Day 364: Direction: We Can't Do It Alone

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Today's devo is going to be quite short and straight to the point. We are talking about direction as we head into the new year. Today we are talking about taking God's direction because wherever we are going and whatever we are doing we cannot do it alone. We have to lean on God and trust Him because He will take us places we didn't know we would go, but places that we didn't know we had to go. God will lead us on a path that we must follow Him to get through successfully. Through life we cannot succeed or do anything without Christ. We cannot walk by ourselves and think that we are going to get anywhere. We cannot abandon the way of the Lord and think that we are going to get somewhere our own way. That is not how it works, the more we lean on God and the more we trust Him and put our faith into Him, the more He reveals His plans to us.

Sometimes people think that in order to fully live our lives and do what we want to do and live how we want to live that we must abandon the way of Christ, because for some reason we think our way is better than His. I want to let you know that we are not in control of anything, we are not in control of our own destiny, God is, and trust me it  is better in His hands than ours. I know we all want to be independent and we want to do things our way or not at all, but trust me God's way is better. We can try to live our life on our own and try to walk this path on our own but it will not work. The main message I want you to take from this is that we need guidance from God and direction from our Heavenly Father because we cannot do this alone. We cannot live this life on our own. We thrive because of Christ, we live because God blew His breath into our bodies not because our mother's age birth to us. We are living because God says that we can live, and we are thriving because He wants us to thrive. If we cannot even breathe without God how are we going to walk through life without Him. We need Him even for the smallest things in life, we cannot take a step without Him. The mistake we make is thinking that we can. 

All this to say, seek guidance and direction from the Lord, He knows what He is doing. Give Him a chance and trust Him with everything, He won't let you down. I can promise you that. 

Reflection

1. Have you tried to walk through life on your own?

2. What do you need God's direction for?

3. Do you believe that God's plan is greater and bigger than yours could ever be?

Prayer Time

Take the time to pray about what we discussed today. Allow your answers to the above questions guide your prayer. Ask God for guidance and clarity as you continue to follow Him. 

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 365!

Day 363: Direction: The Next Step

Psalm 25:4-5

Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.

Psalm 31:3

Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me.

With New Years quickly approaching, and this year currently ending, this the time that people decide to make changes int heir lives. Everything from New Years Resolutions to deciding where to move or stay, many of us are entering a new chapter in our lives and closing the previous chapter. There's nothing more refreshing than starting New Year, to start with new goals, or continue those goals that you set for yourself this year. Many times we look at the New Year as another chance a new opportunity, to maybe get something right that we didn't before, to get rid of toxic habits or just vow ourselves to be better people. Whatever it may be we must seek God for direction. We are taking another step in our lives and we need to seek God so that He can guide us where we need to go.

Life is about progression, we move forward as time continues to move forward. As we walk as we continue to move forward we must make sure that we are following Christ in every way possible. The further we go the narrower the road might get or the harder it make be to make the decision to take the step that God has been preparing us to take. I feel like God prepares us for what He is about to do in our lives. He is taking us step by step to where He wants us to be. If you know that God is preparing you for something and you know that He leading you and guiding you to a certain place, please do not be afraid to step with Him. Do not be afraid to walk with Him. I don't know what your next step is but God does and that's good enough. For some of us taking the next step in our lives can be scary and intimidating, but what if God has been preparing you all year for this? What if we take a chance and believe that the dreams we have aren't just figments of our imaginations but they are tangible and God is taking us to meet them? What I'm saying is, take the next step of your life with Christ, don't try to do it without Him. Take the next step not just to follow your dreams but to grow closer to our Lord and Savior. To be more than we were before. To have a chance to grow in our faith and therefore grow in every other area of our lives. Take a step with Christ so that everything will fall into place, we are not going into this next year worried about the same things that worried us this year. So that we can start a new chapter in our lives with more faith in God, and a deeper understanding of who He is. But most importantly take a step with Christ because we love Him, because we don't want to walk through this life or any other life without Him. The next step includes growing closer to God, and whatever He has planned for you. Trust Him, and trust that where He is taking you is exactly where you are meant to be, because it is. 

