Thank God I'm Forgiven! That takes on an extra special significance on this Good Friday. Meditate on that today as you begin your quiet time and worship in Spirit and Truth. Come back to this often today as you remember and worship.

Good Morning Saved-By-Faith, Loved, Forgiven, Redeemed of the Lord! Thank You Jesus! Amen!

Good Friday is always a day where I seem to be extra still, extra thankful, more contemplative as I remember the love of God and the beating and sacrifice of Jesus that my sin caused. Forgive me! Cleanse me! Restore me! Thank You Lord! 

The crushing heaviness is almost overwhelming as I remember and meditate. Then my thoughts go to what the disciples and followers must have been experiencing right now as they have betrayed, denied, run away, hid, were confused and as some stood by and watched Jesus die on that cruel cross. Father, forgive me! Thank You for Your love! Jesus, words cannot covey the heaviness and gratitude of You standing in and dying in my place! I love You! Help me to die to self, take up cross daily and lay down my sin and my life as I follow You. Thank You! Amen! "It is finished"!

I've been sitting here in worship, prayer, meditation and stillness for almost three hours. What blessings we know as we dwell in Christ's loving presence and what blessings we know lie ahead for us who are saved by grace! Amazing love has been poured out in red just for you! Jesus is looking into your heart right now saying, "Come! I did this for you!"

 I am just going to attach our devos for today and give you space to remember and worship today. Thank God I'm Forgiven! What extravagant, lavish, expensive love God has shown you! Meditate on that today and just worship...

Charles Stanley:

Our Daily Bread:

Upper Room: Good Friday

The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” - 1 Corinthians 11:23-24 (NIV)

I awoke on Good Friday thinking of the introduction to our church’s Communion services: “On the night he was betrayed . . .” During Communion and Good Friday services, Christians tend to focus on the physical pain Jesus experienced during his trial and crucifixion, sometimes forgetting the excruciating emotional pain he endured.

For three years, Jesus had loved and taught his disciples. Yet they turned away after his arrest, as did many others who had once applauded him. (See Mk. 14:43–15:15.) Those following Jesus betrayed him for different reasons — Judas disclosed Jesus’ location for 30 pieces of silver; Peter denied him out of fear; the crowd chose instead to release a rebel insurrectionist named Barabbas. Betrayal can come in many forms and for various reasons, but it is always emotionally painful. Those who have experienced betrayal know the deep emotional wounds it causes.

During Communion services, we are reminded of the betrayal Jesus experienced. These services offer us time to think about those who betrayed Jesus and the significance of Jesus’ body and blood being sacrificed for those very people. Jesus’ death reminds us that we are all called to love our betrayers as Jesus loved his.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Lord Jesus, help us to follow your example and extend forgiveness and love toward those who have wounded us emotionally. Amen.The Word for You Today:

Harvest Prayer Prayer starters:

Good Morning Reconciled, United, Gifted, Loving Servants of God! Oh yes we are! PTL! And we are growing more fruitful in our pursuit of this salutation. Pray it. Pronounce it in faith over you, our Body and those we partner with in ministry. God hears and answers those prayers and we are seeing the fruit of that bud and grow, even as we serve bread today and gather tonight as His extended Body of believers to eat, fellowship, study and pray. Join us at 6 and bring a friend. We will celebrate communion tonight as well as Sunday.

God awoke me very, very early this morning (1:30) and after laying in bed praising and praying for an hour, I decided to come join Him for some quiet time in my prayer closet. What a beautiful time we have had together! Thanks Lord! A lot is heavy on my heart, as is typical this week before the crucifixion. There is so much to prepare and do as well. I feel like Martin Luther who wrote, "I have so much to do today that I needed to get up three hours early to pray and prepare with the Lord." (My paraphrase) I laid in bed wondering how God will sustain me for what will be about 20 hours? But I know He can and does sometimes. He may allow a nap after my 6 am huddle and before I need to head to church at 9. No matter! He is my Lord and I asked Him to be my Lord and Shepherd today and I know He will work all things together according to His plans and sustain and take care of and use me as well. Thanks Lord Come! Write the rest of this blog too. What do you want to share today with our friends? Come! Amen

The salutation above came from our devos. We are, "Reconciled, United, Gifted, Loving Servants of God!" Amen! I always invite God to write these blogs. I try to order our devos how I think He is threading them together and share some of my journal notes. Today's salutation is not in the order that I had them, but seems to be God's order as He speaks to us. Let's see what He is saying to you.

Let's start with "reconciled" through Charles Stanley's "God's Purpose for Your Life" daily devo for today. (below) This whole week is about God fixing the sin issue Adam and Eve ushered in. We are all born sinners, yet God, who is pure and holy and can have no sin or unrighteousness around Him, created us to be in fellowship with Him forever. So, because He loves us so much (John 3:16-17), He sent His Son, Jesus, to die in our place and atone for our sin and now offers us the opportunity to choose to be washed white as snow in the blood of Jesus and be with Him forever. PTL! Just meditate on that a bit today. What love! No matter how much we fail, mess up or sin, we can receive forgiveness and help to repent and get back on track with God. What Good News!

Really spend some time with the Harvest Prayer Connection blog for today. meditate and pray through it for us as Christ's unified Body. God has called us together and placed us in Emmaus for such a time as this. We all have a part to play in His Good News Delivery Co. All parts matter and are of equal importance even if it doesn't seem it or in spite of if you feel useful or not. You matter. Your were created, gifted and placed here to do your part. Let us pray for, encourage and help each other to God's best for each other and as His Body! Amen!

Our Daily Bread speaks into being a fruitful believer. Check out the Mark Passage we will be discussing tonight. Mark 11:12-20 is about Jesus heading into town during this week and cursing the fruitless fig tree. The fig tree often represented Israel and God's people. Think about the heavy burden Jesus was carrying as He neared the day of the cross. Think about how He wept over Jerusalem because the people had gone astray and wandered from God and His ways. Jesus almost seems angry as He curses the tree. It cuts me to the heart to think that He could look at me or the Body I help lead and see fruitlessness. Pray it is never so. PLEASE! And pray to always produce the fruit you are created to produce--good, abundant, lasting fruit. ODB questions, "What fruit do others see in you?" and "How might you be more fruitful?" We always need to be examining ourselves and our ministries and sowing into and pouring ourselves into what God is doing, as we are created and gifted. You are custom made and gifted and gathered here for such a time as this. May we always keep working at being fruitful and multiplying disciples of Jesus!

Being fruitful and multiplying disciples begins with and is built on love as The Word for You Today reminds us. We are friends and family in Christ commanded to and living out the Greatest Commandments--love God, each other, self and others like Jesus. Amen! Thanks Lord! May we always be known for our love and for sharing your love well. Amen! TWFYT sorta speaks into the importance of small group accountability and deep, knowing-each-other-intimately, love. What kind of friend are you? Jesus is a friend of sinners. PTL! He loves us so much that He can't leave us as we are. He sent His Spirit to us to help us be transformed into His image which includes living and loving more and more like Him. Who knows you deeply and loves you well like Jesus? Who do you know and love like that? Talk to God about becoming more intentional, more earnest at loving like Jesus always as you follow Him with some close friends.

And that leads us to he Upper Room's reminder that we are servants of God. How are you/we doing at that? They use our Eph. 2:10 passage we are using as a cornerstone for our fellowship and growth: "You are God's masterpiece, made new in Christ to do all God has planned for you." (My paraphrase). Embrace and meditate on the UR today. Our Bread and clothing servants come to mind. Thank YOU! You represent God and us well and are a model for how several churches can come together to serve! Jesus is our leader and our goal is to live, love, and serve more like Him. But here's the best part, you all have a part custom made for you, just as you are according to your life circumstances. PTL! Right? The pressure is off. Just be you doing what you are made to do with Jesus help, Holy Spirit gifts and power, according to where you are in life. It's such a sweet spot to be in as you embrace who you are in Christ and don His easy yoke. He has great plans for you today and in the years ahead. He has the same for our Body! PTL! Pray for Him to continue to draw new servants, equip and use us well to build each other up and serve those He is sending. Amen!

We are: Reconciled, United, Gifted, Loving Servants of God! PTL! What's God saying to you today and who are you processing with? He loves you beyond measure and has some amazing things to discover and do today. Rejoice! Worship! Pray! Process well! And don that easy yoke as you follow Jesus! Amen! and shalom!

CS:

Harvest Prayer's Daily Connection Devotional:

ODB:

TWFYT:

UR: A Servant of God

We are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we may walk in them. - Ephesians 2:10 (NRSVUE)

I spent many years as a volunteer for a local food program. Each day, we delivered hot meals to folks who were unable to leave home to get their own food. We got to know the people we delivered to quite well, and we always arranged our schedule so that we could spend a few minutes visiting with each person.

One day, a woman to whom I was delivering food told me, “You are truly a servant of God.” I was stunned. I had considered myself a volunteer and nothing more. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I was doing what the Lord asked his followers to do — spending time serving others.

There are many ways to serve God. We help make our world a better place when we live God’s words and do God’s work. Not only do we transform the lives of others but we transform our own lives as well. People often strive to serve and imitate good leaders, and in the Lord we have the best leader of all. We should always try to serve the Lord well.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Dear God, thank you for equipping us and using us to build up others. Guide us to imitate you in all that we do. Amen.

Happenings:

Zoom Blog at 10 today. All welcome

Family Ministry/Adult Huddle with dinner 6pm tomorrow. All welcome as we discuss the events of this week and receive the Lord's Supper together.

Sun 10 am Festive Resurrection Sunday Family Worship with Communion. Live and on Zoom. Bring some friends! Come as you are!

Good Morning Fiends of Jesus! How's that relationship going? Are you working on really connecting to Him and enjoying hanging out? It is the most blessed place to sit at His feet. Make some time for that as a daily priority. He wants to be your friend and to hang out with you all the time!

Our devos today are kinda all over the place. I'll allow you to use whatever you use for your own personal time with Jesus today. Maybe you even finished already and are about your daily routine. Don't forget to include your Friend in all you do today and watch for where he wants you to join Him. ODB reminds us of the basics of knowing Scripture and spending time with Jesus as we work on growing in faith and like Him. The UR reminds us that He is with us all the time. He promises to never leave nor forsake you! Amen! Contemplate the Harvest Prayer blog as you finish your quiet time in prayer. Shalom!

ODB:

UR: God Goes with You

Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. - Deuteronomy 31:6 (NRSVUE)

“Where did all the days go?” I wondered aloud as I stared at my planner. As a soon-to-be mom with only a month left before my expected due date, I was growing more anxious each day. I had so many things I had not yet prepared. Our finances were tight, which made me all the more intimidated about our new responsibilities and our future hospital bill. On top of that, I had never taken care of a baby before. An incredible sense of insecurity and helplessness crept into my heart. I felt overwhelmed with feelings of inadequacy.

My husband heard my question and came to me. He embraced me and patted my back to comfort me. He read something from my planner that I had written a few weeks back: “Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you.”

I have known this verse for so long that at times I have felt extremely casual toward it. However, in that moment of great fear, it consoled me. It was as if my heavenly Father had come to hold me and remind me in that exact moment: “I go with you.” I no longer needed to live in dread of my insecurities.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Loving Father, thank you that you will never leave us or forsake us. Help us to live in this truth daily. Amen.Harvest Prayer Blog:

Kim's Blog:

8 Scriptural Prayer Practices to Engage God

By Kim Butts

Over the past several years, God has been stretching my creativity and my imagination in prayer. It has been such a refreshing season of growth for me, as I am one who, in the past, tended to get stuck in comfortable ruts.Like many of us, I grew up praying with my head bowed, eyes closed and hands folded in my lap. I was often told that this posture came about as an effective way to keep children from doing what they shouldn’t  do during prayer time. The practice continued into my adulthood, as I was never taught another way. Even in worship services, it is common to hear the admonition to “close your eyes and bow your heads” as we are led in prayer.

As I studied the Bible, I discovered multiple examples for utilizing our bodies and our voices in prayer. This started a rich practice of utilizing the numerous ways God’s people in Scripture and throughout the ages sought and responded to Him in prayer and intercession.

I highly recommend letting the Holy Spirit speak to your heart and guide you (and/or your family, small group, etc.) into what may seem unusual or strange to you at first, but which may give your prayer lives fresh life! Following each, I will give you one or two suggestions for utilizing the practice.

1. Bowing Your Head or Body

Bowing heads or bodies shows reverence and submission to God as an act of worship– Genesis 24:26-27 (Abraham’s servant bowed low in worship to God when his very specific prayer had been answered); Exodus 34:8-9 (Moses bowed his body toward the earth and made his request before God).

Consider putting on some worship music and bowing before the Lord as an act of reverence before Him. Consider a prayer request that is close to your heart and offer it to God in this posture. See if this position brings your prayer to a different level as you consider the God on the other end of your prayer.

2. Kneel

Kneeling has always been a universal sign of submission and obedience – Daniel 6:10 (Daniel knelt three times a day, praying and giving thanks); Luke 22:39-44; Matthew 15:25; 2 Chronicles 6:12-14.

Pray for your unsaved family and friends as you kneel before the Lord. If you feel led to, spread your hands toward heaven, as King Solomon did.

3. Raise Hands

Raising or spreading out our hands as a sign of both praise and petition – (The Hebrews used their hands to show their dependence upon God and their respect for Him. Lifting up holy hands was the common prayer posture among the Jews and the early Christians. Lifting their hands symbolized an expectant attitude and trust in God–that He would fill their empty hands with His blessings) Exodus 9:29; Exodus 17:10-13; 1 Kings 8:54-55; Psalm 63:4; Psalm 141:2; 1 Timothy 2:8.

