Urgent need: Keep Jason Fuhrman in your prayers. He broke two bones in His arm. Pray for healing and patience in the process.
He picks up our bread from the Bimbo Driver in Macungie every Monday afternoon. We need someone with a pick up truck to do that for the next 6 weeks while he heals. And then to bring it to the church. Someone from the Bread Ministry can meet you to help unload and set up. If you can help, even only a week or two, please let Gail Lichtenwalner know. Thanks!
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Good Morning Braided Cords of Christ! Yes we are a cord of three (or many more) as we are braided together in Christ and strengthened for the stresses of life and made useful for His purposes. Maybe to be thrown out with a life preserver to someone lost in the sea of life? Maybe to help a brother or sister endure some stretching hardship? Maybe attached to a Light to be lowered into the pit of darkness to a friend. Maybe it's a tow rope? Maybe a lasso? Maybe a rope attached to the prayer plow for fallow fields? The braided cord is a reminder that we are called to partner together with others and Jesus. Who are you being braided together with? How is God wanting to use your cord to rescue someone and bring them to the freedom in Christ? I think all our devos for today are being braided into this word from God to us this morning. What's God saying to you and what will you do about it? Life in Christ is all about relationships. Growing relationships with Him, each other and those He is drawing. How are your relationships growing? That will be reflected in your fruit and joy. May we all choose to allow God to braid us together and use us for His glory as we rescue those who are lost together. Amen!
ODB:
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President Abraham Lincoln had emancipated people held in slavery two-and-a half-years earlier and the Confederacy had surrendered, yet the state of Texas still hadn’t acknowledged the freedom of enslaved persons. However, on June 19, 1865, Union army general Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, and demanded that all enslaved persons be released. Imagine the shock and joy as shackles fell off and those in bondage heard the pronouncement of freedom.
God sees the oppressed, and He’ll ultimately announce freedom for those under the weight of injustice. This is true now just as it was true in Moses’ day. God appeared to him from a burning bush with an urgent message: “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt” (Exodus 3:7). He not only saw Egypt’s brutality against Israel—but He also planned to do something about it. “I have come down to rescue them,” God declared, “and to bring them . . . into a good and spacious land” (v. 8). He intended to declare freedom to Israel, and Moses would be the mouthpiece. “I am sending you to Pharaoh,” God told His servant, “to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt” (v. 10).
Though God’s timing may not happen as quickly as we hope, one day He’ll free us from all bondage and injustice. He gives hope and liberation to all who are oppressed.
By Winn Collier
REFLECT & PRAY
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How have you seen God work to help the oppressed? How does He invite you to participate in His work?
Dear God, there’s so much oppression in the story of our world. It’s easy to despair. Please help me stay attuned to Your intention to announce freedom.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Moses was one of the most significant leaders in the Bible. We can sometimes overlook, however, how God prepared him to lead. For four decades as a shepherd (Acts 7:30), he tended the flock of his father-in-law Jethro (Exodus 3:1; see 2:16-22). Like David (Psalm 78:70-71), God took Moses from caring for animals to caring for people. While it was the Great Shepherd who saw the misery, heard the cries, and was concerned about the suffering of His people (Exodus 3:7), His rescue plan called for a liberator in the flesh to function on His behalf: “You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron” (Psalm 77:20).
Arthur Jackson |
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UR: The Third Cord
Jesus said, “Where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” - Matthew 18:20 (NIV)
While I was in the US Navy our ship’s engine urgently needed a replacement part. Another ship was sent with the needed part, but the seas were too rough to launch a boat to bring us the part or for the other ship to come close alongside us. So a pulley was rigged between the two ships, and we were able to retrieve the part and get underway.
As I watched this event unfold, I was amazed at how the large rope being used was pulled tight from time to time as the waves forced the ships farther apart. The rope seemed to transition from hefty to thin and back again. I was concerned that it might snap, and the needed part would be lost. Later I saw that it was a triple-braided rope. Those three intertwined strands gave the rope its strength and prevented it from breaking.
I have learned that having Jesus as the third cord in my relationships can strengthen them and keep them from breaking. As I reflect on my life, I see that the broken relationships I experienced were largely due to my not fully including Jesus in my choices and decisions. When we welcome Christ into our relationships, he will strengthen those relationships with love and grace.
TODAY'S PRAYER
Triune God, help us to include you in all our relationships so that they may be strengthened. Amen.
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