Wagner's letter below

AC installation commences today. PTL! And pray we are able to fix the sanctuary AC and sound as well.

Pray for our Support and Vision Team meeting Thurs that we would hear God, process and plan well and follow to His best.

Pray for me to be able to process well and share what God has been revealing to me about some new things He may have for us in the next few months.

Pray for revival and for God to raise up harvest workers as He brings in the harvest. Thank Him for all He has been doing and for His plans to prosper and grow His Church.

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Good Morning Christ Incarnating Co-Laborers! We are one as he is one! Yet we are uniquely created and gifted to contribute our parts to the whole and all for His glory! We all have a part from prayer warrior, encourager, server, helper, giver, steward, leader, teacher, disciple maker, and many more roles as varied as we are. We are one and we need each other and are better as we fulfill our purposes. We matter! You matter and God is at work. PTL! You are created, gifted, empowered and counted on for such a time as this! PTL! Follow Jesus today! Turn off the noise. Focus on Him with a determination to do your calling for today and each day to follow. That is to become more like Jesus and doing more of your purposes. It's living and loving like Jesus, just as you are (His easy yoke) for such a time as this. Amen!

Yesterday we didn't quite get through all of Eph. 4. Next week we will wrap that up and move into Eph. 5 as we discuss being the Light. The end of Eph. 4 talks about getting rid of all anger and hate and forgiving. How in the world do we choose that when we are so deeply hurt, so full of grief and in no way want to let go of that anger, hate, an not even consider forgiveness. Well first of all know that God loves you and knows all your hurts and tears and He wants to walk with you through this dark valley to the other side. he's collecting your tears in a bottle and waiting with open arms when you get to the place where you are able to invite Him into your pain and to come help you through. He knows and cares and is there. Until you get to the place where you can not lean on your own understanding, clinging to your pain and anger, and need for revenge and answers, you will stay mired in those dark places. Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies. Holding God at arms length keeps you from the peace and strength and comfort he is wanting to give. So, start by inviting Him into your pain, hurt, anger and hate. Ask Him to help you to forgive and release the pain. Ask Him to help you refocus and choose joy. These things are choices we are commanded to make so they are available to us and lead to healing and being able to move on. You may need some others to help you, hold you up and prayer, and listen as you vent and release. If you stay fixated, angry, hateful, you keep yourself mired in darkness and depression. You do nothing to resolve the issues and can be consumed. Satan loves to keep you there. Look at all the anger and hate being spewed all around us today. His ways are totally opposite the worlds. He says revenge is mine. Jesus commands us to love like He does, even enemies. We can only do that with His help and by releasing all to Him even those who hurt and persecute us. I love the verse that reminds us that if we give an enemy a cup of cold water, we will heap burning coals on their heads. Now that's not throwing the water in their face! But think about it...God's ways are best and healing. He knows, cares and will handle things. try your best to let go, let God and ask Him to come help you do so. he is gracious to do so and reminds us that when we have a thorn in the butt that His grace IS sufficient. We can choose joy and life. It's available to us and comes alive when we get to the end of ourselves and our pain and release everything to God. He's there waiting to comfort and help you to move on to life abundant that he promises. If you are struggling right now, talk to Sarah or me or a trusted close friend and walk together towards God's deliverance for this. I'm praying for you right now.

ODB discuss triggers and resentment and choosing to be more like Jesus. They use one of my favorite passages, Romans 12. Just start by meditating on that today.

Rom 12:9-18 Ask God to bring this alive for you today. Ask God to help you agape love. That's dying to self love that Jesus showed us.

9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.
 12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!

17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

The Upper Room discuss the abundant life we are promised. Even when we are in hard places, we can draw close to God and know His love, peace, help and choose to release our anger and trust Him. Turn off the noise! And Charles Stanley reminds us that we are never alone. YOU ARE NOT ALONE! God has better for you--abundant life if you chose to receive it. He's waiting for you with open arms of love and help. Trust Him. Draw close. Be still and know. God has plans for you. Plans to prosper and not harm. He will deliver you and walk with you through whatever you are facing. Choose Him! breathe out the junk and give it to Him and receive His love.

ODB:

UR: Life Abundant

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. - Genesis 1:31 (NIV)

For nearly 30 years I have suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome. This illness takes various forms for different people, and in my case I experience extreme fatigue with very little pain. But it stops me from doing things I want to do and serving the Lord in the way I would like to.

At times I have resented my illness, wanting to lead a full and busy life only to be pulled up short by my limitations. But sometimes I am able to look upon my illness as a blessing. It has stopped me from being proud since I can no longer rely on my own skill. I now have sympathy for others who are ill, which has made me a kinder person.

And I can pray. There is no shortage of people who need my prayers. When I say to someone, “I’ll pray for you,” I can mean it and do it. There is now time for me to listen to other people, to hear their woes and confidences, and then encourage them through emails, texts, or letters. The pace of my life is slower. There is time to listen to the birds and revel in nature. Even in the frustration of chronic illness, God is with me, helping me to live life abundantly.

Today's Prayer

Loving Father, help us to find your presence and blessing in our current circumstances. Give us strength and courage to trust you. Amen.

CS:

Wagner's news

Greetings Friends, As we prepare to return to Kenya in just 4 days, we wanted to share a condensed version of the message we have been sharing with churches while on home assignment these past 8 months. Go and Make Disciples Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV) The theme of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. This passage is not just an afterthought at the end of Jesus time on earth. It is the culmination of the entire narrative of the Bible up until that moment and it is the blueprint for how that narrative would continue to unfold and is still unfolding. God desires that He be glorified by all peoples (all nations), and He calls us to have a part in sharing the Good News with the world.   Make disciples. While missions’ messages often focus on the word “go”, we have focused on “make disciples”. RVA exists to “educate and disciple students”. Quite simply, a disciple is someone who believes in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, intentionally learns from Him, and strives to live more like Him. Discipleship is critical to laying a foundation for followers of Jesus who will in turn make more disciples. We have encouraged churches to focus on making disciples, especially with our children and youth. An RVA alumnus writes, “The core building block of missions anywhere is to make disciples. Churches are collections of faithful disciples, making disciples who make disciples.”   Reaching UPGs. Focusing on disciple-making is at the core of what we are called to do as followers of Jesus. It is easy to get distracted with many other good things and lose sight of the importance of making disciples. While this discipleship is not limited to just our families or churches, it does begin there. But we also need to recognize that Jesus clearly identifies the target audience in Matthew as “all nations”. This highlights the importance of seeking to reach Unreached People Groups (UPGs). Global Frontier Missions (GFM) has produced a video illustrating the idea of UPGs. The Power of Multiplication.  Another great video from GFM illustrates how one-on-one discipleship would be a far more effective way to reach the nations than mass evangelism. In fact, it has all the elements of a great video: a focus on missions, a math lesson, and a thought-provoking question to end. [Keep reading!]   Putting it into practice.  This year, we have been personally challenged to focus on raising disciples with the boys entrusted to our care. We desire to be even more intentional about pointing our boys to the Bible as the authoritative source of truth and helping them to develop disciplines which will promote spiritual growth. More Resources In addition to the links above, here are a few more helpful resources that we would recommend. One of the great benefits of home assignment is that we break from our regular work and routine, giving us opportunities to read more and hear what God is seeking to teach us. Not surprisingly, many of these resources focus on discipleship. Raise to Release: A Missional Mandate for Parents, by Victor and Esther Flores. They encourage readers “to consider the implication the imagery of children as arrows has on parenting, world evangelism, and the glory of God.” GFM also has a free 5-week study on missions that can help you and your church better understand the Great Commission and your role in reaching the world for Christ. A podcast from the Culture Translator at Axis.org (an excellent resource for parents and anyone working with youth) interviewing Dr. Jeff Myers on the 3 Biggest Reasons Young People Choose Jesus. [Hint: one reason has to do with having a biblical worldview which comes from studying and knowing the Bible, part of the discipleship process.] As a quick reminder, you can find links to many of these resources on our blog site. And so… “WHO IS YOUR ONE?” Who are you regularly meeting with as you follow Jesus’ command to “make disciples”? How are you growing together in your spiritual disciplines? Together, are you seeing God’s heart for the lost, for the unreached peoples of the world? Thank you so much for your prayers! You are appreciated.   In His Service,   Brian & Missy

