Thank God I'm Forgiven! I often say this and praise God for His forgiveness and help to repent as I come with a humble heart and confess those sins. God was stirring me to that this morning very early at 2 am and to pray earnestly into His plans for me and us! And let me assure you that God does have great plans for us to pray into existence and to bring to life as we step out in faith! PTL! Confess and agree that we are all sinners that fall short of God's standards. BUT GOD! And by His grace we are forgiven! Amen! We have put on Jesus' righteousness and are stepping in faith more fully into our new nature in Christ and wanting to step faithfully into His good plans for us. That all is available because we are forgiven. Stop now. Meditate on how God's gracious forgiveness has changed your life and how that will lead to His perfect plans for you. Worship!

Good Morning Forgiven, Faithful, Praying and Serving Friends! We are God's family gathered for such a time as this and we need each other and to actively pursue our created purposes in God's Good News Delivery Co. What's your part? Who is helping you to do it? Ask for clarity and helpers. I need you and your prayers, encouragement, and co-laboring! We all need each other if we are to become a dynamic movement of God. I am praying for you by name and asking God to bring you dreams, vision, ideas and motivation to step into your part. God has great plans for you and us to discover, release in prayer and to step into doing! PTL! and thank God you are forgiven and being prepared for such a time as this!

Maybe just thinking about some of that has you anxious, thinking God can't use you or has no plans for you that are doable. Remember, all things are possible for God and when we are weak He is strong. Remember also that we are not of this world and that God has chosen the weak, marginalized, and downtrodden of this world to be His vessels. Humble yourself. Die to self and take up your cross daily and follow Jesus! Seek first His Kingdom and righteousness. And find some partners to pray, plan and follow Jesus with. Isaiah 43:1-2 reminds us that Our creator God has and is calling us by name. He knows us and the plans we are created to accomplish. He has redeemed us and We are His--always! Amen! Memorize that verse and Eph. 2:10, You are God's masterpiece. Made new in Christ to do the things God planned for you from long ago. Amen! PTL!

I don't think I am quite ready to put into words the things God has been doing in me and leading me to lead over the past few months and now more intensely over the past week. He is hearing and answering my prayers and revealing some of His plans more clearly. In a couple of weeks our vision team will gather to process, pray and seek God for His plans. In the Become More in '24 Challenge, I have chosen to continue to work on my two words from last year, agape (dying to self kind of love) and disciple making. This year God gave me the word earnestly to add to those. And through earnestness, dying to self and much seeking, God is bringing some clarity to His custom made plans for me and us as I continue to pray for Him to teach and use me to make disciples and for our building to become a house of prayer for the nations and a disciple making hub for such a time as this. Jesus commanded us to love like Him and commissioned us to go make disciples and promised to be with us always and sent His Spirit to us to be able to accomplish our parts with all of that. Our call is to live and love like Jesus more in '24 and add to that for some of us to pray, teach, lead and make disciples like Jesus more in '24. What's God revealing to you right now? Write it down and share it with me or someone and pray into it earnestly. Pray for wisdom for me to lead well and for all of us to have ears to hear and hearts to follow well.

Part of all of this is our call to prayer. Earnest prayer is powerful and effective! We all can and are called to pray. Please mark your calendars for the first Wednesday of each month from noon to 1 to gather to fast and pray for our denomination and church to become a house of prayer for the nations and a dynamic movement of God that makes disciples that make disciples and to plant churches that plant churches. Our first gathering will be in the fellowship hall and on Zoom Wednesday Aug. 7th at noon. Come! Let us seek God together earnestly and release His will together.

Some of you reading this need to know that God has brought your name to mind to earnestly pursue the plans He has for you and us together. Is God stirring you? Are you getting nudges, ideas, dreams and visions of things God is leading you and us to do? Don't fight Him. Receive and ask Him to reveal, guide and provide. Then talk to me and let us seek, pray and process together. God is raising up a remnant that He will use to bring revival and to start His new things. He is also raising up an army of intercessors. What's your part? Thank God that we are forgiven, made new and gifted and empowered to do the things He planned for us long ago! He is calling you by name! He has redeemed you for such a time as this! Rejoice and trust Him!

I am finding myself a bit anxious because what God is leading me to will cut my salary as I give up janitor to more earnestly pursue Him and His plans. It will also require more work and commitment to invest more earnestly in some of you. (I thought I was heading to retirement and winding down, but I'm guessing I am to be like Caleb at 80 because I have earnestly pleaded with God to lead me to and give me this mountain.) But God is calling His people to earnestly pursuing Him and the plans we are created for. And He promises to guide and provide. All He asks is obedient trust and He will lead to His best. I need your prayers for protection, provision, faith the size of a mustard seed, clarity and wisdom and for some partners that are all in. Charles Stanley began my quiet time with stirring me to ask, am I too busy to do what God desires? Am I too comfortable? Am I on my own agenda? Am I earnestly abiding and following from rest? Check out the upper room and their reminder to run to the light. May that be me and us! God is for us! Then pray through the Harvest prayer blog and for us to cling to God and His promises and to follow Him well. The Word for You Today reminds us that nothing surprises God. He knows us and all we will do and our hearts and still calls us by name and wants to lead us to his best plans for us. And the Our Daily Bread reminds us that we are forgiven and to ask God to cleanse and purify us and consecrate us for service. Yes humble yourself, confess, repent, receive and follow well, my friends. 

Daylight is burning and God does have great plans for you too for such a time as this! Rejoice and earnestly seek and follow Him with me! Let us stay connected to the True Vine and allow God to prune and prepare us! I am praying for you! Please pray for me and for the harvest workers God is raising up. We are God's Forgiven, Faithful, Praying and Serving Friends! Amen! Let us rejoice and choose to dwell in those proclamations of faith! Let us become more than just hearers and knowers. Let us be earnest doers of all God has for us! Amen!

CS:

UR: Run to the Light

[Jesus] said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” - John 8:12 (NIV)

My husband, Gary, and I returned from a trip to hear strange scratching noises inside our woodstove. Gary cracked the stove door just enough to spot a big squirrel amidst the ashes. Apparently the chimney cover had come loose, and the squirrel had fallen down the flue. But how on earth could we safely get him out? Finally a pest removal person told us: “Turn off the lights and cover all the windows. Then open the front door wide. The squirrel will head for the light.” We made the room as dark as possible, opened the woodstove door, and stood back. After a moment of silence, the squirrel emerged. It paused to glance around then zipped out the front door like it was shot from a cannon, running toward the light.

Sometimes animals seem smarter than humans. How often do we stumble about, trapped in worry, doubt, addiction, or whatever weighs us down even after God has shown us the light? Perhaps we choose to stick with the familiar rather than risk change. Or maybe we don’t trust that God’s way really is best. Jesus is the light of the world. Whatever our problems, we can find help if we run to Christ’s light.

Today's Prayer

Dear God, teach us to run to your light when we don’t know which way to go. Amen.

Harvest 

July 26 - A God-Sized Promise The Bible is crowded with 7,000 promises from the God-of-All-Faithfulness. The One who has never failed in all He has promised. In Christ’s final conversation with His disciples, He gives a promise so expansive that it is hard to believe. But it is found right before us in the red letters of the inspired, inerrant Scripture. "Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full." (John 16:23-24) Fully answered prayer seems too good to be true, but Jesus puts only one limitation on our asking: "In my Name." This restriction is enough, though, to properly align our prayers. To pray in Christ’s name is to carry all His authority and power before the Father, for Jesus said we could come in His name. But, we must listen in prayer to make sure we are praying in accordance with Christ’s desires. We must “abide in (Him) and let (His) words abide in us” so that His will becomes ours; His desires, our desires (John 15:7). Prayers prayed in the Name of Christ are prayers aligned with His will and for His glory. These are prayers initiated by God himself, through the humble, listening believer. And God delights to answer these requests. God’s promise declares that such prayers are always answered. Our problem is not that God won't answer, but that we won't stay long enough in the Throne Room to let His heart mold us to His will. Further, we often won’t believe enough to ask boldly. We measure God by our own standards, in humanistic terms. "He couldn't possibly do that," we reason. Because WE can't do something—or we’ve never seen it done—we assume HE can't do it either. Sadly, we shrink God to our level. As J.B. Phillips wrote, “Your God is too small.” This is precisely what God longs to avoid. He wants to show us that He is God and there is no other. And the way He has designed in this age to accomplish that is through unceasing, God-sized prayers. Lord God Almighty, I bow before Your authority and gratefully acknowledge Your sovereignty in my life! Show me how to stay rooted in Your throne room until You reveal Your perfect will to me. I deeply desire to align my will with Yours and to obediently ask for what is on Your heart! Thank You for the promises of Your word that allow me to ask for anything in Your name! Give me the confidence to pray unceasing, God-sized prayers, and to wait expectantly for the answer! ---Adapted from Prayer with No Intermission by Bill Elliff. This book is available at prayershop.org. Prayer Points Praise God for the example of servanthood given when Jesus washed the disciples’ feet (Jn. 13:5-15). Thank Jesus for his promise that you will be blessed in being a servant, following his example (13:17). Confess those times you are quarrelsome and resentful, not wanting to be a servant (2 Tim. 2:24). Commit yourself to God as Samuel did and respond: “Speak, for your servant is listening” (1 Sam. 3:10). Ask God to reveal clearly his assigned task for you, even as he did for Paul (1 Cor. 3:5). Pray that your church will faithfully learn the joy of servanthood in every area, fixing their eyes on Jesus, not growing weary or losing heart (Heb. 12:2-3). Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount. Connection (Devotions for Everyday Life) © 2024 is a free devotional published daily by Harvest Prayer Ministries. Subscribe here.

TWFYT

ODB:

Tomorrow Night (Wed at 6) Rita's fellowship and outreach gathering. All welcome~! Wear your St Matts T-shirts. Let's party! In case of rain (it is forecast for intermittent showers) we will move indoors across the street at the Creamery. Watch for a last minute adjustment.

Good Morning Very Blessed, Celebrating, Trusting, Followers of Jesus! How long is your gratitude list that we have been building. Mine is like one of those long scrolls that keeps unrolling! We have so much to be thankful about! Counting our many blessings is something that never ends as God provides, guides, protects, delivers, forgives, redirects, encourages and continues to bless beyond measure. We always need to celebrate God and all His workings in our lives, our church and what He is doing all around us. We even show our trust as we expectantly pray with thanksgivings. As we pray for God to use us tomorrow we start and end with thanksgivings. Thank You Father for all you are doing, for leading and using us. Thank You for the harvest and connection points You are preparing for tomorrow. Thank You for going before us with favor. Father may our joy and thanksgiving and celebration as we fellowship overflow and draw many to You and Your Living Water that flows from us. Thank You! Your Kingdom come and will be done! We can't wait to see what You will do. Thanks! Amen.

Oh yeah baby, we do have so much to celebrate and be thankful about! Amen. The more we share the stories of God's faithfulness and celebrate, the more confident we become and we grow in trust. Plus that becomes contagious as we celebrate and live and love like Jesus. Check out Our Daily Bread reminder that it is time to party! Charles Stanley teaches us how to overflow into being a channel of blessing. The Word for You Today reminds us that even when God leads us in a round about way, it's for His purposes and plans and we can celebrate His goodness, wisdom, refining, preparing and perfect plans. The Upper Room reminds us to refocus in praise and celebrate that God is always with us, hears us and provides all we need when we need it. And Harvest Prayer reminds us of past revivals and how, at just the right time, God breaks through for His earnest, repentant, faithful remnant with deliverance, provision, and revival. Pray along and praise and offer thanksgiving for God readying this nation and the world for massive revival and for using you and your prayers. He knows, cares, loves, is able and is on the move! Rejoice! Celebrate and lift much worship and thanksgiving today! Hallelujah! Amen! We are very loved and blessed, growing in trust and celebrating followers of Jesus! Celebrate that!

CS:

TWFYT

UR: Finding What I Need

I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. - Psalm 81:10 (NRSVUE)

Early on summer mornings, as I pray and read my devotional for the day, a hummingbird makes trips to the feeder hanging outside my window. I keep the feeder filled with the sugar water he needs, and his frequent visits indicate that he knows he will always find necessary nourishment waiting on my front porch.

This morning during my time with God, I prayed about a critical situation in my life that I am unable to resolve. I was struggling with feelings of anxiety when I saw the hummingbird land on the feeder again. Suddenly, it became clear to me that in the same way my visitor simply trusts that his nectar will be there, God anticipates my needs. I can come to God and trust that the resources I need are always waiting.

If I can be faithful to one of God’s smallest creatures, how much more can I trust God to provide abundantly for me. Like the hummingbird, I realized suddenly that I had “landed” in peace beside the never-ending Source of all I will ever need.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Heavenly Father, help us look to you and not just to our own resources for protection and provision in difficult times. Amen.Harvest:

July 23 - United, Fervent Prayer If you love the cause of world missions, you should pray for revival. When God revives His people, their hearts begin to beat in sync with Him who came to “seek and save that which is lost.” A quick study will reveal that every major mission movement in history came out of the fires of revival.   The mission advance with Count VanZinzendorf and the Moravians began with the Moravian Pentecost, igniting a prayer meeting that lasted 100 years and sending missionaries around the world in a day when this was unheard of. Most Moravian missionaries left with their goods packed in a coffin, vowing to give their lives on the field for the cause.          The modern mission movement with William Carey and the Haystack Prayer meeting happened in the early 1800’s in the fever-heat of the Second Great Awakening. Hudson Taylor, George Mueller, and William Booth were all men touched by extraordinary movements in their nations. If we love missions, we must pray for revival!          We cannot manipulate God to send such movements, but we are charged by God to unite our hearts in repentant prayer for such awakenings. There is a clear cycle in the Bible and human history. As the church declines, God sends His disciplining judgments. This is the mercy of God. Like pain to the human body, this is remedial and intended to wake us up and bring us back to Him. When we get desperate enough, we begin to cry out to God in united, fervent prayer. And there is something uniquely irresistible to God about a united cry. In answer to this cry (orchestrated by God Himself) He hears and answers, sending the revival and awakening we need.   Merciful Father, You are waiting for a repentant people to cry out to You in desperation to send another move of the Spirit. Stir me up to be keenly aware of my great need for revival in my own life. Help me pray more fervently for the sleeping Church to awaken and for a great spiritual awakening to sweep across our nation once again! Plant a desire deep within me for those who are lost and face an eternity apart from You! May Your Church lift up a united cry before Your throne!   ---Adapted from Simply Prayer by Bill Elliff. This book is available at prayershop.org. Prayer Points Praise God for not leaving you “as orphans” but for giving another helper to be with you forever (Jn. 14:16, 18). Give thanks for God’s presence and power, and trust him to continue to energize you, keeping you on the right course. Confess the times you are dissatisfied or frustrated in your walk with the Lord. Commit yourself anew to God and let his Spirit help you in your weakness, especially in prayer (Rom. 8:26). Ask him to reveal himself to you today in a new and fresh way. Pray that your family and friends will have the joy, peace, and stability that comes from knowing God personally and spending time daily with him (Col. 3:15-17). Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount. Connection (Devotions for Everyday Life) © 2024 is a free devotional published daily by Harvest Prayer Ministries. Subscribe here.

