Category Archives: Mission

Leadership, Mission, Resources

You + 2017 = Best Year Ever (details inside)

take-controlMy goal here is to help equip you to grow in your love and leadership for the people God has put in your care. This week, I get to share with you the opportunity to go after some big goals this next year. All of this leads up to the release of program that I have personally used to transform my day to day schedule, achieve some of my biggest goals, and help others think through God’s purposes for their lives. I am so excited!!! So here’s the $100,000 dollar question:

Have you’ve ever struggled to hit any of the goals you’ve set for yourself?

Maybe you have BIG plans for this year but you are a little hesitant to put pen to paper, the shoulder to the wheel, and get after it?

The problem, so it seems, is that life feels out of control sometimes, doesn’t it?

Project deadlines and kiddo soccer practices and coffee with a friend and getting dinner on the table and sneaking in some exercise and don’t forget that work trip next
week… and… and…

Whew. It’s a lot to handle.

If you are like me sometimes our vision of where we want to be gets obscured because we get so bogged down and focused on the myriad of things calling out and vying for our immediate attention.

What if there was a way to take some of the control back? What if you could get a handle on all the things you are currently doing and begin achieving some of the biggest goals you have for your life?

New York Times bestselling author Michael Hyatt is going to show you, step-by-step, how to use goal-setting to take control of your days and turn them into the life you really want.

You’ll hear Michael share things like:

* The one single strategy that will instantly make
you 42% more likely to accomplish your goals —
it’s shocking how many people miss it

* How to “quit-proof” your goals and ensure 2017 is
the year you finally cross “that big one” off your
list (you know which one I’m talking about!)

* Why detailed action plans work against you and an
alternate strategy that will take a huge weight off
your shoulders

* The secret to sustaining your initial momentum and
keep making progress toward your goals no matter what
life throws at you

* The common and seemingly positive goal-setting
strategy that is likely sabotaging your success
(and what to do instead)

and so much more!

There are several different times to accommodate your
schedule. See what works for you here:

7 Steps to Taking Control in 2017 Webinar

By the end of the presentation, you’ll be crystal

clear about how you can have your best year ever
in 2017.

Make sure you reserve a spot for webinar:

7 Steps to Taking Control in 2017 Webinar

It’s a free presentation but it will fill up super fast (which is why you need to reserve your spot).

Peace,
Micheal

P.S. All registrants will get a special
workbook designed specifically for this
presentation. Here’s the link to sign up:

7 Steps to Taking Control in 2017 Webinar

Discipleship, Leadership, Ministry, Mission, Personal Leadership

The Fifteenth Year

15 years ago I had just returned from a semester overseas studying abroad in Athens, Greece. My small Christian college seemed even smaller after exploring the world but I was ready to get back to classes and earn my degree in Youth and Family Ministry.

That’s when I got the call.

A graduate student had recommended me to a small church just outside of Little Rock to serve as their part-time youth minister. He told me about the church and all that the job entailed. I would teach classes on Sunday, Sunday Night, and Wednesday night. I would also occasionally lead singing and participate in the life of the church.

He said that the job was mine if I wanted it.

I said, “Yes!”

With that invitation and with my agreement to work and serve that little church, I officially began as a full-time minister following God’s calling in my life.

So much has happened over the last 15 years. 

We have moved from AR to AL and back to TX. I have taught hundreds of classes, led thousands of songs, read countless commentaries, and attended numerous conferences. I’ve held new born babies, prayed over men and women going into surgery, spent late nights in the ER, and stood by those who have lost loved ones. I’ve welcomed new families in the church and said goodbye to others. I’ve been to the mountain top and I’ve trudged through the dark valleys. I have seen God work wonders and I have seen Him transform myself and those around me.

My focus for this year is Fitness.

I want to be Spiritually Fit.

I want to be Physically Fit.

I want to be Emotionally Fit.

I want to be Intellectually Fit.

As I think about what it means to be fit in ministry and in life I remember the challenge Paul shares with the church on Corinth:

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” (1 Corinthians 9:24–27)

Over the last few weeks I have been praying over and planning some pretty ambitious goals for this year. I feel God is calling me to abandon the average life and ministry in order to go deeper into His Story and His Kingdom. No one stumbles into fitness. No one wanders around the track and crosses the finish line. To run the race and finish well takes training, focus, passion, and faith in the One who provides the strength needed to endure.

I live a great life.

I get to live out my calling doing the thing that I love with people that I love for a Savior that I love.

