We are a month into our new year. As we look forward to see what our role is in furthering God's Kingdom here on earth, we hope to reflect upon the simple things of what we can do now in our neighborhoods, our local communities, our country and the world beyond. This article written by Dr. Scott Rodin, simply puts what we can do TODAY in our communities to have a transformative role in our society.
Stop. Pray. Do the Unexpected
I am challenged by Scripture’s consistent teaching that Jesus saw people in the context of their entire life’s journey and responded accordingly. The woman at the well was not a despised Samaritan of dubious reputation, but a woman who was spiritually lost looking for living water. The man at the side of the road in Jericho was not an annoyance, a speed bump on Jesus’ way to Jerusalem, but a man whose entire life of dependence, subsistence, hopelessness and despair came down to this one divine encounter. The children who were disturbing others were called to Jesus’ arms, and as he embraced them he saw their futures impacted and changed forever by this engagement with the savior of the world. What challenges me is that I so often see people only in the instance of my encountering them, what I call the ‘static moment’. I seldom stop to consider them in the context of their journey. Yet I am convinced that God wants us to lead with an openness toward the Holy Spirit working in us that we might be sensitive to the bigger picture that is always going on around us. | 
