Good Evening, Family!โ
This week, we praise God for:
๐ Answered prayers for Joel, Carole's husband, who was able to join us for worship and personally thank everyone for their prayers! ๐ What a beautiful moment to share as a family! โฅ๏ธ Continue to pray for a speedy and full recovery!
๐ Granting the Lozano a family a safe trip to Virginia for their vacation. May God keep them safe while there and bring them home safely!๐
๐ Maria is grateful that Jordan will be home with her and David until the 24th, and that her mom, sister and nephew would be arriving from Puerto Rico for a visit. Pray for God to bored her family and their time together!
๐ Micharenโs aunt and uncle, who grande their lives to the lord in baptism last weekend. May their walk with Jesus be a close one, and heat the Lord do His perfect will in the life of her uncle, Ismael, who is still battling cancer.
๐ All of the young people at the Lighthouse. Their willingness to help, to serve and to lead are an inspiration to everyone. We are so very BLESSED to have each of them! ๐ค
We are also praying for:
๐ The Edmond Family, as they seek to make the move to Georgia. May God grant them wisdom and discernment, and may He open all the right doors and close all the wrong doors! May God perfect week be fine for this family, who is so dear to us!
๐ Genoveva, who is having surgery on Tuesday. May God grant her a successful surgery and a full recovery!
๐ Zully, Sue's sister in law, who is being treated for a serious infection after surgery for cancer. Please pray for healing, as she is a mother of two, and beloved by her husband and entire family!
๐ Our brother, John Vega, who begins radiation this week. May God grant John strength and may he rally his body to fight those cancer cells!
๐ Nelly, and for answers to her health questions. May God grant her team of doctors the wisdom they need to figure out this mystery.
๐ Diana, Leianaโs mother, as she grieves this unimaginable loss. Pray for strength as she has to endure the prosecution phase of this nightmare.
๐ Bianca, Vishal and Sebastian Suri. May the Lord shower their beautiful family with blessings from above.
๐ Our sister, Evelyn, as continues to recover from her surgery. May she experience less pain with each passing day towards a full recovery.
๐ Vasthi's friend, Rosa and her family.
๐ Angelica, as she has been given new and exciting opportunities at work, and in her educational career as she pursues her Master's degree and an opportunity to study abroad.
๐ Doris, and her daughters, Jackie, Amanda and their children, Skylar, Heaven Lee, Dorian, Zaire and Amir. May God keep working miracles in their lives.
๐ Seth...that God would continue to shower him with His goodness, grace and love. May God work out the NEXT MIRACLE in his life! Pray for his MRI, that Seth would handle it well and that the results would be favorable, knowing that God has always come through.
๐ Anna Ortiz. Kristina provided us with this update: They found another lump behind her neck and she's now receiving treatment for that as well. Despite it all she's in good spirits and thankful for the prayers.
Tonight's Devotional Is part of our Thursday Night Prison Fellowship Series. My prayer is that it will remind each of us of the immense love that Jesus had for those in prison. ๐๐ฝ
I SURRENDER MY BITTERNESS
In Paul's letter to the Hebrews, he tells them to "see to it ... that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many" (12:15). Yet many of the harsh events of our livesโthe separation from loved ones or the toughness of prison existenceโplant seeds of bitterness, anger, and hate within us. But when we turn to Jesus Christ, those seeds can be transformed and instead yield the fruit of God's powerful love and peace.
GOD IS JUST
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (Luke 4:18-19)
Before I went to prison, I had my life together. I could clearly see where I wanted to go and everything was proceeding according to planโor so I thought. The president of a flourishing business, I was respected in the community and in the front church pew with my wife and kids every Sunday. I considered myself a Christian, but I had put God on hold. I told Him that I would get my business really going first, then He and I would do great things together. It was a reasonable arrangement and I thought He would understand.
But He had other plans for me, and through a series of bewildering events, I found myself in prison. I couldn't believe it. I was bitter, angry, and disgusted with God. Every night in my cell I would blame Him for the tricks He had pulled on me, for His unjust treatment when I was such a good guy.
But one evening as I railed on Him, I was confronted by the reality of Jesus Christ. I suddenly realized that God was justโand I was the one playing games, not Him. My eyes were opened. I turned my life over to Christ and accepted Him. He had to come to me in prison to give me freedom.
From that point on, God gave me many opportunities to grow. I was no longer in controlโHe was. I was chosen to attend a Prison Fellowshipยฎ discipleship seminar. During those two weeks, my wife, who also attended, sat in on a teaching session. Then she, too, accepted Christ.
Now we have a life of far greater joy and freedom than before, when we thought we had it all together.
Keith,* released from prison
PRAYER: Lord, only you can bring liberty and sight to the bound and blind. Thank you for freeing me from my misconceptions. I ask that you would free those who read this from theirs, through your Holy Spirit.