Good Morning Masterpieces of God, Made New in Christ, for His Purposes, Surrendered Servants! Amen! So be it Lord! May that define me, us and Your Good News Delivery Team at St. Matts! Come! Fill us! Refine us! Prepare us! Move us to go live and love like Jesus and to do our custom made parts for such a time as this. Unite us as teammates too. Raise up prayer warriors, teachers, leaders, workers as you lead us to the harvest. Thank You! Bring your dreams, visions, plans alive. Help us to die to self, choose boldness and follow well to Your best. May we pursue with passion Your perfect plans and run and finish our races well. May we honor and glorify You! Thank You for custom making and gathering us for such a time as this! Here we are! Send us! Your Kingdom come and will be done. Amen

Earnestly pray through this and offer yourself to God. Ask Him to reveal his plans for you today and for the weeks ahead. Ask Him to gather your team and to lead you. Ask Him to empower you, your gifts and to prepare your heart. Ask for His passion, heart and mind to overflow into love, hope and help for many. Pray for Him to connect us to some new people this week and to multiply the harvest. Thank Him for the custom purposes each of us are created to do. Thank Him for being with us always. Thank Him for His perfect plans!

God never ceases to surprise and affirm as He reveals glimpses that we are following His plans. Just look at how He has threaded our devotionals for today through yesterdays message and affirms that we are hearing His still small voice and following Him to what He has planned. I often struggle in prayer and have shared before how I feel like I am a broken record saying and encouraging the same things over and over. BUT GOD! I share what I am hearing daily and my journal notes and it's God that keeps saying, sharing these plans and affirming that we are hearing and following and on the right track. Can you see that? Are you encouraged? What's God saying to you right now? Write it down and process it with someone. God really does have great plans for you and us to discover and enact. What might they be? What's your part? What will you do about it?

God has given me this passion and burning desire to lead us to become a house of prayer for the nations by reaching out to more connection points and connecting more people to Jesus and making more disciple making disciples. He's given me a vision of starting and multiplying some small groups that gather in neighborhoods and homes that might lead to some church plants. It's a picture He's given for how to move beyond adding new followers to multiplying many new disciples. It's the Jesus way and the way the early church blossomed and multiplied much good fruit. At the same time God was stirring this vision in me and some others, He was also stirring it in our bishop as he has felt God calling us to work on and pray in to our EC vision statement. "We will become a dynamic movement of God, led by pastors and laity that have a burning passion for God and missionary zeal to reach the lost." That is a vision that will come to life in different ways because of where God has placed us and how He has gifted and empowered our Body of believers and for such a time as this. That vision is birthed, grows and flourishes through much prayer. The bishop has called our churches to monthly fasting and prayer for this vision on the first Wednesday of each month. I have not pursued this because that is bread day, but I believe God is wanting us to join Him in this. So, every first Wednesday of the month I am calling us to fasting and prayer, however God leads you to do that. The next one is Wednesday Aug. 7th. I will be at the church for bread and then gather any that want to to pray in person and on Zoom for a half hour or as long as the Spirit leads from 12-12:30 or ??? Mark your calendars and plan to fast and pray for revival and be a part of releasing God's will and power for us to become His dynamic movement. I have invited our district to join us in this.

That is just the beginning of the things God is stirring me to earnestly pursue, plan and lead over the next few months. What is He stirring you to? What has He made you to do for such a time as this to help to bring alive and do your part in His GN delivery co? 

Before this gets way to long, I am stopping and allowing you to hear God's affirming, guiding voice through the thread of our devotionals today. Yesterday we processed Ephesians chapter 2. Today God is speaking through Our Daily Bread's interpretation of Eph. 2:4-10. Thanks for the affirmation Lord! Speak to and direct our hearts! Amen! Chas. Stanley reminds us of God's Good plans and the reminder that we are created for custom works that sometimes require dying to self, our plans and agendas. TWFYT reminds us to go when God says to go and the Upper Room calls us to pray into His plans as does the Harvest blogs. There is no denying that God is speaking, revealing and wanting to lead us to His perfect plans. He is affirming and revealing. What's He revealing to you and what will you do about it? Who are your teammates? Keep knocking and seeking. God is speaking! Ask for ears to hear even the whispers and His mind to process well and His heart to go and follow. Amen! You are His masterpiece with custom made purposes! Go and live and love more like Jesus each day as you run and complete the race He has prepared just for you! AMEN!

ODB:

CS:

TWFYT:

UR: Light in the Darkness

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. - John 1:5 (NIV)

Why should I continue to pray? Why should I continue to read Bible verses that I have read hundreds of times? Our messy world and the challenges people face in their daily lives make me question my morning routine. Everywhere I look, the world is a mess. Not a week passes without learning about a relative, friend, or neighbor who is facing a crisis of some kind. I have learned that no one is immune from trouble.

And then some mornings, a total stranger from another part of the world will touch my questioning heart. Their heartfelt words in The Upper Room will give me hope. That hope in the darkness pushes me to revisit these words from John 1:5: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” To overcome the darkness in the world, all of us must hold fast to Christ’s light.

TODAY'S PRAYER

God of us all, help us always to seek your light and cling to that light in all circumstances. Amen.

Harvest:

July 22 - Learning to Hear the Right Voice Indeed, the biggest problem in hearing God’s voice is discerning between His voice, the voice of our own flesh, and Satan’s voice. Gaining more and more knowledge of Scripture helps us to discern the difference. But so does spending time with God in prayer. You will learn to recognize His voice the more you hear it. The boy Samuel in the Old Testament shows us this truth. One night as he was trying to sleep, he heard someone call his name, “Samuel, Samuel.” He ran to Eli, his mentor, saying, “Here I am.” But Eli told Samuel he hadn’t called. This happened three times before Eli realized the Lord was speaking to Samuel. So he told the boy to say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening,” the next time the voice called out (1 Samuel 3). In the midst of these verses lies a telling fact: “Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him” (1 Samuel 3:7). That may be the case for many of us. We have not yet heard the Lord, so we find it difficult to discern His voice. The last verses in the chapter give a different picture of Samuel’s life: “The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord. The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word” (1 Samuel 3:19- 21). Wouldn’t it be great to have the same thing said of our lives at the end—that none of God’s words fell to the ground. The more we listen, the more we will discern. Lord God, learning to hear Your beautiful voice is my deepest desire. Your word says that if I draw near to You, You will draw near to me. Help me to spend all of my days drawing closer to You – leaning in to hear You speak to my heart as I pray, as I read Your word, and as I sit in the stillness. Show me how to know You so well that I never confuse Your voice with my own, or with the voice of the enemy. May I be as obedient a listener as Samuel, and throughout my life may none of Your words fall to the ground! --Adapted from The Power of Personal Prayer (Learning to Pray with Faith and Purpose) by Jonathan Graf. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount. Prayer Points Glorify God as the one who fills all of your desires and needs with his presence alone. Thank God for being sufficient for you even when every other source of joy or support is taken away. Confess your dependence on other people or situations to make you content and happy. Commit yourself to making Jesus your “pearl of great price,” and ask him to make you willing to give up all you have for the sake of his kingdom, if necessary (Mt. 13:44-46). Ask God to bring to your mind the material needs of an unsaved acquaintance so that you will be able to help meet those needs and bring that person closer to the kingdom. Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount. Connection (Devotions for Everyday Life) © 2024 is a free devotional published daily by Harvest Prayer Ministries. Subscribe here.

Sarah Prayer update below. Sarah is taking a Sabbath today and I will probably forget these at prayer time

Wagner's update below

Good Morning Focused, Praying, Followers of Jesus! Turn off the noise. Focus on God. Remember in this life Christ really is all that matters! As we focus on Him and learn to follow, He will use us to be His light and to bring hope, love and joy alive. Amen! Our devotionals speak into this today. Check them out below.

Charles Stanley begins our time with the reminder to set our minds on things above--not earthly things. As we do and learn to live more fully for Christ we come to experience, as The Word for You today reminds us, God answering our prayers. The Upper Room reminds us as does Harvest Prayer to believe that what we pray for will be given, if we pray earnestly and according to God's will. He is a miracle working God! Amen! Believe! And nothing is too small for God! He wants to bless you! Our Daily Bread ends our devotional time with the reminder that we are God's representatives on earth today and He has custom purposes for us to do for such a time as this. We are sent to bless and encourage as we use what we've been given for His glory. It's also a reminder to run our races well until we are called home. We are placed in this Body of Believers for God's purposes. Those purposes come to life as we pray and as we go. Some of us are gifted and some of us have a purpose in His GN delivery co. to pray. But all of us need to pray with focus. God opens doors, guides, informs and refreshes us as we seek, listen, receive, follow and rely on Him through prayer. He made us for His purposes and wants to bless us and help us do them. What an awesome God we serve!

Today we will study Ephesians 2 together during worship and next week Ephesians 3. I like how our devos seem to be hitting on Ephesians this week. Today Eph. 3:20's reminder from the UR how God brings glory to His name by doing way more than we could ever imagine or ask. We are created and called to ask and follow. As we do, we will often find ourselves being amazed at all God is doing as He answers our prayers and directs our steps. God is cheering you on and providing and guiding! PTL! Let us commit to living out our salvation and purposes joyfully, earnestly as we glorify God and fulfill our purposes! Amen! See you soon! Shalom! Shalom! Know His perfect peace as you trust and follow and worship today!

CS:

TWFYT:

UR: Unexpected Provision:

Glory to God, who is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us. - Ephesians 3:20 (CEB)

January 14, 2016, was the day of the International Kite Festival. As superintendent of a hostel, I wanted to provide a good meal of undhiyu (a traditional Gujarati curry) to the students at the hostel. I phoned a shopkeeper to discuss the matter, but due to the high price, I decided instead to order a snack called khaman-jalebi. Although the children were pleased to have the snack and kites to play with, I was disappointed because I could not offer the traditional meal I had intended.

In the afternoon, I received a phone call from the same shopkeeper, and he offered me undhiyu for the hostel students. He told me that he understood I had to change my order because of the high price, and he wanted to provide that special food for the students.

On hearing these words, I was overjoyed and thanked God. On that day, students and staff were fed sufficiently with undhiyu. Later, I shared these words with the students and thanked God for the way the promise in Ephesians 3:20 was fulfilled for us.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Lord God, thank you for the ways you provide for us. Strengthen our faith so that we fully depend on you. Amen.

Harvest:

July 21 - Leaning on the Father God wants to be engaged in everything in our lives. Big and small. And there are huge residual effects when we pray about everything … when we pray without ceasing. Jesus said, "Up until know you've asked for nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full" (John 16:24). Simple, daily prayer about the small things is more than just a mere request to God. It is one of His ways of training us to turn to Him constantly. To show us the “breadth and length and height and depth” of His love. To know God. To teach us to lean on His breast for matters great and small. To fall in love with Him all over again. I know a young man who has been saved from a deeply rebellious life. As He came to Christ, he thought you were supposed to pray about everything. And so, he prays all day long. He prays for his co-workers at work. He prays about his finances and his relationship to his wife. He prays for random people he meets. He prays about the words that come out of his mouth. He prays about what he puts into his mouth. And, He seeks to listen carefully to the Lord and do precisely as He instructs. Unceasing prayer. And, guess what? God answers his prayers! All day long. In fact, he bombards me with stories, almost every day of God’s answers. The residual of this unceasing prayer is that his days are filled with great joy, such a contrast to his former life! I know this for a fact, for he is one of my sons. He is continually joyful because he is continually communing with the God who loves him (which would make anyone joyful) and continually receiving answers from the God who provides for him (which brings unceasing joy.) We have many joyless Christians because we have many prayerless Christians. You may fall into that camp and, if so, it’s time to change—for your sake and His, and for the sake of a watching world. A joyless Christian is an oxymoron and a poor testimony regarding our big God. What prayers have you not asked of God, simply because you thought it was insignificant? Ask Him right now! And ask the Lord to help you keep a running dialogue with Him today about everything. Prayer-Answering Father, I worship You for all that You are! How blessed I am to know that You want to know even the smallest details of my life. You care so deeply for me that I can bring any request into Your throne room! Help me to remember that every moment of every day should be lived prayerfully and expectantly. Give me ears to hear Your voice in response to my prayers, and a grateful heart to praise You for each answer – even if the answer is “no,” or, “not yet.” ---Adapted from Prayer with No Intermission by Bill Elliff. This book is available at prayershop.org. Prayer Points Glorify the Lord, who is gracious, full of compassion, and gentle with the weak (Ps. 116:5). Thank God for rescuing you during those times when you needed his help, even when you didn’t ask for it (116:8). Confess the times when you have been impatient with others in need. Commit yourself to remembering throughout this day God’s compassion for you and to reflecting that compassion to others. Ask God to help you fulfill this vow. Ask God to make the congregations in your community centers of kindness, where those in need will find the hands of Jesus ministering to them. Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount. Connection (Devotions for Everyday Life) © 2024 is a free devotional published daily by Harvest Prayer Ministries. Subscribe here.

ODB:

Sarah Prayer update:

Here are the updates that I have for those that need our prayer support:

From Barb Sommers:

  Brenda Stauffer - (sister of Doreen Raudenbush who is a member of St Matthew's.)

     Brenda is battling cancer and recent has had a burst ulcer.  Pray for her healing and strength

  Larry Raudenbush is a home now, on Hospice.

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Prayers for Harry Hebig's family - Services will be on Monday, with calling hours from 10 - 11 and the service will follow at 11:00am.  Bachman, Kulik and Reinsmith on Elm St in Emmaus.

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Prayers for our church family members that are traveling: Schware Family, Siegfried family.

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Keep our church family Rita's ice event on Wednesday. May we share God's love to those we come in contact with. May people see Jesus in each of us.......

Wagners:

Greetings Friends, “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the LORD always, for the LORD GOD is the eternal Rock.”  ~Isaiah 26:3-4 It is hard to believe that we will be boarding an airplane and returning to Kenya in just under 3 weeks! We do have a few events remaining on our schedule… Upcoming Schedule Friday, 26 July – sharing at Manbeck’s EC Church in Rock Thursday, 1 August – sharing at Bethany EC Church in Ashland Thursday, 8 August – returning to Kenya New RVA Video We are excited that a new recruiting video for RVA has been released. You can view the video here. This video is so new that we have only shared it with one church. You are welcome to share it with your church! Praises! We’re grateful for our time of home assignment to: Rest, Reconnect, Recharge, Regroup, and finally, Retool. By retool, we mean that we’ve equipped ourselves with the tools, knowledge, and resources that will be helpful to continue in the ministry roles God has called us to in this next season. Brian had the opportunity for networking and conversations with AP Calculus teachers for nearly three weeks while scoring AP exams and leading a four-day workshop for calculus teachers wanting to sharpen their skills. Missy has completed a three-month course on education consulting for cross-cultural workers in preparation for a new role that she will be starting with AIM next month. We have both read quite a few books that have really challenged our hearts and minds. Rejoice with us that we feel ready to return to Kenya. Prayer Requests Quality time with family as we wrap up our time in the States. We were so blessed to spend last week with Rachel, Luke and Cayden; and with that, the difficult “see ya laters” have begun. Soon we will be 8,000 miles and more than a few time zones apart. We are looking forward to spending time with our other kids and extended family during the next two weeks. Restful sleep at night and productive days to complete the tasks that need to be finished prior to leaving. Quiet moments to prepare our hearts and minds to re-engage with the ministry and community we love at RVA. We are excited to teach, love, and focus on the discipleship of our nine elementary dorm boys. Thank you so much for your prayers! You are appreciated.   In His Service,   Brian & Missy

Harry Hebig service is Monday with visitation from 10-11 and service at 11 at Bachman, Kulig and Reinsmith's Emmaus location. I will be doing the service and appreciate your prayers

Received word from our HVAC guy that all equipment is expected in by the end of July. Lord willing, the FH will have AC by early August and we can get back at it. Ask God for ideas to reach out before that and even after we are back in the building. Ask Him to raise up workers and leaders for the harvest.

Next Tues Family Ministries is having a pool party. Pray for fair weather.

Wednesday is our Rita's night at 6 to gather and to try to connect to some neighbors. Ask God to oversee all this and connect us to some He is drawing. (In the event of rain we will meet at the Creamery near The Way to Emmaus Christian store)

Don't forget to see Gail L. and order your T-shirts we will wear whenever we gather out of the building. Think about being God's light and living and loving more like Jesus as you wear them!

Tomorrow is worship at 10 live and on Zoom. We will be discussing Ephesians 2.

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Good Morning Joy-Bringing, World Changers! AMEN! That describes who we are created to be. What's your part in that today? I have a different prayer focus for each day. Every Saturday I pray for us to be joy bringers and world changers. Man, the world sure needs some joy today, especially during these divisive political posturing times. One of my Saturday prayers flowed from the last presidential election and my anger and attacking. I pray that I would turn off the noise and take every thought, word, type, and action captive before the Lord. I pray that I would stop grumbling and complaining and start pronouncing life into people around me. I haven't fully achieved this yet, but what a difference four years has made in my choices, joy level and peace. Remember when we studied the virtue of joy a few years ago? Joy is a choice and becomes available as we grow in trust that God is in control and with me always. It takes dying to self and agape love. Are you able to chose joy today? How about bringing joy and life alive in this dry and weary land? As we do, those God is drawing and those who are realizing that hate and attacking and trying to control others is not good or healthy and are getting tired of it will be drawn to the refreshing joy and life we bring. And then we can start some relationships that can lead them to our Prince of Peace, the Joy of the World , the One who changed us--Jesus! And that my joy-bringing friends can change the world. Keep praying for joy, life and Jesus to come alive as we live and love more like Jesus. Talk to God about some correctives you may need to take today. Ask for help to turn off the noise and focus on Him and His Living Word. Ask to have His heart and mind, to take thoughts captive and to bring life and love alive that will change the world. Pray for revival too. Ask God for ideas for how to connect to those He is drawing and sending to us and thank Him for the harvest He is sending us into. Thank Him for all He is doing, providing and His guiding.

The Upper Room today (we should have them shortly available in church) Reminds us that we are in very dark times. Some of us have been in that very dark valley too. BUT GOD! He is with us, holding our hands and guiding us through. I am reminded that we are the light of God sent to light up the darkness and guide others to our Light Source. Jesus is our hope and promises help in times of trouble and sometimes uses us to do so. Our Daily Bread reminds us of the importance of our words. Are your words building up, encouraging and bringing life? What we say and pronounce does matter. Even the words we say about ourselves. Pronounce in prayer that you will choose joy and bring it, that your words will build up and bring life and that you will live and love more like Jesus. Say it! Believe it! Choose it! Live it! Check out the Harvest Prayer blogs about embracing and bringing life and use the prayer starters to help focus your praying today. The Word for You Today reminds us that we are disciples=learners and we always have more to learn. Ask God to bring His presence, knowledge and wisdom alive to you and us. And Charles Stanley reminds us that God is always speaking and in ways that we can understand. What's He saying to you today? Write it down and discuss and process with some others. As you do, begin making His plans to go live and love and make disciples like Him because we are apostles=sent ones too. Ask that you and our Body would be joy bringing, world changing, servants that live and love more and more like Jesus. Amen! God has great plans for you and us to do so! Rejoice! Choose joy! Know peace! Amen!

Upper Room: Navigating Darkness

God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” - Hebrews 13:5 (NIV)

My friend Julia and I boarded the subway train in Mexico City, chatting about our day. We were on our way back to our apartment. The crowded train was racing along when suddenly there was a shuddering jolt and everything stopped. The earth was quaking and we were instantly plunged into the deepest darkness I have ever experienced. The shaking stopped, but the lights remained off and the train was stuck between stations, many feet below ground. For about 10 seconds there was shocked silence, then people began crying out. I heard a woman scream. Panic rose in me until I felt Julia’s hand in mine. My friend reached out to me in the darkness, reminding me that I was not alone, and I felt comforted.

There have been times in life, like when my son died, that I felt I had been plunged into darkness. The way ahead seemed strange and unnavigable. During those times I felt the Lord take my hand and lead me through the “valley of the shadow.” We are never alone as Christians. The Lord has promised never to leave us or forsake us. God can be trusted to stand with us during the darkest time.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Dear Lord, help us to trust in your presence even if we don’t sense it. Show us others who need comfort and reassurance so that we may offer your love to them. Amen.

ODB:

Harvest:

July 20 - Embracing Life “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:3)  The very first gift God gave us is life. Human history begins with the Lord forming Adam’s body and breathing life into it. Then, at the focal point of history—the cross of Christ—God makes a way for our spirits and our bodies to live again. Our nation’s Founders were right to recognize the fundamental truth that God cherishes human life, that it is an inalienable right which earthly authorities are entrusted with respecting and defending. We believe that God will secure and bless our land as we revitalize a culture that honors the sanctity of human life. Every one of our individual stories—not to mention our collective story as the human race—starts with God forming and breathing life into us. He gave us bodies and spirits. And He designed us to live with Him eternally.  Every one of us lost hold of that gift. We all—from Adam to the hundreds of thousands of new lives being born on the very day you are reading this—we all have gone astray. We all are stained by sin. We all make choices that set us on a road to physical and spiritual death.  But God. God didn’t give up on us. He so cherished us—the lives He breathed into existence—that He devised a radical plan to save us. At the cost of His own life, Jesus atoned for our wrongs. And then He rose. He rose from and defeated death and made a way for us to live again!  That is good news, friends! It’s a message of love. It’s a message of hope. And it’s a word that the people of our land desperately need to hear and to embrace.  It’s no secret that we as individuals and as a nation have made choices that are sending us down a dangerous path. If you are beginning this work of intercession, then this reality is probably already heavy on your heart. But remember: Death does not have the last word. Jesus conquered death. He is the way, the truth, and the life. That is a victory worth declaring!  I praise You, Lord, that You have breathed life into me! You made a way for me to escape the wages of sin and to live again! Would You also break into the day of each of my loved ones who have yet to call You Savior and Lord? Allow them to see how much You love them and want them to be filled with life. Lord Christ, You are risen! I declare Your amazing victory of life over death. I ask, Father, that every eye in our nation would be opened and that all hearts will embrace the love, hope, peace, and joy of that reality. May the leaders in our nation help our society to choose a path of life! --Adapted from We Declare: 31 Days of Intercession for America by David Kubal. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount. Prayer Points Praise the God who knows the depths of your heart and sees all the secret places there. Give thanks that he hears the prayers of many people all over the earth and listens to all of our cries for help. Confess to God the days in this past week when you have not made sufficient time for prayer for yourself and others. Commit yourself to remembering his deep love for you and all people, and ask the Spirit to make that awareness grow into a habit of praying without ceasing “on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Eph. 6:18). Ask God to hear and answer the prayers of the unsaved, “so that all peoples of the earth may know [his] name and fear [him]” (1 Ki. 8:43). as a God who listens and responds. Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount. Connection (Devotions for Everyday Life) © 2024 is a free devotional published daily by Harvest Prayer Ministries. Subscribe here.

TWFYT:

CS:

Thank God I'm Forgiven! Thank Him for using sinners like us to reach sinners like us and lead them to His mercy, grace, forgiveness and eternal life! meditate on what the implications of all of this are for you and what God may be wanting you to repent of and/or do.

Good Morning Forgiven Much, Loved Extravagantly, Sent Ones! Amen! Pronounce that over you and us. Believe it. Be it more in '24! Jesus said follow Me and I will give you rest for your souls. That is His easy yoke we've been discussing recently. Work on being who you are created and gifted to be in Christ and follow Him to your created purposes. This sweet spot in Christ and your identity brings peace, joy, and satisfaction that's hard to explain. 

Check out Harvest's blogs on following Jesus and pray the prayer at the end. Engage with the Upper Room devo and remember, Jesus took naps. Taking times of rest and refreshing can be hard for us driven work-a-holics. I know. I owned my own business for 15 years and took little vacation. growing up my dad worked two jobs and we only could afford to take day trips. In my 20 and 30's my vacations were usually two to three days to go do something. I have no idea how to get away and unplug and do nothing. It drives me crazy. Yet we are called to work from rest like Jesus. For some of us going away to an isolated place and sitting around for a week is recharging. And for some, like me, that drives us crazy and we would rather just keep working. It's hard for Karen and me who recharge differently to plan good vacations and times of rest and recharging. But we try. Today is my day off and I am going to be doing all kinds of yard work. That is recharging to me even though I beat my body. Tomorrow I do my chaplain stuff at the track, That is so recharging. What ministers to your soul and spirit that allows recharging? Make time for it. It is healthy to work from rest. The Word for You Today helps us think about making the right choices. Are you choosing well? Are you choosing God's best for you? Who helps you see the blind spots when you're not? Be still and know that He is God. Seek first the Kingdom ways. Don't lean on your own understanding. What is God's best and how are you preparing to do that? Are you able to get still enough to hear God's voice and process before forging ahead into your plans and agendas? Our Daily Bread reminds us of the brokenness many of us are traveling through. Yet God is there preparing and walking with us and wanting to use that to grow us and bless others. You are created for His purposes and he knows how to get you there. And His purposes include blessing all kinds of other people. Taking care of widows, orphans and foreigners is part of our ministry that God is blessing because it is part of His plan. How might he want to use your brokenness to refocus and bless others? Do it! Sometimes when we don't rest and recharge, we end up in the hospital, sick, depressed--broken. I know! And God uses that memory to push me to push you to work from rest. I struggle with taking vacations that bless Karen too. God uses that brokenness to lead me to better choices. I struggle with all this open border, illegals stuff. yet they are here to stay. So how might God change our thinking and want us to bless them? Pray into that. That could be part of our next ministry? Charles Stanley reminds us that God is always good and every good and perfect thing comes from Him--it's a gift, like our salvation, new life, and growth as disciples and apostles. It's a reminder to trust and obey. We are a work in process and progress. He has great plans for us that flourish and grow as we seek, trust, obey and follow His examples well. Thanks Lord! Help us grow in trust and obedience and be a blessing to you and many. help us to live and love like Jesus more in '24.Amen!

What's God saying to you? What will you do about it? He has great plans that will bless you, Him and others. Chose well today as you worship and live and love like Jesus! You can know His peace, rest and joy! Shalom!

Harvest blogs:

July 19 - Follow Me Jesus recruited a known cheat, a thuggish tax collector named Matthew (Levi) as a disciple. Then, to the abhorrence of the “righteous” religious leaders, He walked to Matthew’s house and broke bread with the tax collector and his sinner friends. When Jesus proclaims in Matthew 9:9, “Follow me,” He invites sinners to journey with Him, and the invitation isn’t cold and detached, but warm and relational. Compassion drenches every word and deed of Jesus, so instead of exacting His power to punish, He extends a hand of fellowship.  Simultaneously, while ministering to sinners, He teaches the righteous how to behave in a godly way. In Matthew 9:12-13 Jesus says, “Those who are healthy don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do. Go and learn what this saying means: ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.” The righteous can’t judge a sinner into being a follower: not effective. The righteous can follow Jesus’s example: Jesus as the Almighty, Righteous God loves a sinner into following Him. His love doesn’t condone sin but looks past it to love (spend time with) the person. His love and kindness bring that individual to repentance. Lord, You’re amazing. I repent for every time I’ve judged a person or situation. Help me, Lord, to look at others through Your eyes and treat sinners as You treat them. Reorganize my impulses and inclinations so I represent You well. I declare that with Your wisdom, I will be merciful. With Your empowerment, I will love sinners into a right-standing relationship with You. With Your steadfastness, I will courageously fellowship with, yet live an uncompromised life before sinners. Thank You for making this possible. I praise You for living inside of me. I’m not my own, but Yours. I praise You for the blood making me righteous in Your sight. I praise You for the life You gave me. I praise You for seeing all I do and am purposed to do in You. You’re my all in all. Praise the Holy One, the Righteous One, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. --Adapted from Praying What Jesus Says by Natasha Miller. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount. Prayer Points Praise the Son of God, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Thank God for the depth of the riches of that wisdom and knowledge (Rom. 11:33). Confess those areas of your work or personal life for which you have forgotten to ask his wisdom and guidance. Commit yourself to calling out for insight and crying aloud for understanding, to looking for it as for silver and searching for it as for hidden treasure (Prov. 2:3). Ask God to let his discretion protect you and his understanding guard you. Intercede for the parents you know who are struggling with raising their children, that God will open their hearts to his wisdom. Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount. Connection (Devotions for Everyday Life) © 2024 is a free devotional published daily by Harvest Prayer Ministries. Subscribe here.

Upper Room: Work and Rest

Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” - Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)

I grew up on a farm, where responsibility and hard work were high priorities. These values were so highly prized that I still struggle with taking time and resources to spend on recreation and relaxation.

After studying the Bible, I came to realize that God often instructed the people to take time from their work to celebrate and enjoy life. We need times like this to rejuvenate ourselves so we can continue with our life’s occupation and our work for the Lord. We read in Mark 6:31-32 that even Jesus took his disciples away from ministering to a large crowd so they could be physically replenished.

After a revival during Nehemiah’s days, God’s people were instructed to eat, drink, and celebrate. Then Nehemiah adds, “For the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Replenishing our bodies with rest and our souls with nourishment are spiritual disciplines that Christians need to follow so that we maintain the strength we need to follow God’s call on our lives.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Lord God, provide us with nourishment, rest, and recreation so we can have the resources to serve you and others joyfully. Amen.TWFYT:

ODB:

CS:

Sarah email and challenge below (*thanks Sarah)

    *One correction, I believe Harry Hebig's service is at the Emmaus location. Will know for certain today when obit is published.

Study and meditate on Ephesians 2 this week as we will be discussing Sunday

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Good Morning Pursuers of God's Customized Vision and Plans and Doers of His Word! Amen! Check out Sarah's message about pursuing God's vision and plans for you. They are custom made for you for such a time as this and part of Jesus' easy yoke for you. PTL! We are reminded in Eph. 2:10 that we are God's masterpieces. We are made new in Christ. And that God wants us to do the things He has planned for us since He created us. Understanding your purposes needs to be followed by doing what God reveals. Sarah's picture of the stagnant lake reminds me of the Dead Sea. Why is it dead? Because nothing flows out. It takes in all kinds of nutrients and fresh living water that builds up, stagnates and dies because there is no outlet. How often have we heard teachings on doing and being doers of the Word? A lot, I believe. We have all this head knowledge about the Bible and know God, but unless we follow Him out and allow Him to use us to make Him known, we stagnate and eventually become useless for His purposes. But here's the promise, God knows, loves and has great plans custom made for you for today and everyday to follow. And He promises to guide us and be with us as we take those steps of faith to go and make Him known. PTL! We can do nothing of value without Him. So, seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness and then put on that easy yoke and go practice living and loving like Jesus and watch how He uses you, just as you are. Next thing you know, you'll be growing into His greater things He has planned for you and you will be known as springs of Living Water! Amen! 

