Sowing Seeds Ministry

Sowing Seeds of Faith
  
Dear friends,

We are now just passed the celebration of Pentecost in the church calendar, the seventh week of Easter,  where the Spirit of God is unleashed in new, powerful ways.  The liturgical color this past week was red to remind us of the unleashing of the Holy Spirit.  We now enter into a prolonged period of "ordinary time", represented by the liturgical color green.  Let's not forget the power of the Holy Spirit but instead be freed from our weakness, forgiven of our sin and empowered to live lives of faith, hope, and love!

We celebrate these things in the church in order to remember our journey, but a spiritual experience, whether it is a confession, a renewal of our faith, an expression of joy, or an act of obedience, it does not have to take place on any particular day.  For a true follower, a relationship with God, through Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit is a continual, evolving experience.  May the power of God, unleashed in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit of God, be yours each and every day.

Thank you for participating in this ministry.  If you have not looked at the closing comments - and scriptures - at the end of the prayer needs recently, even if you've looked at it before, I encourage you to take a look again.  Reading the same thing at different times, especially when it is the Word of God, makes a difference, often a life-changing difference.  Then pray, for yourself, then for others too.  Won't you also take the time, first to pray, then to encourage them?  It may keep you encouraged yourself!  These are all important ingredients as we learn to sow the seeds of faith!

Keep watch of the requests, and look for answered prayer.  We frequently receive - and encourage - those who request prayer to send us updates for additional prayer requests and for answered prayer.  When we pray, it honors God.  When we proclaim answer to prayer, it brings not only honor, but praise to God as well, and it is helpful for building us up in the faith. 

 

We continue to place great emphasis on reading the Bible and praying regularly, daily if possible, are important activities for healthy living.  If you do not already have your own personal Bible reading plan or discipline, note the resources included in this letter; at the bottom is a yearly Bible reading plan, and several scriptures are interspersed throughout this letter.  Come, Lord Jesus, and be present in our hearts and in our lives today as we pray. 

  

Thank you once again for being an important contributor to this ministry.  It is valued and greatly appreciated!  I encourage participation, not only in this ministry, but perhaps even more importantly in a local church in your community. 

 
The Harvest
by K.T. Sim

Christians observe Pentecost Sunday as the day the Holy Spirit was given to the church. Some celebrate it as the church's birthday. Contrary to popular belief, the Day of Pentecost didn't begin with the church. Pentecost is a very important ancient Jewish festival\u2014the fourth of seven major Levitical feasts to be observed by every Jew at the temple in Jerusalem (Leviticus 23:16-17; Exodus 23:14-17).

The Passover commemorates the event when the blood of the lamb saved the Jews from judgment and death (Leviticus 23:5; Exodus 12:11-14). Thousands of years later, Jesus died on the day of the Passover (Mark 15:42-45; John 19:31-33,42). Paul declares, "[Christ], our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:7).

The Celebration of First Harvest or Firstfruits (Leviticus 23:9-11) is celebrated 3 days later, "the day after the Sabbath." Barley, the first crop to be harvested (March to April), is presented to God in thanksgiving (Leviticus 23:10) and in anticipation of a much bigger wheat harvest to follow. Applying this to the resurrection, Paul proclaims, "Christ is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. . . . Then all who belong to Christ will be raised when He comes back" (1 Corinthians 15:20,23).

The Jews were to "count off 7 full weeks . . . until the day after the seventh Sabbath, 50 days later" to celebrate the Festival of Harvest (Leviticus 23:15-16), known also as Feast of Weeks or Pentecost (from the Greek word meaning "50th"). By that time (May to June), the wheat crop was ready to be fully harvested (Exodus 34:22).

Pentecost is a thanksgiving celebration honoring God for a bountiful harvest (Deuteronomy 16:9-12). It's on this specific day that God gave His church the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4, 41) and a bountiful harvest of 3,000 souls.

Source: http://www.ourdailyjourney.org/2013/05/19/the-harvest-2/



 

Prayer Request from Angela
Prayer Request: praying that I get an interview and hired by the state of Louisiana as a biologist.

Prayer Request from Maira Perez
Email:mailto:[email protected]
Prayer Request: I pray everyday for Norbert L to refund all my money which he has taken from me, so much money that he has taken from me.  Please let me meet someone, someone that will not take advantage or abuse you, someone to love and care for me, someone that will love me forever, amen. Maria Perez 

Prayer Request from Earl W.
Email: mailto:[email protected]
Prayer Request: Dottie M. lost her husband and now has to face decisions about moving 200 miles away. Jerry C. travel mercy's. John W. salvation. Davey (50) passed away unexpectedly pray for his family. Bertie continues to struggle with her health. Tornado victims.

