Shiloh M.B. Church

Notes from Joy In The Morning Prayer Call, Wednesday, August 19, 2026.

YOU DON’T NEED A CROWD
Judges 7:2 (AMP)
Dr. Claudette C. Owens

“There are too many people with you for Me to hand over Midian to them…”
— Judges 7:2 (AMP)

Sometimes we think we need a crowd to accomplish what God has called us to do.

A large church.
A big business.
A lot of family and friends.
Thousands of supporters.
Everybody believing in us.

But God told Gideon he had too many people.

Gideon started with 32,000, but God reduced his army to 300.

Why?

Because God wanted Israel to know the victory came from Him, not from the size of their army.

1. DON’T CONFUSE A CROWD WITH CONFIRMATION.

Everybody doesn’t have to understand your vision, support your dream, or celebrate your calling.

You don’t need everybody. You need God.

2. YOU DON’T NEED EVERYBODY. YOU NEED THE RIGHT PEOPLE.

A few faithful people who will pray, serve, believe, and follow God’s direction are more valuable than a crowd of spectators.

Faithfulness is more important than numbers.

3. THE SMALLER THE CROWD, THE CLEARER THE GLORY.

Sometimes God reduces what you have so that when the victory comes, nobody can say, “Look what we did.”

You’ll know:

“Look what God did!”

So stop worrying about the 32,000 you don’t have and start trusting God with the 300 He gave you.

If God is with you, you have enough.

You don’t need a crowd.
You need God, faith, obedience, and the right people.

And when the victory comes—

GOD GETS THE GLORY! 🙌🏾

Notes from Joy In The Morning Prayer Call, Friday, August 14, 2026

GRACE FOR THE JOURNEY AHEAD
Isaiah 30:21
Dr. Claudette Owens

“And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it…” — Isaiah 30:21

You may not know everything about the road ahead, but you can trust the One who already knows the way.

God doesn’t always give us the entire map. Sometimes He simply gives us the next step.

Remember:

📖 Grace will give you direction.
When you’re confused, listen for God’s voice. He will tell you, “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way,”

Notice God doesn’t say: “Here is the entire map.” He says: “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee.” Sometimes we want to know everything, but God only gives us a word. We ask God: “Lord, where am I going?” And God answers: “Just keep walking.” He says, This is the way, walk ye in it.”

📖 Grace will sustain you.

Knowing the way is one thing. Having the strength to walk the way is another. And that’s where grace comes in. God doesn’t simply give us directions.

He gives us grace for the journey.

There will be days when you’re excited about where you’re going. But there will also be days when you’re tired and disappointed. Days when you’re wondering if you’re really making progress. Days when the road feels longer than you expected.

But God’s grace isn’t just grace to get started. It’s grace to keep going. Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 12:9 that God’s grace is sufficient for thee and His strength is made perfect in weakness.”

You don’t have to have enough strength for the entire journey. You only need today’s grace. Tomorrow will bring tomorrow’s grace.

📖 Grace will help you keep walking.

Isaiah says: “This is the way, walk ye in it.”

There is something powerful about that word: Walk. God didn’t say stand there. He didn’t say sit there. He didn’t say turn around. He said: Walk.

You may walk slowly.
You may walk with tears.
You may have questions.
But keep walking.

The road ahead may be unfamiliar to you, but it is not unfamiliar to God.

The challenge may be new, but God’s faithfulness is not.

And the same grace that brought you through yesterday will carry you into tomorrow.

As Luther Barnes reminds us in “God’s Grace”—we have a testimony because God’s grace has brought us through.

DECLARATION
“I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I know God’s grace will carry me.
I will listen,
I will trust, and
I will keep walking.”

You may not know what’s around the corner. But God does. And when you hear Him say: “This is the way, walk ye in it.”

Don’t worry about having enough strength for the whole journey. Just take the next step. Because there is grace for the journey ahead. And somebody needs to hear this this morning:

The road may be new, but God’s grace is not.

The challenge may be new, but God’s faithfulness is not.

The season may be different, but God is still God.

The grace that carried you before will carry you again.

There is GRACE for the journey ahead

Join us this Sunday Morning, 8:30 a.m. for Family and Friends Day.

Join us this Sunday, August 16th for Family and Friends Day. There is room at the table.

Notes from Thursday, August 13th, Joy In The Morning Prayer Call

PACK LIGHT
Hebrews 12:1
Dr. Claudette Owens

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” Hebrews 12:1 KJV

The image in this passage is that of a runner preparing for a race. Before the runner can take off, unnecessary things have to come off. You don’t run effectively carrying everything you’ve accumulated along the way.

And that’s why the writer says, “lay aside every weight.” He doesn’t say only lay aside sin. He says lay aside every weight. Because sometimes the thing slowing you down isn’t something evil. Sometimes it’s something you simply weren’t meant to carry into the next season.

The message this morning is simple:

If you’re going to move in God, you’ve got to learn how to pack light.

1. Weight Is Not Always Sin — It’s Excess.

Look carefully at Hebrews 12:1.The writer says: “Let us lay aside every weight, AND the sin which doth so easily beset us.”

Notice that he separates weight from sin.
That means everything weighing you down isn’t necessarily sinful. Some things are simply excess baggage.

A weight may be something that isn’t wrong, but it has become too heavy for where God is taking you. A job, a relationship, a responsibility, and obsession over physical attributes, seeking acceptance, trying to live up to others expectations, trying to keep up with the “joneses”, unforgiveness, along with many other things can all become weights.

Some things don’t have to be wicked to be released. Some things simply aren’t necessary for your next season. Pack what you need for the journey—and leave the excess behind.

Pack light.

2. You Cannot Run and Store at the Same.

The writer says: “Let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”

Ancient runners didn’t compete carrying everything they owned. They stripped away whatever could slow them down. Because when you’re running a race, every unnecessary thing becomes a liability.

You don’t dress for a race like you’re moving into a storage unit. You dress to move. And that’s where many of us get stuck. We’ve been living like life is a storage unit instead of a race.

Pack light.

3. Laying It Aside Is a Decision, Not a Feeling.

Hebrews says: “Let us lay aside…”

That’s an action. The writer doesn’t say, “When you finally feel like it, lay it aside.”
He says: “Lay it aside.”

There are some things you will never feel ready to release. You may never wake up one morning and say, “Today feels like a wonderful day to let go of my hurt.” You may never feel completely ready to forgive.
You may never feel completely ready to stop worrying.

The writer reminds us that we’re surrounded by “so great a cloud of witnesses.” Their lives remind us: You can let go and still finish. You can release the past and still have a future. You can forgive and still be strong.

This morning, identify one thing you’ve been carrying that God is asking you to release.

Name it. A hurt. A fear. A grudge. A disappointment. A relationship. A memory.
A need for approval. A need to be understood. A need to prove yourself.

Whatever it is— lay it aside.
Not because it doesn’t matter.
But because your movement matters.
The race is already set before you.
The witnesses have already testified.

Jesus is already at the finish line.
And you have somewhere to go.
So this morning:

Pack light.