What's God saying to you as you seek Him and His plans for you and our Body? What will you do about it? Who is helping you process, plan and go? Pray for God to raise up your co-laborers and to connect you to a small group. Pray for us to get some prayer ministry and small groups started in the next few months. That is the vision God has given me for our Body--gather, pray, process, prepare and go make Him known. He has a perfect part in that just for you! Wonder what it might be? Whatever it is, it will be a joy because you were crafted to do it and God will be with you! Amen!

Our EC motto is to know Christ and make Him known. As we work on the EC vision of becoming a dynamic movement of God, it will be built upon seeking and knowing God and will only come to life as we go and make Him known. We all have a custom part in His Good News Delivery Co. What's yours? Seek Him and process that with some others today. He promises to go with you, guide you, and make Himself known to and through you. Check out the rest of our devos below and the Harvest blog on revival. God is speaking and weaving us together for such a time as this. May we be earnest in our pursuit to grow at becoming more like Jesus and living and loving like Him. Amen!

Yesterday was a unique Bread Ministry Day. they are all different, really. I always pray for God to use me and connect me to those He is sending and for Him to use me well. He always answers those prayers and in different ways each week. PTL! Your part could be to pray for God to open doors, draw people to Him and for us to connect to them and them to Him? Your part could be helping to serve the bread and greet people? Your part could be sitting there watching for the ones God is sending to you and allowing Him to use you? Maybe your part is helping to pick up the bread and set it up? Or maybe God has another plan for your day? Seek Him and follow well everyday!

Yesterday, God sent Joan, Karen Latch's sister. Joan usually stops in for a bit to get bread and chat and visit her sister. Yesterday she was there when we opened and stayed until we closed. She needed to be out of the house and around God's people that care. They rent an apartment in their basement to her husband's best friend. Monday that man waited for them to leave for dinner and committed suicide in their driveway. They are devastated and have no clue why. He obviously premediated everything, no one knows why. People passed in and out while we hung out and chatted. Then Amber and Arianna stopped in and sat down with us and shortly after Chuck joined us. We just sat and chatted. Chuck was hurting from having a funeral for a friend Mon. Amber and Arianna are praying for healing and peace for Ramone. It was just a time to sit, listen, chat and encourage. Then God sent an angel in a new face of a young Christian mother and her 6 month old. Shortly baby Asa (named after the King that brought revival to Israel) was on Joan's lap. Joan had been a NICU nurse for years and loves kids. God, Asa and this young mother were used by God to bring some peace and a heaven sent distraction for a few minutes. As bread ministry ended, and the others left, I was able to pray with Joan and for her husband. Now how hard was that? Jesus' easy yoke sometimes means just to show love, care, concern, share a listening ear and to just allow Him to place you right where He has planned for you to be, just as you are. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and He will direct you to what He has planned for you. Here I am Lord. Send me! Use me as I am. Bless others and You as I allow you to love through me. Thanks! Amen! What's your plan for me/us today? Lead us and be our Shepherd. Come! Bring revival and may it begin in me and through our Body. Amen!

Sarah email:

Good evening, church family,

Just a few things to share with you:

Harry Hebig is finally home, in the arms of Jesus. His services will be on Monday, July 22 with visitation from 10 - 11am, and the service will begin at 11:00am at the Bachman Kulik Funeral Home, 1629 Hamilton St Allentown

Please continue to keep Harry's family in your prayers during this difficult time.

Mary Rehm had her shoulder surgery today. I spoke with her this evening, and she is home and resting. Dealing with some pain. She is scheduled to being therapy on Friday. Pray that she gets a good night's rest. She is very thankful for Marshall being there to assist her.  You both are in our prayers!

Bread ministry went well today. Please continue to pray for all the volunteers that it takes to make the bread

distribution take place and bless many families.  

Continue to pray for those that are still without electricity due to the storms that have passed through. Also pray for the safety of all the workers who are cutting down trees and repairing the electrical lines.

Marylou Snyder is a proud grandmother......her grandson, Matthew Bachert. He has been working towards becoming an EMT on the National Registry.  A few weeks ago he passed the practical part of the test. Yesterday, he took the final exam and he passed!!!  Matthew Bachert is certified as an Emergency Medical Technician.  Congratulations, Matthew!  Marylou is sooo proud of him!!

Don't forget to pop a birthday card into the USPS box for GLADYS KETNER, She will be celebrating her birthday on Saturday.  Let's le her know that we are thinking of her.

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Where are you going?

Many of us like to write out a list to help us accomplish things, things that need/should be accomplished in your day.

I like to have lists as I like to check or cross the items off as I accomplish them.

Some have said that if they don't have a list, or agenda to follow, they fear their day would be wasted, as they wouldn't know what to do with their time.

The list gives them direction, provides guidance and helps hold them accountable for their day.

We could say the lists we make, whether daily or weekly could be called our "VISION"

Vision is defined as the act or power of anticipating that which will or may come to be.  Think about it, if we didn't have a vision of what we wanted to get completed, we may just end up sitting on the sofa or our favorite chair all day long........

 Even our awesome God tells us that it's necessary for us to have a vision - to know where we are headed.

Provers 29:18 says, Where there is no vision {no revelation of God and His Word} the people are unrestrained. But Happy and blessed is he who keeps the law (of God)

God wants each of us to seek out His vision for each of their lives; for our church families.   For if we don't have a vision from God, as to where He wants to use us or take us, we become like a stagnant pond - that is filled with water that just sits there.

Eventually the water becomes yucky and bug infested and not good for anything. You can't swim in it, you can't drink it, and it's not even pretty to look at.   If we don't ask God for HIS VISION for our lives, we will become like that pond - nothing is flowing in (God's Words are not flowing into our hearts/minds) and nothing is flowing out (meaning there is no evidence being shown to the world around us, of our Love for God. There is no evidence that we even have a relationship with Jesus Christ.

We Need to have a vision as we travel on our Jesus Journey - 

May I challenge you today, that if you are unsure of your vision for Christ, and what it is...... ASK HIM.   ASK Him to open your eyes and heart so you may see your vision being revealed to  you by your Heavenly Father.

Whatever He shows you is His vision for YOUR life - know you are not alone - He will help you to work through it.  He will not leave you alone - As Jeremiah 29:11 says " For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

If you discovered your VISION a while back and have seemed to have forgotten it or you have never really sought out what your vision is.....now is the time! May I challenge you, today, to find some quiet place to sit and ask God -  "what is Your vision for me?"

Prayerfully open your heart and ears to receive what God is going to tell you!!!

That is all I have for now, praying you all have a great rest of your week!

   Blessings,

    Sarah

Harvest:

July 18 - Awakening from Spiritual Slumber There have been six seasons of great revival and spiritual harvest in America to date. Historians debate the dates and the extent of each has varied. The First Great Awakening                1735-1742 The Second Great Awakening           1800-1825 The Prayer Revival                            1857-1858 The Welsh Revival                             1904-1905 The Jesus Movement                        1969-1971  Notice that every 50-60 years in our history God has graciously come in power to our nation bringing the course correction that we desperately need.   The telling mark of these movements have not been just the change in the churches, but the rapid expansion of the gospel. Awakening implies that a man is in a spiritual slumber, unable to find God. God in His grace quickens his heart, bringing him to an awareness of his sin, a deep desire for repentance, and faith to believe in Christ. In times of national spiritual awakening this happens with stunning speed.   In the First Great Awakening 15% of the population was saved. Do the math on your city or state and you will see the massive nature of such a movement. During the height of the 1857 revival, it was reported that 20,000 people a week were coming to faith in Christ! In the Welsh revival, 100,000 people experienced salvation in 9 months, fulfilling the vision God had given to Evan Roberts in prayer, and this happened the a country that is the size of a small American state. That Awakening literally swept around the world, dramatically affecting America as well.   Records of the largest denomination of its time, the Southern Baptist Convention in America, show that more students and teenagers were baptized in 1969-1971 than any moment in that denomination’s history—before or since. This was during the Jesus Movement.   If you long for millions to be saved, pray for a nationwide, spiritual awakening.   Lord of the Harvest, awaken Your people again! Thank You for what You have done in the past to draw people to Yourself. I give you thanks for awakening sleeping churches and calling generations of believers to cry out to You for the lost. Do it again, Lord! Hear the prayers of Your people, and give me a deep desire to see another nationwide spiritual awakening that leads to millions of salvations.   ---Adapted from Simply Prayer by Bill Elliff. This book is available at prayershop.org. Prayer Points Praise the Lord Jesus, who will be “revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels” (2 Thess. 1:7). Thank him that he will come to restore justice and righteousness in the earth. Confess the times when you have not lived in awareness of Christ’s coming again in power and judgment. Ask him to help you desire and look forward to his coming, and commit yourself to preparing yourself and others for “the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all who have believed” (1:10). Ask the Spirit to give the churches in your community a sense of urgency in bringing the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection to the unchurched and unbelieving in their neighborhoods. Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount. Connection (Devotions for Everyday Life) © 2024 is a free devotional published daily by Harvest Prayer Ministries. Subscribe here.

Upper Room: Broken Crayons

The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. - Psalm 51:17 (NRSVUE)

At the end of each school year, my mom would put all the broken crayons from the classroom in a container for me to use at home. I never liked broken crayons, but those broken crayons still colored.

My granddaughter, Arianna, is an artist. For a project, she once took brand-new packs of crayons and broke them on purpose into different lengths. She then carefully arranged the pieces on a piece of wood until a picture emerged: a child’s hand and an adult’s joined together with a butterfly hovering above them. The beauty of the colors and the amount of work that went into the piece of art are apparent to all who view it.

God wants to make us new — to transform us. Even when we feel broken and useless, God still has a purpose for us. In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he urged them to offer their “bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God” and to “not be conformed to this age, but to be transformed by the renewing of the mind.” Just as broken crayons still color and can be repurposed into something beautiful, God can transform and redeem our brokenness.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Dear God, thank you for helping us to find new purpose even when we are broken. Transform us so that we may serve you well. Amen.Our Daily Bread

TWFYT:

CS

Shalom! God loves you and has great plans for you! Rejoice!

Good Morning Gathered and Sent Disciples and Apostles of Jesus! AMEN! We are placed here and gathered to worship and be taught by Jesus. And He has sent us with His authority to share Good News, make disciple making disciples as we model and teach how to walk in Jesus' way. We are created, gifted and empowered for such a time as this to be all we are created to be and do. And we get to do this together and with Jesus leading us. How cool is that easy yoke! be you and Christ and allow Him to lead you to His best plans. We are His Good News Delivery Co. sent to bless many! Check out our devos about this below. Pray for our outreach on Wed. at 6 at Rita's (or the Creamery) and come be you and love like Jesus. Pray for new connection points and for us to step out in faith and invite God to use us well. Amen!

Shortly we will be studying Ephesians 1 as we gather to worship and study the Apostle Paul's teaching, to fellowship and to pray. All we need to do is eat together to be fully an Acts 2:42 church. And we will do that Wed. and once the AC is installed. God is using and growing us. PTL! Let us commit to follow well and help each other as we seek to go and make disciples and grow as disciples. Amen! See you soon! Shalom!

CS:

UR: The Hills

I lift up my eyes to the hills — from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. - Psalm 121:1-2 (NRSVUE)

I spent many of my early years in the American Midwest. Some consider Midwestern states flyover country, but this does not accurately depict the land or its rich resources. The Midwest has beautiful prairie grasslands, abundant wildlife, meandering rivers, and fields of corn, soybeans, and wheat. In addition, the region is not all flat. There are varied and fascinating hills in the Midwest — bluffs overlooking a river, hills of tall grasses and wildflowers, sand dunes, and rugged rock formations.

Though the hills in the Midwest are not huge, each has its own richness and striking beauty. When I stand at the foot of these hills, they seem close and reachable. This reminds me that when I look to the Lord, it is like looking to the hills, for the Lord is close and within reach.

Whenever I am in need of help, I often think of the hills. I lift my eyes to the Lord and recognize that the Lord is the source of my help. No matter where we are, if we are in need, the Lord is near. We can always look up to the Lord, who watches over us.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Maker of heaven and earth, we know that our help comes from you. Watch over us and guide us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.ODB:

TWFYT:

Harvest

July 14 - Jesus Wants To Be Known At the appointed time of 30 years old, Jesus revealed Himself and His ministry. He healed. He forgave. He understood people’s hearts. He knew their thoughts. He responded to faith. He was the Son of Man. He was God. Yet, this list merely scratches the surface of His identity. In Matthew 9:2, 4-6 Jesus says, “Have courage, son! Your sins are forgiven.” ... “Why do you respond with evil in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” ... “Stand up, take your stretcher, and go home.” Jesus heals and forgives. We can seek Him as our safe place. No matter what we’ve done, we can approach Him with sincerity of heart and receive forgiveness and reconciliation. And yet, Healer and Forgiver are only two aspects of who He is. He is so much more. Lord, I desire to know You fully. Show me how to know, pursue, and draw closer to You. Forgive me for not taking our relationship seriously. I repent. Take me to the next level of understanding about who You are and how You operate.  You have incredible authority, including healing and forgiving sins. Reveal the fullness of Your authority and the authority You granted to me. I declare that godly fear will overtake me so I can be wise. I desire godly love to fill me so I may be like You. I desire Godly zeal to characterize me, so I take nothing for granted, and I dedicate my time on earth to Your will. I’m thankful that You desire to lead me, Lord, on Your righteous path so all my days glorify You. I’m thankful You will answer my plea to fully know and experience You. I praise You that I’m fully known to You. You know every thought, every impulse, and You still love me. --Adapted from Praying What Jesus Says by Natasha Miller. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount. Prayer Points Praise God for his marvelous goodness. Thank the Lord for being a refuge in times of trouble (Nah. 1:7). Confess your own failure to show goodness toward others. Commit yourself to bearing the fruit of goodness through the power of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22). Ask God to enable you today to “taste and see that the LORD is good” (Ps. 34:8). Pray that good will win out over evil in every area of our society. Ask that righteousness and justice will permeate the fabric of our culture so that God will be glorified and praised. Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount. Connection (Devotions for Everyday Life) © 2024 is a free devotional published daily by Harvest Prayer Ministries. Subscribe here.

Worship tomorrow 10am live in person in our air conditioned sanctuary and on Zoom from the comfort of your home! Join us and invite some friends!

    *Start reading Ephesians chapter 1 as we begin our trek through some of the Apostle Paul's letters to the early church. Ask God to speak to you as you read. Record what He's saying or any questions and come prepared to study how the early church learned to follow God and not lean on their own thinking or ideas.

