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Saturday, July 06 2024
Good Morning Very Loved, Saved by Grace, Students of Jesus! Disciples are learners that follow a master. Jesus is our Master. The disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray. And He did. Prayer is critical and a key component of a life well lived in Christ. Prayer is the foundation on which anything of Kingdom value is built. Today. I am leading off with Harvest Prayers blog on Prayer. Meditate and talk to God about what is being shared and prayed. he longs to have you rely on Him 24-7 and to be a ceaseless pray-er. He loves you, is with you and we need to be connected to Him all day every day. Amen! Be still at His feet today and have a great conversation. He really loves you and is with you always and has great plans to direct you to. ODB talks about His love for you (see below)Rejoice and dwell in His presence! See you tomorrow! Shalom!
Harvest:
June 29 - God’s Invitation to More of His Love
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God is the God of more. He longs for us to grant Him access to our lives through the continuing posture of unceasing prayer. The Lord has some things to say to you that will help you see the inestimable value of such a life—to forever change the way you view the privilege of prayer. If you were to sit with Him and ask “Lord, what do you want to say to me personally about prayer?” what would He say? Based on things He’s already said in His Word, we can imagine the conversation might go something like this …
“I want you to know that I’m waiting for you. I am more interested in prayer than you are, because I am more complete in my love than you are. If you loved like I love, you would want to talk with Me without ceasing. Unceasing prayer is not a command, but an invitation! And, I long for you to long for Me. I do not want to be shut out, to be ignored, or to not be consulted, for I know that there is so much more for you in My kingdom if you will pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
“I want you to know that prayer is not complicated. It is the heart of humble helplessness that looks to Me, not to yourself. This is faith. Your greatest qualification for prayer without ceasing is your helplessness. The more helpless you are, the more qualified you are to pray. I am knocking at the door, desiring entrance. I am longing for you to open the door and grant Me access to your greatest areas of helplessness, all day long. To pray is to let Me in.” (Revelation 3:20)
Lord, how can I ever comprehend the depth of Your love for me? May I continually come to You as a helpless, weak servant who knows that You alone can use me for Your purposes. Without You, I can do nothing! I am powerless without Your Spirit working within me. Please help my heart to find its way to deeper levels of Your love for me so that I will grow in my life of prayer in ways I cannot even imagine in this moment. I freely give You access to all that You have created me to be so that Your love for others and for the world will be in me also!
---Adapted from Prayer with No Intermission by Bill Elliff. This book is available at prayershop.org.
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- Praise God that he is in control of every storm (Mk. 4:35-39).
- Thank him that he does not want anyone to perish but to have everlasting life in him (2 Pet. 3:9).
- Confess to God your wrong response to the stormy, unexpected events in your life that leave you feeling panicky and fretful.
- Commit every stormy situation, as well as every good one, to God as he cares for you, restores you, and makes you strong (1 Pet. 5:7, 10).
- Ask God to calm any anxiety or fear that you are experiencing.
- Pray for troubled unbelievers to find victory over stormy lives in the calm that only Jesus can give.
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Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount.
Connection (Devotions for Everyday Life) © 2024 is a free devotional published daily by Harvest Prayer Ministries. Subscribe here. |
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ODB:
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To express her sadness, Allie, a young girl, wrote on a piece of wood and set it in a park: “To be honest, I’m sad. Nobody ever wants to hang out with me, and I have lost the only person that listens. I cry every day.”
When someone found that note, she brought sidewalk chalk to the park and asked people to write their thoughts to Allie. Dozens of words of support were left by students from a nearby school: “We love you.” “God loves you.” “You are beloved.” The school principal said, “This is one little way that we can reach out and maybe help fill [her void]. She represents all of us because at some point in time we have all or will all experience sadness and suffering.”
The phrase “You are beloved” reminds me of a beautiful blessing by Moses to the Israelite tribe of Benjamin just before he died: “Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him” (Deuteronomy 33:12). Moses had been a strong leader for God, defeating enemy nations, receiving the Ten Commandments, and challenging them to follow God. He left them with God’s view of them. The word beloved can be used of us as well, for Jesus said, “God so loved the world that He gave [us] his one and only Son” (John 3:16).
As God helps us to rest securely in the truth that every believer in Jesus is “beloved,” we can reach out to love others as Allie’s new friends did.
By Anne Cetas
REFLECT & PRAY
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How are you learning to rest securely in God’s love? How will you share that love with others?
May I be confident in Your love for me, dear God, and spread Your love to those around me.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The “blessing scene” in Deuteronomy 33 is reminiscent of Genesis 49 where Jacob, on the threshold of his death, assembled his sons to bless them: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come” (v. 1). Verse 28 concludes: “All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him.” What Jesus did is similar to these Old Testament blessings. Prior to His crucifixion and after His resurrection, Christ’s words and actions indelibly marked His chosen followers. Luke’s gospel closes with this scene: “When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven” (24:50-51).
Arthur Jackson |
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UR: Saved by Grace
By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God — not the result of works, so that no one may boast. - Ephesians 2:8-9 (NRSVUE)
From a young age, I loved to go to church. I was very active in youth ministry, and my grandfather, who was the pastor, regularly involved me in worship. I enjoyed my time at church, but my faith was not strong.
After my grandfather’s death, I stopped going to church and got caught up in worldly distractions. I began a marketing job and became wrapped up in secular society. Some of my friends were members of the local mafia. My life was a total wreck.
After some time, my mother urged me to turn to Christ. But I thought to myself, I am such a sinner! How can God love me? But 2 Corinthians 12:9 reassured me that God’s “grace is sufficient” and that God loves me. I have been saved — not because of my work and deeds but because of God’s grace. So I turned to God and began trying to use my life for the glory of God. Since that time, whenever I have felt weak or depressed, God has showered abundant grace upon me.
TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank you, God, for your gift of grace to us. Guide us as we seek to follow you. Amen.
Friday, June 28 2024
Oh Lord, Thank You for forgiving and cleansing me! Thank You that I am forgiven! Thank You for your perfect plan to make a way for us. Thank You Jesus! Thank You Holy Spirit for leading me to salvation and helping me to repent. Today--everyday--I praise Your holy name and thank You for saving a wretch like me and making a way to become new in Christ and leading me to Kingdom living. May I honor You and Your holy name. Your Kingdom come and will be done in, through and around me. Thank You! Amen!
REMINDER: Communion will be this Sunday at 10 and on Zoom too. Prepare your hearts!
Good Morning Worshipers! Do you know that worship is more than something we do on a Sunday? Worship is a lifestyle and action daily. As we obey and follow God we worship. As we still ourselves and sit at His feet we worship. As we trust and go make disciples we worship. As we work on growing into the people God created us to be and do the things we are created to do, we worship. May we worship 24-7! Amen! May we worship in Spirit and Truth. How does that look for you? What might you need to purge or put on hold to worship more fully or what might you need to get doing? He is worthy! Amen.
On this TGIF Friday I have spent two hours already in worship and praise as I've been sitting at Jesus' feet listening, processing, praying and even encouraging a few people I am praying for. I've been recalling all God has, is, and plans to do in and through me and our Body and just praising. I've been releasing His power and will in prayer. And I've been informed and refreshed as I have invited the Spirit to have control and lead me and for Jesus to be my Lord and Shepherd today. What an awesome start to my day off from church stuff! Yet I am never off from representing God nor worshiping! Yes I am worshiping today! Thanks God! Lead us to worship and follow well!
I'm going to ask you to spend some time with God and in our devotionals for today (below). What are you thankful for? How is your life an act of worship? What might need correction? What is praiseworthy and needing focus? What might you build upon as you work at becoming more like Jesus? What's God saying to you? Who are you processing with? Worship! Praise! Follow well! I have already prayed for you and I know God has great plans for you today and this weekend! Amen!
ODB:
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After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, New Orleans worked to slowly rebuild. One of the most hard-hit areas was the Lower Ninth Ward, where for years after Katrina, residents lacked access to basic resources. Burnell Cotlon worked to change that. In November 2014, he opened the first grocery store in the Lower Ninth Ward after Katrina. “When I bought the building, everybody thought that I was crazy,” Cotlon recalled. But “the very first customer cried cuz she . . . never thought the [neighborhood] was coming back.” His mother said her son “saw something I didn’t see. I’m glad [he] . . . took that chance.”
