Thought of the Day !!

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 15:5-6 (NIV)

The outcome of yesterday's elections might have brought you great joy and hope for a new future. It also could've brought a sense of fear and trepidation. As Christians the important thing for us to remember is that our God is still at work in our midst and in our world. He loves us the same today as yesterday. And He'll never leave us. And He works through ALL things.

Paul told the Romans that God is the one who gives us our endurance and our encouragement. Many Americans need that today as they think about the economic problems of our country and the safety of our troops over seas and moral issues that we face daily. We need God's help in seeing that in an unfair world He'll always be just and fair with us. We need to know today that our God is on our side, no matter if we're a Republican or a Democrat, a conservative or a liberal, a saint or a sinner, a blue-collar worker or a white-collar worker, a retiree or a out of work person, a northerner or a southerner, a male or a female, and young person or an elderly person.

We've all got different labels that we can describe ourselves and others with. But as Christians we're called to put labels aside and strive for unity. Forget the labels today and pray for God to help us see what divides us and where each of us needs to change so that unity can exist. We might never agree on everything, but that doesn't mean that we can't get along in Christian love and work towards making this life better for everyone around us.

In our small group last night someone prayed that God would guide the winners of the elections and also be with the losers, that He would help each of them to work together to make this a better nation. I pray today the same thing. I pray that we can get past differences in politics, in churches, in beliefs. I pray that we can come together and show the world that Christian love brings unity and not the division that it so often sees. Let us proudly proclaim our faith today in love for our God and for each other and press on towards the goal that is Jesus Christ.

In the love of Christ,
greg