And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19 ESV
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Please join me this week in praying for those who need help but don't ask for it. Pray that they see the benefits of allowing others to help them. Pray that they have good experiences as a result of opening up to others. Pray that they are served by Christians who show Christ to them. Let's also pray for those who refuse to help, for whatever reason. Pray that God softens their hearts and minds, that he give them servants' hearts so that they may know the joy in working together as one body of Christ and the reward of knowing they are doing God's will.
Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7 ESV
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Please join me this week in praying for those who need help but don't ask for it. Pray that they see the benefits of allowing others to help them. Pray that they have good experiences as a result of opening up to others. Pray that they are served by Christians who show Christ to them. Let's also pray for those who refuse to help, for whatever reason. Pray that God softens their hearts and minds, that he give them servants' hearts so that they may know the joy in working together as one body of Christ and the reward of knowing they are doing God's will.
Do you ever think something is too trivial to take to the Lord in prayer? Or, do you think something is so huge that God must have allowed it, therefore won't help you through? Do you feel like God must hate you or is punishing you?
Whatever your thoughts are along those lines, put them aside. Hear me when I say: God wants you to take everything to Him in prayer.
When you need help, hope, strength, love, pray about it. When you've lost your keys, pray about it. When you are living with chronic pain, pray about it.
Our Father loves us. We are His children. Ask Him for help. He may send another of His children to lift you up. He may even remind you where you left your keys. He may strengthen you to see you through another day.
Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!
Please join me this week in praying for those who need help but don't ask for it. Pray that they see the benefits of allowing others to help them. Pray that they have good experiences as a result of opening up to others. Pray that they are served by Christians who show Christ to them. Let's also pray for those who refuse to help, for whatever reason. Pray that God softens their hearts and minds, that he give them servants' hearts so that they may know the joy in working together as one body of Christ and the reward of knowing they are doing God's will.
I know it's only been 4 or 5 weeks since we prayed for the salvation of our loved ones, but this past weekend, several things seemed to point to the need for us to do this again: - My husband and I were talking about a book he read and that I started reading entitled, "Whatever Happened to Hell?" by John Blanchard. (It's a really great, informative book that I recommend to everyone. It will certainly motivate you to share the gospel, and to pray unceasingly for your loved ones). - We watched a movie this weekend on PureFlix called "The Encounter." Really, really good stuff in there. I could nit-pic the acting and continuity-type of mistakes, but the content is what matters, and it was very good. - At the end of the sermon yesterday, the Pastor flat out said, "Pray for those in your life who do not yet know Christ...No one is beyond the grasp of God...Petition for their salvation."
To put the idea of eternity into perspective, take a look at this video:
We can't intercede enough for the unsaved. They need our prayers. The idea of anyone spending eternity in hell just tears me up inside.
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Please join me this week in praying for our loved ones who are not yet saved. It's not God's wish that any perish, but we need to petition Him for the unbelievers in our life by praying fervently and unceasingly for their salvation.
I participated in "A Day to Fast and Pray" on April 4, 2020; an event put together by The Gospel Coalition.
Morning prayer - This was time to pray alone and reflect on Psalm 27.
Midday prayer - This was time to pray together with others; either family, neighbors, and/or friends.
Evening prayer - This segment was streamed live online so that the entire world could share this time together in prayer.
The morning prayer.
I was really excited about setting this time aside to spend alone with God, my Heavenly Father. Although I realize that I can do this anytime I just felt like it was scheduled and therefore I would definitely use that time period for that purpose. I usually spend the drive to and from work with God, telling Him about me, praying for others, asking questions, but since I'm home now, I haven't gotten into a daily routine of doing that and it needs to be a priority. So my hope was that this would jumpstart my prayer time at home. This whole week is going to be an experiment in how best to accomplish things each day and how to schedule and prioritize while I'm stuck at home. I do like all of this time at home, but I just feel the need to make the most out of it before I have to go back to the way things were (if that's even going to happen; I believe everything will be very different after this). Unfortunately, that's putting a lot of unnecessary pressure on myself and that gives me anxiety which leads to a whole bunch of other stuff. So, I need to find a balance.
So, back to what I was intending to write here...my morning prayer time was wonderful and my big takeaway from this was love and compassion for others. This wasn't the time to talk to Him about me. This was a time to talk to Him about everybody. One of the topics was to pray for specific fears and the first thing that came to me was that this very well could be the end times and so my fear is for my loved ones who aren't saved. I can't imagine them spending eternity in hell. It worries me so much; I just plead with the Father that He chooses them for salvation and send someone to them who will be able to lift the veil.
I'm also fearful for those who are persecuted. Times like these can bring out the worst in people.
Lastly, I fear for those who have no money right now who are waiting for unemployment to work out the glitches and for the stimulus checks to be distributed.
