Good Morning Worshipers! Prepare your hearts to worship
and pray that we worship in Spirit and truth and enter His courts with
! Amen! There is so much we have to worship about! Let us prepare to lift a sacrifice of praise!
Sometimes like these sleepless, wondering early mornings, it can truly be a sacrifice to lift praise. Why Lord needs to be replaced with OK Lord, You've got this! Hallelujah! Another visit to the ER
for a fluttering heart answered no more questions than five weeks ago. So, causes have yet to be discovered, BUT GOD! He knows, cares, loves me and is working all things together for good! PTL! I have been preparing my heart since midnight to enter His courts with praise and to allow Him to lead and use me. And maybe I can get an hour or two nap in yet! PTL! God's got a perfect plan and has allowed this all for a reason...PTL! Maybe it's to slow me down and to spend some time abiding in the Vine for a season? PTL! PTL for all the servants and patient friends at St. Matts as they step in and fill gaps in my absence to heal. Yes PTL!
Ok enough of that. Check out our devos for
that really tie to my life right now. Start with TWFYT's reminder to not be afraid of aging. I'm not afraid but coming to the reality that I cannot do as much as I used to or for the same periods of time. It's a season to abide, discern and only do what he has for me
. And that's enough and an act of worship...doing what I can with what I've been given according to His plans and timing. Amen! And Sarah Young's devo flows right from this. Be thankful always. Lift those sacrifice of praise and receive a better attitude! The UR is all about what I strive for...hearing well done from God some day as I complete my race well. Guess what, that takes adjusting as we go to age, circumstances, provisions, etc. Yet God is still pleased as we do what we can with what we got! PTL! And ODB wraps things up with the reminder to leave it all with God and trust Him. He is able! he is Jireh! he knows and cares! PTL! He is our Rock and sure Foundation! Amen! Turn off the noise and focus on Him and His perfect plans for you
...
has enough of it's own worries. Put on that easy custom made yoke and walk with Jesus as you worship
and everyday ahead at His pace for you. And keep worshiping as we aim towards completing our races well! Yes PTL!
What's God saying to you as you process these devos and/or open your Bibles? he is speaking and He does have a word and plan for you. Seek Him with all your heart and process with some friends as you team up to finish the race. And keep praising--even in the storms!
TWFYT
Sarah Young
UR: Living in Mercy and Hope
His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.” - Matthew 25:23 (NIV)
I like sitting quietly in the pew in our small church before the worship service. The sunlight filters through the beautiful stained-glass windows, depicting stories from the Gospels. Long ago, such artwork helped people who may not have known how to read learn and remember the stories of Jesus. They continue to prompt me to reflect on their messages for my life
.
On a recent
I was sitting in my usual spot between the windows illustrating the parables of the prodigal son and the good and faithful servant. I observed that in both stories the main characters are welcomed and embraced. One is forgiven for his past errors while the other is affirmed for his correct choices.
I thought about how living to serve Jesus is often a struggle. We have to start afresh each day in gratitude for God’s mercy and seek God’s help through the Spirit to love God and one another. It isn’t always easy.
Oh, how much I hope to hear those words from Jesus: “Well done, good and faithful servant!” But I am grateful for the Lord’s mercy and forgiveness that I see in the story of the prodigal son. I can seek to serve the Lord by also extending mercy and forgiveness to others in my life.
's PrayerMerciful God, help us to extend mercy and forgiveness to others as we remember the mercy and forgiveness you have given us. Amen.
ODB:
Leave It with God
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. Psalm 18:2
Perched high on the climbing wall, Sarah could feel panic rising as her weakening fingers began losing grip on the handholds. Just how hard will I hit the ground? she wondered.
But the instructor kept calling out assurances from below. As the “belayer” tethered to the other end of the rope tied to Sarah’s harness through a pulley, his weight would hold her if she fell. “I’m much heavier than you!” he yelled. “Just let go.”
So she did—and simply swung away from the wall to dangle safely in the air.
The incident gave Sarah a new perspective of the picture of God in Psalm 18:2: “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock . . . my stronghold.” Sarah observed, “God is so much heavier than all my problems. I can let go of my worries and fears, and He’ll catch me.”
King David sang the words of Psalm 18 after God rescued him from “deep waters”—these were his “powerful [enemies]” looking to bring about his “day of . . . disaster” (vv. 16-18). Even if his troubles didn’t disappear, he knew he could trust his all-powerful Savior and that God was holding on to him tightly.
By Leslie Koh
REFLECT & PRAY
What does it mean, in practical terms, to “let go” of a worry and leave it with God? How can you learn to surrender your fears to Him?
Dear Father, thank You that I can let go of all my worries, fears, and anxieties, knowing that You’re in complete control of my life and will keep me from falling.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
In the superscription to Psalm 18, we read that David wrote this psalm and sang it to God “when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.” David was on the run from King Saul for more than a decade. Some estimate he was pursued for fifteen years. After David returned from killing Goliath and the Philistine army was destroyed, the women came to greet him and sang this song: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands” (1 Samuel 18:7). This so aroused Saul’s anger and jealousy that “from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David” (v. 9). In Psalm 18, David’s love for and trust in God is immediately evident in his names for Him. He calls God his strength, rock, fortress, deliverer, shield, horn of salvation, and stronghold (vv. 1-2). This same God can be trusted to help us as we leave our fears and worries with Him.
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