Scripture and Prayer focus for July 13, 2026

 July 13 -- Colossians 2: 11-14  "In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross." (ESV)

Prayer focus for the day: Please pray a prayer of thanksgiving for the amazing gift of Jesus, and all record of our debt cancelled by His death on the cross if we only choose to turn from our sins, believe in Jesus, and follow Him daily. Pray that all of us who are Christians will be bold to share this truth with all in our circles of life who do not know Christ and salvation through Him alone. Pray that each believer will know the truth and never live under false beliefs, but we would all follow, believe, and know the truth of Christ who has set our sin aside through the nails on the cross. All praise be to Jesus ... and Him alone!

Scripture and Prayer Focus for July 12, 2026

 July 12 -- Colossians 2: 8-10  "See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority." (ESV)

Prayer focus for the day: Please pray today that all of the children we serve in Zambia at the Tree of Life Children's Village would be able to resist the temptations to be led astray and would each one choose to follow Jesus, who is the head of all rule and authority. Pray that the children would each one be willing to learn the truth of God's word and not following just empty traditions. Pray that we can clearly convey the truth of Jesus to each one.

Scripture & Prayer Focus for July 11, 2026

 July 11 -- Colossians 2: 4-7  "I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving." (ESV)

Prayer focus for the day: Whether you are in the States or in Zambia (or somewhere in between), join us in prayer today that none of us would become deluded with plausible arguments, but would know and understand the TRUTH found in Christ alone, that we would all be rooted, built up, and established in the faith. Please pray that we may clearly convey these truths to all we work with in Zambia and all we will encounter on our furlough. Never let up -- press on! We're praying for you, too.

Scripture and Prayer Focus for July 10, 2026

 July 10 -- Colossians 2: 1-3 "For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." (ESV)

Prayer focus for the day: First, we send prayers of thanksgiving for your prayers for Jim's travel. He made it to Chicago and should be with Jeanna and her family this afternoon to enjoy a few days with them before he joins us in Oklahoma.  We are thankful to God for protecting him, but also for each of you who took the time to pray. 

Secondly, as we echo the words of Paul in these verses, may all of our hearts be encouraged and knit together in love as we grow in understanding the mystery of God, which is Jesus Christ alone. He holds all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge for everything we face in this world.....but most importantly, he holds our salvation -- free for the asking. Please pray that as we begin to meet with churches and individuals in the USA , we would not only be able to accurately convey the needs in Zambia and what God is doing there, but also be able to be used as instruments of God to convey this mystery of Christ that all may know Him and choose to believe!

Scripture and Prayer Focus for July 9, 2026

 July 9 -- Colossians 1: 27-29 -- "To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me." (ESV)

Prayer focus for the day: Please join our family in prayers for safe travels for Jim, as he is leaving Zambia today to join the rest of us in the USA for our summer furlough.  As we prepare to be together as a family before taking Jaymeson to college, please pray for us, just as we pray for all of you to toil, struggling with all HIS energy that HE may powerfully work within each of us as we proclaim His truths in all we say and do. 

Scripture and Prayer Focus for July 8, 2026

 July 8 -- Colossians 1: 24 - 26 - "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints." (ESV)

Prayer focus for the day:  Pray that we will each find joy in the sufferings God might choose to bring our way for the sake of others to grow in their walks with Christ. Pray that we will ALL be willing and able to make the Word of God fully known.

The WHY behind what we do

 Alright, Facebook friends - for the past week, we've been sharing a daily section of scripture and prayer requests. We purposefully did not share the reasons or an explanation of what we planned beforehand, as we wanted to see who would notice. God has laid on our hearts, that so often social media is filled with nothing that matters, and we want to change that for God's glory. 

Sure, it's fun to see photos of our vacations and family activities, but it also often turns into a pit of false-self-representation, judgment, or relationship destruction, as comments become a battlefield. This is not how God's people should live. So, if you've always wanted to read through the Bible, buckle up, subscribe, share, or whatever you have to do to stay on this journey with us.  

We are not going to have large sections of scripture, but just a few verses each day to assure everyone has time to make it through, even if you only have five minutes. Whether you join us here on Facebook, or our blog ( OurZambiaJourney.blogspot.com ) , please share with your friends that they can read through the book of Colossians this month of July. Each month will be a different book of the Bible, so this will be a long journey, but that's ok. The goal is to keep God's Word before us each day and guide our prayers to follow that Word. 

Please feel free to leave comments of how God led you to pray through the daily scriptures, or something you learned from the verses that day. Or....feel free to leave your prayer requests for others to join you in prayer. The goal is for all of us to realize that no matter what our sphere of influence, we can all make God's Word the focus each day and encourage others to choose to follow Christ -- the only TRUE source of hope.