God enabled the prophet Isaiah to see an unexpected future of hope in the face of devastation. Seeing “the poor and needy search for water, but there is none” (Isaiah 41:17), God promised to “turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs” (v. 18). When instead of hunger and thirst, His people experienced flourishing once more, they would know “the hand of the Lord has done this” (v. 20).
He’s still the author of restoration, at work bringing about a future when “creation itself will be liberated from its bondage” (Romans 8:21). As we trust in His goodness, He helps us see a future where hope is possible.
By Monica La Rose
REFLECT & PRAY
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When have you witnessed renewal after devastation? How can you be a part of God’s restoring work?
Restoring God, please help my life be a witness to the hope I’ve found in You and the future You’re bringing.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
After prophesying that God would use the Assyrians and Babylonians to judge an unrepentant Judah (Isaiah 1-39), the prophet comforts God’s people with the hope of future deliverance and restoration (chs. 40-66). Isaiah begins with affirming God’s sovereignty and majesty—He has the power and will certainly save and restore them (ch. 40). The prophet also assures the Israelites of His loving, providential care for them (ch. 41). They have a very special relationship with Him—they were sovereignly chosen to be His servant. His covenant with them is still in force (vv. 8-10). God assures them that He’ll bountifully provide for them, turning the desert into a land of flowing water, abundant and productive, so that the world would “see this miracle [and] understand . . . that it is the Lord who has done this, the Holy One of Israel who created it” (v. 20 nlt).
K. T. Sim |
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UR: Care and Comfort
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort. - 2 Corinthians 1:3 (NIV)
Last night my family learned that the mother of one of our 13-year-old son’s classmates passed away. We were shocked, and we wanted to be there for her daughter and her family. But it can be hard to know how to respond to the grief of others, especially as a young teenager. Before bed, my son and I prayed for the woman’s loved ones, and we discussed many ways we could support them.
When our family woke up this morning and began our daily devotional time, we read a meditation in The Upper Room about someone who might be waiting for others to reach out. I truly feel this was God’s nudge for me to remind our son that even if a gesture may seem awkward, we need to be a light of kindness. As Proverbs 12:25 says, “Anxiety weighs down the human heart, but a good word cheers it up.”
God desires for us to take care of our neighbors, whether we ask someone how we can help, cook a meal for someone going through a hard time, or offer a hug. May we all ask ourselves, “How can I be a blessing and a comfort to someone today?”
TODAY'S PRAYER
Dear heavenly Father, help us to comfort those in pain. May we be a light to encourage others in your name. Amen.TWFYT:
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Harvest:
June 28 - Carrying a Burden in Prayer
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As you grow in your prayer life, it is very likely that you will find one or two prayer concerns that excite you when you intercede for them. For example, you may get excited when you pray for revival in the church, or maybe it's when you pray for missionaries, or abused women, or your pastor, or pastors in general. This represents another prayer burden. For many, God will place a calling on their lives to focus a great deal of time lifting up a specific issue.
When this kind of burden begins to come on you, I have two words of challenge. First, never demand that your burden become other people’s burden too. If God leads you to set up a prayer meeting to pray for your burden or to find some prayer partners to pray with you, wonderful. But don’t get discouraged if others do not join you. And don’t force them or try to make them feel guilty. God gives each of us different burdens. Your burden is no more or less important than anyone else’s. Second, do everything you can to fuel your burden with truth. By that I mean, get information about your burden. Do research, read. Find out some facts. If it is a specific person, try to find out things that you can pray about, without being nosey in the process. Our church has a program in which intercessors pray for a specific child in the congregation. Often these intercessors will ask parents (or the child herself), “What’s happening in her life? What are some specific things I can pray for her?” [What prayer burdens do you carry? Ask God to show you if you are uncertain.]
Lord, You search me and You know me! Pour out a burden in my heart for people, situations, a nation, or whatever You know is within me waiting to be felt and acted upon! Help me to be a good listener, so that I am able to press obediently and enthusiastically into Your heart for this issue or responsibility in order to carry it in a godly way. Thank You for entrusting me to intercede for whatever burdens You bring me!
--Adapted from The Power of Personal Prayer (Learning to Pray with Faith and Purpose) by Jonathan Graf. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount.
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- Praise God for being the great healer who gives real peace and security for you to enjoy (Jer. 33:6).
- Give thanks for the many miraculous healings that show God’s power at work.
- Confess your failure to appreciate the health God gives you and your complaining when things aren’t going well (Ps. 139:23).
- Commit yourself to praising God each day for a healthy body, for legs and arms, fingers and toes, eyes and ears—a body that functions so beautifully.
- Ask him for guidance in blessing him at all times even if these body parts aren’t always working right (Ps. 34:1).
- Pray for your church to be very compassionate and able to minister to those who do not experience good health, have disabilities, or have met with serious accident.
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Friday, June 28 2024
Joe Toy Newsletter and Harvest Prayer blog for praying for our leaders below
Good Morning Humble, Compassionate, Surrendered, Christlike Co-Laborers! Please Lord! May that be me and us! Help us to humble and die to self, take up our cross today and crucify the things that hinder You, Your plans and Your miracles and follow Jesus well. Give me/us Your heart and mind and move us to go live and love more and more like Jesus. Bring Your joy and the joy of our salvation alive as we trust and follow Jesus today. Fill us with Your Spirit of love and wisdom. Come! Fill us! Prepare us to go as we are. Yes, send me/us! Use us for Your glory and grow us into our fuller potential and Your perfect plans for us. Come! Use me/us for Your glory! Thank You! Your will be done in heaven, one earth, and through me/us. And please Lord, bring dreams and vision for how you want to use us and our building more fully this summer and beyond. Come! Lead us! Be our Lord and Savior of many and make disciples through us--multiply disciples. Bring revival. Thanks! Amen. Pray this earnestly. Talk to God about you and His plans and process this all with some close friends. Then make some plans and go!
Today's devotionals are sort of two or three tracks but yet thread together. What is God saying to you as you engage with Him through them? We are God's masterpieces, custom made for such a time as this, sent as we are to bring Him and His love alive, and empowered and gifted by the Holy Spirit to do so. PTL! God has great plans for you and us! Amen! Let us seek, process, plan and plan to follow well to His best together. Share what you are hearing with Sarah or me too. We will be having a vision team meeting soon to bring to life some of the ideas God has given us for this summer. PTL! The AC is fully funded and we should be able to start up back in the building by August but until then and even after, God is sending us out to connect with others. Seek Him and let us commit to follow well. Amen! We all have a part to play in His Good News Delivery Co. What's yours? What are you doing about it? Who are you processing with? I'm praying for you and us! Go! Live and love more in '24.
UR: God's Concern
Honest balances and scales are the Lord’s; all the weights in the bag are his work. - Proverbs 16:11 (NRSVUE)
Going into the clinic for a routine blood test was a biannual activity for me. This particular morning, I was sitting with a prayer list, silently lifting up people’s requests as I waited to be called. Then God interrupted me.
No, interrupted is the wrong word. My mind and heart were flooded with light and the riches of God’s love. While I had been praying, I had been watching various patients come in and had unconsciously been making assumptions — judgments — about their personal habits. In fact, I’m pretty sure some part of me was thinking, They wouldn’t be in such bad shape if they . . .
God’s perspective shattered all my silent judgments as I became aware of the tremendous affection and concern God felt for each person. The concerns each person carried were also God’s concerns.
This experience gave new meaning to Proverbs 16:11. I have prayed ever since to see and to love others through God’s loving concern and wisdom, rather than according to my own skewed scales of judgment.
TODAY'S PRAYER
Gracious God, thank you for knowing all our burdens and for caring deeply for each of us. Teach us to show compassion to everyone we meet. Amen.
ODB:
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They didn’t think Jørn, a tenant farming the land, would amount to much. Yet despite his weak vision and other physical limitations, he poured himself out for those in his village in Norway, praying the many nights when his pain kept him awake. In prayer he’d move from house to house, naming each person individually, even the children he hadn’t yet met. People loved his gentle spirit and would seek his wisdom and advice. If he couldn’t help them practically, they’d still feel blessed when they left, having received his love. And when Jørn died, his funeral was the biggest ever in that community, even though he had no family there. His prayers blossomed and brought forth fruit beyond what he could have imagined.