All this to say, take a step with Christ, even if you don't know where your foot is going to land. Put the fear aside and push towards the destiny that God has set before you?

Reflection

1. What is your next step?

2. What is stopping you from taking that step?

3. If there is anything stopping you from taking a step with Christ, put it aside and know that God is taking you where you are meant to be. 

Prayer Time

Allow your answers to the above questions guide your prayers. Take the time to talk to God about direction and ask Him for guidance as to where you are going and where He wants you to be. 

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 364!

Day 359: Be Like John

John 3:1-6

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’” Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

John 3: 11

 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Many of us know who John the Baptist is, we know of Him and we know the work He did before Jesus. John was the one to come before the Messiah to prepare the way for when He got there. John preached a message of repentance, he came baptizing the people who repented of their sins. One thing that John made sure that everyone knew was, he was not the Messiah. In fact the Messiah is much greater than him. He is only preparing the way for when the Messiah comes. John came to start something that Jesus would come to finish. 

What I'm getting at here is, John was not Jesus, and he made sure that everyone knew that. John did not try to be Jesus, instead he did what he was sent to do, the same way Jesus did. I here many of us talk about how we are not perfect, and how we are not Jesus. First of all we are not called to be Jesus we are called to be like Him. We are called to mock the perfect man and get as close to perfection as possible. If we were all called to be the Messiah then God would never have sent His son to die on a cross for us because we could have saved ourselves. Instead we were sent a savior because we were and constantly are in desperate need of a savior. We ourselves are not the savior. With that being said, we may not be Jesus but we can be John. 

We can prepare the way for when Jesus comes. We can live a life dedicated to Him, leading His people to Him everyday. While we are on Earth I believe that we can take an example from John as well. We are not the Messiah but we are as close to the Messiah that people will see before Jesus actually makes His return. This does not mean that we are physically baptizing people everywhere we go, although some of us may end up doing that. What that means is being a Christ example. Being a person that follows Christ, ad lives off of His every word. We can be the people that preach a message of repentance, and grace, and love letting people know that their is something greater to life. Their is something bigger than ourselves, and understanding that even at our greatest moments Jesus is greater and He will do more than we can ever do. But in the meantime, while we are waiting for His return, let's prepare the way for the Messiah when He returns in the same way John did. 

Reflection

1. What life lessons can we learn from John the Baptist?

2. Are you living a life that points to Christ?

3. If you were the only bible that anyone ever read, or the closest thing to Jesus anyone ever sees, what would people see?

Prayer Time

Allow your answers to the above questions guide your prayer. Have a conversation with God about what we talked about today. Whatever is on your heart today, pray about it. 

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 360!

Day 355: That's Life: Series (Part 3)

Ephesians 5:11

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

Romans 12:10

Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

John 13:34

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

As this series is almost coming to an end I want to discuss our lives as Christians. The Christian community does not always have the best reputation with the world, and I don't mean in a "He was persecuted therefore we are persecuted kind of way". What I mean is that there are a lot of people claiming to be Christians and love Christ while also spreading hate, being intolerant, and not acting in the way the Jesus did at all. Now I know that not every person who is Christian is this way, and the hateful Christians do not speak for us. Well they do, if we are not speaking up and doing anything. When the voice of hate is the only one you hear, it's pretty hard to believe that there is love. 

