Help from your church family

 

I know this doesn't always work, but it's a place to start if you require assistance. Your local church family may or may not have all of the resources to meet your needs, but maybe they can direct you to someone or somewhere that can help.
     We're blessed to have a loving, caring church family. We're also blessed to have several services set up specifically to minister to our church body or even to the surrounding communities. However, some of these ideas could be instigated in smaller churches as well:
- Meal Train: people volunteer to deliver a meal to people recovering from surgery or going through debilitating medical treatment. See mealtrain.com
- Counseling: a service normally provided by the pastor can be expanded by training other church members with tools to help them counsel those in need.
- Discipleship Groups: when a new believer comes to faith, it's important that they be discipled right away so that their new-found faith is made stronger with knowledge of what God's word says, what the church believes, etc. It's also important because we want new believers to become part of the church, serving, encouraging others, sharing their testimony. Today's converts could be tomorrow's church leaders.
- Physical Needs: money could be budgeted to help people who have trouble paying a bill or handling an emergency.
- Cards of Encouragement: our church has a list of people who would benefit from receiving a card once in a while. Maybe they're sick or grieving or lost their job, whatever the situation, it's a wonderful way to minister to those in need.
- Food Pantry: some churches partner together to stock a food pantry within the community.
- Transportation: members could volunteer to take people to doctor's appointments and/or run errands.

     The opportunities to serve are endless. If you have an idea for a way to meet a need, talk to your church leaders. If you have a need, talk to your church leaders. Either situation is a way to connect with your church family.
     If you are able, find a way to serve within your church. Everyone has the ability to do something, whether it's sending an encouraging text or card to someone who's going through a rough time, or making coffee on Sunday morning, or mowing the lawn, or being on the prayer chain. Of course, some tasks are harder than others. Some take more of a time commitment but find something you can do and be a part of the solution.

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

James 5:13-18 NKJV

You may also like:
-"Isolation"
-"Pray for the health of The Church"
-"Peter is the rock"

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Please join me this week in praying for those who need help but don't ask for it. Pray that they see the benefits of allowing others to help them. Pray that they have good experiences as a result of opening up to others. Pray that they are served by Christians who show Christ to them. Let's also pray for those who refuse to help, for whatever reason. Pray that God softens their hearts and minds, that he give them servants' hearts so that they may know the joy in working together as one body of Christ and the reward of knowing they are doing God's will.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @7DegreesOfMe
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #bibleverse #bible #help #ask #need #churchfamily #serve #prayer #services #churchelders #assisance #church #servantsheart #hope #counseling

Live like you're free

 

Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.

1 Peter 2:16 ESV

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Please join me this week in praising our Father in Heaven for this freedom He has given us in Christ Jesus so that we are no longer slaves to our sin. Pray that He gives us the opportunity and encouragement (and words) to share this great news with everyone we meet. Let's also pray that those who do not have this freedom come to know Christ and that those who do profess to know Christ not abuse this freedom as a means to sin. Finally, let's pray that we focus on all of the worldly freedoms we have that others all over the globe can't even imagine. 

   We should give thanks daily for being born in this time and this place where we can worship and praise our Father without fear of persecution. The restrictions we do face because of the pandemic are no different than the restrictions that people all over the world have dealt with or are dealing with, and these inconveniences are temporary. If the worst thing in our lives right now is having to concede to a few mandates, then we should consider ourselves extremely blessed. Praise the Lord for the countless blessings He bestows on us every single day.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible  #freedom #servant #Jesus

Longing for you

These bible verses mean so much more to me now after speaking to missionaries who have returned. I could listen to their stories all day long. They form this seemingly instant bond with those they minister to; they love them as if they had been friends for years. I imagine Paul going on his trips and knowing that he couldn't return to see all of them, and probably longing to visit many more that he couldn't get to. You can just tell from his letters how much he loved these people and desired to be back with them.
     If you feel called to mission work, I encourage you to pray about it and see where God will take you. It takes a special person to do this kind of work, but if you are called, you can begin the process to see if there are opportunities where God will use you to do His will.

So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the 

gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.  

For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; 

for laboring night and day, that we might 

not be a burden to any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God.