Pray for the leaders of your nation, your state, and your community. Lift up holy hands as you do. Pray that God will give them wisdom and discernment. Pray for their health and protection. Pray for their families.

4. Stand

Standing is a sign of reverence and respect – 1 Chronicles 23:28-31 (The Levites were instructed to stand every morning and evening to praise the Lord); 2 Chronicles 20:2-9; Luke 18:9-14.

Stand alone or with others and give praise to God. Take turns thanking Him for all of the blessings He has brought into your lives. If you want, say short sentence prayers like this: “Lord, I praise You for_____.”

5. Lie Prostrate

Lying prostrate before the Lord – This is a position taken in times of deep, intense, emotional prayer. There is no more humble position than this one. Deuteronomy 9:18-20, 25-27 (Moses lay prostrate before God for 40 days and nights); 1 Chronicles 21:16-17; Matthew 26:39.

Think of some deeply important needs–your own or someone else’s. Perhaps someone is struggling with a life-threatening disease or some kind of life crisis. Perhaps sin has been weighing you down–this would be an appropriate position in which to confess and ask the Lord for forgiveness. Or maybe you need to ask God something very important. Come before the Lord on behalf of these requests, and lie face down before the Lord. You can pray quietly by yourself or pray out loud with others.

6. Look Up

Looking up – (Jesus looked up when He gave thanks for the loaves and fish) Mark 6:39-44.

As you give thanks for a meal, look up to heaven as you do. Spend time thanking the Lord for the way He has provided everything you need–your food, your clothing, your housing. Look toward heaven when you pray.

7. Pray Quietly

Spend some time praying quietly. – 1 Samuel 1:9-18 (Hannah prayed quietly before the Lord).

God is perfectly capable of hearing our thoughts when we pray silently. There are times when praying in this way is very appropriate. We need to learn as an individual or a family to be comfortable with silence, because out of silence the Lord often speaks very clearly.

Spend some time in silent prayer. Ask the Father to speak to your heart. If you have trouble concentrating, picture Jesus in your mind and concentrate on Him.

8. Shout

Shout your praise to the Lord – Psalm 66:1-4 (The director of music was directed to shout for joy before the Lord in this psalm.) Psalms 71:23; 95:1; 98:4-6. It is certainly appropriate to cry out to the Lord in times of desperate prayer. It is also appropriate to raise our voices in praise!

Try praising God in a loud voice, saying Acts 4:24: “Sovereign Lord . . . You made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.”

Conclusion

It is important to learn that if we seek the Lord, He will be found by us (1 Chronicles 28:9). It is also important to know that our Heavenly Father rewards those who seek Him in faith: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). Model this passage: “Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. Look to the LORD and His strength; seek His face always” (1 Chronicles 16:10-11).

–Kim Butts is the co-founder of Harvest Prayer Ministries.

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday worship at 10 am live in person and on Zoom. We will receive new members during this service (Don't for get your rocks!). After worship, join us for brunch in the Fellowship Hall! All welcome! Invite a friend!

Good Morning Peace-Bringing, Extravagant-Loving, Powerful Disciples and Apostles of Jesus! That is our Church and that flows from prayer, relationship, time in God's, and processing with teammates. Pronounce this salutation over you and us in prayer and out loud. We are students and sent ones of Jesus. We are sent to incarnate, bring alive, and distribute His peace, love, Good News, hope and help and we are doing so already! PTL! And He has so much more for us as we learn, discern and follow Him! Pray into that! What's your part, distributor? Where does He want to use you as you go about your daily routine? Where has He sent you to be more intentional in your distributing? How does He want to bring to you and then incarnate through you His peace, love, and Good News? He is our power source and He has some great things ahead for you and us today and this year as we earnestly seek to become more in '24 and be used more powerfully. Amen!

Check out our devos below and process them with God and some friends and then go and live and love more like Jesus today! He is with you! Amen! Invite Him to be your Lord today.

Harvest Prayer Blog:

ODB:

UR: Our Source of Power

The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. - Matthew 4:16 (NIV)

It is six o’clock on a cold winter morning, and I am in darkness. The power will be off for more than two hours, as our national power grid is no longer sufficient to supply the needs of our population. To eke out and share the available power, we have rotational power outages known as “rolling blackouts” or “load-shedding.”

But the world outside is not completely dark. In the street, the bright lights of cars move boldly through the darkness. These vehicles carry within themselves a power source that constantly regenerates.

I liken these vehicles to faithful Christians, who relentlessly move forward in an often dark world. When the power of the world is no longer sufficient to sustain us, we have a continuous and never-failing power source available to us — the light of Christ. We carry Christ’s love within ourselves and regenerate it through studying scripture, worshiping, and loving others even as we move forward in the darkness.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Source of Light, we praise you and thank you for all the beacons that you place along our path to direct us and lead us to your never-failing light and love. Amen.TWFYT:

Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna!

Worship at 10 with Children's Church followed by brunch. All welcome!!!

(Wagner's update below)

Good Morning Worshiping, Trusting, Followers of Jesus! Who is this man to you? How has following Him changed your life? Will you follow Him always, even through the promised hard times? We will discuss today the examples and lessons of the disciples of Jesus this crazy, up-and-down week and beyond of trusting and following Jesus always. Come and see! Shout hosanna with welcoming, trusting always hearts! Hosanna! Get those palm branches ready!

Check out our devos below describing following our King always. He came lowly on the colt of a donkey but will come back on a mighty war horse. He's always doing the unexpected and the followers are about to experience the craziness and confusion of their King, the Messiah, doing very unexpected things--things beyond the imagination or wheel house of all who were gathered in Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. Our Passover Lamb has come. Hosanna! The time is right. the History of the universe was about to be changed forever. Come and see! Will you trust and follow Him always?

UR: Palm Sunday

They took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord — the King of Israel!” - John 12:13 (NRSVUE)

Soon after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, a crowd of excited people followed him to Jerusalem. As Jesus rode in on a donkey, I wonder if Lazarus walked along with the crowd, waving palm branches to signify that Jesus was a great deliverer. I imagine that first Palm Sunday would have been personal for Lazarus as he walked with and worshiped his friend and hero who had just given him new life.

Easter is my favorite holiday because it reminds me of how I once moved from death to life. When I first prayed asking Jesus to forgive my sins and come into my life, I had a momentary sensation of warm oil pouring over my head. I felt inner peace, as if I had just walked out of a tomb, and I began to hunger for more, reading scripture as if it were God’s personal letter to me.

We all can welcome Jesus’ entry into our lives every day. He is our Lord and Savior, our personal deliverer, who conquered death and called each of us out of a tomb. We can trust in him each day to deliver us, bring peace to our minds, and lead us to an abundant life.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Dear Jesus, we welcome you into our lives today. Thank you for giving us victory over sin and death. Amen.

ODB:

Chas. Stanley:

Harvest Prayer Blog and prayer starters:

Wagner's update:

Greetings Friends,  We’re thankful for your prayers which filled our hearts with peace and encouragement going into Brian’s heart repair on Thursday. The procedure went smoothly without complications even though the hole was larger than anticipated. Give thanks to God with us for His protection over Brian’s health over so many years as we were completely unaware of this defect. Brian is feeling great with little to no discomfort from the procedure. His resting heart rate is no longer registering low when sitting and is remaining steady. This is what originally prompted questions at his routine physical back in November. Brian will have several follow-up appointments over the next months. We’d be grateful for your continued prayers. “O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name!” I Chronicles 29:13 RVA Staffing Update: The choice to serve at RVA, is the choice to serve strategically as a teacher, dorm parent, nurse, maintenance supervisor, administrator, office staff, and more(!), enabling missionaries to make Christ known among Africa’s remaining unreached peoples, knowing their children are being taught and discipled well. There are still a few critical needs for the 2024-2025 school year. Dorms: High School girls (G9/10), High School boys (G9/10), Elementary girls (G5/6) Teachers:Elementary teachers (G4 and G5), Academic Support Coordinator, Spanish teacher, PE teacher   Other: HS Principal, Elementary Principal, College & Career Coordinator, Student Travel, Child Safety team member Learn more here: https://us.aimint.org/serve/rva Check out our website for previous updates and more resources, including our upcoming travel schedule. We would love to connect.  Thanks for your prayers! We appreciate YOU! Brian & Missy

Good Morning Powerfully Praying, Standing or the Word, Springs of Living Water of Yahweh Jireh! This salutation comes right from our threaded together devotionals from this morning (below). These thread through things we have been studying for awhile as well as our discussions at huddle last evening as God quilts us and our ministries into His masterpiece and we work on becoming, living and loving more like Jesus. Do you see it? What's God saying to you? Who are you processing with? What plans of God will you release in prayer as you stand on God's Word, refresh others and bring new life, hope, help and love that come from an overflowing relationship with our God who is enough--our Provider? Be still a bit and know. Listen, receive, process, release and enact His plans!

What's the threads? May be different for you. Process that with some others. This is what God revealed to me this morning:

The prayers of a righteous person are powerful and effective. Because of our faith in Christ we are considered righteous in God's eyes. PTL! So, our prayers are powerful and effective. They release God's power and will on heaven and earth. And they change us too. Nothing like time sitting at God's feet listening and praying to transform us and for releasing His will and power. Even when it feels like He is not answering, we need to remember He always does. Sometimes He says "yes", 'no', or "not yet". We are commanded to pray continually. Why? because God is always at work, wants to use us and the situations around us, and even change us or redirect us through our prayers and what He is doing. Prayer and time in God's Word, even praying Scripture, helps us to stand firm, defeat the enemy, be filled with wisdom and to direct our steps. Check out TWFYT and all the promises from Scripture to pray through and meditate upon. We are (or can be) powerfully praying, standing on God's Words servants of Yahweh. PTL!

As we are transformed and build on prayer and Bible study, the thoughts of Our Daily Bread and Charles Stanley devos and even our huddles the past few days thread from that to our hearts. Do you see it? What's God saying to you? I would suggest that you open your Bibles and meditate on the Isaiah 58:6-12 passage of ODB. Sounds like it's describing the things we are already doing and speaks into what lies ahead for us this summer. How cool is our God! As we pray, stand on His Word and sit at His feet, He leads us to our mission and His provision for us! PTL! We are sinking our roots deep into God and His Word, receiving nourishing provision and sent to bless others with what we've been given and blessed with. (read that again and pronounce it out loud) We are sent to rebuild society that has no idea who God is and what His love is like. They see it come alive through us as we serve, just as we are, where we are placed, with what we've been blessed with. We are doing some of this and there is more to come as we continue to work at becoming more like Jesus and doing more of what He created us to do and what He has for us. AMEN! God is calling us out of the building this summer to go to the places where He has placed us or is leading us to do what we can with what He's given to connect to others, bless them and show them and lead them to God's love. Pray hard into this and for wisdom for our Vision Team and Wed night Huddle and Family Ministries to multiply God's Kingdom right where we do life daily this summer. Do you live in or have a connection to Sr. Housing? Maybe He wants to start a Bible study or some way to serve your neighbors? Maybe it's some men's or woman's ministries? Do you go out to eat with some friends? Maybe He wants to connect you to the staff or customers? Maybe you play a sport and God has a way for you to serve and connect to your team? Maybe He wants you to host a picnic in your yard to connect to neighbors? The possibilities are limitless and will be connected to things you already do with some of the people you already do life with or who God is leading you to serve and serve with. It will be several small groups connecting to each other, others and God as we step out of the building and be Christ where God has placed you. It will be multiplying disciples. Beginning around Memorial Day, we will be stepping out of the building. Where is God leading you and with who? Pray into this and listen and process with others. We are God's well-watered gardens sent to refresh others--to seek and save the lost. Amen!

Now before you get all panicky, remember God is our strength and peace and is with us helping us to obey His command to be bold and courageous. Pray into that too! Charles Stanley reminds us that God is enough! Do you believe that? We all know it's true, but have we internalized it and are we standing on that Rock? He reminds us of how God helps us and what part of our mission is: "His goals [for you] are to love, lead you to a life that is fruitful and fulfilling, influence others around you, and to prepare you for eternity [where you will continue with what you are doing now]." There are four points to pray into as we prepare for our summer out being Christ's Body, as we move from isolation to distribution and from adding to multiplying disciples. Think about divide and conquer and the theorem of multiplication. God is enough and so are we with Him in us. When we are weak, we are strong because He is in us and with us. Amen! 

He has great plans custom made for you to discover and do this summer! PTL! What might they be and where is He sending you? What does He want to do right where He has placed you? Pray into this and process with some friends and begin making His plans with joy and much thanksgiving! This is the next step in becoming a dynamic movement of God and will be part of God's provision to fund His plans through our Body for years to come! PTL! What's He saying to you right now? What are you going to do about it? With who? How has God threaded all of this through you today? Share that with us. Follow Jesus and know Him and His peace and make Him known! Amen! What joy and great stories of God's faithfulness await us this summer! I can't wait!!!

Upper Room: The Power of Prayer

Pray continually. - 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NIV)

There was a period of three years in my life when I faced the loss of my mother-in-law to cancer, the death of a dear aunt, and the reality that I would never give birth to a child. One Sunday morning while listening to prayer requests in church, I heard someone say, “Our prayers are working.” It angered me to hear those words. My prayers had not been answered. Were my prayers even heard? Why would the prayers of other believers be answered but not mine?

