Church guide

Read John 10: 22-31 for tomorrow's worship time with your FBI family. Be in prayer for all those with needs both spoken and unspoken and also FBI youth leaving for camp on Monday. Blessings for the week ahead.

Setbacks Can’t Derail God’s Purpose BY RICK WARREN — “Don’t be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you” (Acts 27:24 NLT). Sometimes a setback is rooted in your own actions or choices. You made a mistake. You did something that hurt another person. You disobeyed God. And now you’re facing a storm because of it. But often, the storms we face in life aren’t because of something we did. Instead, we suffer because of other people’s poor decisions—or even their sins. Acts 27 gives us a dramatic example of suffering a setback because of the foolish choices of others. Paul had been unfairly put on trial for crimes he didn’t commit. He was a Roman citizen, so he had the opportunity to appeal to Caesar in capital-offense cases. On the prison ship heading toward Rome, Paul told the others that they were headed toward disaster. But no one listened, and it didn’t take too long before they hit a terrible storm. But that didn’t mean the storm sidetracked God’s purpose for Paul—and a storm doesn’t have to sidetrack God’s purpose for you, either. God’s purpose for your life is greater than any setback you’ll ever go through. An angel told Paul this in Acts 27:24: “Don’t be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you”’ (NLT). Despite the setback, the angel told Paul he’d one day stand before Caesar and share his testimony. God’s purpose wouldn’t be thwarted. God doesn’t need a Plan B for your life. Hitting a setback—whether it’s your fault or someone else’s—doesn’t mean God won’t work through your life. When disaster hits, God just fits it into his plans. When someone else’s decision turns your life upside down, God uses it for his glory.When someone else’s mistake puts you in a difficult situation, God works through it anyway. When you feel like you’ve lost everything, God does the incredible so you can do the impossible. You can’t sink God’s purpose. Neither can anyone else.

When Setbacks Come, Don’t Get Bitter—Get the Big Picture BY RICK WARREN —“I was born with nothing, and I will die with nothing. The LORD gave, and now he has taken away. May his name be praised!” (Job 1:21 GNT). When you hit a setback, it’s okay to tell God you’re mad, you’re sad, or you’re depressed. It’s okay to express all your emotions to God. Just don’t get bitter. Bitterness is saying you don’t trust God when troubles hit. It’s like a poison that will tear your life apart if you let it. Job endured all kinds of problems. He lost his family, his fortune, and his health. But instead of becoming bitter, he kept his focus on the big picture. Job says, “I was born with nothing, and I will die with nothing. The Lord gave, and now he has taken away. May his name be praised!” (Job 1:21 GNT).Job understood that God was still in control even though everything else seemed to be falling apart. I was there when each of my three children was born. They didn’t come with anything. They didn’t have toys, a portfolio, a wardrobe, or a briefcase. I’ve also preached enough funerals to know that no one drives a trailer of possessions to the graveside. You come with nothing. You leave with nothing. When setbacks come your way—and they most certainly will come—you must focus on the fact that God has your big picture in mind. Many things will change in your life. Your faith will be tested and tried. Like Job, you haven’t been promised a perfect life. You likely won’t get an explanation when setbacks come. But you can choose to trust God anyway. No matter what setbacks you face, trust that: God will never stop loving you. God has a plan for your life. God cares about every detail of your life. God is in control of things even when you don’t understand it. God will protect you. Regardless of the setback, that’s the big picture about your life. You can base your life on these five truths when everything else falls apart. You won’t get bitter if you keep your eyes on a big picture like that.

