Good Morning Remembering, Celebrating, Trusting, Faithful, Worshipers of the Most High God and Good News Story Tellers and Hope-Bringers! Amen! We remember and celebrate who He is and all He has done and is doing! We trust Him always (or are working on that) as we faithfully follow Him! And we are worshippers that share the Good News and bring hope alive! Amen! Is that you? What may you need to work on? Who is helping you discern and is accountable to you and you to they? What is the Good News for the one God is sending to you and are you seeking to share that Good News with those longing for some? Are you bringing hope? We have much hope and Good News and stories of God's faithfulness to share! PTL! So how does God want to use you for these and what will you do about it? May many hear the stories of Who He is to us and all He has done and is doing and will do. May many experience our hope as we celebrate and worship and share with exuberance. May many be drawn to our God through our joy, hope, love and worship together. Pray for many to experience these things and be drawn to God and the Jesus' way. Pray for courage to join God in His plans for you . Amen!
I was reminded that we all have before stories to share and stories of how God has transformed us, situations and our worship. But too often we focus on our before story and not the what-God-is-doing-now stories. Too often we dwell in the past instead of worshiping in the present and trusting for the future. As we point to God and all He is and all He is doing, may we share this Good News with those who need some. So what is God doing ? What is the Good News for those we will encounter ? God has changed us all from glory to glory, from one way to another and the thing in between what was and what is is Jesus and His transformative power. PTL! How might God want to share His work through you and how will you respond?
Meditate on our devotionals as you spend time in the Living Word with are Living and active God and then go share some Good News with those who need to experience the hope of a God who knows, cares, is able and will transform lives with His love. I'm praying for you to see Him, join Him and bring Him and His Good News alive! Thanks Lord! Come! Speak and lead us! Amen!
Our Daily Bread reminds me of the altar we made up front at church with our family rocks we painted. We covenanted together as we placed those rocks on our altar of remembrance to go live and love more like Jesus and to share the Good News together and make disciples. When future generations and new members ask about this altar or your rock, you will have the opportunity to share your story and the Good News of how God saved and revived and transformed you, your family and our church. The Upper Room reminds us to keep trusting God even through the hard times. We can always count on Him and lean on Hs promises and we have the stories of His faithfulness to buoy us up in the deep waters and to bring Living Water to life for someone. And the Word for You reminds us to never give up. Stand firm and keep moving with Jesus--even through the darkest valleys. He promises to be with us always and never to waste whatever we experience and then transform it all for the good of those who believe (or will come to faith). We all have stories to share and reminders, like our altar of His presence and faithfulness ! What's God up to now? Ask Him and share that and also ask what's next and for help to be ready to follow Him there. Amen! God has great plans for you and us and many need to see that come alive with joy and faith in us and experience His love through us. Amen! We are...Remembering, Celebrating, Trusting, Faithful, Worshipers of the Most High God and Good News Story Tellers and Hope-Bringers! Believe it and and bring that to life ! I'm praying for you! I can't wait to hear your stories of what God did ! Shalom shalom!
ODB:
A Tribute and Reminder
Each of you is to take up a stone . . . to serve as a sign among you. Joshua 4:5-6
Shortly after his father’s unexpected death, Aaron gifted his mother with a framed, poster-sized photo of dozens of items that encapsulated his dad’s life—collectibles, photos, rocks, books, artwork, and more—each holding special meaning. Aaron spent days collecting the items and arranging them, and then his sister Rachel captured the arrangement in a photo. The gift was a visual tribute to their father, who despite his decades-long struggle with self-loathing and addiction, never left his love for them in doubt. It also attested to God’s love and miraculous healing power that led to their father’s victory over addiction in the last decade of his life.
When after forty long years God’s people crossed into the promised land, Joshua chose a man from each of the twelve tribes to gather a stone from the dry riverbed to “serve as a sign among [them]” (Joshua 4:1-6). Joshua used these rocks to create an altar and lasting tribute to God’s power and provision (vv. 19-24). The Israelites’ journey hadn’t been easy. But God had been with them, providing water out of rocks, manna from the sky, and a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night to guide them—and clothes that never wore out (Deuteronomy 8:4)! The memorial pointed to Him.
God does amazing things! As He provides, may we leave behind a lasting tribute to His love and power.
By Alyson Kieda
REFLECT & PRAY
Where do you see evidence of God’s work? What kind of tribute could you leave attesting to His work?
Dear God, thank You for the evidence of Your love that surrounds me.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
In the Bible, tributes or memorials—like the stone memorial in Joshua 4—aren’t expressions of wistful longing for the past. Rather, they’re reminders of God’s previous faithfulness to help us trust Him in the present. The Torah—the “law of Moses” itself (8:32)—was rewritten on stones as a memorial (vv. 30-35). God’s rescue of the previous generation from Egypt was remembered at the annual Passover feast (Exodus 13). Similarly, Communion (the Lord’s Supper) is a reminder of the broken body and shed blood of Christ on our behalf (1 Corinthians 11:24-25). , as we remember God’s faithfulness in our lives, may we leave behind a lasting tribute.
Tim Laniak
UR: Trusting God's Plan
Jesus said, “Do not worry about , for will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” - Matthew 6:34 (NIV)
In the months after my wife’s death, anticipation has deepened my grief. Special occasions and traditions established over 50 years of marriage — birthdays, anniversaries, holidays — loom like dark walls hiding everything beyond. As each date approaches, I pray, “God, how do I endure this?”
God has helped me through the first few of these occasions, and now I see how worrying about future pain just makes present pain worse. This helps me face the most painful challenge of all: how I’ll spend the rest of my life without my wife.
The Jewish exiles in Babylon must have felt something similar after being displaced from their homeland. Facing an unclear future in a strange place must have been terrifying. But Jeremiah assured them that God had a plan for them to thrive and to remain connected to their Creator. They just needed to be patient, make the best of present circumstances, and trust God.
I find immense comfort in Jeremiah’s words to the exiles. I don’t know what a future without my wife will be like. But I can trust God and let the future worry about itself. I know I can rely on God’s plan — whatever it is, for however much time remains.
's Prayer
Thank you, Lord, for giving us hope in our darkest moments with your assurance that you know the plan you have for us and that it is good. Amen.
TWFYT:
Connection blog:
Prayer Points
Praise God for his faithfulness (2 Cor. 1:18).
Give thanks that “no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ” (1:20).
Confess any reluctance to trust God.
Commit to consciously remembering that God has “anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (1:21-22).
Ask him to lead you in celebrating this faithfulness in worship.
Pray for the actions and attitudes of God’s people as they go out into your community to impact the unsaved. Ask God to use the faithfulness of his people to draw many to himself.
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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