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Friday, February 21 2025
Bread Ministry Donut Day is on from 10-12.
Dinner Huddle Cancelled for tonight. And off next week.
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Good Morning Friends! Check out the devos for today. Spend some time with Daddy. What's He saying to you?
Join us for Donut Day of able. We will try to have snow removed by start time. Shalom!
Off to clear some snow and loving it!
UR: My Dream Job

In all your ways acknowledge [the Lord], and he will make straight your paths. - Proverbs 3:6 (NRSVUE)

A family member once asked me to describe my dream job. I was a sixth-grade teacher at the time, but my honest answer was “to become a mother.” I now have that job, but there are moments when it doesn’t feel like the dream. When family members are tired and cranky, when loads of laundry pile up and multiple errands must be run, it becomes easy to lose sight of the blessings.

During these times, I must acknowledge God’s presence in my life, refocus, and remind myself how truly blessed I am — doing just what my heart desired. It is a privilege to take care of those I love day by day.

Therefore, when our sink is filled with dishes and laundry baskets are full, I am thankful for food to eat and clothes to wear. When my house needs a thorough cleaning, I am grateful for the lives that move within it each day. As I clean up after pets or pull weeds in the garden, I become aware of the beauty of God’s creation. When I am completely exhausted, what a blessing it is to end a long day by snuggling my sweet son as he falls asleep and talking with my husband in the quiet of the evening! In the midst of life’s busyness and day-to-day tasks, let’s remember God’s many gifts to us.

Today's Prayer
Dear God, when we feel worn down, help us to be grateful and to see each task we do as a gift from you. Amen.
ODB:

Our Plans and God’s Plans

“Neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. Isaiah 55:8

READ Isaiah 55:8-12

Many years ago, my husband decided to take a trip to Africa with a group of people from his church. At the last minute, the group was prevented from going on its journey. Everyone was disappointed, but the money they’d collected for airfare, lodging, and food was donated to the people they’d tried to visit. The people used it to construct a building that would shelter victims of abuse.

Recently, at a prayer breakfast, my husband met someone who lived in the village he’d almost traveled to so many years ago. This person was a teacher who said he walked by the building every day. He confirmed that God had used it to provide for the most vulnerable people in the area.

Our plans and desires don’t always match what God has in mind. For His “thoughts are not [our] thoughts, neither are [our] ways [His] ways” (Isaiah 55:8). God’s ways aren’t just different from ours; His ways are “higher” and better because what He does is consistent with who He is (v. 9). This truth gives us hope when our efforts to serve Him don’t turn out the way we’d planned.

It might be years before we’re able to look back and trace God’s influence through certain situations. For now, though, as we continue to reach out to the world in His name, we can remember that God is always powerfully at work (v. 11).

By Jennifer Benson Schuldt

REFLECT & PRAY

When have you felt disappointed with an experience? How might God use this to teach you something about Himself?

Dear God, You’re the all-knowing one. When I don’t understand what’s happening, please help me to trust You.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

The book of Isaiah is the first of the five books referred to as the Major Prophets, so named because of their length, not their importance. The other Major Prophets are Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel. Isaiah is the sixth longest book of the Bible, and two other prophetical books—Jeremiah and Ezekiel—are even longer. Isaiah contains many prophecies related to divine judgment and many others about the coming Messiah. J. A. Martin in The Bible Knowledge Commentary points out: “Isaiah had a lofty view of God. The Lord is seen as the Initiator of events in history. He is apart from and greater than His Creation; yet He is involved in the affairs of that Creation. Whether in his dealings with sin or his promise of redemption, Isaiah portrays God’s greatness as above all that he has created.”

Discover more from the book of Isaiah.

Bill Crowder
TWFYT:
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St. Matthew's EC Church

5th & Ridge Streets
P.O. Box 433
Emmaus, PA 18049
Telephone 610.965.5570
Email: stmattsecemmaus@gmail.com

ABOUT US

We are learning to live and love like Jesus. 

We are working on becoming who we were created to be and doing our custom made purposes well. 

We are part of the Evangelical Congregational Church http://www.eccenter.com/

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