Day 13.

Action: Adapted from I Peter 1:13-22. Dear Lord, I pray that You will gird my mind for action, help me to keep sober in spirit, help me to fix my hope completely on the grace brought to me through the revelation of what Jesus Christ has done for me...Give me the power not be too conformed to former wrong thoughts and acts done in my ignorance, but like the Holy One who calls me, become holy in ALL of my behavior, conducting myself with reverence during my time on earth, knowing that I was redeemed at a very high cost with the precious blood of Christ…Fill me with the knowledge and assurance that I have been born again with the imperishable seed through the living and abiding Word of God to carry out Your will and actions in a hurting world. I ask for all of this in the holy name of Jesus. Amen.

How do we feel when someone acts on our behalf? When I moved to Texas, I knew no one, but the kindest woman by the name of Pam hosted a lunch to introduce me to people. Then a professor introduced me to her friends, and a pastor invited me to work with him in his church. All of those people acted in ways that helped me feel at home in a place 2000 miles away from everyone I knew. They did not know me, they did not ask anything of me, they simply befriended me and shared their friends with me. What I saw in the people I met in Texas was a reverence for others and a courage to honor the image of God in others. When people ask me what I liked about Texas I say, “In Texas they celebrate each other's successes.” Our actions toward each other and how we treat each other make a huge impact. I have lived in many places and met lots of people. But the actions of people in Texas taught me to seek first to see the good in the other and to celebrate that goodness.