Good morning! We are near the end of the author’s epilogue of the book of Hebrews. May today’s verses remind you of Christ’s sufficient. May God bless your reading and your day.

Bible Verse – Hebrews 13:17- 21 NLT

“¹⁷ Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.

¹⁸ Pray for us, for our conscience is clear and we want to live honorably in everything we do. ¹⁹ And especially pray that I will be able to come back to you soon.

²⁰ Now may the God of peace— who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood—
²¹ may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you,^[e] through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.”

Reflection

Sisters and brothers, ministry leaders aren’t perfect – only God/Jesus is perfect. We must continue to pray for ministry leaders and our pastors to lead in truth, with integrity, and accountability. Let us examine our hearts toward our leaders, and ask the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom and discernment as we pray for our leaders and look for opportunities to serve God in the church. May the Lord, also give us a compassionate and clear heart to live honorably in the world and in service to the Lord.

Prayer

Father God, we thank you for sending your son Jesus into this world to save us from sin and to reconcile us back to God. Thank you for not destroying or abandoning us. Thank you for giving us a way to be in relationship with you. Lord, we know we won’t be perfect until we see you face to face, but Lord, as you continue to transform us here on earth to be more like you – equip us with the desire and will to live honorably, to do your will, and may it be pleasing in your sight. Lord, work in our hearts and minds this year to be your hands and feet in this world. Direct our steps, open our eyes to see things how you see them, and fix our heart on you to help us make the decisions that align with you and your plans for our lives. Lord, continue to shepherd us through this year. Lord, through the good, bad, and unexpected give us the strength to stand firm in you, on your word, and remember your promises. Lord, connect us with a church that is aligned with your truth over tradition, with your compassion over division, with grace and mercy over judgment, and your peace over chaos. Lord, lead us and your church. Lord, help us to be examples of you in the church and everywhere we go. Don’t let us be a hindrance or hypocrites to the church, believers or new believers.

Lord, we pray for those who do not know you or have turned away from you and/or the church. Lord, speak to their hearts and help them to see that you are God, that you love them, and desire to be with them for eternity. Lord, turn them to or back to you. Lord, surround them with Christians who have surrendered their lives to you and are truly living it out in this world.

Lord, we pray that this year will be a year that people will know you more. Lord, begin in our homes, in our marriages or singleness, with our child(ren), with our extended family and friends, in the church, in schools, and our jobs. Lord, help us to heal from all the years before. Heal us mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, socially, and financially. Comfort those who are grieving. Strengthen the families who are saying goodbyes for now to a loved one today. Lord, thank you for your promises that we will see them again.

Make us new in this new year. Give us a heart and mind to listen and obey your leading. In Jesus’ name amen.

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