Do Not Be Afraid. There Is Enough. You Are Enough.
Isaiah 41: 13 – “For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, “Do not fear, I will help you.”
Ready or not, here comes 2019. We spent 2018 living out 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18. We focused on rejoicing always, praying continually, and being grateful in all circumstances. This year-long focus has led us to an increase in our connection with God and our relationship with Him.
In 2019 we are going to focus on growing that relationship. Taking cues from our West Ohio Conference we will focus this year on Matthew 14: 13-21; Jesus feeding the 5000. There is so much depth involved within this one passage of Scripture. Our conference used the phrase; Do Not Be Afraid, There Is Enough, and I have added, You Are Enough.
This will be our year to abandon our fears, to live in our strengths, and begin to rely on God in this relationship with Him to do more with what we have. Have you ever wondered why there always seems to be enough to do the things that God would like to see accomplished? With God, there is always enough. The same is true with us. Just as we are, with all our faults and failures, God can do miraculous things. We can become whatever it is that God needs us to become, and we will always be enough to accomplish the task that God has ordained us to. We need Him to use our gifts, and He needs our gifts to reach the world.
We will be focusing on four main areas of the feeding the 5000 story in the month of January.
Connecting With God – Jesus knew the importance of His connection to the Father.
Give Them Something – Jesus told the disciples to feed the people, not turn them away.
Use Your Gifts – Jesus utilized what the people had brought to Him, and fed everyone.
Make Disciples – Jesus miraculous turnaround saw the disciples believing and growing.
Each week we will focus on one of these topics to enlarge our knowledge of this story, and to engage with a God who wants to see us grow and serve. I pray that you will engage 2019 with a new desire to dig deeper than ever before, and to grow in your own discipleship with God.
-Pastor Mike
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