Prayer Tip: Investing for a Meaningful and Joyful Life
Daily Scripture
Proverbs 13:22; Proverbs 3:9-10; 2 Corinthians 9:6-8, 10-11a, 13 (NRSV)
Proverbs 13:22
Good people leave their grandchildren an inheritance,
but the wealth of sinners is stored up for the righteous.
Proverbs 3:9-10
Honor the LORD with your wealth
and with the first of all your crops.
Then your barns will be filled with plenty,
and your vats will burst with wine.
2 Corinthians 9:6-8, 10-11a, 13 (NRSV)
The one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work….
He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity….
Through the testing of this ministry you glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your sharing with them and with all others.
Prayer Tip
from Chris Holliday, Resurrection West Connection & Care Pastor and Adult Discipleship Director
This past week, I had the pleasure of visiting Dad in the small North Carolina town in which I grew up. On Thursday, I accompanied him to the Senior Circle’s monthly Lunch and Learn at The Hitchin’ Post. We enjoyed an excellent southern style buffet – fried chicken, collards, corn, butterbeans, boiled potatoes, and homemade banana pudding. Alongside the tasty food came the opportunity to sit and visit with some of the folks who helped raise me. It was good to be home.
After we ate, we took time to honor the veterans among us. Several stood up and told us when and where they’d served; then the main speaker took the floor. Ezra (the head nurse at the town’s hospital) had served in the army, just like his father and grandfather before him. He remembered watching the events of September 11 unfold on a television in his high school classroom. That’s the day he decided to enlist.
Ezra went on to talk about his time in the army and his life since. He said his father had taught him one phrase that became the driving force for all his decisions: “Do the next right thing.” I know I’ve heard this saying before; but for some reason, when I heard Ezra talk about it, it felt fresh, new, exciting, hopeful.
What if we made this phrase a driving force in our lives and our conversations with God? What if we asked God to help us discover and do the next right thing – not just once, but time and time again? If this phrase resonates with you, join me and try using it this week. Let’s begin today:
Loving God,
I am so thankful for your care and guidance. I trust you and I offer myself to you. Help me listen for your leading and answer your call to love neighbors near and far.
And help me over and over again to do the next right thing.
In Jesus’ name we pray,
Amen.