Don't forget our gathering at Rita's Wed at 6. Be ready to move to the creamery across from Weis in the event that the expected bad weather comes. Let's put on the St Matts T shirts and go shine bright while enjoying some fellowship and cool treats! (That's putting on Jesus' easy yoke too!)

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Good Morning Patient, Worshiping, Followers of the God Who Leads Us! AMEN! This salutation flows right from our devotionals for today (below). Prayerfully meditate on them and notice how our God who speaks brings His Living Word alive and threads it through His plans for us. What's He saying to you? What's He have planned for you? Who are your processing, planning, going partners? I believe God is opening some doors for you, me, and us together. Seek first His Kingdom. Die to self, take up cross and crucify your own thinking and ways and commit to don Jesus' easy yoke and follow well and with some friends. I am amazed at how God is bringing the reality of His easy yoke alive to us! Thanks Lord! His easy yoke is stepping more fully into who you are created to be and doing the things He created you to do with Him and some friends for such a time as this. It's easy because it's made just for you at whatever season of life or circumstances you are journeying through too. It just flows naturally from who you are in Christ and brings such joy and many blessings to God, others and yourself as you follow Jesus and run your race. Thank God for this and ask Him to continue to lead you to His greater things as He grows you to be more like Jesus.

You know as I continue to sit at Jesus' feet and receive and process, it becomes very apparent that He does have some great plans for me, for some of you and for us together. He is informing, hearing and answering prayers and bringing His plans to life as He begins opening the new doors for us to discover and step through in faith. Can any of you perceive that? Is He giving you some ideas or stirring you to pray into something or process and plan with some others? Wherever God guides, He provides. Amen! Often that provision comes as we step boldly through an open door in faith and pray His provision into existence with our mustard seed sized faith. Those of you called to pray as part of your role in our Good News Delivery Co. please get at it and pray we see the open doors and step through in faith and for God's provision to come as we go. Some of you are called to step through some new door opened just for you. Do it! Some of you are called and prepared to lead us through an open door. Do it! Some of you are to remind us that some doors are closing and to refocus. Do it! We all have our custom made purposes and we need each other to process, pray, plan and go in God's power. Let us do that together earnestly! I am convinced that is why God wants us to Become More in '24 and Do More in '24 and become more like Jesus as we go. What's He revealing to you to work on, pray about and/or encourage others to do? Are you His provision for the things beyond those new doors? What's His easy yoke for you and for us as a Body?

Check out TWFYT about open doors. Then meditate on ODB reminder to begin with worship and prayer before we go. I have some ideas of things I believe God is planning for me and us that need patience and prayer before we go. I am reminded of Caesar K's teaching about slow is fast and small is big in God's Kingdom ways. I often pray for myself to remember this and wait on the Lord and also pray that I don't miss Him moving and neglect joining Him and also, that I stop banging my head against the closed doors. Be still and know is followed by process and go in God's perfect timing. The UR carries on the theme of patient waiting. But waiting does not mean doing nothing. It's abiding in the Lord, worshiping, discerning, praying, preparing and readying for the good fruit to come when God says go. Where are you in the good fruit production process? Whose helping you prepare, discern, praying for you or whoaing you down as needed? CS reminds us that God is always with us. That's in the waiting, preparing and going--always with us! Amen! God is with you and us. PTL! No matter what we are facing or celebrating, he is there working things together. He is the strength in our weakness and He inhabits our praise and He is with us every step of the way. PTL! How might He want to direct your steps today? What will you do about that? I pray it would be obedient praying, processing, planning and following! Amen.

God is on the move! New doors are opening and some are closing. Keep worshiping, praying, sitting at His feet and patiently following Him! Great things are coming! Rejoice! I am so excited an can't wait to share and process with some of you the things He is planning for me and us! Let us not grow weary or weary ourselves but step into our new nature and God's custom plans more fully as we don Jesus' easy yoke! Amen!

TWFYT:

ODB:

UR: Patient Waiting

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. - Ephesians 4:2 (NIV)

In the summer before my senior year of high school, I worked as a waitress at an inn in New Hampshire. As I sat on the front porch steps waiting for my father to come for me, the warm sun was peering through the leaves of the tall elms, and the soft breeze gently tousled my hair. I was content to wait patiently.

A guest leaving the inn noticed me and said, “Patience is a virtue.” That encounter has remained with me. I pondered it, realizing that in that moment it was easy to be patient. Waiting on the inn steps, I had no fear that my father would not come for me. I trusted in his concern for me, and I knew he would not abandon me. My father soon came, and I relaxed in the warmth and comfort of his presence.

I have also learned to await patiently the Lord’s direction in my life. Our heavenly Father cares for us, too, and our patience and expectant waiting is never in vain. When we realize that God is in control of our lives, we can release our tensions and frustrations to God. We will never be abandoned.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Dear heavenly Father, thank you for always being patient with us. Help us to wait patiently and trust that you will guide us as we await your answer to our concerns. Amen.CS:

Sarah blog below and its' reminder that God is always with us and the call to embrace and remember that always! Keep her in your prayer at the loss of a dear friend and former co-worker and pray for their family

Awesome day of ministry at bread and donut day yesterday! Thank you all who hung out and allowed God to use you! Next one is Wed Aug 14th

Next Wed at 6 we will gather in our St. Matts T-shirts and chill at Rita's Emmaus (if severe weather, we will move to the Creamery (ice cream shop up the street) If you would like to order a T-shirt see Gail L. Ordered shirts are expected Sunday.

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Good Morning Friends!

Please spend some time in our devotionals for today and Sarah's blog. I gotta fly to go visit our granddaughter early today. But God really has threaded all of these through Sarah's blog and is speaking to our hearts today. I have to share that in ODB's passage I saw something I missed before (1 Tim. 1:14 "The grace of the Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love THAT ARE IN CHRIST." do you understand that we are given abundant grace no matter what we face and we are given the faith and love that are in Jesus! WOW! He fills us with His love and gives us His faith. We can wield that to endure whatever we face as we remember Christ is always with us and always working things together for good! AMEN! Charles Stanley reminds of our true identity we get to put on when we are reborn in Christ. The Upper Room reminds us to give God our heavy burdens, don Jesus' easy yoke and travel light. An TWFYT reminds us to trust God and honor Him in all we do. he is worthy!

Meditate on these, journal what God is saying and process with some friends! Have a blessed day! Quote of the day from yesterday< "Your a pastor? Why are you so happy?" Let the world see the joy of the Lord in you today! Surprise them with your love and joy!

ODB:

CS:

UR: Packing Light

Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” - Matthew 11:28 (NRSVUE)

On my last vacation, I was going to be out of town less than a week, so I decided to take only a carry-on and a personal item. However, after packing the essentials and many nonessentials, my bags were overstuffed and weighed down, which ultimately placed more stress on me than if I had chosen not to carry the bags.

Emotional baggage, like physical baggage, has the power to weigh us down and cause stress. When we choose to carry more than is necessary, we are telling God that we don’t need help because we can handle it all on our own. However, it doesn’t have to be this way.

Today’s quoted verse encourages us to bring our burdens to God, while Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your burden on the Lord and he will sustain you.” These verses highlight the fact that by handing our burdens to God, we receive strength and rest. Let us give our burdens over to God and accept God’s offer to carry them.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Compassionate God, thank you for lightening our burdens and giving us strength and rest. Give us wisdom to accept your help each day. Amen.TWFYT:

Sarah Blog:

Good evening, everyone,

Have you ever had one of those times when you lost something, and you looked everywhere to find it?

Perhaps it was your keys, wallet, checkbook, a book, the TV remote........

And you couldn't imagine where that item could be - I know of a few people who couldn't find their glasses, only to be told that they were on top of their head.  OR perhaps you are looking for your cell phone and later only realize you are talking on it.

But we search all over for that lost item and retrace your steps and places you already looked and the second or possibly the third time, when you are looking, there is the item, right there where you had previously looked.

Each of us probably experience this at least once/twice a week - some of us, perhaps more often.  I was thinking how often in our Jesus journey, we experience the same thing......How many times do we have experiences in our lives, situations that arise, difficult moments, health issues - and we ask, "Where is God?"  We have a difficult time "Seeing God!"

Many times, we are looking for the bigger picture or perhaps we are having tunnel vision or satan is distracting us, luring our attention away from God and what God is doing in our lives/through our situations.

Satan wants us to focus on what we are able to physically see - whatever is happening right in front of us, pain, troubles, uncertainties, financial stress, unanswered questions.

As God's children we need to work hard every day to follow through with obeying/keeping focus.  Hebrews 12:2 says "Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends on beginning to end."

Jesus reminds us that no matter what is going on in our lives - in Deuteronomy 31:8 and Hebrews 13:5-6 He promises that "I will never leave you nor forsake you."  God promises He is always with us -  It's with our physical eyes that we see what's going on around us - BUT GOD....has also given us spiritual eyes - spiritual eyes that help us see/make us aware of the spiritual things that are happening around us but are invisible to our human eyes.

In our world, the big request is usually "Show me the evidence" - we have all grown accustomed to only believing what is right in front of us, what we can physically see.   Truth of the matter is - God is always working; working in our circumstances, working to help our finances; working to heal us...

If you and I would believe this, it would help us to maintain our HOPE in Him, and THEN we will SEE; recognize the evidence of His work, in His time, His way!

Joyce Meyer once said, "When I get discouraged because of a problem, I have been praying about, I would say out loud, "GOD IS WORKING"

The bible says if you will believe God is working, even when you don't see it or feel it, then God keeps working.

Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."

                Vs 6 "And without faith it is impossible to please God; because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who earnestly seek Him."

God is always with us, through whatever we are going through - JOY, Sadness, Difficulty......God is always right there!

May He open our eyes, so we are able to recognize His presence.  Try to always walk in the knowledge that God is right beside you and His presence makes you UNSHAKABLE!

May we be able to say "I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me!" Psalm 16:8

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Prayer needs:

Mark Henninger had his cataract surgery and all went well. Continue prayers for healing and patience as he heals

Prayers for the Burke family - I learned today that a friend and coworker of mine, from Goodwill, who just recently retired, we on an Alaskan cruise.   Her husband, daughter, grandchild, and herself went white water rafting. A landslide in the river, caused the raft to flip and become lodged. Unfortunately, Debbie's (my friend) injuries were to sever and she did not make it. Her husband, daughter, grandchild and raft guide are in the hospital in serious condition. Please keep this family in your prayers and the Goodwill family as they have learned of this tragic news.

Great time at Coffee, Donuts, Conversation today. 60 people passed through our doors to receive bread. And there were several church family members and bread volunteers there to greet them and share Jesus' love with them.

I believe that is all for now......

  Stay cool....keep praying for rain!

Blessings,

  Sarah 

Harvest:

(Note: No blog tomorrow as I will be having some test very early. Spend two days in this very important message from God! and pray like crazy!)

Good Morning Good News Bringing, Sent, Revivalists! Oh that is you and us! PTL! Yesterday God spoke to us as we celebrated all He has been doing and we began praying into what's next. He has great plans for you and us that are custom made for such a time as this and coming alive as we trust, obey and step into who we are in Christ and start doing what He made us to do. PTL! I mean really praise God for all He is doing and has plans to do! We are on our way to becoming His dynamic movement bringing revival and being used to transform our neighborhoods through the love of Christ. AMEN! So, what's your part? Check out the attachment at the bottom, or if you have one in your hand from yesterday, pray through this handout about becoming God's Good News Delivery Co. Man, the world is in need of Jesus and some Good news that He has given you to bring! What's your part? Pray about that and commit to be about what you are created to become and do! Go live and love more in '24! Amen! 

Maybe you noticed yesterday how God showed up and spoke during our worship service? He spoke to our hearts through what some of us shared. Did you hear Him? He pronounced some prophesies over some of us too. The Holy Spirit brought His Word alive during my message time as I only read a few paragraphs and then He started speaking our purposes over us, encouraging us, and stirring some ideas and vision plans. I love when God does this and His presence becomes very real! Check out the Dave Butts blog about revival attached to the handout. What's God saying to you? What will you do about it? We need to pray earnestly for revival and for the harvest and God's plans for us to come to life. We need to be praying! Some of you are called to prayer as your part in His Good News Delivery Co. I am feeling nudged to have a prayer service or three for revival too. Would you attend? Maybe we could do it on zoom too? BUT we need to start praying earnestly, sharing what we are hearing so our prayers can be more informed and so we can start processing and doing what God is revealing. And we need to keep praising and celebrating! God often shares bits and pieces with several people. He may also be forming up some smaller prayer groups that He reveals pieces to to pray and then maybe even go do something. We are sent to bring the Good News and transform neighborhoods with God's love, hope and help! Who is God revealing to you that needs some Good News? What is that good news He wants you to bring to their chaos? What will you do about it? begin with prayer and then team up with some others to go or to pray for and cover you as you go as God's vessel to change a life. He has great plans for you and for someone He is bringing to mind right now!

In case you think I be making things up as I go, check out all our devotionals and blogs for today! God clearly is speaking a word to us today and He does have some great plans for us to discover and pursue and earnestly pray into! He even has those custom made things for you for such a time as this being revealed. PTL! What's He saying to you? How does He want you to pray? Will you pray, serve, go, as you are and as His vessel for such a time as this? That's the question of the year! He does have great plans for you and for some others through you! Seek first the Kingdom of God and don't lean on your own thinking--process with some others too and go live and love more like Jesus! Amen! And remember that Jesus' easy yoke for you is easy because you are made, equipped and empowered to do it for such a time as this! 

So? What's for today and what's next Lord? Lead us! Come Father! Revive us! Send us as Your revivalists that bring Good News to those You are preparing. Come! Fill us! Lead us! Use us for Your glory! Bring revival and may it begin in and through me/us! Your Kingdom come and will be done! Amen!

I can't wait to see what God has planned for us and what He will do in and through each of you! I know He has some really great things ahead that begin today as we pray, seek, keep knocking and listen! And then as we process, plan and go, He will bring revival and expand our territory! Amen! I'm praying for you right now! And I'm just worshiping and praising God for encouraging us, His easy yoke, and preparing us to complete our missions! Amen! Yes rejoice!

Our Daily Bread:

Charles Stanley:

Upper Room: Refreshed

Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and God will say, “I’m here.” - Isaiah 58:9 (CEB)

I was attempting to process a document for the senior center where I volunteer, but the sender wanted an electronic signature. On a good day I can master email, but I soon concluded that the e-signature wasn’t going to happen.

I have had similar frustrations with computer passwords, weak cell phone signals, dropped calls, car clocks that don’t want to be reset, and smart televisions that are clearly smarter than me.

What a blessing it is, I thought, that our Lord offers frustration-free, two-way communication 24 hours a day, seven days a week! The lines are always open, and no password is required. A simple prayer uttered during a busy day never results in an error message.

I realize the value and efficiency of the latest technology, but I’m far more comfortable with low-tech devices. I also prefer the simple practices of prayer, meditation, and communing with nature. While modern technology can at times leave me feeling exhausted, a walk and talk with the Holy One on a forest path has never failed to leave me feeling refreshed and recommitted to following Christ by loving others.

TODAY'S PRAYER

O Lord, thank you for allowing us unlimited access to your peace and mercy, even in this busy, sometimes confusing world. Amen.