God Can Handle Your Honesty BY RICK WARREN — “Rise during the night and cry out. Pour out your hearts like water to the Lord” (Lamentations 2:19 NLT). You’ve just had an awful setback. You’ve lost a job. You’ve ended a relationship. You’ve failed in some way. What do you next? Do you just grin and bear it? Do you tell God what you think he wants to hear? No. The first thing you do is you tell God how you feel. You unload your pain. When you’re honest with God about your emotions, it’s actually an act of worship. Job gives us a great example of this. Job loses everything—his family, his livestock, his home, and his wealth. But the Bible doesn’t sugarcoat his response. “Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship” (Job 1:20 NLT). Job grieved in the way Middle Easterners in his day would have done it, by tearing his robe and shaving his head. But then he worshiped God. Anytime you experience loss in your life, you’ll face four emotions: Anger: Why did this happen to me? Grief: What have I lost? Shock: What’s going on here? Fear: What’s going to happen next? When you experience a setback, you need to express every one of those emotions. God can handle them because he is the one who gave them to you. The only reason you have any emotions is because you are made in the image of God. It’s what makes humans unique among God’s creation. God is an emotional God; he has emotions. He can handle your anger, your grief, your shock, and your fear. Job was brutally honest with God, and you can be, too. Job said, “I cannot keep from speaking. I must express my anguish. My bitter soul must complain” (Job 7:11 NLT). The right response to a setback isn’t to fake a good response. God never wants you to fake an emotion. In one of the most difficult setbacks in the entire Bible, after Jerusalem had been looted and destroyed and the Israelites had been killed, enslaved, and exiled, the prophet Jeremiah writes this: “Rise during the night and cry out. Pour out your hearts like water to the Lord” (Lamentations 2:19 NLT). With God, honesty is always the best policy.

God’s Remedy for Your Emotional Exhaustion BY RICK WARREN — “He makes me lie down in green pastures” (Psalm 23:2 NIV). Yesterday I shared with you 10 signs that you might be emotionally exhausted. All of them came from the experience of Elijah, one of the great prophets of the Old Testament. So, what do you do if you realize you’re emotionally exhausted? When Elijah faced that experience, God led him to do three things that helped him recover—and they’re things that can help you recover, too, when you’re at the end of your rope. Rest your body. In the world’s most famous psalm, the Bible says of God, “He makes me lie down in green pastures” (Psalm 23:2 NIV). Sometimes God must make you lie down because you’re unwilling to do it on your own. You can’t be spiritually and emotionally strong while you’re physically depleted. That’s what happened to Elijah. God did not scold Elijah. God didn’t say, “Come on, man. You’re just having a pity party.” He simply let Elijah sleep. The Bible says about Elijah in 1 Kings 19:5, “Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep” (NIV). Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do when you’re emotionally exhausted is to take a nap. Release your frustrations. Revealing your feeling is the beginning of healing. In 1 Kings 19:10, Elijah says this to God: “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too” (NIV). Elijah didn’t hold anything back. He didn’t filter his feelings. He told God his frustrations. Here’s the point you can’t miss about this verse. God isn’t shocked when you complain to him. He’ll listen to you until you run out of words. Let them all out. God can handle anything you throw at him. Remember and refocus on God. When you’re emotionally exhausted and nearing burnout, you need to remember what God says and who he is. When we do that, we shift our eyes away from our problem and toward Jesus. We get a fresh awareness of God’s power and God’s presence and God’s personality. We need to see that far more than we need to see our problems. In 1 Kings 19:11-13, God demonstrated his power firsthand to Elijah. The Lord showed him who was in control. When you’re struggling through burnout, it’s often because you’re trying to play God and control everything. When you refocus on God, you realize he is in control. You can stop exerting your own control. If you’re feeling burned out and emotionally exhausted, God hasn’t forgotten you. Just like God did with Elijah, God stands ready and willing to help.

10 Signs You’re Emotionally Exhausted BY RICK WARREN — “Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, LORD,’ he said. ‘Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died’” (1 Kings 19:3-4 NLT). Everyone goes through times where their emotional tanks are empty—even great heroes of the Bible. Consider the experience of Elijah, one of the most important prophets in the history of Israel. After a highlight of his ministry—he went toe-to-toe with a pagan prophet and won—he got a death threat from the queen and began a downward spiral of emotional exhaustion. First Kings 19:3-4 describes what Elijah did next. “Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, Lord,’ he said. ‘Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died’” (NLT). Elijah’s experience gives us 10 indications of emotional exhaustion. Keep your eyes open for these issues in your own life and the lives of people around you. Here are 10 signs of emotional exhaustion from this part of Elijah’s life. Fear creeps into your life. You find yourself running away from things. You back out of relationships. You make foolish decisions impulsively. You push yourself past your physical limits. Your work seems pointless. You complain that you want to quit and give up. You feel isolated and attacked. You compare yourself to others and feel bad about yourself. You think death might bring relief. If you see some of these characteristics in your life right now, you’re likely emotionally exhausted or experiencing burnout. You may even be depressed. But there is hope—and tomorrow, I’ll share with you what the Bible says you can do when your emotional tank is empty.

