Latest / In the Stillness Podcast / Ready Whenever, Ready Wherever.

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Ready Whenever, Ready Wherever. · In the Stillness Podcast

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  Hey y'all, it's friendsly Happy Friday.
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  Welcome back to the podcast. I hope that you've had a really
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  great week and are heading into the weekend feeling encouraged
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  and really strong. I have an encouraging podcast
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  episode for you guys, so I'm really excited for this one.
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  This morning in my quiet time, we're going to be in First
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  Thessalonians 5 versus 1 through 11.
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  But it honestly made me pause and truly reflect because
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  especially with everything crazy going on in the world right now
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  in different countries, within our own nation, in the United
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  States, there is so much speculation online about
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  prophecy and end times and when Jesus might return.
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  And I think people can get really deep into analyzing the
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  timelines or trying to connect the dots between every headline
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  to a prediction. But I do want to just take a
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  step back and ask a really simple question.
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  What does the Bible actually say word for word?
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  Because at the end of the day, the Bible, the truth is what
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  grounds us. So I'm going to go ahead and
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  read First Thessalonians 5 and I'm going to read in the Passion
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  translation because I think it's just very straightforward and I
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  love how it's written. So starting in verse one, now
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  beloved brothers and sisters, concerning the question of God's
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  precise times in specific seasons, you don't need me to
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  write anything to you. For you already know quite well
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  that the day of the Lord will come unexpectedly and as a
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  complete surprise. For while some are saying
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  finally we have peace and security, sudden destruction
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  will arrive at their doorstep like labor pains seizing a
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  pregnant woman, and with no chance of escape.
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  But you, beloved brothers and sisters, are not living in the
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  dark, allowing that day to creep up on you like a thief coming to
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  steal. For you are all children of the
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  light and children of the day. We don't belong to the night,
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  nor to darkness. This is why we must not fall
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  asleep as the rest do, but keep wide awake and clear headed for
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  those who are asleep. Sleep the night away, and
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  drunkards get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day,
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  we must stay alert and clear headed by placing the
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  breastplate of faith and love over our hearts, and a helmet of
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  the hope of salvation over our thoughts.
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  For God has not destined us for wrath, but to possess salvation
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  through our Lord Jesus the Anointed. 1 He gave His life for
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  us so that we may share in resurrection life in union with
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  Him, whether we are awake or asleep.
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  Because of this, encourage the hearts of your fellow believers
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  and support one another just as you have already been doing.
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  All right, there is so much in there, but I think the biggest
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  take away for me was we don't know when Jesus is coming back.
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  And that might be really obvious, but the Bible is
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  actually so clear about that. It says that the day of the Lord
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  will come like a thief in the night, meaning that it is meant
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  to be unexpected and unannounced.
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  It's meant to be sudden. So instead of getting tangled up
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  trying to figure out the when, we should be asking a different
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  question. What if it were today?
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  What if today was the day that Jesus returned?
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  How would we want him to find us?
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  That's the posture that this passage is calling us to.
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  It's not meant to be producing anxiety or fear or endless
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  speculation, but a readiness in our hearts.
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  This is like a spiritual red alert sign.
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  Think of a caution exclamation mark.
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  Be ready wherever and whenever. And readiness does not mean
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  sitting around doing nothing. We're not meant to be idle or
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  lazy. It doesn't mean obsessing over
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  signs. It means living faithfully
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  today, in the present moment. We're called to work hard with
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  whatever God has placed in our hands right now.
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  That means that your time, your money and resources, your
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  friendships, your romantic relationships, your
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  opportunities, all of it is something that we're called a
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  steward because it was never ours to begin with.
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  And last night I actually had the privilege of going to a
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  really cool gala for the Tim Tebow Foundation.
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  And Tim was speaking and said something that was super
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  meaningful to me. He said that he would rather get
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  to heaven exhausted than well rested.
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  And that stuck with me because yes, the Bible talks about the
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  importance of rest. God created the Sabbath for a
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  reason. Ecclesiastes is a book talking
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  all about different seasons and it mentions that we're meant to
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  enjoy the life and the blessings that God gives us.
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  And that includes rest. But I think it's important to
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  note that rest was never meant to turn into wasted opportunity
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  because we have been placed here on this earth for a purpose.
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  And the time that we have, it's constantly ticking down and what
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  we've been given, it matters. So I believe that the question
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  becomes, how are we using the time that we have been allotted?
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  Reflect on who is pouring into you and who are you pouring
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  into? Are you saving your money just
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  to spend it, or are you looking for ways to bless others with
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  it? Are you surrounding yourself
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  mostly with people who help you become more like Jesus, are
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  constantly motivating you in the faith?