The Word for You Today:

Harvest Blogs:

July 8 - Fulfilling God’s Mission There is no mystery about our mission. Whether we realize it or not, engage in it or not, we have one mission, for which Paul requested prayer.   “Pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make know with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak” (Ephesians 6:19-20).   Prayer is not merely about getting a few things for yourself or simply being helped when we are in trouble. It’s about advancing the kingdom of God! It is God’s weapon to help invade Enemy territory and snatch people from the jaws of Satan who has come to “steal, kill, and destroy.”   It is telling that almost every prayer Paul requested from others was for boldness to proclaim the gospel. Not for health, wealth, or prosperity. Not even for safety. Paul asked them to pray that he would open his mouth and boldly proclaim the gospel. He needed their prayers for mission-driven courage.   There are millions of people who are enslaved to the Enemy. We have the singular message that can release them from his clutches. They cannot be delivered unless we pierce through the Enemy lines and get the life-saving message to them. And prayer is the power that makes all of this work!   “Up in a little town in Maine, things were pretty dead some years ago. The churches were not accomplishing anything. There were a few Godly men in the churches, and they said: 'Here we are, only uneducated laymen; but something must be done in this town. Let us form a praying band. We will all center our prayers on one man. Who shall it be?'    They picked out one of the hardest men in town and centered all their prayers upon him. In a week, he was converted. They centered their prayers upon the next hardest man in town, and soon he was converted. Then they took up another and another, until within a year, over two hundred people were brought to God, and the fire spread out into all the surrounding country. Definite prayer for those in the prison house of sin is the need of the hour.”   When do lost people need to hear the gospel? All the time, every day. When do Christians need boldness to share the gospel? All the time, every day. When should we be praying for the fulfillment of God’s mission through us? All the time, every day.   Majestic Father, I confess my weakness and fear to boldly confess the gospel of Jesus Christ! There are so many people bent on heading to hell in my family, my city, my church, my nation and beyond. Give me boldness to share what You have done for me with those who desperately need to hear not just some good news, but the best news of all! ---Adapted from Simply Prayer by Bill Elliff. This book is available at prayershop.org. Prayer Points Praise God as the one who again has supplied you with all you have needed this week. Thank him for putting some of his resources into your care. Confess any waste or mismanagement of those resources this week. Commit yourself to sharing with God’s people who are in need (Rom. 12:13). Ask God to bring to mind the name of someone with whom he would have you share by showing hospitality (12:13). Pray that your children and those of your friends learn principles of Christian stewardship from an early age. Ask God to make you an excellent example for them. Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount. Connection (Devotions for Everyday Life) © 2024 is a free devotional published daily by Harvest Prayer Ministries. Subscribe here.

Sarah Update below

Good Morning Supple, Adjusting, Faithful Followers of Jesus! He is the Way! He brings the Truth alive! He gives life as we submit to Him. We need to remain supple, moldable, teachable and willing to adjust to what He reveals and what He leads to. Help us Lord! This train of though flows right from our devos for today. What's God revealing to you as you ask Him to search your heart? What are you willing to do about it? Who is praying with you, encouraging you and holding your feet in the fire to do so? God has great custom made plans just for you! Rejoice! Ask Him to help you stay focused on Him, cleansed and ready to follow well, and humble yourself as you trust, correct and obey. He loves you and wants you to choose His best. Do it today! He is our source, strength and help! Turn off the noise and distractions and focus on Him and His will for you! I already prayed for you! Shalom and enjoy this day in the Lord!

ODB: Ask God to do this and receive from Him with an open heart and mind and ask for a willingness and help to adjust to Him!

CS: Not my will but Yours O Lord!

TWFYT: I can do all things in Christ's strength for when I am weak, He is strong!

UR: Help in Old Age. Choose joy, worship, trust, die to selfyyh and become a joy bringer!

The Lord said, “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. - Isaiah 46:4 (NIV)

One morning I woke up with a stiff neck and a throbbing headache. I have arthritis in my neck from a past injury that causes occasional headaches, but this one was worse than usual. With my husband away on business and no family living close by, I felt weak and vulnerable. I texted a prayer request to the women in my weekly Bible study. They soon texted back their prayers. One woman, Sarah, called to pray with me over the phone.

One of Sarah’s prayers particularly grabbed my attention: “God, we thank you for the body parts that are working well.” Hearing her words, I realized how often my conversations with friends are dominated by complaints over our aches and ailments. At 68, I sometimes feel like everything in my body is wearing out. I’m ashamed to confess that it hadn’t occurred to me to thank God for the parts that are still working.

When our call ended, I took time to thank God for eyes that can still see sunsets and red roses; for ears that can still hear symphonies and my dog’s delighted squeals; for a mouth that can still taste strawberries and chocolate and fried chicken. Soon, joy replaced my distress as I remembered God’s promise to care for me even as I grow old.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Father God, thank you for our wonderful bodies. Thank you for promising to care for us all our days, even as our bodies are aging. Amen.

Harvest prayer starters...choose joy and be a joy bringer!

Sarah Update:

Good morning, everyone,

Received some folks that are in need of our prayers, so passing them on to you, so you are able to start

lifting them up and supporting them through your prayers.

Dean, has asked for prayer for a friend of his - Debra Swisher Rivell - she is having some health issues and is low on oxygen and her red blood cell count is low. May we pray for her healing and the doctors and medical team working with her.

John Chobot has been diagnosed with prostrate cancer. May we praying for a miracle of healing and strengthening, also pray for his medical team as they work with John in coming up with the best plan of treatment. Also keep Donna, his wife in your prayers as they go on this journey together, and the rest of his family, Tim and Megan.

Continue to pray for those in our church family that are having medical tests done to find out what is causing their symptoms and/or that are struggling physically and emotionally: Ramon, Marylou, Tracy, Diane

Pray for Larry and Enol and their sons as they wrap up their time here in the states. They will be headed back to the Phillipians next week. Prayers for their son Richard, who is looking at various colleges, praying the Lord's guidance and direction in his life, and may he be open to where God is leading him.

Continue to lift up and check in on one another. If the Lord lays someone on your heart, pause and pray for them.

Stay cool everyone, and don't forget that if you are doing anything, Coffee, Donuts and Conversation are happening TOMORROW, in our Fellowship Hall from 10 - 12pm.....why not come and hang out!!

Blessings,

  Sarah

Good Morning Powerful Intercessors, Prayer Warriors, and Prayer Apprentices! The earnest prayers of the righteous person are powerful and effective! Amen! And we are righteous because of our faith in Jesus and His finished work on the cross. PTL! So that means we can be powerful prayers. These blogs began as an attempt to trach us to pray, inform our prayers, remind us to journal and share all God is doing in response to our prayers. We'll do that soon in church as we celebrate all God has been doing. Check out Harvest Prayer's blog below for more teaching on prayer. Remember that Sarah and I and Mike and all our leaders covet your prayers! Thanks for Praying!

Our Words matter too. Start pronouncing blessings instead of curses. Start pronouncing life over things that are dead or dying. Choose your words well. Often when someone asks how I am doing, trying to be funny, I say I'm crazy. Now that explains a lot. But I need to stop pronouncing that! I do not want to go crazy or pronounce dementia over myself. I should say I'm very blessed. That would lead to further conversations and pronounce blessing over myself too. What are you pronouncing? Declaring? Pronounce life and blessings! Check out The Word for you today about this and prepare to start pronounce blessings and bringing God's will to life through your words and prayers. See ya soon!

Harvest:

July 7 - Seeking God for Others What are some ways to develop your own personal ministry of intercession? Pick a few things outside your own needs for which to begin interceding. Start with areas or people that you feel some passion about. Perhaps it is your children or spouse, maybe your church or pastor, maybe the salvation of a neighbor or coworker. Once focused on the issues you feel led to pray about, begin seeking God as to how to pray for them. Do some fact-finding, if appropriate. If you are praying for your church or pastor, ask for requests. Where do they think they need prayer? Ask God for specific Scriptures to pray. Do whatever works best for you to keep track. Maybe you want to keep a list in your Bible. Or, perhaps keep a journal where you can write down what you are praying for, what God is saying to you about that issue/person, and when the prayers were answered. Lord God, I don’t always know the best way to pray for some of the people and situations in my life – but I know YOU do! Please help me to be a good listener so You can teach me and show me what is on Your heart for people and situations. I want my prayers to align with Your perfect will. Show me scriptures that will bear fruit in lives, change circumstances, and draw people into Your kingdom! Help me to keep track of what You do so that I can give You thanks as You answer! Then I can share Your goodness and faithfulness with others! Thank You Lord, for being willing to hear and respond to me when I seek You. --Adapted from The Power of Personal Prayer (Learning to Pray with Faith and Purpose) by Jonathan Graf. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount.

TWFYT:

Good Morning Praying, Faithful, Friends of God! Jesus said we are no longer enemies of God and He taught us how to pray. PTL! Through our free gift of faith that we received from God, we find ourselves becoming more connected to Him, more faithful and trusting and obedient and really wanting to work at becoming more like Jesus. As His friends, He helps us, teaches us, molds us and leads us to His best. What joy we know in Christ! -These seem to be the theme threading through our devotionals for today (below). I'm going to let you sit at His feet and chat today as you spend time with Him through the devos. What's God saying to you?

We have much to celebrate and some things to keep working on. We also have some great things to discover yet in our journey to Christlikeness and for growing His Church. What's your custom part in all of that? Ask Him and for what He wants you to do next. Then do it! Tomorrow we will celebrate some of the great stories we have of God's faithfulness, share some of the dreams and visions He's given us to move forward and pray into His plans earnestly. Start with these devos and then intercede for tomorrow for His good works to be celebrated, His plans to come to life, His presence to overwhelm us and for His Kingdom to come and will to be known and done. Thanks!

Mediate on the prayer Jesus taught us as well: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your Kingdom come and will be done on earth as in heaven, Provide for all our needs today. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Forgive us our sins and help is to forgive and love as we have been forgiven and loved. May we live and love like You more in '24. For we want to honor You because You alone are worthy and Yours is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory. Amen! Be glorified as You lead us Lord. Amen!

UR: To Know God

“He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?” declares the Lord. - Jeremiah 22:16 (NIV)

As a teenager, I was often asked, “How is your relationship with God?” I was unsure how to respond because I could not hear the voice of God as it seemed others in the church could. Could I sincerely say that I knew God?

I prayed and asked God to speak to my heart.

The more I prayed and studied scripture, the more God worked in my heart. God did not speak to me as often as I wanted, but God did not leave me without an answer.

In Jeremiah 22:16, the prophet tells us what it means to know God: to do what is right and just and to defend the cause of the poor and needy. And Jesus rebuked the Pharisees saying, “You have neglected the more important matters of the law — justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former” (Matt. 23:23). Live and work for truth, justice, goodness, but do not forget prayer and the study of scripture. Then, without a doubt you will be able to say, “I know God!”

TODAY'S PRAYER

Thank you, Lord, for sending answers to our prayers that change our thinking and move us toward a fuller knowledge of who you are and how you call us to live. Amen.Harvest blogs:

July 6 - Inviting God In This week and this year each of us will face many different experiences. Problems will arise, burdens will come. Decisions will need to be made and many are life-altering. You might be facing some today. If not today, then soon. What will we do? If we are serious followers of Jesus, we know we must pray, because only prayer brings God into the middle of our circumstances. God has created us in His image. As such, we have a certain level of control. We can decide to do things without God, or prayerfully invite Him in. If we try to handle life alone, we will quickly discover that our mere humanity will fail us. We all want to pray effectively. No one desires to lift some flimsy, selfish prayer that accomplishes little, but the "effective, fervent prayer" that “accomplishes much," of which James 5:16 speaks. Jesus, as always, gives us the answer for effective prayer. He models for us the perfect prayer to pray in any situation—the prayer that is always rewarded: "Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, 'Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.” (John 12:27-28, emphasis mine) Lord Jesus, my prayer life has fallen woefully short of Your example as You yielded Yourself to the will of the Father in the garden. Your word says that when I am weak, that is when You are the strongest in my life. Please look on the situation I am in, the people I am praying for, and all that I should be bringing to You in prayer that I have decided I have the right to fix myself. Remind me that You, the Almighty God, are on the other end of my prayer, seated on the throne of heaven, and that You alone have the authority to dwell in that place. It is not about seeking my own solution or answer, but Yours. Father, help me to see that You alone are to be glorified in the midst of my prayers! ---Adapted from Prayer with No Intermission by Bill Elliff. This book is available at prayershop.org. Prayer Points Praise God as the one who will soon crush Satan under your feet (Rom. 16:20). Thank him for revealing the mysteries of his salvation to you (16:25-27). Asking God to show you your sin, confess any ways in which you have been involved in causing divisions in Christ’s people or have put up obstacles that impeded the spread of his Word (16:17-18). Commit yourself to being “wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil” (16:19). Pray for workers to go into the harvest fields of the world. Ask God to prompt his people to abundant contributions of finances, prayer, and encouragement to send these missionaries. Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount. Connection (Devotions for Everyday Life) © 2024 is a free devotional published daily by Harvest Prayer Ministries. Subscribe here.

ODB:

CS:

TWFYT:

Good Morning Free in Christ, Dependent upon God, Transformed, World Changers! PTL! That is what we are growing to become as a Body and individually! Today we celebrate those who stood for, fought for and gave their all for--our freedom from tyranny and liberty! This nation was birthed and built upon God's good ways of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I think that is reflected from Solomon's conclusion to Ecclesiastes, "The best life, God's best for us, is to love God with all our hearts and enjoy life in Him." (my paraphrase). For us today, that's learning to live and love more like Jesus and doing more of what we are created and gathered to do for such a time as this. Today we celebrate our independence as a nation and also pray for and remember those fighting for our freedoms here and around the world. And we thank God for our freedom in Christ, worship Him, and seek His will and plans for us to transform this nation through leading those around us to the love, life, and liberty found only in Christ. May God bless America and America bless God again! And may He continue to bless and lead us to become world changers of Christ! Amen! Check out the Harvest Blogs below for more on praying into all of this that overflows to action.

The Word for You Today reminds me of the bold sacrifices of those who founded this nation and those throughout history that lived, breathed and fought for God's Kingdom to advance. We are reminded in Joshua that we get to chose Kingdom life and to be bold and courageous. What are you choosing? Who are you choosing? We are also reminded that the battle is the Lord's and He has already decreed and won the victory. Turn off all the noise and chaos and hatred being spewed all around and chose God, Love and bold faith to stand firm in and for Christ. Keep fighting on your knees and through your choices and actions for His Kingdom to advance and His will to be done. We are in God's hands as Charles Stanley reminds us today. He is the King of the Universe and Lord of our lives in Christ. Amen! He created us and placed us here for such a time as this. PTL! So what's your role in His Kingdom and your part in helping us to advance it? Pray into that and let us choose to be about our Father's business together! We are sent to change the world one soul at a time! That comes about as we die to self and live this life as if Christ is all that matters. Check out the Upper Room that reminds us of our mission to transform by being love and living and loving like Jesus. Let us don His easy yoke and go love well and allow God to use that to transform this nation and advance His Kingdom one soul at a time! AMEN! 

