“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith; and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:8-10
I see three plates of rice and beans in the attached photo. Metal spoons, no napkins or glasses of water; a Trinity HOPE donor gave a dollar so these three Haitian children could have lunch which might very well be their meal for this day. Think about this; our Triune God has specific plans already in place for each of these children and you and I don’t have a clue as to what His plans might be. We don’t know their names, or who their parents are or what kind of house they live in but we only know they attend a Christian school in Haiti. Do we need to know anything else about these young lives? What about you, what has our Heavenly Father prepared for you to do? Twenty years ago, I didn’t realize that I would be here today sharing with you a photo of Haitian children eating rice and beans and asking you to pray for these three and also consider being a Trinity HOPE donor. When the final bell tolls and your journey ends will your family, friends and co-workers read about the work that God prepared for you and how you followed His calling? I am closing today with the words from the song, Find us Faithful, that were written by Steve Green.
“We're pilgrims on the journey of the narrow road and those who've gone before us line the way. Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary their lives a stirring testament to God's sustaining grace; surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses let us run the race not only for the prize but as those who've gone before us, let us leave to those behind us the heritage of faithfulness passed on through godly lives.
Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful. May the fire of our devotion light their way. May the footprints that we leave lead them to believe and the lives we live inspire them to obey. Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful after all our hopes and dreams have come and gone; and our children sift through all we've left behind. May the clues that they discover and the memories they uncover become the light that leads them to the road we each must find. Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful.”
Dear Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen