YES! Thank God I'm Forgiven, made new and walking with Jesus because of God's love, grace and mercy! AMEN! Yes rejoice! What are you thankful about today? Start there and allow God to inhabit your praise and overflow to the day ahead.
Today we say good bye to a faithful servant of God and St. Matts, Joan Fenstermaker. She has stepped into Jesus' arms and is following Him to what's next. Are you ready for that? You can be! Joan was! And now her faith has become sight! PTL! (Visitation 10:30, service 11:30 at Trexler Funeral Home)
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Good Morning Saved By Faith Children of God! Amen! Just pause and reflect and praise through all the nuances of God's grace and love and salvation that he has allowed you to be part of.
I've gotta fly but wanted to share a few devos for you to meditate upon today. First of all there were several I'm not sharing about anger, not sinning in our anger, forgiveness, grace and mercy we can offer. Talk to God about that and ask your accountability partners for help with any of that that is troubling you today. Jesus commands us to love as He has loved us and forgive as we've been forgiven. He was angry but did not sin in His anger. Ask for help with that too. It can be hard to do these, BUT GOD is with you always and wants to help you. Seek forst His Kingdom and righteousness and He will give you all you need to do these and much more! Amen!
The UR reminds that God is speaking and we can become familiar with His voice and respond well as he leads. And ODB leads us from there to take some steps of faith. God is speaking, with you and wanting to help you live and love like Jesus. PTL and step into that today and know His peace beyond understanding! Amen! Ask Him if there is someone that needs your help with this today and how to respond or if you need help, ask for courage to reach out to someone. God loves you, is speaking and wants to redeem, restore and help you to the best life in Christ and great fruit. Take those steps of faith as you lift thanksgiving and praise. I'm praising God for you for His loving presence with us all and His still small voice that leads us to his best! What's he saying and what will you do about it?
UR: God's familiar Voice
Listen and come to me; listen, and you will live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you. - Isaiah 55:3 (CEB)
There it was — the sound I waited for each day. “Red,” a male cardinal, had come for his morning visit. For the past several years, he has stopped by most days for a drink of water and a bath. Like good neighbors do, I became familiar with Red’s daily habits, bird calls, and songs — I knew his voice. I’m surprised how the sound of his soft, sweet call cuts through television, music, traffic, and the chatter both in and outside my head. My slightly impaired hearing never misses a trill — Red and I are on the same frequency. His visits are precious to me.
I’m learning that hearing God’s voice is a bit like hearing Red’s call. When I listen through the ears of my heart, as I would for the voice of a loved one, God’s voice breaks through the clutter of the world to bring truth, clarity, and grace. Scripture reminds me that I can know God’s voice, though I must listen for it and allow it to become familiar.
Listening is active, focused, and thoughtful hearing. We must allow ourselves to be available and receptive.
We find a fulfilling life when we actively listen for God’s voice in our everyday world.
Today's Prayer
Dear Lord, thank you for your word that reminds us to listen for your voice. Help us to set aside time daily to treasure your presence. Amen.
ODB
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Four of us hiked through the beautiful Watkins Glen Gorge in New York. At times we stood together in awe as we gazed in wonder at waterfalls and two-hundred-foot cliffs. Other times, we had to stop to catch our breath and rest our hurting legs as we climbed wet rocks and endless steps. When we neared the top, a hiker heading back down said, “You’ve got only 10 steps to go of your 832.” Maybe it was best we hadn’t known how difficult the journey would be because we might have stayed back and missed the beauty of it all.
The journey of life has difficult steps too. Jesus and Paul warned believers about trouble and persecution (John 16:33; 2 Timothy 3:12), and this requires some perspective. James said, “Consider it pure joy . . . whenever you face trials of many kinds” (James 1:2). Why pure joy instead of pure agony? God knows and we “know that the testing of [our] faith produces perseverance” (v. 3). But to what end? So that we may be “mature and complete, not lacking anything” (v. 4).
If we’ll stop and look, despite the pain, we may see the beautiful strength of character God is producing in us and those around us. And we’ll learn to appreciate the truth that one day we’ll “receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him” (v. 12). Let’s keep climbing together.
By Anne Cetas
REFLECT & PRAY
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What troubles are you facing? You might not see it yet, but which character traits could God want to grow in you?
Thank You, God, that You understand everything going on in my life and have good plans for me.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Poverty and the mistreatment of the poor by the wealthy and powerful might be part of what James has in mind by “trials” and “testing of your faith” (James 1:2-3). In verses 9-12, he encourages “believers in humble circumstances . . . to take pride in their high position,” suggesting God is with the poor, while emphasizing “the rich will fade away” (v. 11). James warned against showing favoritism to wealthy persons: “Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith . . . ?” (2:5). “Is it not the rich who are exploiting you?” (v. 6). As we grow in Christ, He’ll help us avoid favoritism.
Monica La Rose |
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Connections:
April 25 - Prayers of Praise and Thanksgiving
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“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name” (Psalm 100:4).
Prayer is always personal even when offered in public. It is an expression of relationship between persons. Jesus’ intimate conversation with the Father often spilled over into His public life and ministry. When our lives are filled with prayer this will happen to us as well.
Praise—“I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes” (Mt. 11:25). In the middle of a sermon Jesus’ hidden dialogue with the Father is revealed when He can no longer contain the praise that is in His heart over the gracious work of the Father. True praise erupts when we have eyes to see and ears to hear the activity and voice of our Father. The personal forms of prayer lead to this public expression of passion.
Thanksgiving—“Father, I thank You that You have heard Me” (Jn. 11:41). It would be unfathomable to picture Jesus, the only Son of God, as anything but overflowing with gratitude to the Father He is so intimate with. In addition to thankfulness at meals (Jn. 6:11; Mt. 26;26), more significant was Jesus grateful responsiveness to the Father’s work and listening ear. The raising of Lazarus was in response to Jesus’ petition and even before the request was fulfilled Jesus’ gratitude was expressed, knowing that He had been heard.
Passion in prayer gives the settled assurance that we have been heard without having to see the answer enacted. It is an example of the mature faith of believing without seeing, of living by faith not by sight.
Father, my heart is filled with gratitude for Your goodness in my life! Your praise is always on my lips for You have blessed me beyond anything I could ever think or imagine! May I never miss an opportunity to lift up Your name as I walk by faith and not by sight.
--Adapted from Giving Ourselves to Prayer: An Acts 6:4 Primer for Ministry (Chapter 23, Jesus as a Role Model of Personal Passion in Prayer by Howard Baker). This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount.
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- Praise God for his great mercy.
- Thank God for forgiving you and bringing you back after failure and rebellion (Zech. 8:7-8).
- Confess times of presuming on his patience and mercy.
- Commit yourself to consistent obedience from a heart of gratitude for God’s forgiveness.
- Ask him to forgive your debts as you have forgiven your debtors, and to lead you not into temptation but to deliver you from evil.
- Pray that the unsaved in your network of relationships will be won to the Prince of Peace by seeing fallen Christians restored. Ask God to show them his healing through the mending of your own life.
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Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount.
Connection (Devotions for Everyday Life) © 2025 is a free devotional published daily by OneCry Prayer. Find more resources at www.onecry.com |
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