Burning coals

To the contrary, 

“if your enemy is hungry, feed him; 

if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; 

for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Romans 12:20 ESV

According to John MacArthur, the "burning coals on his head" refers to an ancient Egyptian custom where a remorseful person would carry a pan of burning coals on his head to represent his burning pain of shame and guilt.*

David Guzik writes that it could refer to one's burning conviction as a result of being treated kindly by a perceived enemy.**

Either way, I believe it softens the heart of both parties.

* MacArthur, John (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible, New King James version.
     Thomas Nelson, Inc. Nashville, TN.
** Guzik, David (2018). Enduring Word. Bible commentary app. To make a donation of support to Enduring Word, click here.
(I do not receive affiliate money)

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Please join me this week in praying for guidance, strength, wisdom, and courage for each of us to love everyone as Jesus commands us.

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Plank in my eye

I'll just put it out there...the person who I have the most trouble liking right now is my boss' son. I've worked there for 26 years, starting when he was 4-years-old. Back then, I told him not to do something and he made the comment, "This is my daddy's office and I can do whatever I want." In other words, 'you can't tell me what to do.' And, it's been that way ever since. He started working there when he was 16 and it's been a constant battle of wills. Maybe it's pride (both of us), but whatever it is, it weighs on me.
     I've tried everything (IMO) but it's all just bandaids that eventually lose their stick. When I've prayed about it in the past, I've always prayed that he changes, that his heart is softened, never thinking to pray for me to change and my attitude.
     Two Sundays ago, we had communion at church and the Pastor said not to take it if we had something like this on our hearts. He cited Matthew 7:3-5 (NKJV)

And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Those verses never really spoke to me before but at that point, they did and I saw the hypocrite in myself. I prayed while communion was being passed out and a renewed sense of wanting to love everyone, not just those who are easy to love, came over me and I prayed on that and felt cleansed to take communion.
     My takeaway from this is, if you're having trouble loving someone, look first at yourself and see what the issue is. Then look at the other person and find something within them to love; we are all so much more than just one attribute or characteristic. Sometimes it takes some praying and searching, but I believe we can find something loving in every person we meet.
     May God bless you this week with this journey.

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Please join me this week in praying for guidance, strength, wisdom, and courage for each of us to love everyone as Jesus commands us.

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The Golden Rule

I remember reciting this as a youngster in Sunday School but we used the word "unto" which I can't find in a version that we would have used back then:

"Do unto others as you would have others do unto you."

Luke 6:31 (unknown version)

So, how did you do yesterday with your prayers and with loving everyone? Another suggestion is to pray for their hearts to be softened (and mine (maybe yours?), too). Please share this image. If we all followed this rule, can you imagine how awesome the world would be?

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Please join me this week in praying for guidance, strength, wisdom, and courage for each of us to love everyone as Jesus commands us.

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Love Your Enemies

This has come up several times over the last two weeks and I am ashamed to say it is a huge stumbling block for me, as well. I've been praying for guidance as to "how" but I'm pretty sure the answer is simply "you just do." After talking to a woman yesterday who is also struggling with this, we decided this would be an excellent thing for all of us to pray (and meditate) on.

Jesus commands us...

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor

and hate your enemy. 

But I say to you, love your enemies, 

bless those who curse you, 

do good to those who hate you, 

and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 

Matthew 5:43-44

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Please join me this week in praying for guidance, strength, wisdom, and courage for each of us to love everyone as Jesus commands us.

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Chronological Reading Plan Week 50

Chronological Reading Plan

Week 50

344. Romans 11-13
345. Romans 14-16
346. Acts 20-23
347. Acts 24-26
348. Acts 27-28
349. Colossians, Philemon
350. Ephesians

Without grumbling

Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

Philippians 2:14-18 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for someone who is discontent.

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Focus on the Lord.

