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Friday, June 28 2024
Joe Toy Newsletter and Harvest Prayer blog for praying for our leaders below
Good Morning Humble, Compassionate, Surrendered, Christlike Co-Laborers! Please Lord! May that be me and us! Help us to humble and die to self, take up our cross today and crucify the things that hinder You, Your plans and Your miracles and follow Jesus well. Give me/us Your heart and mind and move us to go live and love more and more like Jesus. Bring Your joy and the joy of our salvation alive as we trust and follow Jesus today. Fill us with Your Spirit of love and wisdom. Come! Fill us! Prepare us to go as we are. Yes, send me/us! Use us for Your glory and grow us into our fuller potential and Your perfect plans for us. Come! Use me/us for Your glory! Thank You! Your will be done in heaven, one earth, and through me/us. And please Lord, bring dreams and vision for how you want to use us and our building more fully this summer and beyond. Come! Lead us! Be our Lord and Savior of many and make disciples through us--multiply disciples. Bring revival. Thanks! Amen. Pray this earnestly. Talk to God about you and His plans and process this all with some close friends. Then make some plans and go!
Today's devotionals are sort of two or three tracks but yet thread together. What is God saying to you as you engage with Him through them? We are God's masterpieces, custom made for such a time as this, sent as we are to bring Him and His love alive, and empowered and gifted by the Holy Spirit to do so. PTL! God has great plans for you and us! Amen! Let us seek, process, plan and plan to follow well to His best together. Share what you are hearing with Sarah or me too. We will be having a vision team meeting soon to bring to life some of the ideas God has given us for this summer. PTL! The AC is fully funded and we should be able to start up back in the building by August but until then and even after, God is sending us out to connect with others. Seek Him and let us commit to follow well. Amen! We all have a part to play in His Good News Delivery Co. What's yours? What are you doing about it? Who are you processing with? I'm praying for you and us! Go! Live and love more in '24.
UR: God's Concern
Honest balances and scales are the Lord’s; all the weights in the bag are his work. - Proverbs 16:11 (NRSVUE)
Going into the clinic for a routine blood test was a biannual activity for me. This particular morning, I was sitting with a prayer list, silently lifting up people’s requests as I waited to be called. Then God interrupted me.
No, interrupted is the wrong word. My mind and heart were flooded with light and the riches of God’s love. While I had been praying, I had been watching various patients come in and had unconsciously been making assumptions — judgments — about their personal habits. In fact, I’m pretty sure some part of me was thinking, They wouldn’t be in such bad shape if they . . .
God’s perspective shattered all my silent judgments as I became aware of the tremendous affection and concern God felt for each person. The concerns each person carried were also God’s concerns.
This experience gave new meaning to Proverbs 16:11. I have prayed ever since to see and to love others through God’s loving concern and wisdom, rather than according to my own skewed scales of judgment.
TODAY'S PRAYER
Gracious God, thank you for knowing all our burdens and for caring deeply for each of us. Teach us to show compassion to everyone we meet. Amen.
ODB:
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They didn’t think Jørn, a tenant farming the land, would amount to much. Yet despite his weak vision and other physical limitations, he poured himself out for those in his village in Norway, praying the many nights when his pain kept him awake. In prayer he’d move from house to house, naming each person individually, even the children he hadn’t yet met. People loved his gentle spirit and would seek his wisdom and advice. If he couldn’t help them practically, they’d still feel blessed when they left, having received his love. And when Jørn died, his funeral was the biggest ever in that community, even though he had no family there. His prayers blossomed and brought forth fruit beyond what he could have imagined.
This humble man followed in the example of the apostle Paul, who loved those he served and prayed for them while confined. He wrote to those in Ephesus while he was likely imprisoned in Rome, praying that God would give them “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation” and that the eyes of their hearts would be “enlightened” (Ephesians 1:17–18). He yearned that they would know Jesus and live with love and unity through the power of the Spirit.
Jørn and the apostle Paul poured themselves out to God, committing those they loved and served to Him in prayer. May we consider their examples in how we love and serve others today.
By Amy Boucher Pye
REFLECT & PRAY
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Who do you know who’s a gentle prayer warrior? How does that person reflect Christ’s heart?
Jesus, You served others and put their needs first. Please help me to love and serve You joyfully each day.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Today’s reading begins with the phrase “for this reason” (Ephesians 1:15). What reason? In verses 3-14, Paul wrote one continuous sentence (in the original Greek) praising “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 3) for a variety of things. God blessed us “with every spiritual blessing” (v. 3); “chose us” (v. 4); “predestined us for adoption” (v. 5); redeemed and forgave us (v. 7); and “made known to us the mystery of his will” (v. 9). Paul also notes that we’re “marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance” (vv. 13-14). Taken together, this passage provides us with one of the clearest presentations of the doctrine of the Trinity. The apostle prays, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ [the Son], the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better” (v. 17).
