Tomorrow: Worship at 10, brunch at 11:30. All welcome! Bring some friends! Who ya bringin'? There's plenty of food and desserts that Lori and team are, will and have prepared.
Good Morning Redeemed, Persevering, Protected, Growing Servants of the God Most High! YES and Amen! This salutation is right from our devos for today. Psalm 103:11 reminds us, "As high as the heavens are above the Erath, so great is His love for those who fear Him." He really loves us and as we surrender and ask Him to examine us, renew our thinking and help us repent, He will and grow us more into the people we are created to be and more like Him. Even in the battle for our nation, God addresses His people to respond rightly to bring His help. "If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, turn from their wicked ways and pray--THEN I will heal their land." (my paraphrase). Revival, salvation and bringing to life God's best ways for us and this nation begins with us--His people. His plan all along is to use His people to bring Jesus, salvation and new life alive to the world around us where He has placed us for such a time as this. It all begins with our obedience and focus on God's best. Amen! Help us Lord! Come! Refine us and focus us on Your mission with earnest and surrendered hearts. May we truly become one nation under God. May Your perfect plans and will come alive in and through us. May we persevere in faith and be about You and Your business no matter the circumstances around us. Help us to live as your holy and surrendered remnant and bring You alive today. Bring revival! Change us and this nation by Your love! Thanks! Come! Amen!
Here are our devos for today to contemplate prayerfully and to use to process and plan with some friends how to respond. What's God saying to you and what will you do about it? Pray on that armor as you surrender, repent, renew your thinking and plan with some others to go bring Jesus' light and love alive! We are His vessels of change! Live like it today! We are...Redeemed, Persevering, Protected, Growing Servants of the God Most High! Amen!
ODB:
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Some friends went boating in the English Channel, hoping the forecast for stormy weather would change. But the winds rose, and the waves became choppy, threatening the safety of their vessel, so they radioed for help to the RNLI (the Royal National Lifeboat Institution). After some tense moments, they spotted their rescuers in the distance and realized with relief they’d soon be safe. As my friend reflected gratefully afterward, “Whether or not people ignore the rules of the sea, the RNLI still comes to the rescue.”
As he recounted the story, I thought about how Jesus leads God’s search-and-rescue mission. He came to earth to become a man, living as one of us. Through His death and resurrection, He provided us with a rescue plan when our sin and disobedience separated us from God. This truth is emphasized by Paul, when writing to the church at Galatia: “The Lord Jesus Christ . . . gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age” (Galatians 1:3-4). Paul reminded the Galatians of the gift of new life they received through Jesus’ death so that they would honor God day by day.
Jesus, our rescuer, willingly died to save us from being lost. Because He did, we have life in the kingdom of God, and in gratitude we can share the life-saving news with those in our community.
By Amy Boucher Pye
REFLECT & PRAY
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How do you express thanks for your rescue? With whom can you share the good news?
Dear Jesus, You give the gift of life and salvation. Please help me to receive Your love and give it to others.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
In Galatians, Paul refers to Jesus as our rescuer (1:3-5) and deliverer (5:1). The apostle uses a variety of terms in his other writings to describe what Christ accomplished in His rescue mission. He provides “peace with God” (Romans 5:1); He’s “our Passover lamb” (1 Corinthians 5:7), our “Savior” (Ephesians 5:23), and redeemer (Titus 2:14). The author of Hebrews describes Him as our “great high priest” (Hebrews 4:14). The common thread of these images and metaphors is that Jesus rectifies something that’s wrong. The parables that He told in Luke 15 of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son (more commonly known as the prodigal son) have a similar theme of rescue. Christ described His own work by saying, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (19:10).
J.R. Hudberg |
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UR: Persevere!
Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. - Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)
One of the greatest stories of endurance in the Bible is that of Job. Job suffered the loss of his family, possessions, and health, but he persevered and revered God through it all.
I recently had the chance to run in my first half-marathon. Even with months of proper training, I found myself drained of energy and low in spirit with several miles to go before the finish line.
As I began to question whether I would have the strength to make it, I remembered today’s reading from Hebrews telling us to run with perseverance toward the path set before us, just as Jesus persevered toward the cross.
These words are a powerful reminder for us to remain faithful to God till the very end, despite the many struggles we are bound to experience. I am proud to say that by remembering God’s challenge to persevere, I was able to cross the finish line.
Today's Prayer
Dear God, help us focus on all you have promised, especially during the challenging times. Thank you for your faithfulness to us. Amen.CS:
SY:
TWFYT:
Harvest:
- Pray with a thankful heart that our Father desires His people to have communion with Him.
- Ask God to give us deeply broken and repentant hearts, recognizing that sin so easily entangles us.
- Ask forgiveness for any time you have not humbled yourself before the Lord and pride has overtaken you.
- Commit yourself to deeper levels of seeking after His heart rather than your own selfish desires.
- Ask God to hear from heaven, forgive our sins, and heal our land!
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40 Days USA | A Call To Pray For Our Nation
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