A lot of discontentment is rooted in things that we can change ourselves if we only tried instead of just complaining about it. But, there are some areas of discontent that we can't change; however, we can change our attitude toward, which makes all the difference.
     There was a 96-year-old man, we'll call him David, that I know of who was ready to die. His wife and friends had all passed away. His health was failing him, but only on a few levels. He was just tired and lonely. He didn't focus on his blessings, only on his troubles. Blessings included: he had a son who lived next door, his mind was still sharp, he was able to live in his home and take care of most of his needs. Fortunately, a man decided one day to go door to door to spread the Gospel and invite people to his church (not a Jehovah's Witness) and happened upon David's door. They became friends and David was able to be drawn closer to God as a result. It helped his attitude and some of his feelings of depression and despair. He died delighting in the Lord.
     There's a woman we'll call Linda who just seems to be flat out angry about her age. She's always trying to prove to people that she's still fit, still able to do everything herself and that her mind is still fully intact. All of this is fine except that in spending so much effort on these things, she belittles those around her. She's become rather bitter and very judgmental. She can't change her age, but she can change her approach to age. Since she is still sharp and able-bodied, she could be making use of that by reaching out to others who aren't doing as well, volunteering, joining groups to do things she's interested in doing. I believe she's so focused on the negative that she, like David, can't enjoy the gifts God has given her.
     No matter what your discontentment is, you have control to change your attitude. Pray about what upsets you. Focus on the Lord.

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4 ESV

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Focus on love

It's difficult to be discontent when you stop and count your blessings. It's difficult to be discontent when you stop and focus on God, on His love for you and (hopefully) your love in Him. Our Father is with us always. He understands our moods. He knows we sin and are going to continue to sin. He knows that we often try to live life without Him. Yet He loves us. Meditate on that today and share this with someone you know who is feeling discontent.

So we have come to know and to believe 

the love that God has for us. 

God is love, 

and whoever abides in love abides 

in God, and God abides in him.

1 John 4:16 ESV

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Suffer want

You can choose to be discontent, or you can choose to be content in Christ.

The young lions suffer want and hunger; 

but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Psalm 34:10 ESV

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Discontentment in relationships

I know a young man, we'll call him "Tim" who is seemingly discontent with his life. His excuse or reason is that he's a single father of two children, a girl, and a boy. 'If only' he would lament. If only I had a wife and a mother for my kids, life would be so much better. His reasoning that his kids need a mother is false because they already have a mother. It's he who needs a woman in his life which is completely understandable except that he goes about it all wrong and never learns from his mistakes. I don't know about his first two wives, but he's divorced from both of them.
     Several years ago, he met a woman with a small child and they hit it off great. He asked her and her baby to move in with him and his two kids after dating for just a month or two. Huge mistake. After a short time, she moved out, but Tim and she continued to date for years and even got engaged. Eventually they had a huge fight and they broke up.
     A few months later, he met someone new and she seemed 'perfect'. He overlooked several obvious red flags (and she did, too) and after about two months, they eloped. She and her two kids moved in and she got pregnant. After just a few months things got to be unbearable and they went through a very messy separation.
     A few months later, Tim met another woman, who was even more perfect. This time, he moved himself and his two kids in with her and her two (or three?) kids after about two months of dating. It wasn't long before she too became pregnant. Things didn't work out and he and his kids had to find a new house.
     So here's a situation where a person is so discontent that he keeps repeating the same action over and over again hoping for a new outcome instead of learning from his mistakes.
     There is no contentment outside of God. Tim needs to pray about what God's plans are for him instead of just rushing in and making these Godless decisions on his own. He needs to consider the consequences of his actions on his children and the other children involved. He needs to slow down, hold off on sex, hold off on cohabitating and marriage. My late husband always used to say "when something seems too good to be true, it usually is." You can't possibly know someone well enough after just a couple of months. When you come to situations like this, it's best to pray and wait for an answer from our Father in Heaven.

So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, 

faith, love, and peace, 

along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

2 Timothy 2:22 ESV

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Always give thanks

Rejoice always, 

pray without ceasing, 

give thanks in all circumstances; 

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV

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Too much stuff

I grew up in a middle-class family and as far as I knew, we never wanted for anything. Part of that was because my parents never talked about finances in front of us, but still, we had a house, food, clothing, transportation.
     Then, I got married and found out what it was like to be poor. We lived paycheck to paycheck and were always robbing Peter to pay Paul. During that time, I remember thinking, "if we only had more money," as if that would solve all of our problems.
     We did eventually make more money, but, like so many others, with a higher income came a more expensive house, a more expensive car, premium cable channels, etc.,... in other words, the more we made, the more we spent and so I was still thinking, "if we only had more money."
     Each time we moved, we needed a bigger and bigger moving truck which meant we were accumulating more stuff every year. Our basement became a storage space full of bins and I didn't even remember what they contained.
     All of this was during my dark time when I wasn't with the Lord. I wasn't in the Word, I wasn't going to church, I wasn't even praying, and I attribute the darkness of life during that time as a result of trying to go it alone. God was there, I just never spoke to Him. Therefore my possessions became my "god" so to speak; they were what I wanted, so in reality, they were what I "worshipped". I thought I could find contentment in storing up treasures on earth. I was wrong.