1 Thessalonians 2:8-9 (NKJV)

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Please join me this week in praying for our missionaries. Pray for their safety and pray that they may bring others to Christ.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Glad tidings

 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

  “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,

Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

Romans 10:14-15 NKJV

4th Quarter

A man at our church has started a mission of sorts; it's a mission for those of us who have entered the 4th quarter of our lives and it's one that everyone can participate in. Basically, it's a ministry to encourage older adults to "finish strong for Jesus." As we age we may feel that we can't do as much as we used to do or that no one will want our help or that it's time for the younger people to take over. Those are all just excuses. Whether you're working or retired, in good physical (and/or mental) shape or not, financially set or struggling there is something that you can do to leave behind a legacy of your faith.
     God has bestowed on you at least one spiritual gift and it's your responsibility to figure out what that gift is and how you can use it (or you can simply pray for God to reveal all of that to you; that's what I did). It's possible that your spiritual gift is slightly different than it used to be, but it is the gift you need in order to do God's will.
Some suggestions:
- become a prayer warrior
- donate money, time, or materials to a Christian organization/charity
- disciple someone who's new to the faith
- share the gospel
- encourage and inspire others
- visit someone who's ill or grieving

     He started a 4th Quarter group at our church and I believe everyone has gotten involved in at least one way. The founder is James Dickey and it's his hope (and our entire group's hope) that this ministry spread to other churches. He even wrote a book explaining the different strategies one can use to apply their gifts and talents, to share their faith, plant seeds, and fill the Kingdom with saints.

     The book is available on Amazon if you would like to check it out.* If you're interested in learning more about the ministry, visit his website at 4thq.org.

*As always, I do not receive any commission from anything I recommend. It's just my desire to share quality books that will help spread the gospel. After all, I too would like to "finish my race with joy," and I do that by submitting to God's will for my life.

But none of these things move me; 

nor do I count my life dear to myself, 

so that I may finish my race with joy, 

and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, 

to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

Acts 20:24 NKJV

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Please join me this week in praying for our missionaries. Pray for their safety and pray that they may bring others to Christ.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

I chose you

You did not choose Me, but I chose you 

and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and 

that your fruit should remain, 

that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.

John 15:16

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Please join me this week in praying for our missionaries. Pray for their safety and pray that they may bring others to Christ.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Laborers for the harvest

During my time at missions training, one of the bible verses that came up often was Luke 10:2 (NKJV):

Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, 

but the laborers are few; 

therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.

     I met so many people who have a missionary's heart and longed to go out into the field but their calling was instead here, in the U.S. Many of them had already dedicated a number of years living abroad but for one reason or another had to return home. They did so without complaining and they understood their role and how they were better serving the missionary work by staying put. Some of them organize mission trips, others raise money, still others train the next generation of missionaries. In a real sense, they are sending out many missionaries who will be able to save many unreached people groups instead of being an individual overseas who would be able to save a few. We as the church still need many, many more laborers to go out into the harvest, but we also need those at home who support those abroad.
     Personally, I long to go out on a mission but realize now that it isn't my calling. I'm aware of my spiritual gifts and am focused on using them as God directs me. I'll continue to serve at Target Dayton and hopefully, in the near future, will learn some skills and become more confident at sharing the gospel with strangers. Maybe at that time, God will send me out, but until then I'm here, praying for the unreached people, for the missionaries who serve them, and for those who haven't yet answered their calling to open their minds and hearts to where Jesus is sending them.

Do all things without complaining and disputing, 

Philippians 2:14 NKJV

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Please join me this week in praying for our missionaries. Pray for their safety and pray that they may bring others to Christ.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

The enemy

We don't spend nearly enough time talking about Satan. He is constantly in our midst, trying to reel us in. Yes, we're saved and he cannot take that away from us, but he can meddle in our lives and deter us from doing God's work. The more I grow in my faith and my commitment to focus only on Jesus, the more Satan seems to be a factor in my life. He deceives me, distracts me. He meddles in my relationships with others, especially the unsaved.
     I have felt so exhausted lately and there doesn't seem to be nearly enough hours in the day to do everything I've committed to. This keeps me from my devotionals, and even my prayer time. Sometimes it takes me a few days to realize what's going on, but then I'm able to re-focus and pray fervently for help against the enemy.
     This isn't exactly related to mission work, but it could be in that sometimes when we're called to serve, Satan fills us with self-doubt about our abilities to serve, time available, resources, whatever it takes to keep us from answering God's calling. Be aware of what he's capable of. Suit up with the full armor of God,* and then press on.
*Ephesians 6:10-18

And let us not grow weary while doing good, 

for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 

Therefore, as we have opportunity, 

let us do good to all, 

especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Galatians 6:9-10 NKJV

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Please join me this week in praying for our missionaries. Pray for their safety and pray that they may bring others to Christ.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Where will you serve?

This past weekend I had a couple of opportunities to serve; once for Let's Eat (formerly Feed Brookville) and the other at Target Dayton. Both experiences were humbling and energizing and I really felt God's presence among us as we served and socialized with one another.
     Our church has a group of missionaries answering the call to help out in the Dominican Republic this week. They've been sending back pictures the past several days and it's just so wonderful to see the joy on everyone's faces; those serving and those being served. Yesterday they went shopping and delivered groceries to those in need. They'll be helping with construction and sewing projects throughout the week.
     As Christians, we know our purpose in this life is to "...Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28:19-20 NKJV. Whether you do this here at home, (at work, social events, while running errands), locally (community, city, state, country) or abroad doesn't matter. It's wherever God is calling you to serve. Just be sure to answer the call. If you're uncomfortable sharing one on one (as I often am), then pray about that. Pray for words and courage and wisdom. God will answer and will guide you if you let Him.

