April's Theme
This months theme is about Loving God's Beautiful Creation, the Earth. Earth day is on April 22nd so I thought this was a fitting theme for our blog this month.
God created this beautiful earth and every thing on it. Everything He put on this earth was made with such a great amount of detail and everything has it's purpose, whether it be the flowers and herbs growing from the ground to the animals roaming the land and even us. We are detailed and have purpose on this earth. I think that was the major question when I was growing up. Why are we here? What is our purpose?
Let's back up to the flowers for an example. In my opinion, I think that God made everything on this earth for us to enjoy. The flowers could have been made to help spread joy with their sweet fragrance and their beautiful bright colors. People often give flowers to show they love or care for another person. They also provide pollen and nectar to bees. Bees also spread their pollen to other plants and vegetables to help them grow bigger and better. Look at all the wonderful things a single flower does. God planned that flower down to every beautiful detail. Flowers come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and colors.
Like flowers, we are designed by God right down to the very last detail. We look and act differently than anyone else. We may be similar to others in ways but you will not find another exact you out there. So that brings me to why we are here. We are here for the purpose of enjoying this great, amazing world that God has given us. We are put here to love God and His creation which includes all His people and every detail he etched into this world. We are here to spread God's word and love to all. That means edifying one another with your actions, words and spirit.
How can we edify one another. Simple acts of kindness? Check in on someone you know that is going through a hard time. Bring some flowers to brighten someones day. Write a card with a special verse about how God loves us all to someone you don't even know. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ and we are all charged with taking care of each other. One day when Jesus comes back and there is a new heaven on earth, we will spend eternity together with no sickness or bad times. Until that day comes, it is up to us to show every person on earth God's love for them and His earth.
Here are some verses about God's creation and showing others love: Genesis Chapter 1, 2, 9:1-17, Colossians 3:16.
Spreading God's Love Challenge
This is pretty much summed up in the above paragraphs. But let's put a twist on it. I would like you to show God's love to the earth and to every living creature by using something God already put on this earth. So if we are talking about maybe an animal, you could go to the animal shelter and spend some time cuddling up to a shelter animal. If you have room in your home, consider adopting. If you want to brighten someones day, pick some flowers for someone or maybe ask them if they would like to take a walk outside in nature. You would be surprised how that can really improve someone's outlook. It's all about connecting with nature.
Stepping Through the Bible Challenge (a chapter at a time)
Genesis Chapter 1-30
Genesis is often hard to read due to the genealogy included. I start reading by praying that God will give me the insight into the text I am reading. *Our holy spirit inside us brings the words to life when we are saved. If you are not saved, please see the bottom of this blog post. I then tackle it one chapter at a time. I highlight my favorite verse or verses in each chapter and make notes in the margins of anything I feel inspired about. Remember, it is OK to write in or highlight in our Bibles. God gave us the Bible to learn His word and how to live our lives. There has also been the occasion in which I like to use the listen function on my Bible app on my phone where it will read it to me. This feature can come in really handy.
Prayer
Dear God, I thank you for making this opportunity to spread your word to others possible. I thank you for The Grace Chain and how much of a blessing it has been to me and others. I pray for these words to reach those you've intended it for. I pray for each person that reads this to have the wisdom, strength and love you share with them. I pray for the readers throughout the month that they make a priority to take our challenges to spread your love and to learn more of your word. I know the adversary will make things come up to prevent them from having time but I pray you just bust through that and give them the inspiration to see that if they put You first in their lives, you will bless that back so much. I pray that You put the opportunity in front of each reader to bless someone in their lives with their special gifts and talents you have given them.
In the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen
Please feel free to show your participation in the challenges above by using the comments section below or by posting on our Facebook page.
God Bless,
The Grace Chain
Dispelling the Darkness with Light
775-623-7729 (Prayer Request Line)
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Colossians 3:16
*To become saved or born again, you can read about it in Romans 10:9-10 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. You will get the greatest gift from God to mankind. Jesus paid for our sins to be forgiven and gave us the ticket into the new heaven on earth when Jesus comes back to get us.
