Missionary Kindness

ALL – Psalm 9:13-20
ALL – Proverbs 19:4-5
OT – 1 Chronicles 12:19-14:17
NT – Romans 1:1-17

Interesting passage for the day: And now, through Christ, all the kindness of God has been poured out upon us undeserving sinners; and now he is sending us out around the world to tell all people everywhere the great things God has done for them, so that they, too, will believe and obey him. – Romans 1:5, The Living Bible

Thought: When you think about God, what is the first characteristic that pops into your head? His power? His eternity? His knowledge of everything? His enormity? His holiness? When I think about God, I often think about how impressive He is. But as important as it is to remember how impressive God is and how much greater He is than we are, God also wants us to approach Him. And sometimes thinking about all these qualities that are so impressive to us humans ends up creating fear in us rather than a desire to approach God.

But God is not only impressive because of His power and holiness. God’s kindness is impressive, too. God’s kindness is so impressive that it invites us to draw close to Him. He is so kind that, even though we have disobeyed Him, He sent Jesus Christ to suffer for our sins instead of us. And God is so kind that he sends His disciples to their neighbors and families, and even around the world, to make sure that no one has to miss out on what Jesus Christ did for us. God is so kind that He not only opened the door for us to approach Him, but He is sending invitations out to us every day so that we know His door is open.

Question: Have you realized how kind God is to you? Have you experienced His kindness? Have you helped to extend God’s kindness by letting other people know about it? If not, will you?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Experts…(N)ever Wrong?

ALL – Psalm 7:1-17
ALL – Proverbs 18:22
OT – 1 Chronicles 7:1-8:40
NT – Acts 27:1-20

Interesting passage for the day: “Sirs,” he said, “I believe there is trouble ahead if we go on—perhaps shipwreck, loss of cargo, injuries, and death.” But the officers in charge of the prisoners listened more to the ship’s captain and the owner than to Paul. – Acts 27:10-11, The Living Bible

Thought: Does anyone else think that, if we were the officers, we would listen more to a ship’s captain and owner about whether to keep sailing than to a missionary?

And yet, as the story goes on, it turns out that Paul was right. They shouldn’t have kept sailing. They sailed right into a storm, and by the end of today’s reading, all hope is lost. At least, as far as they can tell. They’ve done everything they know to do and the storm has outlasted them. All that’s left for them to do is to die.

The world’s experts aren’t always as expert as they believe they are. Sometimes it’s better not to be an expert, but to know the Creator, Designer, and Director of the cosmos. In fact, if you were able to make a choice between the two, you’d always be better off knowing God than being the greatest human expert ever.

Question: Have human experts ever made you doubt whether holding on to your relationship with God was worthwhile? How?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Being the Church - Video

I just watched and would like to share a helpful video about what it means to be the church. Pastor Daniel Montgomery of Sojourn Community Church keeps it simple, but shares some big concepts from God that can transform the way we look at ourselves as the church.

Church 101 from Sojourn Community Church on Vimeo.