Lord, we so easily get caught up in the popular belief that the only valuable people in life are those who achieve great things. Help me to understand that You love me for who I am, not what I can do. And Lord, whatever task, great or small, that You place before me, may I do it with joy, knowing I am helping to build Your Kingdom. Father, I am Your child; give me ears to hear You, eyes to see You and such a love for You that Your grace may overflow through me to all those about me.

Thank you, Lord.

It is often said that life is not about how good we are

at doing, but about how effective we are at being.

That means being the person that God intended us to

be rather than listing our small achievements. Think

of this: Not everyone who joins the army is required to

fight. There has to be a huge team in support of the

front line: transport, cooks, intelligence,

communications, planning, and so on. If a cook

decides he would rather be at the front, he could

cause the army to lose through starvation, even though he may do a good job with a rifle. He is a failure because he wasn’t being who he was meant to be.

      God’s people are called to His service in a million different ways. Being the person we were intended to be means that we can fulfil

the role that was created for us as part of God’s great plan. And remember, every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer - “Your Kingdom come on earth as in heaven” - we are praying that we may be everything God meant us to be so that His Lordship may be established amongst us.

      But being the person God intended brings its own challenges.

It means learning about God; it means listening to Him, it means staying in touch and allowing Him to provide all that we need to be fully ourselves. Just think; on the last day we shall not be asked what we achieved, but whether we lived fully as the person God intended.

Being Grateful

The Bible makes it clear that God does not want us to be poor - but He does want us to rely on Him before anyone or anything else. It is so easy to take things for granted when we have so much and forget that God is the giver of all things. Lord, help me today to look carefully at all You have given me: my life, my family, my home, my food and clothes, my work, and most of all my Lord, Jesus Christ, and be grateful.

Being Responsible

Lord, one day we shall have to answer to You for the way we have used - or not used - everything You have given us. We live in a land where people are more aware of their rights than their responsibilities. The Bible makes it clear in two great commandments that my responsibilities are to God and my neighbour above all else. Lord, give me the understanding and the courage to fulfil my real responsibilities in life. Thank you.

Being Careful

How easily we tend to dismiss those we do not immediately like. How easily we discard things out of fashion. Jesus never acted like that. We need to take a fresh look at how we use things and who benefits. Is it always ourselves first - or others?

Lord, may I always think twice before I use my tongue, my money, my time and my power. May I always ask myself, “Is it for You, Lord, or for me?” Lord guide my thinking.

Being Selfless

Isn’t it amazing how others always call on our time, our money and our talents, just when we had sorted out what we were doing with them!

Jesus was always available to others. May we be the same. Lord, How hard it is when my plans are frustrated by the demands of others - and yet Lord I want to learn to welcome the interruptions because I know it is the best way to serve You - and the way to true happiness.

Being Aware

When Jesus approached the man at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:2ff) He was aware of the man’s need without being told. Being aware of our Father’s voice as we go through life is seeing the things that are important standing like beacons amid the ordinary. Responding to His word is to see His power at work in mighty ways. Lord, give me a calmness of spirit as I go through the day that I may hear, and act where You are at work.

Being sure

The apostle Peter tells us to, “Worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if you are asked about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.”

1 Peter 3:15.     Being sure is nothing less than believing Jesus. When we know Him, and trust Him we can be absolutely certain that His word is true. And what an assurance we can offer others when we are sure ourselves - and what wonderful things God can do through us! Wow!

Give thanks for the many ways God is at work, through:

- Evangelists

- Pastors

- His children

- the faithful

- Ourselves

Remember today, those who carry around in life:

- bitterness

- grief

- selfishness

- wrong desires

- heavy burdens

- revenge

and who do not  

 know God’s love.