As I begin my 15th year in full-time ministry I have never been more excited about what God may have in store. I’m ready to dig deeper, reach higher, abandon average, and run the race full out.

Here’s to the start of another 15 years in ministry.

 

Discipleship, Grace, Mission, Worship

Thanksgiving Proclamation

Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State

Discipleship, FPU, Mission

New FPU Kits Have Arrived!

Good morning everyone!

Summer is less than one week away and I can’t believe this year is flying by so fast. I am getting so excited about the summer. One of the reasons I’m so excited is because we are starting a whole new semester of Financial Peace University at our church. This class has truly impacted the way I view and interact with money. Dave Ramsey’s material is practical, fun, and most importantly, biblically driven.

Dave teaches that personal finance is 80% behavior and 20% head knowledge. Taking contra of your finances is more about what you do than what you know. FPU helps with both of these aspects in order to challenge you to use your money God’s way.

Last Fall, Dave’s team released an update to its FPU material. Our new Member Kits arrived this week and I wanted to show you what you get when you register for Financial Peace University. There is some great stuff in these new kits!

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When you open the box you are greeted with an awesome reminder: Your Story Begins Today. That’s right! You have decided to do something different. When you choose to start using your money and finances according to God’s Word, it will impact your future. It will change you. It will change your kids. It will change your family tree. FPU really does change your story. Let’s take a look at the tools you’ll be using to write that new story.

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The first stop is to unpack the Start Here box. Inside you’ll find a handful of goodies including stickers, bookmarks, and some old school “budget tools” (aka: A pencil and an eraser. What, no abacus?) The most important thing you’ll need is your Online Member code which will give you access to a dozen or more online resources, forms, and articles. This really is an invaluable tool and as an FPU student, I’d encourage you to take full advantage of everything available online.

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Next, you’ll find two books. The first is your Workbook. This will be your constant companion and the the thing you must bring with you to class each week. This new and improved workbook still provides you with an outline  and fill-in-the-blanks for each lesson but it is much more user-friendly than its predecessor. There are more forms, more articles to help you understand the concepts, and I believe the contents is just presented in a much more concise and engaging way.

The second book is Dave Ramsey’s Complete Guide to Money. This is a brand-new book created specifically for this material. It is the supplement text to everything you’ll be learning in FPU. The previous version of the kit came with Dave’s Total Money Makeover. That book focused more on the 7 Baby Steps where as this book really is a companion guide for the class.

If you have been a part of FPU in the past, you may know what that blue case is. It isn’t a check book. It’s your Envelope System! The Envelope System is introduced in Lesson 3. Basically, you fill each envelope with the cash that you have allotted for it in your budget. Then you are free to spend from the envelope but when it’s gone, it’s gone. It is a basic tool but a game changing one as well. This latest incarnation comes with plenty of envelopes for the future and the ledger on each envelope has more spaces for you to record your activity on.

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There is another blue case in the kit. This case houses all of the Audio Lessons from each session. Since we are teaching a summer session of FPU, I know that you are bound to miss at least one of the lessons due to traveling for the summer. That’s ok! You have all the lessons at your fingertips. These 9 discs are the audio from each of the video lessons we will watch at FPU. You can listen to them around the dinner table and fill out your workbook. You can listen to them in the car. You can put them on your iPod and listen during your workout. I love having access to these lessons so that I can go back and be reminded of something from class or get some clarification on something I may not have understood. In fact, this is my favorite part of the kit.

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So there you have it! The new Financial Peace University Member Kit not only looks great but is filled with some many great tools to help you start using money God’s way. I have a couple of these kits left for you to purchase at $89. Once these are gone, the price increases. Sign up today and get ready to change your life!

Our class begins on June 20th and I hope you will be a part of it. You can click here to find out more details about the class, time, and location.

Discipleship, Jesus is the Christ, Leadership, Ministry, Mission, Popular Culture, Teaching

Do You Have A Theological Vision?

This Fall I have spent a great deal of time reading and thinking through Tim Keller‘s excellent book, Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City. Keller is the Pastor at Redeemer in the heart of NYC and is one of my favorite authors/thinkers. Rather than a “cut and paste, this is how we do ministry-this is how you should do ministry” book, Center Church focuses on developing a Theological Vision that is consistent with what a particular congregation believes and that drives the way ministry happens. Too often the ministry expressions of a church are divorced from or even at odds with their beliefs as well as unconnected from the very people they are trying to reach. This causes frustration within the congregation and confusion from those outside looking in.