I also prayed and thought about, if these are the end times (and we might as well imagine they are) what's most important in our lives? Money and possessions aren't important except to provide necessities for life. Like I read once, you never see a U-Haul hitched to the back of a Hearst. (In other words, you can't take it with you). Therefore, what's most important? If you knew that today was our last day on Earth, what would you do? Personally, I'd spend that time with my loved ones, emphatically preaching that Jesus is our Lord and Savior, that if they had any inkling of the great sacrifice Jesus made for each and every one of us, they would fall to their knees and cry out to Him.
Only God our Father knows the time of Jesus' return and so we need to treat each day as if it could be our last one here. We should be all about gathering more souls for heaven.
I wrote at the end of my personal prayer time:
Being isolated, it's easy to focus on me. Through prayer, devotionals, being in His Word, I've worked through my anxieties (not completely) and anger/frustration and am turning outward to focus on others and to deepen my relationship with the Lord.
The midday prayer
I was able to join with some of my church family through Zoom. We talked about what's going on in our lives, how all of this world stuff has affected each of us. We laughed together and cried together. We prayed.
What I took away from this experience is that no matter what we're going through, we as Christians see all of this struggle as an opportunity to draw closer to Him. We see it as a time when our Father is pulling His children closer to Him; He's holding onto us, loving us. He's also tightening relationships among His Church as we reach out to one another and try to meet needs. He's allowing the world to see His character through us by allowing us to reside in this difficult situation and yet we share messages of hope and love and trust in Him.
The evening prayer
My husband and I watched the simulcast along with millions of other Christians around the globe. I felt a connection to the church body. The people who prayed shared heartfelt desires and pleas and praises trusting in the sovereignty of the one true Living God. We know we'll get through this. We know that God is using this for His purposes and it will end in His time. He is good and just. He loves His children deeply and wants us to love Him with every fiber of our being. We need to hold onto each other, hold onto Him. He is our hope.
Challenge
At the end of the evening prayer segment, Jeremy Treat encouraged everyone to make a video with the hashtag #JesusChangedMyLife to share during Holy Week. Jesus is constantly working in my life and constantly changing my life as I grow in Him. So, this may seem like it's full of rabbit trails, and I'm sorry it's so long, but here goes (you may have already seen it since I posted it alone on social media):
If you want to talk to me, you can reach-out through any of my social media accounts or email me at archadia7@yahoo.com and we'll set up a way to talk either on the phone or WhatsApp or Zoom, etc...
Or you can reach out to our church's helpline: 937-770-9875. Leave a message and one of our Pastors will call you back.
If you're in search of a church service for this upcoming Resurrection Sunday, visit TheRidgeChurch.net
"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."
John 3:16 (NIV)
If you proclaim Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you will spend eternity in Heaven. Jesus died for you, for your sins. It is the greatest gift. Spread the word.
A king who did not believe in the goodness of God, had a slave who, in all circumstances would always say "My king, do not be discouraged, because everything God does is perfect. He makes no mistakes!"
One day they went hunting and along the way a wild animal attacked the king. His slave managed to kill the animal, but could not prevent his majesty from losing a finger.
Furious and without showing his gratitude for being saved, the nobleman asked "Is God good? If He was good, I would not have been attacked and lost my finger."
The slave replied:
"My king, despite all these things, I can only tell you that God is good, and he knows why these things happened. What God does is perfect. He is never wrong!"
Outraged by the response, the king ordered the arrest of his slave.
Later, the King left for another hunt, this time alone. He was captured by savages who engaged in human sacrifices.
On the altar and ready to sacrifice the nobleman, the savages discovered that their victim did not have one of his fingers. According to them, only a whole person with all his/her parts intact could be offered to the gods. The King without a finger was deemed an abominable sacrifice for their gods. So they released the King.
Upon his return to the palace, the King authorized the release of his slave. He received the slave affectionately.
He asked his slave, "my dear, God was really good to me! I was almost killed by the wild men, but for lack of a single finger, I was let go! But I have a question: if God is so good, why did he allow me to put you in jail?"
The slave answered, "my King, if I had gone with you on this hunt, I would have been sacrificed instead because I have no missing finger. Remember everything God does is perfect. He is never wrong. He made you to keep me in jail so I would not be with you on the hunt."
Often we complain about life, and negative things that happen to us, forgetting that nothing is random and that everything has a purpose.
Every morning, offer your day to God, don't be in a rush.
Ask God to inspire your thoughts, guide your actions, and ease your feelings. And do not be afraid. God is never wrong!
You know why this message is for you? I do not know, but God knows, because He never makes mistakes...
The path of God and his word are perfect, without impurities. He is the way of all those who trust in Him.