Lean on God’s Promises When Troubles Hit BY RICK WARREN — “Not a single one of all the good promises the LORD had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true” (Joshua 21:45 NLT). When we experience a setback, we tend to focus on the wrong place. We look at the bank account. We keep our eyes on others in our lives. We put our attention on what we can hold on to. God says that when everything in life is falling apart, we need to remember that his promises can be trusted. The Bible tells us, “Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true” (Joshua 21:45 NLT). When you can’t count on anything else, you can count on the promises of God. That’s what Paul told his shipmates when they were being battered by a storm in Acts 27. All looked lost. But God had told Paul that they all would be safe. Paul trusted God and told the others: “So take courage, men, because I believe God that it will be just the way it was told to me” (Acts 27:25 CSB). Paul didn’t place his faith in the ship or the captain. Paul trusted God. That boat wasn’t going to last forever. Paul understood that, but he knew the promises of God would last. Are you trying to put your trust in a puny lifeboat? Maybe it’s your sparkling personality. You’re sure that you can get through anything because your personality will shine through. Maybe it’s your looks. They’ve always been the key to your success. You figure you can lean on your looks when troubles hit. Maybe it’s your money. You plan to buy yourself out of whatever problem you face. But all of those puny lifeboats will someday perish. The only safe place to be in the middle of a storm is directly in the center of God’s will. Just ask Paul. Acts 27 ends with an incredible comeback—the Bible says “everyone escaped safely to shore” (Acts 27:44 NLT). Like they always have, God’s promises came true—everyone was safe. When you lean on God’s promises during a storm, you won’t be

God’s Presence: Your Anchor through Any Storm BY RICK WARREN “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me” (Psalm 23:4 NIV). No one gets to live a life without setbacks. All of us will face storms from time to time. The real issue is how we respond. What happens next? Do setbacks dominate you? Do you stop trying and give up? If we’re not careful, setbacks will lead us toward unhelpful decisions: Drifting from our goals. We hear the little voice inside that asks, “What’s the use of trying?” Then we stop striving for what God has clearly called us to do. Discarding what we value. Sometimes, after a period of intense pain, our priorities change—we let go of what once mattered greatly to us. Despairing about our future. We figure we’re doomed, we’re finished, and it’s all over. As a pastor now for more than 40 years, I’ve watched many people react to crises in one of those three ways. I’ve discovered that the true test of faith is not how high you jump when you’re singing praises to God, but how straight you walk when you’re going through the valley of the shadow of death. You’ll always drift in a storm without the right anchor. And only one anchor will really do. One of the Bible’s most famous passages says it like this: “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me” (Psalm 23:4 NIV). God’s presence is the greatest anchor in any situation. When you’re feeling hopeless, remember that God hasn’t left you. Make him your rock-solid anchor. No matter how dark your valley, you’ve never been closer to God than you are at this exact moment. When I make that statement to people as they’re going through setbacks, they often tell me: “Well, I don’t feel his presence.” But it really has nothing to do with how you feel. The Bible says God is there in your darkest valley. That’s reality—whether you believe it or not. The Bible tells us, “I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us” (Romans 8:38-39 The Message). No matter what you’re going through, God and his love are right there with you. That truth offers stability in any storm.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon quotes “There are times when solitude is better than society, and silence is wiser than speech. We should be better Christians if we were more alone, waiting upon God, and gathering through meditation on His Word spiritual strength for labour in his service. We ought to muse upon the things of God, because we thus get the real nutriment out of them. . . . Why is it that some Christians, although they hear many sermons, make but slow advances in the divine life? Because they neglect their closets, and do not thoughtfully meditate on God's Word. They love the wheat, but they do not grind it; they would have the corn, but they will not go forth into the fields to gather it; the fruit hangs upon the tree, but they will not pluck it; the water flows at their feet, but they will not stoop to drink it. From such folly deliver us, O Lord. . . .” ― Charles Spurgeon “Our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strengths.” “Hope itself is like a star- not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, and only to be discovered in the night of adversity. ” “If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for.” “When your will is God's will, you will have your will.” Faith goes up the stairs that love has built and looks out the windows which hope has opened.” ― Charles H. Spurgeon