Keller defines Theological Vision as an underlying vision that brings your theological understanding (doctrine, beliefs) to bear upon your ministry expressions (practices, programs). It is in essence, a faithful understanding of the Gospel “with rich implications for life, ministry, and mission in a type of culture at a specific moment in history.” Developing a robust Theological Vision is important because it forces the people of God to think long and hard about the character and implications of the Gospel, what the Gospel has to say within your particular culture, and what it means to do ministry in your time and place.

With a Theological Vision in place, leaders and churches can make better choices about ministry expression that are faithful to the Gospel while at the same time are meaningful to their ministry context. That means a greater impact in Worship, Discipleship, Evangelism, Service, and Cultural Engagement.

A Theological Vision helps you determine what you are going to do with what you believe within your cultural setting.

Keller sums up the importance of this vision when he says, “A Theological Visions allows (us) to see (our) culture in a way that is different than (we) have ever been able to see before… Those who are empowered by the theological vision do not simply stand against the mainstream impulses of the culture but take the initiative both to understand and speak to that culture from the framework of the Scriptures… The modern theological vision must seek to bring the entire counsel of God into the world of its time in order that its time might be transformed.”

In order to develop a Theological Vision Keller says that you must spend time in “deep reflection” on Scripture and the particular culture that you minister in. In order to think deeply and reflect on these things, Keller offers 8 questions to help in the development of a robust and significant Theological Vision.

They are:
1) What is the gospel, and how do we bring it to bear on the hearts of people today?
2) What is this culture like, and how can we both connect to it and challenge it in our communication?
3) Where are we located — city, suburb, town, rural area — and how does this affect our ministry?
4) To what degree and how should Christians be involved in civic life and cultural production?
5) How do the various ministries in a church — word and deed, community and instruction — relate to one another?
6) How innovative will our church be and how traditional?
7) How will our church relate to other churches in our city and region?
8) How will we make our case to the culture about the truth of Christianity?

Keller warns that the development of this type of vision is hard but it is essential. The quality of your Theological Vision will determine your effectiveness as you find ways to communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ clearly to your particular place in history.

Over the coming weeks, I am planning on meeting with a group of leaders to think through these 8 questions as a group in order to gain a better understanding of our mission to those within our church body and our surrounding community. The Starbucks near us recently built a new location complete with a variety of warm and inviting meeting areas so we are going to wrestle with these questions in the heart of the local agora just like Paul did in Athens. Of course Paul, as far as we know, didn’t get to sit in plush leather chairs sipping a peppermint mocha from a red cup.

If you have not read Keller’s Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City, I want encourage you to pick it up and wrestle with these questions within your own ministry context. I’ll be posting my thoughts and feelings as we go along so you are welcome to join in the conversation here in the comments or on Facebook and Twitter.

So what do you think of all this? Is a Theological Vision important? In what ways have you gained a greater understanding of the Gospel? In what ways have you worked to gain a better understanding of your particular culture?

Bible Study, Discipleship, Mission, Preaching, Sermon Series, Sermons

NEXT: Identify with Jesus

Earlier this month I started a new sermon series entitled, NEXT: Taking Your Next Steps in Faith. In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus gives us the goal of Spiritual Growth when he says that we are to increase in our Love for God and our love for Others. Next Steps help us grow in our love for God and others by giving us the opportunity to put our faith into practice by following or obeying what he is calling us to do.

In each week, I have had a specific agenda for those listening to my words.

In week one, I was clear that I wanted us to take the next step to CONNECT WITH A CHURCH. A church isn’t a building or an address in Google Maps. A church is a group of people who seek out God together, live together, and work together in order to bring glory to Jesus Christ. Connecting to a church doesn’t mean your growth is automatic or that growth only happens within the four walls of the church. However, when you CONNECT with a group of disciples you are putting yourself in an environment where you can grow in RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ, your FRIENDSHIP with God’s people, and your INFLUENCE with those who are far from God.

The following week I my agenda was to get all of us to ENGAGE WITH GOD’S WORD. According to Move: What 100 Churches Reveal About Spiritual Growth (Hardback, Kindle), the number one catalyst for spiritual growth whether you’ve been a Christian for 5 minutes or 50 years is reflecting on Scripture or ENGAGING with God’s Word. That looks a little different than simply reading your Bible everyday. To ENGAGE encompassing READING the Word, THINKING about what God is saying to us, PRAYING that God will reveal himself and his will to us, and LIVING out what you see God calling you to.

