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posted by Duane Deheart
“As Jesus went into Capernaum, a centurion came up to
Him, begging Him for help, and saying, ‘Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed,
with intense and terrible, tormenting pain.’
Jesus said to him, ‘I will come and heal him.’ But the centurion replied to Him, ‘Lord, I am
not worthy to have You come under my roof, but only say the word, and my
servant will be healed.
“’For I also a man subject to authority of a higher rank,
with soldiers subject to me; and I say to one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to
another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.’ When Jesus heard this, He was amazed and said
to those who were following Him, ‘I tell you truthfully, I have not found such
great faith as this with anyone in Israel.’” Matthew 8:5-10
“Nebuchadnezzar said to them, ‘Is it true, Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden
image which I have set up? Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to
answer you on this point.
“’If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to rescue us
from the furnace of blazing fire, and He will rescue us from your hand, O
king. But even if He does not, let it be
known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the
golden image that you have set up!’” Daniel 3:
a. Great,
childlike gulps of faith, when a person swallows the impossible. Like the faith young David clung to when he
strode out to meet Goliath, the opponent of God’s people or the Roman soldier
who asked mercy of Jesus, Daniel’s mates who faced the fiery furnace or Andrew
Murray, who fed orphans on the vapours of faith no one could see the sense of.
b. Fidelity
and worshipful awe – the hang-on-at-any-cost faith. This is the Hebrews 11 faith.
Childlike trust may not survive when a hoped-for miracle
does not come, when the urgent (stamp-your-feet for now) prayer ends in
disappointment, when a dense grey, foggy mist obscures any sign that God cares
-- even a little bit … or His seeming silence when the answer does not match
our desire or never comes at all.
Yet, we know all He does, is to draw more hearts to believe
in Him and the saving power of His grace.
It is under pressure, when we must cling to His hand and remember His
love and sacrifice endures forever.
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 who has been in and out of hospital for the last year. No confirmation on her condition. Please pray for her, her parents and health
carers that they will discover the problem and fix it.
·
Marci – a childhood friend will be
having back surgery this week. Please
pray for her and those who will care for her.
·
Voddie
Baucham – has just come through
life-saving, quadruple by-pass surgery. The
next few days will be crucial for him.
Pray for him, his wife and family 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.
·
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.
·
Alive Weekend – the
church youth will be away this week.
Pray they will grow in their understanding of God’s love and plan for
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
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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