Thank God I'm Forgiven Friday! PTL! What are you thankful for today? Forgiveness and God's love is just the beginning of all we have to be thankful for!
Please pray for Darlene Skinner and family today. Darlene is having spinal surgery today. Pray for success and shalom.
Pray for our Clothing Closet tomorrow. Thank God for our servants and pray He uses them well to bless many.
Pray for our Sunday gathering to worship with Children's Church and on Zoom Sunday at 10. Sunday we will be discussing Church and receiving new members. New members have rocks they are painting with their family name and a verse to add to our Family Covenant Altar. 16 of our families added rocks in July 2021 and have covenanted together to love God, others, make disciples and serve together as we seek and follow God boldly. Maybe some of you would like to paint a rock and add it as we renew that covenant on Sunday and add our new members to our family altar and fellowship. Praise God for these new members and pray for new connection points to those He is drawing and for courage and wisdom to invite someone to come and see and experience His love through us. Pray for the kids and teachers of Children's Church as they begive a five week journey to the cross and empty tomb. Who is God stirring you to invite to our Palm Sunday worship and brunch and/or Resurrection Sunday festive worship and communion service.
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Good Morning Forgiven Much, Restored, Equipped, Empowered, Powerfully Praying, Stewards of All God's Blessings! Is that you? Is that our Church? It can be. Pronounce that in prayer over you and our fellowship. As we hurtle towards Holy Week and the celebration of the resurrection. May we always remember, thank, and offer ourselves back to God as an act of thanksgiving and worship. He doesn't want bulls and rams. He wants our redeemed hearts, hands and feet offered back for Him to use as we steward well all the blessings He has given us. Many of us struggled through the loss of electricity but we never lost connection to our Power Source! PTL! He has equipped, empowered, is using our prayers and stewardship of His blessings to grow His Kingdom and our fellowship and He is revealing His plans for what's next as we follow Him through the "what's now" in faith with thanksgiving. What lies ahead? Only God knows, but we can know that He is with us always and always at work working all things together for the good of those who believe. We believe! Amen.
Talk to God today as you open your Bibles and our devotionals below. Listen, receive and follow well. His Word does not come back void and accomplishes His purposes including equipping and directing us. Ps. 119 used in the Upper Room reminds us that we are blessed as we walk according to God's revealed way (His Word--our Bibles). Open them and be blessed, directed and informed for powerful praying of God's will. You are God's provision for His Church and for those who need to know Him and grow in Him that He has prepared for you. Everything we have is a gift from God. ODB asks, Are you an owner or steward? Which are you? Are you giving all back to God for Him to use? Are you trusting Him to do some unexpected new things as you hold loosely or let go of some things and give them back to Him. Sunday we will discuss what Church is and our part. Are we stewarding well and sowing lavishly with what God has given? Well, yes and no. Our tight fisted PA Dutch heritage and growing out of the Depression hanging on to things may hinder some of that trusting God and sowing lavishly part--the holding loosely, letting go and allowing God type of stuff. Our rational minds often get in the way of seeing miracles or trusting God to provide where He guides. Talk to God about that. How do we steward and sow lavishly at the same time well? How do we develop deep trust? What is He doing that He wants us to sow into or serve with? What is He wanting to do with you and all the blessings He has given you? Pray for us to be good stewards as we sow lavishly in faith. Check out TWFYT as they speak into moving forward with God. He has great plans for us! Custom made plans for you and us to discover and step boldly into as we sow lavishly in love, service and help. How is God wanting to use you? Grow you and your faith? Expand your thinking? Suit up in His armor and prepare to follow Jesus to the new things ahead! We are on our way to becoming a dynamic movement of God. Let's celebrate and spur each other on as we learn to hold loosely and trust more! Amen!
Charles Stanley:
UR: Patterns of Prayer
Blessed are those . . . who walk according to the law of the Lord. - Psalm 119:1 (NIV)
My husband, Gary, and I enjoy morning walks. We enjoy the fresh air, vent about problems, and make plans for the future. When I walk daily, I am eager to get out and move — and I have more energy. But on days when the weather is bad, I tend to hunker down inside, letting Gary walk alone. The longer I avoid walking, the less enthusiasm I have for it.
