40 Days Of Prayer - Day 12
Waves Of Truth
Scripture
Ephesians 4:14-16
"14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love."
"14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love."
Devotion
Early on a warm summer morning, the canoe trip was coming to an end. We had crossed two lakes. All that remained was the final leg of the trip to cross Canoe Lake in Algonquin park. There was a nasty head wind that had developed. As you looked across the water horizon, you see dreaded white cap waves that were forming a very difficult journey.
My 11 year old son and I had 100 lbs or more of camping gear. Even with this weight, the wind blew us around as if we were nothing more than a piece of styrofoam. We were both exhausted. The hard work of canoeing was harder for my son as he was still only a child. After several attempts I had to settle on a strategy and appeal to my son with the truth. He was already demoralized from the challenges of the trip at this point.
My appeal to him was gentle and firm. “If you don’t help paddle hard – we will not make it back to the car for many more hours. If we fight the wind together we can be back to our car in an hour.” When he finally received the message we finally started making progress. We had many more “pep talks” over the following hour, along with moments of rest. We were so happy to reach the other side, what a battle.
In order to avoid getting jostled and carried around by the “crazy” in our lives or in the world. We want to grow closer to Jesus. Together, we need to encourage each other to grow closer to God through the bible. It is important to care about the person you are speaking to. To understand their challenge, to know where they are coming from. To be in the battle together with them. Jesus knew people well and was able to share the truth that they needed to hear so they could make adjustments to their lives. He journeys together with us.
My 11 year old son and I had 100 lbs or more of camping gear. Even with this weight, the wind blew us around as if we were nothing more than a piece of styrofoam. We were both exhausted. The hard work of canoeing was harder for my son as he was still only a child. After several attempts I had to settle on a strategy and appeal to my son with the truth. He was already demoralized from the challenges of the trip at this point.
My appeal to him was gentle and firm. “If you don’t help paddle hard – we will not make it back to the car for many more hours. If we fight the wind together we can be back to our car in an hour.” When he finally received the message we finally started making progress. We had many more “pep talks” over the following hour, along with moments of rest. We were so happy to reach the other side, what a battle.
In order to avoid getting jostled and carried around by the “crazy” in our lives or in the world. We want to grow closer to Jesus. Together, we need to encourage each other to grow closer to God through the bible. It is important to care about the person you are speaking to. To understand their challenge, to know where they are coming from. To be in the battle together with them. Jesus knew people well and was able to share the truth that they needed to hear so they could make adjustments to their lives. He journeys together with us.
Prayer
"Dear Heavenly Father, as we grow towards you – we want to share the loving truth that you God have shared with us through your word. We want to grow together in unity and love. Please pray for our Kingdom Legacy initiative."
Written by Thom & Cynthia Letkeman
Written by Thom & Cynthia Letkeman