Good Morning Forgiving Because We Have Been Forgiven Much, Incarnaters of Agape Love! Okay, what's this all about Pastor Don? It seems God has us on a track that began Sunday as we studied Eph. 4 and thinking about how in the heck we can forgive when we are angry, and how we can chose love when we hate. It all boils down to trusting God and allowing Him to help you love, forgive and choose joy and His best. How Lord? HELP! We are commanded to love like Jesus, even enemies and to pray for persecutors. We are to forgive as we have been forgiven and even pray for that in the Lord's Prayer. We are commanded to incarnate Christ, His agape love, and to allow Him control. Pastor Don, I thought you said Jesus' yoke is easy? I'm weary, angry, hurting, depressed. Letting go of this pain and forgiving seems impossible, not easy and I don't think I want to. What's the deal? I want to but find it almost impossible and such a heavy burden. Help me Lord! Yep! That's the perfect place to start. Die to self, crucify that anger, hurt and unforgiveness and beg for Jesus to lead you to love and forgive like Him and His easy yoke for you to put on as you strap yourself to Him. He does promise rest to the weary and heaven knows we are weary and in need of closure and rest.

Let's start with Eph. 4:17-32 that we didn't get to Sunday: ... 21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy... 26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.”
 Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

No way Pastor Don! I don't want to. I don't think I can? Listen child of God, God has forgiven you much. Choose His ways. That doesn't mean you need to become chummy chummy again. Forgiveness opens the door for you to heal and move on to better things. Put them or the situation in God's hands and ask Him to help you to die to self, love, forgive and follow Jesus to what's next. He is faithful to answer those prayers!

God must really want us to discuss these things as He has been highlighting His Word and bringing it and His love to life. So many hurting people around us, maybe that is some of us in this season. He again has threaded our devotions all through this for a second day. He is speaking LOVE to your heart today. or he is trying. Will you allow Him in, trust and obey, receive? For others of us this needs to me a reminder from God that helps us prepare and be ready to continue in trust like Job. The Lord gives and takes away, Praise the Lord, my soul. Joshua before entering the Promised Land challenged the Israelites to choose who they would trust and worship and follow. He said to be strong and courageous and challenged them to choose to worship and follow God no matter what, like he and his family. Prepare your hearts to be ready to do that when those wilderness times come. God will always be with you and always love and accept you when you choose to trust Him and open your wounded heart to His caring love.

Our Daily bread reminds us that God is in control--always. Even when we face devastating loss like Job, we can, we need to, choose to praise the Lord and giver of life and of all we have. Stand on His promises and obey His commands even when you don't want to. He is faithful and there with you. The Upper Room continues with the reminder that Satan is prowling about try to destroy us. BUT GOD! He is our protector, deliverer, help in times of trouble and does allow things to stretch our faith and grow us--hard things. Are you ready for whatever? Set your heart and mind on God and His ways. Turn off the noise and chaos and focus on the Prince of Peace and His helping love. The Word for You Today continues to talk about the agape love required for marriages to flourish, but can be applied to the church since we are the Bride of Christ. They speak into how to agape love and forgive. For some, the marriage or relationship can never be healed nor restored, nor should it be. That's the place where we really have to just pour ourselves out to God and allow Him to help us forgive and move on. It's a journey much like Job experienced. Don't be like Job's wife and want to curse God and die. We may feel like that for a season in our grief. But if we, like Job, have determined to always trust God, we can get to the place of being able to follow God and grow in trust again. Charles Stanley reminds us of another way to refocus--PRAY!  Praising in he storm and praying for those who mistreat you help you to refocus to God and to receive His loving help. Doing that changes you. I love the way the Chosen deals with disappointment, grief and shaking our fists at God and others. It helps us to remember that the disciples were with Jesus and had to learn how to adjust to all kinds of hardships and unanswered questions while growing in trusting Jesus. This life is hard! BUT GOD! Choose to trust Him and ask for help for your unbelief and grace to carry you through to His best ahead. Prepare your hearts. Open your hearts. Receive His agape, forgiving, comforting, strengthening Love. He really does love you beyond measure and has some really good things for you even if that requires some devastating hardships to endure. Determine now to always persevere in faith and gather some teammates to help you. He is there and will always be. So rejoice, pray and grow in trust. Maybe reach out to some others to help you in this journey or maybe reach out to lovingly walk with another (and ask God to help you not be like Job's finger-pointing wrong friends but to bring shalom) 

God loves you and is with you always. His love, comfort, joy and peace are always available. Always remember that! I'm praying for you right now. Shalom!

ODB:

UR: Autopilot

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. - 1 Peter 5:8 (NIV)

While I was in the US Navy, I taught a course on the automatic pilot system used for naval aircraft. This system enabled an aircraft to fly at a preset altitude, attitude, and heading without pilot input. However, should another aircraft or obstacle appear in the path of the aircraft, the system would not change course to avoid the obstacle. Even though the aircraft could fly itself, the pilot had to be alert to any impending danger and take action.

Sometimes we put ourselves on autopilot, going through the motions of life without any input from God. When we stop listening for God’s direction, we can easily run into trouble. Judges 16:20 says that the Lord departed from Samson, and he didn’t know it. Although Samson was to be set apart from birth, he ended up as a slave in Philistia. The challenges of life can easily disrupt our journey if we are not paying attention. When we keep our focus on God, we realize that God is constantly talking to us, providing course corrections to keep us in God’s will for our lives.

