Please be sure to check out the ministry updates and prayer requests below. God is up to some exciting things with inLight, and we need your prayers. But first, a few words about being made a disciple of Jesus Christ.
What better time to practice the second half of the Great Commandment than during the holidays? As we gather with family and friends, some lost or wandering, let us remember that love is the highest expression of our union with Jesus Christ.
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails… When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things… And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Pursue love… (1Corinthians 13:4-8,11,13,14:1a)
If we cannot love those closest to us, how will we love our enemies when they get close? How will we suffer long and remain kind? How will we bear, believe, hope, and endure all things?
Of course, this depth of sacrificial love is quite impossible for every human. But God still requires it of us for His glory and our good. We are to be His instruments of sacrificial love to everyone… everyone. Practice makes perfect.
For those who struggle (as I do) to release God’s love on the world around us, please consider the following testimony of God’s love.
God heals all wounds, and He delivers us from the protective barriers we have created to avoid being wounded again. Those barriers not only inhibit the flow of love between us and others, it fosters a poisonous self-love, resulting in behavior antithetical to the 2Corinthians 13 love.
If you (like me) have been frustrated with your impatience, lack of kindness, rudeness, arrogance, etc., God has healing and deliverance for you, too.
If you will allow, the Holy Spirit will walk you through the healing process, and you will hear your Father say, “I’ve healed that wound, you don’t have to protect it any longer.” If you will hear it, that word will become faith (Romans 10:17). The work of that faith will be the love of 1Corinthians 13.
It may take time – more than you expect – but God will deliver you from the self-love you have come to hate. You will grow in your love for the LORD and for your neighbor. You will experience rivers of living water – the fruit of the Holy Spirit – flowing through you onto others (John 7:38). The experience will no longer be a pleasant surprise, but a perpetual way of life.
That is my testimony and hope, for you and myself, this holiday season.
God bless you with healing, deliverance, and many opportunities to practice His sacrificial love for others.
Have a strong day in the Lord,
Rob
#iamjustthepen
P.S. Please let me know if you would like to begin receiving our weekly articles – to experience the kingdom truths God uses me to write. You can also access those at the inLight Adventure blog. This year, we have been focused on “The Ways of God for…”. We are currently exploring the ways of God found in Psalm 119.
Ministry Updates and Prayer Requests
Preparations for the Douglas County Trusted Advisor Forum (TAF) are progressing in a more encouraging fashion. This is the good work God has created for me to walk in. Please pray for the workplace leaders who will join our first group in January – that they would clearly hear the Father’s call.
Please share The Message with the workplace leaders you believe are hungry for the good work God has created for them to walk in. Or, send me their contact information, and I will make the connection.
Editing for the revised edition of The Map Maker has been completed, and should be uploaded to Amazon in the next couple of weeks. This will be the first book we give away to the Douglas County TAF members. I am rejoicing over the opportunity to give them a much-improved edition.
The new inLight website is up!! Now that we have a good design running on a stable platform, I can make some necessary changes to the messaging (to reflect God’s renewed mission for inLight). Please pray for the time and wisdom to complete this soon, and perhaps someone to lend a hand.
As we mentioned above, The Storms Have Only Just Begun is out. The publisher has asked me to write an article “About the Book” to be shared on The Christian Post website and to all their newsletter subscribers. That task has been completed, but they have been slow to respond. Please pray for their attention, and the subsequent marketing effort, that we would reach as many Christians as possible with this important and timely word.
Please join me in prayer for our brothers and sisters in Nigeria, who are under tremendous persecution from the radical Muslims there. Please pray with me for their encouragement, protection, and faithfulness in the face of severe trial and tribulation. From my reading, I understand they are also praying for us.
Continue to pray for the workplace leaders you know. And let me know how I can help you minister to them (we have tons of resources for you to share).
Beth and I are now hosting a prayer meeting in our home – the first ministry we have done together since Beth’s retirement, and the first offering of our home to the local church community. Please keep us in your prayers – particularly regarding our ministry to our adult children (and our wonderful, beautiful grandchild).
Partnering with inLight Consulting
God’s purpose for inLight Consulting is beyond human capability. We are desperately dependent on Him; and would have it no other way. We are grateful for the continued support of those that trust God to use this ministry to further His kingdom. Please pray for our vision and mission.
Share the truths you find here with the leaders in your life; it will make them free.
God bless you with wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him; and may He give you the grace and courage to walk in the work He has prepared for you.
Humbly yours and forever His,
Rob