Thank God I'm Forgiven Friday! Oh my mind can't contain or fathom all that means to me and us! PTL Yes rejoice! And meditate on all facets of your salvation gift and build those gratitude lists! What joy our salvation brings! What hope we now know! PTL!
Good Morning Forgiven, Thankful, Visionary Followers of the Way! Jesus is the Way! He's also the Truth and the Life! Amen! What do those mean to you? Sunday we will discuss what it means to be a Follower of the Way and how what we have learned from our journey with the early church thru 12 chapters of Acts applies to our Body of Christ! There is so much to mine from those chapters and the examples of the early church to put into practice. Amen!
Speaking of practice, how is practicing your faith going today? How can we pray for you to grow in Christ, love like Him, put on your new nature, and activate your spiritual gifts? Talk to Sarah or me and process with some friends. God created you for such a time as this and has great plans for you to discover and step into. PTL! Sometimes we worry. Do you realize that is a sin and one that distracts you from God and His best for you? Repent and choose the joy that comes from an activated faith life. ODB (below) speaks into that as does the UR's message about finding encouragement. One of my morning readings encourages us to write down and share three things God has given you as His child and to share them with some friends. Who can you encourage by sharing what God and salvation have blessed you with? We are very blessed and blessed to be a blessing!
I think the most important devo today comes from The Word for You today (below). Meditate on that and ask God to give you holy imagination for ideas of how to reach others for Christ or to have fun encouraging some neighbors. Ask for dreams and vision and ideas. I pray that over us all often. God will and is and I'd love to hear some of your thoughts abut how to be His church more earnestly. Pray for us to see, hear, and respond well to God's plans and to be a church that prays in power for God to move in mighty ways and to be glorified in and through you and us as we respond to Him and His plans. We are created, redeemed, gifted, empowered, gathered and sent to be His Good News Delivery Company. We all have a role. What's yours? What will you do about that today? I'm praying for you and for us to be His Church on mission with Jesus! Come! lead us Lord! Your Kingdom come and will be done in, thru, and around us! Amen! Be encouraged and choose the joy found in faithfulness today. And encourage and help each other! Amen
ODB:
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Nancy feared the future, seeing only trouble. Her husband Tom had fainted three times during a hiking trip in rural Maine. But doctors at a small nearby hospital found nothing wrong. At a larger medical center, where doctors conducted additional tests, they also found no problem. “I was very afraid,” Nancy stated. As her husband was released, she questioned the cardiologist one last time, asking, “What do we do now?” He gave her words of wisdom that forever changed her outlook. “Go live your life,” he said. “It wasn’t in a flippant way,” Nancy recalls. “It was his advice to us.”
Such guidance captures Jesus’ instruction in the Sermon on the Mount. He said, “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?” (Matthew 6:25). Such guidance doesn’t say to ignore medical or other problems or symptoms. Instead, Christ simply said, “Do not worry” (v. 25). He then asked, “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (v. 27).
The prophet Isaiah offered similar wisdom. “Say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come’ ” (Isaiah 35:4). For Nancy and Tom, they’re inspired now to walk more than five miles a day. No longer walking with worry, they step out with joy.
By Patricia Raybon
REFLECT & PRAY
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What’s your greatest fear? How can giving your worry to Christ enhance your life?
If I’m feeling worried today, dear Jesus, please grant me confidence to give my fear to You as I live out Your peace.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus promises to provide for our needs. One of the most dramatic examples of God’s comprehensive care took place in the desert as the Israelites journeyed to the promised land. They were totally dependent on the divine Shepherd during their forty-year trek. And, just as God provides for the birds (Matthew 6:26) and clothes the flowers (vv. 28-29), He provided food for His people and clothing that didn’t wear out (Deuteronomy 8:3-4)! Moses explained the purpose of the wilderness classroom: “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna . . . to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord ” (v. 3). Our physical cravings are meant to reveal a deeper, spiritual dependence on God whose words sustain us. We can spend our energy focused on His interests, knowing He’ll take care of all our needs (Matthew 6:33).
Tim Laniak |
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UR: Finding Encouragement
David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. - 1 Samuel 30:6 (KJV)
After high school, I had high hopes for my continued education because I passed the university entrance examinations. To my surprise, however, I wasn’t on the list of candidates for my preferred school. I had prayed and trusted God, but my expectations were dashed and discouragement set in. I was also upset because a friend who had earned a lower score was accepted. I became angry with God, my faith became weak, and I stopped attending our local church.
However, I heard a sermon that changed my perspective. The preacher talked about a difficult time in David’s life and emphasized that despite all that befell David, “He encouraged himself in the Lord his God.” He was at risk of being stoned, yet he did not give up on God. Thinking of David’s response, I felt ashamed of how I reacted to my situation.
I learned that God wants us to encourage ourselves during our difficult times by remaining close to God. If we hurry off in anger, we might not learn what God has to teach us. Eve n when we feel discouraged or distressed, we can follow David’s example and encourage ourselves in the Lord. Doing so demonstrates our true trust in God.
Today's Prayer
Dear God, give us wisdom to learn from our challenges. Help us to encourage ourselves through scripture and by staying close to you. Amen.
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