This week, I want those who have not yet been baptized to take that next step to privately and publicly IDENTIFY their lives with Jesus Christ through being BAPTIZED.

Baptism can be an emotional topic to discuss because everyone has different opinions and traditions depending on how they grew up. My motivation isn’t to teach on how everyone else is wrong or misguided. I have one goal and that is to invite and challenge those who have not yet been baptized to do so. 

There are three things that I want to avoid with this week’s message on Baptism:

  1. I don’t want to cause conflict. There was a time in my life when I thought I knew everything there was to say about baptism. At our Christian high school, I can remember starting quite a few arguments with my classmates around this subject. “The Bible told you to do it, you should do it.” was my line and I delivered it with all the care and concern of General Rommel taking North Africa. I was too bombastic and failed to understand that we all come to this topic with our own personal histories. The last thing that I want to do is create conflict around what is, by far and away, the best way to IDENTIFY yourself with the message and person of Jesus Christ.
  2. I don’t want to cause pain. Typically what happens when we begin to talk about baptism is that some pain and angst begins to well up inside of us when we think about friends and family members- primarily those whom have passed away- that were not baptized. We begin to worry about Uncle Sal or we get hurt because someone suggested that our friend may be downstairs when we believe they are upstairs. When I’m discussing baptism I want those that I’m sharing with to think about their own decision in the here and now. I do not want to speculate about theological positions or postulate on things that I just do not and cannot know.
  3. I don’t want to cause confusion. I want everyone who chooses to IDENTIFY with Jesus Christ through being baptized to be sure of their decision. I don’t want someone to look back and be confused about the reasons why they were baptize or to question their own salvation. Baptism paints a perfect picture of what Jesus did on our behalf and is a beautiful expression of our relationship with him. Just as Jesus died for our sins, we are to die to ourselves and our ways of living life. Jesus as Jesus was buried and in the tomb for three days, so we are buried under the water. Just as Jesus was raised to life again through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit empowers us to live the resurrection life as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

In my past, I am sure that I caused some conflict, pain, and confusion when I have argued about baptism. If you were one of those people, I am truly sorry. I promise this weekend, I will take more care as I discuss this highly emotional topic.

My goal this weekend will be to invite others to IDENTIFY with Jesus through taking the next step and being baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Discipleship, Leadership, Mission

Vision- The WHY

A few years ago, the board of directors for a small but growing chicken restaurant named Chick-fil-a met to decide the future direction of their organization. One group argued that the way to growth would be rapid expansion into new parts of the country. Some argued new menu items would cause the company to gain more of a market share. Still, some made the case for flashier commercials and giveaways in order to make Chick-fil-a a bigger company. The founder, Truett Cathy, sat there and listened to the arguments going back and forth across the conference table. He then began to bang his fist on the table in order to get everyone’s attention. When the room became quiet and with all eyes on him, the oldest man in the room simply said, “When we get better, we’ll get bigger.” With that, Chick-fil-a set out to become a better company in order to become a bigger one.

Compare that to Kentucky Fried Chicken or KFC or whatever they are calling themselves these days. It seems like every 6 months, Colonel Sanders and friends roll out a new marketing strategy or flashy new menu item or new remodel in order to attract customers. One ad cycle may show the chain becoming a heath food alternative with the next cycle tapping into the “homestyle-back-in-the-day” nostalgia that Kentucky Fried Chicken had back in the day. KFC seems to have be suffering from a identity crisis.

Much of these differences in marketing, strategy, and focus come down to the Mission of each organization.

On the KFC website, you will see that the company has a mission statement. It says:

KFC is the world’s most popular chicken restaurant chain, specializing in Original Recipe, Extra Crispy, Colonel’s Crispy Strips and Honey BBQ Wings, with home-style sides and freshly made chicken sandwiches. Since its founding by Colonel Harland Sanders in 1952, KFC has been serving customers delicious, already prepared complete family meals at affordable prices.

Through this statement, KFC makes it clear that their main focus is delivering chicken products to customers. It even goes so far as to list its main menu items in their mission statement. If you’ll remember, Harlen Sanders believed that Kentucky Fried Chicken existed to serve Original Recipe chicken and only Original Recipe. After he sold the company, he raised quite a stir after the new organization announced a new item- Crispy Chicken. The chicken has always been the focus of KFC.

Now, look at Chick-fil-a’s Mission Statement from their website:

Be America’s Best Quick-Service Restaurant

Chick-fil-a makes it clear that their main goal isn’t to simply sell chicken but to better serve people.