This humble man followed in the example of the apostle Paul, who loved those he served and prayed for them while confined. He wrote to those in Ephesus while he was likely imprisoned in Rome, praying that God would give them “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation” and that the eyes of their hearts would be “enlightened” (Ephesians 1:17–18). He yearned that they would know Jesus and live with love and unity through the power of the Spirit.
Jørn and the apostle Paul poured themselves out to God, committing those they loved and served to Him in prayer. May we consider their examples in how we love and serve others today.
By Amy Boucher Pye
REFLECT & PRAY
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Who do you know who’s a gentle prayer warrior? How does that person reflect Christ’s heart?
Jesus, You served others and put their needs first. Please help me to love and serve You joyfully each day.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Today’s reading begins with the phrase “for this reason” (Ephesians 1:15). What reason? In verses 3-14, Paul wrote one continuous sentence (in the original Greek) praising “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 3) for a variety of things. God blessed us “with every spiritual blessing” (v. 3); “chose us” (v. 4); “predestined us for adoption” (v. 5); redeemed and forgave us (v. 7); and “made known to us the mystery of his will” (v. 9). Paul also notes that we’re “marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance” (vv. 13-14). Taken together, this passage provides us with one of the clearest presentations of the doctrine of the Trinity. The apostle prays, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ [the Son], the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better” (v. 17).
Tim Gustafson |
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TWFYT:
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Harvest Prayer Blog for Leaders
June 25 - Interceding for those who Govern
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First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. (1 Timothy 2:1–2)
The highest place and the most influential vocation is that of intercessor. From our humble homes and lowly hearts, we are able to influence kings and nations, to change history. Why would God give such power to our prayers? The answer is vast, but one reason is he gives us a small part in joining him in ruling the universe through prayer. As we cry out today, we will be seeking God on behalf of our President, Congress, Senate, governors, mayors, and all those who rule on a local level. Through prayer, we have been invited to shape history and influence world events. Let us enter this high calling of prayer with a humble and contrite heart, never praying from a place of pride or selfish anger, but seeking the highest good for those who govern our nation and community, as well as for those who are being governed. Let’s pray.
Father, we follow your Word, which commands us to pray for kings and for those in high positions. As you said, we start with supplications— seeking that every need of those who govern would be met by Christ and that he would become their Lord and Savior. Our prayers for them are that every leader would know the love of Jesus today—that their decisions would be rooted in this heavenly love, and that wisdom from heaven would pervade their thoughts, meetings, and each decision. Our intercessions are for your kingdom to come and your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven through these leaders’ governing. Establish your government through their leadership. I join with other intercessors today offering thanksgivings for the leaders you have put in office. Bless them beyond what they deserve. May your grace and justice be the clear guide as they govern nationally and locally. Glorify your name through each and every leader from the President of the United States to the president of the local parent-teacher organization. Enable me to be a faithful and fruitful watchman on the wall for our governing leaders. Shine brightly as they lead. May righteousness exalt our nation today.
--Adapted from Praying God’s Word Over Your City: 40 Days of Prayer for A Transformed Community by Trey and Mary Anne Kent. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount.
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- Praise God for his quietness, restoration, and strength (Ps. 23:2-3).
- Give thanks that God will give you that quiet time to reflect on his restoring power and quietness (Ps. 46:10).
- Confess your failure to be still before the Lord so he can speak to you.
- Commit yourself to a daily time of worship and adoration of God.
- Ask God for assurance that in quietness and trust is your strength (Isa. 30:15).
- Pray that your quietness before God will result in winning the “respect of outsiders” (1 Thess. 4:11-12) so that they will see Jesus in you.
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Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount.
Connection (Devotions for Everyday Life) © 2024 is a free devotional published daily by Harvest Prayer Ministries. Subscribe here. |
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Joe Toy:
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“For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
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Dear Friends,
As our team was busy sharing the gospel on the Ocean City, MD boardwalk, a young man approached one of us and asked, “Why do you do this? Do you get paid to do this? He replied, “We spend our own money to come here and drive a long way taking time away from our families.” The young man replied, “Well this must be important. What do you have to say?” And so begins a gospel conversation with a recent high school graduate. The Lord blessed us with five great days
on the boardwalk, as we passed out four thousand gospel tracts and talked to hundreds of people.The weather was ideal as it was not too hot or cold and no need to deal with rain. It was awesome to work with a team of eight like-minded men focused on sharing the gospel with the lost.
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Men from such states as MD, PA, NJ, VA and NC spent about seven to eight hours a day sharing Christ.
Imagine turning to a young woman who has been listening to the preaching of the gospel for thirty minutes. As you hand out a tract to her, it is promptly received. She asks, “What would you say to someone who thinks about suicide a lot. Internally, you say to yourself in prayer, “Wow! Lord you better help me with this.” And at this point begins a conversation/counseling session which lasts about thirty minutes in the midst of the noise and interruptions of the boardwalk crowd. The Lord in his providence had given us a team member who is a certified biblical counselor, who was able to speak with her.
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A few nights later as I was holding my “Are You Going To Heaven?” sign, a teenage girl approached me and asked, “Can I tell you a secret?” In response I said, “If you want to.” She stated, “I had an abortion recently, what do you think about that?” I replied, “I feel very sad for you.” And so begins a long conversation whereby she continually justifies killing her baby, because she believes she will have a better life without a baby. I sought a bridge to share the gospel, but she kept talking about her past abortion and how it was no big deal. Obviously, it was a big deal or she would have never approached me. Like most of this generation, she wanted me to affirm her in her sin when she really needs God’s forgiveness in Christ Jesus. I saw her later with tears coming down her cheeks; maybe the Lord was beginning his inner work in her heart.
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On our last night on the boardwalk, a young man was tuned into the preaching of the gospel. As one of our team interacted with him and clearly shared the gospel, the team member stated, “You can take care of this tonight when you get home.” The young man replied, “Why can’t I do it now?” So right there on the busy boardwalk this man surrendered to Christ. There are lots of hurting folks in our culture who need the salvation only Jesus brings. One such person is Adam who at twenty-five years old is still suffering from being passed on from one family to another family. It was a joy to talk to him two days in a row and encourage him to get back with the Lord, which is something that he has drifted away from. Jesus still heals people’s broken hearts. |
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On Memorial Day weekend, a team of us headed to the Raleigh Convention Center to bring the gospel to the Animazement crowds. Lots of people are into identifying with their Anime characters or are just fans of this art and entertainment culture. Ever since Adam and Eve lost their true identity with God people are seeking a substitute identify with something else, which just leaves them empty. Thousands of fans received tracts and heard about Jesus. In mid May, we headed to Myrtle Beach to assist some friends at a large crab fest. We had a
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great location as buses dropped people off right by us, so they passed us on their way in and out. It was a great opportunity to saturate the event with the gospel. We met a lot of kind people who thanked us for being there and one man even helped us pass out tracts for a while.
We are still active here in the Raleigh with our outreach ministry at the courthouse, bus station, downtown and the abortion mills.
Keep us in your prayers.
God Bless |
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Friday, June 28 2024
Good Morning Loving, Obedient, Connected, World Changing Co-Laborers! Pronounce this in faith over you and our Body. If they all don't seem to be quite true for you, they can be. Remember we are a work in process and progress as we work on Become More in '24 and more like Jesus. This salutation comes directly from the titles of our devotionals for today (below). They can be truths to put on and released in prayer over yourself, our body, others and even our leaders. Be confident in this, living these out are part of God's plan for you and us and are attainable as we lay aside our own agendas and desires and even old nature and step into God's better, greater things. Still yourself at His feet today and ask Him to show you what needs purging, refining, correcting and what is good in you already to be thankful for and working on. He does really have some great plans for you and us to discover and bring to life. That starts with prayer and carries through in actions. And remember the importance of being a co-laborer! Who are your teammates? Pray for some and to be one that is loving, obedient, connected to God and others, changing the world through prayer and actions, and partnering with some close teammates to spur on to the good works God has planned for you for such a time as this. Amen! Encourage and be encouraged as God sees and molds you in love. Chose to sit at His feet, receive His direction, put on His armor and custom-fit-for-you easy yoke in prayer, and follow Jesus to His best for you and others today as you do your part to change the world. Amen!