And he said to them, 

“Take care, and be on your guard 

against all covetousness, 

for one's life does not consist in the 

abundance of his possessions.”

Luke 12:15 ESV

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Chronological Reading Plan Week 49

Chronological Reading Plan

Week 49
337. 1 Corinthians 15-16
338. 2 Corinthians 1-4
339. 2 Corinthians 5-9
340. 2 Corinthians 10-13
341. Romans 1-3
342. Romans 4-7
343. Romans 8-10

Strength through Christ

The book of Philippians is Paul's letter to the people of Phillipi while he is under house arrest. In these passages toward the end of his letter, he's thanking them for their generosity. They had been helping Paul meet his minimal needs whenever possible so that he could concentrate on his ministry. He learned how to be content with whatever he had even though there were times that he went hungry and times he suffered.
     The Pastor recently preached on this last chapter of Philippians and stated that 4:13 is the most quoted and the most misquoted Bible verse. He said it was misquoted because it was taken out of context, so I'm including verses 10-12 also and giving you the brief synopsis above so you can have the background information leading up to this verse.
     Personally, I cling to it as a standalone verse. My intent here is not to teach you, only to share what I feel are relevant bible verses and some personal stories to accompany the subjects of our prayers for the week. But since I recently learned this information, I decided to share it as well and you can take away what you want from it.
     Just remember, God is our Father. Go to Him with thanksgiving and with needs. Don't hesitate to ask for help. I derive strength through Christ.

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:10-13 NKJV (emphasis mine)
Remember to share this with someone who's struggling.

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When I'm weak I'm strong

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for 

My strength is made perfect in weakness.” 

Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, 

that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, 

in persecutions, in distresses, 

for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NKJV

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Be strong

Yesterday I had a bad day at work. A lot of it was pride (someone stepping on my toes and doing stuff the wrong way) but regardless, it was tough. My first temptation was to just leave for the rest of the day but I decided to take my own advice and just stop and pray. I put on headphones and listened to an audio version of the bible for a while and calmed down. I prayed for guidance and for God to lead me where He wants me to be, and it just lifted the burden.

Be strong and of good courage, 

do not fear nor be afraid of them; 

for the Lord your God, 

He is the One who goes with you. 

He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

Deuteronomy 31:6 NKJV

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I will uphold you

Fear not, for I am with you;

Be not dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you,

Yes, I will help you,

I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

Isaiah 41:10 NKJV

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Ten Thirteen

This is a weird thing...I noticed several years ago, while I was lost, that I happened to look at the clock at 10:13 am and pm nearly every day. It happened so often yet I was always surprised by it (and a little freaked out). Then, I came upon this bible verse and decided that was the reason behind it. Whether it was or not, I found comfort in it.

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; 

but God is faithful, 

who will not allow you to be tempted 

beyond what you are able, 

but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, 

that you may be able to endure it.

1 Corinthians 10:13 NKJV
How encouraging is that?!

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Physical struggles

This past week we've had prayer requests for people who are sick with a cold, the flu, a break in a woman's spinal cord, breast cancer, lymphedema, recovering from surgery, and a little girl who is sick with a high fever and dehydrated. No matter the struggle, God is there for us. We can rest in the assurances of His love, comfort, and strength.
     We don't have the answers, but we can be an encouragement to those who are struggling. In bad times and in good, we need to glorify God. I saw that so often in chemo. People were weak, sickly, yet they gave thanks. They showed gratitude for having medicine and facilities to help them. They smiled and laughed as they spoke to the nurses and one another. The volunteers told us about their experiences with cancer and gave us hope that we would be back to "normal" soon, too.
     I think having hope and a grateful heart heals us. Pray on what you're thankful for.
     Please share this with someone who needs these words today.