Today's Prayer

Faithful God, keep our eyes open and focused on you. Make us aware of the obstacles around us, and guide us on the path that you would have us take. Amen.TWFYT:

CS:

Good Morning Alive in Christ, Self-Controlled, Self-Disciplined, Self-Sacrificing, Jesus-Focused, Spirit-Controlled, Heaven-Bound, Hope-Filled, Co-Laborers in Christ! Now that's a mouthful! That salutation came right from a Season 4 Chosen Bible Study I am using. Meditate on these truths. Pronounce them in faith over you and us. They can be and are part of our true identity. Start here and focus on these in your journey to become more in '24. More of Him and less of me! Remember this saying? "I am who I am because I am allowing I AM to be Who He is in and through me." Is that true for you? It can be and is really worth the effort to work at that! Have you lost sight of what's already yours in Christ? Refocus and choose well my co-laboring friends! God has created you for such a time as this and he does have great, attainable purposes just for you today! Rejoice! Live and love like Jesus more in '24!

Our devos flow and thread through this thinking today. Check them out below! What's God saying to you? What will you do about it? Who is helping you? Who are you helping? Charles Stanley reminds us to not be conformed to the ways of this world but be transformed into Christ's image bearers. This takes dying to self and crucifying some things daily to follow Jesus well. The Upper Room reminds us there are some hurdles to overcome and to keep focused ahead on the race God has for us. Our Daily Bread talks about being finishers. Brought to my mind the always present thought about who am I preparing to carry on and finish what I started in Christ? Who am I discipling? Who trained me and what jobs need some finishing? And the Word for You Today discusses parenting which again reminds me of seeking and training some spiritual children. Who are your spiritual children? How are you praying for them? Who is being prepared to replace you and carry on your legacy in Christ? Then really meditate and pray on the Harvest Prayer blogs and prayers today. 

Be the Salt and Light! Focus on Jesus and what lies ahead. Train up some disciples and pray for disciple makers to arise and for St. Matts to become a House of Prayer for the Nations and a disciple making hub. Talk to God about your race and how to run and finish well. Tomorrow we will discuss Eph. 4 and the reminder that we are one. We are unified in Christ and gathered to accomplish His plans for us. Let us keep after it! Let us continue to seek Him and follow His perfect plans. let us light up the world with revival fires! Daylight's burning for sure, BUT GOD! he has great plans to come and he desires for us to be a part of it. What's your part? What will you do about that? Choose to run well my: Alive in Christ, Self-Controlled, Self-Disciplined, Self-Sacrificing, Jesus-Focused, Spirit-Controlled, Heaven-Bound, Hope-Filled, Co-Laborers in Christ! Amen!

CS:

UR: Jumping the Hurdles

Harvest

August 3 - Be Salt and Light “You’re the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its flavor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled on by people! You’re the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:13-16). Jesus represented the Kingdom of God and expected His followers to be people of action: to apply what they knew; to live out loud; to be salt and light. Jesus wants to be seen and known through us. As we remain connected to Him as our source of spiritual flavor and light, we can bring salty flavor and a bright light to this world. Lord, I repent for standing muted, dulled, or snuffed out by sin. I repent for any darkness I’ve allowed into my life. I repent for when I’ve quenched the Holy Spirit. I repent for allowing fear or self-ambition, instead of honor, to guide my actions. I repent for when I’ve not allowed You to act through me. I repent for not always following Your lead. I desire to bring Your salty flavor and Your light into the world. I declare boldness for myself! I won’t shrink back, but I will immediately obey what You speak to me through Your Word and the Holy Spirit. Thank You for using me for Your glory. Thank You for wanting me to be salt and light, to represent You in this world. I praise You for being the source of all good and perfect things; that You know the beginning from the end; that You will finish the good work You started in my life. --Adapted from Praying What Jesus Says by Natasha Miller. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount. Prayer Points Praise Jesus as the one who “rose again from the dead” and “ascended to heaven” where he is “seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.” Thank God for access to him through Jesus the Intercessor. Confess any skepticism of God’s willingness to hear your prayers. Commit yourself to living under the flag of King Jesus today. Ask the ascended King to rule over even the details of your life. Pray that the children in your circle of close contacts will know that they belong to the King of heaven and earth. Ask God to help you model the dignity of living for Jesus. 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.

Air Conditioning install begins Monday and may take until Thurs. PTL! We will soon be able to restart ministry in the building. Pray for God to lead us to His new things for us to connect to neighbors. 

Today is bread day, 10-12. Pray for connections and relationships and for God to use us. Pray for Gail as she leads and the staff of volunteers. Thank God for them. Pray he keeps raising up harvest workers and for us to bring the bread of life alive.

Tonight Family Ministries gathers for a food/ice cream fellowship night. Pray for God to lead us to His plans for the fall and the restart if 2 peas in a pod meals.

Ramone Sosa is having a biopsy as I write this. Pray that docs find issues and for healing and pain relief. pray for shalom for the family. Pray for Amber and Ariana as they take over lead of the Clothing Closet. That open Aug 17th and there is much work to do to get ready. Pray for helpers and for God to continue to use this ministry to serve our neighbors and connect others to Him.

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Good Morning Standing on the Promises Seekers of God's Will, and Followers of Jesus--Surrendered Servants! Oh may that be me and us Lord! Come! Bring Your Word and promises alive. Keep us seeking You and receiving and releasing in earnest prayers. May I/we die to self, take up cross and follow Jesus today. Prepare these broken vessels and use us for Your glory. Your Kingdom come and will be done as we seek first Your Kingdom and righteousness! Thank you for forgiveness, mercy and grace. Cleanse us. Help us repent. And may we be ready and willing when you say go. Thank You. May we be more like Jesus and follow Him well as we ask in His mighty name! Amen! Be still and know. Follow and Go!

Start with the Upper Room this morning (we are still working through some issues to get the physical devos in stock). Be still. Know. Refresh in His Spirit and then go, follow. Then check out Harvest blogs and start praying and standing on God's ever true promises. He is faithful to respond as we pray and believe these. Amen! The Word for You Today reminds us to depend on God. That starts by getting to know Him and spending time with Him. What are you focusing on today? What's causing anxiety, stress and distraction? Turn off the noise. Stop the busyness. Pause and refresh then go allowing Jesus to be you Lord and Shepherd today. Check out Charles Stanley's reminders about seeking God first. Our Daily Bread wraps this up with the question:  "What does it mean for you to find your only hope in [Jesus]?" Well? what would that look like if that is true for you? How about our Body? 

Turn off the noise and still the chaos is a choice of obedience as we still ourselves and refocus on God. We are able to choose joy because we hear Him, know Him, follow Him and grow in trust as we see Him at work answering prayers and being true to His promises. He is faithful! Amen! Are we? Honestly, the sooner we accept the fact that in this world Christ is all that matters and He lives in us and wants to live and love through us to change the world, the easier it is to die to self, turn off the noise, hear His whispers, and go in His strength for His purposes for you each day. He's at work. He's transforming us from one way to another and then to another for His glory and to be usable to be part of His mission to change the world. We all have a part. Be still, refocus, know, grow and then go and follow well. But don't wait to follow and don't run ahead. He will make it clear when to go and when to wait, when to speak and when not to. He is with you. Put on His easy yoke, just as you are, for today and allow our Good Shepherd to lead us step by step to His perfect plans. Amen! He has great plans for you! Be still. Know! Yoke and follow well today! I've already prayed for you and me to do so. Come Lord Jesus! Shepherd us as we yoke to you! Yes, Your Kingdom come and will be done! Send me! Amen!