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  Paul talks about believers in this passage as children of the
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  day, people who belong to the light, people who are awake,
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  sober minded, alert, expectant. So that made me pause and ask
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  myself honestly a hard question. But if someone looked at my
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  life, my patterns, the places that I consistently go, the
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  things that I spend majority of my time on, would they put me in
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  a category as someone of the day or of the night?
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  Now obviously that does not mean that you can't literally do
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  things at night, but it's more about what your life
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  communicates. What do your regular habits say
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  that you value? Where do you seem to find life
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  and enjoyment? Because as believers, we're told
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  something super important. We do not belong to the
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  darkness. The word belong is key because
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  we've been set apart. We're meant to be different, and
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  frankly, trying to fit into the world when you don't belong
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  there is nothing short of exhausting.
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  It actually reminds me of something kind of funny, but
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  gene shopping. I used to hate it, especially
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  when I was younger, but I had in my head I wanted to fit into a
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  certain size, but if it wasn't actually my size, it was so
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  uncomfortable and so defeating. So I say that because you can
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  try to squeeze into something, but it's just not going to work
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  if it's not meant to work. And that's kind of what it's
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  like forcing yourself into a life that God never designed for
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  you. I also remember, especially my
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  freshman year of college, feeling like I had to go to all
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  the crazy quote UN quote best parties because that's what
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  everyone said was fun and I just expected that's where life was
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  found. That's how I'm going to get my
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  full college experience. That's what I'm supposed to do.
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  But honestly, I never felt like myself there.
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  I would leave those places feeling uncomfortable and
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  wondering what was wrong with me.
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  Why was I not enjoying it like everyone else around me seem to
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  be enjoying it? And now looking back, I realized
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  nothing was wrong with me. I was just trying to fit into
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  something I was never meant to fit into.
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  Maybe you relate to that and you feel that too.
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  Because the truth is, we were made for more than this world.
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  We were made for freedom, for a relationship with our Holy
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  Father, for a life that reflects Him.
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  And one of the ways that we prepare for Jesus's return every
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  single day is by putting on what Scripture calls the armor of
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  God. I want to read this passage from
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  Ephesians 6 over you guys because I think it's really
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  helpful when we're given practical, specific things,
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  starting in verse 13. Therefore, put on the full armor
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  of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to
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  stand your ground, and after you have done everything to stand,
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  stand firm. Then with the belt of truth
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  buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness
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  in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that
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  comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up
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  the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the
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  flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and
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  the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
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  So that is what we do when we are preparing, when we're
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  getting ready for battle and just making ourselves more eager
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  for Jesus's return, living each day spiritually prepared.
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  But another huge piece of this passage is encouragement within
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  the church. Paul ends by saying to encourage
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  and build each other up. And that matters so much more
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  than we realize. I think it's actually something
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  that's lacking and it shows in the body of believers.
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  Think about someone running a super long race.
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  Towards the end, your legs can start to cramp.
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  You're feeling it, you're gasping for air, you're worn
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  out, you're tired. And sometimes the thing that
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  pushes those racers across the finish line is not necessarily
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  the strength, it's someone cheering for them.
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  It's a voice in the crowd saying you can do this, keep going,
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  stay strong. Encouragement can be so simple
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  too. It can look like sending a
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  friend a Bible verse when they come to mind or the Lord puts
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  them on your heart. Texting someone simply that you
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  love them, that you're thinking of them, that you hope that they
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  have a great Friday. Giving someone a hug, asking if
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  they need prayer. Those small things can be the
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  difference between someone collapsing in discouragement or
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  making it across the finish line.
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  So here's a couple reflection questions for y'all today that
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  I'm going to leave you with. Who is encouraging in your faith
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  right now and who are you intentionally encouraging?
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  And also, what is something that you could use prayer for, that
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  you need encouragement for, that you could ask someone about?
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  Let this be encouragement to y'all, to all of us, that we are
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  to be people who help each other stay awake, stay alert and ready
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  for Jesus. We're not meant to do this
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  isolated, but integrated. So I'm going to go ahead and
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  close this out in prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you
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  for your word and for the reminder that our hope is in
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  you. God, we do not know the day or
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  the hour that Jesus will return, but I pray that you would help
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  us live ready. Help us use the time that you've
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  blessed us with each day, each moment, every interaction, on a
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  day-to-day. Would you teach us how to
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  steward our relationships, our resources, our open doors in a
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  way that honors you? Would you shape us into people
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  of the light? May we live with an identity as
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  children of the day, awake and walking in truth.
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  And I just ask that you would bring specific people to our
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  minds today that we can encourage and build up.
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  I pray that we would run this race together, that you would
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  align our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.
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  By your spirit, Lord, we love you and we trust you with each
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  day forward. We ask this all in your name.
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  Amen. OK, well that is today's
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  episode. Praying that you all have a
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  great rest of your Friday afternoon and that the Lord
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  really ministers to your heart today.
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  And I hope that y'all have a great weekend.
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  I'll talk to y'all soon.