I've almost completed my homebound communion visits. My heart breaks for these our friends. They are lonely, going through many trials and hardships and in need of connection to others, prayers and encouragement. pray for them. Ask God how to bless them. reach out and love someone today that is not able to join us in worship but co-laboring prayers of ours. Maybe there ate some needs God has for you to meet? maybe some love to share. Seek Him and go bless! Amen! I'm off to the cardiologist followed by a busy 12 hour day at church and in ministry. Pray for me as God awoke me at 3 am today. he spoke to my heart and I hope yours. I'm trusting Him to carry and use me well. Amen!
Here are our devotionals for today. What's God saying to you? What will you do about it? many blessings await as we bring His will alive in prayer and action! Rejoice!
UR: Love Is Everything
If I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. - 1 Corinthians 13:2 (NRSVUE)
My brothers and I thanked God when our mother could safely return home following an illness during her vacation abroad. However, we then quarreled about who would accompany her to her follow-up medical treatments since we were all busy. Finally, I agreed to take her because I realized my mother needed me. I tried not to complain; I wanted to show God’s love through my actions. And God blessed me with joy and peace.
We may say that we love the Lord, but many times our words and deeds do not reflect our faith. It is easy to say that we don’t have time, then go about our busy routines without caring for those in need. When we close our eyes to the people around us, we distance ourselves from God. God is love, and as followers of God, love should be at the forefront of everything we do. In this way, our lives will shine in the world.
As children of God, let’s always clothe ourselves with God’s love. In doing so, we will become less self-centered, and the One who lives within us can use us to reach people who are suffering or have lost hope. This is how we can glorify the Lord.
TODAY'S PRAYER
Dear God, thank you for your love that we experience every day. Help us to spread your love to others so they will see your light in the darkness. Amen.CS:
TWFYT:
ODB:
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Years before Zoom was an accessible communication tool, a friend asked me to join her on a video call to discuss a project. Through the tone of my emails, she could tell I was baffled, so she suggested I find a teenager to help me figure out how to set up a video call.
Her suggestion points to the value of intergenerational relationships. It’s something observed in Ruth and Naomi’s story. Ruth is often celebrated for being a loyal daughter-in-law, deciding to leave her land to accompany Naomi back to Bethlehem (Ruth 1:16-17). When they arrived in the town, the younger woman said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain [for us]” (2:2). She helped the older woman, who then helped the younger woman marry Boaz. Naomi’s advice for Ruth prompted Boaz to take action in purchasing her deceased in-laws’ property and to take her “as [his] wife” (4:9-10).
We certainly respect the advice of those who share their seasoned wisdom with younger generations. But Ruth and Naomi remind us that the exchange can go both ways. There’s something to be learned from those younger than us as well as those who are older. Let’s seek to develop loving and loyal intergenerational relationships. It will bless us and others and help us learn something we don’t know.
By Katara Patton
REFLECT & PRAY
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What have you learned from someone younger? How might you reach out to someone of another generation today?
Dear God, thank You for the wisdom found in the young and in the old. Teach me to value intergenerational exchanges.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Boaz, Naomi’s relative (Ruth 2:1), noticed Ruth’s presence in his fields, inquired about her, and offered her protection (vv. 5-9). He praised her for her devotion to Naomi (2:11) and noted how she’d taken refuge under God’s wings (v. 12). In Psalm 91, using a similar metaphor of a chick under the wings of its mother, the psalmist celebrates the security and safety found in God: “The Lord . . . alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. . . . He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings” (vv. 2, 4 nlt). This endearing picture of God protecting those who take refuge in Him is also found in Psalms 17:8; 36:7; 57:1; 61:4; 63:7.
K. T. Sim |
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Harvest
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June 26 - Are You a World Changer?
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We need to understand the truth of God’s Word that is clearly apparent from the Old Testament through the New Testament, where Jesus is spending His time as an intercessor: there is nothing more powerful in the kingdom of God than intercessory prayer. God is calling His people to pray. All Christians are exhorted to pray for others and to watch God work in astonishing, astounding ways. Some people are better at it than others. There are some people whose main spiritual gift is intercession. But we are all called to be intercessors and to make a difference in the world through intercessory prayer.
Most of us do not look at ourselves as “world-changers.” We do not see ourselves as having the power or influence to change the direction of nations. As Christians, however, we affirm the power of God to impact the nations. That power is released through the prayers of people just like you and me. Would you make a commitment today to change your world? Take a step in prayer. Begin to pray more for the people around you, as well as for world leaders and the flow of world events. Bring the amazing power of God to bear upon this world and see what our awesome God will do!
Father, today I affirm Your power to impact the nations through my prayers! Help me to listen carefully to the people and nations You place as a burden upon my heart, and help me to be faithful to respond quickly to intercede! Lord, it amazes me that my prayers, and the prayers of my family and church, can bring change to people I have never met and places I have never been! Yet Your word declares that this is true! So, believing in Your word, I will stand on this truth and open myself to all of the world-changing possibilities You bring my way!
---Adapted from the article Unleashing God’s Power on Earth by David Butts.
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- Praise God for his leadership over the redeemed because of his unfailing love and strength (Ex. 15:11, 13).
- Give thanks for leaders who speak the Word of God to you (Heb. 13:7).
- Confess your lack of recognizing God’s leadership through others that he brings into your life and your failure to support them with your prayers (1 Tim. 2:1-2).
- Commit yourself to following God’s leadership as he brings you into a land “flowing with milk and honey” (Num. 14:8).
- Ask God to help you be a good leader in bringing others to him.
- Ask that all Christians will “walk the walk” and not just “talk the talk” that will lead others to salvation in Jesus.
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Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount.
Connection (Devotions for Everyday Life) © 2024 is a free devotional published daily by Harvest Prayer Ministries. Subscribe here. |
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Friday, June 28 2024
Good Morning Connected, Longing, Directed, Protected Pilgrims! For God's glory! PTL! We still ourselves at His feet and dwell in His loving, informing presence. We long in prayer for many things that He desires too like revival, new life, salvation, His Kingdom to come and will be done, to use us, heal us, lead us, and have His way with us and so many more things. He directs our steps, prayers, choices and responses. He covers and protects us and those we are covering a we don His armor and walk in His way. And we are pilgrims--journeyers. We are aliens on earth and here to complete our individual and corporate missions before making that last journey to our promised future and hope. I was really touched as God threaded all this through our devotionals for today (below) and His reminder that we are His disciples gathered by Him, placed where we are for His custom purposes. I keep thinking and praising about how He is using and growing us. I keep praying for the "how to" and what to do for me and us as we journey towards our fuller potential and becoming His dynamic movement.
Two things are clear, we have much to celebrate and more to work on yet. We are on our way! Rejoice! And keep at it! Praying, seeking, gathering, processing, planning, going and working on living and loving more like Jesus. Keep your eyes open for where God is working and who He is drawing for us to invite into our journey. I'm praising God for the ten new disciples that have joined our Body and are serving. I praise God for the several others that are being drawn and participating. I'm praising God for all of you and all you are doing! I'm praising God for our potential and the good fruit to come. I'm praising God for Jesus' easy yoke! I'm just praising and praying for His Kingdom coming and growing and His will being done in heaven and on earth! I'm praising God for saving, growing and using a wretch like me! We have so much to be thankful about and so much to expect to come as we trust, die to self and follow Jesus together! AMEN!
Still yourself at His feet and engage with these devos. What's He saying to you? Revealing for us? What will you do about it? Who are you processing with? What are you thankful about? Rejoice! He is the Lord of you, us and this day! Amen!
UR: Power Source
Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions. - Ephesians 2:4-5 (NIV)
I took on the challenge of remodeling my basement to provide additional space for an office and recreation room. The project included running wire to connect lights, receptacles, and switches. Have I done everything right? I pondered. One last step remained. I had to tap in to the power source by connecting the wire to the main service panel. I switched on the circuit breaker, and the lights came on. I was elated.
