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This is the audio from the January 26, 2021 live social media broadcast of encouragement and prayer by Impact Prayer Ministry’s director, Tom Lemler.
You can find the live video feeds of these encouragement and prayer times on Impact Prayer Ministry’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.
In prayer,
Tom
It is my prayer that every Christian recognizes the importance of serving God through the way we serve others. There are few things, if any, that are as emotionally exhilarating, and draining, as the task of serving others. Having worked in a variety of ministry settings, including various roles within Christian camp ministry, I understand the excitement that often comes with the beginning of a new ministry or ministry season. I also understand the weariness than can develop when our focus begins to drift away from the ministry of serving and onto ourselves.
This is day four in the third week of devotions from the book, “Serving God: Devotions for Active Worship”. This devotional book is laid out in thirteen weeks of daily devotions with each week wrapped around an aspect of how we can serve others. Each of these devotions are designed to help a person spend time with God to see how serving others is an act of worship.
“Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.“
1 Corinthians 1:7-9 (NIV)
Are you good at finishing what you start? Are you more excited about starting something or finishing it? Do you ever get tired of serving? What gives you the strength to keep going? Have you ever quit something only to find out later that completing it would not have been as difficult as you had imagined? Has anyone ever given up on you? Have you given up on someone that you should be serving? How do you know when your task of serving is over?
I love to hike but sometimes my eagerness to see some great natural beauty causes me to head out on a trail without fully comprehending just how long it is. There have been times when I became so weary that I turned around before reaching my intended destination. There have been other times when I would be telling my hiking companions, “Let’s keep going. It can’t be much farther now!” For me there is something special about reaching that intended destination after pressing on when quitting seemed easier.
As you pray, ask God to help you keep the intended finish in mind as you serve. Pray that you would see your service to others in perspective of God’s bigger picture.
In prayer,
Tom
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This is the audio from the January 25, 2021 live social media broadcast of encouragement and prayer by Impact Prayer Ministry’s director, Tom Lemler.
You can find the live video feeds of these encouragement and prayer times on Impact Prayer Ministry’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.
In prayer,
Tom
It is my prayer that every Christian recognizes the importance of serving God through the way we serve others. There are few things, if any, that are as emotionally exhilarating, and draining, as the task of serving others. Having worked in a variety of ministry settings, including various roles within Christian camp ministry, I understand the excitement that often comes with the beginning of a new ministry or ministry season. I also understand the weariness than can develop when our focus begins to drift away from the ministry of serving and onto ourselves.
This is day three in the third week of devotions from the book, “Serving God: Devotions for Active Worship”. This devotional book is laid out in thirteen weeks of daily devotions with each week wrapped around an aspect of how we can serve others. Each of these devotions are designed to help a person spend time with God to see how serving others is an act of worship.
“Love the LORD, all his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.“
Psalm 31:23-24 (NIV)
What do you hope that your serving will accomplish? In what ways can hope give you the strength to keep serving? Have you ever had a time when you lost hope? Do you serve people who seem to have lost hope? What does a lack of hope do to the difficulty level of life? How much damage can a misplaced hope cause? Where is the one place you can put your hope in that will never disappoint? How deliberate are you in sharing that hope with those you serve?
When in the presence of hospitals and blood, I have a tendency to lose strength and pass out. Yet I’ve discovered that hope can help me overcome that weakness and do what needs done. A number of years ago, my daughter was fighting for her life and in need of daily dialysis for a time. I found myself filled with the strength to sit at her bedside holding the lines through which all of her blood was flowing because of the hope that she would be made well. When we allow God to fill us with the hope that He can change the lives of those we serve, we too can gain strength we didn’t know possible.
As you pray, ask God to fill you with a hope that only He can give. Pray for a hope that endures all things.
In prayer,
Tom
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This is the audio from the January 24, 2021 live social media broadcast of encouragement and prayer by Impact Prayer Ministry’s director, Tom Lemler.
You can find the live video feeds of these encouragement and prayer times on Impact Prayer Ministry’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.
In prayer,
Tom
It is my prayer that every Christian recognizes the importance of serving God through the way we serve others. There are few things, if any, that are as emotionally exhilarating, and draining, as the task of serving others. Having worked in a variety of ministry settings, including various roles within Christian camp ministry, I understand the excitement that often comes with the beginning of a new ministry or ministry season. I also understand the weariness than can develop when our focus begins to drift away from the ministry of serving and onto ourselves.
This is day two in the third week of devotions from the book, “Serving God: Devotions for Active Worship”. This devotional book is laid out in thirteen weeks of daily devotions with each week wrapped around an aspect of how we can serve others. Each of these devotions are designed to help a person spend time with God to see how serving others is an act of worship.
“I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.“
Psalm 27:13-14 (NIV)
Are you a patient person? Would the people you serve with say you are a patient person? How valuable do you view patience to be in the lives of people around you? Do you typically view patient people as strong people? Why? How often do most things happen when you want them to? How much strength does it take to live with patience? Is it easy or difficult for you to wait on the Lord?
While they say patience is a virtue, it seems to be a virtue very few seek. If you start to wonder about the patience level of people in general, try waiting just 2 seconds at a traffic light after it turns green — or have something keep you from responding immediately to a co-worker’s request. Or have them not be able to respond immediately to you. Too often, the impatience we have with people is also displayed in our struggle to have the strength required to wait for the Lord.
As you pray, ask God to fill you with the peace and strength necessary to serve with patience. Pray that you would learn to have patience not only with those you serve, but also with those you serve alongside. Pray that waiting for God’s perfect timing will teach you patience in your interactions with others.
In prayer,
Tom
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This is the audio from the January 23, 2021 live social media broadcast of encouragement and prayer by Impact Prayer Ministry’s director, Tom Lemler.
You can find the live video feeds of these encouragement and prayer times on Impact Prayer Ministry’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.
In prayer,
Tom
It is my prayer that every Christian recognizes the importance of serving God through the way we serve others. There are few things, if any, that are as emotionally exhilarating, and draining, as the task of serving others. Having worked in a variety of ministry settings, including various roles within Christian camp ministry, I understand the excitement that often comes with the beginning of a new ministry or ministry season. I also understand the weariness than can develop when our focus begins to drift away from the ministry of serving and onto ourselves.
This is day one in the third week of devotions from the book, “Serving God: Devotions for Active Worship”. This devotional book is laid out in thirteen weeks of daily devotions with each week wrapped around an aspect of how we can serve others. Each of these devotions are designed to help a person spend time with God to see how serving others is an act of worship.
“But in their distress they turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them. In those days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every kind of distress. But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.“
2 Chronicles 15:4-7 (NIV)
Who do you consider to be the strongest person you know? Is it their physical strength or something else that makes you view them as strong? What rewards have they received for their strength? What rewards do they expect? How motivated are you by rewards? What types of rewards are most likely to get your attention? At what point in a task are people most likely to be rewarded? How does God’s promised reward help you to serve with strength each day?
Serving well requires an enormous amount of strength. Sometimes it is a physical strength that is needed, but more often it is the strength of endurance that is the most difficult part. It is to those who don’t give up and are faithful to the end that God promises the reward of life eternal with Him.
As you pray, ask God to help you live with an enduring strength that will be rewarded. Pray that you would not become so focused on temporary rewards that you lose sight of the eternal reward. Pray that you would see the lives of those you serve as being reason enough to keep serving in the strength that God gives.
In prayer,
Tom
Tom's Treasure 