Dr. Scott R. Rainey, NDI Global Director
“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.” (Philippians 4:6-7, The Message)
If anyone had reason to worry, it was the Israelites. They had been bound as slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt for 400 years. They were terribly mistreated and given very little worth as a people. After Moses’ first attempt to free them, things only became worse. Finally, when they were free from Egypt, they encountered an unforgiving wilderness that lacked food and water, necessities for life.
Yes, God had miraculously delivered the Israelites through the Red Sea, but a preferred future was not evident in plain sight. God has delivered Nazarenes too. Over and over again, He has been faithful, but still we can easily succumb to worry and fret.
We are not short today for things that can make us worry. Christians, like everyone in society, are tempted to worry about the recession, illness, elections, family, and the church. The Apostle Paul calls believers in Philippians 4 to replace worry with prayer and praise. In fact, in The Message, we are even called to remove worry from the center of our lives and replace it with the living Christ!
We are now entering a season of giving thanks. For our Canadian family, you have just celebrated Thanksgiving on October 10. For our USA family, November 24 is just around the corner. Consider your Thanksgiving experience of 2022 a year to let go of worry. Take up prayer and thanksgiving instead. Put Jesus at the center of your life and give Him the praise He deserves.
As I was studying the book of Exodus in the Faith Connections adult Sunday school curriculum from the Foundry Publishing, I realized that we have so much to be thankful for in Nazarene Discipleship International (NDI). I cannot imagine a scenario where our new global framework would have been received better than it has been. Churches around the world are being transformed by the unifying vision of Nazarene Discipleship as a Journey of Grace. People everywhere are beginning to understand that discipleship does not just happen on Sundays or just in their church buildings. Instead, every believer is called to make disciples from grace to grace to grace as they go about their daily lives. Believers are being released to disciple pre-Christians toward a relationship with Jesus in the same way parents disciple children before their kids come to saving faith in Jesus. The paradigm is changing. Walls are coming down. Christians are being empowered. People are finding Christ. Praise God!
As we prepare for the NDI General Convention 2023, I want to live by faith: praying, rejoicing, and giving thanks. The pandemic of 2020 has changed so many things. The NDI General Convention 2023 will look a lot different than it has in the past. Worry and fret can creep in if I am not watchful. Will you join me in a posture of thanksgiving, praise, and prayer? Jesus, please displace worry and be the centerpiece of my life!
