Good Morning Good Soil, Faithful in the Little Things, Fruitful Followers of Jesus! Yes Lord! May that be us always! You have great plans for us may we be good soil that produces good fruit as we stay faithful in all the little things You have for us along the way. Thanks Lord! Come! May we be about You and Your business daily. Amen! Are you making room for God to do what He has planned for you? Maybe turn this song into your prayer this morning as you ask Him to come have His way with you and use you for His glory. Make Room: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxubPpU-iIA
Humble yourself before the Lord and ask Him to come have His way and lead you to His perfect plans for today--always! Make room for Him today! I awoke singing that song this morning! And God led me to a deep time of surrender with Him. We have defined discipleship as the process of becoming who Jesus would be if He were you. Ask Him for that today. He does have great custom made plans for you! Can you say, "I am who I am because I am allowing I AM to be who He is in and through me"? That's being good soil ready for God to sow into that will produce abundant fruit. Heaven knows this nation and world need more of us followers of Jesus to embrace this and step more fully into it. Check out some of our devos for today that talk about this and thread through God's custom made plans for you and us as His Body. What's God saying to you today? What will you do about it? Who are you processing and traveling with in your journey to become more like Jesus? That is our goal. Amen! A dynamic movement who have a burning passion for God and missionary zeal to reach the lost for His glory!
This morning as I arose God brought a thought to me that may have me tweaking His message to us for tomorrow from Col. 3:1-17 (maybe prayerfully engage with that in preparation today). He reminded me how we are to hate evil and do good. He brought to mind the thought about how we all hate the state of this nation. Can you imagine how God feels about those created in His image running to the darkness, embracing, endorsing and pushing evil in His sight. The thought breaks my heart. It is a reminder and call to repent and ask God to have control of you, to inform and convict and change your disgust to crying out in prayer for this nation and then allow Jesus to use you to do your part in pulling the ones God is drawing from the grasp of darkness. We have work to do. We need to be like Jesus and how He responded to the darkness of His day and how the early church responded to evil times. Are you willing to lay your life down for Christ? Pray for boldness to pour yourself out and follow Him to His perfect plans for you to change the world one soul at a time and with one step of faith at a time. He is faithful and will be with you and will use the good soil of your souls to produce good and lasting fruit! Amen! Please Lord! Come! Send me/us for Your glory to Your perfect plans and purposes in these last days. May we have our thoughts fixed on things above and be ready to follow You as we work on being faithful in the little things. Amen!
Pray through this song: Honest Offering: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPqqIDnjDKY
Charles Stanley:
ODB:
|
On my morning walk, I noticed that a vehicle was stopped in the road headed in the wrong direction. The driver was unaware of the danger to herself and others because she was asleep and appeared to be under the influence of alcohol. The situation was perilous, and I had to act. After getting her alert enough to move her to the passenger side of the car so I could get into the driver’s seat, I drove her to a safe place.
Physical danger isn’t the only harm we face. When Paul saw worldly-wise, clever people in Athens in spiritual peril because “the city was full of idols,” he “was greatly distressed” (Acts 17:16). The apostle’s innate response to those who flirted with ideas that failed to consider Christ was to share about God’s purposes in and through Jesus (vv. 18, 30-31). And some who heard believed (v. 34).
Seeking ultimate meaning apart from faith in Christ is dangerous. Those who’ve found forgiveness and true fulfillment in Jesus have been rescued from dead-end pursuits and have been given the message of reconciliation (see 2 Corinthians 5:18-21). Sharing the good news of Jesus with those under the intoxicating influences of this life is still the means God uses to snatch people from harm’s way.
By Arthur Jackson
REFLECT & PRAY
|
|
If you haven’t made your way to Jesus, what are you waiting for? If you have, what’s keeping you from telling someone how God has rescued you from spiritual harm’s way?
Heavenly Father, thank You for rescuing me from the spiritual harm of my own sin. Please use me to help others who can’t see that they’re in danger.
|
|
|
|
|
|
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Acts 17 shows how Paul did all he could to share the good news of Jesus. Being Jewish, when in Athens he naturally engaged with the Jewish people and “God-fearing Greeks” who frequented the synagogue (v. 17). But he also went to “the marketplace” each day, where he met with “Epicurean and Stoic philosophers” (vv. 17-18). These two groups saw life very differently and gathered to debate those differences. Yet Paul sought common ground with them (vv. 22-23), creating a basis to tell them about the God who “gives everyone life and breath and everything else” (v. 25).
Tim Gustafson |
|
|
|
|
|
UR: Always Enough
Everyone ate until they were full, and the disciples filled twelve baskets with the leftovers. - Luke 9:17 (CEB)
Many years ago, as a young pastor serving a small rural parish, I was honored to host Chief George and his wife from the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference as guest speakers at our church.
When the service was over, I learned that I was supposed to provide a Sunday dinner for my guests before they traveled to speak at another church later that afternoon. I panicked. I had never, ever entertained anyone for a meal. But that wasn’t the worst of it. I had only a small roast in the slow cooker — more than enough for one but surely not enough for three.
Taking a deep breath, I invited them over to the parsonage to relax. I then rummaged through my cupboards to see what I could add to the meal. I found a box of instant mashed potatoes and two cans of green beans. I also found a box of instant pudding and prayed that there was enough milk in the fridge to make both the potatoes and the pudding.
As it turned out, we had a wonderfully filling and pleasant meal, and my guests were nourished before their next event. Every time I read the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand, I am reminded of my meal with Chief George and his wife. That day I learned that with God we always have more than we think we have. Even when there seems to be too little, if it is served with love, there is always enough.
Today's Prayer
Loving God, help us to trust you to know our needs even before we ask and then to accept your gifts graciously. Amen.TWFYT:
Harvest prayer:
October 12 - DAY 16 OF 40 DAYS OF PRAYER FOR OUR NATION
Praying For Our Youth
|
|
|
“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12 NIV).
Michael Brown of The Christian Post stated: “Satan is not just trying to silence the next generation. He is seeking to wipe it out, declaring an all-out war on our children. They are being slaughtered in the womb. They are being kidnapped and sold into sex slavery. They are being raped and abused and neglected and used. They are being brainwashed by their teachers and bullied by their peers. They are lost and lonely, depressed and suicidal. They cut themselves and kill themselves. Their innocence is being robbed and their security is being stolen. Without exaggeration, we can say that no generation in American history has been subject to such a concerted, demonic attack.”
Current culture has not been kind to our children and youth. Believers must go to the mat with Satan in this hour by praying fervently and continually for the next generations. Whether you have children or not, the church must pray! The only way to have victory and free our children from destruction is to pray and act as God guides us.
Lord Jesus, You have already won the ultimate victory over the devil, but in our broken culture, we are watching our children and youth suffer and turn away from You. Help Your people to become passionately involved in the lives of youth both in prayer and action. Give us Your divine strategies for bringing a stop to every destructive plan of the enemy.
|
|
- Pray Joshua 1:9 and Deuteronomy 31:6 over the youth in your church: that they will be strong and courageous, that they will not be frightened, and that they will know that the Lord God is with them wherever they go. Ask that they will always know that God will never leave nor forsake them.
- Pray that God will protect the minds and hearts of youth from hopelessness, fear, and anxiety.
- Pray against the spirit of suicide.
- Pray for every youth to be encouraged, mentored, and loved by Jesus lovers in their families, churches, and communities.
- Pray for boldness, courage, strength, and wisdom for our Christian youth to share and live out their faith wherever they find themselves. Ask the Lord to help them grow into Christlike leaders.
|
|
LISTEN ONLINE