UR: Restorative Stillness

[The Lord] says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” - Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

My purse was heavy on my shoulder as I grabbed my keys and hurried toward the door. I wanted to pray, but I needed to get to work. I was tired of plunging into the world without spending time with God, relying on my own strength and wisdom throughout the day. Sure, I mumbled prayers while in traffic, but I longed for intentional time in God’s presence. I hesitated at the door, then turned around and entered my place of prayer. God met me there. It was a selah moment.

Selah is a Hebrew word that concludes several scripture verses. Though its precise meaning is unknown, some scholars believe selah indicates a pause during a musical rendition. Brief silences add to the beauty of music and intensify the listener’s experience.

We also need stillness in our lives. Time spent in God’s presence is restorative. There we discover the true meaning of Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.” Incorporating moments of stillness with God into our lives can transform the chaotic noise of our days into wonderful symphonies.

Today's Prayer

Loving God, help us make time today to pause in your faithful presence. May we find refuge and strength as we acknowledge you as the source of our joy. Amen.

Harvest

July 31 - Praying the Promises of God If you were to have the privilege of reading through my Mother’s Bible, you would discover highlighted promises. Beside many of these verses, you would see the various names of each of her children. If you could somehow parallel those verses with the actual life experiences of each of her children, you would discover those promises have been fulfilled in amazing specificity. Mom believed in this process of praying by God's promises, right up to her death. And, it worked with God-glorifying consistency! Around 1983 my pastor-Dad suffered a terrible moral fall. It rocked our world for several years. At the end of the ordeal, he left my mom, married another woman and moved away. We thought it was the last we would ever see of him. My mother, before she died two years later, felt she had received a biblical promise from the Lord regarding my Dad. She prayed it often and believed God on his behalf, until the day she died. Here was the promise: Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name. He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With a long life I will satisfy him and let him see My salvation. (Psalm 91:14-16) Five weeks before my mother died, my dad came to a full and complete repentance. In his remaining years, God greatly used my dad with thousands of pastors. He would humbly warn and instruct them of the subtle work of the enemy to which no man is immune. "No man can rise so high that he cannot fall,” he would often say, “and no man can fall so low that he cannot rise again by the grace of God!" Dad lived 25 years after my mother received and claimed this promise (a “long life”). God honored him in ways which Dad felt he should not be honored. One of those was the forgiveness and love of his family. God used him and “let him see [God’s] salvation.” Promise given … promise believed and prayed … promise fulfilled. What God did for my precious, praying Mom, He will do for you. Read your Bible. Hear His voice. Claim His promises. Pray them in … and watch God’s faithfulness. Father, Your promises are true and there are so many just waiting for me to pray into my life and the lives of others. Thank You for hearing and answering. Great is Your faithfulness! ---Adapted from Prayer with No Intermission by Bill Elliff. This book is available at prayershop.org. Prayer Points Praise “Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.” Thank him for his willingness to leave his heavenly home to live among sinners. Confess any way in which you have been unwilling to sacrifice in order to come alongside those in need. Commit yourself to having the attitude of Jesus (Phil. 2:5-11). Ask God to give you that selfless love. Pray that the presence of Jesus through you will effectively draw an unsaved neighbor to him. Ask God to give you the right actions, words, and love in your community. 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.

TWFYT:

CS:

ODB:

Good Morning Seeking, Listening, Praying Friends of God! Keep knocking. Keep listening and discerning. Keep working on your relationship with God and each other. Pray about a close group of friends that you can partner with to seek, pray, discern, pray some more, listen some more and process with. God is speaking. Are you hearing Him clearly? Are you discerning well or do you need to have some others help you to process. We all need each other in this journey towards Christlikeness. God has some partners just for you and He will speak, lead and guide you as individuals and together better as you continue to seek first His Kingdom and righteousness. Turn off the noise. Refocus. Be still and know, process and go in the strength and blessings of the Lord to live and love like Jesus. Amen! Check out the Upper Room about discussing and discerning and planning around the table. We do this with Family Ministries and our Adult huddles. May God grow this kind of praying and processing. Amen!

God awoke me at 3 am. I tried to resist but by 3:30 realized I needed to get up and spend some extra time in prayer and study. It is now 4 hours later and I think I have discerned how He wants to piece this blog together. (I don't think I could share all I am hearing and processing--it's just too much and would overwhelm you.) BUT He did really grab my heart today and the way He is putting our devotionals together verify and bring clarity to what He wants me to share with you. The rest will be for my continued prayerful consideration. So let me start with the first things He highlighted to me from a study that we don't all have and that is the constant call to die to self, take up cross and follow Jesus. Read and meditate on Mark 8:31-36. What does it mean to follow Jesus to you? How do we do that well? What does He expect? Well it starts with dying to self and crucifying some things. Today for me that meant arising early and spending extra time in prayer and meditation. It meant crucifying my desire to sleep in and my plans to be out the door early this morning being about my agenda. But let me tell you how worth it it is. I am still abiding in this extra close presence of the Lord right now and hearing His voice as I type this. (It's now 5 hours since I got up--God will redeem!) And I expect He will go before me with favor today, redeem this extra time, bring His plans alive and use me well. Do you really want to be a follower of Jesus? What does He say to do? Read it below and talk to Him about that. Process it with some friends too. Jesus asks in V. 37, "Is anything worth more than your soul?" Really think about that. What have you placed above your soul and your relationship with Jesus? In what things are you leaning on your own understanding? Where are you giving God advise, or correcting, like Peter? What does it mean to you that Jesus said if you want to follow Him you need to deny self, die to self, give up your own way? I am praying that I and all of you want to and really work at becoming a true follower of Jesus. My word for this year keeps coming to my mind: earnestness. Help me Lord! Help us to earnestly pursue you, die to self, crucify the things that hinder your working and ways, put on Your yoke and follow Jesus well. Lead us and move us to some accountability, processing partners too. Thanks! Amen! Come! Have all of me!

