Tuesday, January 4th, 2022

Happy New Year! Though the past couple years have had their ups and downs for all of us, we are praying for a blessed and healthy year for all. The start of this year certainly brings many of the same news headlines and issues from last year, but just as we have made it through those years, so, too will we this year by the grace of God. There have been many heroes of the past two years, but some of the unsung heroes have been those who have acted to bless others through faith. Faith sustains us like nothing else because in faith, we place ourselves in the mighty hands of our Father, forgoing earthly solutions to our problems. We turn solely to Him from whom all blessings flow. It is faith that gets us through our hardest times, and it is the faithful that are called by God to help us get through them. Paul begins his letter to the Ephesians by thanking and praying for them because of the great things they have been doing, in faith, for all of God's people. He wrote, "For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe." This year, remember to pray for and give thanks to those people who support others, and us, in our faith and who bless others in the name of Jesus. If you feel so called, be one of these people when called upon.

"For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe." -- Ephesians 1:15-19