I'm baaaack! My cardioversion was a success. PTL! Thank you all for your prayers and encouragements! I must be back to normal as I am so rested and God awoke me at 3 to come chat and write. At least yesterday and so far today, I feel great and ready to get back at it! PTL!
Today is the last day for the Clothing Closet until Aug 17. Pray for them to serve well today and to refresh in the weeks ahead. Pray for leaders and workers for this ministry to be raised up by God.
Tomorrow is worship with Children's Church at 10. Next Sunday is our last Children's Church until Sept. Pray for Children's Church volunteers to be raised up by God. In the fall CC will be for 12 and under only. If you are interested, let us know so you can get clearances and training.
June 2nd is our next new member installation day and our vote on AC for fellowship Hall.
June 9th at 10:30 at Community Park is our church picnic with worship
Pastor Don will be on vacation off and on the next two weeks, if he can't be reached please reach out to Sarah who will be overseeing things while he is off. Thanks Sarah!
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Good Morning Praying Friends Who Know Christ and Make Him Known! AMEN! Our EC motto is to know Christ and make Him known. How's that going for you? How are we doing as Christ's Body with that? Our vision statement is to become a dynamic movement of God led by us who have a burning passion for God and missionary zeal to reach the lost. We are on our way to this! PTL! Everything we do of importance and value, including getting to know Christ and making Him known, is birthed and sustained through prayer. Revival begins when one person prays earnestly. Check out our devotionals and blogs below tying this all together. Keep praying and getting to know God more so that will overflow to revival and others getting to know Him. That's how making disciples in the way of Jesus works too. Pray, receive, listen, process, plan and follow well today. Amen!
The Word for You Today begins with teaching us about how to know God. That is the beginning of true life and finding our purposes in life. We can know all about God but until we really get to know Him life is meaningless. We are His created masterpieces, made new in Christ, to do all the things He created us to do. (Eph. 2:10) It only makes sense to have a relationship with the One who made us. He teaches, gifts, empowers and directs our steps. When we stop relying on self and focus on Him and our relationship and through prayer too all that falls into place. Charles Stanley then reminds us about the importance of knowing His ways, as well as, knowing Him in all his faceted existence. He is--well--Everything! Creator, Sustainer, Shepherd, Helper, Leader, Source, Protector, Provider, Friend and so much more. Dwell in some of these today and worship as you prepare to follow His ways. One of my continual prayers is for me and us to come to know and follow THE Way. Jesus is the Way! His ways are best and He has a way just for you to follow! How cool is that! Get to really know Him and His ways and you will be well on your way to bringing Him to life to others and fulfilling your purposes too. And then check our Our Daily Bread. You are called and equipped and as you get to know Him and His ways, He will lead, teach, empower and use you and your abilities and talents to fulfill your purposes. PTL! Right? He has great plans for you! And the Upper Room reminds us that He always wants to lead in the right paths. As we persevere in surrendering and following Him well in faith He will lead us and perfect us as He uses us well, just as we are created.
Man, can life in Christ get any better? The world has no idea what joy and life satisfaction they are missing out on! Who do you see God drawing and what will you do to make Him and His ways known?
I am so thankful that God redeemed me and made me new and keeps growing me to fulfill why He created me! There is much joy in that and in helping others to get to know Him, their purposes and to step into His ways. Let us commit to keep working at this together as we go, make disciple and teach them all about Him and His ways and what a real relationship with God is all about. We are gathered as His Good News Delivery Co and will become His disciple making center as we get to know and make Jesus and His ways known. Amen! So be it Lord! Come! Fill us, transform us and use us as we birth and sustain all this in prayer and follow You. Amen. Only you can do what you are created to do and that grows and changes as you mature and persevere in your faith and your race throughout life. You were made for such a time as this! Rejoice and keep at it! Day Light is burning! God is with you! Enjoy the ride!
TWFYT:
CS:
ODB:
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“Your job for the international book expo,” my boss informed me, “is to organize an onsite radio broadcast.” I felt fear because this was new territory for me. God, I’ve never done anything like this, I prayed. Please help me.
God provided resources and people to guide me: experienced technicians and broadcasters, plus reminders during the expo of details I’d overlooked. In retrospect, I know that the broadcast went well because He knew what was needed and prompted me to use the skills He’d already given me.
