

The city housed the Temple to Artemis which is considered one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world and while the temple lies in ruins today,

The ruins of the temple today.

it would have been a spectacular vision in Paul’s Day.

What the Temple of Artemis may have looked like in Paul's day.  

 The people of Ephesus took seriously their role as keepers of the Temple and many of the businesses in Ephesus centered on sustaining the worship of Artemis.  Many people in Ephesus were artisans who made statues of Artemis that were sold to people there and around the world. 

As more people turned away from sorcery and idols to trust in Jesus, the less need there would be for statutes and idols to Artemis so the statue and idol makers in the city saw Paul and his message as a threat to their business and way of life.  They spoke against Paul and started a riot.  Acts 19:23-41

This is the theater where this story in Acts 19 takes place.  

What this story shows us is that while Paul often faced persecution and opposition, the power of the Holy Spirit was at work in him and helping fulfill his call.  The message of Jesus was spreading in the gentile world.   People were finding real hope and help in Jesus and the Holy Spirit was filling people causing them to turn away from the Greek and Roman gods they once worshipped.  The influence of Jesus was making a difference in the world, so much so that a riot in one of the largest cities had the entire region in turmoil.  The Holy Spirit helped Paul remain faithful to God’s call to take the gospel of Jesus to the gentiles and the Holy Spirit was changing lives and those changed lives were slowly changing the world. 

Paul spent months and years in the cities and towns he visited and slowly his message and work was making a difference.  This third missionary journey shows us the power there is when we invite the Holy Spirit into our lives and allow God’s power to work in us and through us.  When God calls us he doesn’t leave us to work on our own, he makes available to us His power.  Today and every day let us ask God for the gift and power of the Holy Spirit to fill us, shape us and use us so that our world might truly be transformed. 
 

Next Steps
Called to Power

1. Read about Paul’s third missionary journey in Acts 18:23 – 20:1-38


2. Invite the Holy Spirit to be part of your life every day.

Almighty God, fill me with the power of your Holy Spirit.  Give me the strength and courage to trust in You more than I trust in the things of this world.  Help me to embrace all that You have for me today and let me to be faithful to Your call and the purpose and plan You have for my life.  Use me as You will and make me a blessing to all I meet.  I pray this in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  AMEN


3. Take time at the end of each day to reflect on where you saw the power of God at work in your life.  Notice the work of the Holy Spirit in the little and big things.  Give thanks for God’s power.   


4.  Read Romans 12:3-8 and 1 Corinthians 12:4-11.  Identify the various gifts of the spirit and reflect on which gifts you have experienced in your own life.  How can you use these gifts to help fulfill the call of God in your life? 


5. What practices might you need to give up in order to show more faith and trust in God?  What idols in your life might need to be torn down and destroyed?