We are people who are called to love, we are called to spread the message of truth and share Jesus with people. As people of God we are called to live a life the resembles Christ in every way. We are called to love people and speak up for those without a voice. Somewhere along the line we have adopted the every man for them self idea and as long as we are doing well, everything is good. No, while we are not anyone's savior we are their way to the savior. It's hard to move forward when our brother or sister is stuck in a ditch. It's hard to overlook those who are hurting, or at least it should be. There are many people who are hurting and have been scarred by the church, and religious people who are full of hate and intolerance. As the world has changed this past year and sen so much tragedy and witnessed so much pain, now is the time to spread love. Life is loving people beyond what we see or agree with. I have seen people who call themselves Christians attack people of the LGBTQ+ community countless times. I can tell you right now that attacking someone into repentance and believing in Christ will never work I have seen racism in the name of Jesus. I have seen so many things take place that should not, done by people who call themselves Christians. We should not be living in a world where a church kicks someone out because they are gay. We should not be living in a world where pastors are more concerned with how someone is dressed for service or whether they have tattoos as opposed to their soul. We should not live in a world where religion and manmade rules takes the place of salvation and relationship. We are called to build a church and that means creating disciples, now I don't know if you noticed but the only one running with Jesus that was perfect was Jesus Himself. It is not our job to judge people it is our job to love them and lead them to Christ and He will do the rest. As we imitate the life of Christ we must learn to love like He does. We must learn to be compassionate like He is. We must learn to love people beyond their faults or whether or not we agree with their lifestyle or the choices they have made. One thing I know to be true is that Jesus was not intolerant. He was not arrogant, He did not walk around with a chip on His shoulder. Jesus is full of love and compassion and so are we. When Jesus came to save the world He did not ask every person what their  sin was and decide whether or not they could be forgiven or not, but He forgave them all. He did not ignore the sin or overlook it, He gave them a way out. 

What I am getting at here is, are we are people of God, the body of Christ living a life that will rebuttal what the world believes a Christian is or should be. Are we living a life full of love for His people, are we speaking up and stepping up when we see our neighbor has been wronged. Are we loving people unconditionally, or are we basing how we love someone on how great or small their sin is? People have told us that life is hard and life as a Christian person is harder but can we use what we have to make life a bit easier for our brother and sister? Can we use what God has given us to love the person who feels like they cannot be loved? Can we live a life that will go and pick the people up that have fallen. Can we live a life that lets God's people (that's everyone) know that we are there for them. Life is about being selfless, it's not a race to see how many people you can judge in a day or look down upon to prove you are better.  

All this to say, let's be a people that speak against hate with love. Let's be a people that will love every person whether we agree with their lifestyle or not. Also let's be a people that will stand up and show the world that their idea of Christianity is flawed. Let's do this by living like Christ, obeying His commands and loving people the way He loves them. 

Response/Prayer Time 

Take the time to respond to what we discussed today. Think about where you fit into this and pray for the body of Christ. Pray for the people who are hurting and take the time to commit yourself to living like Christ, and loving His people unconditionally. 

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow or Day 356!

Day 353: That's Life: Series (Part 1)

Ecclesiastes 3:12-13

So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.

Ecclesiastes 8:15

So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way they will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun.

This is the start of another series leading to the end of the year. This series we are going to talk about life and uno the teachings that we have been taught for so long, that allows us or makes us see life one way and one way only. We often talk about how pain and suffering is a part of life. But as much as they are so is joy, peace, love, happiness, life is good too. We need to talk about that a bit more than we talk about all the bad things that can come out of life. Life can be rough but that is not all there is to it.

As humans we have become so overtaken with this idea of struggling through life. Fighting against something our entire lives to get to where we are. Proving that we are strong because we’ve been through something. People actually say that until you’ve experienced hardship you haven’t experienced life. We have become what seems like obsessed with the ideas of struggle. The more we’ve gone through the better the testimony. We have misconstrued what life really is. We have taught our children and we have been taught that life is a struggle. Life is hard. Prepare ourselves. Have tough skin. But what if I told you that that was wrong. What if I told you that struggling is only a small part of life compared to good. Pain is only a moment compared to the joy and happiness.

There is just as much peace as there is violence and evil. It’s in us. We have to change our perspective. Not of what we see but how we see things. We have to choose to hang on to that glimmer of hope. Life isn’t all struggle and pain. Trust me it’s not. For the moments when the pain and struggles ceases, why can’t life be butterflies and unicorns? Why can’t we enjoy life to fullest. There’s no one telling us we can’t .Life is beautiful. Life is a gift. Life is a blessing. Witnessing life is a privilege. 

