“How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!" Romans 10:14-15 NIV
As I write to you today, my heart literally aches as I grieve yet another mass shooting in our nation. Our National Day of Prayer Task Force continues to pray for our nation and every neighborhood affected by the upsurge in violence. Many of our coordinators serve their cities and states in missionary-like ways, showing and sharing the love of Jesus through practical means, meeting needs, and bringing comfort. As followers of Jesus, we are commanded to be the heart, hands and feet that go into a hurting, hopeless world and change the culture with His love.
Love is at the heart of the matter. Too many people feel abandoned, invisible, insecure, silenced, shamed, and more. Satan speaks these lies into their ears in an effort to steal, kill, and destroy and sadly, he has been very busy and influential recently. As followers of Jesus, we must be willing to go urgently out into the world, our communities where God has established us, with our eyes searching and our ears listening for the people God puts in our path to acknowledge, appreciate, affirm and show affection – Christ’s sacrificial affection to everyone He puts on our path throughout the day. Too many times we are face down on our phones, earbuds in, having eyes but not seeing, and ears that don’t hear the hurt and cries for help around us. God does not waste a moment of our lives, but I wonder how many opportunities I have missed along the way with distractions and just a lack of living on mission. I have prayed a lot about that lately and asked God to give me “heaven’s view” of what I am to do.
As we spent this year exalting the Lord who has established us, I pray that your faith has been strengthened, that you have been refreshed and reminded about how powerful, wonderful, mighty and loving our God is - always and forever! I pray your hearts are encouraged and you are experiencing new courage and wisdom as you pray and then go out into the world each day and put them into practice.
Our assignment is not to store up these thoughts and feeling for ourselves but to overflow into our homes, churches, neighborhoods, workplace, schools, where we shop, play, workout, hangout with friends – everywhere our foot touches we should be bringing Good News of Good Things! Our voices are not meant to chime into the complaining and criticism that fills our culture but to change the tune, correct the conversation because every person is fearfully, wonderfully created in Christ; His workmanship, deeply valuable, teeming with Kingdom plans and potential, NEVER a mistake, but a miracle of life that matters and is on mission to the God who loves us more than we can understand and who will never leave us or forsake us. He pursues us and it is up to those of us who profess His Name to join the race and run after the hurting and hopeless with His love before they make catastrophic decisions that harm themselves and others. We have the GREATEST news of all time! A Savior who offers abundant life filled with passion and purpose for all eternity is our message, the message we are commanded to go and share every day in our everyday lives.
Will you join me in prayer now?
Lord, we continue to thank You for life from conception through eternity; remembering that our life is a gift from you, every life is a gift from You, and Lord You have given us the Good News of Good Things to share that the world would know and follow You. I pray that You would open my eyes, and ears to see the people You put in my path so that I would open my heart and mouth to share all that You are and all that You have done and have promised. Use me to battle against the enemy and use my voice to speak Truth in love, that I would join with all my brothers and sisters praying with me and that we would lock shields together and run into the battle together to fight the good fight for the souls and lives around us for Your glory and Kingdom to come. We pray that this curse of violence would cease, that the enemy would be silenced by our voices speaking of Your love and the life that can only be found in You. You have already sent us, compel us to obey and go. In the powerful, wonderful, beautiful name of Jesus we always pray, Amen!
Serving Him with Gladness,
Kathy Branzell
President, National Day of Prayer Task Force