30 for 30 RESET – Day 14

Gatheringplace   -   September 14, 2024

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”            Romans 12:18 NIV

Relationships are one of the primary sources of joy in your life (think about your best friends) and can be the primary source of stress in your life (think about the relationships that are giving you grief right now). So doing whatever you can to RESET that relationship that is causing you grief will be well worth the effort! Here are a few things that might help.

Know that it might not be possible. I know that sounds awful, and strange coming from a preacher, and for this is my first point, but that’s what the Scripture says, right? “If it is possible…”

The sad truth is, in some relationships, no matter how hard you try, some people will just not reconcile. If that is the case, sadly, the only thing you can do is to let it go until, hopefully, one day they will be willing to try. But that is not on you, that is on them.

As much as depends on you. But before you let it go, God wants you to do everything you possibly can on your end to make the relationship work. This is where prayer and the Word come in. The truth is,

Satan is ALWAYS trying to divide us, and Jesus is ALWAYS trying to unify us.

The enemy will manipulate your emotions, try to get you to take offense, and will use your wounds and pride to wreck the relationship. At the same time Jesus will be trying to get you to be humble and wise. This is why prayer, and the Word are your first order of business. If you try to keep your relationships healthy and life-giving without allowing the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to influence your heart and guide your thoughts, good luck. You will be fortunate if your relationships survive, let alone thrive.

There were many times in my marriage where Hope would say to me, “You need to go pray.” Now, I could have taken offense at that, and early on I did, but over the years I came to admit she was right, because we both could see a marked change when I would humble myself and go pray. God would soften my heart and give me wise next steps.

Be at peace with everyone. Everyone? That’s what it says.

Did you know that your divine calling is to reconcile relationships – with God, and others?

“[God] has restored our relationship with him through Christ and has given us this ministry of restoring relationships. In other words, God was using Christ to restore his relationship with humanity. He didn’t hold people’s faults against them, and he has given us this message of restored relationships to tell others.” 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 (GW)

Jesus said that the way the world will know that He is real is by how we love one another.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” John 13:34-35 NIV

In fact, Jesus even tells us that we are to even love our enemies! How are you going to do that without prayer? To be one that restores relationships, you must have the heart of Christ in every situation. And you can’t do that alone. You need the Holy Spirit flowing through you, which means we are back to the Word and prayer.

As you read and pray today, ask God to soften your heart and show you what you can do on your end to, “be at peace with everyone.”

John

QUICK TIP ON HOW TO SPEND 30 MINUTES WITH GOD (REMEMBER: This 30 for 30 is a tool to help you, not a rule to shame you. Just do your best and let God do the rest.)

“Upward, Inward, and Outward”

  1. Upward: Get quiet. Settle down. Begin to thank God for Who He is – patient, kind, merciful. A God Who forgives sins – Who has forgiven your sins. A God Who cares, Who listens to your prayers, a miracle-working God. (There are many other attributes you can thank Him for. Go HERE for a prayer guide as well as a list of God’s names that will help you thank Him for Who He is)
  2. Inward: Read a chapter in the Bible. I would suggest one Psalm per day. Start with Psalm 1 and go from there. Or read one chapter of Proverbs per day. Start with Proverbs 1 and go from there. And as you read, stop, and think about what it is saying. Take your time (even if you do not get through an entire chapter – it is okay!). Ask God to speak to you through it.

A deeper dive: For those of you who would like to read the Bible in a year, here is a fantastic way to do it. It will take more than 30 minutes per day, but it will be well worth it. It not only gives you a reading plan but each day there is a short, very well-produced video explaining what you are about to read. Go HERE for your one year through the Bible reading plan.

  1. Outward: Ask God to show you how He can use you to reach those around you. Then begin to pray specifically for individuals. Pray for your family members, your boss, co-workers, classmates, friends, your church, its members, its mission, and its leadership. Pray for our city and our nation – that God would rule and reign in every mountain of influence, raising up leaders who fear Him: Church, Family, Government, Education, Media, Entertainment/Arts, and Business. You will not be able to get to everything in 30 minutes, but that is okay, just pick an area or two per day.

PRAYER POINTS

Personal:

  • Closeness with God
  • Deeper devotion to Christ
  • Renewed vision
  • Renewed passion
  • Strength
  • Joy
  • A profound commitment to act as Jesus would during this election year.

Church:

  • And increase of God’s manifest presence.
  • To see more CHANGED LIVES!
  • An increase in Miracles
  • Salvation for those far from God (make a list and pray for them every day)
  • More young people joining the vision at GPC.
  • New building for GPC

World:

  • A mighty harvest in our city and nation.
  • That godly men and women will fill the seats of government at local, city, state, and national levels.
  • For our missionaries (Use the bookmark handed out at church, or go to our website and check out our Missions page HERE)