CONNECTED TO THE VINE!
“We pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way; bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10).
Yay, it’s spring! This winter was exceptionally harsh on our backyard plants and several of them appeared to have died. They required major pruning and even after some serious repair efforts they looked terrible – like some bare sticks with a few leaves.
Perhaps this is an analogy for all of us as we live in a cold, fallen world! We can often feel the brutal effects of being pruned or enduring a difficult season.
Be comforted. Even Jesus – our Lord – was “pruned” as His Father sent Him to live as a man on earth. Jesus came to earth to bear our sins, to suffer on the cross, die, and be resurrected – defeating death forever.
That’s extreme pruning!
His resurrection assures that you and I can live eternally. That we too can be grafted into His vine – new, abundant, true life. What a great reminder especially as we approach Easter this month!
In John 15, Jesus commands his followers to “Remain in me.” Stay connected to Jesus! We remain in Jesus and bear fruit as we:
Remain in the vine
Submit to the vine dresser (pruning)
Remain in His Word
Remain in prayer
Remain in His love
Remain in His will
My plants are recovering and showing signs of new life. How about us?
Our pains, problems and pruning will show tremendous growth and bear great fruit if we allow Jesus to be our vine. To "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).
To grow spiritually in His truth and love in order to mature and bear fruit! Fruits of the Spirit; “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).
God’s grace is at work in us by the spiritual fruit we produce. “A tree is recognized by its fruit” (Matthew 12:33). As mentioned earlier, one way we stay connected to the vine and bear rich fruit is through prayer. Pray to grow as a mature, fruit-bearing follower of Christ. As you pray, please continue to pray for Luis, Andrew and the Palau ministry too as they till the soil for those who have been pruned by this life, and to sow seeds for eternity and new life with Him!
Bearing fruit in love and prayer,
Gail Stockamp
“This is to my Father’s glory that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John 15:8).
PRAYER & PRAISE
PRAISE GOD FOR:
Luis’ health! Despite still battling lung cancer, Luis traveled to southern California to speak to and encourage more than 2,600 pastors at a recent conference. Pray for his continued strength and stamina as he continues to do ministry, and pray for his complete healing!
Palau the Movie, which came out April 4 and 6 in hundreds of theaters in North and South America. The motion picture of Luis and Pat’s inspiring life as evangelists blessed and encouraged tens of thousands who saw the film. Stay updated on the DVD release at www.palauthemovie.com.
CityFest East Texas as the campaign progresses positively. More than 270 pastors and leaders gathered April 4 for a Pastors Conference, followed that night with the RE:NEW Gathering that brought together more than 3,000 locals in anticipation for CityFest in October.
PRAY FOR:
The Holy Spirit’s presence and power as Wendy Palau travels to London for a luncheon on May 2 to share the Gospel to thousands of women.
God to be over all the details of the June festival in Madrid, Spain. Learn more at www.palau.org/madrid.
NGA at work worldwide: Action Sports members conference and training in Brazil April 13-14; Festival with Mike Silva in Louisville, Kentucky May 18; Outreach events in Romania May 3-6; Festival in Cuba June 28-July 3; Crusade in Kampala Uganda July 6-14, among others.
Future festivals and City Gospel Movements in Tyler, Texas; Brevard County, Florida; Swansea, Wales; and Madrid, Spain.
PRAYER REPORTS
Our Prayer Leadership team is changing and growing! We thank God for Gail Link, Janet Cabescango, and Brooke Andrew’s faithful service to the prayer team and we welcome Nicole Furno, Denise Guinn, Jessica Person, and Karina Rodriguez to our team! Please open and pray for the people and events represented:
Africa | Nairobi Pastors Prayer Summit May 6-8 | Report
Asia | Pray for new open doors under government restrictions | Report
North America | Festival Preparation in Texas and Florida | Report
Europe | London, Madrid, Swansea Wales and more | Report
Latin America | NGA Sports Action Conference in Brazil April 13-14 | Report
Caribbean | NGA Cuba Festival June 28-July 3 | Report
JOIN US APRIL 23
Please join us as we connect in prayer to Jesus, our “vine,” for Luis, the Palau team, and for people all around the world that need hope. Our one-hour national quarterly conference call is Tuesday, April 23 at 1 p.m. Pacific Standard Time., 2 p.m. Mountain Time, 3 p.m. Central Time, and 4 p.m. Eastern Time.
Calling in is easy. Simply call 712-832-8330. You will be prompted to enter an access code. The access code is: 8750743. Press # after entering the access code. You will be prompted to enter an audio pin for the call, so simply press # again at this prompt.
If you are calling from a phone with a "mute" button, please mute your phone when you are not audibly participating to avoid any background noise or distractions.