Sunday, November 16, 2025
Day 7: A Thriving Future
Reading: Ephesians 3:20-21
Reflection:
The story of Acts 16 is not simply about where Paul went—it is about how God’s imagination outgrew Paul’s. The same is true for the Church today. Thriving is not about returning to a former strength but trusting that God can do more than we can imagine. The Spirit who redirected Paul’s steps continues to shape the journey of churches across North Carolina. As we dream, discern, and serve together, we join God’s mission of resurrection and renewal. The future of the Church belongs not to fear, but to faith that God is already doing immeasurably more.
Prayer Prompt:
Pray for bold imagination. Ask God to help your church dream beyond maintenance and into mission, trusting that God’s power is already at work within you.
Reading: Ephesians 3:20-21
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.
Reflection:
The story of Acts 16 is not simply about where Paul went—it is about how God’s imagination outgrew Paul’s. The same is true for the Church today. Thriving is not about returning to a former strength but trusting that God can do more than we can imagine. The Spirit who redirected Paul’s steps continues to shape the journey of churches across North Carolina. As we dream, discern, and serve together, we join God’s mission of resurrection and renewal. The future of the Church belongs not to fear, but to faith that God is already doing immeasurably more.
Prayer Prompt:
Pray for bold imagination. Ask God to help your church dream beyond maintenance and into mission, trusting that God’s power is already at work within you.
Monday, November 17, 2025
Day 1: When God Looks at Rubble
Scripture:
Isaiah 65:17
“For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth. The former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.”
Reflection:
Most of us do not need help imagining rubble. We know what it feels like when something collapses. A relationship. A hope. A carefully constructed plan. A church memory that shaped us. We know what it feels like to stand where something precious used to be and wonder what in the world comes next.
The people of Isaiah’s day knew that feeling deeply. Their city was ruined, their identity shaken, and their future unclear. Yet into that moment, God spoke the words every weary soul longs to hear. “I am about to create.” Not “I might.” Not “I used to.” Not “You should have.” God says, right in the middle of devastation, that creation is still underway.
Our temptation is to believe rubble gets the last word. Isaiah insists it does not. God looks at what is broken and sees raw material for resurrection. We often stand at the edge of what feels like an ending, but God stands at the very same place and calls it a beginning.
Maybe today the invitation is simple but brave. Look at whatever rubble is in front of you. Take a breath. And dare to believe God is already making something new.
Prayer Prompt:
God, help me trust that You are creating newness even where I only see brokenness. Open my eyes to Your work unfolding today.
Scripture:
Isaiah 65:17
“For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth. The former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.”
Reflection:
Most of us do not need help imagining rubble. We know what it feels like when something collapses. A relationship. A hope. A carefully constructed plan. A church memory that shaped us. We know what it feels like to stand where something precious used to be and wonder what in the world comes next.
The people of Isaiah’s day knew that feeling deeply. Their city was ruined, their identity shaken, and their future unclear. Yet into that moment, God spoke the words every weary soul longs to hear. “I am about to create.” Not “I might.” Not “I used to.” Not “You should have.” God says, right in the middle of devastation, that creation is still underway.
Our temptation is to believe rubble gets the last word. Isaiah insists it does not. God looks at what is broken and sees raw material for resurrection. We often stand at the edge of what feels like an ending, but God stands at the very same place and calls it a beginning.
Maybe today the invitation is simple but brave. Look at whatever rubble is in front of you. Take a breath. And dare to believe God is already making something new.
Prayer Prompt:
God, help me trust that You are creating newness even where I only see brokenness. Open my eyes to Your work unfolding today.
Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Day 2: Seeing Through New Lenses
Scripture:
Isaiah 65:18
“But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating, for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight.”
Reflection:
Mikhail Reva stood in the smoking ruins of his city and chose to see differently. He did not deny the destruction. He walked straight into it. Yet he refused to believe that devastation could silence beauty. He picked up shell casings and fragments of glass, and instead of seeing death, he saw possibility.
That is what God invites the people of Judah to do. Rejoice in what God is creating, not in what they already see. Look through lenses shaped not by despair but by hope. It is not naive. It is not denial. It is a spiritual discipline.
We become what we look for. If all we see is harm, we will expect harm. If all we see is scarcity, we will assume there is never enough. But if we choose, with trembling courage, to look at our world through the lenses of resurrection, we begin to see hints of God’s delight breaking through the dust.
Reva welded bullets into glasses so that people in a war zone could see their world framed in hope. Isaiah offers the same lenses. God is already creating. Joy is already stirring. Delight is already rising. It may be small, but it is real.
Prayer Prompt:
God, help me see my life through the lenses of Your joy and renewal. Teach me to look for what You are creating, not only for what feels lost.
Scripture:
Isaiah 65:18
“But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating, for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight.”
Reflection:
Mikhail Reva stood in the smoking ruins of his city and chose to see differently. He did not deny the destruction. He walked straight into it. Yet he refused to believe that devastation could silence beauty. He picked up shell casings and fragments of glass, and instead of seeing death, he saw possibility.
That is what God invites the people of Judah to do. Rejoice in what God is creating, not in what they already see. Look through lenses shaped not by despair but by hope. It is not naive. It is not denial. It is a spiritual discipline.
We become what we look for. If all we see is harm, we will expect harm. If all we see is scarcity, we will assume there is never enough. But if we choose, with trembling courage, to look at our world through the lenses of resurrection, we begin to see hints of God’s delight breaking through the dust.
Reva welded bullets into glasses so that people in a war zone could see their world framed in hope. Isaiah offers the same lenses. God is already creating. Joy is already stirring. Delight is already rising. It may be small, but it is real.
Prayer Prompt:
God, help me see my life through the lenses of Your joy and renewal. Teach me to look for what You are creating, not only for what feels lost.
Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Day 3: Captivity Comes in Many Forms
Scripture:
Isaiah 65:19
“I will rejoice in Jerusalem and delight in my people. No more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress.”
Reflection:
Captivity does not always look like Babylon. Sometimes it looks like scrolling late at night with a heavy heart. Sometimes it feels like the whisper that says we are not enough.
Sometimes it hides behind productivity, perfectionism, or fear. Sometimes it sits in a congregation that has forgotten how to talk to one another with grace.
The people of Judah were asking a question familiar to many of us. “Will God meet us here, or are we on our own in this wreckage?” Isaiah responds with a vision of God so tender that it breaks through every harsh narrative we tell ourselves. God does not stand far off. God delights in us. God hears our distress. God promises that tears are not permanent.
We often assume God is most present when life is beautiful. But Isaiah insists the opposite. God is most present in the ache, in the loss, and in the longing. Right there, God rejoices over us and begins the healing of what captivity stole.
Prayer Prompt:
God, meet me in the places where I feel captive. Heal what hurts, and let me hear Your delight over my life.
Scripture:
Isaiah 65:19
“I will rejoice in Jerusalem and delight in my people. No more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress.”
Reflection:
Captivity does not always look like Babylon. Sometimes it looks like scrolling late at night with a heavy heart. Sometimes it feels like the whisper that says we are not enough.
Sometimes it hides behind productivity, perfectionism, or fear. Sometimes it sits in a congregation that has forgotten how to talk to one another with grace.
The people of Judah were asking a question familiar to many of us. “Will God meet us here, or are we on our own in this wreckage?” Isaiah responds with a vision of God so tender that it breaks through every harsh narrative we tell ourselves. God does not stand far off. God delights in us. God hears our distress. God promises that tears are not permanent.
We often assume God is most present when life is beautiful. But Isaiah insists the opposite. God is most present in the ache, in the loss, and in the longing. Right there, God rejoices over us and begins the healing of what captivity stole.
Prayer Prompt:
God, meet me in the places where I feel captive. Heal what hurts, and let me hear Your delight over my life.
Thursday, November 20, 2025
Day 4: Endurance That Transforms Us
Scripture:
Luke 21:19
“By your endurance you will gain your souls.”