No matter how meticulous I was in connecting all the wires, it was for naught until I tapped in to the power source. The same is true with us as people of faith. We may think we have made all the right connections. We attend church services, participate in the sacraments, and follow biblical teaching as best we can. But until we connect to the power of God, we are as dead as a disconnected appliance.
Paul writes in Ephesians 2 that we are spiritually dead until we are made alive through faith in the redemptive work of Christ. Through faith in Christ we are empowered to “walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4). We are “created in Christ Jesus to do good works” (Eph. 2:10). God, our source of life, blesses us with this gift not just to benefit us but others as well.
TODAY'S PRAYER
Source of life, help us to embrace the newness of life you offer, serving others and glorifying you. Amen.ODB:
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The story of the Bible chronicles the stories of waiting—of individuals, of a nation, and of the early church. Noah waited for the rain to begin and the floods to subside; Abraham and Sarah waited for a son; Joseph waited to be reunited with family; the Israelites waited to be freed from slavery, to enter the promised land, to be freed from exile, and for the Messiah to save them. Hebrews 11, the faith chapter, lists many individuals throughout biblical history who by faith waited but “did not receive the things promised,” only seeing “them from a distance” (v. 13). Today we wait for Christ’s return and an end to sorrow, pain, and death. We’re longing for “a better country”—heaven (v. 16). The author of Hebrews tells us to “hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful” (10:23).
Alyson Kieda |
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June 27 - Be Clothed in His Armor
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Put on the full armor of God so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. (Ephesians 6:11)
This image was clear to the hearers in Paul’s day as they observed the Roman soldiers that filled every town. Using that warfare picture, Paul reminds us of the necessary armor for the believer in his battles; armor which is available to every Christian. It is wise at the beginning of each day to “put on” your armor in prayer.
- Gird your loins with truth. This means truthfulness, honesty, integrity which will protect us from the tempation to the opposite which would make us vulnerable. It also implies knowing and believing truth that will guard us from the lies of the Father of all lies.
- Put on the breastplate of righteousness. We must realize and claim the righteousness we have in Christ and cover our vital organs with a commitment to personal holiness.
- Shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. We must get ready to move by realizing our mission. We lace up our witnessing shoes. We prepare to share the gospel of peace gladly and quickly with everyone we meet, which is Satan’s greatest fear.
- Take up the shield of faith which is able to quench all the flaming arrows of the wicked one. One of the most powerful weapons in battle was a flaming arrow. The Romans had developed a defensive weapon in a body-sized, leather shield. It had a front and a back with a vacuum between which would quench a flaming arrow. Satan is continually flinging darts at us designed to destroy us. We often think these are just our thoughts. But I am convinced otherwise. Our powerful defense is faith and “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ.” We must combat his flaming arrows with the faith that comes from God’s Word.
- Take up the helmet of salvation. That which protects us most in our battle is our absolute security in Christ if we have come to know Him. Our salvation saves us in our minds. We must remember this as we face the day.
- Take up … the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. There is nothing more powerful than Scripture. It is literally God’s Word and our greatest weapon against Satan’s lies. Jesus Himself rebuked every temptation of the enemy in the wilderness with God’s Word, and so must we. This is why Scripture memory is so vital.
It is a critical exercise each day, and multiple times throughout the day, to check our strength (making sure we’re relying on the Lord) and check our armor (using the right protective weapons against the Enemy.)
Father, today I faithfully put on Your armor as both a physical act and a spiritual reminder of Your divine protection and power! I will place the helmet of Your salvation upon my head as a reminder that You are my salvation. I put on the breastplate of righteousness because You are the righteous King, and the belt of truth, for You alone are the Truth! I will prepare my feet to travel anywhere You direct me to share the gospel of peace! I raise Your shield of faith to protect myself from the flaming arrows that will come against me today! And, I prepare myself to do battle using the sword of Your word! Lord, continue to give me strength through Jesus to serve You with everything in me every moment of this day!
---Adapted from Simply Prayer by Bill Elliff. This book is available at prayershop.org.
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- Praise God for his strength and confidence, enduring from everlasting to everlasting (1 Chron. 29:10-11).
- Give thanks that God is your strength and confidence and that he will never fail you or forsake you (1 Chron. 28:20).
- Confess to the Lord your failure to rely completely upon him and his Word (Isa. 41:10).
- Commit yourself to being strong and doing the work God has for you without complaining (Phil. 2:14).
- Ask God to forgive you for not depending on him and that you may wait on the Lord and be confident of his love (Jeremiah 31:3).
- Pray that your church will be strong in preparing its membership to grow in their daily walk and work for him as parents, teachers, workers, etc.
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Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount.
Connection (Devotions for Everyday Life) © 2024 is a free devotional published daily by Harvest Prayer Ministries. Subscribe here. |
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Friday, June 28 2024
UPDATES:
PTL! Thank you givers! Our AC installation is going to be fully funded with a few more donations that are on the way this week! You guys ROCK! Keep seeking God for His plans for us for the rest of the summer and to use our building to lead many to Him and become a House of Prayer for the Nations and a disciple making hub.
Those of you that have been asking about Gunther (Bobby Gunther Walsh) I prayed with him this morning around 4:30 before he began his first day back on air. He's working from home but getting back at it will help emotionally and physically. Keep praying for his healing and patience in the process. he has a long way to go with rehabbing his injuries. he thanks everyone for their prayers and encouragements.
I hope to finish up homebound communion visits this week. Pray for our homebound. Send a card or call. They all miss you and are lonely.
Wed is Bread Ministry from 10-12 followed by volunteer brunch. Family Ministries opted to gather inside Wed due to heat and weather threat. We will mini golf another time.
Sunday's worship at 10 will be led by Sarah. pray for her. We will celebrate communion. Prepare your hearts and if you are joining on Zoom, don't forget your crackers, bread and juice. We have a few people looking for rides to be able to join us for worship, even if only able to do so once a month, it would be appreciated. Talk to Sarah or me about that if able to help
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Good Morning Journeying Friends of God! Step by step we journey through time until we step into eternity. We know we have a blessed future and hope in God's presence. Being in His presence began at the second we were saved. PTL! We grow in relationship with Him and grow into our fuller potential, even storing up treasures in heaven, during our journey here on earth. We work on becoming more like Jesus and at growing into our fuller potential. We move from being one way to another improved way to another because of Jesus and His work in and through us. But for that all to happen and happen well, we need to die to self, take up cross daily and follow Jesus. And that always works best when done with others. God has some great custom made plans for you to discover and grow into and those plans will always involve custom made and gathered others to journey with. Every time I think of all of you, I thank God for allowing us to be gathered and sent together. I thank God for prayer warriors that cover me, those that encourage and those who help and even hold my feet in the fire. Thank you! I thank God for the fresh breath of the Spirit and the new things He is revealing and doing! I thank God for those He is sending and for using us in many different custom made ways in His Good News Delivery Co. I thank God for partnering us in worship, praise, laboring, and usefulness. We are well on our way to becoming a dynamic movement! But there is still work to discover and do and people to bring into the sheepfold. Keep digging! Keep plowing in prayer. Keep seeking, dying to self and following. Keep working together. Daylight is burning! God is moving! He does have great plans for you and us! PTL and Amen! (Hammer Down!) What's God saying to you right now and what will you do about it? Who will you process with? Deny yourself, take up your cross today (what needs to be crucified right now), seek, process, plan and follow Jesus. He is humble and gentle at heart and made you for such a time as this. Put on His easy yoke by being who He created you to be and focusing on and working at the things you are custom made to do just as you are and right where he placed you. And then do that with those He is gathering you with. Love God, people, yourself and go love like Him today! Amen! He is journeying with you and singing over you. He's calling you by name and inviting you into His awesome plans for today. WOW! Enjoy! Begin with some quiet time with Him through our devos for today (below). Prepare your hearts and go! Love in action is God's way! I'm praying for you and us!
OK time to get out and get some yard work done on this beautiful morning! This is the day the Lord has made! Rejoice and be glad! reload and go live and love like Jesus! Shalom!