MORNING&EVENINGS DEVOTIONALS by Charles Spurgeon Galatians 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. In every believer's heart there is a constant struggle between the old nature and the new. The old nature is very active, and loses no opportunity of plying all the weapons of its deadly armoury against newborn grace; while on the other hand, the new nature is ever on the watch to resist and destroy its enemy. Grace within us will employ prayer, and faith, and hope, and love, to cast out the evil; it takes unto it the "whole armour of God," and wrestles earnestly. These two opposing natures will never cease to struggle so long as we are in this world. The battle of "Christian" with "Apollyon" lasted three hours, but the battle of Christian with himself lasted all the way from the Wicket Gate in the river Jordan. The enemy is so securely entrenched within us that he can never be driven out while we are in this body: but although we are closely beset, and often in sore conflict, we have an Almighty helper, even Jesus, the Captain of our salvation, who is ever with us, and who assures us that we shall eventually come off more than conquerors through Him. With such assistance the new-born nature is more than a match for its foes. Are you fighting with the adversary to-day? Are Satan, the world, and the flesh, all against you? Be not discouraged nor dismayed. Fight on! For God Himself is with you; Jehovah Nissi is your banner, and Jehovah Rophi is the healer of your wounds. Fear not, you shall overcome, for who can defeat Omnipotence? Fight on, "looking unto Jesus"; and though long and stern be the conflict, sweet will be the victory, and glorious the promised reward. "From strength to strength go on; Wrestle, and fight, and pray, Tread all the powers of darkness down, And win the well-fought day." JJ

