Encouragements

Posts in Andrea Shustella
Prayer: Love in Action

It begins with prayer.  As we commit to pray for one another, our actions will follow.  We will start inviting others into our homes and reaching out to friends who attend different churches to ask how we can pray for them.  We will find ourselves wanting to send a note of encouragement to a pastor of a Calvary church that we have never met.  We will end up on our knees, praying for churches around the world that we may never see on this side of eternity.  We will become a church that is known for its love.

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Go Tell It on the Mountain

There have also been times in our lives when we have been distracted by busyness, our own growing family, or the pursuits of this world and have chosen to sit back and ignore God’s call.  We’ve been guilty of taking a back seat at church; just showing up, and little else.  We were pretty sure in these moments that our lives were too busy to give any of our leftovers to the church.  Someone else was going, someone else was sending, and we were sure, someone else was making disciples.  We were living in disobedience to God’s call on our lives.  During these seasons, however, God has always gotten our attention.  He has drawn our eyes back to him and off of this world.  He has never stopped pursuing us..

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Sweet Surrender

“What if, instead of our goals being about ourselves, they were focused on serving the Lord?  What if our goals were to grow closer to Him, spend more time in His word, and develop a consistent time of prayer each day? What if we did make goals for exercising and eating healthier, but at the heart of those goals is a desire to have more energy to serve others? What if our goals for organizing our home and creating better systems were not just for ourselves but to make it easier to invite church members over to share a meal and build relationships?  How can we serve Him daily in 2024? “

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Delight In The Word

Remember, when you do have those amazing opportunities to relax and recharge, don’t forget to sit and dwell at the foot of the cross.  Spend the extra time in prayer. Go deep into God’s word.  Don’t just casually read it because it is routine; “delight” in His presence. Read through Psalm 119 this week and let your excitement for God’s word be contagious to those He puts in your path.

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