Charles Stanley
Upper Room: Improving with Time
If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being! - 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NRSVUE)
Recently I considered replacing my 40-year-old acoustic guitar with a newer model. However, after trying out many guitars, I found that my old guitar produced warm and pleasing tones that sounded much better than the new guitars. I chose to have my old guitar worked on by a guitar technician instead. The technician said that old wood makes a richer and more pleasant sound because as an instrument ages, the wood dries out and the sap loosens from its grain, allowing vibrations to move more freely through the instrument. My guitar’s wood has gradually become less and less like it was when the guitar was new. Over time it has become a new creation — a new form of what it was.
As growing Christians, I think we change in a similar way. Over time as we absorb God’s word and follow God’s guidance, we become less like our former selves and transform into new creations. As our faith matures and changes, God’s influence is able to move more freely within us. And in time, we can produce more beautiful “music” because we are living more harmoniously with God.
TODAY'S PRAYER
Loving God, help us accept the ways you have made each of us wonderful and unique. Give us wisdom as we grow in faith and become new creations in you. Amen.The Word for You Today
Our Daily Bread:
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A phobia is defined as the “irrational fear” of certain things or situations. Arachnophobia is a fear of spiders (though some might argue that’s a perfectly rational thing to be afraid of!). Then there’s globophobia and xocolatophobia. These and some four hundred other phobias are real and documented. It seems we can become afraid of most anything.
The Bible tells of the Israelites’ fear after receiving the Ten Commandments: “When the people saw the thunder and lightning . . . they trembled with fear” (Exodus 20:18). Moses comforted them, offering this most interesting statement: “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you” (v. 20). Moses seems to contradict himself: “Don’t be afraid but be afraid.” In fact, the Hebrew word for “fear” contains at least two meanings—a trembling terror of something or a reverent awe of God.
We may laugh to learn that globophobia is the fear of balloons and xocolatophobia is a fear of chocolate. The more serious bottom line about phobias is that we can be afraid of all kinds of things. Fears creep into our lives like spiders, and the world can be a scary place. As we struggle with phobias and fears, we do well to be reminded that our God is an awesome God, offering us His present comfort in the midst of darkness.
By Kenneth Petersen
REFLECT & PRAY
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What in your life are you afraid of? How does God’s love help you overcome those fears?
Dear God, I find myself afraid of so many things. Please comfort my heart, and help me to rest in Your love.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Two months after the Israelites left Egypt, they came to the wilderness of Sinai (Exodus 19:1-2). Mount Sinai, also called Mount Horeb (3:1; 33:6), was the place where Moses first got to know who God was at the burning bush (3:1-12). Now the whole nation would get to know the “I am” (vv. 14-15). Their arrival is a fulfillment of verse 12: “When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” It marked the beginning of their privileged status as God’s covenant people—“a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (19:6). It’s here that God gave them His laws—instructions for how to relate to God and worship Him (20:1-11) and how to live as His holy people (vv. 12-17). They camped at the foot of Mount Sinai for about a year (Numbers 10:11). Their stay in the Sinai wilderness is told in Exodus 19 through Numbers 10.
K. T. Sim |
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Harvest Prayer
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June 24 - Bending to the Will of God
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Most of us think prayer is a matter of getting God to do what we want so He will give us what we need. But the greatest purpose of prayer is to come into the presence of the Father and align our will with His. To let Heaven re-adjust our plan to God's perfect, sovereign plan.
Such praying is our best antidote to temptation. We may ask that God alleviate some of the temptation and He can. But we will, like Jesus, face extraordinary temptations in our daily lives. Our greatest prayer should be that we would not "enter into" temptation—to indulge, latch on. This should be our constant, daily prayer.
Can you imagine what this week would be like if we never entered into the temptations before us? The temptations were there, but we consistently bent the knee in prayer and bent our will to His will? How effective we would become! How clearly we would hear God! What leadership and witness we could give to others! What a testimony we would have of the power of answered prayer!
Where do you need to bend your will to the will of God? Wrestle with God in prayer about this today until you have submitted to His will … and then, go meet the day!
Holy God, how I long to live in Your glorious presence each moment of my life! Show me how to turn my attention back to You when I am distracted or tempted towards worldly things. Surround me with Your Spirit to protect and inform my heart, thoughts and actions. I want to align myself with Your perfect will in order to hear Your voice more clearly and to become a living testimony of Your greatness!
---Adapted from Prayer with No Intermission by Bill Elliff. This book is available at prayershop.org.
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- Glorify God as the all-sufficient one, who through his limitless power fills everything in every way (Eph. 1:23).
- Thank God for giving you his Spirit to meet all your needs as you do his will.
- Confess those times you have sought fulfillment in ways which did not honor God.
- Commit your needs to him (Phil. 4:19).
- Ask God for a greater awareness of his power to help you grow spiritually (2 Pet. 1:3-8).
- Pray for friends who struggle with material or spiritual poverty. Ask God to help them understand that he can meet both areas of need with his riches in Christ.
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Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount.
Connection (Devotions for Everyday Life) © 2024 is a free devotional published daily by Harvest Prayer Ministries. Subscribe here. |
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Friday, June 28 2024
Good Morning Worshipers! Prepare your hearts o worship and enter His gates with thanksgiving! Pray that we would worship in Spirit and Truth today--always! Amen!
I'm still working on today's message. See what God is saying when we gather at 10. In the meantime...prepare your hearts with some quiet time with God and our devos for today. The Upper Room reminds us to guard our hearts. Are you guarding your heart and surrendering it to God? Our Daily Bread reminds us to be rich in good deeds and store up treasure in heaven. This life is preparation for the next. Are you ready for heaven? Are you storing treasure? Are you the best steward you can be with all God has blessed you with? Are you content? And The Word for You Today has me asking myself, "is there something God would ask of me and I'd say no?" Do you ever say no to God? I have but try not to. I am a work in process and progress and that's how God made us. We are to keep working on growing more like Him and towards our fullest potential until we are called to heaven. How can we help each other with that? What might we need to let go of or hold looser? God has great plans for you. Rejoice! Deny self, take up cross daily and follow Jesus! Amen! See you soon! (Maybe He just wrote our message for today?)
UR: Blocked
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. - Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)
The surgeon delivered bad news about my husband’s health: “Two coronary arteries are 80 percent blocked and lined with large deposits of plaque. Triple bypass surgery and a valve replacement are necessary.” I felt my heart sink. Narrowed heart vessels are often called “the silent killer” because many people have no symptoms until a heart attack takes their lives.
We can experience blockages in our spiritual lives too. Scripture says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Our physical heart is the source of our life. And scripture tells us that Jesus lives within our hearts (see Eph. 3:17). We are to guard this part of ourselves carefully, paying close attention to our conscience, attitude, choices, and thoughts because we can also experience obstructions in our spiritual life. When we cooperate with God’s guidance in removing those blockages, we find healing.
TODAY'S PRAYER
Lord Jesus, shine your light into our hearts. Guide us to obey you so that your healing love may flow in us. Amen.
ODB:
After seven decades of hard work as a washerwoman—scrubbing, drying, and pressing clothes by hand—Oseola McCarty was finally ready to retire at the age of eighty-six. She had scrupulously saved her meager earnings all those years, and to the amazement of her community, Oseola donated $150,000 to the nearby university to create a scholarship fund for needy students. Inspired by her selfless gift, hundreds of people donated enough to triple her endowment.
Oseola understood the true value of her wealth was not in using it for her own gain, but to bless others. The apostle Paul exhorted Timothy to command those who are rich in this present world “to be rich in good deeds” (1 Timothy 6:18). Each of us has been given wealth to steward, whether it’s in the form of financial means or other resources. Instead of trusting in our resources, Paul cautions us to put our hope only in God (v. 17) and to lay up treasure in heaven by being “generous and willing to share” (v. 18).
In God’s economy, withholding and not being generous only leads to emptiness. Giving to others out of love is the way to fulfillment. To have both godliness and contentment with what we have, instead of striving for more, is great gain (v. 6). What would it look like for us to be generous with our resources, as Oseola was? Let us strive to be rich in good deeds today as God leads us.
By Karen Pimpo
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What opportunity do you have to be generous today? How can sharing what you have lead to greater contentment?
