Worship at 10 followed by brunch. All welcome!
Good Morning Peace-Filled, Peace-Bringers, Peace Following Worshipers! Shalom! Shalom! Perfect Peace! Peace, peace. God's peace to you today, this week! Do you know and dwell and bring peace? Or are you one who stirs the pot and brings chaos, dissension, anger and hate? We see both kinds of people today. I want to be a peace bringer. How about you? Yet chaos, noise, distractions and so many things can lead us away from dwelling in and bringing peace. Pray for God to bring His peace beyond understanding to you and for it to flow from you to all around you. Turn off the noise and refocus on our Prince of peace and His promise to give us His peace. Cast all anxiety unto the Lord, receive and then follow His peace. Renew your thinking, take every thought captive before the Lord, know peace and bring it alive today! Check out how our devos below thread through that.
Are you feeling anxious? Are you like I have been lately and allow Drama Don to have sway over me, my mouth, actions and choices? Are you dying to self, casting anxiety, growing in trust that God is in control and working things together for good and dwelling in His peace. Let us commit to the later and work on bringing peace to the chaos around us and sharing how God has helped us to know His peace and change our thinking and ways. God will stretch us and mold us as He leads us from our comfort zones to His new things. Expect it and stop and release all to Him and receive and follow His peace. Life is so much more pleasant as you do. Amen!
God is doing (and wanting to do) some new things in and through you and us. Dwell in His peace. release everything to Him, grow in faith, peace and joy, and determine to go and live and love more like Jesus this year and bring His love, joy and peace alive to an angry, hurting, confused and lost people right around you. he custom made you for His custom purposes for such a time as this. Trust Him and follow His peace as you go change the world. Amen! He is so loving, kind and patient with us! PTL! May we be like that as we go about each day with His ever present help. Amen!
TWFYT:
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ODB:
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As medical test after medical test filled up Bev’s schedule, she grew overwhelmed and weary. Doctors alarmed her when they told her they were looking for cancer somewhere in her body. Each day God faithfully encouraged her with the promises of His presence and an abiding peace when she turned to Him or read the Bible. She battled with the uncertainties and frequently learned to roll the “what ifs” onto God’s shoulders. One morning, Bev came across a verse in Exodus 23 that popped out from the page to her heart before a serious surgery: “I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way” (v. 20).
Those words were spoken by God through Moses to His people, the Israelites. He was giving His laws for His people to follow and leading them to a new land (vv. 14-26). But in the middle of those instructions, He told them He would send an angel ahead of them “to guard [them] along the way” (v. 20). Even though this wasn’t Bev’s life’s situation, she remembered that the care of angels is mentioned elsewhere in Scripture too. Psalm 91:11 says, “He will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” And Hebrews 1:14 tells us God sends angels as “ministering spirits” to serve believers in Jesus.
If we know Christ, He’s got an angel or angels near us to minister to us as well.
By Anne Cetas
REFLECT & PRAY
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What might God be doing for you through His angels? How does this encourage you?
I’m grateful, dear God, that You’re always near, and You also have Your angels watching over Your children.
For further study, read What Can We Learn from Angels?
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Exodus 20-23 contain legal requirements God demanded of His people Israel, including the Ten Commandments (20:1-17). In 23:20-26, He promised them His protection as they prepared to take the promised land. The specific angel mentioned is literal (23:20), but he’s also representative of God’s presence. God said, “My Name is in him” (v. 21). For the people of Israel, the protection was contingent upon their obedience. “Do not rebel against him,” God said (v. 21). He warned them not to be like the people currently occupying the promised land: “Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices” (v. 24). By contrast, worshiping God alone would bring His blessing (vv. 25-26). This promise isn’t directed to us, yet the principle holds true today.
Tim Gustafson |
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UR: Antidote to Anger
Do you not realize that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? - Romans 2:4 (NRSVUE)
I recently experienced an incident that led me to think of and appreciate God’s kindness and patience with me. I was angry with a young woman who is under my guardianship. I was even thinking of withdrawing my assistance from her. Yet I knew that if I did, my decision would cut short her education because her parents cannot afford to pay her school fees.
Then one day as I was reading the Bible, I came across words that spoke of God’s kindness toward us. I thought of the many times that I have failed God. Yet God has never given up on me. I saw then that I needed to treat this young woman the way God treats me — with kindness and patience.
When we feel provoked by others, we can begin to lose patience with them, even speaking and acting unkindly. But if we remember how the Lord has been kind and patient with us, we can act to bring about reconciliation and peace.
TODAY'S PRAYER
Dear Jesus, help us to exercise the same kindness and patience with others as you so lovingly demonstrated as you walked among us. Give us the courage to follow you faithfully every day. We pray the prayer you taught us, “Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation” (Luke 11:2-4, NIV). Amen.
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