Category Archives: Kindness and Compassion

October 30th 2017 – Apathy

“When they were invaded, you stood aloof, refusing to help them.
Foreign invaders carried off their wealth and cast lots to divide up Jerusalem, but you acted like one of Israel’s enemies.” (Obadiah 1:11)

Apathy, detachment, disinterest, disregard… no matter what anyone calls it, it should never be an option for any follower of Jesus. In the book of Obadiah, God proclaims judgment on Edom because they stood by and watched Israel be destroyed and taken into captivity. They saw their brother in need and did nothing. Contrast this to Jesus who was active in our redemption.

(Philippians 2:7-8) “Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”

Jesus intentionally left His throne and the glory of Heaven to walk in the pain and suffering of the world. He then purposefully gave up His life so that we could know forgiveness. He could have stayed in Heaven, but because of His great love for us and in obedience to the Father, Jesus acted. As followers of Christ, may we be active in loving, caring for and sharing with others. Who knows what a small act of kindness or encouraging word could do to change a life.

“The greatest danger to your future is Apathy.”

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, Thank You for Jesus and His love and obedience. Because of His active role in my redemption, I can know forgiveness and grace. In the same way that You were intentional in the salvation of man, may I be intentional in ministering to those around me. Fill me with Your Spirit and equip me to be a light in this dark world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you are in need of prayer for yourself or others, please Click Here

If you are seeking Jesus in your life or want to recommit your life to Him. Click here to learn more.

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

http://www.scripturalseeds.org

October 23rd 2017 – Falling Short

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“Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?” (Psalm 15:1)

It’s an excellent question to ask ourselves. When we see the rest of the verses in Psalm 15 we see how we all fall short of God’s glory.

(Psalm 15:2-5) “He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart; He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;
In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the Lord; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
He who does not put out his money at usury, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.”

The truth is that none of us can dwell in God’s presence. None but Jesus that is. Yet through Jesus we can partake of His forgiveness, and through His forgiveness we can partake of the power of Christ, that raised Him from the dead, to walk in the ways of the Lord. All of us have failed to speak truth, have failed in loving our neighbor and speaking to our neighbor the way Jesus loved us. Yet, as we partake of Jesus, we can partake of the newness of life and as we do we can walk in the promise:

(Psalm 15:5) “He who does these things shall never be moved.”

Jesus wasn’t moved away from God’s will and as we trust in Him we won’t be easily moved outside of His will either.

“We could not go to God on His Holy Hill. God came to this earth from His Holy Hill, to die for our sins, so we can be declared righteous and innocent, and then we can go to God’s Holy Hill.”

Prayer:

Havenly Father, I thank You that You were able to walk to that Holy Hill to die for my sins. Now by Your power I can have Your freedom and forgiveness and stability. Please give me Your power to walk in it continually. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you are in need of prayer for yourself or others, please Click Here

If you are seeking Jesus in your life or want to recommit your life to Him. Click here to learn more.

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

http://www.scripturalseeds.org

October 21st 2017 -You Are God’s Masterpiece

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“And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.” (Jeremiah 18:4)

A mound of clay, by itself, is not a very beautiful thing. It may have some minimal value but in the end, it’s still a pile of dirt. That is, until the potter gets a hold of it. Once the potter gets involved, this pile of dirt begins to take shape. As the potter presses in, the clay becomes thinner. The potter then reaches into the center and is able to scoop out all the excess clay within. While the clay began as a formless pile of dirt, it ends up as a beautiful masterpiece.

(Ephesians 2:10) “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

When God found us, we were like the clay – dirty and formless. We may have tried to mold ourselves but only the potter is able to mold the clay. Once the Heavenly Potter came into our lives, He began molding and shaping us into the image of His Son, Jesus. With each firm press of His hand, we are changed. With every scrape of His tools, sin starts to fall from our life. This is our Heavenly Father at work and while it is painful, it is worth it. God knows what we need and He is the perfect potter who’s loving hands will sculpt our lives into something far greater than we could ever understand. All we have to do is let Him.

“God desires to make a masterpiece of your life.”