20 Powerful Quotes from Charles Spurgeon Emily Maust Wood Crosswalk.com Contributor 2015 Who was Charles Spurgeon? A prolific author and speaker, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, born in 1834, produced more than 3,600 sermons and dozens of books before his death in 1892. Spurgeon came to the Lord as a teenager, apparently by accident. En route to an appointment, he was sidetracked by a snowstorm and took refuge in a chapel, where he heard the salvation message. The event set him on the path of becoming the most popular preacher in nineteenth-century England. His first congregation quickly outgrew their building and moved into the Metropolitan Tabernacle, the largest church of its time, where Spurgeon taught a congregation of more than five thousand each week. His sermons, recorded by stenographers and published weekly, are some of the best-selling sermons in Christian history. In the midst of his success, Spurgeon made bold moves that undermined his popularity, including openly condemning the owning of slaves. This stand for justice drastically cut the sales of his sermons and created a rift between him and some American publishers and churches, but Spurgeon maintained his stance that the church's job has always been "to destroy everything that is bad in the land." At his death, he left behind his wife Susannah and twin sons, and a church of thousands of members, which his son pastored after his death. Accounts of his life recall an energetic man devoted to teaching the Word of God clearly and simply, that those who heard could understand and be changed. 20 Quotes by Charles Spurgeon: “We are not responsible to God for the soul that are saved, but we are responsible for the Gospel that is preached, and for the way in which we preach it.” “You say, 'If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.' You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled.” “It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.” “Christians can never sin cheaply; they pay a heavy price for iniquity. Transgression destroys peace of mind, obscures fellowship with Jesus, hinders prayer, brings darkness over the soul; therefore be not the serf and bondman of sin.” “God is too good to be unkind and He is too wise to be mistaken. And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.” "I would go to the deeps a hundred times to cheer a downcast spirit. It is good for me to have been afflicted, that I might know how to speak a word in season to one that is weary.” “Ought we not to look upon our own history as being at least as full of God . . . as the lives of any of the saints who have gone before? We do our Lord an injustice when we suppose that He wrought all His mighty acts, and showed Himself strong for those in the early time, but doth not perform wonders or lay bare His arm for the saints who are now upon the earth.” “Nobody ever outgrows Scripture; the book widens and deepens with our years.” “The way to do a great deal is to keep on doing a little. The way to do nothing at all is to be continually resolving that you will do everything.” "No faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs through adversity. Tested faith brings experience. You would never have believed your own weakness had you not needed to pass through trials. And you would never have known God’s strength had His strength not been needed to carry you through.” “Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, but only empties today of its strength.” “We have all things and abound; not because I have a good store of money in the bank, not because I have skill and wit with which to win my bread, but because the Lord is my shepherd.” “The doctrine of the atonement is to my mind one of the surest proofs of the divine inspiration of Holy Scripture. Who would or could have thought of the just Ruler dying for the unjust rebel? This is no teaching of human mythology, or dream of poetical imagination. This method of expiation is only known among men because it is a fact; fiction could not have devised it. God himself ordained it; it is not a matter which could have been imagined.” “Learn to say no. It will be of more use to you than to be able to read Latin.” “Sickness may befall, but the Lord will give grace; poverty may happen to us, but grace will surely be afforded; death must come but grace will light a candle at the darkest hour. Reader, how blessed it is as years roll round, and the leaves begin again to fall, to enjoy such an unfading promise as this, 'The Lord will give grace.'” “Sin may drag thee ever so low, but Christ's great atonement is still under all.” “Doubt not his grace because of thy tribulation, but believe that he loveth thee as much in seasons of trouble as in times of happiness.” “If Christ is not all to you He is nothing to you. He will never go into partnership as a part Saviour of men. If He be something He must be everything, and if He be not everything He is nothing to you.” “Humility is to make a right estimate of oneself.” “If I had never joined a Church till I had found one that was perfect, I should never have joined one at all! And the moment I did join it, if I had found one, I should have spoiled it, for it would not have been a perfect Church after I had become a member of it. Still, imperfect as it is, it is the dearest place on earth to us.”

Read John 10: 1-10 and come prepared to worship with your FBI family. Message will be delivered by Dr. Justin Smith. Be in Prayer for the many requests and also the community and our nation.

Standing in the Storm Psalm 62:1-8 “What am I going to do?” How many times have we all uttered this cry of despair? Sometimes the storms of life come without letup; they seem endless, successively crashing against us until we feel as though we can’t take any more. In those times of desperation, Psalm 62 offers three valuable lessons. First, we must wait. It’s understandable that we want answers and relief immediately, but the Lord acts in His own perfect time, and He’s never late. Therefore, we must wait for Him to guide us to the next step—even when that means resisting our natural desire to react quickly and take control of circumstances. Second, we must wait in silence. When we quiet our mind and tongue, we give God an opportunity to speak His words of hope and trust to our heart. Instead of letting anxiety and worry occupy our thoughts, we must focus on God’s promises from Scripture. Then He will give us patience, trust, courage, and the assurance that He cares and is in control. Third, we must keep in mind the motivation for this waiting—God’s intervention. Our focus is to be on the Lord, not on our troubles, ourselves, or other people. We must learn to filter out whatever is pulling our attention away from trust in almighty God, who is working according to His will and timing. When the storms of life batter you, make sure that your feet are planted on the solid rock of Jesus Christ. Do not despair, asking, What am I going to do? Rather, ask, What is God doing? And be assured—He is doing something.

God’s Voice Then and Now Genesis 12:1-7 To understand how God may be speaking to us today, we should first examine how He spoke in the past. What made His voice so clear to the heroes of faith? In the Old Testament accounts, one of the primary ways God spoke to people was by direct revelation. That is, He communicated one-on-one, directly to their spirit. This is what we see in His conversations with Abraham, for instance (Gen. 12:1-3). Then, of course, the Lord also spoke through His Word. This included the Ten Commandments and the law of Moses, which made it possible for people to know and obey the divine will (Ex. 20:1-26). Another way that God communicated was through circumstances. For example, think about His interaction with Gideon, who was frightened and needed some extra encouragement (Judg. 6:36-40). The Lord graciously answered his request for a special physical sign of divine presence. The New Testament mentions more of God’s communication methods. His message can come through angels or the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:19-21; Acts 8:29). There were occasions when God spoke audibly, such as at Paul’s dramatic salvation experience on the Damascus Road (Acts 9:1-19). Through these various methods, the Lord has continually reassured His people that He cares for them and is present at their side. This is certainly much-needed encouragement for our lives. Yet God may not choose to convey a message in the same way He’s done in the past. However, we know His voice is always clear in His Word when we’re willing to listen.