It took some time, but I came to realize that though my prayers did not reverse the outcomes of those situations in my life, my prayers did change me.

Prayer helped me deal with the passing of loved ones and encouraged me to love those who are here with me better. Prayer gave me the ability to open my heart and mind to the possibility of adoption; my husband and I now share our life and home with a beautiful son. God did hear my prayers.

The answers to our prayers may not be what we have hoped, but there will be answers. Do not give up on prayer; it is working.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Dear God, help us to believe that you hear us when we pray and to trust that you will answer. Amen.

The Word for You Today:

Our Daily Bread:

Charles Stanley:

Good Morning Seeking, Praying, Listening, Receiving, Processing, Repenting, Forgiven, Trusting, Joyful, Lighthouses! Start there talking to God about this truthful about you salutation. If it's not you yet, it can be if you pursue these healthy things from God. We all need someone to process with as well. So seek God for who and courage to do so. If you struggle with how to pray or with how poor of a pray-er you think you are, check at the Harvest Prayer blog below. Check out our other devos as you spend time with God and reach out to a trusted friend to process. God really loves you and wants to hang with you, share His heart with you and is preparing you for some great things today. Rejoice as you dwell in His presence. Watch for Him working around you all day and plan to join Him. Shalom!

Bread Distribution today from 10-12 and Dinner Huddle 6-7:30 for all ages! Come and see and experience love and fellowship! Bring a friend too!

UR: Guiding Light

You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. - Matthew 5:14 (NRSVUE)

Traveling on a ship at night gave me a new appreciation for the power of light. The lights on the ship shone brightly, but the open sea was dark and scary. I could not see anything, but I imagined the vast body of water. It made me feel helpless.

But then in the early morning, as we neared the port, we could see the light from a lighthouse on a hill. Through the darkness, the light in the distance guided our ship toward the port. That beacon made my heart leap with joy and gave me a sense of comfort.

Like a lighthouse in the dark, Christians can show God’s light to weary souls through our actions. Kindness allows people to experience the goodness of the love and life of our Savior Jesus Christ. When people are lost in the open sea of life’s struggles, the light of Christ shines bright. Many are weary, longing for rest and comfort. We can be a beacon for them, guiding them to find comfort in God.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Dear Jesus, help us to keep our lights shining amid the challenges we face so that we may help others find their way. Amen.ODB:

C.S.

TWFYT:

Harvest Prayer:

Wagner's news below. Zoom Huddle at 10 all welcome

Good Morning Pray-ers!

Pastor Don slept in and is behind again today. Today God is speaking to us about praying and giving some great examples below. Check out the Upper Room about getting alone, stilling self and connecting to God. What's God saying to you? What blessed opportunities is He allowing you to be still, sit at His feet a bit, receive, discern and know that He is God? Then check out today's Harvest Prayer Blog and then click the links to Dave's and Pam's Prayer blogs. God's speaking to us today about prayer and life in Christ and becoming more like Jesus is flowing right from my blog yesterday and Sun message...follow Jesus, know peace, pray without ceasing, Check them out and sit a spell like Mary in this Martha world and in God's shalom! Joy to you all! Shalom! Be you and allow God to love through you as you travel through this day! Amen!

UR: Precious Opportunities:

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. - Mark 1:35 (NIV)

Recently my husband and I took a trip by train through Montana and Idaho, then rented a car and drove down to northern California to visit my sister at her new home. I had never seen any of these places before, and the journey was a thrill to me. However, the change of routine completely disrupted my habit of starting each day with prayer and quiet meditation.

Back home in my comfy chair with the cat curled up by my side, I took up my daily practice again. I reflected that I had seen so many amazing sights yet had not taken time to marvel at the Creator. I had enjoyed the hospitality of my sister and brother-in-law but had not expressed gratitude to God for the good health and the means that allowed me to travel.

The Bible records that Jesus often went off to a solitary place to pray. Our Lord and Savior took time alone to speak with God. That loving relationship is open to me as well. I realized that my devotional time is not a routine that I must leave behind when I go on vacation. It’s a precious opportunity to thank God for all my blessings, speak whatever burden is on my heart, and ask for guidance every day.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Ever-present God, thank you for the opportunity to be in your presence day by day. May we never forget to thank you. Amen.

Harvest Prayer Blog:

https://mail.yahoo.com/d/folders/1/messages/209857

Wagner's News:

Good Morning Loving with the Heart of God Worshippers! As you prepare your heart for worship this morning lift some praises to our loving Father for giving us His heart and mind to go love like Him. Thank Him for overflowing love! Thank Him for using us well and for preparing us to go love more in '24. Thank Him for placing us here for such a time as this to be His hands, feet, help, and Good News Delivery people. Come! Now is the time to worship!

I've been beating myself up a bit, maybe prodded some by Satan, because I feel like I just keep sharing the same things--Go! Live and love more like Jesus! Build small group ministries that reach neighbors. Become a dynamic movement of God. But God just keeps revealing these messages to me for us. And will until we trust and obey. I thought I'd share something different this morning...BUT GOD! 

TWFYT reminded me to stop worrying and trust God. They reminded me to not worry about what others think or have or are doing. Focus on God and what He is doing and desires to do in and through me. PTL! He provides where He guides. Amen. You are part of His provision. Where's He guiding you? I ended my quiet time with the Harvest Prayer's Prayer starters and then blog. I'll add a couple from mine to theirs today as they really had me praying into our fellowship of believers. We are one! Well, supposed to be. Are we with fellow believers? The Church needs to reunite in Christ and for multiplying disciples together. Charles Stanley shows us where to start and what to build upon...intimacy with Jesus. Abiding in the Vine and choosing to live this life as if Christ is all that matters. Living life intentionally, earnestly through our custom-made created purposes for God's glory begins with deep intimacy. Our EC mission statement is to know Christ and make Him known. The make Him known part flows from really knowing Him and following closely as His plans come to and alive through you. ODB continues to speak to what God keeps revealing to me and I keep sharing. He's just not letting this go. He has plans for us and He is raising up Kingdom-minded leaders and small groups that will impact the places where they meet. God really wants us to get some small groups started and reaching and impacting our communities and contexts. They ask, "How have you teamed up with others to serve God? and Who can you support as they serve Him with their unique gifts?" Those are questions we need to answer, process and then enact this summer as we step out of the building and into our neighborhoods in small groups. Keep praying into that and start talking to your teammates about what, where and how. I'm really excited for this to begin and can already taste the fruit to come! The UR just reminded me of my attitude adjustment since the last election and how turning off the noise and constant hate-spewing has changed me and brought me great shalom. Who or what are you hating right now? Jesus commands to not sin in our anger and to love our enemies. Seriously, turn off the noise, hate-mongering and anxiousness-stirring and open your Bibles more and spend your time better at growing in intimacy with Christ and some Christ loving and honoring friends who will pray for and help you to go love--all people--like Christ. We are all made in His image and some are being drawn from their Christ-less ways through our love. Hating people and shunning them was a practice of the Pharisees and we see how Jesus felt about that as we open the Gospels. He said, come to me all you weary--weary of the finger-pointing, hate, shunning and unmeetable requirements to be found in God's favor. We are all sinners. Some have been saved by the grace of God. Who is He sending you to love to Him? Who needs to know His rest for their souls?

So where do we start? The Great Commandments: love God and love like Him and the Great Commission: go lovingly make disciples of Jesus. I don't think we can ever stop being reminded of these or ever stop working on them. We are all a work in process and progress and we need each other to live and love well and more like Jesus. God really loves us and is preparing us to reap His end times harvest. He is with us and has great plans that bring satisfaction, peace and joy. Where's your focus today? begin with worship and then be available and willing to go live and love more like Jesus with some friends. God will handle the rest! PTL and Amen! Shalom!

TWFYT:

Harvest prayer:

Charles Stanley:

ODB:

UR: The Power of Words

Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses. - Proverbs 10:12 (NRSVUE)

I only had one brother. He was six years older than I and joined the US Navy when I was 13. As we got older, we bonded over our common interest in ham radio.

On one of our family’s visits to his house, he and I retreated to his radio room and started talking. After a while he said, “You sure hate a lot of things.” His words stopped me cold; he was right. I hated how that politician acted. I hated that product. I hated my income taxes. I realized that even though I claimed to be a Christian, I was living a life full of small hatreds. I would like to say I have completely overcome that mindset; but while I never say I “hate” things anymore, I can still be critical of those who disagree with me.

Words of hatred and superiority can slip into our conversation, demeaning not only the subject of our talk but God’s word as well. “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver” (Prov. 25:11). All people were made in God’s image and deserve to be treated fairly and honorably. I have found if we look deep inside others, we may find people very much like ourselves.

TODAY'S PRAYER

O Lord, help us to avoid the trap of careless and negative words. Even when our words are critical, may we speak always with compassion. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Good Morning Pursuers and Bringers of God's Shalom! Peace. Peace. God's Peace. We seek it. Long for it. Pray for it over others. We know it is God's promise--His peace beyond understanding--but too often don't receive it or we allow the chaos and tyranny of the moments to rob us of His shalom. God specializes in bringing peace to the chaos. Jesus is our Prince of Peace who invites the weary to come to Him and find rest. That is a promise and a command. "Come to Me and I will give you...!" We have talked about and know that when we are pursuing and following God well we will have peace. If we don't have peace, we need to pause, reset as we sit at Jesus feet, count some blessings and allow Him to redirect us. What is robbing your peace today? Is it something beyond your control and not of your making? Or is it caused by the noise and chaos you are allowing in and pursuing? God is calling both types by name to come to His shalom! In either case, we know the Prince of Peace who promises us His peace beyond understanding and rest for our weary souls. It is even possible to choose joy in the midst of all our angst as we redirect and renew our thinking and choose to trust God as our Lord and hand over all our anxious thoughts and meaningless worry and striving. 

Yesterday we talked about Jesus' invite and command to "Follow Me..." Are we doing that yoked to Him, receiving His help and peace or are we choosing to find our identity in worry, stress and anxiousness about things out of our control and things we cannot change. The image comes to mind of Jesus, being under so much pressure and anxiousness, in the Garden that His sweat was filled with blood from His brow. He asked His closest disciples to come comfort and pray with Him, but they fell asleep. (Who is crying out for you to come along side and strengthen? What are you doing about it?) God strengthened Him as He surrendered all His fear and anxiousness and brought His shalom beyond understanding that allowed Jesus to go boldly to the cross for us. God promises to do that for us as well. Will you pursue and allow Him to bring His peace and strength to you and your journey? He's right beside you waiting! 

Check out the Harvest Prayer blog. It's Dave's account of His journey through cancer. Eventually, He lost that battle but traveled through it already resting in Jesus and dwelling in His shalom. We can learn to do so too. Amen! Jesus is bidding us to come to Him, follow Him and know His peace and rest. So, it is available. Pursue it! Know it! Amen. (Maybe this will be all God has for you today. That's OK. Below the Harvest Blog are more of my journal notes with our devos for today. I'm praying for you and God's peace beyond understanding for you and for you to be His vessel of shalom)

Harvest Prayer Blog:

In our journey to become more like Jesus and the people He created us to be and doing our custom made tasks, we often share two quotes and Eph. 2:10 to remind us who we are in Christ. 1. "I am who I am because I am allowing I AM to be who He is in and through me." We always have a choice to allow God to live in and through us as He shapes us. 2. "Discipleship is the process of becoming who Jesus would be if He were me." Two ways for saying the same thing really. Life in Christ is full of choices. We talked yesterday about our choices to accept Jesus' invite to follow Him and to allow, even ask Him daily, to be our Lord and Rabi. Peace comes as we follow Him and allow Him to be our Lord, Teacher and Leader. Check out ODB below. Ask God to come be your I AM today. Eph. 2:10 reminds us that we are God's masterpiece, made new in Christ, to do what He created us to do. Allowing Him to be our Lord of all things leads to great peace and satisfaction in a life well lived in Christ as you are created for. Amen! Charles Stanley continues teaching with reminders that we are special, unique, designed perfectly creations of the God who has great plans for us! PTL! The UR reminds us that God Almighty is or Rock, our Fortress, our Hiding Place. He is our place of rest and peace in troubled times! Amen. And TWFYT is on day two of teaching how to rise above worry. God is really speaking to some of us today! Thanks Lord! He did thread all this together for us knowing some of us need to choose His peace and to dwell in it today and some of us are prepared and sent to bring His shalom and help others to head towards it. What an awesome God who knows you intimately, is calling you by name, even singing over you and wanting to fill you with His peace! Thanks Lord! We still ourselves and receive it and open our hearts and arms to share it. Come fill us to overflowing with your love, joy and peace today. Thanks! Amen!

ODB:

CS:

UR: Our Rock

Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. - Psalm 31:3 (NIV)

I live on an island with many beautiful beaches. When I feel the gentle rush of the waves, I reflect on the grandeur of God’s divine creation. Starfish and snails of all shapes and colors reveal God’s greatness and how detail-oriented the Creator is.

One day, filled with admiration as I walked on the edge of the beach, I found a unique rock. Many types of algae floated about, entangled with each other; but one type of small, living algae was attached to the rock. This find allowed me to reflect on how God also gives us abundant life in troubled times.

