Updates:
We learned last evening that Donnie Landis has stepped into Jesus' arms and is breathing his first breaths of heaven. He is now at peace. Please pray for his family.
Brittany Grim was admitted to the hospital Thanksgiving morning with gallbladder issues and had surgery yesterday and was released. Pray for her for a speedy and full recovery and for family as they travel through this.
Carol that we have been praying for had her heart surgery and is still in the hospital recovering. She has been very groggy as she is sedated and resting. We hope to get to visit her soon.
Chris Muik was released from the hospital on Tues and was able to celebrate thanksgiving with his large extended family. Pray for a full and complete healing and for God's provision.
Today from 10-12 we need your help to decorate the sanctuary for Christmas!
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Good Morning Children of the All-Knowing, All-Sufficient, Willing and Able One--El Shaddai! Focus on that a bit this morning. We know these facts but do we really believe them and live as if they are true? God knows you and has custom made plans for you and for us together! We are made for more than we often think or act like. Be bold and courageous as you step out in faith this morning from your prayer closet. Maybe begin with this centering song because you and I are made for more! We are not called to be tending a grave but ministering into the things God is bringing alive to you and in our midst. Speak life to things that are as dead and follow El Shaddai into the more He has for you! You are made for more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOhOVl-ZKb4
Then meditate on this song as you offer yourself to our Good Shepherd who wants to lead us to His best. He has made us for more and for such a time as this. He has gifted, empowered, trained and is wanting to lead us, just as we are. PTL! Will you invite Him in and allow Hm to lead you to more He has for you? Who might you work on with that as we prepare to go be a blessing and live and love more like Jesus? Ask Him to come and shepherd you today! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nojeK7gfbRE
Pastor Don was awakened very early this morning. I've been struggling with a kidney stone that led to much back pain and some stomach issues. (All that rich food the past few days also had an effect). I could have blown that off and just shut down. But I realized God wanted to talk and lead me through my quiet time to write this blog. He will allow me to have some healing rest before I head to church to help decorate and then visit some people today. I know that I am a Child of the All-Knowing, All-Sufficient, Willing and Able One--El Shaddai! Do you know, embrace and live into that? He is able and he will respond according to His perfect plans. Turn off the noise, be still and know that He is our able God! Dwell in His love and peace. Invite Him to come shepherd you and lead you to the more that he has for you today! And just worship! I'm praying for me, you and us to become all God has made us to be and do more of what He created and gifted us to do! May we come alive in '25 and begin with seeking Him more for the rest of 2024! Amen!
Below are my devotionals from my quiet time. Maybe God is speaking to your heart thru 1 or more of them. he sure did for me. What's He saying to you today and what will you do about it, Children of the All-Knowing, All-Sufficient, Willing and Able One--El Shaddai?
Sarah Young
Chuck Swindoll
Charles Stanley
Joyce Meyer
Upper Room: A Winter Garden
I have sure faith that I will experience the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living! - Psalm 27:13 (CEB)
For some reason I decided to visit one of my favorite gardens in the middle of January. The trees had no leaves, the daylilies were trimmed to the ground, and the herb garden was a drab brown. I walked to the corner where one of my favorites — the white ginger lily — usually bloomed, but it had also been trimmed back. The whole garden was gray and brown.
But as I turned to leave, a tiny flash of yellow caught my eye. A small yellow crocus was peeking through the sod — a speck of color in a sea of brown. I was filled with a sense of hope. Spring was coming.
The past few years had been a kind of winter for me, with the pandemic, personal sickness, the loss of two friends, and the death of my younger sister. It was a time of many losses, one after another. Now God spoke to me through the little crocus: spring will arrive again. Hope was, and still is, alive.
Today's Prayer
Dear Lord, thank you for your power at work in the world. Help us to know that hope is alive and to notice the ways you are speaking to us. Amen.
Our Daily Bread
Raw fish and rainwater. An Australian sailor named Timothy survived on only those provisions for three months. Marooned on his storm-damaged catamaran, he was losing hope—bobbing 1,200 miles from land in the Pacific Ocean. But then the crew of a Mexican tuna boat spotted his ailing boat and rescued him. Later, the thin and weather-beaten man declared, “To the captain and fishing company that saved my life, I’m just so grateful!”
Timothy gave thanks following his ordeal, but the prophet Daniel revealed a grateful heart before, during, and after a crisis. Having been exiled to Babylon from Judah with other Jews (Daniel 1:1-6), Daniel had risen in power only to be threatened by other leaders who wanted him dead (6:1-7). His foes got the king of Babylon to sign a decree stating that anyone who prayed “to any god” would be “thrown into the lions’ den” (v. 7). What would Daniel, a man who loved and served the one true God, do? He “got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to . . . God, just as he had done before” (v. 10). He gave thanks, and his grateful heart was rewarded as God spared his life and brought him honor (vv. 26-28).
As the apostle Paul wrote, may God help us “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Whether we’re facing a crisis or have just come through one, a grateful response honors Him and helps keep our faith afloat.
By Tom Felten
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Why is it vital to regularly thank God? How can you grow a more grateful heart?
Dear God, please help me give thanks even when life is hard.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The book of Daniel spans seventy years of the Babylonian exile and is both biography (chs. 1-6) and prophecy (chs. 7-12). The first six chapters tell how Daniel distinguished himself to become the trusted adviser to Nebuchadnezzar (5:11-12) and Darius (6:1-5)—kings of two of the superpower empires of the ancient world. When God exiled the Israelites to Babylon, He commanded them to work for “the peace and prosperity” of their conquerors (Jeremiah 29:7). Daniel “was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent” (Daniel 6:4) and “so distinguished himself . . . that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom” (v. 3).
K. T. Sim |
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Harvest Prayer:
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Father, it is such a mystery that the one thing which gives us immediate and continual access to You is such a difficult spiritual practice for so many, including leaders in the church. So many of Your people would rather pray in private only, avoiding corporate prayer completely. Please help church leaders to encourage believers to come together to pray. Give them the ability to learn to lead strong, vibrant seasons of corporate prayer so that Your people will experience Your presence and see Your power poured out in their midst!
---Adapted from Simply Prayer by Bill Elliff. This book is available at prayershop.org.
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- Praise the God who knows your sinful ways, but is still there to heal, guide, and comfort you (Isa. 57:18).
- Give thanks for God’s constant faithfulness.
- Confess any sinful deeds or thoughts that have remained unconfessed.
- Commit yourself to seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit every day.
- Ask him to walk close beside you today.
- Pray for an opportunity in the next day to share your faith with someone who does not know Jesus. Ask God to give you courage and boldness in your witness.
Prayer Pointer
“The church’s greatest deficiency today is in power—not in programs, strategies, materials, or ideas. And power for ministry can be released only through prayer.” — Anonymous
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