How to Seek the Lord Psalm 105:1-7 Although Scripture tells us to seek the Lord, many Christians struggle with this command. Some are so distracted by other interests and responsibilities that God is only a miniscule part of their goals and desires in life. When confronted with their responsibility to pursue Him, they often feel guilty but don’t know how to begin. When desire for the Lord surpasses our eagerness for other pursuits, following through becomes more natural. But hunger for the Lord can be like an acquired taste. The more we pursue Him, the greater our hunger will be. However, if we ignore Him, what little appetite we have will diminish even further. Do you find that the latter describes your experience? If so, ask the heavenly Father to whet your appetite for Him—and follow through by making the effort to seek Him. Begin with the Scriptures and prayer. Set aside time each day for meditating on God’s Word—listen for His voice, slowly digest what you read, talk to the Lord, ask Him questions, and apply what you learn to your life. Begin studying the Bible. Some of you may say, “I’ve never been into that.” My advice: Get into it! The deep things of God don’t just drop into our brains; they are placed there through diligent study. Seeking anything requires time and effort. Will you invest your life in the pursuit of the Eternal One—the source of all contentment, joy, and hope? Or will you go after that which is fleeting? By neglecting the Lord, you cheat yourself of all the benefits He promises to those who diligently seek Him.

The Value of Seeking the Lord Psalm 119:1-8 We all have ambitions and desires. And while these are not necessarily wrong, we should analyze our priorities by asking, Where do I invest my time and energy? What or who occupies my thoughts? As important as our earthly pursuits, responsibilities, and relationships may be, they cannot compare to the value of a life spent seeking the Lord. First of all, consider what it means to seek something. The word connotes a strong desire and an energetic quest to achieve it. Suppose you discovered a very productive vein of gold on your property. You wouldn’t just stroll out and look at it occasionally. No, you would get proper equipment and diligently chip away at the rocks and collect the precious metal. In the same way, seeking the Lord is not a quick or occasional encounter but a wholehearted effort to know Him more intimately and follow Him more closely. Those who unreservedly pursue this kind of fellowship with God are determined to spend time with Him. They also want to forsake anything that could hinder growth in their relationship with the Lord. God’s committed followers boldly claim His promises and trust He will fulfill His Word. Their experiences with the Lord bring amazing satisfaction yet cause them to hunger for more of Him. The Christian life is meant to be a pursuit of God. To walk through the door of salvation and stand still, never drawing any closer to Him, is to miss the treasures that are available in Christ. Those who seek Him soon discover that knowing Him is the greatest reward of all.

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Equipped by God Hebrews 13:20-21 Sometimes followers of Christ get the wrong idea about their role versus God’s role. They may think that God is sitting on His throne, waiting to meet their needs when they call on Him. Although He is a loving Father who provides for us, we must be careful not to assume He exists to serve us. The reality is that we exist for God. He created us for His purposes and has equipped every believer to serve Him in some fashion. According to Ephesians 2:10, “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Everything about us has been designed by God to equip us for the work He preordained long before our birth. • He created each of us with the exact personality and body we would need to fulfill His purpose for our life. • God has equipped us with the strengths, abilities, and talents necessary to do what He planned for us. • The Holy Spirit has given us spiritual gifts with which to serve one another in the church. • Every experience in our life is used by God to equip us for doing His will. Both the pleasant and difficult times shape our character, mature us spiritually, and train us to help others. God uniquely created each of us, and He’s provided us with everything we need to serve and glorify Him. All we must do is step out in obedience with full reliance on His grace and power.

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