Good Morning Very Loved, Saved by Grace, Students of Jesus! Disciples are learners that follow a master. Jesus is our Master. The disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray. And He did. Prayer is critical and a key component of a life well lived in Christ. Prayer is the foundation on which anything of Kingdom value is built. Today. I am leading off with Harvest Prayers blog on Prayer. Meditate and talk to God about what is being shared and prayed. he longs to have you rely on Him 24-7 and to be a ceaseless pray-er. He loves you, is with you and we need to be connected to Him all day every day. Amen! Be still at His feet today and have a great conversation. He really loves you and is with you always and has great plans to direct you to. ODB talks about His love for you (see below)Rejoice and dwell in His presence! See you tomorrow! Shalom!
Harvest:
June 29 - God’s Invitation to More of His Love
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God is the God of more. He longs for us to grant Him access to our lives through the continuing posture of unceasing prayer. The Lord has some things to say to you that will help you see the inestimable value of such a life—to forever change the way you view the privilege of prayer. If you were to sit with Him and ask “Lord, what do you want to say to me personally about prayer?” what would He say? Based on things He’s already said in His Word, we can imagine the conversation might go something like this …
“I want you to know that I’m waiting for you. I am more interested in prayer than you are, because I am more complete in my love than you are. If you loved like I love, you would want to talk with Me without ceasing. Unceasing prayer is not a command, but an invitation! And, I long for you to long for Me. I do not want to be shut out, to be ignored, or to not be consulted, for I know that there is so much more for you in My kingdom if you will pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
“I want you to know that prayer is not complicated. It is the heart of humble helplessness that looks to Me, not to yourself. This is faith. Your greatest qualification for prayer without ceasing is your helplessness. The more helpless you are, the more qualified you are to pray. I am knocking at the door, desiring entrance. I am longing for you to open the door and grant Me access to your greatest areas of helplessness, all day long. To pray is to let Me in.” (Revelation 3:20)
Lord, how can I ever comprehend the depth of Your love for me? May I continually come to You as a helpless, weak servant who knows that You alone can use me for Your purposes. Without You, I can do nothing! I am powerless without Your Spirit working within me. Please help my heart to find its way to deeper levels of Your love for me so that I will grow in my life of prayer in ways I cannot even imagine in this moment. I freely give You access to all that You have created me to be so that Your love for others and for the world will be in me also!
---Adapted from Prayer with No Intermission by Bill Elliff. This book is available at prayershop.org.
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- Praise God that he is in control of every storm (Mk. 4:35-39).
- Thank him that he does not want anyone to perish but to have everlasting life in him (2 Pet. 3:9).
- Confess to God your wrong response to the stormy, unexpected events in your life that leave you feeling panicky and fretful.
- Commit every stormy situation, as well as every good one, to God as he cares for you, restores you, and makes you strong (1 Pet. 5:7, 10).
- Ask God to calm any anxiety or fear that you are experiencing.
- Pray for troubled unbelievers to find victory over stormy lives in the calm that only Jesus can give.
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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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ODB:
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To express her sadness, Allie, a young girl, wrote on a piece of wood and set it in a park: “To be honest, I’m sad. Nobody ever wants to hang out with me, and I have lost the only person that listens. I cry every day.”
When someone found that note, she brought sidewalk chalk to the park and asked people to write their thoughts to Allie. Dozens of words of support were left by students from a nearby school: “We love you.” “God loves you.” “You are beloved.” The school principal said, “This is one little way that we can reach out and maybe help fill [her void]. She represents all of us because at some point in time we have all or will all experience sadness and suffering.”
The phrase “You are beloved” reminds me of a beautiful blessing by Moses to the Israelite tribe of Benjamin just before he died: “Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him” (Deuteronomy 33:12). Moses had been a strong leader for God, defeating enemy nations, receiving the Ten Commandments, and challenging them to follow God. He left them with God’s view of them. The word beloved can be used of us as well, for Jesus said, “God so loved the world that He gave [us] his one and only Son” (John 3:16).
As God helps us to rest securely in the truth that every believer in Jesus is “beloved,” we can reach out to love others as Allie’s new friends did.
By Anne Cetas
REFLECT & PRAY
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How are you learning to rest securely in God’s love? How will you share that love with others?
May I be confident in Your love for me, dear God, and spread Your love to those around me.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The “blessing scene” in Deuteronomy 33 is reminiscent of Genesis 49 where Jacob, on the threshold of his death, assembled his sons to bless them: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come” (v. 1). Verse 28 concludes: “All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him.” What Jesus did is similar to these Old Testament blessings. Prior to His crucifixion and after His resurrection, Christ’s words and actions indelibly marked His chosen followers. Luke’s gospel closes with this scene: “When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven” (24:50-51).
Arthur Jackson |
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UR: Saved by Grace
By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God — not the result of works, so that no one may boast. - Ephesians 2:8-9 (NRSVUE)
From a young age, I loved to go to church. I was very active in youth ministry, and my grandfather, who was the pastor, regularly involved me in worship. I enjoyed my time at church, but my faith was not strong.
After my grandfather’s death, I stopped going to church and got caught up in worldly distractions. I began a marketing job and became wrapped up in secular society. Some of my friends were members of the local mafia. My life was a total wreck.
After some time, my mother urged me to turn to Christ. But I thought to myself, I am such a sinner! How can God love me? But 2 Corinthians 12:9 reassured me that God’s “grace is sufficient” and that God loves me. I have been saved — not because of my work and deeds but because of God’s grace. So I turned to God and began trying to use my life for the glory of God. Since that time, whenever I have felt weak or depressed, God has showered abundant grace upon me.
TODAY'S PRAYER
Thank you, God, for your gift of grace to us. Guide us as we seek to follow you. Amen.
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