Our Scripture today is Psalms 89:8 "Lord God All-Powerful, who is like you?

"In The Grip Of Grace" is the title of today's devotion.

This scripture, Lord, "You are powerful and completely trustworthy" brings to my mind David when he confessed the same powerful confidence before Goliath, coming in the powerful name of the Lord of Hosts, with God's grace rather than trusting human strength.

Remember, David was a young shepherd boy at the time. His father had sent him to go take food to his brothers who had joined Saul's army to fight the Philistines and bring him a report of how they were doing. As I think about David, still a young man, how did he have faith in the Lord as God All-powerful? He was a shepherd. He had time alone with God while guarding the sheep. He talked with God and depended and proved God to be all-powerful when he experienced a lion and a bear coming to steal lambs from his flock. He acknowledged, "The LORD rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear, and He will rescue me from this Philistine."

David furthermore refused the armor that Saul offered him, preferring the Lord and His grace alone with five smooth stones.

David had confidence in His God, the All-Powerful. "Who is like You? Lord, You are all-powerful and completely trustworthy."

In Your Grace, let's pray,

Father, we recognize Your unmatched power. We recognize there is no one like You, in power and in might! Lead us in a deeper trust in Your ability to handle any situation we face as teachers and staff at Hopewell High, today and throughout the rest of the week. Your faithfulness is a protective shield around us. We can rely on Your promises and find grace and peace in Your unchanging nature. We worship You today, acknowledging Your greatness in our daily life through our prayer and praise.

We remember God's strength is made perfect in our weakness. We lean on Your mighty power rather than our own understanding to be reliable and trustworthy, mirroring God's character today!

We thank You for the gift of Your Spirit. You hold us together as a family, united as one body in Christ. As members of Your body, give us hearts of love that seek the best and hearts that avoid selfishness that divides us. Help us to work together in Your grace, so that we can serve You more effectively at Hopewell High and throughout our community. Thank You, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Today's devotional is provided by Jill Davison.

Bible Verse:

 Acts 16:25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing songs to God as the other prisoners listened.

A couple of things stand out to me from this Bible verse. First, it was after midnight, a time when most people are either asleep or very exhausted. Another is that Paul and Silas were in prison, confined with no freedoms. Yet they persevered in the midnight hour, praying and singing songs to God. It seems as if their faith was unshakeable. I am sure, though, that many times prior to this there had been fearful situations. And even during this event, as humans, they probably had  fleeting thoughts that their situation was too desperate and definitely undeserving. Yet, in that dark, dilapidated prison they made a choice not to fear and not to complain, but to praise. And they didn’t just praise softly, but so loudly others could witness their fearlessness. Let's face it. Life can be hard. We often have storms in our life. Some are extinguished pretty quickly, but others can cause us a lot of worry, sadness and uncertainty. When storms are around us, remember who is there near to us, to comfort and strengthen us, it’s God. A favorite Bible verse of mine I repeat to myself when I am in a storm is, Psalm 56:3. It says, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.” I’ll say it again, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.” It’s easy to remember and it calms me in those situations.

Prayer:

Father, I praise You for being the God who created us and the God who sees us! I lift up the one listening to this prayer. God, You know them. You know their heart, their worries, and their storms. God, I pray they will not fear but put their trust in You. You love us, God and You are so faithful. I pray that Your presence will be seen and felt throughout Hopewell High School’s halls and classrooms. I pray for the leaders, staff, and students today that they will lean on You during difficult times and any challenging moment that arises today. Father, we all go through storms in life, but help us to remember that You are the calm of the storm. I pray that through Your power, that when storms come our way, we will persevere with faith in the midnight hour singing songs that always praise Your Name. In Jesus’ Name. Amen!

Good morning!

My name is Landon Horton, and I am the Pastor of Neighborhood Church which meets at Hopewell High School on Sundays. We are grateful to be part of the Hopewell community! You are receiving this email because you received a perpetual flip desk calendar and/or you signed up to receive a midweek scripture and prayer at the faculty and staff breakfast we hosted on August 17th.

We want to encourage you in the middle of your week with a touch from our church to you. Starting next week, these emails will include a link for you to hear our voice(s) and not just read our words. I want you to know that every Sunday during our Sunday morning Bible study we pray for faculty, staff, students, custodians and all their families. Throughout the week, you are on our prayer lists. So, I invite you to send a reply to the emails and share any specific prayer requests. We will join you in praying for those requests!

Currently, we have about fifteen in this group. If you are encouraged by this weekly experience, invite others to join us by telling them about the group. Ask them if you can send their name and email to my email address Lhorton513@gmail.com.

For this morning's encouragement, I am going to refer to today's verse and comments on today's calendar date. If you did not receive a desk calendar, but would like one, please let me know.

TODAY'S VERSE

"In Christ we are set free by the blood of His death, and so we have forgiveness of sins" (Ephesians 1:7)

COMMENT (From Max Lucado)

In Christ, we are truly free -- Free from guilt and legalism -- Free to love and pray to God. We have been forgiven by the only One who could condemn us. We are truly free! The key to our freedom in this verse is found in two words.....IN CHRIST!

PRAYER

LORD, I bow before you and worship you! You are worthy of glory and honor. I praise you because of your steadfast love. You are the God of mercy and grace. In Christ, we have received the gift of freedom. I pray for our Hopewell faculty, staff, students, custodians, and their families that they will know the freedom that is in Christ, not just mentally, but in every aspect of their lives. Specifically, I pray for those who receive this email, that TODAY, in the middle of this week, whether it has been a good week or a rough week, I pray that they will breathe a breath of fresh air and stand strong in the strength and the joy of the freedom they have in Christ! In His Name we pray, Amen!

We love you!

Pastor Landon Horton

Neighborhood Church