Just a glance at their respective homepages shows that KFC highlights products and Chick-fil-a highlights people. Neither one of these is right or wrong but they will have a direct effect on how each restaurant operates. An organization who holds serving people as their highest value will focus and behave differently than an organization that focuses on serving innovative products.

When it comes to determining what an organization wants to do and the best way to do that, they must first answer the question, “Why do we exist?”

If the answer is “We exist to serve chicken.” than offering many chicken options, highlighting new chicken products, changing your signage, and reminding people about your history of selling chicken will be the type of choices and behaviors the organization will exhibit in order to achieve their goals.

If your reason to exist is to serve people than you might make sure that your employees are trained to be friendly and encourage behaviors such as helping families by delivering the food to their table. You might make sure that the dining experience is fast, clean, and efficient. You might make sure that your menu is streamlined so that when people order they can do so quickly and easily.

If you’ve been to either one of these restaurants recently you know that each one has a distinct style and atmosphere. These things are directly due to the mission and vision that each organization is pursuing.

In his book, Start With Why, author Simon Sinek says that often times organizations struggle with getting their people to understand the vision or to buy into what the organization is trying to accomplish because leaders focus more on WHAT needs to be done and HOW it will be accomplished. Sinek argues that leaders must first get their people to understand the cause, the belief, the mission – the WHY behind it all.

(Set aside 18 minutes in your schedule today in order to watch Simon Sinek’s TED talk: How Great Leaders Inspire Action)

If we are going to lead healthy organizations that are actively making a difference in the lives of our people than we must identify the underlying reason WHY we exist in the first place. Once we understand the WHY, then we can move forward with the mission. Once the people you lead understand the WHY, than they will gladly join you on that mission.

Mission, Prayer

Mission Lazarus Day 8

This week I’m at Mission Lazarus in San Marcos de Colon, Honduras. During this time, I will be, for the most part, completely offline. Our team will be building a house, distributing food, teaching children, and serving as the hands and feet of Jesus. While I am away, I want to ask you to pray for our team. Below is a little info on what we will be doing today and a few prayer prompts that you can pray for us. Thank you in advance! Have a great week!

Saturday, July 28
The team leaves for home today and arrives back at DFW.

PRAY for God to speak to each team member today as they reflect on what has taken place.
PRAY for others at home to be blessed by the reports from this trip.

Scripture to Pray:
“Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man’s behalf! Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard; he has preserved our lives, and kept our feet from slipping” (Psalm 66:5, 8-9).

Mission, Prayer

Mission Lazarus Day 7

This week I’m at Mission Lazarus in San Marcos de Colon, Honduras. During this time, I will be, for the most part, completely offline. Our team will be building a house, distributing food, teaching children, and serving as the hands and feet of Jesus. While I am away, I want to ask you to pray for our team. Below is a little info on what we will be doing today and a few prayer prompts that you can pray for us. Thank you in advance! Have a great week!

FRIDAY, July 27
The team will pack up and leave Mission Lazarus. They will spend the night in the capital city of Tegucigalpa.

PRAY that the team would find words to share their experience.
PRAY that God would deepen the lessons that He has taught them.
PRAY that their hearts are being prepared to return home.

Scripture to Pray:
“Lord you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us” (Isaiah 26:12).

Mission, Prayer

Mission Lazarus Day 6

This week I’m at Mission Lazarus in San Marcos de Colon, Honduras. During this time, I will be, for the most part, completely offline. Our team will be building a house, distributing food, teaching children, and serving as the hands and feet of Jesus. While I am away, I want to ask you to pray for our team. Below is a little info on what we will be doing today and a few prayer prompts that you can pray for us. Thank you in advance! Have a great week!

Thursday, July 26
The team follows a “typical” daily schedule, going wherever they have been scheduled. This will be the last day the team works in San Marcos de Colon.

PRAY for the team to be encouragers to one another as well as to the local people they are working with.
PRAY for “divine appointments” by God with people He has for them to meet.
PRAY for their safety as they move about.
PRAY for God’s Spirit to encourage their hearts in what He is doing in Honduras.
PRAY for lasting fruit, both seen and unseen, and that God would remind them of the seeds they are planting.

Scripture to Pray:
“For the kingdom of God is…righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification” (Romans 14:17-19).

“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sewer and bread to the earth, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth.. It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. For you shall go out with joy, and be led in peace…” (Isaiah 56:10-12).

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive…as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom” (Colossians 3:12-16).