Day 7 - January 14th | "Relationships" by Pastor Dan Lund

So as we’ve talked about New Year’s resolves for 2017 and challenged our hearts in prayer this past week, we end on something that is vitally important to us all. The entire reason Jesus came into the world was to restore broken relationships. When Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, sin and shame covered their lives and the perfect relationship they had with God was severed. Why you ask? Because God cannot abide with sin. It’s the same reason Satan fell from heaven. He was in perfect relationship with His creator and yet, when pride entered his heart and he sinned against God, he was cast down from his place in glory and was eternally separated from the loving, protective presence of God. Sin always separates us from our relationship with God. But it not only separates us from God, sin also separates us from others. How many friendships and families have been destroyed because sin entered in? The greed that destroyed the friendship, the lust that destroyed the marriage, the anger that came between the siblings and the list goes on. But I’m praying that we will all make a New Year’s Resolution in 2017 to build healthier relationships with each other and to strengthen our relationship with God.

Let’s first pray for our relationship with God and that if there is any sin coming between us and Him, that it will be revealed to us so we can repent and draw unto the Lord in a deeper and closer way. Secondly, let’s pray for God’s heart and mind in our relationships with others. Many times we only see things from our perspective and we’re unwilling to walk in their shoes, but if we have the heart and mind of God, He’ll help us see things more clearly and give us full understanding of the big picture. Thirdly, let’s pray for our relationships in the world. We are not to be of the world, but we are to be a light unto the world. So let’s pray that in 2017 we’ll build relationships with purpose to lead others to the cross! “….I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one,” John 17:20-21.