Reflection:
Jesus speaks these words in a moment when the world feels unstable. The disciples want escape. They want a timeline. They want certainty. Jesus replies with something that sounds far less glamorous. Endurance. Not grit for its own sake. Not white-knuckled survival. Endurance that keeps a soul awake to God.
Isaiah’s people had endured more than enough. Yet God tells them that their endurance is not wasted. It is forming them. Restoring them. Preparing them to see the world God is making.
We often think endurance means waiting quietly until God fixes everything. But biblical endurance is active. It is creative. It is the decision to stay present in our reality and trust that God is working within it. It is the willingness to keep loving, keep showing kindness, keep choosing courage, even when the world around us feels thin.
Endurance is not passive. It is one of the ways God shapes us into co-creators of hope.
Prayer Prompt:
God, give me the grace to endure faithfully. Form my heart in the waiting, and help me participate in the work You are doing.
Scripture:
Luke 21:19
“By your endurance you will gain your souls.”
Reflection:
Jesus speaks these words in a moment when the world feels unstable. The disciples want escape. They want a timeline. They want certainty. Jesus replies with something that sounds far less glamorous. Endurance. Not grit for its own sake. Not white-knuckled survival. Endurance that keeps a soul awake to God.
Isaiah’s people had endured more than enough. Yet God tells them that their endurance is not wasted. It is forming them. Restoring them. Preparing them to see the world God is making.
We often think endurance means waiting quietly until God fixes everything. But biblical endurance is active. It is creative. It is the decision to stay present in our reality and trust that God is working within it. It is the willingness to keep loving, keep showing kindness, keep choosing courage, even when the world around us feels thin.
Endurance is not passive. It is one of the ways God shapes us into co-creators of hope.
Prayer Prompt:
God, give me the grace to endure faithfully. Form my heart in the waiting, and help me participate in the work You are doing.
Friday, November 21, 2025
Day 5: Co-Creators, Not Spectators
Scripture:
Isaiah 65:21
“They shall build houses and inhabit them. They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.”
Reflection:
When God speaks of a new creation, God does not simply hand it to the people as spectators. God invites them to build, plant, and participate. Even after exile, God gives them agency. They are not swept aside. They are welcomed into the work.
Sometimes we imagine God’s renewal as something we sit back and receive once the world calms down. But Scripture paints a different picture. God’s renewal arrives through people who pick up hammers, paintbrushes, seeds, and stories. People who practice kindness when it would be easier to withdraw. People who mentor children, reconcile relationships, and serve quietly and faithfully.
We are participants in God’s healing. Every act of grace becomes a brushstroke in God’s masterpiece. Every act of mercy becomes a signpost pointing toward a different kind of world. God is creating something new, and God chooses to do it with us.
Prayer Prompt:
God, show me one place today where I can join You in creating something good. Give me courage to act with Your love.
Scripture:
Isaiah 65:21
“They shall build houses and inhabit them. They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.”
Reflection:
When God speaks of a new creation, God does not simply hand it to the people as spectators. God invites them to build, plant, and participate. Even after exile, God gives them agency. They are not swept aside. They are welcomed into the work.
Sometimes we imagine God’s renewal as something we sit back and receive once the world calms down. But Scripture paints a different picture. God’s renewal arrives through people who pick up hammers, paintbrushes, seeds, and stories. People who practice kindness when it would be easier to withdraw. People who mentor children, reconcile relationships, and serve quietly and faithfully.
We are participants in God’s healing. Every act of grace becomes a brushstroke in God’s masterpiece. Every act of mercy becomes a signpost pointing toward a different kind of world. God is creating something new, and God chooses to do it with us.
Prayer Prompt:
God, show me one place today where I can join You in creating something good. Give me courage to act with Your love.
Saturday, November 22, 2025
Day 6: Hope Rising Through Ruins
Scripture:
Isaiah 65:23
“They shall not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity, for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord.”
Reflection:
Nothing crushes the human spirit quite like the belief that our efforts are meaningless. The people returning from exile feared that everything they rebuilt could collapse again. They knew how fragile life felt. Isaiah speaks into that vulnerability with a promise. God does not allow our labor to be swallowed by despair. God blesses the work of renewal.
