"Thank God, the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that He is our Father and the source of all mercy and
comfort. For He gives us comfort in all
our trials, so that we in turn may be able to give the same sort of strong
sympathy to others in their troubles that we receive from God.
"Indeed, experience
shows that the more we share in Christ's immeasurable suffering the more we are
able to give of His encouragement.
"This means that if we
experience trouble it is for your comfort and spiritual protection; for if we
ourselves have been comforted we know how to encourage you to endure patiently
the same sort of troubles that we ourselves endure." II
Corinthians 1:3-6 (J.B. Philips
Paraphrase)
"Only to the extent that we ourselves have been comforted
and encouraged by the Holy Spirit through His Word will we be able to comfort
and encourage others. Adversity in our
own lives, rightly responded to, enables us to be instruments of comfort and
encouragement to others."*
Read that quote from Jerry Bridges again. Then the Scripture. Do you SEE how encouragement we receive gives
a gift of credibility to your words when you encourage another? When there are no others around to encourage you,
He has provided His living and active Word to strengthen you!
If you are one needing encouragement...don't you find it
helpful when someone can, not only sympathise with you, but can share empathy
from having had a similar experience? God
wastes NOTHING in our lives...even the worst of things!
Take care with love, especially His! Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
URGENT PRAYER REQUEST:
For those trying to stem the devastation
of Ebola in Africa and in
other countries now, as the disease spreads because of fear, lack of education
and hygiene.
For the situation developing in the world today around the
group called ISIS or IS.
For those in Hawaii
now dealing with a volcanic eruption and the lava flow.
25 years ago the Berlin
Wall came down - pray for Germany this week.
Isaias & Judith
need our continued prayers for protection and good health. They have asked us to pray for the wife of
one of their co-workers in the field, Edna,
in hospital recovering from a high blood sugar count. Isaias and Judith lead the efforts of Ambassadors for Christ in
the Philippines. The
financial needs are so great, please consider contributing...just click on
Ambassadors for Christ link above.
Please pray for Chester
as he continues to struggle through a host of medical challenges and
poor care. Give him energy, strength and
resolve as he deals with a worldly system that has abused him.
NEW PRAYER REQUESTS: For the USA as the results of the mid-term election begin to settle
into some positive action for the country.
PRAISE & THANKSGIVING: Please
pray for Hans who has just
found some work to help him through his challenging times and that he continues
to grow in grace and love in his new life with Christ.
Jeff (cataract
surgery) is able to see again -- keep praying for him and Rachael, his beloved wife.
Patti's dear husband, John
continues to make progress after his stroke.
PRAY FOR THOSE WITH HEALTH
CONCERNS: Pray
for my brother, Tim, that his
COPD (cardio-pulmonary artery disease) is manageable for him and that he will
have the patience and wisdom to cope with the limitations. Pray for David
R as he manages his macular degeneration.
Pray the Lord quiets Adrian's
heart as he continues to struggle with the ups and down in his battle with
cancer. Give his doctors wisdom and
compassion and him lots of patience.
Please pray for his walks, that they are always inspiring and safe.
For Audley and Beverly’s situation and his return to the
ministry. For Nancy who
continues to grow stronger after her life-threatening head injury a few years
ago, and for Fred as he cares for
her.
Pray for BG
that his blinding headaches will finally stop.
Pray for Fion as he
supports his ageing parents and manages a heavy load of challenges.
Bettina
needs our prayers to give her strength and wisdom. Pray for Raven
as she regains her strength from the cancer treatments.
ONGOING JOB RELATED: Pray for Paul
N-S - as he continues his search for work. Please pray for Michael, a man who is humble and without a home or a job who
needs a chance to get his life back to normal.
Deepak needs
prayer that his work efforts begin to bear fruit as he is on the road
travelling, promoting his business.
Please pray for my dear
friend, Carla who has just relocated to New York City, that she is
safe and stays healthy while she settles.
Paul, David and Matthew
are managing alone till the end of the year, pray for patience and awareness
and gratefulness, as they miss Carla.
My project has ended. I thank Father God for this
provision and look forward to learning of His new direction -- one of which may
bring me home.
ONGOING PRAYER REQUESTS: Pray the Lord’s hand is dramatically apparent
in the lives of all who receive and read this devotion...that His mighty
works would be worked out in each life for His purposes in surprising and
wonderful ways!
Elaine and Jim starting
a new ministry in Hong Kong - that the Lord will strengthen their resolve and
their hands.
For Iain Barclay and
his ministry, that the Lord would encourage him in his work. For Sue-Anne
as she takes new responsibilities in her church. A dear friend, Jen, needs the watchful care of the Lord in her life. For
Louise for healing in their
family.
For Linda and Ian. For Rob and his daughter. For Reg. Pray for Annette and Lyle and their wonderful family.
PRAY FOR THE WORLD: Pray for revival in the USA to continue. Pray
for Birgit who is in
Germany.
Please pray for the many individuals in Singapore, China, Russia and India who read the WeakDay Devotion. (This year the WeakDay Devotion blog is being
read by many people in these countries!
God is mysterious!) Pray for the
Catholic Church and that the new Pope will
always put Jesus first.
* "Trusting God"
is copyright protected since 1988 by Jerry Bridges. All rights are reserved, including
translations. The ISBN is
08910-91742. I quote carefully and
respectfully from his wonderful book.
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