Spiritual Gifts Test Link: https://gifts.churchgrowth.org/spiritual-gifts-survey/ If you'd like to take a spiritual gifts test to discover your spiritual gifts, here's a link to one. Please share with us your results. Praying for God to help us discover our custom made and Holy Spirit empowered purposes.
New Members Class Sun Feb 18 after church. All participants will be required to complete the gifts test before the class.
Good Morning Becoming More like Jesus Servants and Intercessors! Yes Lord COME! May we become more like You as we learn to serve, pray, teach, lead and love like Jesus! Come! Have Your perfecting way with me! Prepare me and use me well! Come! Lead me to my purposes and part. Thanks! Amen!
Today's devotional revelations tie to two things...interceding (crying out in prayer) for Jesus to come and revival to sweep over our nation. (See Harvest Prayer for today below) Our other devos (below) speak into becoming more like Jesus, our example of a servant leader, Shepherd, who was comfortable in His human flesh and dependent upon the Holy Spirit to minister to and through Him. Two of our devos use the John 13 teaching of Jesus as He washed the disciple's feet. When I graduated from Bible college we were given a towel with that passage on it to remind us that we are called to be servant leaders, like Jesus.
I placed the Upper Room between the two using John 13 because to be a good and maturing servant leader, we need to learn to die to self, not lean on our own understanding and to grow in trust and obedience as we learn to be content with Jesus being our Lord, Shepherd and Example. Learning to live, love, teach and lead more like Jesus, requires being content to die to self and cry out for less of me and more of Him as a way of life. We have to be willing to take off our old nature and toss it away like a caterpillar leaving the cocoon behind and stepping into our new butterfly nature. How well are you doing at allowing God to transform you more fully into His image? What word(s) may He want you to work on? Who does He want you to partner with to work on this?
God has great plans for each of us and us as His Body! For us to become more fully who we were created to be and do more of what Jesus has planned for us, we need to humble ourselves, invite Him to come with His patient, perfecting love and have His way with us. How can we help each other with that? Accountability is key and that comes from a few close trusted friends and much time with God. Pray for God to raise up good accountability partnerships and for how and who for you to be involved. No matter your personality, abilities, gifts, experiences, circumstances, or preferences, God has a plan and purpose just for you. And as He gathers us as His Body, He weaves us together to become a well oiled Good News Delivery machine. But we need each other! Pray for God to continue His good work in and through you and us and to lead us to our fullest potential in Christ. Please Lord! Thanks! Amen! May God bless you today with His presence, direction, joy and shalom!
Harvest Prayer's Revival Prayer:
January 18, 2024 - Praying for Revival (Day 18): Longing for Change
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How can we, as intercessors, pray both personally and corporately for transformation? How can we develop a longing for the presence and glory of Christ to flood our communities?
God made every nation and appointed a place in time for each so that the gospel might go forth. He always intended His people to be involved in shaping history with Him. Many Scripture passages build upon this theme (2 Chron. 7:14; Jer. 18:7–8). Even those people who consider our era to be the “last days” would agree that until the very end, God calls believers to steward the land and its resources for God’s glory.
We know that only the gospel’s power can change the human heart (Rom. 1:16). But in God’s mercy, if we intercede, as faithful stewards, in fervent interrogative intercession for our morally plummeting society, there might come a quickening—even a dramatic move of God. We may yet see the presence and glory of Christ flooding our communities. Will we at least try?
Creator of all things, You are the One who determines divine purposes for every nation. Would you give wisdom and enabling from Your Holy Spirit to guard, protect and watch over this land as Your people pray? Please use me to shape history through my prayers and obedience to Your word. May the power of Your gospel transform hearts in ways that will completely interrupt the decline of our society! Please flood my community and nation with the glory and presence of Christ so that all people will know that You alone are God!
Pr a y e r Po i n t s:
• Praise God as the Creator of all things and the One who determines divine purposes for every nation.
• Pray for the wisdom and enabling from God’s Spirit to guard, protect, and watch over this land through your intercession.
• Ask God to use you to shape history through your prayers and obedience to His Word.
• Pray for the power of the gospel to transform hearts in ways that dramatically interrupt the decline of our society.
• Pray for the quickening of a dramatic move of God that floods your community and our nation with the glory and presence of Christ!
--Adapted from Day 18 by David Kubal: Do It Again, Lord (30 Days of Hope-Filled Prayer for Revival) compiled and edited by Carol Madison.
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ODB:
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On Charley and Jan’s fiftieth wedding anniversary, they shared breakfast at a café with their son Jon. That day, the restaurant was understaffed with just a manager, cook, and one teenage girl who was working as hostess, waitress, and busser. As they finished their breakfast, Charley turned to his wife and son and said, “Do you have anything important going on in the next few hours?” They didn’t.
So, with permission from the manager, Charley and Jan began washing dishes in the back of the restaurant while Jon started clearing the cluttered tables. According to Jon, what happened that day wasn’t really that unusual. His parents had always set an example of Jesus who “did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45).
In John 13, we read about the last meal Christ shared with His disciples. That night, the Teacher taught them the principle of humble service by washing their dirty feet (vv. 14–15). If He was willing to do the lowly job of washing a dozen men’s feet, they too should joyfully serve others.
Every avenue of service we encounter may look different, but one thing’s the same: there’s great joy in serving. The purpose behind acts of service isn’t to bring praise to the ones performing them, but to lovingly serve others while directing all praise to our humble, self-sacrificing God.
By Cindy Hess Kasper
REFLECT & PRAY
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When has someone unexpectedly offered to help you with a difficult task? Why is humility such an important aspect of serving others?
Loving Savior, thank You for showing me how to be a servant.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Peter often misunderstood Jesus. He misunderstood what Christ was doing when He began to wash the disciples’ feet (John 13:6-9). Earlier in John, he confessed that only Jesus had the words of life (6:68-69), but he often failed to take Him at His word. He was convinced he could follow Jesus on the path of suffering (13:36-37). He assumed Christ’s goal was military conquest and started swinging a sword (18:10-11). And he ultimately denied his teacher and friend (vv. 15-27).
In every instance, however, Jesus gently showed love to His friend Peter. In the end, He called him to restoration and hope (21:15-19).
Jed Ostoich |
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UR: Giving It to God
Paul wrote, “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” - Philippians 4:11 (NIV)
After I learned that I had torn my other ACL, my spirits sank. I had just recovered from the same injury to my other knee eight months prior, and now I was going to have to go through the same grueling journey all over again. Surgery, crutches, ice, and physical therapy would be my main focus for the next two weeks. I felt as if I would never understand where God was in all this or how God could possibly use this injury for my good.
It was around this time that I came across Philippians 4. I was familiar with this passage of scripture, but I had never spent much time studying and meditating on it. After reading it, I decided that although I did not understand why I was going through this trial, I knew that turning to God would be the only way I could get through it. I took a leap of faith and decided to trust God. Now I have found joy and a peace that I did not have when I was healing from my first knee injury. Giving this struggle to God is something I have to do every day, and doing so helps me remember that I am not going through this hardship alone.
TODAY'S PRAYER
Dear God, help us give our struggles to you daily, and remind us that the trials that we go through will strengthen our faith and trust in you. Amen.
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