 The Lord is my strength and song,

And He has become my salvation;

He is my God, and I will praise Him;

My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.

Exodus 15:2 NKJV

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Share words of encouragement

I have met three people in the last few weeks who have shared that they're alcoholics and who are looking for the strength to quit. My heart goes out to them because of all of the struggles they face while trying to quit. Not only the physical side effects of withdrawal but also the mental effect of losing what has been like a friend and comfort for them for years; alcohol cheered them up, made all of their problems go away (temporarily). It was something to do when bored. Something to do when lonely. Something to do when celebrating. It was always there, but as these three people have come to realize, abusing alcohol comes with a price. People die from it, either directly because of what it does to the body, or indirectly because someone chose to drink and drive, accidentally killing an innocent person who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
     Alcoholism is a disease and it can't be cured overnight, and I believe that it can't be cured alone. Some would say you're never cured. Either way, seek help and support. Get out of the house and be around people. If you live in the Dayton area and want to go to an AA meeting, let me know and I'll go with you.
     If you know someone who is struggling with alcoholism (or anything), let's pay forward words of encouragement this week. For this week of prayer, send the bible verse image for each day to someone who needs to hear it. You may just help get them through the day.

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, 

but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

2 Timothy 1:7 NIV
     You have it in you to quit because you have the Spirit of God within you.

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Chronological Reading Plan Week 48

Chronological Reading Plan

Week 48
330. Acts 17
331. 1 & 2 Thessalonians
332. Acts 18-19
333. 1 Corinthians 1-4
334. 1 Corinthians 5-8
335. 1 Corinthians 9-11
336. 1 Corinthians 12-14

Trust in the Lord

A week isn't nearly long enough to illustrate all of those who suffered greatly throughout the Bible. Christ suffered for all of us, bearing the full wrath of God for our sins. Paul suffered constantly for his faith, as people do even now in other countries, yet he wrote to the Corinthians:

For our light affliction, 

which is but for a moment, 

is working for us a far more exceeding 

and eternal weight of glory,

2 Corinthians 4:17 NKJV

No matter what you're going through, it will pass, and you'll come through stronger for having endured. I'm not in any way minimalizing our daily sufferings; after all, suffering is suffering. But, I want to encourage you to pray and to dig deep into His word for encouragement and for answers. Trust in the Lord, with all your heart.

Consider helping those who are suffering for their faith. There are people imprisoned who could use some words of inspiration and/or there are financial needs in those countries for the families of martyrs and for those who are risking their lives to spread the Gospel. There are prayer needs. *Visit the Voice of Martyrs website to see where you can help.

*I do NOT earn affiliate money. This link is just being provided for convenience and to help those in need.

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Please join me this week in praying for someone who is suffering, whether it's physically, mentally, or emotionally. Pray that they are comforted by God's love and find strength and hope through Him.
I'll post daily reminders on:
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Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Assurance in suffering

I love that when I'm in the Word, God provides information from it as research for our prayer group. I'm in multiple bible study groups and each one of them has seemingly overlapped the past week or two. This week, our Women's Group is studying from the "Seamless" book/videos and the author, Angie Smith is talking about suffering. God's timing is perfect.
     First of all, I want to share 2 bible verses that she shared:

Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.

John 9:1-3 NKJV

He has not dealt with us according to our sins,

Nor punished us according to our iniquities.

Psalm 103:10 NKJV
Remember those whenever life seems to be getting you down, and draw hope from them.
     I'm probably repeating myself, but when my late husband discovered that his cancer was stage 4 he just kept saying that God hated him. God didn't hate him. God used his disease to save other people's lives, to draw me closer to Him, and I believe to draw my late husband closer to Him, also. There were several other "reasons" that I feel it happened and after the fact was able to see how God used this for His plan in His time. The other part of it was that since we have free will, our decisions can have a huge impact on the things that happen to us. We can't just wander around without consequences if we're going to go against what God expects of us. Kenny drank a lot and that predisposed him to colon cancer. He felt like something was wrong for years but never went to see a doctor about it. Those kinds of decisions lead to unfavorable consequences.
     I draw reassurance in knowing that whatever is going on in my life, God will ultimately use it for good.