There’s so much more to this life than that we overlook, because when we think about real life we only think about how hard it is. How brutal it can be. How it can chew us up and spit us out. Real life is actually beautiful and full of joy and love when we think about it. Real life is laughing with your friends until the break of dawn. Real life is taking a chance and going on that date with that person. Real life is the thrill of throwing your hands up on a roller coaster. Real life is watching your friends and family succeed and being just as happy for them as you would for yourself. It’s being able to travel across the world to climb a mountain or taste real Italian food. Real life is building up the courage to ask that girl to marry you. It’s being overwhelmed with emotion because you are so happy. Life is sharing moments, the beautiful moments the joyful moments. Life is seeing the smile on the face of someone you love because they've just accomplished something they've been going after for a while. It's seeing you prayers for people come to fruition. Life is all the little moments strung together to make up what we get to describe as living. Life is being vulnerable enough not to just cry when you’re in pain, but to cry because you are happy. Life is not being ashamed to walk down the street holding hands with your best friend because you are grateful God has blessed you with them. Life is telling your family and friends you love them. Life is hugging your family or friends. Or hugging the stranger with the free hugs sign. This may sound crazy to many of you.It sounds crazy to me as I write it. Because we have been conditioned and taught that life is hard. We’ve been trained to be tough so life doesn’t knock us down. We’ve been told since we were young kids in school that life is hard and it can get the best of us. But I want to undo all of that and tell you that you will get the best of life. It will not get the best of you.  

All this to say, we weren't prepared for the beauty of life, or the joys of life, because we've only been conditioned to be tough so that life can't knock us done. With that being said we don't really know how to enjoy life, we don't know how to relax or take a break because we want to be ahead of the game. I want to encourage your day to take a chance and see that there si more to life that being in a constant battle. God did not intend for us to struggle every moment of our lives. Believe or not He actually wants us to enjoy life. He gave us the pleasures of life to enjoy, give yourself permission to enjoy it. 

Reflection 

1. What is your perspective on life?

2. Do you find yourself constantly in the pattern of thinking of life as only a struggle?

3. What are some things you can do to change that perspective?

4. Are you rally living life to the fullest?

Prayer Time 

Allow you answer to the above questions guide your prayer today. Take the time to talk to God about life and thank Him for blessing us with a beautiful life. 

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 354!

Day 352: Life Is Funny (Part 2)

Romans 5:3-4

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

James 1:3

because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

Growing up my mom would always tell me, “What doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger.” She would usually say this as a result of me getting another rejection from an audition or talent agency telling me no, or not getting the part in the school play. But she would also tell me it whenever something happened in my life that made me feel like my life was over. As I got older, the pain got worst and the situations became more real. When I got my first heartbreak, when I was betrayed by my friends, when I went through a bad break up, and when my father died. I always went back to those few words that my mom would say to me when I was younger to let me know that everything was going to be alright. And sure enough it was, but it took time. It’s funny how life works that way. The same things that hurt us are the same things that strengthen us.

The people that have hurt us and walked out of our lives. The experiences that has taken our breath away, not in the good way. The boyfriends and girlfriends that cheated or just did us wrong. These experiences are just small hiccups compared to how life is truly going to be. These moments are lessons to teach us who we are, and also how strong we are. As crazy as it sounds God uses our pain to heal us. I would never know what true forgiveness felt like if I had never forgiven my friends who walked out on me. I had to face them. I would never know that  heart can be healed after it’s been shattered if I never faced my father's death. I would have never known that i could be put back together again if I never face the fears of my past. The triggers that tormented me for so long.

I say life is funny because we never think that the most traumatic experiences in our lives would be the biggest moments of growth. We never think that our biggest mistakes would lead us to the place we are at the moment. We as people have go through so much and will go through so much more, but our past experiences equip us for what’s ahead, and it’s not always heartbreak. Suffering is a part of life, it isn’t life itself. As the scripture tells us our sufferings produce perseverance, and perseverance produces character, and character hope. I know many of us can say that we have come out a better person. We have become stronger people.

