As I finish the below, I got a text, I assume from Ramone asking for prayer for Arianna and Amber. They were in a car accident and in the hospital. I don't know details but God does. Both have fractures and car is destroyed. Lift them right now please! We will update when more details are known
Darlene Skinner made it through surgery last evening and is in a long recovery time. Surgeon said he is hopeful and things went well as he repaired years of deterioration of the spine. Keep praying for her and the family and for patience in the process and full and complete healing
I spoke with Josie yesterday. Here's her response: One of the two cottages that were destroyed in the fire, belonged to my grandson Craig. I feel terrible for him because not only was it a total loss, but he also had lined up a buyer; Craig was planning to use the proceeds of the sale for a down payment on a house. And these cottages are not insured…! They’re so old, and the construction not up to building codes, they are uninsurable. I had some furniture stored there to take to my new place in Chestnut Ridge, but it’s really Craig I feel bad for. God will provide and does provide, no one was hurt and all is well, PTL. Continue to pray for provision for all!
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Good Morning Persevering Warriors of Christ! HELP! Have you ever cried that out to God or co-laborers? I am today! Help! Cover me in prayer. I am covering you. Man, we are in a battle and Satan just keeps pounding away at our armor. Some of us are in some deep dark pits of despair and hopelessness. Some of us are being drawn to apathy as media and others keep chipping away at God's ways and hammering believers in Jesus. The Bible warns us the end of times will be like this. And charges us to be bold, courageous and to stand firm in Christ. Sometimes, I feel like Moses who needed two others to hold His arms up while he prayed. Victory came as others supported Him in prayer. We are in the midst of the battle of the ages. And we need each other! We know the Victor and He lives in us! PTL! Don't for the lies and deception of the enemy. Strap that spiritual armor tight and wield the Sword of the Spirit (God's Word) mightily! Stand firm! Breathe out all the junk and take a deep fresh breath of the Spirit and Truth. Come along somebody today that you see struggling. And keep praying like crazy! Jesus is coming back and we will be with Him! Rejoice! He is with us now and when we are weakest, He is strongest! Rejoice!
I didn't intend to go here this morning, BUT GOD! Our devotionals, my circumstances and my time with God has led me here. I'm thinking many of you may need to be reminded of these things today as we battle through this life together. Old age and standing firm in Christ is not for sissies! Be bold and courageous and encourage each other. Karen and I are going through what seems to be a spiritual attack right now and are covering and encouraging each other. Satan be gone! Christ whooped you and He lives in me. Beat it! Pronounce that over you when needed. I think I am being needlessly overmedicated and it is affecting my attitude and health. Doctors found nothing wrong but are throwing all kinds of meds at me to see what sticks. I lost my mojo even and just want to sleep. Many of you can relate as most of us have experienced the overmedicated thing. It's hard to focus on God and to stay up and joyful when you are in this state. And then the world keeps beating us down and it all can lead to depression and giving up. DON'T!!!! Battle through. Trust God always. Counsel with good medical people not those beholden to big pharma. Choose well. Choose to life life to the fullest in Christ! God is using you and us and Satan does not like that! Be strong, courageous, stand firm and pray for wisdom, discernment, joy and shalom. God is for you and us! Amen! (And if you notice me checking out or not caring, you have my permission to smack me upside the head AND HELP ME REFOCUS!--SERIOUSLY! DO IT!) Too easily do I allow myself to enter the pity party--woe is me thinking. Stop it Donald! God's got great plans for all of us that are worth battling towards and being all in about! What's He have for you today? Now there is one other key here--rest! We need to rest and recharge while not becoming couch potatoes. Walking is healthy too. There is a healthy rhythm that is God's best--working from rest, fruit production after pruning and abiding in the Vine. Let us all commit right now to helping each other to God's best for us. We do need each other and some extra help sometimes. Be there! And choose joy!
Check out the devos below that have led to this today. God is speaking and He is with you to guide and strengthen and help you to choose joy always and know His shalom beyond understanding! rejoice!
Harvest Prayer starters:
- Glorify the Almighty God, who has the power to defeat your accuser and deceiver, Satan (Rev. 12:7-10).
- Thank God that his immeasurable power is at work within you (Eph. 3:20).
- Confess those times when you have tried to battle against Satan in your own strength.
- Commit yourself to living in God’s all-surpassing power (2 Cor. 4:7).
- Ask God to help you see how his power can be made perfect in your weakness (2 Cor. 12:9).
- Pray for those countries that are clearly under Satan’s power, marked by cruelty, injustice, and horrible poverty. Ask God to bring his light into the darkness.
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Charles Stanley:
UR Draw Near to God
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. - Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)
I normally wear cologne, but I have had to stop. My daughter suffers from asthma, and we work in the same office. Her doctor advised her to avoid all perfumes and fragrances to minimize her allergies. She and I share a close bond, and her natural tendency is to give hugs often. So I have stopped using cologne.
Ephesians 5:2 says, “Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” As I made a small sacrifice for my daughter, I began to reflect on Christ’s sacrifice for us. Christ offered himself up on the cross to restore the lost bond between us and God. He relinquished all his glory and majesty so that we all could draw close to God. In accepting and doing God’s will, Christ received God’s blessing and recognition. Now he sits at the right hand of God as the connection that allows humankind to draw near to God.
TODAY'S PRAYER
Jesus, our Lord and Redeemer, we give you thanks for your sacrifice that made it possible for us to draw near to God. Your presence is the balm that adds fragrance to our lives. Amen.odb:
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One wouldn’t normally think of butterflies as being loud creatures: after all, the flapping of a single Monarch butterfly’s wings is practically inaudible. But in the Mexican rainforest, where many of them begin their short lives, their collective flapping is surprisingly loud. When millions of Monarchs flap their wings at the same time, it sounds like a rushing waterfall.
The same description is made when four very different winged creatures appear in Ezekiel’s vision. Though fewer than the number of butterflies, he likens the sound of their flapping wings to “the roar of rushing waters” (Ezekiel 1:24). When the creatures stood still and lowered their wings, Ezekiel heard the voice of God calling him to “speak [God’s] words to [the Israelites]” (2:7).
Ezekiel, like the other Old Testament prophets, was charged with the task of speaking truth to God’s people. Today, God asks us all to share the truth of His good work in our lives with those He puts around us (1 Peter 3:15). Sometimes we’ll be asked a direct question—an invitation to share that’s as “loud” as a waterfall. Other times, the invitation might be more of a whisper, such as seeing an unspoken need. Whether the invitation to share God’s love is as loud as a million butterflies or as quiet as just one, we must listen, as Ezekiel did, with ears tuned to hear what God wants us to say.
By Kirsten Holmberg
REFLECT & PRAY
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Who’s inviting you to speak into their lives—even if only faintly? How will you respond?
Thank You, Father, for inviting me to share about You.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
When Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon first attacked Jerusalem, he took most people from Jerusalem into exile (2 Kings 24:10-14). Ezekiel was one of those captives. The book of Ezekiel opens five years later (Ezekiel 1:2) when Ezekiel was thirty years old—the year he would’ve been installed as a priest in Jerusalem. Instead, he was with the other exiles in a camp by a river in Babylon (v. 1). Yet God appeared to the prophet, revealing to him that not just in Jerusalem but even in this land of exile, He’s present in glory—“like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day . . . . This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord” (v. 28).
Monica La Rose |
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