Day 152 | Tuesday, 18 August 2020

Day 152 - Audio Version

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Day 152, August 18, 2020 Exercise Group #4

As a country we have now surpassed 170,000 deaths due to COVID-19, how sad.  In the county we now have 271 cases with 111 in battalion 3, an increase of 5 in our area. 

A Beginning 
“Perhaps the best surprise anyone can receive is to realize the truth about God’s amazing grace.  It is free, it is unearned, it is a present.  Let us praise God as we unwrap the gift!”

 A Prayer of Invocation
“Come, Lord Jesus, open us to the wonder of your amazing grace, show us the fullness of your salvation, grant us the peace that passes all understanding.  We place ourselves in your care and yield our lives to your touch. Speak to us today in word and silence. In Jesus' name. Amen.”

 An Affirmation of Faith – Be Strong and Courageous
“(Joshua 1:7-8; 1 Chronicles 28:20; Psalm 27:14; 1 Corinthians 16:13-14)
We affirm that, like Joshua, we should be strong and very courageous, being careful to act in accordance with all the law, not turning from it to the right hand or to the left, meditating on it day and night, so that we may be successful wherever we go.

We believe what David said to his son Solomon: "Be strong and of good courage, and act. Do not be afraid or dismayed; for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you ...."

We affirm with the psalmist that we should wait for the LORD; that we should be strong, and that we should let our hearts take courage!

We believe that we should keep alert, standing firm in our faith; we affirm our desire to be courageous, to be strong, and to let all that we do be done in love.”

 A Prayer for Thankfulness
“O Lord, in thanksgiving would we live each moment. So well-versed in your love would we be, that we would approach each situation knowing that with-in it rests our highest good. So intimate with you would we be that no fear would daunt us.

Only in you can full life be found. Only in you can we come to the life victorious. Help us to stay close to you today and know eternal life. When we are restless, when doors are closed against us, when there are mountains or valleys to be traveled, please stay with us.

You are the Way. We will not be lost. You are the Truth. We will not wander in falsehood. You are the Life. We will not linger in death. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.”

 A Blessing
“Great God of love and glory, it has been a strengthening and affirming experience to reconsider who you are, and to discover again that our experience of you in our lives is limited only by our faith and vision. Open our eyes to see you. And having seen you, may we never lose sight of you - now, today, this week or ever - until you in your grace and mercy speak to us again. Amen.”

 Quotation
“God speaks to us, I would say, much more often than we realize .... God's message is not written out in starlight; rather it is written out for each of us in the humdrum, helter-skelter events of each day. It is a message that in the long run just might make all the difference.”                                       -Frederick Buechner

​ Today: School districts as they prepare to open this fall.