DAILY DISCIPLES DEVOTIONAL by: Christianity.com

September 16

Today’s Reading: Proverbs 25; 2 Corinthians 9

Today’s Thoughts: An Everyday Retreat

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you. >Ephesians 4:32

Have you ever attended a weekend church retreat or fellowship outing? It is usually a great time of fellowship filled with a lot of love and laughter. It is an opportunity to meet new friends, share hidden struggles and spend time together. But why do we often wait until we attend such an event to reach out and enjoy others? Why can't we get along like that all the time? In one weekend, we can find out more about a person than after a whole year in church together. What happens at a retreat that causes our barriers to come down and our kind, loving, accepting personalities to come out? There are many burdens carried by people who attend a retreat, but somehow those burdens become a lot lighter by the end. The answer is God.

A retreat is the one place that we incorporate the Lord in everything we do. We sing to the Lord, we learn about the Lord, we talk to others about the Lord, we pray together to the Lord, and we are at a facility that is dedicated to the Lord. It is all about the Lord. We live out Matthew 22:37-40, "Jesus said unto him, 'You shall love the Lord thy God with all of your heart, and with all of your soul, and with all of your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"

We need to pray that we can understand this kind of love and kindness all year round. We get busy and focused on our own struggles, trying so hard to make it through the day that we forget others are in need too. But what we are really forgetting is a Who--the Lord. We need to include the Lord in the busyness of our days so that we can represent Him to others. Pray that you can be used by the Lord and that you can incorporate Him in everything you do today. You just might be able to help someone along the way. And, keep going to those retreats--we all need those special weekends with the Lord and with others.

Our mission is to evangelize the lost and awaken the saved to live empowered lives by the Work of God and His Holy Spirit. Daily Disciples Ministries makes a difference for the kingdom of God by teaching and training believers how to be in God's Word, how to pray and how to walk with Jesus every day, as His daily disciple.
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