April 24 | laos
Pastors and evangelists are vulnerable to being caught and imprisoned while on the road, carrying out their ministry from village to village. Often they are incarcerated without the chance to inform their family, which makes it worse for them.
Please pray for their safety as they dedicate themselves to the Lord’s work in spite of the dangers.
“You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” (Ps. 32:7)
“What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?”
1 Corinthians 4:7 NLT
“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”
1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Job 1:21 ESV
Day 5 of 40: “How do you see your life? What metaphor would you use?” Three pictures came to mind: 2 of struggle, one of excitement.
They are all man against the sea kind of images… life as struggle with some successes and excitement thrown in.
In a way, they fit one of the points made today… that “Life is a Test.” I’ve had various successes and failures over the years, but I’ve always been willing to re-launch the boat… and God has continued to hang in there with me.
On the second point… “Life is a Trust” – I’ve always believed that, especially regarding material things. And have tried to leave things better than I found them (as I mentioned yesterday.) But the truth of it all was brought home to me three years ago yesterday when our home burned to the ground with all our possessions – thankfully, no loss of life. In the end, it’s only stuff… and you can’t take it with you anyway.
“The lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord!”
“Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.”
Romans 12.2 Phillips
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