P.S. as for the photo for today, I searched for "assurance" just to see what would show up and I got a lot of images that looked like they were more for "insurance", but when I came across this car, I thought, "Yes this is bad, but, no one was injured." (I try to be a "glass half full type of person".)

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Please join me this week in praying for someone who is suffering, whether it's physically, mentally, or emotionally. Pray that they are comforted by God's love and find strength and hope through Him.
I'll post daily reminders on:
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Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Jesus has your back

I just finished watching "The Case for Faith" on PureFlix. It's a documentary based on Lee Stroebel's research for his book of the same name. It deals with suffering extensively.
Here's a sermon on the subject by John Piper
     I'm a bit under the weather this week with some sort of cold or sinus infection, so hopefully, I'll feel up to writing more tomorrow.

These things I have spoken to you, 

that in Me you may have peace. 

In the world you will have tribulation; 

but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33 NKJV

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Please join me this week in praying for someone who is suffering, whether it's physically, mentally, or emotionally. Pray that they are comforted by God's love and find strength and hope through Him.
I'll post daily reminders on:
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Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

God will restore you

And after you have suffered a little while, 

the God of all grace, 

who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, 

will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

1 Peter 5:10 ESV

Joseph suffered

I don't want to approach this week of prayer with the question: "Why does God allow suffering?" Instead, we're here to look at it from a different viewpoint. We're going to look at it from the perspective of "Why God allows suffering." I believe that the question represents our disapproval at how God handles things whereas the statement shows our confidence in God's sovereignty.
     The best example of this is Joseph. Here was a teenager (17), the youngest of eleven who was favored by his father, Jacob. His siblings despised him and after he shared two dreams with them where they bowed down to him, they just couldn't take it anymore. They sold him to some passersby who sold him into slavery (that's the short version), he ended up in Egypt and eventually found favor with the Pharoah and through a series of events that you'll have to read about on your own (read Genesis 37-48 for the full event), ended up saving everyone, including his family, from starvation during a 7-year famine. Did he suffer? Yes. Did God use his suffering for His plan? Yes. If he hadn't been sold into slavery, so many people would have died during the famine.
     I know this is an extreme example, but it's one where we can see it from a distance from beginning to end. If we could do that in our own lives, we might better understand God's purpose for our suffering.

And we know that for those who love God

all things work together for good, 

for those who are called according to his purpose. 

Romans 8:28 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for someone who is suffering, whether it's physically, mentally, or emotionally. Pray that they are comforted by God's love and find strength and hope through Him.
I'll post daily reminders on:
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Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Testing of Your Faith

Count it all joy, my brothers and sisters, 

when you meet trials of various kinds, 

for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 

And let steadfastness have its full effect, 

that you may be perfect and complete, 

lacking in nothing.

James 1:2-4 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for someone who is suffering, whether it's physically, mentally, or emotionally. Pray that they are comforted by God's love and find strength and hope through Him.
I'll post daily reminders on:
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Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Pray for the suffering

Our sufferings have a purpose. Think of a time when you or a loved one suffered. Were there any positive outcomes from it? Maybe even years later?
     An example would be my late husband suffered from colon cancer and died three years later. Initially, I asked God "Why? Why did he die?" but after spending some time praying on it, discovered the question I should have been asking was "Why did he live?" I was able to reflect on the aspects of his life that were a blessing to me and my family and on those who knew him. He touched many lives. Because he got colon cancer, so many people decided to get colonoscopies who wouldn't have before that. Many of them had pre-cancerous polyps removed and lived longer lives, with each of their lives touching many more lives.
     While he was sick, he gave encouragement to others by his attitude and perseverance. In the last few months of his life, he was drawn closer to God and spent a lot of time in prayer; something he hadn't done for decades.
     My point is, instead of focusing on the suffering itself, look at how God is using that suffering in your life and in other people's lives. We don't live our lives in a vacuum. Our actions and reactions affect numerous people each and every day.

My favorite Bible verse regarding suffering is:

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, 

knowing that suffering produces endurance, 

and endurance produces character, 

and character produces hope, 

and hope does not put us to shame, 

because God's love has been poured into our hearts 

through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 5:3-5 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for someone who is suffering, whether it's physically, mentally, or emotionally. Pray that they are comforted by God's love and find strength and hope through Him.
I'll post daily reminders on:
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