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, 

but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Mark 10:45 NKJV

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Please join me this week in praying for our missionaries. Pray for their safety and pray that they may bring others to Christ.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Jesus washed their feet

I can't even imagine our Lord and Savior kneeling on the floor washing my feet. The disciples must have been completely humbled by His actions. I know it humbles me. If Jesus can do this, I should be able to do anything and everything He calls me to do. There is no task beneath me.

So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, 

“Do you know what I have done to you? 

You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. 

If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, 

you also ought to wash one another’s feet.

John 13:12-14

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This week we are praying for a servant's heart. I'll personally be asking God to quash my pride and fill me with the desire and opportunity to serve others. (Like I wrote previously if you pray for this be prepared for God to give you someone fairly quickly).

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

God loves a humble servant

Words aren't coming to me this week which is why I'm only posting the Bible Verses, but it just hit me that this is why. How we serve Christ and others is a personal matter between us, individually, and Him. We put ourselves last, serving all of those before us. In doing this, we can be among the first within the Kingdom of Heaven. It's a complicated lesson, to me at least, but the part about what we're doing here on Earth is very clear.

Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, 

“Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

Mark 9:35 NIV

I guess God gave me some words to write after all. :D

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This week we are praying for a servant's heart. I'll personally be asking God to quash my pride and fill me with the desire and opportunity to serve others. (Like I wrote previously if you pray for this be prepared for God to give you someone fairly quickly).

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Love in deed

My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

1 John 3:18 NKJV

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This week we are praying for a servant's heart. I'll personally be asking God to quash my pride and fill me with the desire and opportunity to serve others. (Like I wrote previously if you pray for this be prepared for God to give you someone fairly quickly).

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Give

I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, 

that you must support the weak. 

And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘

It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

Acts 20:35

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This week we are praying for a servant's heart. I'll personally be asking God to quash my pride and fill me with the desire and opportunity to serve others. (Like I wrote previously if you pray for this be prepared for God to give you someone fairly quickly).

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Find your gift

Did you know that God gave you a gift chosen just for you? He gives each of His children a spiritual gift*, that allows us to spread the Good News and minister to others. I was so excited to learn this because I thought we were all supposed to be able (and comfortable with) going up to strangers and asking "Do you know Jesus?" (some people are able to do that - I am not). I felt like I was letting Jesus down; after all, look at what His disciples went through to spread the word.
     The parable of the talents finally made sense to me! (Matthew 25:14-30 and similarly Luke 19:11-27) Discover your gift and use it. If you ignore it (or bury it in the dirt) it's wasted. I'm sure there are tests online you can take to discover your gift, or you can pray for God to disclose it to you.**
     Last evening I gave my testimony on video in preparation for being baptized by immersion (I was previously baptized as a newborn and at the age of 16 by being sprinkled in the Methodist Church). I couldn't sleep all night worrying about how I came across (because I worry about sounding prideful), but I get really excited about what God has done in my life lately, and there's so much more I wanted to say but forgot. I must've talked for over 30 minutes as it was and Pastor Brian will somehow chop that down to 3-5 minutes, so what I forgot to say doesn't matter, but my point is it is so exciting to discover the ways that God has equipped me to serve others and I want to share that with everyone who'll listen! I just encourage you to find your gift and run with it. It will change your life!

As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 4:10-11

* For a list of spiritual gifts, check 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, Ephesians 4, 1 Peter 4.
**I recommend reading: Evangelism for the Rest of Us: Sharing Christ Within Your Personality Style by Mike Bechtle

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This week we are praying for a servant's heart. I'll personally be asking God to quash my pride and fill me with the desire and opportunity to serve others. (Like I wrote previously if you pray for this be prepared for God to give you someone fairly quickly).

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Acquiring a servant's heart

I used to resist the idea of "serving" or "submitting" to others. I thought everyone should be strong and be able to take care of themselves and I expected the same of myself, but then I met this incredible woman, we'll call her Kitty. I said something about not liking where the bible tells us to submit to our husbands (Ephesians 5:22-23) or to anyone for that matter. She looked at me with disbelief. She said, "I consider it an honor and a privilege to serve Jesus." That cut me to the quick.
     In Ephesians, we're told to submit to (or honor or respect) our husbands and they are to love us because neither of these traits are fundamentally inherent in us. When we do this then, we are honoring Christ and the men are loving Christ.
     Jesus tells us flat out that when we care for someone, we're caring for Him (Matthew 25:31-40) and we will ultimately be judged for that.
     Kitty serves Jesus with everything she does. She is kind and loving and giving. With her one comment, she completely changed my attitude and my heart. It made me realize that my attitude was not only selfish, but a missed opportunity to serve the Lord and to spread His lovingkindness. Thank you, Kitty.

Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.

Ephesians 6:5-8 ESV

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This week we are praying for a servant's heart. I'll personally be asking God to quash my pride and fill me with the desire and opportunity to serve others. (Like I wrote previously if you pray for this be prepared for God to give you someone fairly quickly).

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Gratitude for our Veterans

These brave and selfless veterans defended our country with a servant's heart. They did this for you and me, risking their lives for us.

The video refers to Matthew 20:28:

 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, 

but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (NKJV)

Galatians 5:13 ESV says:

 For you were called to freedom, brothers. 

Only do not use your freedom as an 

opportunity for the flesh, but through love 

serve one another.

Join me in thanking our veterans and letting them know that they are appreciated.

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This week we are praying for a servant's heart. I'll personally be asking God to quash my pride and fill me with the desire and opportunity to serve others. (Like I wrote previously if you pray for this be prepared for God to give you someone fairly quickly).

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Shedding pride

While looking for images to use this week, I came across this beautiful lion. Staring at it in the context of pride, I imagined a creature so very proud and one who is probably accustomed to getting whatever he wants. I feel he's angry or hurt maybe because of the pain on his face but his posture looks relaxed like maybe he's conflicted. There are gold marks radiating from his head and so I imagined his mighty roar being so strong that it caused some of his fur to fly out. Maybe that all sounds crazy, but I like to share all of it with you, the crazy and the sane. Anyway, horoscope-wise, I'm a Leo, a very proud lion(ess) who's always having to deal with pride and sometimes having to be reminded to let go of it. I may roar loudly as I work on this, fighting it till the end but eventually shed it all (until the next time).
     I used to be so full of myself that even after God took me down a few notches I still fought the idea that He wanted me to obey certain people in my life, and that He wanted me to be a servant, doing whatever tasks He called me to do no matter how seemingly petty.
     Then I met a woman a few years ago at my previous church and we were talking about obedience or something along those lines. I was being my normal prideful self saying something to the effect that I don't take orders from anybody (hopefully I didn't say that exactly) and she said she was proud to be a servant; that she felt honored to be called to serve God in this capacity.
     That simple response fixed a lifetime of battles and miseries for me. That's when it finally sunk in. I had spent my whole life fighting to be in control, thinking I was somehow born to be something or someone "special" (are you hating me yet?) when in fact I had spent my entire life saying "no" to God. Wow! I am so embarrassed about the old me.
     Needless to say, I still have prideful moments, but I'm more aware of them now and correct myself when I stray in that direction. I want to obey, to serve, which in turn brings honor to God. Non-Christians watch us, you know. We need to be on our game as much as possible, showing what an image-bearer of Christ looks like and acts like. We need to show them the peace and light that we carry within each of us.

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

Philippians 2:3-11 ESV
 (The picture I used on Monday would have been perfect to go with this Bible verse)

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Please join me this week in praying for humility, either for yourself or someone you know. If you don't know anyone who needs a dose of humility, then I humbly ask that you pray this for me.
I'll post daily reminders on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
Instagram @archadia27
Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Serve with humility

I only know one soldier well enough to understand his drive and ambition, but I've spoken to other soldiers enough to know that my friend's outlook on his duties and purpose are exactly like theirs. They do whatever is required of them. They take their responsibilities very seriously and their work ethic is impeccable. Just think where we'd be without our military. I'm in complete awe of them and wish I could be as giving and serving. Whenever my husband saw a veteran at a restaurant, he would discreetly pay for their meal as an act of gratitude. Thank a soldier today.

 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. 

Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 

not looking to your own interests but 

each of you to the interests of the others.

Philippians 2:3-4 NIV

     You don't need to be in the military to do this. In everything we do, we should do for others as servants of Christ. They will see us as Christians and our acts will glorify God.

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Please join me this week in praying for the men and women of our military branches, and their families.
I'll post daily reminders on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
instagram @archadia27
facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

If I have not love

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, 

I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 

And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, 

and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, 

I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, 

but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; 

love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. 

It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ...

1 Corinthians 13:1-13 ESV

Things of the Spirit

For those who live according to the flesh 

set their minds on the things of the flesh, 

but those who live according to the Spirit 

set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

Romans 8:5 ESV

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Let's pray for guidance to serve God first in our lives. Ask Him how you can best serve Him. I'll post daily reminders on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
instagram @archadia27
facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power