Tim Gustafson |
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TWFYT:
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Harvest Prayer Blog for Leaders
June 25 - Interceding for those who Govern
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First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. (1 Timothy 2:1–2)
The highest place and the most influential vocation is that of intercessor. From our humble homes and lowly hearts, we are able to influence kings and nations, to change history. Why would God give such power to our prayers? The answer is vast, but one reason is he gives us a small part in joining him in ruling the universe through prayer. As we cry out today, we will be seeking God on behalf of our President, Congress, Senate, governors, mayors, and all those who rule on a local level. Through prayer, we have been invited to shape history and influence world events. Let us enter this high calling of prayer with a humble and contrite heart, never praying from a place of pride or selfish anger, but seeking the highest good for those who govern our nation and community, as well as for those who are being governed. Let’s pray.
Father, we follow your Word, which commands us to pray for kings and for those in high positions. As you said, we start with supplications— seeking that every need of those who govern would be met by Christ and that he would become their Lord and Savior. Our prayers for them are that every leader would know the love of Jesus today—that their decisions would be rooted in this heavenly love, and that wisdom from heaven would pervade their thoughts, meetings, and each decision. Our intercessions are for your kingdom to come and your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven through these leaders’ governing. Establish your government through their leadership. I join with other intercessors today offering thanksgivings for the leaders you have put in office. Bless them beyond what they deserve. May your grace and justice be the clear guide as they govern nationally and locally. Glorify your name through each and every leader from the President of the United States to the president of the local parent-teacher organization. Enable me to be a faithful and fruitful watchman on the wall for our governing leaders. Shine brightly as they lead. May righteousness exalt our nation today.
--Adapted from Praying God’s Word Over Your City: 40 Days of Prayer for A Transformed Community by Trey and Mary Anne Kent. 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 for his quietness, restoration, and strength (Ps. 23:2-3).
- Give thanks that God will give you that quiet time to reflect on his restoring power and quietness (Ps. 46:10).
- Confess your failure to be still before the Lord so he can speak to you.
- Commit yourself to a daily time of worship and adoration of God.
- Ask God for assurance that in quietness and trust is your strength (Isa. 30:15).
- Pray that your quietness before God will result in winning the “respect of outsiders” (1 Thess. 4:11-12) so that they will see Jesus in you.
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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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Joe Toy:
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“For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
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Dear Friends,
As our team was busy sharing the gospel on the Ocean City, MD boardwalk, a young man approached one of us and asked, “Why do you do this? Do you get paid to do this? He replied, “We spend our own money to come here and drive a long way taking time away from our families.” The young man replied, “Well this must be important. What do you have to say?” And so begins a gospel conversation with a recent high school graduate. The Lord blessed us with five great days
on the boardwalk, as we passed out four thousand gospel tracts and talked to hundreds of people.The weather was ideal as it was not too hot or cold and no need to deal with rain. It was awesome to work with a team of eight like-minded men focused on sharing the gospel with the lost.
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Men from such states as MD, PA, NJ, VA and NC spent about seven to eight hours a day sharing Christ.
Imagine turning to a young woman who has been listening to the preaching of the gospel for thirty minutes. As you hand out a tract to her, it is promptly received. She asks, “What would you say to someone who thinks about suicide a lot. Internally, you say to yourself in prayer, “Wow! Lord you better help me with this.” And at this point begins a conversation/counseling session which lasts about thirty minutes in the midst of the noise and interruptions of the boardwalk crowd. The Lord in his providence had given us a team member who is a certified biblical counselor, who was able to speak with her.
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A few nights later as I was holding my “Are You Going To Heaven?” sign, a teenage girl approached me and asked, “Can I tell you a secret?” In response I said, “If you want to.” She stated, “I had an abortion recently, what do you think about that?” I replied, “I feel very sad for you.” And so begins a long conversation whereby she continually justifies killing her baby, because she believes she will have a better life without a baby. I sought a bridge to share the gospel, but she kept talking about her past abortion and how it was no big deal. Obviously, it was a big deal or she would have never approached me. Like most of this generation, she wanted me to affirm her in her sin when she really needs God’s forgiveness in Christ Jesus. I saw her later with tears coming down her cheeks; maybe the Lord was beginning his inner work in her heart.
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On our last night on the boardwalk, a young man was tuned into the preaching of the gospel. As one of our team interacted with him and clearly shared the gospel, the team member stated, “You can take care of this tonight when you get home.” The young man replied, “Why can’t I do it now?” So right there on the busy boardwalk this man surrendered to Christ. There are lots of hurting folks in our culture who need the salvation only Jesus brings. One such person is Adam who at twenty-five years old is still suffering from being passed on from one family to another family. It was a joy to talk to him two days in a row and encourage him to get back with the Lord, which is something that he has drifted away from. Jesus still heals people’s broken hearts. |
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On Memorial Day weekend, a team of us headed to the Raleigh Convention Center to bring the gospel to the Animazement crowds. Lots of people are into identifying with their Anime characters or are just fans of this art and entertainment culture. Ever since Adam and Eve lost their true identity with God people are seeking a substitute identify with something else, which just leaves them empty. Thousands of fans received tracts and heard about Jesus. In mid May, we headed to Myrtle Beach to assist some friends at a large crab fest. We had a
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great location as buses dropped people off right by us, so they passed us on their way in and out. It was a great opportunity to saturate the event with the gospel. We met a lot of kind people who thanked us for being there and one man even helped us pass out tracts for a while.
We are still active here in the Raleigh with our outreach ministry at the courthouse, bus station, downtown and the abortion mills.
Keep us in your prayers.
God Bless |
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