PTL for new life! Gotta fly to Dr. appointment then Bread and prep for Chosen huddle . I have my heart ablation. Thanks for your prayers, but short or no blogs next two days. Just read these devos and be assured that you are God's masterpiece creted and empowered to do His will and sing His praises as you go and love like Him ! Rejoice. he's calling you by name! Shalom!
I to We
ODB
Coincidences and God's Care
Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the Lord has decreed a famine. 2 Kings 8:1
Dante’s neighborhood in Manila was prone to flooding. On rainy days, the little boy reached school by crossing a makeshift wooden bridge put up by a neighbor. “Mr. Tomas helped the community get around,” Dante said. “He’d guide me on the bridge, shielding me from the rain.”
Years later, Dante joined a church north of Manila. Leo, his Bible study leader, mentored him. In a conversation about their childhoods, Dante discovered Leo was Mr. Tomas’ son! “There’s no such thing as coincidence,” Dante said. “God used the son of a man who’d blessed me to help me in my faith.”
A woman from the town of Shunem also experienced God’s providence. In faith, she’d followed the prophet Elisha’s advice, leaving home to avoid a famine (2 Kings 8:1-2). In doing so, she’d forfeited her claim to her house and land. Now, at the exact moment she was seeking help from the king about this matter, the king just happened to be talking with Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, about her.
Years earlier, Gehazi had seen the woman’s dead son raised to life. Now, Gehazi said, "This is the woman, my lord the king, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life" (v. 5). The king then “assigned an official to her case” (v. 6) and returned her property.
We can trust in God and His care even when things may not go as we planned. Our sovereign God will help us.
By Karen Huang
REFLECT & PRAY
How does the Shunammite woman’s story encourage you? What does it say about God’s care?
Loving Father, thank You for caring for me.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
God’s care for us isn’t limited to times of difficulty but is often felt most keenly in those times. For the Shunammite woman and her family, that care came in two layers. The first was Elisha’s warning of the coming famine that caused her to escape with her family to a place where food could be found (2 Kings 8:1-2). The second came upon their return to Israel and the restoration of their former property, possessions, and lost income (v. 6). The providential timing of the Shunammite and her son approaching the king at the moment Gehazi was telling their story is part of God’s provision for them as well (vv. 3-6). Whether in times of want or times of fullness, God cares for us.
Bill Crowder
UR: God with Us
The Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” - Exodus 33:17 (NIV)
I’m almost 30 years old, but I have never traveled alone — until now. I feel like I’ve been cooped up in my comfort zone. And as safe as that feels, I recognize that it hinders my growth. I’m at a point in my life where I want to challenge myself.
With my bags packed, I went to Mass before heading off on my trip. As I entered the church, I knew what my prayers would be — to ask for God’s guidance and to lay down my fears. During the priest’s message, he reminded us of the name Immanuel, emphasizing its meaning: God with us. (See Matt. 1:18-25.) This reminder was all I needed to calm my doubts and fears about my trip. I had not yet voiced my prayers, but God had answered me already through the priest’s message. God knows our prayers, as well as our doubts and fears, before we utter them.
In ’s scripture reading, Moses talks with God and asks for guidance and favor as he and the Israelites travel to the Promised Land. God assures Moses that God will be with them, even though they will not be able to see God. By faith we know that God is with us and always will be.
's Prayer
Dear God, thank you for being with us always. May our thoughts, words, and deeds glorify you. Amen.
Connection
- Rivers of Grace
Many feel guilty when they pray because they are truly guilty. The difference between an accusation of Satan and conviction from the Holy Spirit is this: Satan’s accusation is general, thus repentance is impossible. The Holy Spirit’s conviction is specific and leads to repentance. Confession of sin is not morbid self-introspection. Confession of sin is the result of the light of God shining in our hearts. He knows our ways. He leads us down the path of repentance into forgiveness. The great English preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon said, “Repentance and forgiveness are riveted together by the eternal purpose of God. . . In the very nature of things, if we believe in the holiness of God it must be that if we continue in our sin and will not repent of it, we cannot be forgiven but must reap the consequences of our obstinacy.”
When there is sincere confession and true repentance, there will be a release of the rivers of grace upon the soul. As the soul of a man is flooded with divine grace, a new confidence begins to swell in his heart. There is a new boldness to approach God. He is clean and pure. And the pure in heart are blessed because they shall see God.
Prayer reaches a high level of intimacy. Love and gratitude flow from the heart that has been graced by God. The burden is lifted, and a quiet “hallelujah” is lifted from the lips of the person who walks and lives in the forgiveness of God.
Father, help me to walk in the freedom that repentance brings and not to allow the enemy to convict me and beat me up with guilt. May I understand the difference between guilt that is vague and conviction that is specifically designed by the Spirit to bring about my repentance. Help me to receive Your grace-filled forgiveness with joy and give me a deepening desire to walk in holiness before You.
Praise the Lord, the source of all song, and make music to his name.
Thank God for his love in the morning and for his faithfulness at night (Ps. 92:1-2).
Confess that you sometimes sing by rote. Commit yourself to focusing on what you sing.
Ask to feel God’s presence through music .
Pray that through the music, message, prayers, and sacraments, your congregation will feel one in body and spirit (Eph. 4:3-4) as it gathers to worship.
Prayer Pointer
“We must try to converse with God in little ways while we do our work; not in memorized prayer, not trying to recite previously formed thoughts. Rather, we should purely and simply reveal our hearts as the words come to us.” —Brother Lawrence
Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayerleader.com. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount.
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