Just as the algae found the rock, its source of life, in spite of the turbulent waters, so we can find Christ. He is our rock, our strength and protection, who gives us abundant life amidst the challenges our lives can bring.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Creator God, help us always to remember that you are our rock and fortress. We pray as Jesus taught us, “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” (Matt. 6:9-13, KJV).TWFYT:

Good Morning Fellow Servants of God's Good News Delivery Co.! Are you hearing God speaking to your heart? Are you processing with others, praying, planning, and following God into the places around you that He is at work? What's your part in His Good News Delivery Co? We all have a custom made part prepared specifically for us. And we begin with prayer, offering ourselves just as we are and then joining God as we travel through each day. He provides, protects, guides, stretches, grows, equips, empowers, prepares others and uses what we have been given to complete His perfect plans. Amen! I am so blessed to see how God is using many of us to share His blessings and spread His love and Good News. He has just begun to lead us to the next and new things He has prepared for each of us, small groups of us, and all of us together! PTL!

Talking to some of you, I am hearing that you don't know what your part may be. The parts are as varied and many as you and unique to you. Has God molded you, shaped you, equipped you, allowed you experiences, do what do you enjoy? Those are just some of the filters to use in discerning your part which will include how He made you and gifted you. Probably two of the most important tools in discerning your part is talking to God about it and processing with others. Others often see things we miss, hear God speaking encouragement or correction over you, pray for you, and hold you accountable to carrying through. We are family that God has gathered to prepare and use to expand His Kingdom, even today! PTL! God is calling us to earnestly pursue Him more in '24. Discern more. Plan more. Do more. Become more like Jesus and doing more of what He created us to do. 

It's obvious that this world is going to Hell in a handbasket. That is not what God desires for His creations. He is preparing you and us to be part of His rescue mission. He has a custom part in that just for you. So, pray into that and start looking for the others He is wanting you to partner with and reach out to them. They may be getting some of the pieces of the puzzle that you seem to be missing. Who are your peeps? What is your part? What are you doing about it?

God has really been doing a work in me and speaking to me as I surrender more of me to Him. I am convinced that He put me in the hospital to do some of His spiritual heart surgery. I am a different man since then. PTL! And I am learning my part and letting go of things that, though good and better things of God, are not His best for me or are other people's parts. He is preparing me for such a time as this to lead us to what's next. He's closed some doors and windows and opened some others. He's given me a change of perspective as I release some of my preconceived notions of what He wants me and us to do and let go of some of my plans to make room for His. And man does He have some great plans for us this summer and beyond awaiting you to step into your part! Check out the prayer in the Upper Room (below) today and pray into releasing your preferences, plans and busyness and be open to allowing God to adjust your thinking and plans to His. They are really good! So much peace comes as we let go and let God! Then process ODB (the one God had me study yesterday) about sharing your faith. WOW! God is speaking to each of your hearts and inviting you to come follow Him and He will teach you to fish for people. What is your response to that invite? Pray through these two questions...Where is God calling you to share your faith? How might He empower you to do this today?

We will be processing this over the next month or so and also with our Vision Team in April. In the meantime, pray hard into this and look around at what God is doing around you. Talk to Him about hosting or leading a small group that reaches the people around you or into the things you are already doing. God's got a custom plan just for you and for a group of friends. Talk to Him about that. I'd encourage you to reread and pray through the last two days blogs as well. God is revealing His plan for our summer out of the building and for our future as we change the world for Christ. It is time to move from isolation to distribution. And it's time to start really living out the purpose of where God has placed you and to do so with some friends. We all have a part! PTL! Ask Him to reveal yours and begin processing and planning! Amen! We are His Good News Delivery Co. sent out to rescue some souls right around us and change the world outside our doors. Amen!

UR: God's Shadow

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. - Psalm 91:1 (NIV)

In Scotland, UK, where I was brought up, we don’t have a lot of warm sunshine. I remember as a teenager sitting outdoors sunbathing, trying to get a tan. I’d sigh with disappointment when a cloud obscured the sun temporarily, covering me in a cool shadow.

My feelings toward shadows changed dramatically when I landed in Madras, India, in May 1975 to serve on the staff of a teacher-training college. I stepped off the plane into what felt like a hot oven — 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Overhead was a cloudless blue sky. In what can be an oppressively hot and humid climate, people long for shadows which can offer shelter. The students used to sit in groups under the spreading foliage of trees to study together.

Likewise, in the warm, sunny land of Israel, where David composed his psalms, a shadow would be thought of as a gift, a comfort, a protection — something to be valued. How much more valuable, then, is “the shadow of the Almighty!” In God’s shadow, we find shelter and safety.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Dear God, thank you for the change in perspective new experiences can bring. Inspire us today to rest in your sheltering shadow. Amen.ODB:

Good Morning Teammates--Co-Laborers in Christ! I can't get last night's video and huddle discussion out of my mind. God woke me very early to contemplate this further with Him. (BTW for those wondering, at 3 am my blood sugar was 113 and my BP 118/70! God is my healer! and three donuts are OK!)

We had an awesome day of ministry and fellowship around the table in our Fellowship Hall yesterday! Around 65 people came for bread and donuts and about 70 some gathered around the tables for ministry and fellowship. Prayers were lifted and encouragements shared. Then last night around 25 gathered around the tables to eat, fellowship, watch a video and discuss, reason together and pray. Our fellowship hall is becoming a house of prayer for the nations. In between those two activities I had the honor of visiting some of our homebound as I did on Tues. as well. God is on the move and using us to share His love and help! PTL! We are reminded in the Bible to care for widows and orphans, feed the hungry, cloth those in need, visit the prisoners', shelter the homeless. We, by the grace and provision of God, are doing these things. Keep it up and keep stepping into your part--including praying, giving, and serving.

Here's an update: Nancy Bahr is doing well but lonely and bored. She says hi to everyone. Doris Hausman is doing great and still ministering and lighting up lives with the joy of the Lord at 103. She said to remind everyone that Jesus loves you and to keep loving Him and there is no retirement from sharing God's love! Darlene Skinner is sitting in a wheelchair and doing better but still has a long road to go in rehab from her spine surgery. She thanks everyone for their prayers. Harold and Maryanne Zanders say Hi and they miss everyone. They are able to get out and take walks and have some day trips planned for the late spring with their daughter. LaRue and Randy Schmidt say hi and follow what is going on at St Matts and pray for us. They attend a church close to them now. They have a man servant, Hesmond, who joins us for communion and prayer. He asked for prayers for His family to be able to get a visa to join Him. Next week I will visit some others. I know some of you are visiting, calling and sending cards to our homebound. They very much need and appreciate the love we show! Thank you!

A few other prayer requests: Houstin Lichtenwalner has a torn Ham string but does not need surgery and has been given the go ahead to work the farm. He will be pain a lot of pain for a long time, especially when sitting. Pray for a full and complete healing, pain relief and for wisdom and patience and for Gail as she cares for him. Bob from bread ministry has constant pain in his back and is ready to give up. We prayed for healing and relief and he left in tears. God is at work with his friend Patrick. Pray for God to continue to draw Patrick to His love and forgiveness. Pray for healing for Isabelle as she has been suffering a long time awaiting doc visit. Pray for provision for all those we served and for them to be drawn to God through us. A family is interested in renting the fellowship hall for family gatherings. Pray for more opportunities for this kind of income. Pray for the NA group that gathers in our building for deliverance and to be drawn to God as they walk away from addictions. Pray for the Clothing Closet ministry this Sat. Thank God for the new members that will be joining our church Palm Sunday. Thank you! And pray for God to lead us to summer connection points and ministry. Ask what your part is and for dreams and vision for where He wants us to connect to others.

I'm only sharing the Harvest Prayer blog below today. You can use your Bibles and devotionals to connect to and talk to God. I spent most of my quiet time talking to God about last night and His plans for us this summer. The Video we watched from Israel last night was about how God is always teaching and preparing His people to follow Him and spread His Good News. He moves from isolation to distribution (preparing and protecting from the outside influences to sending His prepared ones into the world.) That is why we are still here. (we are gathered to prepare and now sent to take the Good News to our neighbors) We are God's Good News Delivery Co. and we all have a vital part in that. What's yours? What's ours a a gathering of believers?

The thing that really got me during the video and is still being chewed on is the thought the host shared, "Are we living out the purpose of our place?" It sounded like he got ahold of one of my sermons. I love the affirmation that comes when others are hearing and sharing the same things we are hearing from God! Thanks Lord! The host reminded us that we are unique individuals with unique purposes from God and placed by Him right where He wants to use us for such a time as this. Sound familiar? God is speaking and He has gathered and placed us here, placed you here, for such a time as this! PTL! So are you, are we "living out the purpose of our place"? Talk to God about that and process that with some others! Why are you/we placed here? What does God have planned for us? What's my part/ our part together? What's next? What is the purpose of your placement here and are you doing that purpose? What about our Body called St. Matts.? God has some great custom made plans for custom made you, just as you are, for such a time as this. He wants to grow you and our fellowship. He wants to grow His Kingdom through us and has placed us here and is preparing us to make disciples today. He's already using us. How does He want to expand that? He's always up to something new? What might that be? Let's pray into and figure that out and start putting God's plans into action in this place, even today! Amen!

I shared last night how God has been using our Fellowship Hall and table ministry to grow our fellowship and ministry opportunities. We know that at least 90% of our ministry happens there. But since you voted to not add air conditioning most of that ministry will stop for the summer after Memorial Day. I shared how I am a bit frustrated by that, especially after we spent over $100,000 to fix a window that isn't even seen. Are we living the purpose of our place well? Are we stewarding God's blessings well while sowing lavishly into what He is doing? We always need to be evaluating and adjusting as God leads us to His new things for us. That's part of the task of the Vision, Finance and Support Teams and you as part of the Body--seeking God and supporting what He's doing. That's part of our role in His Good News Delivery Co. So, since the vision, support and finance teams determined that we should not invest in air conditioning. That means God has something else for us this summer. What is it and what your part? Where is God leading us this summer to fulfill the purpose of where He has placed or is sending us for such a time as this? Where do you go in the summer and how can we connect to and minister to people there? We talked about how we are starting to see the fruit of ministry and inviting people from the race track. Where do you hang out that needs some Jesus and love? Who do you hang with that might respond to an invite. Where can we gather in extreme heat or severe weather on a Wed. night and keep our rhythm going? What does God have planned for us as He moves us from isolation to distribution. He has a plan and has placed you right where He wants to use you. How can we come alongside and minister with you? Are we living out the purpose of our place? Are we stewarding the best while sowing lavishly and investing in what God is doing? Pray into this and let us plan together the next things, summer things, where God is sending us to distribute His Good News as we live and love more like Jesus! I am really excited to here what God is saying to you and processing and planning together! We are commissioned to go and make disciples. We saw how God prepared, and when the time was right, sent His people to share the Good News with the world with great success as He led them. Where's He leading us? What doors are being opened? Pray and listen and process that with us. Let's prepare and get ready to take His Good News to the world together! Let's maximize the purpose of our place! Amen!

Harvest Prayer:

Donuts and conversations at the Bread Ministry today 10-12. 6-7:30 PM Dinner Huddle. All welcome to either or both! Come and see God at work in, through and around us!

Good Morning Patient, Peaceful, Plodding Along, Priests unto the Lord! AMEN! Which of these do you need to pray into, work on with some friends and garb a more firm hold of? All are a choice we are able and empowered to make in Christ. PTL! Are you anxious, frustrated, mired in the chaos all around you that you can do nothing about? Turn off the noise. Choose trust and joy. Refocus on what God has for you today. Patiently follow Him to His best. Are you dwelling in the past and what used to be's? Forget what lies behind. Build on the good things. Choose to press forward with Jesus to God's new things for you and us. God is on the move! Join Him! Are you running ahead or lagging behind God? Be still, know and yoke to Jesus as we plod along one step of time in faith to what's next while sowing as we go. We are all priests of God. We don't need a mediator because the High Priest, Jesus, lives in us and is interceding for us right now, even when we don't know what to pray. Call on His name and pronounce His name over you and your circumstances! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! There's just something about that name! We can be patient, peace-filled, plodding along with Jesus instruments of His! Choose peace and joy today! Start with meditating on and praying through our devos and blogs below! God really loves you and has great plans for you that come alive as you live and love more like Jesus! Amen! Start right now and partner with some friends!

Gotta fly! Back on normal time again and slept too late until 5:15 today. Need to be on the road already. Shalom! See you soon!

ODB:

UR: In God's Time

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)

One spring during my morning walks, I noticed my neighbor building a brick walkway from his porch to the street. Gradually over several weeks, I watched as he prepared the ground, poured gravel, and laid bricks. Then for some reason I could not perceive, I saw that he had ripped up half the path and piled the bricks in his yard. Eventually, the path was completed, and the mess was cleaned up. If I had not been paying attention, the finished path might have seemed to appear overnight. But I had witnessed the process: the planning, measuring, waiting, ripping up, and restarting.

The construction of my neighbor’s walkway illustrates that sometimes things don’t happen overnight — even when God is doing something new in our lives and inviting us to grow from it.

Isaiah 43:18-19 reminds me to keep my eyes open for how God is at work in my life.

Growth is a process — one step at a time. We can trust that God is always doing something new. As we become more aware of God’s presence, we can watch for the new things God is doing, give thanks, and proclaim God’s great work.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Dear God, we praise your name and proclaim the new and wondrous works you do in our lives. Amen.

Harvest Prayer blog:

Don't forget...Zoom Huddle at 10! All welcome! And donut day tomorrow 10-12!

