Good Morning Righteous in Christ, Filled with the Holy Spirit, Saturated in the Word, Pray-ers and Vessels of God! Just think about that salutation as you engage with our devos below. We have put on Christ's righteousness because we are saved. Because we are saved we are sealed with the Holy Spirit and He guides us and our prayers and empowers us to go build the Kingdom. As we sit at Jesus' feet and meditate on His Word we are saturated in God's wisdom, direction and heart. As we pray and go we are His ambassadors that not only release His power and will in prayer but also action. We are His and He has great plans for us each day that come to life as we still ourselves, reload with His power and authority, pray and go. What are His plans for you today? What's He saying to your heart? What will you do about it? Who are you partnering with?
Please continue to pray into our summer outreach. How does God want to use you and us? Share what you are hearing and let us make plans together to connect to more neighbors. Pray for Children's Church workers and kids. Pray for us to partner with Revival Church to reach families in our neighborhoods. Pray for families to be drawn to Christ as we connect to them better. Thank God for using you and us. Pray for His will to be done and revival to come. Amen! Think about this, 40 year old's may be the last of those that were forced to go to church and remember when most people went to church. But they walked away and their families have no connection to God, church or Christians. Ask God how to connect to these families and to draw them and give us ideas. Pray for those over 40 that we seem to be connecting to. Ask God to continue that work and grow that ministry. Thank Him for the new servants He is sending. Pray that we would become a disciple making hub for the Lehigh Valley and a House of Prayer for the Nations. Thank God for custom making and gifting you to do your part for such a time as this! Thank Him for helping us to be and grow as a healthy church and ask for that to continue as we move from adding to multiplying disciples. Amen! See you all tomorrow! Shalom! Renew your thinking and follow His peace today!
Charles Stanley:
Harvest Blogs:
May 4 - Representing Christ
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Praying in the name of Jesus means three things, according to prayer leader Alvin VanderGriend:
First, we are authorized to be Christ’s representatives. . . we represent him. When we stand before the throne, the Father recognizes us as persons who stand in the place of his Son. That makes us acceptable.
Second, we come to God on the basis of Christ’s merit. You and I have no claim on God, but Christ does. He merited the Father’s favor by his perfect life and sacrifice. When we come in Jesus’ name, we are identified with him.
Third, we come asking according to Christ’s will. We have the mind of Christ in us, so what we ask is what he would ask. He is asking us to ask for him. We are able to ask what he would ask because our wills are in sync with his will.
This means that we have an awesome responsibility. We are representing Christ—His will and wishes. That means we need to be constantly growing in His Word in order to know what His will and wishes are. We need to be always praying for God to conform us into the image of Jesus so that we will be worthy of this awesome responsibility.
“To pray in the Name of Christ,” wrote Samuel Chadwick, “is to pray as one who is at one with Christ, whose mind is the mind of Christ, whose desires are the desires of Christ, and whose purpose is one with that of Christ. . . . Prayers offered in the Name of Christ are scrutinized and sanctified by His nature, His purpose, and His will. Prayer is endorsed by the Name, when it is in harmony with the character, mind, desire, and purpose of the Name.”
Lord Jesus Christ, my heart is humbled by the knowledge that when I come before the throne of grace, I do so in Your name and through Your authority! I have been given the astonishing privilege of aligning my prayer with the plans and purposes of God the Father through the prompting and power of the Holy Spirit. May I always seek to pray for God’s kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Help me to lay aside any selfish desires and in humility be diligent about reading, soaking in and obeying Your perfect and holy word so that I will look like the One in whose image I have been created!
--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.
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- Praise God, whose name is great among the nations (Mal. 1:11).
- Give thanks that the gospel has reached around the world and into your heart.
- Confess any sin that has hindered you from gaining a clear vision of God’s work in the world.
- Commit yourself to God’s plan for the gospel to be preached in the whole world (Mt. 24:14).
- Ask God to use you in that plan.
- Boldly intercede for the work of gospel missions worldwide. Pray by name for world missionaries whom your church supports. Ask God to protect them and prosper their work
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| 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. |
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ODB:
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A routine wellness check for little four-year-old Calvin revealed a few unexpected spots on his body. During the visit, he was given some shots, and the injection site was covered with a bandage. At home, when the time came to remove the small adhesive covering, Calvin whimpered with fear. Seeking to console his son, his father said, “Calvin, you know I’d never do anything to hurt you.” His father wanted his son to trust him more than fearing the removal of the bandage.
Four-year-olds aren’t the only ones who grow faint in the face of discomfort. Surgeries, separation from loved ones, mental or psychological challenges—and more—prompt our fears, sighs, cries, and groans.
One of David’s fear-filled moments was when he found himself in Philistine territory while fleeing a jealous King Saul. When he was recognized, he was anxious about what might happen to him (see 1 Samuel 21:10-11): “David . . . was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath” (v. 12). Reflecting on this uncomfortable situation, David wrote, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. . . . In God I trust and am not afraid” (Psalm 56:3-4).
What shall we do when life’s discomforts stir up our fears? We can put our trust in our heavenly Father.
By Arthur Jackson
REFLECT & PRAY
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What situation is presently making you fearful? How can you rest in His care as you bring your fears before your loving heavenly Father in prayer?
Dear God, in my humanity and frailty, I’m fearful. Help me to see and experience Your love and care even in the midst of my trials and discomfort.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The psalmist David’s name appears on 73 of the 150 psalms. And New Testament references indicate he also wrote Psalms 2 and 95 (see Acts 4:25; Hebrews 4:7). Most of his psalms lack background information, but 13, including Psalm 56, give details on their setting. The superscription ascribes Psalm 56 to David and states: “When the Philistines had seized [David] in Gath.” He so feared King Saul that he entered enemy territory. There the servants of Achish, the king of Gath, recognized him and informed the king. Terrified, David “pretended to be insane in their presence; and . . . acted like a madman” (1 Samuel 21:13). It worked. He was released (vv. 14-15) and escaped to the cave of Adullam (22:1). Though fearful, he put his trust in God (Psalm 56:3).
Alyson Kieda |
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UR: God Cares
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? - Matthew 6:26 (NRSVUE)
My wife and I recently spent an afternoon relaxing on the porch swing just outside our front door. At one point we noticed a nest of baby birds near an upper corner of the porch. Every few minutes the mother bird returned to the nest to deliver morsels of food to the chicks. We wondered how such a delicate nest in such a precarious location could keep all those hatchlings from falling to the ground. That seemed like a miracle to us and still remains a mystery.
As we marveled at the sight of those birds and their nest, we recalled instances in our own lives when we too felt as if we were in a vulnerable nest, suspended high off the ground. We had no idea what was keeping us from falling, but we trusted that the nest God placed us in would be secure. It may not have happened right away, but like a mother bird, God always provided what we needed.
TODAY'S PRAYER
O God, thank you for tending to our needs day after day and year after year. We can surrender our fears and insecurities because we know you are watching over us. Amen.
TWFYT:
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