Good Morning Abiding and Moving Forward with God Friends! God led me deep into John 15:1-8 and Galatians 5:22-23a. The Vine and the Branches and Spiritual Fruit that abiding leads to. Check them out below. God has been narrowing down what I need to work on this year and they are Fruit of the Spirit: faithfulness, patience and self-control. Hmm. These do come alive as we abide in the Vine and allow the Father to prune us and the Spirit to work in us and lead us to our fuller potential in Christ. God is so good and loving! He saves us and helps us to grow more like Jesus and to bless others and invite them along on our journey. Below find John 8 and Gal 5 passages and two devotionals OurDaily Bread and The Word for You that speak into this. Then be still, abide, listen and receive from our Father, His good plans for you and the year ahead. DON'T FORGET to share your word you will be working on this year with Sarah, Mike or me and your accountability partners. We are praying for God to continue His good work in, through and around us as He revives and refines us and brings revival all around us! Come Jesus Come! Help us to die to self, crucify some things and put on our new nature more fully as we work at being more like Jesus this year. Thanks! Amen!
Forgetting what lies behind, let us push forward, following the Spirit to the new things God is doing. AND MAY WE BRING SOME ALONG! AMEN!
John 15:1-8
15 “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! 8 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.
Gal 5:22-23a
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
ODB
The Future God’s Preparing
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. Isaiah 43:18
We live in a world where the internet forgets nothing—every photo, post, and blog entry is seemingly stored forever. One major search engine, however, introduced a privacy feature allowing users to request the removal of personal data like phone numbers, home addresses, and more. While this doesn’t erase the data from the internet entirely, it significantly reduces its visibility, giving people a sense of control over their digital footprints.
This idea of “scrubbing” the past echoes the prophet’s words in Isaiah 43:18-19. God said, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing.” These verses were spoken to Israel during their exile in Babylon—a period of deep despair and longing for restoration. God commanded His people to not fixate on their past failures or the pain of captivity but to look forward to the new work He was about to do—a new and more significant exodus—their deliverance from Babylon and return to their homeland. He wasn’t just erasing the past but “making a way” (v. 19) to a future filled with hope and purpose.
Instead of dwelling on failures or regrets, let’s trust that God has “scrubbed” our past sins, regrets, and shame and—through Jesus’ sacrifice (Hebrews 10:10)—“remembers [our] sins no more” (Isaiah 43:25). God propels us toward the future He’s preparing.
By Marvin Williams
REFLECT & PRAY
Why is it so difficult to let go of the past? How might you deepen your trust in God for new beginnings?
Dear God, please help me say goodbye to my past and look forward to the future.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
God exiled Judah to Babylon because of her sins (Isaiah 39:6-7). Hundreds of years earlier, He’d mightily rescued them from the Egyptians (43:16-17), but they weren’t to “dwell on the past” (v. 18) because their miraculous journey in the first exodus would pale in comparison with the “new thing” God would do for them (v. 19). He’d bring them back from exile (vv. 5-7) and give them a glorious future (vv. 20-21). More importantly, He’d blot out their sins (v. 25). This forgiveness wasn’t because they were deserving—for they’d failed to honor Him as their God (vv. 22-24)—but because of who God is (v. 25).
God forgives our sins because He’s “a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love” (Nehemiah 9:17). We can look forward to the future rather than dwell on our past sins because of the “new thing” God did through Jesus.
K.T. Sim
TWFYT
Sarah Update:
Hi warriors,
Here are a few warrior updates:
Thank you for praying for Zana, Neen and my friend. After having her tooth pulled, (due to her heart condition she was unable to have the
option of being put to sleep for the extraction) she is doing well. Hardly any pain and able to eat soft foods. Bleeding has also stopped.
Pastor Don and Karen's daughter, Lauren, is asking for prayer for one of her residents, David, whose lifelong friend just passed away.
Please pray for God's peace and love to surround him during this difficult time.
Also please pray for Ron, a good friend's brother who is struggling with depression. May our awesome God bring him through this difficult
time and may He also place some of His children in Ron's pathway to encourage and support him.
We had a great day at Bread Ministry . approximately 75 people walked through our doors and received a smile and hope and love
shared with them. Thank you to all the volunteers and helpers. Kay and Sally both played the piano which was nice and Pastor Don
and Kay got to pray with a couple folks that came to be prayed over.
God is working in and through us......how will the Lord use us ? This is the day the Lord has made and you and I, we will rejoice
and be glad in all that happens throughout the day! May we be open to the Lord's lead!
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