This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. I will say it another way, rejoice right now. Don’t put it off till later because later my not come. Give that some spiritual thought. I was sitting here thinking about the events in my life and how they seem to be mirroring times in my past. I went back in my archives of messages and found a message from 11 years ago that I’m going to share again. I believe it will help somebody.
Today’s Prayer
Father, Today I’m reminded of all the health care workers around the world. There are many paid medical professionals and many volunteer workers who seek to help the sick, terminally ill, impoverished, and needy…and they all need a special touch from You. Their responsibilities are stressful and demanding, leaving a weight of care upon their shoulders, an ache in their hearts, exhaustion in mind and body. The decisions they make and the actions they take affect lives. I pray for much wisdom and guidance from You for these special people. I pray for peace and refreshment for their souls. I pray for a time of rest and family enjoyment. I pray that Your energy and healing power and love will flow through them as they minister to others. Give them the right words to say in all circumstances. I pray that any medical professional who is not a believer, will see Your power and miracles at work and, as a result, come to know You as Lord and Savior. Bless them, Lord. Keep them safe when in harms way. In JESUS’ name, Amen.
Let’s eat.
The Depth and Width of Your Calling
If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. – 2 Corinthians 1:6
I am going to share something this today that I hope will help and encourage you as much as it did me. On two different occasions during the last few years, two different mentors at two different times said to me “God must love you a lot! He doesn’t allow someone to go through the kinds of adversity you have experienced unless He has a special calling on your life.” Later I would learn another related truth from a respected woman of God – a woman who lives in another state, a woman whom God uses throughout the globe. “The depth and width of your faith experiences are directly proportional to your calling.” What were these people of God saying?
After spending a long time meditating on the words of these anointed people, I came to the conclusion that they were describing a process of preparation that God takes each of His leaders through when He plans to use them in significant ways. A “faith experience” is an event or “spiritual marker” in your life about which you can say, “That is where I saw God personally moving in my life.” It is an unmistakable event in which God showed Himself personally to you. It was the burning bush for Moses; the crossing of the Red Sea or the Jordan River for the nation of Israel; Jacob’s encounter with the angel. It was the feeding of the 5,000 for the disciples. It was the time when you saw God face to face in your life.
If God has plans of using you in the lives of many others, you can expect that He is going to allow certain faith experiences to come into your life in order to build a foundation that will be solid. That foundation is what you will be able to look back on to keep you faithful to Him in the times of testing. Each of us must have personal faith experiences in which we experience God personally so that we can move in faith to whatever He may call us.
Do you need a personal faith experience right now in your life?
Pray that God will reveal Himself to you. He delights in doing that.
Quote of the Day
If you feel stuck, bring your whole self to Christ, not just the problem, but you. Ask God to change your heart. Commit yourself to pray to that end. It’s God’s heart to give good gifts to His children.
Sheila Walsh
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REV. ELDER G E STERRETT
FOUNDER
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James H. Taylor Sr. – Kankakee City News has published my Daily meal message for a decade.