Good Morning Seen, Known, Loved, Forgiven, Humble, Followers of Jesus! You are known by God and you matter! He is with you always and leading you to His best! Humble yourself before our Lord and Savior. Confess, repent and receive His loving forgiveness. Check out all our devos and especially the Harvest Prayer blogs and prayers. We are one in Christ. We are His Body. Each of us matter and we are created, gifted and empowered to love each other, spur each other on, and grow God's Church for such a time as this. He has plans for you and us! PTL! Choose to worship, receive and follow well as you prepare yourself for the day ahead in Christ! I'm praying for you and our fellowship! Go and love well today! Amen! And cover each other in prayer as you don God's armor. Thanks!

Harvest Dave's Blog:

(Recognizing the Places of Spiritual Attack)

 By Dave Butts

Several years ago I had the opportunity to write a book entitled The Devil Goes To Church. It’s been interesting to watch the responses of people who see the title for the first time. Most of them say, “The devil sure does go to church… especially mine.” Why this overwhelming awareness that Satan is somehow interested in what happens in churches? Maybe it’s because we’re seeing his hand at work in the church. This excerpt helps us understand why Satan is interested in your church and four ways that he attacks local congregations.

There is a very real reason why the devil goes to church. The Biblical worldview is of a great cosmic battle between the forces of God and the forces of Satan. Christians are those who have changed sides in the battle. Paul writes about this changing of sides in the second chapter of Ephesians: “…in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But 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 – it is by grace you have been saved” (vv. 2-5).

The enemy of our God has become our enemy. We are not in a neutral position. When Christians gather as the church, we become a real threat to Satan. We are there to worship, to pray, to teach and to encourage one another to live and proclaim the Kingdom of God and as such, proclaim the enemy’s defeat. It is apparent that he will do all he can to prevent that from happening….

The real danger for us is being unaware of the enemy’s schemes. We approach every difficulty in church as though it is just a natural thing. When churches divide over whether or not to use hymns or contemporary choruses, it is not natural. When the flock turns on the shepherd, it is not natural. When the saints, called to live in love, spend their time criticizing and accusing one another, it is not natural. The devil has come to church!

…There is one obvious thing about Satan’s attacks – he is consistent. He does basically the same thing over and over again in church after church, down through the ages. We might categorize them in these memorable ways: Doubt, Deceit, Discouragement, Division.

Doubt

Sowing doubt has been one of the enemy’s weapons from the very beginning. In Eden, the serpent stirred up doubt in Eve, causing her to sin. He caused her (and Adam) to doubt God’s word, asking the insidious question, “Has God said…?” You can almost hear the oily voice continuing, “You don’t really believe that do you?” The same voice, the very same voice, is asking the same question today, causing Christians to begin to doubt God and His Word.

Doubt was the weapon Satan used against Jesus in the wilderness. Every temptation was preceded by the word, “if.” “IF You are the Son of God,” the enemy whispers, attempting to instill doubt into Jesus. He still uses the same attack.

Doubt can come in many forms. Sometimes it is the frontal attack on the veracity of the Bible. There are many in church who simply do not believe that all of the Bible is truly God’s inspired Word. But sometimes the most vicious attack comes on those who do believe in the Bible, but are then led into doubt as to the power of God’s Word. “Will that really work?” people ask. Whole segments of Scripture are robbed of their power as Christians relegate them to some other day or time, and fail to appropriate them for themselves. Be careful when trying to explain away a clear meaning of Scripture. It may be that the enemy is raising doubts.

Doubt is also raised as to the nature of God. When tragedies come in life (and they do), even Christians find themselves doubting the love or mercy of God. “How could a loving God cause (or allow) such a thing to happen?” The whispering enemy is again at work to cause God’s people to doubt the goodness or power of their God. We’re sometimes told that to doubt is natural. Not for those who have tasted of the goodness, mercy and power of God! Faith is the natural response to God. Look at Job and the almost inconceivable tragedy that changed his life. Though facing great loss and with tremendous grief, still he words one of the great faith responses in Scripture, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (Job 1:21).

Doubt also comes to the individual believer regarding his/her position in Christ. The enemy continually works at trying to separate us from Christ. He doesn’t have the power to actually do that, but he tries to instill doubt in us as to who we are in Christ. The best way to counter that is with the truth of God’s Word. Christian author, Neil Anderson has written much on this topic and has prepared a wonderful list of scriptures that affirm who we are in Christ:

• John 1:12 – I am God’s child.
  • John 15:15 – I am Christ’s friend.
  • Rom. 5:1 – I have been justified.
  • 1 Cor. 6:17 – I am united with the Lord and one with Him in spirit.
  • 1 Cor. 6:20 – I have been bought with a price; I belong to God.
  • 1 Cor. 12:27 – I am a member of Christ’s Body.
  • Eph. 1:1 – I am a saint.
  • Eph. 1:5 – I have been adopted as God’s child.
  • Eph. 2:18 – I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit.
  • Col. 1:14 – I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins.
  • Col. 2:10 – I am complete in Christ.

Deceit

A second weapon that Satan uses against the Church is deceit. This should not surprise us since Jesus Himself described Satan as a liar. Satan delights in twisting the truth, confusing people and leading them into error. That’s rather obvious when you look at the condition of Christian doctrine, both within and without the Church. It may be as subtle as the lack of understanding concerning Christian grace or as obvious as those who deny the inspiration of the Bible.

The Apostle Paul speaks of difficult times for the Church in the last days, especially in regard to truth. We are warned of those who are “always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth, men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected” (2 Timothy 3:7-8).

Like what you are reading? This article is a part of the text from the course “The Devil Goes to Church" at PrayerU.com, the digital learning site of Harvest Prayer Ministries. For more information on this course, click here.

This passage is so clearly being lived out in the Church today, that we can easily see the enemy’s handiwork. There is no shortage of Bible studies in our churches. But we debate the meaning rather than living out the intent of God’s Word. We have fallen into the trap that James warned us about: “Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (James 1:22). Studying Scripture without doing it is one of Satan’s great deceits.

This deception concerning the Word of God leaves the Church powerless and unable to function as God has intended. George Otis, Jr. delivers a scathing indictment of this powerlessness as follows:

“If ever there was a moment for the Church to stand up and be counted, that moment is now. Unfortunately, American Christendom is in the midst of a low, debilitated spiritual state. At almost every turn, supernatural power and insight have given way to religious inertia. Fellowships are growing numerically, but members are not maturing in character. There are programs aplenty, but little fear of God. Most ominously, modern believers seem oblivious to their own unhealthy condition. Having succumbed to the Laodicean Syndrome (see Revelation 3:14-17), they view their compromised state as normal – even blessed.

“A troubling, if predictable, consequence of this spiritual self-deception is that the Church has found itself unable to speak into the current crisis with any clarity or consistency. Burdened political leaders seeking direction from Christian clergy and prayer networks report receiving advice that ‘wanders all over the map.’ Needing wise men with keen understanding, these national decision makers are finding instead blind guides and flesh-clouded counsel” (George Otis, Jr. “Fading Light,” January 2003).

Discouragement

One of the main passages of Scripture that we often use to hit people over the head with to get them to attend church is Hebrews 10:25: “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” The focus of the passage however is not merely attending a meeting, but in the process, encouraging one another.

One of the very practical reasons for this scriptural command is to counter the enemy’s strategy of discouraging the believers. Many faithful Christians who have withstood the more frontal attacks of Satan in the area of morality, truth and righteous living, have found themselves blind-sided by discouragement. A few words of criticism here and there, a “down” day, a little loss of fresh vision, a program that didn’t go according to plan, and suddenly we find ourselves discouraged and wondering if we can go on.

Many great women and men of God have had severe bouts with discouragement and depression. Perhaps the clearest example is that of Elijah following his great victory over the prophets of Baal. In the wake of that victory, Queen Jezebel ordered his execution. In fear, Elijah ran and ended up in this situation in 1 Kings 19:4: “He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, LORD,’ he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.’” Now that is serious discouragement from a great man of God. It took the intervention of the Lord Himself to bring Elijah out of that depressed mood.

You may not have sat under a tree with a desire to die, but discouragement can hit us all. The great word of God to the Church in this case is that we are called to be an encouragement to one another. We are to build one another up in our faith. Our gatherings need to be times of great encouragement. The church that is a place of support and edification is a place where the enemy’s plans have been thwarted.

There is an old story about discouragement called, “The Devil’s Tool Sale”:

“It was advertised that the devil was putting his tools up for sale. On that date the tools were laid out for public inspection. They had prices on them, and there were a lot of treacherous instruments: hatred, envy, jealousy, deceit, pride, lying, and so on. Laid apart from the rest of the devil’s tools was a harmless-looking tool, worn more than any of the others and priced very high.

“‘What’s the name of this tool?’ asked one of the customers.

“‘That,’ the devil replied, ‘is discouragement.’

“‘Why have you priced it so high?’

“‘Because discouragement is more useful to me than all the others. I can pry open and get inside a man’s heart with that when I cannot get near him with any other tools. It’s badly worn because I use it on almost everyone, since so few people know it belongs to me.’”

When we begin to understand that discouragement is of the enemy, we can begin to counter it using the weapons of our warfare. It is not natural for a Spirit-filled child of God to walk around discouraged. This is an attack of Satan to put us on the sidelines.

Division

Francis Frangipane writes, “If there ever was a false doctrine that was so widespread, so accepted in the Body of Christ, yet so contrary to the heart and teachings of Christ, it is the tradition of division within the Church” (Becoming the Answer to Christ’s Prayer, p. 2).

One of the most effective strategies of Satan has been to bring about division in the Body of Christ. It makes sense that the enemy would push for a splintered, divided Church, since Jesus desired exactly the opposite. The main focus of Jesus’ great high priestly prayer of John 17 was that His followers would be united. A strong, united Church is a testimony to the world of the love of God. Satan is doing all he can to destroy that testimony.

One of the main weapons we have against this attack is awareness of the enemy’s schemes. If we are unaware of the satanic nature of division, there is a greater tendency toward excusing it or just assuming that this is one of those things that happens occasionally in the church. When we see clearly though, that we as a church are under attack, then we will determine at all costs to guard against division. Members of a congregation are well-prepared to resist the enemy when, finding themselves in times of conflict, they begin to ask the question, “What is the enemy trying to do here?” Then, turning to the Lord, they ask the most important question, “Lord, how do we counter the attacks of the enemy against Your people?”

When a church finds itself facing issues that bring division, the prayer meeting is far more effective than the board meeting. Division always has a spiritual issue at its root and the enemy is always involved. It is heartfelt, heaven-sent prayer by the Body of Christ that will rout the devil and deal with the issues that are at hand.

I’ll never forget a church where I taught a prayer seminar in central Indiana. I’m so grateful I got there early that Sunday morning. As I walked into the church sanctuary, I was amazed to see about a dozen men walking around the room praying. They were laying hands on the pews and walking to the four corners of the room, praying for a new awareness of the Lord’s presence, a fresh moving of His Spirit, and for protection from the attacks of the enemy. What a powerful way for a group of Christian leaders to go on the offensive against Satan and to keep the devil from their local congregation.

How will you take your stand against the enemy?

Excerpted from The Devil Goes to Church: Combating the Everyday Attacks of Satan 

by David Butts, Harvest Prayer Ministries

Harvest Prayer Blog:

UR: God Sees Us

[Jesus] gave them strict orders that no one should know what had happened. Then he told them to give her something to eat. - Mark 5:43 (CEB)

In Mark 5, Jesus exorcised a demon, healed a woman of her hemorrhage, and raised a little girl from the dead. I would have guessed that after all that, Jesus would have rubbed his hands together and called it a day. Or maybe he would have sat back among a crowd to recount all that he had done. That is what I would have done. But that was not Jesus’ way.

Jesus was more concerned about the risen girl’s needs. She was not a project to him; she was not a means to make himself look better. Jesus saw the young girl as a person with needs and fears. While everyone else was ecstatic and shocked, Jesus saw that the girl was hungry and told her mother and father to give her some food.

In God’s eyes we are not means to an end. We are not just one of many pieces in the puzzle. To God, each one of us is a person with our own needs and fears. God is interested in even the tiniest details of our lives. In every moment, remember that there is nothing too trivial to bring to God.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Dear God, may we always remember that you are aware of our struggles every moment of our lives. As your people, we thank you for always caring about us. Amen.

C.S.

ODB:

TWFYT:

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Did you turn your clocks ahead? See at 10 am DST! Come and worship! Pray for our worship time as we continue to discuss what Church is and our parts in God's Body. Note: new member installation will be in two weeks on Palm Sun. If you are interested in joining our church (all are welcome) talk to Sarah or me. That's the day of our brunch after worship too! Sign up today!

Good Morning Bright-Eyed and Bushy-Tailed Worshipers! Well, maybe some of us have to pronounce that, choose that, and pray into that on this spring-ahead Sun. But God knows, carries us and wants us to gather and worship! Rise and shine and give God the Glory! This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it! It is also the day of rest and I'm sure some of us will be napping after church today. I was up at 4 so maybe a nap before church for me? I'm praying for you and for the Holy Spirit to keep things lively during our worship time.

What an awesome morning with the Lord I had today! As always, He stirs me awake with thoughts and praises of Him and continues as I sit at His feet in my prayer closet and chew on His Word and listen to His still small voice. I'm always blessed by my time with the Lord! If you don't set aside some tome with the Lord, I urge you to do so. Start small, but start. Open His Word prayerfully. Sit with some devotionals and listen. There is no better way to start your day (or end it) then with time with God! The Pause that truly refreshes! Check out the Harvest prayer blog at the bottom speaking into this quality time with God--time well spent!

There are sorta two threads thru our devotionals today, yet, they sorta tie together too. Check them out below. Do you see the threads? How is the Holy Spirit threading them to you and your situation? What's God saying to you? Who might you process that with? And remember, we are all masterpieces of God and He is quilting us together for His purposes and glory. Amen! How might that be revealed in His teaching to you today? Spring is springing and new life is poking through the ground and budding. We can see it outside. Are you seeing it in our Body as well? Behold and worship! God is restoring the earth and us! PTL! We have stood firm through the winter. We are practicing for the hard times to come too. Keep refocusing with praise and gratitude. God is at work always and He is with us. Trust and follow well! Let the Holy Spirit fill your hearts and minds this morning and lead you into all truth and help you pray too. He is in you, ready and waiting--even in your weariness! Rejoice! Be still and know! God never sleeps! He is on the move! And He has some great custom plans for you and that can include some rest too! See you soon! Shalom!

Upper Room: Handmade Gift

This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. - Psalm 118:24 (KJV)

Have you ever been given something made by hand? Perhaps someone gifted you a meal from their kitchen, a flower arrangement from their garden, or a one-of-a-kind craft. Similarly, each day

is a gift from our Creator that we can receive with gladness.

Sometimes the person receiving the gift may not always understand the time and effort required to make a handmade gift. And we may not feel like rejoicing each and every day when we are facing trials or feeling ill. But before my feet hit the floor in the morning, I practice reciting this verse: “This is the day the Lord has made, and I will rejoice and be glad in it!”

Each morning I choose to be thankful and pray that my presence will be a reflection of the light of our Creator, the maker of heaven and earth. Let us give thanks for God’s gift of today and enter each day with a spirit of rejoicing.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Creator of heaven and earth, help us to know you and to recognize the works of your hands. We will rejoice and be glad, giving thanks for the gift of each day. Amen. Our Daily Bread:

The Word for You Today:

Charles Stanley:

Harvest Blog:

My Prayer Starters:

Good Morning Guided, Secure, Child-Like, Followers of Jesus! Thank You Lord! May we grow in this as we humble ourselves and offer ourselves to You for Your will to be done in, through, and around us and for Your glory. May we yoke to Jesus well and be part of His team and plans today. Amen! 

God is speaking and wanting to direct your steps all the time. Are you attentive? Willing? Obedient? Yoked to Jesus? God has given us the Holy Spirit to guide us. PTL! Where's He steering you today? What is He revealing to do, correct, or wait for? God created you and placed you right where He wants you for such a time as this. Trust Him and ask for help to follow well. Check out Charles Stanley's devo below about obeying God's promptings. Be still, know, hear, receive, process and follow well today!

Maybe you are in troubling times, or find what God has for you today a bit troubling. Are you shrinking back? Caving in? Giving up? Stop it! Be still. Lift some redirecting praise. Run to your High Tower! Allow Him to shelter, protect and lead you today. Check out Our Daily Bread below. God is our refuge. Maybe the Holy Spirit is leading you to go as His agent of comfort, redirection, or help to someone mired deep in the muck of life--DO IT! He is you Helper, Refuge and Strength!

Many of us are very many season past our childhood. Remember what it was like? Remember the zeal and fresh faith life and action when you first came to saving faith? That is still available to us. PTL! In fact, Jesus reminds us through the Upper Room today that we can still choose childlike faith. It is available. And it is very beneficial and actually crucial to choose that always! It's just plain old simple faith--believing God for everything and that He is able and will respond well. Childlike faith overpowers any fears, doubts, concerns and hindrances we face each day. It's the faith of the Little Train that Could...I know I can. I know I can by the grace of God! God carries us through or over the deep waters ahead. Climb on His lap and receive His love today! Believe and receive His help today as you take each baby step in faith like a child. I envision skipping along God's path for me today singing with joy and thanksgiving knowing He is with me leading me, and that He's already overcoming what ever I will face and providing all I need. Come Lord! Your will be done! I believe! I trust You. Fa-a-la-la-la... Thanks! Amen!

Check out The Word for You Today as well below. We are promised the abundant life in Christ. There is nothing like living the dream for real, in Christ. What joy we can know and enjoy--contagious joy! What peace we can experience as we abide in Christ and His love, peace and the joy of our salvation. Satisfaction and joy grow as we abide, follow and allow God to use us each step of the way through life. Nothing else satisfies like the good fruit produced by childlike faith and action! And it feeds on itself and grows. Part of that is asking and allowing the Holy Spirit to fill, guide and use you each day. It comes alive as you ask Jesus to be the Lord of this day and of your choices and as you go. Faith keeps growing and so does good fruit as you do! Maybe praying the Serenity Prayer daily will help you start off with a right focus as you die to self, prepare your heart, ask Jesus to be Lord and then follow with childlike faith looking for where He is at work and joining Him. Great fruit is in reach as you do! Amen! That is the abundant life we are promised and it is not dependent upon our circumstances or seasons of life. Fa-a-la-la-la PTL!

At the bottom is the Harvest Prayer blog about unity and some prayer starters. We are in this together. God's best is for us to partner together as we travel through this life. He even desires for churches to work together too. Keep praying into that for you and us. How does God want to grow more small groups and house or neighborhood gatherings? How does He want us to partner with other churches and ministries? Who is He raising up and stirring to lead some of these? Which others is He leading us to partner with--even other churches and ministries? God is in the revival business and as we go and grow with others, we will see more of that developing and producing good fruit. It has that snowball rolling down a hill effect too! Share what you are hearing with Sarah, Mike and me too so we can pray and help. God is on the move! Revival is at hand! Let us be committed to our parts in that! Amen! Yesterday we gave bread to 53 people. Some of our bread ministry gals are from other churches. Half of the 18 that gathered last night for dinner and huddle are not members of our church. PTL! God has already begun! Seek Him for what's next. Thanks! 

He really does have some great plans for each of us and us together to discover, process, prepare for, and to do. We all have our custom parts in His Good News Delivery Co. and no part is any less important. Each of you are known, loved, matter and are created and placed here for such a time as this! PTL! Be still, know and follow well and dwell in His shalom and joy today with childlike faith as you skip merrily along His way! Fa-a-la-la-la! Amen!

C.S.

ODB:

UR: Childlike Faith

Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” - Mark 10:15 (NIV)

Eli was four years old and learning to swim. He could cross the shallow end of the pool with ease, but he had been afraid of swimming across the deep end. Then in one swim lesson, Eli did it.

As we were walking up to the house, I encouraged him about his monumental accomplishment. I asked him, “How did you do it?” Without hesitation, Eli said, “God helped me.” I thought, If only my first thought would be, “God helped me,” when I face huge challenges in my life! Where would I be in my walk with God?

Jesus loved children for their simple faith. They were willing to climb up into his arms and rest, knowing that Jesus loved and protected them. God’s power is made perfect in childlike faith. David demonstrated childlike faith when he used a stone from the creek to slay Goliath. (See 1 Sam. 17.) The stones weren’t magical, but David’s faith in God overpowered the giant.

The next time we face overwhelming fear, I pray we have the childlike faith to cross the deep end and entrust ourselves to God. God will help us!

TODAY'S PRAYER

Dear God, whenever we are afraid, help us to trust you with childlike faith. Amen.TWFYT:

Harvest Prayer Blog and Starters:

Good Morning Becoming More Like Jesus Children and Servants of the Most High God! We are saved by fait and this is a gift and act of great grace and mercy of God! PTL! We are created in God's image for His purposes. We are made new in Christ when we receive the gift of salvation. We get the Holy Spirit in us and he brings gifts to help us to grow to our fullest potential and He empowers us to go share the Gospel and bring Good News as we go do the things we are created to do. How blessed are we? Tell God today all about your thankfulness, your dreams about His plans for you, your struggles, and your willingness to repent, correct, grow and follow Him. Then receive His shalom, wisdom, and directions with right and willing hearts, hands and feet. The next step is to allow the Holy Spirit to lead you to the next step. then take it in faith. What's God saying to you? What's His plan for you today? What will you do about it? He is at work all around you and has some very good plans awaiting your discovery and right heart. Come and see! The more you abandon your old nature and step into your new, the more peace you will know too. Know Christ and know peace. Know Christ and make Him known is the EC mission statement. It's both and. We are created for a purpose. We matter. God has custom plans for each of us and we grow in peace and receive many blessings as we go bless and fulfill our purposes.

Check out Our Daily Bread below about doing good. Are you a do gooder? That often has a bad rap in this world. But not in God's. That is part of our created purpose. Love God, others, serve in love, make disciples and enjoy this life. That is Jesus' easy yoke. And the more focused we are on that, the more joy and satisfaction we will find in this life. Are you good-works ready? Prepare your heart right now!

The Upper Room asks an important question: If you knew you had 40 days to live, what would you choose to do? For me, that would be to be more earnest about being about my Father's business and loving on others. Their premise is: why aren't we doing that all the time? They talk about Lent (one of those man-made holidays moving us to do something we should be doing already all the time) They ask what you are giving up. My thought is the better question: What are you giving? How about starting with yourself, your heart, your gratitude, your availability? Yes giving up sin is critical in being prepared to be used by God. But confession and repentance should be a daily thing as we die to self, take up cross daily (crucifying our sins) and following Jesus. As should being about our Father and His business. Put off that old nature more fully today and step into your new one more fully as you work on becoming more like Jesus. (I hesitate to share the UR because it feels legalistic to me. But it may be profitable to remind us of our daily call to crucify self.)

The Word for You Today a two day teaching on moving from failure to success. We are all failures. We all fall short of God's standards. Yet, we are forgiven, cleansed and purified as we confess and repent or begin the journey of repentance. PTL for His grace, mercy and forgiveness and for using us as we are and growing us to our fuller potential. He wants us to succeed and He helps if we seek him, humble ourselves and allow Him to. Keep persevering in faith. Keep striving towards Christlikeness and your fullest potential. Aim high! Aspire to the big things God has for you as you take each step of faith and do the little things along the way. No matter how dire things may appear, we know what lies ahead--victory in Jesus and eternal life with Him. This life is preparation for the next. It's promised that we will encounter very hard times before we get there. Those hard times produce character, grow faith and mold us into God's masterpieces and harvesting machines. He does really love you and have great custom made things for you! rejoice. Stand firm! Journey forward in Christ today! And find some allies to journey with! We are better together! And we are more than overcomers! Amen!

Come join us tonight as we feast, fellowship, study, pray and grow in our journey. And/or find some friends and do the same. We are an Acts 2:42 church growing in Christ and doing more of His plans His way. come and see! Come and experience how much fun it is to partner with others as we grow and go love! I'm praying for you and us! Ask God who He may want you to bring along! Pray for our Bread Ministry today and for us to connect to those God is sending and that they would feel and want to know more about His love. Thanks! Shalom!

ODB:

UR: Let God In

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. - Matthew 4:1 (NIV)

What are you giving up for Lent? I know I am supposed to give up something in order to reflect on Jesus’ 40 days in the desert and to prepare for the commemoration of Jesus’ death and resurrection. My immediate answer for way too many years has been “chocolate” and “playing pickleball.” But if I knew I was going to die in 40 days, giving up food and fun would not make the list at all! So, what would I give up?

I’d give up wasting time. I would focus on all the people I haven’t seen or talked to enough and tell them how much they mean to me.

I’d give up trying to tell my grandkids what to do! Instead, I would write down my life’s story — hopefully to leave answers to questions they will surely have after I am gone.

I’d give up harbored anger, resentment, and frustration over my failures, the relationships that turned out badly, and the opportunities I ignored.

I’d give it all up to let God in — not just for Lent or 40 days, but from this day forward. Let us renew our commitment to follow Jesus’ example of obedience as we seek fullness of life in God.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Dear God, help us to appreciate the sacrifice Jesus made for us. Give us the courage to follow his leading toward wholeness of life. Amen.TWFYT:

Harvest Prayer Blog and Prayer Starters:

Zoom Huddle today at 10. All welcome! And/ or join us for our dinner huddle with Family Ministries and Adults tomorrow evening at 6. (I was told E.C. stands for eating constantly! Come and join us for food, fellowship, study and prayer as found in Acts 2:42.) Pray for more "around the table" ministry opportunities for our Church and new ways to do that outside the church this summer.

Visited The Sosa's yesterday and Amber and Arianna are mending and in good spirits. Pray for continued healing and for provision and guidance for another car today. They appreciate our prayers!

Visited Glad Ketner yesterday. She continues to improve from her stroke and is happy and doing well. She still sometimes struggles with words but is filled with joy. Pray for continued healing and send a card or stop by and visit.

Stopped to pray with Houstin and Gail Lichtenwalner. Houstin injured his leg getting off some farm equipment and will be out of commission for awhile and may need surgery for a possible ham string tear. Pray for God's presence, provision, favor to see docs soon, and patience in the process. Pray for Gail as she has to cover the things Houstin did on the farm. Pray for health and strength and wisdom for the family.

Please continue to pray for the Henley family as they continue the fresh and challenging journey through grief at the lose before Christmas of their two year old son and grandson. Karen and I were able to spend some time with them the other day. This is a very difficult journey. May they know God's shalom, presence and strength and draw close to Him.

PTL my sister Connie is still at home and recovering from her breathing issues.

PTL Sarah should be getting her van back from the shop soon and be able to get out and about again.

PTL that I continue to heal and have good numbers. Pray for my A-Fib to correct on its' own and for docs to be amazed at what God is doing. Thanks.

PTL for all those He is sending to our fellowship and for all the caring ministries that are touching our neighbors and friends and drawing them to Jesus. Pray for His love to continue to come alive through us, His provision to bless and for some new connection points to those He is drawing. Pray for boldness to share some help and Good News and to invite others to join us. (Remember in Dec. when we prayed for us to see those to invite and the thought that if we added one person a month to our gatherings, in a year we would have 12 new members. PTL that we are already well on our way to doubling that! Keep at it! Each of those new faces have come from an invite through our ministry connections.)

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Good Morning Cradled in the Arms of Jesus, Comforted, Strengthened, Standing on the Rock, Faithful Followers of Jesus! Oh may that be us, be me, Lord! Come! Comfort! Strengthen! Redirect! Help! Be our Fortress! Hold us and shelter us under Your wings! Empower us to carry on through the storms, trials, testing, and attacks! Cover and protect us! Deliver us! Keep our minds fixed on You! Use us, even in our weakness, to be strong and for others and to bring Your comfort and joy--Your shalom! Come! Fill us! Use us! Give us Your heart and mind and help to go love like Jesus. Or to choose to dwell in Your love for a few minutes, as we are able, and grow that time with you. Come! We love You! We need You--every hour! Come! Amen!

Our experiences the past week have ranged from highs to lows, mountain tops, to deep canyons and every where in between. Sometimes up and down drastically within in minutes even. BUT GOD! He IS always there and available even when we don't sense it or push Him away or ignore Him. He is singing over you and whispering His love to you. Stop. Be still and know that He is Love and He is wanting to love on you right now. He inhabits our praise. That's a truth! Sometimes we have to choose to praise. Keep building those gratitude lists for the hard times to have as starting point to redirect us as we choose to praise in the storm. Sometimes we need the reminder and help of others to start looking for the silver linings and things to be thankful about even though we feel far from thankful or like praising. Start by asking God for help and direction for who He is bringing to mind today for you to reach out and love on. Or maybe you need to stop and cry out for help. Ask for boldness and courage and humility to seek some help. Where is God wanting and needing to show His love, comfort and peace today? Who is He sending to you or you to? Do you need help to receive it? Courage and wisdom to share it? Ask and receive. Keep knocking and keep redirecting from the highs and lows with praise. Sometimes we even need to force ourselves to half-heartedly start to praise. That's OK. Starting leads you further along in the journey out of the pit and helps your mind to become accustomed to choosing joy in the hardest places. Jesus is our Rock. We need to prepare for the promised harder and harder times to come. Start preparing and practicing today. God will always be with His faithful servants. Holding us tight. Keep your hands open and reaching for Him! Ask Him for help to take that next step of faith with Him. Consider joining our Zoom huddle today at 10 as we discuss this further.

Check out our devos for today below. They really led to this and thread through what God wants us to understand and put into practice today. We are more than hearers. Right? What might He be leading you to today? What will you do about it? Who will you come alongside to journey with? God's got some custom things for you to receive and build upon today! Thank Him and come to Him you weary ones and find rest and shalom as you go about this day. Pronounce that this is the day and year of the Lord's favor and pray for that in confidence. May His favor lead you as His love and shalom overpower you today! He's right beside you whispering His love over you. Be still and know! Then go and love more like Jesus today--one step of faith at a time. Amen! The world around you may be falling apart or in shambles and even this nation is sinking deeper in the pit...BUT GOD! He knows already and has prepared you for such a time as this! He's even preparing you for the greater things to come. PTL! Be bold and courageous and stand firm as we follow Him into the Promised Land. Amen!

ODB:

UR:  My Rock and My Fortress

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer. - Psalm 18:2 (NIV)

After graduation, I was looking forward to my dream job of joining the Defense Force to serve my nation. Unfortunately, I did not get a good enough score to be eligible. So I pursued my master’s degree and became eligible to take the entrance exam — it felt like my last chance to make or break my dream career.

My family and I prayed for my interview and other tests, asking that I would be selected for a job. With God’s grace, I was selected.

During training, I started to lose hope that I would make it through. But God comforted me with confidence and strength to overcome my situation. Against the odds, I made it through, bringing joy to me, my family, and my community.

God never leaves us in our struggles. When we depend on God, our rock and strong fortress, we find the hope and perseverance to wait patiently on God’s deliverance.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Faithful God, thank you for the ways you comfort and guide us through our struggles. Give us hope and patience as we trust in your will for our lives. Amen.

Dave Butts Harvest Prayer Blog:

JUST LIKE US

by Dave Butts

James gives us some very important teaching on prayer in James 5:13-18: 

“Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.”

We are told that whatever we are facing…good or bad, we should pray. Good advice. The problem in the text is that the example given of a man of prayer is that of Elijah. However, Elijah, in our eyes, seems to be this amazing man of prayer.  How can we be like him?

 James, inspired by God, says Elijah was a human being, just like us. He was simply a normal person with no special dispensation from God.

So let’s look at a summary of the obedience of Elijah’s prayer life:

·         I Kings 17:1: Rain did not fall in Israel for several years – “Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.’”

·        I Kings 17:7-16: A widow and her son did not starve – “For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah” (v. 16).

·        I Kings 17:17-24: The widow’s son was raised from the dead – “The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived” (v. 22).

·        I Kings 18:16-40: Elijah called on the Lord and was victorious over the prophets of Baal on Mt Carmel – “Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire – he is God” (v. 24).

·        I Kings 18:41-46: Rain falls from heaven – “And Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain’” (v. 41).

Elijah, because of his obedience, had an amazing response to his prayers. And Scripture says that Elijah was a person just like us? How can this be?

We can see the answer to this question when suddenly everything changes for Elijah in I Kings 19:

·        He became fearful: “Elijah was afraid and ran for his life” (v. 3).

·        He was depressed and discouraged: “…he came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die” (v. 4)

·        Elijah, mistaken about what was going on, was filled with self-pity: “I am the only one left and now they are trying to kill me too” (v. 14).

We can all tend to be like this side of Elijah from time to time – fearful, wanting suffering to end, mistaken about what is happening, and filled with self-pity. We can do that!

Here’s my point. Elijah was a flawed man. He had great successes and some failures too. In spite of some amazing answers to prayer, his life was not easy. The purpose of prayer is not to make life easy.

 As Elijah learned, when we commit to obeying God and serving Him in prayer, we become an integral part of the purposes of God on planet earth.  Elijah got in on some really good stuff, because he prayed.  And we can too!  As a matter of fact, I will tell you bluntly that God has made us for this.

 To pray like Elijah means:

1.    Praying prayers that are focused on God’s purposes.

2.    Praying prayers that are filled with faith.

3.    Praying prayers that involve acts of obedience.

 Our job is to pray as Elijah did…with focus, faith, and obedience so that God will receive glory. The final result always rests in God’s capable hands.

Harvest Prayer starters:

See Sarah's prayer email from last evening below.

Don't forget all are welcome to Zoom Huddle tomorrow at 10

And to Family Ministry/Adult Dinner Huddle Wed. at 6.

Come and See!

Good Morning Custom Masterpieces of God! That is you! Say it! Pronounce Eph. 2:10 over yourself and our church this morning...I am God's Masterpiece. Made new, gifted, and empowered in Christ. To do the good works He made me to do. AMEN! Right there is our purpose and mission! We matter! We are secure in Christ as we come to Him in saving faith and He loves us so much that He fills us with His love, Holy Spirit, and the gifts, abilities and power to accomplish what He created us to do. PTL! Rejoice. Meditate on that this morning as you dwell in His loving presence and receive His love, joy, peace, and directions for today. This is the day He made and He made you for today. Rejoice and follow well.

So, some of you may be wondering why this is coming so late. You know 10:00am is my normal lunch time. I am healthy and fine. Remember, these may not be everyday blogs, although God seems to have them be so. So if you don't see one. Pray and place me in God's hands. I'll be fine. I'm allowing Jesus to be my Lord and Shepherd and following His lead. Today, as in most days, I awoke at 3 am. But felt tired yet as we had a late bed time last night. I sat on my chair and asked Jesus to be the Lord of this day like I usually do while my coffee brews. I felt the nudge to return to bed. So I did and my Lord allowed me some very healthy sleep until almost 7:30. It's really weird to awake when the sun is up. I really do like practicing Jesus' way of rising early and spending extra time with our Abba. So here I am three hours later starting this blog. What an awesome, loving, prayer-answering God we know and love. His plans and ways are not ours but always are worked together for good and according to His will. He's the Master--King of the Universe, Creator and Sustainer, Helper and Friend of Sinners like us! PTL! Ask Him to be the Lord of your day and to use you and then watch for what He wants you to join in with along the way. He has some great custom made plans for custom made you today. Rejoice. Be glad and follow well! Amen!

I do have much I believe God wants me to accomplish today. And now I am on His schedule. Can't wait to see what He does today! Check out our devos below for today. What's God saying to you? What might He have planned? Who might He have for you to come alongside or partner with? Who does He desire for you to call or visit and encourage, maybe even with a card? No matter what He has planned for you and our Church today, we know it is filtered through His hands and will lead to His good and perfect will being done in His timing. (Maybe even so very hard and stretching things) So keep seeking, sitting at His feet and moving your feet with Him to the next step of faith He has for you. And know His love and peace beyond understanding as you choose joy and grow in faith. Become More in '24! (With Him in the driver's seat). Live and love more like Jesus. Be more of the person He created you to be. Do more of what He has planned for you more in His way. Be still more and know Him more better! Receive more love, wisdom, hope, and help. He really does love you! And He is with you always. Rejoice! You are His Masterpiece, made new and being renewed in Christ for the purposes He made and has gifted and empowered you to accomplish--BIG and small things all along the way for His glory and your growth in Christ and for the good of others. Yes, rejoice and be glad in this day. 

God just brought to mind our summer teaching through Ecclesiastes and Solomon, the teacher's, charge to children of God: Love God and enjoy life. Meditate on that today! Turn off the noise and dwell in Chris's love today and have a very blessed day! Amen! God is lovingly preparing and leading us to our fuller potential and His greater things. Hang on and follow more better! :)

ODB:

TWFYT:

 UR: Family Feud

Jesus said, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. - Matthew 5:44 (KJV)

I inherited a family feud that had been going on for over 50 years. It was a battle over land, passed down from generation to generation. It’s called “heir property,” and it can be messy when everyone wants the same lot. During court preparations, I received a court document that upset me to the point of anger.

I wanted to retaliate with words of my own. My mind was racing with all I wanted to say. Anger is not a fruit of the Spirit, and I needed a listening ear. I called a friend and explained the situation. Honestly, I wanted to hear my friend say, “She did what?” thus adding fuel to my fire. But instead, my spiritual sister asked, “Have you prayed for her? What’s her name?” And so we prayed. What a revelation! Prayer changed my entire focus, and I began to call out my cousin’s name in my daily prayers.

As it turned out, court was avoided, and God brought a 50-year feud to an end with a compromise. I gained more than land that day; I gained a new perspective, which led me to apologize. Prayers for the people in our conflicts take our mind off the anger and hurt and put our focus on a new life in Christ for all involved.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Dear Lord, thank you for forgiving us. Help us to forgive others as you have forgiven us. Amen.Charles Stanley:

Sarah email:

Good evening, church family,

 It was good to be in the house of the Lord this morning.....(Neen and I did miss worshipping in person with you all, but hopefully 

my van will be fixed in the early part of this week)

   We had some new faces that joined our Worship time.  Thank you to all that reached out during the Pass the Peace opportunity.

We want to say thank you to all that help make our time of worship come together, and volunteer their time and efforts every Sunday

morning and many times during the week in preparation for the next Sunday.    Each week we try our best to make things run smoothly, but 'things' happen.  You think you have everything ready to go and for some reason, come Sunday morning, things go 'kerplunk, kerblewy'    Thank you to everyone for being understanding and patient with us (whether you are on zoom or in house) as we try our best to help you all have a great worship experience.

Hugh THANK YOU 

I am sorry but I wasn't working on the update and accidentally hit the SEND key.....ugh.....

So here is the rest of the update that I wanted included.....

Those in need of our prayers:

Sosa's - Amber and Arianna were involved in a head on car accident. Their car was totaled and they both suffered fractured sternums.  Please pray for their healing, for the insurance process and for another vehicle.

Muik - Yvonne and Chris - they have been sick over the past several weeks. Continue to pray for healing and health restored so they are able to return to worship with us in person.

Darlene Skinner - had back surgery, please pray for patience during the healing and rehab process. Also pray for the rest of her family for wisdom and guidance

Mike Lacise's daugther's mom - she was knocked over by a dog and broke her leg below her knee - she has to stay off of it for 10 weeks. 

Joanne - Fell in rehab and now has a concussion.  Prayers for healing

Linda's brother-in-law was in hospital but was sent home due to insurance unwilling to pay for a longer stay - he still needs dialysis.  Prayers for God to provide.

Pastor Don's sister Connie is in the hospital with Chronic breathing issues. Pray for God's peace to surround her.

Mary and Marshall Rehem will be traveling in the next couple weeks. Pray for their safety as they enjoy their time away.

Praise God for new people in attendance today at our worship service.

Praise God for the beautiful day today.

Thank you all for your prayers....God is good!

   Blessings to you all for an awesome week!!

if you have a prayer need, please let me know and I will make sure that the warriors receive the information to pray.

If you are feeling the nudge to help out within St Matthew's ministry and just are not quite sure what or how to help, please reach out to Pastor Don or myself and we surely can find something for you to be part of.

God bless.....

   Sarah 

Hi,

   I must have had too much coffee today.....my fingers are moving faster than my brain.