When God calls us to a task, He also equips us for it. When He assigned Bezalel to work on the tabernacle, Bezalel was already a skilled craftsman. God further equipped him by filling him with His Spirit and with wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and all kinds of skills (Exodus 31:3). God also gave him an assistant in Oholiab, as well as a skilled workforce (v. 6). With His enablement, the team designed and made the tent, its furnishings, and the priests’ garments. These were instrumental in the Israelites’ proper worship of God (vv. 7-11).
Bezalel means “in the shadow [protection] of God.” The craftsman worked on the project of a lifetime under God’s protection, power, and provision. Let’s courageously obey His prompting as we carry out a task to completion. He knows what we need, and how and when to give it.
By Karen Huang
REFLECT & PRAY
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What task is God calling you to carry out? In what areas can you pray for His guidance?
Father, thank You for equipping me with all that I need.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Exodus 35–38 gives specific instructions for the construction of the tabernacle and all its furnishings. In today’s passage (31:1-11), we read that God equipped specific people to carry out this important and detailed work. God filled Bezalel with “the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills” (v. 3). He also equipped Oholiab to assist him (v. 6). In addition to being given technical skills, Bezalel and Oholiab were to teach others how to do the work (35:30-35). God equipped all with what was needed to accomplish the task (36:1).
J.R. Hudberg |
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Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. - Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV)
“Don’t take your eyes off the path; that’s the best way to ensure you’ll be safe,” our guide told us as we walked 45 minutes toward our destination. The path was indeed quite uneven. At the end of the excursion, I was one of the few who did not suffer any incident along the way. I accomplished the feat because I followed the instructions closely.
The guide’s simple directions reminded me of today’s scripture in Hebrews about “fixing our eyes on Jesus.” This brief instruction invites us to keep our eyes on the right path — the path God laid out for us in Jesus Christ.
The journey of life is full of difficulties, distractions, and “easy outs” that promise to lighten our burdens. But there is only one true path — the way of Jesus. He can guide our footsteps, fill us with purpose, and offer us eternal life.
TODAY'S PRAYER
Merciful God, thank you for being our source of hope, peace, and eternal love. As we fix our eyes on Jesus, we join in the prayer he 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.
Harvest Prayer Blog:
May 18 - Walking in the Presence of God
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Prayer is the key to God’s presence and power resting on our lives and the lives of others. Prayer is always the precursor to revival. Can you imagine God bringing revival to a prayerless people? Spiritual awakening can always be traced back to the mercy of God in response to some praying individual or group.
Prayerlessness is the worst sin because it is the highest indication of pride. A day without prayer is a day we’ve told God we can live without Him. It speaks of a lack of trust and the vain work of human ability alone. How can we hope to know God’s agenda? Lead people where they need to go? Give them what God is saying? See God’s power resting on those we are called to lead? See real life change in us and others?
Paul says we must “pray without ceasing.” I long for that continuity. It is my great prayer that those three words would someday be said of me. That people would remark, “Well, he is not this nor that, but he prays all the time. Our pastor walks in the presence of the Lord. He constantly breathes the oxygen of heaven … and he leads us there. And when he says something or leads us somewhere, we know it is initiated by God.”
If you are not good at prayer, cry out. Pray until you are a better intercessor. Get around people who pray. Find a regular, weekly prayer partner and learn together. Call together a dozen people and work diligently at your most important task. Read books on prayer. Study and memorize the prayers of the Scripture, which will dramatically help you in your praying.
If you are desperate for prayer, God will exponentially help you in your pursuit. He knows that prayerlessness is the one weakness you cannot afford as you love and lead people for whom He died.
Father, I want to breathe in the oxygen of heaven every moment of my life! Teach me how to intercede continually and strengthen my life of prayer in ways that bring You glory! Keep me from prayerlessness and help me to encourage and teach others how to pray so that You will be pleased to pour out revival in the midst of Your people!
---Adapted from Prayer with No Intermission by Bill Elliff. This book is available at prayershop.org.
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- Praise God as your faithful Creator and Re-creator in Christ.
- Give thanks that you can “participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed” (1 Pet. 4:13).
- Confess the times in which you have shirked responsibility by failing to speak or act for Christ.
- Commit yourself to living up to the weighty name “Christian.”
- Ask that you will never “repay evil with evil or insult with insult” (1 Pet. 3:9).
- Pray for people who are experiencing the effects of natural disasters. Pray that they will feel the closeness of God even in the turmoil, and that relief will be offered to them in Jesus’ name.
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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.
Connection (Devotions for Everyday Life) © 2024 is a free devotional published daily by Harvest Prayer Ministries. Subscribe here. |
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