What I want you to get out of all of this is,whatever you do don’t let the suffering overtake you. It won’t kill you, and with that being said it will be another building block into who you are. God loves you so much and He wants you to succeed, but that does not mean that we will not suffer. We will have to go through some growing pains. As long as we live there will always be pain, and hurting but it’s only for a moment. Pain is a part of life. If Jesus had to suffer the way He did we can take a bit of heartache. Our suffering does not define us, it’s a part of life. However, as much as pain is a part of life, so is joy, so is peace and happiness. So is love, and courage, so is faith. Good things are a part of life too.  But how we react to the suffering and the pain, how we allow it to affect us, that does define who we are.

All this to say, if we take a step back and look we will see how funny life is when it goes around. The things that we meant to break us are the very things God uses to build us. Whatever you do, let it be a building block.

Reflection

1. Can you think of something in your life that hurt you but in the end made you a stronger better person?

Prayer Time

Take the time to pray about what we discussed today. Thank God that life is just as beautiful as it is scary, if not more.  Thank God that He uses the things we go through to make us into better people.

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 354!

Day 350: Recap!

Day 344: Don't Lose Hope

Today we talked about holding on to hope. We talked about holding on to hope in a world that seems hopeless, and knowing that as long as we have Christ, it's not over! We focused on 2 Chronicles 15:7 and Isaiah 41:10.

"There’s so much going on in the world that will make us lose hope in many things, but don’t let what you see or what you’re going through at the present moment make you lose hope in the Father."

Day 345: Step Out of the Boat

Today had to be one my favorite days so far, we talked about how Peter just had the courage to step out of the boat. We talked about taking the first step and having enough faith just like Peter to step out of the boat. We talked about what it takes to get to our 'waking on water' moment. We focused on Matthew 14:28-29. 

"Too many of us are missing our “walking on water” moments because we are afraid to step out of the boat. We’re too focused on the fact that we might sink so in order to protect ourselves we stay in the boat where it’s safe."

Day 346: Live For Something That Matters

Today we talked about living for something bigger and better than ourselves. We talked about how we can sometimes be selfish with our gifts and our prayers but we talked about turning those prayers outward and expanding His kingdom. We focused on Mark 8:35.

"We pray for change but it never crosses our mind that God sent us to where we are because we are the change that we have been praying for."

Day 347: Fight For It

Today we talked about fighting for what we want and fighting for the things that we know are worth fighting for. We talked about how Jacob fought with angel for his blessing, even with a dislocated hip. We talked about how we should not let the pain stop us, but if it's worth it, we have to keep fighting and see the blessing that comes from it. We focused on Genesis 32:22-29.

"We have to hold on to the things we think are worth fighting for, even if it means we have to deal with the pain of holding on."

Day 348: What's Your Passion

Today we talked about our passions we talked about finding that one thing that we are so passionate about and the thing we know we are meant to do and be. We talked about how we often have this idea that being a Christian means we stop being who we are, meaning we have to give up the things we love and our personalities and even sometimes our culture. We focused on Philippians 1:6, Psalms 32:8, and Proverbs 16:3.

"God Himself can be telling us to take the path that leads us to our dreams but we are sometimes too concerned with thinking that because we aren’t doing it the religious way or because we aren’t doing it in a church we are sinning. God can use you wherever  and whenever."

Day 349: What Will You Do

Today we talked about what we will do and say in the face of adversity. We talked about how we will use our platforms, our voices, our lives to speak up when it comes to things like injustice, equality, peace, truth, etc. We talked about how all of these things starts with us, these changes that we want to see and implement starts with us. We cannot wait for someone else, we have to do it, whatever "it" may be. We focused on John 3:16, Matthew 5:14-16, Galatians 6:2, and Matthew 25:35-40.

"We often think that these are not our battles or our conversations. By overlooking the things that are causing the world so much pain how are we helping to heal. By looking over our brother or sister who is starving and struggling how are we doing God’s will?"

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Be sure to go back over your favorite post this week and share it with someone. Come back tomorrow for Day 351!

Day 348: What is Your Passion

Philippians 1:6

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus

Psalms 32:8
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you

Proverbs 16:3
Commit you work to the Lord , and your plans will be established. 

One of the biggest misconceptions in Christianity is that when we accept Christ into our lives we  completely give up who we are, our personalities, our passions our dreams, in order to serve God. We think we have to turn into these bible reading, church going, scripture memorizing robots, but we don’t. Instead we surrender, we surrender our lives to Him and we give up a life that we thought was good and accept a life that is great because of Him. I’d like to point out that God have us those gifts and dreams and the personalities. He made us who we are for a reason. We can’t just neglect that. 

Today I want to talk about how we are often very passionate about something but instead of going for it we hesitate because we want to make sure that it’s right for us. Overlooking the fact that God created us for this specific purpose, whatever it may be for you. 

We all have something that we love so much, a gift that we cannot help but use. We have that one thing that we want to do. The one thing we know we were made for. Why do we hesitate when it comes to going after it? God gave us the gifts we have. He put those desires and passions in our hearts. We aren’t all going to be pastors and worship leaders. Instead we are supposed to use the gifts we have been given to expand His kingdom. We are to do what we were put on this earth to do. Whatever it may be. If everyone was meant to lead a church no one would have a church to grow or go to. We are the church the church is in us, we have to stop looking at it as a building. If everyone was me at to be pastors who would we have to use the gift of science and medicine to heal and protect us. Who would govern our countries and nations? If we all tried to do the same thing life would be pretty boring and we would all go crazy. 

The question I want to ask you today is, what are you passionate about? What is the one thing you know you were made for.  It’s not usually something we have to find because it’s already in us. We are born with it. So what is it? What is the one thing you cannot live without doing? The thing that you don’t always want to do but you need to do, because you know that if you don’t do it you are wasting not only the gift God has given you but you are wasting your life by trying to do something else. 

When we submit ourselves to Christ we do not lose who we are in fact, it is the opposite, we find ourselves. We are more secure with who we are. We become less hesitant and more sure. Don’t let people scare you with their religion and rules. If you have a solid relationship with God and you know that your life lines up with Him completely and you are obeying His commands you are good. You are a gift and you have a gift. Use it. Too many Christians are stagnate because they think following their dreams is a sin. Sometimes it can be a sin not to follow our dreams. Many times God Himself has given us the desires and the dreams we have because He knows where He wants us and the path that He has for us. God Himself can be telling us to take the path that leads us to our dreams but we are sometimes too concerned with thinking that because we aren’t doing it the religious way or because we aren’t doing it in a church we are sinning. God can use you wherever  and whenever. He will use what He’s given you for His glory. Don’t underestimate how God can work and where He can work. 

Reflection:

What are you passionate about? 

What is the one thing you know you were made to do. 

What is stopping you from following your dreams?

Prayer Time:

Allow your answers to the above questions guide your prayer. Have a conversation with God about you dreams and passions. Make sure that everything you are, everything you want lines up with who He is. 

I love you and I hope you have an amazing Day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 349!

Day 346: Live For Something that Matters

Mark 8:35
If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.

Lately I have been feeling challenged to do more, to live for something more than just me. In a sense I feel as if I have been living in my own little bubble of faith. It's just me and my prayers for my life and the people connected for me. Forgetting that their is a whole world out there, an entire nation of people that God has sent me for, but I am too consumed with my life to see them. I am too busy praying for what I want that I overlook that the fact that there is more than just me. Yeah, I read my bible and pray every morning and before I go to bed, but when I think about it, my prayers are very much directed inward. God help me, help me reach my dreams and goals, help my family, my friends, But what about the other dreamers, what about the families that have no one to pray for them. Being a Christian is more than just praying for God to help us live a righteous life, but it's about praying for those that don't even know they have the opportunity to live a righteous life. It's about living a life like Jesus, one that seeks out the broken just to heal them. Reading the word of God not just so it can transform my life but sharing it so that it can transform the lives of others.