Every prayer whispered in exhaustion matters. Every conversation that leans toward reconciliation matters. Every gift given in generosity, every hour spent helping someone who will never repay us, every decision to live with integrity in a cynical world. None of it is wasted.
God’s blessing does not mean our work is easy. It means our work is held. It means God can take even the smallest seed of faithfulness and grow something the world needs.
God does not call us to rebuild alone. God binds our hope to divine promise. Hope rises because God breathes on our efforts and gives them life.
Prayer Prompt:
God, remind me that my labor is not in vain. Bless the work of my hands and my heart, and let it serve Your purposes.
Scripture:
Isaiah 65:23
“They shall not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity, for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord.”
Reflection:
Nothing crushes the human spirit quite like the belief that our efforts are meaningless. The people returning from exile feared that everything they rebuilt could collapse again. They knew how fragile life felt. Isaiah speaks into that vulnerability with a promise. God does not allow our labor to be swallowed by despair. God blesses the work of renewal.
Every prayer whispered in exhaustion matters. Every conversation that leans toward reconciliation matters. Every gift given in generosity, every hour spent helping someone who will never repay us, every decision to live with integrity in a cynical world. None of it is wasted.
God’s blessing does not mean our work is easy. It means our work is held. It means God can take even the smallest seed of faithfulness and grow something the world needs.
God does not call us to rebuild alone. God binds our hope to divine promise. Hope rises because God breathes on our efforts and gives them life.
Prayer Prompt:
God, remind me that my labor is not in vain. Bless the work of my hands and my heart, and let it serve Your purposes.
Sunday, November 23, 2025
Day 7: Standing on the Edge of Glory
Scripture:
Isaiah 65:25
“The wolf and the lamb shall feed together. The lion shall eat straw like the ox, but the serpent shall eat dust. They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the Lord.”
Reflection:
Isaiah ends the vision with a picture that feels impossible. Wolves and lambs feed together. Lions at peace. A mountain where nothing harms and nothing destroys. It sounds like fantasy, yet it is God’s dream for the world. Not a distant fairy tale, but a reality already pushing against the edges of our world.
We live in the tension between the already and the not yet. We know the world is not healed. We also know the Spirit is already stirring healing right now. We live on the edge of glory, as the sermon puts it, and God invites us to lean toward that coming reality with open hands.
This is not the time to give up. Not the time to shrink back. Not the time to assume the best days are behind us. God is creating a kingdom that begins right where we stand. A kingdom shaped by justice, peace, generosity, and love. A kingdom that refuses to hide from the rubble but rises from it with holy imagination.
Today, stand at the edge of your life and ask, “Where is God already breaking through?” Look for the light. Look for the grace. Look for the possibility. You are closer to glory than you think.
Prayer Prompt:
God, give me eyes to see the kingdom that is already beginning around me. Help me live with hope, courage, and imagination as I join You in making all things new.
Scripture:
Isaiah 65:25
“The wolf and the lamb shall feed together. The lion shall eat straw like the ox, but the serpent shall eat dust. They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the Lord.”
Reflection:
Isaiah ends the vision with a picture that feels impossible. Wolves and lambs feed together. Lions at peace. A mountain where nothing harms and nothing destroys. It sounds like fantasy, yet it is God’s dream for the world. Not a distant fairy tale, but a reality already pushing against the edges of our world.
We live in the tension between the already and the not yet. We know the world is not healed. We also know the Spirit is already stirring healing right now. We live on the edge of glory, as the sermon puts it, and God invites us to lean toward that coming reality with open hands.
This is not the time to give up. Not the time to shrink back. Not the time to assume the best days are behind us. God is creating a kingdom that begins right where we stand. A kingdom shaped by justice, peace, generosity, and love. A kingdom that refuses to hide from the rubble but rises from it with holy imagination.
Today, stand at the edge of your life and ask, “Where is God already breaking through?” Look for the light. Look for the grace. Look for the possibility. You are closer to glory than you think.
Prayer Prompt:
God, give me eyes to see the kingdom that is already beginning around me. Help me live with hope, courage, and imagination as I join You in making all things new.