Copy and paste the link into your browser
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi1JHEuBgLU
or search YouTube for I and II Kings in 7 Minutes (Part 2)
by Pastor Landon
“Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,
set aside self-righteous pride, so that He may exalt you to a place of honour
in His service at the appropriate time, casting all your cares, all your
anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all on Him,
for He cares about you with deepest affection, and watches over you very
carefully.
“Be sober, well balanced and self-disciplined, be alert and
cautious at all times. That enemy of
yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, fiercely hungry, seeking
someone to devour. But resist him, be
firm in your faith against his attack – rooted, established, immovable, knowing
that the same experience of suffering are being experienced by your brothers
and sisters throughout the world. You do
not suffer alone.
“After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all
grace who imparts His blessing and favour, who called you to His own eternal
glory in Christ, will Himself complete, confirm, strengthen, and establish you,
making you what you ought to be. To Him
be dominion, power, authority, sovereignty forever and ever. Amen."
I Peter 5:6-11 (The Amplified Bible)
At church we are slogging through II Kings (we’ve made it up
to chapter 16). This Sunday during the lesson
(starting around minute 29), Pat, one of our pastors really provided some
critical thoughts that I must share:
“The looming crisis for all of us today is the lack of
appreciation of how VAST and SERIOUS our sin life is in Christ’s eyes. The paradox for the church is two-fold:
a. Repentance
and looking up to our Saviour -- to keep our eyes on Him.
b. To
resist the messages of the day around us!
The devil relentlessly whispers in our ears:
o
‘Oh there’s heaps of time to ‘do/ get’ better,
do the right thing, fix this or that so don’t bother….or
o
‘Panic!
Give up! Run into walls, it’s
just too late! Don’t waste your time
trying. the effort.
We are NOT alone in the ongoing struggle. Evil roams around to ‘compromise’ and ‘consume’
the believers of Christ. Don’t let that
be you.
Take care with love, especially His, Darlene (who still
prays for you each day)
PS: Find my
statement of faith: https://especiallyhislove.blogspot.com
(where you will also find a series of beginner Bible studies to share). You
can easily find the WeakDay Devotion online by doing a Google search for
‘WeakDay Devotion’. (Also, there is an
android ‘Goggle
Blogger’ app you can download to read them on your phone. Not sure about Apple.)
NEW PRAYER REQUESTS
·
Sophie – three-year old daughter of a
friend is now home from an extended stay in the hospital but still frail and
unwell. Please pray for her, her parents
and health carers that they will discover the problem and fix it.
·
Marci – a childhood friend has come
through her back surgery and is recovering.
Please pray for her patience and those who care for her.
·
Voddie
Baucham – is recovering from quadruple
by-pass surgery. Pray for him, his wife
and family, his health care providers and others attending him. Click on the link in his name to find out
more.
·
Tim –
my brother – for his strength and wisdom and that he rests safely and soundly
in the arms of the Lord while he works through a difficult challenge.
·
Ray Sr. – battling cancer that has been moved to respite
care. Pray the Lord opens His heart to
the Truth of salvation and through this time relationships with family are
strengthened and that Ray Jr and Kathy would be able to know of his decision.
·
Jenny S –
Bible teacher at a local Bible school for curiosity under change, as the vision
of her organisation changes with new leadership. Help her identify the balance of her unique
contribution with the new focus. Pray
the Lord maintains her health as she walks through this time of stress.
·
Peter R – who has just had an appendectomy and discovered
he has prostate cancer. Pray for Jill,
his wife that she has the extra strength she needs to travel this journey with
him.
·
David – as his health waxes and wanes during this
challenging time. Pray for Heidi who cares for him and his
little companion dog, Sparky. Pray God
watches over him and steadies his steps and his heart.
·
Dr. Brent and
Kelley – that the Lord will use the current situation and ‘the
letter’ for His glory and that some good will come from it.
·
Cathy – as
she faces stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Her
chemo has begun. She had her CAT scan. No results yet. She is Barb (my sister-in-law’s)
sister-in-law. They have a beautiful
family. Please pray for them and their
health carers as they travel through this journey.
·
Gloria –
had an infection in one of her legs that required a part to be amputated. The amputation was not enough. The doctors took more. Now she needs your prayers that the Lord
would provide the funds for a prosthetic.
·
Pat and Isobel –
as they serve tirelessly, pray the Lord refreshes and strengthens them.
·
Ian –
as he recovers from knee replacement surgery.
·
Hans –
a dear friend in Germany, continues his immunotherapy for lung cancer. Pray for his ongoing strength through the
pain, patience and God’s mercy. Continue
to pray for his healthcare providers and that he is surrounded by faithful and
compassionate Christian friends who will support him through this journey. Pray for his Mom (age 83) who is unwell
herself, that their time together will be filled with extraordinary good
memories and lots of love.
·
Isaias and Judith (Ambassadors
for Christ the Philippines) – the Philippines is a remarkably
difficult mission field and Isaias, Judith and their entire family have
maintained a teaching and discipling ministry there for dozens of years. They are both facing serious health issues
and need your fervent prayers, especially Judith right now, who is in much pain. Please visit their new website: https://afcph.org/
to learn more. Pray our Father keep
these servants strong and restores their health. They need funds
($12,000 for the surgery) badly now. Or take a moment to send encouragement
to Isaias Catorce, who teaches and leads the groups at icatorce@gmail.com
·
Callilah – a lost child. Pray the Lord will capture her heart.
Pray for those in full-time service
Pray to uphold our Christian leaders – that they never compromise God’s Word, are bold and courageous in the face of evil. Pray for their wisdom, safety, ingenuity, strength and for their families.
Pray for those with ongoing health concerns
Many of us have family, friends and loved ones with fragile health. Pray God takes special care with them and protects them in practical ways and that the Lord will have mercy on them during this challenging time.
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