COME! Fill us! Prepare us! Cloak us in Your armor as we don the easy yoke and go love as we are created to do for such a time as this! Thank You for our freedoms and for placing us here! May we be about your business and live and love more earnestly like Jesus. Unite and bless your people to go bless this nation and may this nation bless You again! Yes Come! Your will be done and use us! And Father, please bless and protect those fighting for our freedoms here and around the world. Provide for their needs and protect them and their families. Brings Your shalom. Bless our wounded warriors too and provided for their needs. Raise up Your revival army as we humble ourselves, repent of our wicked ways and pray. Heal our land and use us well! The battle is Yours and already won! Thank You! All for Your glory Lord! Your Army in One and in His name we ask! Amen!

Harvest Blogs:

Happy 4th of July from Harvest Prayer and OneCry! July 4 - Freedom to Pursue the Heart of God And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. (Acts 19:8) When you consider the inalienable rights identified in the Declaration of Independence—gifts given to us by God—you see that “liberty” comes right after “life.” To truly understand what that liberty is and why it must again be declared and defended in our nation, we need to start with a very specific liberty—religious liberty. Why? Because it is truly our first freedom.  Do you recall the story of the Pilgrims? They hold a special place in our hearts as models for setting aside time to give thanks to God our provider and sustainer. But they also influenced the founding spirit of our nascent nation with their commitment to liberty. The Pilgrims famously arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620 after fleeing persecution for their faith in Europe. Once on this side of the Atlantic, they proceeded to establish the Mayflower Compact— a covenant made expressly before God, and which upheld religious toleration.  Wave after wave of settlers came here and embraced the Pilgrims’ desire to freely pursue faith and freedom, and this became a core element of America’s DNA. In fact, religious liberty became so foundational to the framework of our nation that it was actually incorporated as the very first freedom designated for protection in the Bill of Rights. Now, our nation’s Founders didn’t come up with this idea on their own. It is based on ideals from the Bible. We know all people have dignity as individuals made in the image of God, and we quickly see in the early chapters of Genesis that part of that dignity includes a freedom to choose right from wrong. In the New Testament, too, we find that Jesus does not force decisions on His hearers and that gospel missions are based on persuasion, not coercion. Ultimately, robust faith requires every one of us to choose for ourselves whom we will serve.  We must focus our intercessory attention on this first freedom— to freely pursue God’s heart—for without it we are lost as a nation. May Americans never falter in cherishing the freedom to choose Christ and to worship Him freely. May we be a people of true and robust faith. Lord God Almighty, thank You for the spiritual seeds of thanksgiving, faith, and freedom that the Pilgrims sowed in our land. Please stretch me, and every other believer who wants to see America remain a beacon of light for religious liberty in our world, towards a deeper level of intercession than we have ever known! Gather Your people and Your Church together to ask that each person in this nation will cherish our liberty to seek and honor You freely. May hearts in our land turn fully to You, Lord Jesus, and may we choose to serve You wholeheartedly! --Adapted from We Declare: 31 Days of Intercession for America by David Kubal. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount. Prayer Points Praise God verbally, saying, “Jesus is Lord” (Rom. 10:9). Thank Christ for fulfilling God’s law for you and granting you his righteousness (10:4). Confess any attempts you are still making to earn righteousness and favor with God. Commit to a lifestyle of confessing the lordship of Jesus. Ask God to remove any lingering distrust (10:11). Pray for God’s kingdom to come and his will to be done on your part of the earth as it is in heaven. Ask that the lordship of Christ, which we confess verbally, will be applied in just and righteous actions. Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount. Connection (Devotions for Everyday Life) © 2024 is a free devotional published daily by Harvest Prayer Ministries. Subscribe here.

TWFYT:

Charles Stanley:

Upper Room; Love Your Neighbor

[The expert in the law] answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” - Luke 10:27 (NIV)

I moved from Moscow to North Carolina to live with my daughter and son-in-law. Since they worked many hours, I often stayed at home alone. Three months after moving I didn’t have any new friends because I didn’t speak English. Missing my extended family and church community in Russia, I was depressed.

Then on my morning walk one day, I met a neighbor named Nancy whose heart is full of love for those in need. Even though my English was limited, Nancy showed interest in me. She called my daughter, and with Nancy’s encouragement, my daughter enrolled me in an English course. Nancy became a good Samaritan to me, offering friendship, support, transportation to church, and help with English.

The Bible teaches us to love and care for those who suffer as we would care for ourselves. Suffering is not always easy to spot, and it comes in many forms. But the Holy Spirit guides us as we look for ways to care for others. Loving your neighbor includes acknowledging those in need and caring for them with love.

TODAY'S PRAYER

God of love, help us to acknowledge and care for others as you care for us. Amen.

Thank God I'm Forgiven! PTL! Hallelujah! AMEN! How often do you question this? STOP! If you belong to Christ (You have asked Him to come live in you, forgive you, change you--You belong to God. PERIOD!) You were one way, came to Him, are forgiven, and now working on becoming more like Him, and now a new way and growing into your new nature as you shed the old more and more. PTL! TGIF! All of this ties to our devotionals below. Check them out prayerfully and prepare for the day God has planned for you. Rejoice!

Good Morning Transformed, Bold, Disciples and Apostles! Well this is probably part of the becoming process as you work on becoming more like Jesus and grow in these things. That's the perfect place to be as you humble yourself, die to self, take up cross and follow Jesus daily. Have you earnestly asked God to examine your life, ways and choices and thin out the junk and hindrances? We are a work in process, and prayerfully, progress. Tis the season to be weeding our gardens and harvesting some fruit, veggies and flowers. I've been doing tons of weeding lately physically and spiritually. How about you? I'm anxiously awaiting the promised good fruit from my efforts. What needs some weeding in your life? What are you doing about it? Yesterday a dear friend and I pondered this as we are both looking at what the last working years of our lives should look like and how to shed the good and better things for God's best. There's some weeding that needs to happen for the best fruit God has planned for us as we trust and follow Him. Jesus' modeled healthy rhythm of pruning, abiding, preparing and then good fruit production (the semi-circle) came to mind and the reminder of working from rest and pruning, abiding then fruit came to mind. What might God be stirring you to work on? God has some really good plans for you or He would have called you home. They are custom made for you for whatever season you are in. Focus in on those, shed the peripheral things that are ok but not His best. I think as we age we get better at this out of necessity and the new reality that we really cannot do it all or do all the things we used to. We learn to travel light and focus on the most important things. I wish I had learned and applied this earlier in life! BUT GOD is gracious and as we focus on Him, He helps us to shed the old and step into the new more earnestly. PTL! What are you focused on as you enter the last leg of the race set before you? What will you do about that? As I am learning this, God keeps stirring me to disciple and help others learn all this sooner in life and to choose God's best over self. I often think about how different my life would be had I learned and embraced and chose to live this way earlier in life. Who might God be bringing to your mind to mentor in this? Start praying for them and opportunities and boldness to go share in love and disciple well. Soon our building will be ready to accommodate small groups of disciple makers year round to gather in small discipleship groups. Pray into that and how may want to use you and who is drawing to join Him and us in this. Hone in on His best and pursue the very best and lasting fruit like Jesus, disciples and apostles. Amen! It only take mustard seed size faith to produce amazing fruit! PTL!

Check out our devotionals below and how they all tie to this. There is a thread. Do you see it? What's God saying to you today? Who are you processing and planning with? Who is God calling you to invite in? What will you focus in on and do? Daylights burning! Pray, Receive, Focus, Process, plan, GO! You are custom made for such a time as this! Great fruit is ripening! Can you taste it? Check out the Harvest Blog at the bottom because some of you will need to work on this and at turning off the noise, releasing anxiety to God and to obey by praying for our leaders, putting the country and world in His hands in prayer and refocusing on the things that He has for you to change the world one soul at a time. help us Lord! Amen!

ODB:

Upper Room: Prayer Changes Us

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. - Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)

Years ago, an assistant pastor of the church to which I belonged at that time spoke to me in such angry tones that I wanted to change churches. However, since I was in charge of a special ministry in that church with people depending on me, I stayed.

The last thing I wanted to do was pray for that pastor, but I did. At first, my prayers were not charitable. However, as time went on, I began to pray certain Bible verses for him. Over time, our interactions became more friendly. Six years after the initial incident, at the farewell reception that the church held for him and his wife before they moved to another state, that pastor hugged me and said he appreciated my devotion to ministry.

From that situation I learned not to take it so seriously when someone offends me; the circumstances can, and probably will, change. And I discovered that it is difficult to continue to feel angry toward someone for whom I am praying. Our criticism of others often will not change anything, but our prayers certainly will.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Gracious Lord, thank you for the way prayer changes us and changes others. Give us the courage to keep praying in difficult times. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

CS:

TWFYT:

Harvest Blogs:

July 5 - Honor Those Who Govern  Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. (1 Peter 2:17)  These four commands of Scripture will revolutionize our lives if both understood and obeyed. Honor everyone. Honor means to esteem, value at a price, or reverence. Biblically it is considering others as more important than ourselves. Love your brothers and sisters. This is seeking the highest good of others through Christ. Fear God. Stand in holy awe of our God. Honor the emperor. This is the greatest challenge of them all and seems counterintuitive to our normal way of thinking. Reverence your leaders, your president, mayor, or governor as someone appointed by God and pray for their success in governing wisely.  Father, today we have lost our sense of honor. At this moment I begin to honor you, reverence you, and esteem you above all. I esteem and submit to your perfect Word, even when I do not fully understand it. Enable me and your people to honor everyone. Forgive me now for the specific ways I have dishonored others in word and deed. Empower me to love my brothers and sisters in Christ. Give me specific ways to both treasure them and practical ways to serve them in this season. I cry out today for holy fear of God to be brought back to your church. Teach us to trust you with all our hearts and to lean not on our own understanding. May the awe of you and your name take root in your people so we once again will be known as those who fear you. You know that we live in a season when dishonor is far more common than honor. To honor those who lead us as president, mayor, and governor seems insincere and tainted with evil. Forgive me and forgive us for vilifying those you’ve placed in office and those who are running for office. Give us the gift of honor, so we can learn to esteem even those with whom we disagree by displaying your love and grace towards them in word and deed. Right that which is wrong in me, in my family, community, and city. Display honor and grace through my life and choices today. --Adapted from Praying God’s Word Over Your City: 40 Days of Prayer for A Transformed Community by Trey and Mary Anne Kent. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount. Prayer Points Praise God for the depth of the riches of his wisdom and knowledge (Rom.11:33). Give thanks that “from him and through him and to him are all things” (11:36). Confess times of thinking that God owes you favors or explanations (11:35). Commit yourself to thinking deeply about God until you come to the end of your ability to understand. Ask God to help you reach that point with wonder and amazement rather than doubt or cynicism (11:33-36). Pray that God will help all believers to be students of his ways with eyes to see and minds to understand more of his caring control. Ask that God’s kingdom will soon come in fullness. Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount. Connection (Devotions for Everyday Life) © 2024 is a free devotional published daily by Harvest Prayer Ministries. Subscribe here.

See Sarah's prayer blog below. Note the girl who passed at the races last night was only 34. I knew her and talked about God at times with her. Pray for Kayla's family.

Good Morning Training, Bold, Disciple Makers! That is us and we are working at that More in '24. Check out The Word for You Today and Charles Stanley devos below that tie to this. We are training and working on running our races well focused on Jesus and His purposes. We are working on seeking God for our custom made purposes and doing them as we pray for boldness and to get moving. God has great plans for us! May we be found faithful and moving towards His greater things for us. I was reminded last night how short life is and the urgency for sharing the Good News with other and connecting them to God and training them to be Jesus' disciple makers. What's your part? Who need to hear the Good news and meet Jesus and experience His love through you? What are you gonna do about that? Who are you partnering with? Pray! Prepare and GO! Live and love like Jesus boldly! Amen!

CS: 

TWFYT:

Sarah email:

Hope you are having a good week.  Weather hasn't been too bad to deal with, and we won't complain, will we! 

Just a few thoughts I wanted to share with you:

A true fact about a zebra and their baby's relationship. Did you know that when a Momma zebra has her baby, she will take her baby and remove themselves from the herd. They will spend approximately 2 to 3 weeks apart from everyone else.

It's during that time that Momma and baby are bonding; getting to know one another. That baby is learning to identify with his momma. He is checking over every stripe on her head. So that when they return to the herd, he will have no trouble locating his momma.

Even though you may look at any zebra's head and think their striping is all the same, it actually is different - they are uniquely and wonderfully created by God.

 I got to thinking about the Momma Zebra and baby's early on in life routine - and how that is very important in the life of the baby - so they get to know their momma, to feel safe and secure; to know who their momma is if they are feeling threatened, they will know where to find momma who makes them feel safe.

 Reflecting on my Jesus journey, this reminds me of the times that Jesus spent time alone with His Heavenly Father. He spent time with Him to find comfort, to pray for others, to ask advice, to feel and grow closer to Him.

In Matthew 14:13 - Jesus withdrew by boat to a solitary place after hearing that John the Baptist had been beheaded.

Mark 6:31-32 - Jesus told His disciples to come with Him to a quiet place to rest after many people were coming and going. After Jesus fed the 5000, scripture tells us that Jesus went up on a mountainside by Himself to pray after dismissing the crowds.

Matthew 6:6 Jesus told His followers to go into their room, close the door and pray to their Father in secret.

While Jesus spent time alone with His Heavenly Father and saw and experienced the benefit of that time well spent, Jesus also taught His disciples to retreat and be alone with God.

As a disciple, a follower of Jesus, He is trying to teach us the same lesson. He is telling us - we need to get alone and spend time in prayerful conversation with God.

While some of you may be skeptics and say or think to yourself: "What's the benefit to doing that?"    Let me share a few, what I think are very solid benefits to spending alone time with God:

• You get to know God even better - spending time with God in a group can be beneficial however spending time alone with God helps you to know Him in a different way. God wants a personal relationship with each of us - He knows all about us, and still loves us and wants to hang out with us.
• We renew our strength when we spend time with God. Isaiah 40:31 "Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up like eagles, they shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not faint"
• When we spend time with God, we will receive enlightenment and wisdom
• Staying close to God - spending time alone with God will help us stay closer to Him throughout our day and help us to hear His voice better.

So I haven't any good reasons why we shouldn't follow Jesus' advice and not spend time with Him.

Here's the challenge: Make a conscience effort in your day, to step away from everything around you and spend time with our awesome God.

Watch and be ready to receive - you WILL get to connect with Him in the deepest areas of your heart.  He will give you wisdom, encouragement and direction.

You are strengthened and fortified when life is hard.  God will give you His strength in your weakest and most challenging season.

Come on - accept the challenge - you have nothing to lose, but much to gain, by spending that alone time with our Awesome God!

** ** **

Prayer needs:

Jamie - daughter of Chris and Yvonne Muik - medical test and waiting results and treatment.

Tracy Huber is suffering from some sever vertigo.

A woman that Pastor Don knows, died suddenly in the stands at the race track (Tuesday night). She was in her 40's. Please keep her family, friends, and those that surrounded her tonight in your prayers.

Ramon Susa - dealing with some health issues and unanswered medical questions. Praying for test results to come.