...
PLEASE pray for the victims and survivors of the tornado in central Oklahoma yesterday. Many dead children. My children and I survived and so did our apartment complex but it barely missed us.  If anyone wants to help us you can text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 or you can contact the Salvation Army and Feed the Children.  Just ask if there is any way to help. BE VERY CAREFUL of scammers. TRIPLE CHECK! Thanks to all of you.  Samantha in OK.

Prayer Request from Ouida Hewett
Email: mailto:[email protected]
Prayer Request: Please pray for Kyle O'neil who  has physical and mental problems seriously stemming from his abusive childhood memories.  Let's pray that Kyle will  believe in healing and ask Jesus to heal him of all his problems and give Jesus the honor, praise and glory.
***The Helen Hewett Dowless Family.  Helen went to be with Jesus last week. 

Prayer Request from Charles Ndambuki
Email: mailto:[email protected]
Prayer Request: Praise God, Victoria's kidney transplant was successful.  She was discharged on Monday May 17th. Thank you for praying Pro 3:5-7 

Prayer Request from Betty Bolden
Email: mailto:[email protected]
Prayer Request: Please continue to pray for my daughter, Bonnie and the baby she is carrying, for me to find out why I'm getting headaches and my eyes hurt so bad.  I go for a MRI Friday. Pray for my husband's health and finances.  Love BettyB     

Prayer Request from Mary
Prayer Request: We saw Duane and Cheryl this weekend.  Duane is back to work and is doing well.  As mentioned earlier, the path report came back looking very good.   They give thanks to all of you for your continued prayers and simply ask for continued prayers that Duane continues to enjoy renewed health.    No recent update on Gary Carr,   Prayers are continually needed so that he can cope with the fact that his body is breaking down.  Update: Prayers for Ron, even as his family prepares for moving, Ron continues to experience difficulties.  He is doing better this week, but has been in and out of the hospital multiple times for heart-related issues; in addition, recently he has experienced shortness of breath.  Mary Anne, his wife, sister of my best friend, was hospitalized after a fall where she hit her head as she slipped backward from a step on a deck, hitting her head and hurting her shoulder.  The good news is that multiple tests indicate no broken bones and no permanent head damage, though there had been fears of a bruise and possible bleeding in the brain.  This family needs our continued prayers.  Thanks so much for faithfully remembering these families in your prayers.
The New Testament passage in Hebrews 10 reminds us,
Hebrews 10:23-25

Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

23 We must hold on to the hope we have, never hesitating to tell people about it. We can trust God to do what he promised.

Help Each Other Be Strong

24 We should think about each other to see how we can encourage each other to show love and do good works. 25 We must not quit meeting together, as some are doing. No, we need to keep on encouraging each other. This becomes more and more important as you see the Day getting closer.


In this section, I keep asking that you please pray for the nations of this world, and certainly for the leaders of your own country.  I believe that this is God's will, as this is mentioned specifically in scripture.  Quite often, there have been notes that have been passed around, reminding people that back in the time of World War II, there was a movement of prayer, where people would set aside a specific time each day for at least a moment of prayer.

Do we need war or famine to drive us to our knees in prayer?  Let's not wait for crisis in our own life before we devote ourselves to prayer, not just for ourselves, but for others as well.  There is amazing power in united prayer.

Remember 2 Chronicle 7:14: 'If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land".

Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Remember what the Bible says: "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."  Romans 10:17, KJV
Scripture:
Read the Bible this year.  You can find a calendar to read the entire Bible  at

http://www.dailyway.com/ReadTheBibleOnline.html 


I encourage you to read the Bible, using your favorite translation.  In addition to the resource mentioned above, the Bible can be easily read online at Bible.com, Bible Gateway, worldebible.com, and other sources.  Of course, a Bible on your desk that you can open, mark up, and actively read is an investment of a life time!
If you ever need to change your subscription information, whether changing your Email address or you need to stop receiving the messages for any reason, note the subscription information and the contact information at the bottom of each message.  Just as our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is a choice, the privilege of sharing with others in prayer is also a choice - your choice.

I urge you to prayerfully consider these needs and thank God for the privilege of being able to approach His Throne directly in prayer, all made possible by Jesus the Son, and that is why it is in His Name that we pray.

Yours in Christ,
Brian Masinick