Thank God I'm Forgiven! PTL! Count your many blessings that come from your faith in Christ and all He did to redeem you from sin and to open the door for eternal life with Him in heaven. There is a great peace that comes from the assurance that we are forgiven and know our eternal destination. What praise we are able to lift for the free gift of salvation, the gift of faith, the gift of assurance, the gift of abundant life in Christ, the gift of the Holy Spirit and the gift He brings to our lives, the gift of growing into our new nature, the gift of God's promises, His Holy Word, protection, provision, and shalom!!! What's on your list today? Count your many blessings and continue to build those gratitude lists to dig out for those hard, dark times we are able to endure through Christ! He is a miracle working God! Amen! And we each are one of those miracles! PTL! Here's a song to start your praise and prayer time: Million Little Miracles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Viiw6tGimHo
Good Morning Very Blessed Children of God--MIRACLES of God!!! God knows you intimately. Do you know Him intimately and are you growing in your relationship with your Creator and Sustainer? You were created in His image for His special purposes that are enabled and empowered when you surrender your life to Christ and receive His Spirit. The Holy Spirit opens up Scripture for us and helps us to see, hear and understand God as we spend time with Him in prayer, mediating on His Word, and as we travel through each day watching for Him to be at work all around us. Yes, what blessings! What countless miracles! PTL!
This year we have been working on the Become Me in '23 Challenge where we are working on cooperating with God's Spirit to grow more fully into the people we were created to be and operating out of our true identity in Christ to reach the fuller potential we were created for. Many of us sought God's guidance and picked words to work on this year towards that. How's that going for you? Words like "Faith", "Hope", "Valued", "Restoration", "Relationships" and "Shalom" were chosen and many others too. These are words enabled in us to grow into our new nature and to help us to fulfill our custom-made purposes of God. I continue to pray for these to come to life in, through and around you and for you to see God at work as your grow to become more like Jesus and doing the greater things He has for you each day! I'd love to hear your stories of what God is doing through this challenge!
Here's another great blessing to celebrate: We are know by God and lovingly helped to grow into these things even in the direst of times or the most joyful and every day in between! How great is that! How great is our God who is working all things--ALL THINGS--together for those who believe! PTL! Check out our devos below as you sit, meditate, worship, listen and receive God's instructions and encouragements for today! Share those stories with someone too! Let's celebrate all the good available and given to us today!
Here's a song to meditatively praise and pray through as you end your time of worship with our Lord and Savior today: Great Are You Lord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QocAVOYJ5o0
You are know! You are loved! You are enabled! And God is with you always! PTL!
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ODB:
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Opening the blinds one winter morning, I faced a shocking sight. A wall of fog. “Freezing fog,” the weather forecaster called it. Rare for our location, this fog came with an even bigger surprise: a later forecast for blue skies and sunshine—“in one hour.” “Impossible,” I told my husband. “We can barely see one foot ahead.” But sure enough, in less than an hour, the fog had faded, the sky yielding to a sunny, clear blue.
Standing at a window, I pondered my level of trust when I can only see fog in life. I asked my husband, “Do I only trust God for what I can already see?”
When King Uzziah died and some corrupt rulers came to power in Judah, Isaiah asked a similar question. Whom can we trust? God responded by giving Isaiah a vision so remarkable that it convinced the prophet that He can be trusted in the present for better days ahead. As Isaiah praised, “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you” (Isaiah 26:3). The prophet added, “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal” (v. 4).
When our minds are fixed on God, we can trust Him even during foggy and confusing times. We might not see it clearly now, but if we trust God, we can be assured His help is on the way.
By Patricia Raybon
REFLECT & PRAY
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When life looks foggy and confusing, where can you put your trust? How can you turn your mind from today’s problems to our eternal God?
The world looks foggy and confusing today, dear God, so please help me fix my mind on You, in whom I can forever trust.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Isaiah 26:4 includes the metaphor of a rock, which depicts the security and safety found in God: “The Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.” The Hebrew word for rock is tsur. What’s literally in view is a cliff, rock, or boulder. Figuratively, what’s described is a refuge. This word is used three times in Psalm 18 (vv. 2, 31, 46). In verse 2, the psalmist multiplies metaphors to stress divine dependability: “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock [tsur], in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” In Isaiah 26:4, the word tsur is paired with olam, which means long duration, forever, everlasting, perpetual: “The Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.” The pairing of these words enhances God’s credibility exponentially. Trust Him. His faithfulness is unending!
Arthur Jackson |
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UR: Love in Action
Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” - Matthew 25:40 (NIV)
One day I stopped into a store to buy a birthday gift for someone, and I saw a man asking customers for change. Many people passed by him and ignored his pleas for assistance. I keep a few care packages in my car, so I decided to give one to him. When I struck up a conversation with the man, I learned a lot about him. But most important, I learned that what he needed was a listening ear. God calls us to be light for others. Even something as small as a conversation can make a world of difference to the lonely and brokenhearted.
Today’s scripture reading reminds us that God is pleased when we lend a helping hand. Our good deeds reflect a grateful heart, and our acts of service and compassion for others point to our relationship with God. We become love in action when we are able to recognize and meet the needs of others. How can we show others that God lives within us and that God can live within them too?
TODAY'S PRAYER
Gracious God, may we become love in action through our compassion and care for all your children. Help us to give and receive your love with humility and grace. Amen.
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