8/26/19-8/29/19 Devo Two - Live. Pray. Love.

This is the second devotional for the week of August 26/29. This is a devotional from the Our Daily Bread website. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Three or four sentences would be good. Your comments give you devotion credit.

Live. Pray. Love.

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
Romans 12:21

Influenced by parents who were strong believers in Jesus, track star Jesse Owens lived as a courageous man of faith. During the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Owens, one of the few African Americans on the US team, received four gold medals in the presence of hate-filled Nazis and their leader, Hitler. He also befriended fellow athlete Luz Long, a German. Surrounded by Nazi propaganda, Owens’s simple act of living out his faith impacted Luz’s life. Later, Long wrote to Owens: “That hour in Berlin when I first spoke to you, when you had your knee upon the ground, I knew you were in prayer . . . . I think I might believe in God.”

Owens demonstrated how believers can answer the apostle Paul’s charge to “hate what is evil” and be “devoted to one another in love” (Romans 12:9–10). Though he could have responded to the evil around him with hate, Owens chose to live by faith and show love to a man who would later become his friend and eventually consider belief in God.

As God’s people commit to being “faithful in prayer” (v. 12), He empowers us to “live in harmony with one another” (v. 16).

When we depend on prayer, we can commit to living out our faith and loving all who are made in God’s image. As we cry out to God, He’ll help us break down barriers and build bridges of peace with our neighbors.

By:  Xochitl Dixon

Reflect & Pray

How can you build a bridge of peace between you and a neighbor? When have you seen your faithfulness in prayer bear fruit?

Heavenly Father, please strengthen us to come together in prayer, fully committed to loving others and living peacefully.

8/26/19-8/29/19 Devo One - Francis Chan

This is the first devotional for the week of August 26-29. This video is by Francis Chan and is a look at the importance of spiritually feeding yourself and staying close to Jesus from Hebrews 5:12-14. May these devotions be encouraging and inspiring for you. Watch this video and let us know what you think by leaving a few sentences as comment below the post. The comments are what give you credit.

You can click on the video above or click on this link: https://youtu.be/JvBtxvmIvt0

8/19/19-8/23/19 Devo Two - Life Changes

This is the second devotional for the week of August 19-23. This is a devotional from the Our Daily Bread website. Read this devotional and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below the post. Three or four sentences would be good. Your comments give you devotion credit.

Life Changes

"Put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness"
Ephesians 4:24

Stephen grew up in a rough part of East London and fell into crime by the age of ten. He said, “If everyone’s selling drugs and doing robberies and fraud, then you’re going to get involved. It’s just a way of life.” But when he was twenty, he had a dream that changed him: “I heard God saying, Stephen, you’re going to prison for murder.” This vivid dream served as a warning, and he turned to God and received Jesus as his Savior—and the Holy Spirit transformed his life.

Stephen set up an organization that teaches inner-city kids discipline, morality, and respect through sports. He credits God with the success he has seen as he prays with and trains the kids. “Rebuilding misguided dreams,” he says.

In pursuing God and leaving behind our past, we—like Stephen—follow Paul’s charge to the Ephesians to embrace a new way of life. Although our old self is “corrupted by its deceitful desires,” we can daily seek to “put on the new self” that’s created to be like God (Ephesians 4:22, 24). All believers embrace this continual process as we ask God through His Holy Spirit to make us more like Him.

Stephen said, “Faith was a crucial foundation for me changing my life around.” How has this been true for you?

By:  Amy Boucher Pye

Reflect & Pray

When you look back over your life,
what comes to mind as key moments that prompted change?
What long-lasting change resulted?

"Jesus, You’re alive and working in the world and in my life. 

Help me become more like You day by day as I leave the old self behind."

8/19/19-8/13/19 Devo One - Reggie Coates

This is the first devotional for the week of August 19-23. This video is an introduction to these devotion by Reggie Coates. May these devotions be encouraging and inspiring for you. Watch this video and let us know what you think by leaving a few sentences as comment below the post. The comments are what give you credit.

You can click on the video above or click on this link: https://youtu.be/MDEM8r1sduc