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I am sorry for my resistance to Your hands in my life. I know that I need to be molded more into Your image, and I ask that You would place my life onto Your potter’s wheel. Carve off the sin in my life and shape me into a vessel that can be used for Your Kingdom. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you are in need of prayer for yourself or others, please Click Here

If you have never asked Jesus into your heart or want to recommit. Click here to learn more.

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

http://www.scripturalseeds.org

October 18th 2017 – Real Love

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“And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:3)

Love is a word that possesses incredible power. When a couple first speaks the word, it changes the dynamic of their relationship forever. On the other hand, when someone you love and care for tells you they no longer love you, it could impact your life for years. When someone you love dies, your heart grieves and love is what causes the pain and hurt you experience. We also can actually become emotionally and physically ill when we have our hearts broken from the loss of love.

Unfortunately, this word has many times been misunderstood. Our world sees love as a amped up version of lust but that’s not what God created love to be, and it’s not the example He has shown us.

(1 John 4:7) “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”

Love is not morality or religion. It’s not something else to put on your to-do list. Rather, love is our motivation and it is seen perfectly in our Lord. In short, love is Jesus. In every second of His life on earth, Jesus was love and demonstrated that love. From his healing of the sick and feeding the hungry, to His correction of the Pharisees, Jesus’ end goal was love. You could do all the good deeds in the world, but without love they would be empty meaning nothing. Jesus loved others because He loved the Father. The same is true with us. As we love our Heavenly Father, we will be able to love others; even those who we feel may not be that lovable.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your love. Because of Your love for me, I have forgiveness of sins and hope of heaven. Father, fill me with Your Spirit and help me to love others like You love me. Make me more like Jesus so that I can share Your grace and mercy with those around me. Use me today to show love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you want to know this love – true love — get to know God. He is ready to pour out His love on you, and He wants to teach you how to love others as He loves you.

Want to experience the essence of Real Love?

We have all sinned and deserve God’s judgment.God, the Father, sent His only Son to satisfy that judgment for those who believe in Him. Jesus, the creator and eternal Son of God, who lived a sinless life, loves us so much that Hedied for our sins, taking the punishment that we deserve, wasburied, and rose from the deadaccording to the Bible. If you truly believe and trust this in your heart, receiving Jesus alone as your Savior, declaring, “Jesus is Lord,” you will be saved from judgment and spend eternity with God in heaven.

What is your response?

Yes, today I am deciding to follow Jesus

Yes, I am already a follower of Jesus

I still have questions

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

http://www.scripturalseeds.org

October 14th 2017 – Locate Your Spiritual Passion

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“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?–unless indeed you are disqualified.” (2 Corinthians 13:5)

Paul tells the church of Corinth to “examine themselves as to whether you are in the faith.” In the same way today we should take some time to examine ourselves as well. In the military before soldiers go into battle, two soldiers will stand in front of each other and check to make sure they are each equipped for the battle.

Do you know that you are in the battle, spiritually speaking?

Since we are in a battle, obviously at times we need to examine ourselves. So what does it look like for us to examine ourselves to make sure we are in the faith? I see these as “Spiritual Passions”, or more appropriately the spiritual disciplines to help us examine our lives in Christ. At times, we should take a look at these passions or principles to see where we are spiritually with the Lord. Taking a survey, if you will, of each principle and rating ourselves on a 1-to-10 scale: 10 meaning you are walking in this maturely and 1 pointing to the need to step up in this area.

Let’s look together at these:

Worship – This is not something you do at church on Sunday mornings, but worshiping the Lord in everything we do. Whether you are at work, home with your family, or serving in your local church these things are a form of worship. “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)

Read/Study – As we grow in Christ our main point of hearing from the Lord is through His Word. We want to be followers of Jesus, and the best way to do that is having our noses in the Bible “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2nd Timothy 3:16)

Fellowship/Family – Fellowship is a great privilege, possible whenever it occurs; in church, Bible studies, prayer meetings, home groups, with roommates or family. It is how God meets our needs–it is His “supply line” “For wherever two or three people have come together in my name, I am there, right among them!” (Matthew 18:20)

Prayer – Jesus died not for just our sins, He died for a relationship with Him. There is nothing more important than a life of prayer. ” Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven” (Psalm 107:28-30)

Serving – If you have received Christ in your life you are called to ministry. The term “full-time ministry” is really misused as we are all in full-time ministry. We get to serve the King of kings with the gifts that He gave to us as the church. “In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)

Giving – We see scripturally the practice of the tithe to our local church body, but more than being concerned with the financial aspect of that is giving away our selfishness. We are called to support the work of the ministry whether through the tithe or offerings. “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. ” (2 Corinthians 9:7)

Evangelism/Discipleship – We get to share the Gospel, invite people to church and help raise others up in the faith. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

Where are you with these Spiritual Passions? Looking at these passions in our personal walk will help to identify areas of weakness in our lives. Once we see the weaknesses, then we begin to grow in our relationship with Christ because we want to be more Christ-like.

The Bible is clear that our salvation is by grace alone, through faith, by Christ alone. These are just great disciplines to help us examine whether we are in the faith. Remember, we are all growing in Christ and are in different areas of that growth so extend grace to yourself and extend grace to others.

Take this opportunity see where you are at right now in your walk with Christ.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, Thank you for loving me enough to sacrifice Your Son to be able to wash away my sins and have a relationship with You. Thank you for Your Word that shows me the way to live a Christ centered life. Thank you for Your Spirit that allows me to live a life that shows You to a lost and dying world. Please help me to continually examine my life and make sure I am not neglecting one of these areas of spiritual growth. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

If you are in need of prayer for yourself or others, please Click Here

If you have never asked Jesus into your heart or want to recommit. Click here to learn more.

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

http://www.scripturalseeds.org

October 13th 2017 – The Marriage Test

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“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:21)

Have you ever found yourself irritated with your spouse – not happy with him or her very much – even though you know you love your spouse? Most of us have had those days! It’s perfectly normal. No two people can live together for any length of time without once in awhile rubbing each other the wrong way.

What’s important is how you handle these kinds of times. If you let those feelings of hurt or disappointment take over – your marriage will suffer. You will create a rift in your relationship. So you have to make a choice. You have to decide to love. You may not feel loving, but if you decide to love, the feelings will follow.

You have to learn to demonstrate unconditional love to your spouse. Unconditional love is necessary for a strong marriage. Are you practicing unconditional love in your marriage? Here are some questions to consider:

* Have you accepted your spouse’s failures or weaknesses?

* Do you support your spouse, or do you see his or her weakness as projects to fix.

* Are you afraid to be honest because your spouse might not accept you?

There is a huge difference between unconditional love and conditional love. Conditional love blames a person, expects things in return, and asks for more. Unconditional love accepts the person, expects nothing in return and sacrifices.

Conditional love says:

* I will love you only if..

* I don’t know if I can handle the tough times. If things get too bad I’m outta here.

* I might not be able to forgive you if you tell me.

Unconditional love says:

* I will love you even if…

* I will stay with you no matter what. I will always love you, even in the tough times.

* I know I’ll still love you if you tell me.

Our spouse isn’t perfect and we were blessed to get to know them intimately and on a deeper level then others. We are the ones who sees all his or her faults and fears. What do you do with what you know about your spouse?

* Do you tease your spouse with hurtful words?

* Worse, do you tease your spouse with hurtful words in front of others?

* Do you put your spouse down?

* Do you withhold your love until your spouse corrects certain faults?

If you answered “yes” to a majority of these questions, you are loving conditionally and creating a huge rift in the fabric of your marriage. If you continue loving with conditions, it can at any moment become a large tear between you.

Conditional love creates a marriage in which each spouse is more concerned with getting his or her own way, instead of showing their spouse grace and love.

Your response and connection to your spouse are crucial to the health of your marriage and family. Your expression of unconditional love and acceptance is the force that will hold you together in the midst of the testing times in your marriage. Your standing with each other in the painful times as well as the good times is one of the primary elements of a great marriage.

If you love each other conditionally, you’ll end up living like two immature children – each trying to get your own way and resenting the other person when you don’t. You may still be married, but you’ll miss our on the joy of a great marriage. Also, husbands and wives who don’t get unconditional love in their marriage may look for it somewhere else. And while they’re looking for that unconditional love – they’re pulling away from their spouse.

Learning unconditional love is worth it, but it’s not always easy. Giving your spouse the security of your unwavering love requires grace, patience, affirmation of the good things, encouragement, respect and time. Even when you don’t feel like showing love, do it anyway. You need it; your spouse needs it; your marriage needs it..

Here are some tips on how to keep your dream marriage alive.

Talk through the issues. Communicate freely with each other and keep no inappropriate secrets.

Love each other deeply, without strings. Forgive your spouse when you are wronged and seek forgiveness when you offend.

Begin each day by asking, “What can I do for you?” Eagerly seek to discover and meet each other’s needs.

Hang tough. Pray without ceasing. Instead of caving in to difficult circumstances, face and conquer them.

Focus on Christ, and love your spouse. Consciously guard yourselves against threats and temptations that could pull your marriage apart.

Pray together daily. Stay close. Work at maintaining emotional, physical and spiritual closeness.

Keep the chemistry with your spouse alive. Be committed to keeping your relationship fresh.

Keeping your marriage strong, vibrant and fresh isn’t always easy. But if you put in the time and effort, you’ll discover how truly amazing your marriage can be.

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” (John 10:27-29)

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, Even before we got married, we had dreams for our future. Our lives were planned out. But soon we discovered that things tend to change. Life happens, and every once in a while you’re given a detour. Some of those detours were quick and easy. Others had us wondering what You were up to, where You were taking us, and how soon our trials would end, but through every change and every trial, Your love remained constant. Help us to trust in Your plan when it doesn’t match ours. Give us the strength to hold onto our faith when we can’t see the path. There isn’t a trial we can’t endure when we’re leaning on You. There isn’t a weight we can’t bear when You carry us through. Keep leading the way, Lord, and make our steps steady and sure, and Thank you for my spouse. In Jesus’ we pray. Amen.

SPECIAL NOTE

“Happy Birthday to my beautiful wife Tina today. (In picture above) I Love you. I am so blessed to have you in my life”

If you are in need of prayer for yourself or others, please Click Here

If you have never asked Jesus into your heart or want to recommit. Click here to learn more.

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

http://www.scripturalseeds.org

October 11th 2017 – A Gift of Grace

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“Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?” (Acts 15:10)

It is a sad reality that few Christians are willing to extend grace to one another as Jesus showed grace to us. On the day that we asked Jesus to forgive us of all our sins, He extended His grace toward us. God extends this same grace to each of us every day. What about your friends and family? Do they need grace? What about co-workers or maybe the person sitting next to you in church?

How quick we can be to call out the sin in others while we ignore the sin in our own lives. This shows just how poor our understanding is of what Jesus did for us. If we truly understand just how far down God had to extend His merciful hand to reach us, certainly we should be willing to reach out with the same grace to others.

Think about this. When we accept God’s grace for ourselves, but are unwilling to show grace to others, are we not claiming the gospel of grace for ourselves while charging the law to others? What pride! Colossians 3:12-13 nu reads, “Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.”

Be quick to show grace. Be ready to show mercy. After all, if when you look at someone else you see their sin, what do you think they see when they look at you? God’s grace is not only sufficient for us, it’s sufficient for us to show others.

“Grace is not just something we receive, it is also something we give.”

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your grace. Please forgive me for the times when I have not shown that same grace to others. Help me to show grace from now on so that others will see You in me. I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen

If you are in need of prayer for yourself or others, please Click Here

If you have never asked Jesus into your heart or want to recommit. Click here to learn more.

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

http://www.scripturalseeds.org

October 7th 2017 – Open Doors

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“And they said, “Cornelius the centurion, a just man, one who fears God and has a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews, was divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to his house, and to hear words from you.” Then he invited them in and lodged them. On the next day Peter went away with them, and some brethren from Joppa accompanied him.” (Acts 10:22-23)

In Acts chapter 10, we see the doors opening wide for all of humanity to hear the Gospel. Until this time, only a select few knew of the Good News about Jesus. That was about to change, drastically. The Good News presented and accepted by this group of gentiles would impact all of mankind. The world would never be the same.

Now that we have heard the Good News, we have the privilege to help others hear it. In Genesis chapter 4, Cain posed the question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The answer is a resounding ‘yes’. We are responsible for reaching this generation with the Good News that God loves them and died for their sins.

“We should work together to reach the world.”

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, Thank You that because I asked You to forgive me, You have indeed forgiven me. There are still many people who have not accepted You as Lord and Savior. Lord, please give me a burden to reach people. Lord, I will join together with my brothers and sisters to reach the world. Help me to care about whether they come to You or not. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you are in need of prayer for yourself or others, please Click Here

If you are seeking Jesus in your life or want to recommit your life to Him. Click here to learn more.

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

http://www.scripturalseeds.org

October 2nd 2017 – Jesus is Waiting

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“Their arrogance testifies against them, yet they don’t return to the LORD their God or even try to find him.” (Hosea 7:30)

In the book of Hosea, the people of Israel find themselves in a frightening spot. God has given them over to their enemies, yet they continue to sin. They are weary, heartbroken and homesick, yet they refuse to look to God. Like a loving father who watches his child continue to hurt themselves, God desires to step into the scene and heal them. He desires to bring them hope, freedom, prosperity and peace.

While the situation may be different for each of us, the reality is the same. We all have moments in life where we feel beat up and knocked down. Our marriage is struggling, our job is on the line, we’re concerned about our health; all these things come at us and we have a choice to make. Will we look to God or will we look to ourselves or the world for answers. Of course, the even greater picture is in regards to our salvation. Each of us stands before God guilty because of the bad things we have done, we now have a choice. Do we admit guilt and ask for mercy, or do we deny guilt and run from the very One who desires to forgive us? All of us have a choice… choose wisely.

“God desires to forgive us, but we must come to Him first.”

Prayer;

Heavenly Father, I know that I am a sinner and in need of Your grace. I also know that without You my life would simply fall to pieces. Help me to trust in You during the hard times and celebrate that I have been saved by Your grace through Jesus. Fill me with Your Spirit so that I can share this Good News with others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

http://www.scripturalseeds.org

September 26th 2017 – Put “It” Down

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“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath,” (Ephesians 4:26)

Ephesians 4 is packed with so many treasures. (Ephesians 4:31-32) “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

The words ‘you’ and ‘your’ are used many times in Ephesians chapter 4, so it is speaking to ‘you’ as a believer. It says “don’t let the sun go down on your wrath.” Now, this could be your anger, which is the main and plain meaning, but if you don’t ask for forgiveness for things, then your sin works to separate you from God. So whether you need forgiveness, or you need to forgive somebody in obedience to the Lord and forget your wrath, do it before sundown.

I was recently reading Psalm 4 thsn looked up Ephesians 4. It’s interesting that Psalm 4 contains the only verse similar to Ephesians 4:26 that I have found.

(Psalm 4:4) “Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still.

Are you nursing any wounds? Are you holding on to any unforgiveness? Bitterness? Offense? Did you get offended by someone and instead of putting the offense down, you are carrying it around? You can’t do that. It gives place to the devil in your life.

This world is getting worse by the day and you can’t be tied up and weighed down by the past. The Bible says ‘don’t let the sun go down on your wrath’. Now here’s a cool little tidbit. How do we count our days? Well, we say that it goes to midnight and then the next day starts. Man came up with that. It’s not in the Bible. Actually in the Bible, in Genesis Chapter 1, verse 5 and many other verses, it says “the evening and the morning were the first day,” “the evening and the morning were the second day,” “the evening and the morning were the third day.”

*The biblical day ends at sundown.

*At sundown you begin the next day.

The verse says don’t let the sun go down on your wrath, anger or unforgiveness. Ask God to forgive you, forgive others and forgive yourself before this day ends and before you start your next day. Do it everyday. Because of God’s grace and Jesus death on the cross we can be forgiven! And as we walk in forgiveness we are empowered to forgive others.

“God wants to deliver us out of His wrath and anger, and the consequences of it.”

Prayer:

Heavenly father, I ask that you please forgive me for holding on to offenses, for letting the sun repeatedly go down on my wrath. I’m sorry. Thank you for Jesus and the forgiveness I have in Him. Father, show me any place where I have allowed a root of bitterness to get established in my heart and remove it. I choose to trust and obey. Help me to forgive others as you, in Christ, have forgiven me. In Jesus name, Amen

If you are in need of prayer for yourself or others, please Click Here

If you are seeking Jesus in your life or want to recommit your life to Him. Click here to learn more.

Rob Lavallee

Scriptural Seeds Ministries

http://www.scripturalseeds.org

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