Thank You for the resources I have, God. I surrender them to You today.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Paul’s teaching in 1 Timothy 6:6-19 calls to mind the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:19-21: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven . . . . For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The concept of “laying up treasures” is common to both passages. Treasures on earth speak of investments of things that only have earthly value and usefulness, such as gifts or money. Treasures in heaven refer to earthly investments that have eternal value. Generous giving on earth stores up treasure in heaven. Thus, the need for cultivating contentment. Doing so makes us less susceptible to greed and better positioned for doing good deeds and thereby truly enriching ourselves in the process.
Arthur Jackson |
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TWFYT
Don 
Rev. Don Kerns
72 Sunset Hill Rd
Boyertown, PA 19512
Saturday, June 22 2024
Good Morning Friends--Co-Laborers! May God bless and refresh you today! He is upholding you in His strong right hand! He goes before, is behind you and all around you. He is singing over you. Be still and know that He is God and you are His very loved child! Amen! Worship!
I had a call from Dean last night asking for prayer as they battled another big house fire. Pray for all our first responders and those out serving and working in this heat. Pray for holy hydration and refreshing for us too! And even for tonight at the track. Pray for God to refresh and fill us during worship tomorrow as well. Start with the UR's reminder that God rejoices over you. It's true! Receive Him and His many blessings and rejoice as you dwell in His refreshing presence this morning.
In the UR passage God calls you a mighty warrior. Often we can't see what He sees in us. Maybe because He's still developing it but giving you a new name or pronouncing something over you that is promised to come. Receive and believe. Read about Gideon. He was lowly and weak and nothing in His own eyes. But God! He called him mighty warrior too and he was used by God as one and with just a small whittled down band of warriors. God is able! Beware though! Often Satan will attack especially when God has some big things planned for you. And don't allow self doubt to rob you of God's best either. Check out TWFYT about attacks. And then remember God uses all kinds of things to mold and shape us. He redeems and restores and prepares us to be His vessels. He often uses hard times to train and prepare us to lean on Him and follow always. Check out CS devo below and ask God to help you see your potential and to move towards it even if you are in a deep pit right now. He sees you and is at work for good. He's even singing over you. Refocus. Trust. Receive. Prepare. And follow well. You are His! He has great plans for you--even today! Rejoice and be glad in this day and go live and love more like Jesus. Keep your focus right! Amen!
UR: God Rejoices
The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. - Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)
One day when I was feeling disappointed and alone, I heard a song on my car radio that mentioned Jesus rejoicing over us. I wondered, How can Jesus rejoice over us? Don’t we mess up a lot? Isn’t God always disappointed in us? I wanted the lyrics to be true, but I was doubtful.
When I got home, I looked in my Bible concordance for the word rejoice and found Zephaniah 3:17. When I read this verse, I imagined God quieting my fear with love, delighting in me, and singing a song directly to me. With that picture in mind, my fears faded into the background, and I felt less alone. This verse gave me hope, peace, and comfort.
Zephaniah 3:17 encouraged me and reminded me that God delights and rejoices over me even when I feel small, alone, and disappointed. Now when I sing along to songs on the radio, I am reminded that God rejoices over me with singing. When we experience difficult times and God feels far away, we can sing a favorite song and remember that God rejoices over us with singing!
TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank you, Lord, for reminders in scripture that you delight in us and rejoice over us. Help us to trust in this promise even when our feelings tell us otherwise. Amen.TWFYT:
CS:
Saturday, June 22 2024
Gina's Sister and family are safe but lost everything in a devastaing fire last evening. Gina is assiting them. Pray for provision and peace. Here is a link to a go fund me if you want to donate. Gina will keep us updated for any other needs. Doneer aan Support Christine's Family Rebuild After Fire, georganiseerd door Eric Waksmunski
Bobby Gunter Walsh is at home and hoping to be able to up and down some stairs safely today to make it to the celebration of his 40 years on the radio today at Hotel Bethlehem
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Thank God I'm Forgiven Friday! Celebrate! Rejoice and be glad in this day the Lord has made and choose to find the joy of your salvation!
Good Morning Outcasts, Lowlifes, Weaklings, Downtrodden, Marginalized, Mighty and Wise Servants of the most High God! Say what? Is that a truth of your life? Can you say, "I was one way and now another and the difference in my life is Him!"? We live in the paradoxical, upside down, beyond imagination Kingdom of God! PTL! When we are weak, He is strong! He uses the lowly, weak, and humble to overpower the strong. He uses the seemingly nothings and unwise in the ways of the world to overcome the wise in their own eyes worldly scholars. PTL! for how He has saved you, changed you, used you and for the plans He has for you for such a time as this! We are reminded, or sometimes need to be, that we are nothing without Christ and we can do not much of value without Him and for Him. His ways are not ours and we are called to not lean on our own understanding and acknowledge Him in all our ways to receive His direction, wisdom and might. Amen! Come Lord! Fill and use us today! Thank You for saving, preparing and using us as we are for such a time as this! Be glorified! Amen
WOW! Crazy time with God this morning! Our devotionals could be a sermon as they thread together and speak truth into our lives, inform our steps and lead to a day of prayer and following in His presence. Yesterday at our district meeting we discussed the demographics of our individual church's neighborhoods and the people within a 15 minute drive of our buildings. So many around us are still struggling with the after affects of COVID and the isolation and loneliness. So many of us have experienced deep grief and many are still traveling through their grief journeys. Grief and the journey is as individualistic as we are. Who do you know that needs a listening ear, loving encouragement and to be introduced to our Prince of Peace, our Healer and Deliverer. our Comforter? Check out the Upper Room's reminder that God will comfort those who mourn. That's a promise. Many of us need to be reminded of that or help others to open up and receive that shalom beyond understanding. Charles Stanley continues the teaching of how God is with us, redeems circumstances and uses us to be His vessels of comfort and peace. The Word for You Today reminds us of the importance of being and having helpers and mentors. Sometimes we need to humble ourselves and ask for help or offer it. Sometimes people can be time wasters and energy zappers as they don't want to change and find their identity in anger, grief, self pity instead of Christ and new life. Pray for wisdom to stop it when you get like that and discernment for how God wants you to distance yourself from those who will never change. Ask Him about who He has to mentor you and for you to mentor and do something about it! (Watch for info on upcoming small group opportunities and pray into those) Choose to be an encourager and receive encouragement, help, and wisdom. Finally Our Daily Bread speaks about crying out to God to use you (and us). He redeems and promises to use all we have gone through to bless others. We are molded, shaped, prepared and informed through our trials. Ask God to use you and help you to move from self pity to being His instrument of healing. Often the healing comes as we choose to bless others. Where's your focus?
Yes many of us are in grief and circumstances that are very hard. Try to let yourself be open to God's healing love and help and then to use you to bring it. Ask for a right focus and heart. Try your best to get to the place where you can say like Paul, "Forgetting what lies behind...I press on" (even though sometimes we never can forget, That's ok! Just try to redirect yourself sooner and ask the Holy Spirit to help with that too) It's refocusing to the future and what God has for you and us as we grow in trust, release our grip on our circumstances, and find that we are able to choose joy because we know He is working ALL things together for good. Who needs to hear this and embrace it today? I know a few of you may. I'm here and so are your friends and Jesus is always with you. Amen! Praying for you all to know His peace, comfort, love and presence and to allow Him to heal, deliver, strengthen and direct. He really does love you and is always with you and we are here for each other too. Amen! Live and love like Jesus today! he has great plans for you even if it doesn't feel like it right now. Amen!
UR: From Grief to Comfort
[God] will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. - Revelation 21:4 (NIV)
At the height of the pandemic, the whole world was in great turmoil as COVID-19 ravaged the globe, claiming millions of lives in the process. International travel was nearly impossible. During that same period I was studying in the United States, and sadly, my dad passed away back in Africa. The pain of losing my father was almost unbearable. Then, seven months later, my birth mother also died. The tragedy of losing both parents in the same year will live with our family for many years to come.
After a while, I realized that my grief had taken a tremendous toll on me. I turned to the word of God and to prayer for comfort and strength. When I focused on God’s love, I found comfort and assurance to help me through my grief. Now, whenever I am missing my parents, I think of the many good things they achieved, how they sacrificed for us, and how they loved us with the unconditional love of God. Scripture assures us that those who die in the Lord Jesus Christ will rise again, free from death and mourning, and that is worth celebrating.
TODAY'S PRAYER
Dear God, thank you for the peace you give to those in grief. We pray for all those who are grieving the loss of loved ones. Amen.
CS:
TWFYT:
ODB:
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James Morris was once described as “an illiterate but warmhearted layman,” but God used him to draw Augustus Toplady to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Toplady, the eighteenth-century author of the timeless hymn “Rock of Ages,” described hearing Morris preach: “Strange that I . . . should be brought nigh unto God . . . amidst a handful of God’s people met together in a barn, and under the ministry of one who could hardly spell his name. Surely this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous.”
Indeed, God does marvelous things in unlikely places and through those we may rank as “unqualified” or ordinary. In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul reminded believers in Jesus that they were an unimpressive lot. “Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth” (v. 26). Though the Corinthian believers were quite ordinary, by God’s grace they weren’t lacking in giftedness and usefulness (see v. 7). And God—who knows how to put boasters in their place (vv. 27-29)—was at work among them and through them.
Do you see yourself as “plain,” “ordinary,” or even “less than”? Don’t fret. If you have Jesus and are willing to be used by Him, you have enough. May your heart’s prayer be, “God, use me!”
By Arthur Jackson
REFLECT & PRAY
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Who comes to mind when you think of one who’s been quietly but effectively used by God? What can you do to help shift your focus from what you have or don’t have to what God can do through you?
Heavenly Father, please forgive me for focusing on myself and not enough on You. Use me where I am in Your holy service.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The church in Corinth was established by Paul on his second missionary journey (around ad 50). Some four years later, at the end of his third missionary journey, he wrote to a troubled church characterized by congregational conflicts, abuse of liberty, lack of humility, immorality, and disunity. Paul deals with the source of their problems—their arrogant pride (1 Corinthians 1:26-31). He reminded them they weren’t the influential, powerful elites they assumed they were—wise philosophers, politically powerful, or materially wealthy. They were the opposite—foolish, weak, lowly, despised nobodies (vv. 27-28). Yet, God chose them to be His children based solely on His grace, not on their merits. Therefore, “no one may boast before him” (v. 29; see vv. 4-5). Elsewhere, Paul reminds us, “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Unpack Paul’s letters to the church of Corinth.
K. T. Sim |
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Saturday, June 22 2024
Sarah update below. Add to that the Bobby Gunther Walsh was released from Lehigh. Not sure but believe he was sent to a rehab. He's asking for prayers to be able to attend the celebration Friday of his40 years on the radio at Hotel Bethlehem
Good Morning New Creations, Very Loved Children of God! AMEN! And we are being made new to go love others and grow His church as we serve together and are used to make disciples of those He is sending. Come Lord! Have Your way with us and make clear our steps. be our Lord and bring Your dreams and visons for us to reality. Thanks! Amen!
We had a fun night of fellowship and planning last evening with our adult huddle at the Superior. We are an Acts 2:42 church! Table fellowship and worship is part of that. Who does God want you to invite to join us? As we await the AC installation, we anticipate gathering in the building in Aug. Until then we decided to meet at Ritas in Emmaus Wed the 17th of July for ice and fellowship at 6:30. Plan to join us and be the light! We are going to be offering t-shirts for sale shortly with St Matts on them to wear at events like this. Watch for details. They're cool and affordable! Let us keep seeking God for how He wants to send us out to connect to new neighbors and share ideas and plan some fun activities out of the building.
I have another very busy day. yesterday I got to visit some homebound members and will continue today after our district meeting. I'll allow you to process the devos for today on your own. Do you see a thread? Is God highlighting something for you? Who does He want you to disciple or disciple with? Be still, know, receive, process, plan and go live and love like Jesus today! Amen!
CS:
ODB:
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For three years, apart from household necessities, Susan didn’t buy anything for herself. The Covid-19 pandemic affected my friend’s income, and she embraced a simple lifestyle. “One day, while cleaning my apartment, I noticed how shabby and faded my things looked,” she shared. “That’s when I started to miss having new things—the sense of freshness and excitement. My surroundings seemed tired and stale. I felt as if there was nothing to look forward to.”
Susan found encouragement in an unlikely book in the Bible. Written by Jeremiah after Jerusalem fell to Babylon, Lamentations describes the open wound of grief suffered by the prophet and the people. In the midst of grief’s despair, however, lies sure ground for hope─God’s love. "His compassions never fail,” Jeremiah wrote. “They are new every morning” (3:22-23).
Susan was reminded that God’s deep love relentlessly breaks through anew each day. When circumstances make us feel there’s no longer anything to look forward to, we can call to mind His faithfulness and look forward to how He’ll provide for us. We can confidently hope in God, knowing our hoping is never in vain (vv. 24-25) because it’s secured in His steadfast love and compassion.
“God’s love is my ‘something new’ each day,” Susan says. “I can look ahead with hope.”
By Karen Huang
REFLECT & PRAY
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When have you felt unable to see any hope in your situation? How does the promise of God’s love as “new every morning” give you hope?
Thank You, dear God, because each day brings with it Your certain, steadfast love.
Deal head-on with pain and pressure in this study.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Lamentations is one of the darkest books in the Bible; it’s Jeremiah’s heart cry for his violated nation. But here, at the center point of his poem, we find real hope. “The Lord’s . . . compassions never fail” (3:22). The book also concludes in hope, yet we still sense Jeremiah’s doubt. He proclaims, “You, Lord, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation” (5:19). That’s how we might expect the book to end—in ultimate triumph. The prophet, however, asks God a pair of haunting questions: “Why do you always forget us? Why do you forsake us so long?” (v. 20). Although he asks God to “restore us to yourself” (v. 21), he doesn’t do so with unwavering confidence. Rather, he adds this caveat: “unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure” (v. 22). Jeremiah is a prophet who struggled mightily with the tragedy he saw.
Tim Gustafson |
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UR: Wait for the Lord
Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. - Isaiah 40:31 (NRSVUE)
Sitting in the urgent care facility with my knee wrapped in ice was not how I had planned to spend my day. Nevertheless, I was hopeful for a quick solution. Instead, I was told I needed major surgery followed by months of recuperation and healing. After four years of recovery, I am still learning my limitations.
Healing from illnesses and injuries takes time, and some have a lifelong impact. God, the great healer, has given me strength, patience, and wisdom throughout my recovery period. But it has required me to alter my routine and responsibilities to allow my body to rest and recover. Many days it requires me to wait.
What does it mean to wait for the Lord, to seek God during my time of need? Instead of allowing my ailment to distract me from God, it can point me to God. As I focus on God in my waiting, I receive God’s promise of strength and hope.
TODAY'S PRAYER
Dear God, when we feel discouraged by the limitations of our physical bodies, help us to wait on you. Through you, we have the hope of renewal and restoration. We pray as Jesus taught us, “Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation” (Luke 11:2-4, NIV). Amen.TWFYT:
Sarah Update:
Good afternoon everyone.....
Praying that you are all staying cool.
Here are some folks that could use our prayers.....
Barb Schware will be having some dental surgery done tomorrow. Pray that all goes well and the medical team that will be caring for her gets a good night's sleep. Pray that God's peace overwhelms Barb, and for a quick healing.
Jason Fuhrman broke two bones in his arm. Pray for his healing and for him to be patient in the process.
Gerry Siegfried has asked for prayer for Pam Lambert - she was in a very serious accident. Please pray for healing and restoration.
Kathy Canfield - has some bumps and bruises from a fall she took. Praying for healing and strengthen as mends.
Our Bread Ministry has an urgent need: With Jason unable to pick up the bread for our bread ministry, we are in need of someone/some people to assist with picking up the bread on a Monday afternoon, from the Bimbo driver in Macungie. We will need someone/some people to also help unload the bread at the church.
IF you are available to assist with this, please reach out to Gail Lichtenwalner, Pastor Don or Sarah.
This is a vital ministry that we have, and each week we give HOPE to over 60 people. Please pray about it and
see if the Lord is nudging you.......
Pray for one another. There are a few of our church family members that are
not feeling well, and/or are going to doctor appointments and anticipating test results. Praying for each, for healing and for God's peace to envelope them.
Stay cool, everyone. Check on loved ones. Drink lots of water, and pace yourself.
Blessings,
Sarah
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