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Friday, December 29 2023
Note: Due to the holiday, our bread delivery will only arrive at 11 this morning. So Bread distribution will be from 12-2 today. We have tons of bread to give away. PTL! We could use some help as well. Come get some bread and maybe help out a bit as well. Pray for Gail Lichtenwalner who was scheduled to serve but has the Flu. Pray for Gina Fuhrman who is suffer with back issues and spent the evening in the ER and is unable to serve today. Thank God for willing servants to step in. Thank God for His provision and this awesome ministry and connection point to people He is sending our way! Pray for those in need who come to get to know God's love through our loving service. Ask how you might help. Come get some bread for your friends and neighbors too. Pray for our next donut day on Jan. 10th and plan to attend and join God in what he wants to do through you.
Good Morning Good Morning Stewards of Many Blessings from God and Lavish Sowers! Hmm? Is that a contradiction? Nope! No matter your status or economic situation, you are being blessed abundantly by God as He meets your needs and provides what you need and gives excess according to your abilities and heart. All we have is a gift from God. God wants to bless through you and as you steward well all His blessings. That will include doing what you can with what you got. Sowing lavishly is a command and an example we see from Jesus and the early church that blessed many and grew the Kingdom. God gives according to your abilities and needs. Think of the parable of the talents where each of the three received according to their abilities. Two of the three invested and grew what they were given. One hid and squandered the potential return on investing. Yes we are called to sow lavishly while stewarding well all our blessings of time, talent and treasure. You have been given according to your abilities, life situation, and for God's plans for you. Talk to God about His plans for you and how He desires for you to invest into His plans with your time, talent and treasure for His glory. Check out our devos below that speak into this. What's God saying to you? What will you do about that? Who will you process with?
For many of us as we age, one of the key ministries we have is prayer warrior. All of us are called to pray as well. Check out the Harvest Prayer devo today about prayer releasing God's power. We need your prayers! God moves through prayer. As you spend time with Him, He will direct your prayers and inform your praying that you would partner with him to release His power where needed. Thanks for praying and stewarding well as you sow lavishly in prayer, love, service and as good stewards. keep at it! God is moving! Love God! Love people! Do something! Live and love, pray and serve more like Jesus everyday! he has great plans for you, even today! Shalom!
Harvest Prayer devo:
December 27 - Prayer Releases God’s Power
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“The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops” (James 5: 16-18).
“Prayer,” said C. Samuel Storms, “in and of itself possesses no power.” I was astounded by that statement, and I didn’t understand it until I read what Storms said next: “Prayer is powerful because God is powerful, and prayer is the means through which that divine power is released and channeled into our lives.” In other words, all the power in prayer is really God’s power, activated by prayer.
When you pray for another person, there is nothing that flows from you to them – no vibes, no force, no energy. Instead, your prayers go heavenward, and the power of God moves from him to the ones you pray for.
When the Bible says “prayer…is powerful and effective,” it means God acts powerfully and effectively through the prayers of his people. Prayer is the instrument by which God has chosen to have his power directed in the universe. Ole Hallesby provides something of a mental picture of how this works: “This power is so rich and so mobile that all we have to do when we pray is to point to the persons or things to which we desire to have this power applied, and He, the Lord of this power, will direct the necessary power to the desired place.” What a surprising arrangement – God partnering with human beings to accomplish his purposes!
R.A. Torrey, enthralled by the enormity of this power, states, “Prayer is the key that unlocks all the storehouses of God’s infinite grace and power. All that God is, and …has, is at the disposal of prayer. Prayer can do anything that God can do, and as God can do anything, prayer is omnipotent.”
Prayer can do what political action cannot, what education cannot, what military might cannot, and what planning committees cannot. All these are impotent by comparison.
Prayer can move mountains. It can change human hearts, families, neighborhoods, cities, and nations. It’s the ultimate source of power, because it is the power of Almighty God. This power is available to the humblest Christian. It was “a man just like us” (Elijah) who prayed “that it would not rain,” and God stopped the rain in Israel for three and a half years. Where will the power of your prayers be felt today?
Father, I give You praise for Your great power by which You move in this world and by which You govern the affairs of all people. Thank You for Your willingness to hear my prayers and direct Your power to places and persons through them. In Jesus’ Name I ask that You would help me to grow in my ability to become a powerful and effective pray-er!
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UR: Stewardship
A Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. - Luke 10:33 (NIV)
In 2003 I donated a kidney to someone I had never met. I didn’t begin with that outcome in mind. Initially I was tested for compatibility with a colleague who needed a transplant. I wanted to know if I could help.
Going through the pre-donation testing process changed me. I spent many hours in waiting rooms filled with people who could do nothing but hope that an organ would become available to save their lives. For me, it became a matter of stewardship. I realized that I had more than I needed because it’s possible to live a healthy life with just one kidney. I found myself surrounded by neighbors in urgent need of my abundance.
As it turned out, my colleague received what she needed from another donor. But God transformed my heart, and when I was approved as a donor, I chose to give a kidney to whoever needed it most. I’m grateful for the lessons God taught me about giving through this life-changing journey.
Everything we have belongs to God, and God wants us to serve our neighbors out of our abundance. We often think of stewardship in terms of money, but it is also about our time, possessions, and, yes, even our bodies.
ODB:
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A mail carrier became concerned after seeing one of her customers’ mail pile up. The postal worker knew the elderly woman lived alone and usually picked up her mail every day. Making a wise choice, the worker mentioned her concern to one of the woman’s neighbors. This neighbor alerted yet another neighbor, who had a spare key to the woman’s home. Together they entered their friend’s home and found her lying on the floor. She had fallen four days earlier and couldn’t get up or call for help. The postal worker’s wisdom, concern, and decision to act likely saved her life.
Proverbs says, “the one who is wise saves lives” (11:30). The discernment that comes from doing right and living according to God’s wisdom can bless not only ourselves but those we encounter too. The fruit of living out what honors Him and His ways can produce a good and refreshing life. And our fruit also prompts us to care about others and to look out for their well-being.
As the writer of Proverbs asserts throughout the book, wisdom is found in reliance on God. Wisdom is considered “more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her” (8:11). The wisdom God provides is there to guide us throughout our lives. It just might save a life for eternity.
By Katara Patton
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How can you use wisdom to help someone today? How much do you value wisdom?
Heavenly Father, please give me wisdom to follow Your path and directions. Help me to look out for others as You guide me.
Learn more about your God-given calling.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
As general statements of wisdom and guidelines for living, proverbs predict expected outcomes based on our wise or foolish choices. Generosity is the theme of several of these proverbs (11:24-26), and the conclusion is clear: generosity is a wise approach to life. The apostle Paul highlighted the principle of sowing and reaping mentioned in verse 24 when he wrote, “Whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Corinthians 9:6). Conversely, hoarding hurts both ourselves and others. By distributing what we have, we bless all concerned. Bible commentator David Stabnow points out how King Sihon of Heshbon refused to sell grain to the Israelites when they were passing through his land, and he and his people were destroyed (Deuteronomy 2:26-36). Joseph, on the other hand, stored grain for the purpose of distributing it. By doing so, he blessed the entire region with life—and preserved the nation of Israel in the process (Genesis 41:56).
Tim Gustafson |
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Charles Stanley and TWFYT
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