Gladys Ketner - we heard from her daughter - she is doing good, but is missing her church family.

    She would love to see some of you. If you have time to visit with her that would be great and your visit

    would be appreciated.

 If you are unable to visit, please consider sending her a Thinking of You card.

     Parkland Manor

4636 Crackersport Road

  Room A13

Allentown PA 18104,

Thanks everyone!

Updates: Installation of new members has been postponed for a few weeks due to illnesses and injuries. 

The Muik's (Chris and Yvonne) have been battling COVID and sickness for over a week. Please continue to pray for them. 

The Sosa's will be home as Amber and Ariana begin healing from broken sternums from their head-on crash. Pray for healing and comfort and shalom for the whole family. Pray for God's provision as their only car is totaled. All five were to be part of today's new member's group.

Darlene Skinner continues to recover from spine surgery. Please pray for healing and patience in the process and for shalom for the family.

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Good Morning Light, Joy, and Peace Bringers! We are children of the Light and we get to know and share love, joy and peace. Amen! We live in very chaotic times and are living through tests and trials of faith and often very hard times. BUT GOD! He specializes in bringing shalom to the chaos and often uses us as we choose joy and peace and allow His love to come alive in and through us. Check out the Upper Room and Harvest Prayer Blogs below and sit at Jesus' feet, choosing and receiving His love, peace, joy and wisdom and courage to share them.

Begin this day with choosing joy and lifting praise. Maybe you need to dig out that gratitude list to help you start with refocusing praise. Jesus is the Light and the Joy of our salvation. Rejoice! He is always with us! He is our Shepherd and we can know and hear His voice and follow Him through every valley. He calms the storms and shelters us under His wings. He is our Rock and Strong Tower. He is the Prince of Peace! And He loves you! Yes rejoice! Know His peace beyond understanding. Abide in His Love!

See you all soon as we gather to worship in person and on Zoom at 10. Pray as I message the service for today. What's Church? You and we are the Church! See you in the building where we gather or on the airwaves as we gather to worship, pray, praise, study God's Word and encourage each other. Prepare your hearts to enter His courts with praise and thanksgiving! yes, REJOICE!

UR: God of Light

Let the righteous be joyful; let them exult before God; let them be jubilant with joy. - Psalm 68:3 (NRSVUE)

I stared at the calendar, and my heart sank. Years before, on the first day of spring, my son had died unexpectedly. This year the anniversary of his death fell on a Sunday, and although I wanted to stay home, God urged me to go to church. During the children’s time in the worship service, the leader used a flashlight to teach the children about sharing Jesus’ light with others. Memories of my son in Sunday school came flooding back.

As the children left the sanctuary, one little boy skipped toward the door shouting, “This will be amazing!” After a few giggles, the congregation turned their attention back to the pastor; but I kept thinking about the boy. Through the excitement in his voice and spring in his step, the light of Jesus spread into my heart.

It’ s sometimes easy for despair to douse the light of Jesus. I had arrived at church feeling low. However, God helped me realize that sharing the light of Christ with others is a way of honoring my son. On my walk that afternoon, birds sang and flowers bloomed. I collected empty cans in the road to recycle as my son would have done. Shining through dense, gray clouds were streams of sunlight. The little boy was right; this day was amazing!

TODAY'S PRAYER

God of light, we thank you. Continue to illuminate our hearts and brighten our spirits. Help us to serve you better. In your Son Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Harvest Prayer Blog and prayer starters:

Good morning powerful pray-ers! Stay connected to the power source and release the power of our Almighty in prayer. He's waiting for you to call upon His mighty name. 

We lost electricity almost 4 hours ago. For.me that means no sleep since I cannot sleep without my CPAP. Been sitting still, meditating a.d releasing prayers for you and us and for God's will to be done. Today engage with the power source through His Living Word and your devotionals. What's God saying to you. How is He informing your prayers. Have at it powerful ones. I'll be trying to rest before the hectic day ahead .

Shalom my friends. Shalom shalom 

Thank God I'm Forgiven Friday! PTL! What are you thankful for today? Forgiveness and God's love is just the beginning of all we have to be thankful for!

Please pray for Darlene Skinner and family today. Darlene is having spinal surgery today. Pray for success and shalom.

Pray for our Clothing Closet tomorrow. Thank God for our servants and pray He uses them well to bless many.

Pray for our Sunday gathering to worship with Children's Church and on Zoom Sunday at 10. Sunday we will be discussing Church and receiving new members. New members have rocks they are painting with their family name and a verse to add to our Family Covenant Altar. 16 of our families added rocks in July 2021 and have covenanted together to love God, others, make disciples and serve together as we seek and follow God boldly. Maybe some of you would like to paint a rock and add it as we renew that covenant on Sunday and add our new members to our family altar and fellowship. Praise God for these new members and pray for new connection points to those He is drawing and for courage and wisdom to invite someone to come and see and experience His love through us. Pray for the kids and teachers of Children's Church as they begive a five week journey to the cross and empty tomb. Who is God stirring you to invite to our Palm Sunday worship and brunch and/or Resurrection Sunday festive worship and communion service.

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Good Morning Forgiven Much, Restored, Equipped, Empowered, Powerfully Praying, Stewards of All God's Blessings! Is that you? Is that our Church? It can be. Pronounce that in prayer over you and our fellowship. As we hurtle towards Holy Week and the celebration of the resurrection. May we always remember, thank, and offer ourselves back to God as an act of thanksgiving and worship. He doesn't want bulls and rams. He wants our redeemed hearts, hands and feet offered back for Him to use as we steward well all the blessings He has given us. Many of us struggled through the loss of electricity but we never lost connection to our Power Source! PTL! He has equipped, empowered, is using our prayers and stewardship of His blessings to grow His Kingdom and our fellowship and He is revealing His plans for what's next as we follow Him through the "what's now" in faith with thanksgiving. What lies ahead? Only God knows, but we can know that He is with us always and always at work working all things together for the good of those who believe. We believe! Amen. 

Talk to God today as you open your Bibles and our devotionals below. Listen, receive and follow well. His Word does not come back void and accomplishes His purposes including equipping and directing us. Ps. 119 used in the Upper Room reminds us that we are blessed as we walk according to God's revealed way (His Word--our Bibles). Open them and be blessed, directed and informed for powerful praying of God's will. You are God's provision for His Church and for those who need to know Him and grow in Him that He has prepared for you. Everything we have is a gift from God. ODB asks, Are you an owner or steward? Which are you? Are you giving all back to God for Him to use? Are you trusting Him to do some unexpected new things as you hold loosely or let go of some things and give them back to Him. Sunday we will discuss what Church is and our part. Are we stewarding well and sowing lavishly with what God has given? Well, yes and no. Our tight fisted PA Dutch heritage and growing out of the Depression hanging on to things may hinder some of that trusting God and sowing lavishly part--the holding loosely, letting go and allowing God type of stuff. Our rational minds often get in the way of seeing miracles or trusting God to provide where He guides. Talk to God about that. How do we steward and sow lavishly at the same time well? How do we develop deep trust? What is He doing that He wants us to sow into or serve with? What is He wanting to do with you and all the blessings He has given you? Pray for us to be good stewards as we sow lavishly in faith. Check out TWFYT as they speak into moving forward with God. He has great plans for us! Custom made plans for you and us to discover and step boldly into as we sow lavishly in love, service and help. How is God wanting to use you? Grow you and your faith? Expand your thinking? Suit up in His armor and prepare to follow Jesus to the new things ahead! We are on our way to becoming a dynamic movement of God. Let's celebrate and spur each other on as we learn to hold loosely and trust more! Amen!

Charles Stanley:

UR: Patterns of Prayer

Blessed are those . . . who walk according to the law of the Lord. - Psalm 119:1 (NIV)

My husband, Gary, and I enjoy morning walks. We enjoy the fresh air, vent about problems, and make plans for the future. When I walk daily, I am eager to get out and move — and I have more energy. But on days when the weather is bad, I tend to hunker down inside, letting Gary walk alone. The longer I avoid walking, the less enthusiasm I have for it.

My prayer life follows a similar pattern. When I simply offer a few quick prayers during the day, my prayers tend to skitter along the surface like a flat pebble across a lake. However, when I spend the time in longer, deeper prayer, I become more eager to reach out to God again. Prayer then becomes a regular and meaningful part of my day.

We all have places in our lives where we could improve spiritually. I find it helpful to set a specific goal — for example, reading a chapter of the Bible each day or praying for a set amount of time every morning — then finding an accountability partner to hold me to it until the habit becomes a natural part of life. Morning walks can improve our health, but walking with God enriches the soul.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Faithful God, thank you for all the ways we can draw closer to you. Help us to walk daily in the presence of your Holy Spirit. Amen.ODB:

TWFYT:

Harvest Prayer Blog:

As I finish the below, I got a text, I assume from Ramone asking for prayer for Arianna and Amber. They were in a car accident and in the hospital. I don't know details but God does. Both have fractures and car is destroyed. Lift them right now please! We will update when more details are known

Darlene Skinner made it through surgery last evening and is in a long recovery time. Surgeon said he is hopeful and things went well as he repaired years of deterioration of the spine. Keep praying for her and the family and for patience in the process and full and complete healing

I spoke with Josie yesterday. Here's her response: One of the two cottages that were destroyed in the fire, belonged to my grandson Craig. I feel terrible for him because not only was it a total loss, but he also had lined up a buyer; Craig was planning to use the proceeds of the sale for a down payment on a house. And these cottages are not insured…! They’re so old, and the construction not up to building codes, they are uninsurable. I had some furniture stored there to take to my new place in Chestnut Ridge, but it’s really Craig I feel bad for. God will provide and does provide, no one was hurt and all is well, PTL. Continue to pray for provision for all!

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Good Morning Persevering Warriors of Christ! HELP! Have you ever cried that out to God or co-laborers? I am today! Help! Cover me in prayer. I am covering you. Man, we are in a battle and Satan just keeps pounding away at our armor. Some of us are in some deep dark pits of despair and hopelessness. Some of us are being drawn to apathy as media and others keep chipping away at God's ways and hammering believers in Jesus. The Bible warns us the end of times will be like this. And charges us to be bold, courageous and to stand firm in Christ. Sometimes, I feel like Moses who needed two others to hold His arms up while he prayed. Victory came as others supported Him in prayer. We are in the midst of the battle of the ages. And we need each other! We know the Victor and He lives in us! PTL! Don't for the lies and deception of the enemy. Strap that spiritual armor tight and wield the Sword of the Spirit (God's Word) mightily! Stand firm! Breathe out all the junk and take a deep fresh breath of the Spirit and Truth. Come along somebody today that you see struggling. And keep praying like crazy! Jesus is coming back and we will be with Him! Rejoice! He is with us now and when we are weakest, He is strongest! Rejoice!

I didn't intend to go here this morning, BUT GOD! Our devotionals, my circumstances and my time with God has led me here. I'm thinking many of you may need to be reminded of these things today as we battle through this life together. Old age and standing firm in Christ is not for sissies! Be bold and courageous and encourage each other. Karen and I are going through what seems to be a spiritual attack right now and are covering and encouraging each other. Satan be gone! Christ whooped you and He lives in me. Beat it! Pronounce that over you when needed. I think I am being needlessly overmedicated and it is affecting my attitude and health. Doctors found nothing wrong but are throwing all kinds of meds at me to see what sticks. I lost my mojo even and just want to sleep. Many of you can relate as most of us have experienced the overmedicated thing. It's hard to focus on God and to stay up and joyful when you are in this state. And then the world keeps beating us down and it all can lead to depression and giving up. DON'T!!!! Battle through. Trust God always. Counsel with good medical people not those beholden to big pharma. Choose well. Choose to life life to the fullest in Christ! God is using you and us and Satan does not like that! Be strong, courageous, stand firm and pray for wisdom, discernment, joy and shalom. God is for you and us! Amen! (And if you notice me checking out or not caring, you have my permission to smack me upside the head AND HELP ME REFOCUS!--SERIOUSLY! DO IT!) Too easily do I allow myself to enter the pity party--woe is me thinking. Stop it Donald! God's got great plans for all of us that are worth battling towards and being all in about! What's He have for you today? Now there is one other key here--rest! We need to rest and recharge while not becoming couch potatoes. Walking is healthy too. There is a healthy rhythm that is God's best--working from rest, fruit production after pruning and abiding in the Vine. Let us all commit right now to helping each other to God's best for us. We do need each other and some extra help sometimes. Be there! And choose joy!

Check out the devos below that have led to this today. God is speaking and He is with you to guide and strengthen and help you to choose joy always and know His shalom beyond understanding! rejoice!

Harvest Prayer starters:

Charles Stanley:

UR Draw Near to God

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. - Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)

I normally wear cologne, but I have had to stop. My daughter suffers from asthma, and we work in the same office. Her doctor advised her to avoid all perfumes and fragrances to minimize her allergies. She and I share a close bond, and her natural tendency is to give hugs often. So I have stopped using cologne.

Ephesians 5:2 says, “Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” As I made a small sacrifice for my daughter, I began to reflect on Christ’s sacrifice for us. Christ offered himself up on the cross to restore the lost bond between us and God. He relinquished all his glory and majesty so that we all could draw close to God. In accepting and doing God’s will, Christ received God’s blessing and recognition. Now he sits at the right hand of God as the connection that allows humankind to draw near to God.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Jesus, our Lord and Redeemer, we give you thanks for your sacrifice that made it possible for us to draw near to God. Your presence is the balm that adds fragrance to our lives. Amen.odb: