Praying for Rain

Turn in your Bible to Acts 8:20. This verse is the conclusion of a longer story - the story of Simon the Sorcerer and Peter. If you'd like to read the rest of the story, just backtrack a few verses and you can read the whole thing; for now, I'd just like for us to focus on verse 20. Peter says several things in this verse, but specifically, he says "thou hast thought to obtain the gift of God with money." Let's talk about this for a few moments.

I remember when I was younger, I used to think that having a lot of money would give me the power to help people in the world - that being someone significant would give me the key to changing the world. As I got older, however, I realized that bringing the gifts of salvation and completion to the people in the world don't even require money to begin with. How shortsighted I was to think that having money would give me the means to help others!

We can help others every day - whether we have money, whether we don't; it doesn't matter. We have all been given gifts that we can use to help others. For those who have money, that's great! Use it to serve others and spread the good news about Christ. If you don't have money, I guarantee you that you have something else you can use to help people. For example, I have extreme patience - it comes in handy when having lengthy debates about spiritual topics. I also possess a certain degree of musical talent - I can use that to create music with good moral messages and uplift people when they're struggling. Any talent is useful!

Whatever you're good at - use that. Use that like crazy and get out there. Make a difference in the world. Millions of people are counting on you. God gave you that talent and trusted you to use it to make a difference. See Matthew 25 for an example of how God views your talents. It's up to you and me to use our talents to bring glory to God. Let's get out there and put ourselves on the line, praying to God to give us strength.

Plant the seeds and pray for rain. Show God you'll do your part and that you'll trust him to do the rest.

With Christian love,
Ethan