21/21 Days of Prayer

As we come to the end of 21 Days of Prayer let me reemphasize how proud I am of you for starting and completing this journey! We are celebrating with you all the prayers you have seen God answer over the last few weeks. I also understand that you might have been praying for something specific that hasn’t happened yet, and I want to encourage you to keep praying, standing, and believing in faith! Don’t give up hope. Just because it hasn’t happened yet doesn’t mean that it’s not going to happen at all. Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” At the proper time you will reap a harvest, just don’t give up!

20/21 Days of Prayer

Walking by faith and not by sight isn’t an easy thing to do. We are trained to operate using our senses. We even say things like, “I will believe it when I see it!” However faith says, “I want you to believe it before you see it!” You don’t need faith to believe if you’ve already seen it. Faith doesn’t need proof. God loves it when His children choose to walk by faith even when their senses are screaming “this is crazy!”

When the facts say “That is impossible,” Faith says “That’s God’s specialty!” When facts say “You are sick,” Faith says “You are healed.” When the facts say “You are broke,” Faith says “God is your provider.”

Walking by faith means that I declare God’s Word over my circumstances and my situations. There are 7,487 promises in the Bible that God made to mankind. In 2 Corinthians 1:20 God’s word says, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.” This applies to all 7,487 promises God has made to us – they are all “yes” and “amen.”

19/21 Days of Prayer

I am a pretty competitive person! I am so competitive that I don’t generally participate in games with my friends and family to make sure that my friends and family stay my friends and family. Competition isn’t often encouraged in the Bible, but this scripture in Romans is one of the rare occasions. Paul encourages us to outdo each other in respect and honor. This means that if there is any area we should be competitive in, it’s respect and honor for each other. To honor is to esteem, cherish, to value, to build up, to encourage, and to believe the best. To dishonor is to treat as common, to tear down, to criticize, and to assume the worst. Looking at both of these definitions, does your life look more like honor or dishonor?

Whether you feel like you are honoring well, or you need some improvement in this area, today is a great day to try to outdo yourselves in honor and respect of one another.

18/21 Days of Prayer

Notice the scripture simply says, “Let your light shine.” Light doesn’t have to try to shine, it just does! In the same way, we should never make impacting our world complicated. Every time you encourage someone you are letting your light shine. When you tell someone how Jesus has changed your life you are letting your light shine. When you comfort someone that is hurting you are letting your light shine. When you invite someone to church you are letting your light shine. Because we know that heaven and hell are real, we will do anything short of sin to reach people for Jesus.

17/21 Days of Prayer

Did you know that God has given you a purpose? God prepared good works specifically for you to do long before you knew him! There are things that God has put you on this earth to do. We often say, “You were created on purpose, for a purpose.”

God calls you a masterpiece! You are uniquely you. You have a unique calling on your life. Don’t believe the lie of the enemy that you aren’t gifted or talented. God doesn’t make trash, He only makes treasure. Don’t believe what others told you when they were angry or insecure. God didn’t make a mistake when he created you. He thought through every aspect of your life, and he made no errors in the process.

16/21 Days of Prayer

At One Church our greatest desire is that everyone that comes through our church doors has an encounter with Jesus. My life was forever changed the day that I accepted Jesus as my Savior and my life continues to be changed every time I encounter Jesus!

No matter where you find yourself in your faith journey, you will never outgrow encountering Jesus! Jesus is way too big to discover all that He is in one lifetime. We will spend eternity discovering more of who He is. Whether you’ve been a Christian for 20 years or 2 days, God wants to encounter you again today. If you’re a seasoned Christian, you haven’t seen it all! If you’re new to your faith, you’re not behind. God wants to meet you right where you are today. You don’t have to clean yourself up before approaching Him, He’s available with open arms. Whatever you are needing today can be found in the person of Jesus.

15/21 Days of Prayer

If you have ever rode a horse you probably understand the concept of spurs. If you’re not familiar with spurs, they are most often used to get a horse to do what you want even when they don’t want to do what you’re asking.

This passage of scripture in Hebrews says, “spur one another on.” According to what we have learned about spurs, this means that we need people in our lives that will encourage us to do what we need to do even when we don’t necessarily want to do it. We not only need to receive this type of encouragement, but we need to give it to the people around us as well.

I am so thankful to be a part of a Community Group where we encourage each other, pray for each other, and spur each other on towards love and good deeds. You need people in your life! You will never be the person God has called you to be without people to spur you on.

14/21 Days of Prayer

We live in a world that is more uncertain than ever. There are times when every passing day seems more overwhelming than the day before. This scripture in Deuteronomy has always helped me when I am facing uncertain circumstances in my life. It reminds me that God is with me and that I don’t have to live my life in fear of what I don’t know. I don’t have to obsess over what I can’t control! I can face whatever comes my way with courage because the God of the universe is with me and He is on my side.

Be encouraged today that no matter what you are facing, God is on your side. He has the solution to whatever problem you might deem unsolvable. He sees how it ends, and He’s urging you not to be afraid! Lean on Him to receive the courage you need today.

13/21 Days of Prayer

One of the greatest habits we can develop in our lives is reading God’s Word daily. I am so proud of you for sticking to this devotional for almost 2 weeks, and I want to encourage you to continue the habit of being in God’s Word every day even when this 21 day journey is complete.

We aren’t committed to being in God’s Word because of religious obligation, but because the Word lights our paths, gives us wisdom, and shows us the way of truth. God’s Word is a bright light in a dark world even when we don’t understand everything we are reading.

If you aren’t sure where to start reading your Bible, start in the book of John and read all the way until you get to Revelation. When you’ve done that, start again at John and continue the process. Develop a daily habit of being in God’s Word and watch as His Word changes you over time.

12/21 Days of Prayer

What if we lived our lives constantly looking for ways to serve others? We have a core value at One Church that “Servant Leadership is our identity.” When something becomes our identity it means that it is who we are all the time. So when servant leadership is our identity it doesn’t just mean we serve others, rather we are servants of others. Everywhere that I go I look for ways to help and serve the people around me.

What if we allowed the role of a servant to be so much a part of us that people can’t describe us without talking about our servant’s heart? What would it look like to live our lives focused on what we could do for others rather than what they can do for us?