My prayer life follows a similar pattern. When I simply offer a few quick prayers during the day, my prayers tend to skitter along the surface like a flat pebble across a lake. However, when I spend the time in longer, deeper prayer, I become more eager to reach out to God again. Prayer then becomes a regular and meaningful part of my day.
We all have places in our lives where we could improve spiritually. I find it helpful to set a specific goal — for example, reading a chapter of the Bible each day or praying for a set amount of time every morning — then finding an accountability partner to hold me to it until the habit becomes a natural part of life. Morning walks can improve our health, but walking with God enriches the soul.
TODAY'S PRAYER
Faithful God, thank you for all the ways we can draw closer to you. Help us to walk daily in the presence of your Holy Spirit. Amen.ODB:
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“Am I an owner or a steward?” The CEO of a multibillion-dollar company asked himself that question as he weighed what was best for his family. Concerned about the temptations that can come with vast wealth, he didn’t want to burden his heirs with that challenge. So he gave up ownership of his company and placed 100 percent of the voting stock in a trust. Recognizing that everything he owns belongs to God helped him make the decision to allow his family to earn a living in exchange for work while also using future profits to fund Christian ministry.
In Psalm 50:10, God tells His people, “Every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.” As the Creator of all things, God owes us nothing and needs nothing from us. “I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens,” He says (v. 9). He generously provides everything that we have and use as well as the strength and the ability to earn a living. Because He does, as the psalm shows us, He’s worthy of our heartfelt worship.
God owns everything. But because of His goodness, He even chose to give Himself, entering into a relationship with any who turn to Him. Jesus “did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). When we value the Giver over the gifts and serve Him with them, we’re blessed to delight in Him forever.
By James Banks
REFLECT & PRAY
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What has God given you that you’re grateful for? How can you serve Him with it?
You made everything, faithful Creator. Please help me to live my life as a gift from You today.
Gain a biblical perspective of money.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The superscription attributes Psalm 50 to Asaph, a Levite and one of David’s three chief musicians (see 1 Chronicles 6:31, 39; 16:4-5; 2 Chronicles 5:12). Asaph also composed eleven other songs (Psalms 73-83). In Psalm 50, a didactic psalm (one that teaches us about God and how to live in a way that pleases Him), he describes a courtroom scene where God testifies against and judges His people for two grave sins—their formalism in worship (vv. 7-15) and their hypocrisy in living (vv. 16-23). We’re reminded that God has no need for our offerings, for He’s the Lord of all creation and owner of all we have (vv. 8-15). Instead, He desires us to “make thankfulness [our] sacrifice to” Him (v. 14 nlt).
K. T. Sim |
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TWFYT:
Harvest Prayer Blog:
March 1 - Satan Fears Your Prayers
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We have a powerful Enemy. Paul reminds us of the might of our adversary in his instructions to the church at Ephesus:
Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:11-12
Although our enemies are powerful, we are in a winnable battle. But we must prepare ourselves with the armor God provides. Once armed, there is also something proactive we must do:
With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints. Ephesians 6:18
Unceasing prayer is the offensive weapon that wins the day. Prayer makes us see the real battle, aligns us with God’s battle plan, and releases the resources of heaven. The Enemy is powerless against a man or woman of unceasing prayer.
“Satan dreads nothing but prayer. His one concern is to keep the saints from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, he mocks our wisdom, but he trembles when we pray.” Samuel Chadwick
Prayer is our means of communication in this battle. If the communication lines are cut, we are powerless before the Enemy.
Father, the Enemy of my soul continually tries to assault me, as well as Your church! Thank You that You already have the victory over every attempt he makes to do damage! I am so grateful for the weapons You have provided to both protect me and to allow me to go on the offensive! Your word has power that the Devil can never overcome! Make me a person of unceasing prayer so that the Evil One can never get a foothold in my life. Keep me continually aware of the battle and prepared in prayer!
---Adapted from Simply Prayer by Bill Elliff. This book is available at prayershop.org.
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