The rest of our devos thread through what God has been revealing to me this morning. What's He saying to you as you engage with them? Charles Stanley besieges us to choose His Spirit. He talks about crucifying self will and ways and control. You really are not God despite what the world keeps telling you. Choose to walk by His Spirit today. The Word for You Today reminds us to take every thought and action captive before God. I pray this over myself all the time and am chipping away at progressing towards doing that quicker and more often. It's a journey worth the effort as we allow God to change us and our ways and free us to be fully His. Then we wrap up with Our Daily Bread's reminder that people are watching us? Are they seeing Jesus in a good way and being drawn? They ask two important questions at the end that we need to answer. Ask these two questions first: Who is this man Jesus? How has He affected my life? Then process the other questions with some friends: "How does your life reflect God's ways to others? What do you need to change to represent Him better?" Selah (That means take a dramatic pause and allow the previous to penetrate)

That is what God has been talking to me about all morning. I have a lot of work to do yet! Thank God I'm forgiven and being helped to achieve His best for me. Thank God for some close accountability partners. Thank God for grace, which is sufficient and new mercies everyday! We are called to be the aroma of God. To some that's a stench. Don't focus on them. But some will be drawn by that sweet aroma of Jesus living and loving through us. Those are the ones God is preparing for you and you for them. Focus there as you focus on God. Follow earnestly and well, just as you are. He has great plans opening up for you today. Rejoice! I am very interested to hear what God is saying to you and Sarah and I are available to help you get started process. The best is to find some close friends to do that with. I have and continue to thank God for all of you and pray for His Kingdom to come and will to be done in, through and around each of you and us together! Yes Come! Thanks Lord! Your will. Your way. Amen

UR: Chocolate Chip Brownies

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. - Galatians 6:2 (NIV)

Often when I was young, my mom would make her famous chocolate chip brownies, and sometimes we would sit together after school to chat as we ate them.

During high school,

a friend of mine became pregnant at 16. Some of my friends’ mothers were shocked, and I can still recall their words of disapproval. But over a pan of chocolate chip brownies my mom and I talked about ways to help. Mom suggested that we host a baby shower for this expectant mother and invited some friends to our home to plan it. The shower was lovely, and my friend and her mom were teary-eyed and appreciative. I learned, through my mom and her brownies, the importance of adapting to life situations through prayer and not letting discouragement get in the way of finding joy.

As a parent, I have continued the tradition of making chocolate chip brownies, and I enjoy the conversations that crop up at our house as the brownies are served. Reliving memories of discussions from my childhood are treasures that I am blessed to share with those who now gather at our family table.

Today's Prayer

Heavenly Father, help us to show your love to others. We pledge to love them for the sake of the Christ we follow. Amen.Mark 8:31-38...Father, open this Word to us. Holy Spirit come and speak. Amen! What's God saying to you? Maybe write it down, pray about it, and discuss with some friends?

31 Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead. 32 As he talked about this openly with his disciples, Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things.

33 Jesus turned around and looked at his disciples, then reprimanded Peter. “Get away from me, Satan!” he said. “You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

34 Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. 35 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. 36 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?
 37 Is anything worth more than your soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

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TWFYT

ODB:

Good Morning Surrendered, Empowered, Following Friends of Jesus! Amen! May that be me and us Lord! May we surrender, earnestly seek and follow You. Empower us in our weakness to be all in and about Your business Your way. Thank You for hearing our prayers, being with us, molding us and going before us with favor. When we are weak, You are strong and Your grace is sufficient. You are all we need! Come! Fill us and lead us to our purposes today. Mold us, Potter. Send us! Use us for Your glory! Your Kingdom come and will be done. Send me! May we see and follow well, unite in small groups that connect to neighbors and do what we can with what You have provided and to sow lavishly. Thank You! Help us to be in the world but not of it. Forgive us for our Pharisaical, judgmental ways. Purify us that we would be ready when You lead. Give us prepared hearts and willing hands and feet. Thank You. May we become your dynamic movement and the people and gathered group You have made us to be. Yes Come! Be glorified as we learn to live and love like Jesus more in '24. Amen.

I keep seeing all these pharisaical posts about the last supper spoof at the Olympics. First of all I don't have cable or pay much attention to anything on TV. They have their liberal agendas front and center and are very worldly. Why fill your mind with that crap? They do what worldly people do. Should we be appalled or expect anything different? NO! Should we be on the look out for every sin and attack on God like the Pharisees and want to force people to our standards? NO! Jesus said to love--even those who persecute you and to expect hateful attacks. He also reminded His disciples to expect it because they hated and attacked Him and they would continue to laugh at, mock and even persecute His followers. We are called to be different. We are no longer citizens of this worldly kingdom led by Satan. We are missionaries here. Would you travel to a jungle tribe that never heard of Jesus that did ungodly things and point fingers and demand to conform to your ways? No! You'd go, try to connect and help them to come to know God and then help them to embrace God's ways and then to change. Hate for Jesus, His ways and His followers is to be expected. We are to be different. We are to love always and be more like Jesus. He promises to help us. Keep your focus on Him and chose to walk in His ways who loved us while we were enemies. He prayed this for us in John 17: 13-19. What's He saying to you?

13 “Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. 14 I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. 16 They do not belong to this world any more than I do. 17 Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. 18 Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. 19 And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.

Stop the finger pointing! We were once sinners too. But by the grace of God we have been saved. Who do you see Him at work on and how might He want you to go love them and be His hands and feet? Who are you praying for earnestly for God to transform and bless. Stop complaining and go change the world by His love! Yesterday after teaching us about Ephesians 3, Sarah reminded us that God and His ways are a mystery and beyond comprehension. We often think we have it all figured out and surely our ways and preferences have to be His instead of allowing His heart and mind to transform and lead us. He knows those who will come and is at work in uniting them into His Body. It's our time to focus on those people. It's our time and mission to go love and make disciples like Jesus who actually ate and partied with tax collectors and sinners. Sarah asked, "How do you view yourself in the Kingdom?" She reminded us that Paul called himself the vilest of sinners...BUT GOD! God transforms us, our hearts and choices as we die to self and allow Him control. Don't be a noise maker and clanging gong and finger pointer. Instead remember God's grace and love that continues to hang out with sinners like us and mold us to His image. Then go love like Jesus. Turn off the noise. be still, listen and follow His whispers. Allow Him to use you to transform the world around you one soul at a time that He has prepared for you. Thank Him and ask for His help. Keep earnestly praying and following and processing with friends of Jesus. One day, one step of faith at a time with Jesus. That's all God asks and is Jesus' easy yoke for you. Now what will you do about that today? What is the next step the Holy Spirit is stirring you to take? Follow Him and just be and bring love. Sink your roots deep into Love and draw His grace deep into your soul. May we be known as the people who love like Jesus, not the finger pointing Pharisees people of the world think we are and keep trying to trigger. Die to self. Just love! Know peace. Let God work. Follow Jesus! Amen! And know joy! And remember, we cannot do this well on our own. We need God and each other! PTL!

God is calling us to repent. That's admitting we are sinners that fail often, confess, change our thinking and ways. That becomes possible because we have come to Christ and are forgiven. Ask God to give you His eyes. ears, heart, mind, passion and compassion in preparation for His new things for you. Ask Him to purify you and us as His set apart (holy) people and to sanctify and ready you and us to go and love well. You know sometimes it feels like when we play hide and seek and He says, "Ready or not here I come!" May He find us ready!

Charles Stanley talks about repenting and learning to walk more like Jesus. Our Daily Bread reminds us that God is at work and wants to be King of our hearts. Is He? He tells us to not fear and like Mary and Daniel heard, He can say to you, "You are highly esteemed" in God's eyes. He doesn't point fingers. He lovingly receives us as we are and gently corrects. That's our model and example to follow. The Upper Room reminds us that He is with us always, even in the unknown and hard things. Keep trusting Him. Don't lean on your own understanding. The Word for You Today reminds us to keep depending on God. I have prayed to not be called to anything that I can do on my own, that I would need to depend on God. He's gracious to answer that prayer. It can be scary stepping into the unknown in faith. That is required, though, and He promises to be there and to walk with us. He is enough and His grace is sufficient. Amen! 

You are custom made for such a time as this, not to do your own thing your own way. We are called to die to self, follow earnestly and go live and love more like Jesus. How does the Holy Spirit want to help you with that today? William Booth (founder of the Salvation Army) said, "Work as if everything depended upon work and pray as if everything depended upon prayer." Really, that's earnestly pursuing God and for doing His ways earnestly. I am not sure what has changed in me to pursue this earnest living, except that I have earnestly prayed for God to take control of me and help me to earnestly pursue His plans and best for me. I am feeling a change and becoming different from what and how I was. Please continue Lord and sustain me. Would you consider praying that over you and our Body and then taking the next step of faith God is revealing? He has great plans awaiting you to discover as you do. Daylights burning! It's time to get earnest. God is pursuing and preparing this remnant for some awesome things to come--His Kingdom to come and will to be done! Amen!

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ODB:

UR: God in the Unknown

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. - Psalm 73:26 (NIV)

I’m recovering from a strained calf muscle, my second in a few short months. This, along with creaky joints when I get out of bed in the morning and a glimpse in the bathroom mirror, remind me I’m getting older. I sometimes wrestle with aging and the fear of the unknown future. What will become of me if I lose my spouse? What if my body or mind fail and I can no longer care for myself or live in my home?

And then I remember my source of peace and turn to the words that calm my fears: “Even in your old age and gray hairs I . . . will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you: I will sustain you and I will rescue you” (Isa. 46:4). These words help me to settle into God’s loving embrace and to look to the future with more anticipation than dread. I have no need to fear the unknown because God will not abandon me.

Even though I cannot know the future, I feel safe and secure under God’s protection and take comfort in scripture. I know my body will change, but God’s love for me will not. And I look with anticipation and great joy to the end of my earthly journey, when I will meet Jesus face to face. Until then, I will trust in the One who calms all my fears and walks with me through the unknown.

Today's Prayer

Dear heavenly Father, thank you for your promise to be with us through all the days of our lives. Amen.TWFYT:

Harvest

July 29 - Lord of the Sabbath Constantly people looked at Jesus and watched what He and His disciples did. In particular, the Pharisees observed with critical hearts, and challenged Jesus concerning the disciples’ activities on the Sabbath. Why did they break the Sabbath laws? As Jesus taught the Pharisees, let Him also teach us: Mark 2:25-28: “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry—how he entered the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the sacred bread, which is against the law for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to his companions?” … “The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath. For this reason the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”  Mark 3:3-5: So he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Stand up among all these people.” Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath, or evil, to save a life or destroy it?” But they were silent. After looking around at them in anger, grieved by the hardness of their hearts,  he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Lord isn’t legalistic. He established the Sabbath as a time of rest because humanity needs rest. On the Sabbath He wants to bless us, not to confine us. He doesn’t want to keep starving disciples from eating, endangered animals from rescue, or sick or injured people from healing. Yes! You’re Lord of the Sabbath. You’re Lord of everything. I acknowledge and bless You for that. I serve a spectacular God! Lord, I repent for when I’ve behaved in a legalistic fashion. When I’ve applied a godly rule while missing Your intent. Reveal in my life where I might be doing this. I desire to follow Your law congruently with Your heart’s intent. I desire to bring godly tenderness into every situation. I desire to serve You uprightly and according to Your ways, not the ways of humanity. I declare that all my choices will be based on my personal relationship with You. I declare that I will walk uprightly and love You, Lord, with all my heart, soul, and strength, and that I will look at Your Word with the understanding of Your heart. Thank You for opening my eyes to legalistic, ungodly behavior. Thank You for breaking me free from oppressive misunderstandings of Your Word. Thank You for expanding my heart to reflect the fullness of Your heart. Thank You for letting me rest in You. I praise You that You’re a merciful God, operating with the best intentions and practices. I praise You for establishing rest for Your people. I praise You for Your consistency and perfect virtue. I cherish You, Lord. --Adapted from Praying What Jesus Says by Natasha Miller. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount. Prayer Points Praise God that birth and conception are miraculous and a special gift from God. Thank him for planning all your days before you were even born (Ps. 139:16). Confess any dissatisfaction over the gifts and abilities God has given you. Commit yourself to God daily and, like Paul, be content in whatever situation he has placed you (Phil. 4:11). Ask God to bring personal peace as a member of your family. Pray that children in your family circle and among your friends may be blessed with godly parents who are good examples and who discipline them in love (Prov. 22:6). 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.

Good Morning Seeking, Listening, Fruitful Followers of Jesus! AMEN! Pronounce that over you and us in prayer today. Believe it! Live it! God has great plans for you today! Rejoice and follow well!

I gotta fly to my, hopefully, last cardiologist appointment. And I am meet for lunch with some leaders and brothers from Emmaus for lunch to discern what God may have for us together. I covet your prayers for God to speak and lead us.

Check out the thread through our devotionals today. What a reminder! We must always depend on God! As we do and follow well, we will turn the world right side up! We are sent, like Jesus, and with Him in us to love and change and lead people to Truth, Hope and new life. We are made to live a full and fruitful life and that comes available and alive when we come to Christ. How are you living the hyphen? God has plans for you just as you are and for whatever season of life you are in. Listen, receive, process and go love well today! Keep seeking, listening and trusting as you take each step of faith through this day. God is with you and will lead, protect, provide and transform you and situations and people around you. Rejoice, Trust. Listen. Follow well! And know true joy and peace. Amen!

Shalom shalom!

TWFYT

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CS

UR Merciful Lord

If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. - John 8:36 (NIV)

I was resting one morning when my wife called me outside. When I got there, I saw a little bird playing with a string. A while later the bird’s neck became entangled in the string. It was fluttering its wings and trying to get free, but the harder it tried the tighter the string became. When I tried to help the bird, it bit me. Finally, my father held the bird, and I removed the string to free it.

Later as I reflected on this incident, I realized that I, too, make bad choices. When I give in to temptation, everything seems fine at first. But ultimately I find myself in a situation that is nearly impossible to escape. I tend to try to get out of the situation on my own, but eventually I am like the bird, helpless and trapped.

Though all our efforts may fail, Jesus never fails us. When we call on him in prayer, he is always ready to free us from our bondage, be it something from our past, an addiction, or guilt. Only Jesus can save us. If we repent and believe in Christ, he will set us free.

Today's Prayer

Merciful Lord, thank you for coming to deliver us from our sins. Redeem us and renew us so that our lives may be pleasing to you. Amen.Harvest

July 30 - Repentance Unlocks the Kingdom Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit, resisted the temptations of the devil and began His ministry. He spoke His message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matthew 4:17) and began recruiting messengers: “Follow me, and I will turn you into fishers of people!” (Matthew 4:19) Repentance forms a vital part of our relationship with God. It unlocks access to the Kingdom of Heaven, to intimacy with the Almighty. Without repentance, we remain ignorant observers of the King and His kingdom. With repentance, we can engage the King and His kingdom. When engaging in repentance, belief and faith overcome the soul and we remain not only followers of Jesus, but messengers powered to turn others into followers, too. Lord, I value my relationship with You above all other living beings and things. I desire full alignment with You, Your will, and Your ways. I repent generally for all my known and unknown sins, and I believe over time, You will specifically show me what I’ve done, said, or thought that’s wicked or displeasing in Your sight. At the point of Your revelations, I will repent specifically.   I declare over myself that I’m quick to repent, and my life reflects the fruit of repentance. I thank You for the gift of repentance and for every opportunity I can repent. As a lover and follower of You, I desire to share the Good News of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. I desire my life to reflect Your kingdom and to build Your kingdom. I repent for any time I resisted Your nudge to share the truth about who You are. I recognize that You, Jesus, are my Lord and Savior. Lord, I declare I want to follow You in every aspect of my life. Thank You for the grace and mercy You unconditionally extend to me. I’m excited that You will teach me how to capture people for the Kingdom of Heaven. I praise You that I will be fearless. I praise You that I will be strengthened to love others as myself. I praise You that for all my days I will love You with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. --Adapted from Praying What Jesus Says by Natasha Miller. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount. Prayer Points Praise “God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.” Thank him for being your Father through Christ Jesus. Confess tendencies to act like a spiritual orphan. Commit yourself to more consistently remembering the responsibilities and privileges of being God’s child. Ask him to help you bring honor to the family name. Pray that your local congregation will bring pleasure to the Father through its weekly worship times. Ask God to help all members and regular attendees act with true family love toward one another. 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.

Rise! Shine! Give God the Glory! Rise up in praise this morning! Go out and shine bright! And give God control and the glory in all you think, say and do and that will lead to more praise, shinning and glory for Him! Amen! That is being part of His dynamic movement.

Good Morning Worshiping, Dynamic Movers of God! Yes PTL! He is on the throne and in control. He has great plans for you and us even in all this chaos. Let go of your strangleholds, turn off the noise, focus on Him, sink your roots deep and chose joy.

What strangleholds, tough circumstances, chaos, noise, and consequences are overwhelming you and keeping you from drawing closer to God, more trust, His plans for you, and the new things He is about to do that have already begun? What will you do about it? Be still and know He is God. Stop looking in the rearview mirror of your past and the way things were. You are a new creation in Christ! PTL! You were one way and now another and you keep morphing into your new nature and more of the image of God. Build on the strengths of the past and follow God to the new things He has for you and us, things He planned long ago and custom made you to do and gathered us to accomplish. 

Check out the UR about allowing God to transform you, your thinking and ways as He leads you step by step forward to His new things. Think about ODB reminder of transforming worship. Turn off the noise and tune into God with much praise and worship. Allow that to overflow to your choices as God continues to lead you from glory to glory and His next steps and new things. Keep worshiping and He will give you more and more to praise. Charles Stanley reminds us to examine our hearts and surrender them to God. Cover each other for protection and pray for open hearts and minds to see weaknesses and correct. Join with some accountability partners to help you see the blind spots, cover you in prayer and help you to correct. Ask God to examine your heart and give you the mindset to change your thinking and ways. And follow the advice from The Word for You Today to honor God's healthy rhythm of working from rest. Be still, recharge and know that He is God and then follow Him to His new things refreshed and ready to produce good fruit. Sink your roots deep and dwell in and then release His Living Water!

God has some great plans for you and us! PTL! He is not content to allow us to remain the way we are. He wants to lead us to His plans, new things and best for us! PTL! He wants us to chose Him, His ways, healthy rhythms and produce good fruit. He is with us and working all things together for good. Turn of the noise! (Like the news and Olympics and political chaos--what can you do about this fallen world anyway--give God your anxiety!) Be still, reload, refocus, renew your thinking and follow Him to His new things for you today and worship! Amen!

Have a worshipful and wonderful day! Rejoice! reload! Follow well, dynamic movers!

Upper Room: Freedom Rose

The Lord said, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” - Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)

Upon my release from prison, I took a clipping from a rose bush my dad had planted and potted it. This grew into my “freedom rose.” For almost three years it grew nicely with sunlight and very little attention. One day, I decided to re-pot it. I carefully trimmed the roots and placed the plant into new soil, but it eventually died. My freedom rose was gone.

I wondered if the death of this plant was God’s letting me know it was okay to let go of my past. As I pondered that, I was reminded of the Israelites and their journey through the desert to the Promised Land. During that time, God told them to forget the former things because he was making a new way in the desert for them.

God still makes a new way for us today, no matter our situation. In order to follow God’s path for our lives, we need not dwell on the past but focus our attention on the future.

Today's Prayer

Dear God, give us the wisdom to see the new things you are doing in our lives. Amen.ODB:

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TWFYT:

Harvest prayer Starters

July 28 - Extraordinary Prayer Jonathan Edwards was perhaps the greatest theologian America has ever produced. He was a brilliant but also a deeply spiritual and passionate pastor and leader. He is the principal name associated with the First Great Awakening that began around 1735. He stood in the revival fire of God’s movement in which 15% of the nation came to faith in Christ.   When the revival began to wane, Edwards wrote a small, but vitally important book in 1746. This book framed much of the religious thinking in America for the next 100 years. The title is telling, as was often the case in his day.   “An Humble Attempt to Promote Explicit Agreement and Visible Union Among God’s People in Extraordinary Prayer for the Revival of Religion and the Advancement of Christ’s Kingdom on Earth, Pursuant to Scripture-Promises and Prophecies Concerning the Last Time.”   The great revival historian, J. Edwin Orr, said that to read the title was to have read the book! Each word must have been chosen with prayerful precision by Edwards and are worth examination, particularly since they were written by such a great theologian who had experienced a nationwide revival in his day.   “An Humble Attempt To Promote” Edwards was seeing the wane of revival fires. His book was an attempt (just like this book) to awaken people to what was happening—the spiritual emergency—and rouse them to action.   “Explicit Agreement” One man might say, “This is the problem in our nation,” while another cries, “No, it is something else.” Edwards believed that to ignite a movement that would move the heart of God, there must be agreement about the problem and solution. Edwards believed the problem was (and is today) that people had forgotten God and wandered from Him. And the solution was an outpouring of revival and awakening.   “And Visible Union” Edwards knew that something extraordinary happens when people are united. Throughout the Bible there are multiple phrases or its equivalent like this: “And all the people cried out.” Each time there was such desperation that led to a united cry, God heard and answered. A.T. Pierson was right when he said, ““There has never been a spiritual awakening in any country or locality that did not begin in united prayer.”   “Among God’s People” It is to His children that God directs the commands to pray for revival, for only these understand and are spiritually capable to do so. This is why the great promise of 2 Chronicles 7:14 begins with a conditional phrase:    If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.   “In Extraordinary Prayer for the Revival of Religion and the Advancement of Christ’s Kingdom on Earth” What was the means that Edwards believed would usher in revival and awakening? Was it a fresh program? A new or novel idea? A united campaign? A catchy method? What does God call for in times of national, spiritual emergency? Edwards knew through Biblical understanding and practical experience that there was one thing we must do: we must pray and pray in an extraordinary way.               Lord, teach us to humble ourselves and pray!   ---Adapted from Simply Prayer by Bill Elliff. This book is available at prayershop.org. Prayer Points Praise God for his compelling love (2 Cor. 5:14). Give thanks for that love that holds us as in a vice, never letting go (Jer. 31:3). Confess those times when you fight against God’s love, wanting to go your own way or seek glory for yourself instead of for him. Commit yourself to being comfortable in that “love grip” of God so that you willingly live for him, serving him gladly (Prov. 3:3-6). Ask God to give you a greater appreciation of his eternal blessings and to be glad with the joy of his presence (Ps. 21:6). Pray that God’s compelling love may keep believers from fear and lead them on in the daily work of ministry “in Jerusalem, and Judea . . . and to the ends of the earth” (Joel 2:21-27; Acts 1:8). 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.

Good Morning Love and Joy Incarnate! Huh? God is Love! Jesus is the Joy of our salvation. Love lives in us when we come to faith. Joy is a choice that becomes available as we choose to trust Jesus and not lean on our own understanding. It is a choice that is available because we trust Jesus no matter what. Jesus sends us to love as He loves us. That's agape, sacrificial, dying to self kind of love. That command is fulfilled as we actually go love like Jesus. That is incarnating His love. Today's devotionals are about Love and incarnating it as we go, love, serve, and bless from what we've been given, just as we are. God so loves you that He calls you by name and created you in His image to love as He has loved you, to bless as He has blessed you, and to grow more like Him as you do. That is the mission journey our church is on--living and loving more like Jesus and doing More in '24 as we continue to become like Jesus more in '24 and do His will more in '24. What's He encouraging you to do today to be and to incarnate love, healing, hope and joy? Offer yourself and what you've been blessed with, even your circumstances (good or bad) to God to be used for His glory and to bring His love alive. He does have some great plans just for you, just as you are for today and throughout this life. PTL! Go! Live and love like Jesus more in '24, even today! Amen! There is no fear in love. Love drives out our fear! As we dwell in God's love, He encourages, sends and delivers us from fear and evil. He corrects in love too--always. Listen to the voice of love. We are the Bride of Christ and love abounds and overflows. However, just like in marriage, we need to be all in and invest in our relationships. How are you investing in your relationship with Love, your marriage and friendships, our fellowship and in incarnating love to all you encounter. That's what God revealed to me to share today. What's he saying to you and what will you do about it, incarnater of Jesus and His love? May His love overwhelm and overflow you and us! Earnestly dwell in and incarnate His love today--always. Amen! Ask God to help you to seek and know Him and His voice and to follow and bring Him alive wherever you go today. he does have some great plans for you today! Amen! Know Love and bring it alive more in '24!

ODB:

UR: Serving Without Fear

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. - 1 John 4:18 (NIV)

I was on a 24-hour train ride and decided to use the time for prayer. Despite the large number of people around, I managed to focus my thoughts by putting on my headphones, turning on some worship music, and closing my eyes. As I prayed, I heard the voice of God clearly saying one phrase that I will never forget: “Do not be afraid, child.” To my surprise, I responded, “I’m not afraid of anything. I am ready to follow you at any cost.” But as I continued to contemplate the meaning of those words, my eyes filled with tears. I realized that God had spoken to the very depths of my spirit, knowing all my problems and fears. I had been afraid of not living up to God’s expectations, of making mistakes as I tried to live in obedience to God.

As I have matured in my faith, I now know what it means to serve God out of love, not out of fear. I have tried to stop feeling unworthy. When I make mistakes, I find it easier to repent because I know God will forgive me, not reject or punish me. As a result, by relying on God’s love I have gained more energy, more joy, and have been able to serve God and God’s people much more effectively!

Today's Prayer

Dear God, help us to experience your love, which drives out our fear. Teach us to serve you joyfully. Amen.

CS:

TWFYT

Harvest:

July 27 - Following the Voice of Christ Author Marilyn Heavilin offers five principles to remember as we seek to discern what words are God’s and what words are not: 1. Christ convicts; Satan condemns. Is the voice you are hearing condemning or simply lovingly convicting? “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Satan is the “accuser of [the] brethren” (Revelation 12:10, kjv). Heavilin writes, “When I hear the voice of condemnation, I try to remind myself that God loathes sin but loves me and would never declare me worthless. Then I give my favorite order to Satan: ‘Scram!’ It works every time.” 2. Christ clarifies; Satan confuses. Satan will try to confuse us with the world’s philosophy. He will try to twist Scripture: “That can’t really be what God is saying.” Our protection will be to seek God and to spend time in His Word. Heavilin advises, “Pray that [God] will give [you] a sound mind and protect [you] from confusion as [you] listen for His voice. 3. Christ confirms; Satan contradicts. God never contradicts His Word, the Bible. “Satan, however,” says Heavilin, “will arrange circumstances to look like we are experiencing divine intervention in an attempt to blind us to contradictions to God’s truth.” 4. Christ chooses; Satan captures. Satan delights in tripping us. When he comes to us, he will put subtle thoughts into our hearts that it is okay to do something we know is contrary to God’s Word. Christ chose us with no strings attached. His voice will be loving, pointing us to the truth. 5. Christ compels; Satan constricts. God’s voice will be constantly moving us forward, taking us deeper into our relationship with Him. It will compel us to seek truth. Satan’s voice will constantly put rebellious thoughts into our hearts: Is that what God really said? Again, how do we discern God’s voice? Spend time with Him in prayer and reading His Word. Lord Jesus Christ, thank You for Your loving conviction when Satan wants to condemn me! Thank You for giving me clarity when Satan wants to confuse me and twist Your words. Thank You for always confirming Your truth when Satan tries to contradict it. Thank You for always choosing me and loving me when Satan just wants to cause me to stumble. Thank You that I can always trust You to draw me closer and lead me more intimately into Your ways when Satan wants me to doubt Your goodness. Keep my focus upon Your beautiful face, Lord, so that I am not tempted to follow any voice that isn’t Yours. --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. Prayer Points Praise God, who teaches you to pray “not as I will, but as you will” (Mt. 26:39). Thank God for his counsel as you set the Lord always before you, thus keeping you from being shaken in any circumstance (Ps. 16:7-8). Confess your struggle with God’s will when you are tempted to fail him as you see the world prospering (Ps. 73:1-22). Commit yourself to God anew today, knowing he holds you with his right hand, guides and counsels you, and will take you to glory (73:23-28). Ask the Lord for the assurance that whenever you come to him, he will never drive you away (Jn. 6:37). Pray that God’s kingdom will be advanced by your willingness to do whatever God may require of you and to do it joyfully (Acts 21:13-14). 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.