If we as the body of Christ will turn our prayer away from ourselves, and towards the people of God. If we will turn our prayers towards the broken and the sick, and the tormented. If we will take our eyes off ourselves, our religion, our denominations, church attire, and the number of church services we have in a day. If we turn our focus towards the bigger picture, we will discover an entire world of people that have yet to come in contact or know who Jesus is. We will find that there are people begging for prayer. There are people begging to hear the word of God, but are we too consumed with our own small circle to see that it can go further than where we are. It needs to go further than where we are. This means that we have to put ourselves on the back burner, we have to set our needs and wants aside because the needs and wants of God's children is greater. The needs of the person with no food is greater than our need to go out and hang with friends at an expensive restaurant. Our needs or want for the latest pair of Jordan's or whatever it may be becomes pretty small when we see that someone is walking around with no shoes on their feet and no clothes on their back. Our needs and wants become pretty small when we think about the needs and want so of others. We are walking around boasting in a life that we live while we walk past our brother and sister that only wants a glimpse of what we have. There's too many millionaires and billionaires in the world for millions even billions of people to be starving, living on the streets, and living in toxic and harmful conditions. There are too many church leaders and ministers for there to be people walking around as broken as they are, sometimes from he seats of our churches. God didn't give us what we have just for us. We are here for something much greater much bigger than ourselves. Like a doctor has the ability to heal, they know that if they do not use their knowledge to do their job someone's life will be on the line. If a surgeon has the ability to fix someone's heart but does not do so what is the use of them being a surgeon on the first place if they are not going to do what they have been educated to do (I've been watching a lot of Grey's anatomy lately).

No matter how big  and great we think we are, God sent us here for something much bigger ad greater. We all want to matter and we all think we matter and we do. But at the end of the day God is less concerned with how much you mattered to the people that adored you. We are seeking this adoration from people instead of seeking approval from God. We are living this life that is shaped to elevating ourselves. There's no use of getting to the top if when we get there we left everyone at the bottom to die. Why are so consumed with this idea of being adored so much that we are willing to overlook the people that actually need our adoration. We are willing to walk pass the person that maybe all they needed was for us to smile at them but we are consumed with the number of people smiling at our presence. There is nothing wrong with being adored but when we think about what are we adored for, and is it all about self gain?

I had to learn to look away from myself so I can see the world God ha placed me in too help heal and save. We are constantly asking God to save and change the world. We all want world peace, we want the broken to be healed, so we pray. We pray and ask god to do it, and when we don't see a change we pray again and this cycle continues. But did we ever think we are the answer to those prayers? Did we ever think that nothing is happening because we aren't doing it?  Did we ever think that the very task or mission we are trying to put off on God He has put on us?  We pray for change but it never crosses our mind that God sent us to where we are because we are the change that we have been praying for. But we think that asking God to do it is enough and having faith to do it is enough. It's not when the mission is ours. It's not enough when He's telling us and equipping us to do it. Let's not neglect our mission because we are so consumed with ourselves and our small little world.

All this to say, when we look away from ourselves that is when we will realize that God sent us here with a mission and it is more than just our lives involve. We will have to be the least and last sometimes. We will have to sacrifice, the question is are we willing. It less about being able and more about being willing. God wouldn't give it to us if we didn't have the ability but do we have the will? That's the question. Do we have the will to live for something that will not necessarily make us great but will be greater than us. There's a reward, a satisfaction, a fulfillment if you will in living for something outside of self. That's why giving our lives to Christ completes us.

Response/Prayer Time

Take the time to reflect and respond on what we discussed today. Have a conversation with God about what we talked about. Ask yourself if you are willing to take on the mission God has for you.

I love you all so much and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 347!