Mark Henninger - healing from cataract surgery

Cheryl Clauser (Milidine Waterman's sister in law) had her pacemaker repaired and now home and regaining her strength.

Thank you all for praying for those mentioned and not mentioned.  Please continue to pray for one another and our home bound.  If anyone has any prayer requests and would like pray for please let Pastor Don or myself know and we will make sure that our warriors are aware of the need.

Bread ministry today (Wednesday) pray for all our volunteers, for those that will come through our doors, and for all that will be sharing God's love.

Have a great rest of your week everyone!

  Blessings,

   Sarah

Note: We have not received the new Upper Room devotionals yet. I will try include them at the bottom until we get them or if, like today, they tie to this blog.

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Good Morning God's Revival Vessels! Pronounce that over you and us right now and join in prayer...Oh Please Lord! We cry out for revival and may it begin in me and us and through us! Raise up a longing remnant that cries out, releases your power over our neighborhoods, communities and nation. COME King of the Revival! We humble ourselves before you. We repent of our wicked ways and cry out in prayer for You to come and heal our land. COME JESUS! Amen!

I think we are all yearning for revival and for our nation to come back to God and His ways. We are His faithful remnant working for revival. But we are not seeing a lot of fruit. We are working towards becoming a dynamic movement of God but to do so need to move from adding a few members here and there to multiplying disciples and to work on becoming a House of Prayer for the Nations. That's revival as many people come back to God or realize their need for God and the folly of their ways and are drawn to His people who can teach them and help them to become more like Jesus. Please meditate on Dave Butts blog today and the Upper Room too (below). God is calling us to prayer and to be His vessels of revival.

I've been crying out for God to lead us to what our part is right now as we cry out and prepare for revival. And He said, "That's it!" PRAY! PREPARE! Watch what I am about to do and be ready to join me. Release my will in heaven and on earth through powerful praying. Could adding AC to the FH be part of His plans for us? I believe so as we prepare a space to continue ministry to our neighbors year round. For sure praying, preparing, planning and reaching out to those He is drawing from the fires of Hell is all part of our call! And then preparing disciple making disciples is our on-going part. What's your part and easy yoke? We will discuss some of this Sunday and begin to earnestly cry out for revival. Yes Come Lord! Revive us! Amen!

In another devo I read today I asked this question of God last year: "What if the desire of our hearts was God and for His things instead of for our perceived needs and wants and even sinful things? What if we lived as if Christ is all that matters and that He wanted to live and love through me? What if we embraced Jireh (God is all we need)?" He is more than enough and has plans for us that are more than we could dream or imagine! PTL! Daylight is burning BUT GOD! He is lighting the fires of revival and wanting to use His longing, praying, preparing remnant! May we be found faithful and ready and responding well! Amen!

Dave Butts:

When God Shows Up in Church

By Dave Butts

Christians around the world are praying for revival. What are they praying for and do they have good reason to expect revival? Is revival something God wants to do for His people today? To answer these questions, we need to understand that God has always worked in the area of revival with His people. From the earliest days of Israel, on through the history of the Church, God’s method of dealing with His people has been to grant periodic times of special blessing in which His presence is made manifest and His people are drawn back to Him. The result of that is a changed society.

Perhaps the clearest view of revival can be seen by looking back at Israel in the Old Testament. Historians tell us that there are seven major revivals in the Old Testament. I would suggest that if you take away the word “major” there are somewhere between fifteen and sixteen revivals. Very clear, distinct times, in which the people of God were restored to a time of religious excitement, enthusiasm, and commitment with a resultant change in society.

You typically see something like this: Israel, as a people, called by God to make a difference…called to be a light to the Gentiles. You see them under a leader such as Moses or David, people who are living a life that causes them to be set apart from the people around them. They are worshipping God, they’re holding on to His Word, they are doing what God wants them to do. Then, typically, after a generation or so when a leader has died you see Israel begin to slide. You begin to see them move farther and farther away from obedience to the Word of God. They begin to accept idolatry from the tribes around them. Pagan practices begin to come in, with acts of immorality and all the problems associated with that – eventually times of war and even slavery.

 Typically at this point of decline there arises a remnant of people who begin to pray. They begin to cry out to God asking the Lord to save them. Then, in His own timing, God sends a leader and there comes a time of revival when they begin to throw off their idolatry and paganism and restore once again the true worship of Jehovah. They begin to again hold on to the Word of God. The nation experiences a time of national prosperity, spiritual excitement and religious significance that lasts for about a generation. Then you see the cycle begin to happen again. Over and over again throughout the Old Testament: revival and decline, revival and decline.

As you move into the New Testament you see a group of people who were born in a time of revival. But we know historically that it did not last. Through the history of the Church you once again see the exact same pattern of revival and decline. It seems to be the way God deals with His people. Down through the years many countries have experienced periodic times of revival. Within the United States we have experienced three times of national revival, known as the Great Awakenings. During these times, God moved and changed the course of our nation. Many of us believe that God is getting ready to do it again in our day, in our age.

What is this thing called revival? I believe that revival is the Church waking up to the presence of Jesus in her midst. It is nothing more and nothing less than you and I beginning to experience what we already know theologically and intellectually. You believe that Jesus is with you. Why? Because He said He would be. You don’t necessarily believe it because you feel Him, but just because Jesus said it. He said that where two or three are gathered together there am I in your midst. You also have to believe Colossians 1:27: “Christ in us, the hope of glory.”

We believe that Jesus is present when we gather as the Church. But we don’t act that way. That is not the way things happen on Sunday. You know why I know your church needs revival? The reason I know your church needs revival is when church services ended last Sunday, you went home. What would happen if Jesus was there? Let’s just suppose Jesus was there. Would you be looking at your watch? Would you be eager to leave? One of the characteristics of the great revivals was extended times of worship. They never wanted to end the service. Now obviously people had to leave, they had to take care of physical things, they had jobs that they had to go to, but as soon as they were done they were back, because that was where God was. They wanted to be in on the action. They wanted to be where God was. They wanted to experience His presence.

I want to suggest to you that revival is not strange or mystical. It is simply the Church waking up to the presence of Christ in her midst. It is almost as though God reaches out and slaps us and we wake up and we realize God is there. That is what revival is. It is God shaking us. It is God waking us up. And we recognize that Jesus really is here.

We are desperate for that in our nation today. I am not in any way a critic of the Church. The more I travel the more I fall in love with the Church of Jesus Christ. I am seeing so many wonderful things happen. Christians are doing wonderful things in the name of Jesus, acts of love, mercy and self-sacrifice. It is amazing what is happening today, and has been happening for years. We are doing all we know to do. But it isn’t working.

Most of the churches have all kinds of activities. They’ve tried all kinds of programs. They’ve given and done everything they know how to do to get the Church going and to impact society. But in all that has happened in the last fifty years in the Church in the US, are we a more moral and ethical nation because of what we have been doing as a Church? It is unbelievable when we consider the tremendous acts of sacrifice, service and ministry in the last fifty years in the Church, and yet it is apparent that the Church is going one way and our nation is moving the opposite way as fast as it can.

In a very real sense, we are at this wonderful point of despair. We are at a wonderful point of hopelessness in which the Church is beginning to recognize that we have been doing everything we know how to do and it is not working. It is time for revival. It is time to humble ourselves before God in prayer and ask Him to make Himself known in the midst of His people so that our nation can be saved and our world impacted for Christ.

How does revival come? Any student of revival will tell you that there has never been a revival without a movement of prayer. God always calls His people to prayer in anticipation of revival. I would ask you today to get serious about praying for revival. We need to shift our prayer focus to the issues that are close to God’s heart, especially that His people, His Church, would wake up and discover the presence of Jesus in our midst.

When that happens, our lives become different. When Jesus is there, suddenly things that we accepted before, are no longer acceptable. Some of the things that go on in our church and in our society are changed because it is the Lord who is present. That is why in those great revivals in the past, there was a bit of emotionalism. Suddenly they came into a church service and there was Jesus. Now they did not see Him in the flesh, but there was a powerful sense of the presence of Jesus. What do you suppose happens if you come into a church service during a revival and there is a strong sense of the presence of Jesus and you’ve been sinning all week? When you come into the presence of the awesome holiness of God suddenly there is weeping, crying out, and sometimes even falling down before God in repentance.

Heaven-sent revival is our only hope. We don’t have answers. We don’t know what to do. We don’t have any programs in our churches that are changing whole communities and our society. It’s just not happening. What we need is God.

 How do you pray for revival? Psalm 85 is a good place to begin: “You showed favor to Your land, O Lord. You restored the fortunes of Jacob. You forgave the iniquity of Your people and covered all their sins. You set aside all Your wrath and turned from Your fierce anger. Restore us again, O Lord our Savior, and put away Your displeasure toward us. Will You be angry with us forever? Will You prolong Your anger through all generations? Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?”

Based on that passage we will find ourselves praying, “Lord, revive us again, do it again in our day.” We will come before God saying, “Lord, this is what you have done and this is what we want you to do in our life and in our nation.

Dave Butts (1953-2022) was the co-founder and president of Harvest Prayer Ministries. His popular prayer guide, Asleep in the Land of Nod has been used by hundreds of churches to help their congregations pray for revival.

Upper Room: Lost and Found

Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep. - Luke 15:6 (NRSVUE)

Many years ago on a beautiful fall afternoon, I was on a walk with my dad and our dog. The dirt road was bordered by woods on both sides. As the sun set and the temperature dropped, it was time to go home. But our dog suddenly wasn’t with us. She had followed the scent of a wild animal, and no amount of calling brought her back.

As my tears started flowing, Dad told me to take off my jacket and put it on the ground. We had to go home, but he promised to return to look for her. Later, he found her in the dark, curled up on my jacket. After all these years, I still vividly recall my joy at seeing her bound into the house.

When we have wandered away from God, where do we look for God’s love and grace? Maybe we have a special place of comfort and safety to which we can retreat and get back in touch with God, who constantly searches for us. Just as our dog found safety in the scent of my jacket, we can return to a place and time when we experienced God’s love for us and find peace.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Dear Lord, may we always remember the words of the psalmist who proclaimed, “The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore” (Ps. 121:8). Amen.

Harvest blogs:

Good Morning Surrendered Bondservants of Christ! Amen! May this be me/us Lord! May we learn to humble ourselves in surrender to You and Your will. May we learn to die to self, take up cross and follow Jesus. Learn to bow before our King and be about Your business in Your ways and timing. Thank You! Come! Fill us, mold us, lead us as we surrender to You and don Your easy yoke. Teach us to be more like Jesus and to be about Your business. Thank You! Your Kingdom come and will be done! Amen!

Yesterday was a great day of worship, praise prayer and learning from His Word! Sarah reminded us of our power source--God and our need to plug into that. We thought about how we have potential energy that needs to be tapped and applied to get traction and movement. We are custom made, gifted and empowered, for such a time as this, just as we are, to go and make disciples. Amen! We were reminded that we all have a part to play in God's Good News delivery company and that prayer is a critical and key component as the prayers of God's righteous people (us) are powerful and effective. Check out Harvest Prayers blog helping us to develop as pray-ers. Claim and release your power in prayer and release God's power in heaven and on earth too. Partner with Him in powerful prayer to bring His will alive and to empower our Body too!

Yesterday as we contemplated our dependence upon God even though we a free in Christ, we were reminded of His ways that are far beyond our human understanding. How can we be free and dependent? Well that is God's way. Right? How can we live by dying? We need to die to self and become a bondservant of Jesus to truly live! Amen! Check put TWFYT and CS (below) speaking about the molding and shaping and growing that comes as we endure the storms of life with Christ and learn to surrender to allow Him to shape and guide us to His best. I was reading another devo today that asks, "How would an attitude of surrender affect your life? How might it bring you more freedom, not less, as the world would have you believe?" Yes we are free and surrendered and learning to live well in Christ. May we always seek to die to self, take up cross and follow Jesus and work on that every day. Humble yourself and bow before our King, receive His marching orders, rise in praise and obedience and go learn to live and love more like Jesus. Stop depending on your own thinking! Acknowledge God in all your ways and allow Him to lead you today, surrendered bondservant of Christ! AMEN!

Harvest Connection Blog    

TWFYT:

 

CS:

God Bless America and may America bless God! Amen!

Good Morning Free and Dependent Children of our Sovereign God! We have been set free because of our faith in Jesus, yet we are dependent upon Him. We live in the land of the free, dependent upon our Living, Sovereign God but as aliens and strangers. He has placed our leaders in place for His purposes and called us to obedience to them that we might live "peaceful and quiet lives". Check out the Harvest Prayer blogs below about this. It can be very hard to trust and obey in this environment today, yet we remember that Jesus came into prominence during Roman rule and Israel being subject to that authority that God placed in control over them. His new born Church thrived and grew exponentially as slaves to Rome. As we follow Jesus and submit to Him in trust and obey, we learn how to live free and dependent. Help us Lord! Charles Stanley reminds us that the battle is the Lord's and helps us learn how to walk in victory with Christ. In this election season, again my heart plea for you is to turn off the noise of those stirring you to fear, anxiety, hopelessness, anger, and hate. Open your Bibles and prayerfully submit to God. Trust Him and allow Him to work all things together according to His perfect plan. Yes be informed to vote well, but other than that and praying, what else can we do but trust and obey? Who is offering you hope, the dementia patient or the felon or the God of all Hope? He is sovereign! He knows, cares and is at work for your and our good, even placing our leaders in place according to His perfect plans. And that is often way beyond beyond our comprehension. Prov. 3:5-6 reminds us to not lean on our own understanding but trust and acknowledge God in all our ways. That takes dying to self as we follow Jesus. God promises us that His peace beyond understanding is available. Are you doing what you can to position yourself to receive it? Are you choosing trust and joy no matter what you are facing? Be still, exhale all the junk and know that He is God and in control. Amen! He has great plans for you! Plans to prosper and not harm even in the midst of all kinds of chaos! Start today at Jesus' feet. Submit to Him and follow His ways. Then you will be able to know His peace beyond understanding. Yes, help us Lord! Amen!

Remember this: When we enter into the very last days, God promises that things will get very wicked, evil, dark and hard in increasing intensity. And He promises to be with us and help us. Put on His Spiritual Armor in prayer today and prepare to stand firm in faith always. Suppose today is the beginning of the last days, within three and a half years things will get so bad that Jesus has to come back to rescue His followers. For all our lives we could never imagine how that could happen to this country in our life time and so fast and, yet, here we are. This has not taken God by surprise, has it? NO! So, doesn't it make sense to turn off the noise, trust God, stand firm in Him and on His Word which has already revealed all these things and how to be able to endure to the end and even do what we can to lead others to Him before it's too late. Who do you know that you want to save from the fires of Hell? What will you do about that? Focus there, pray hard as you trust and follow Jesus. That's His easy yoke for these very hard and dark days. "Go! Make disciples...I am with you always, even to the end of time." Amen! Let us determine to be about our Father's business and to help and encourage each other in this battle.

May God help you to trust, obey always, stand firm, choose joy and know His peace! Amen! Now exhale all that junk! Turn off the noise! And focus on our Prince of Peace! Dwell in His Shalom! He's got this and you! PTL! He is The Lord, our God! Almighty and Sovereign! Victor! Prince of Peace and our Shield! Amen

Harvest blogs: