Dear Father,

I love the teaching style of Jesus, particularly because He used parables to make illustrations, and from these parables, so much can be deduced. Today, I pondered the Parable of the Talents, which says: “The kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his servants and entrusted his goods unto them. He gave one five talents, another two, and another one. The one with five talents traded and gained five more talents, and he that had received two also gained two more. The last one did nothing with what he was given…”

However, between the periods of receiving the talents and the reward lies a season of struggle. Such great conversions are not instantaneous; if they were, they would all have brought back returns. And perhaps the five talents measured as returns for the five given were not a literal representation of how his harvest was without losses. Perhaps, in the process of conversion, he gained some harvests and some lessons. And perhaps both the lessons and the fruits are counted as gains in this kingdom.

In seamlessly telling the story, He had no intention of bypassing the struggle; He left us to discern the various ways in which it applies: that both the fruits and the lessons are counted as gains in this kingdom, so long as we proceed-- not to bury what has been entrusted to us, but to put it to use.

I’d like to write You about the struggles and the lessons I’ve encountered, and how all people see are the fruits. But do I need to? When most of all, You see how in the midst of all these, I’ve grown.

Translations;
Slide 1: English
Slide 2: French
Slide 3: Bengali
Slide 4: Hindi
Slide 5: Urdu

#LettertoGod
#stewardship
#purpose
#gifts
#talents

IT WAS LIKE A DREAM
When God Turns Captivity Into a Testimony
Key Scripture: Psalm 126:1–6
There are times when God transforms your life so profoundly that it feels almost surreal. Psalm 126:1 tells us, “When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.” Some breakthroughs are so remarkable that the pain of yesterday fades into the background. God has the power to shift you from sorrow to joy, from being overlooked to being embraced, from feeling stuck to experiencing growth, and from a long wait to a season of fulfillment.
Take Joseph’s story, for instance. He went from being thrown into a pit to becoming a slave, then from slavery to prison, and finally from prison to the palace (Genesis 37; Genesis 39–41). Just picture waking up one day as a prisoner and realizing that God has set you up to be second in command in Egypt. It must have felt like a dream come true. Similarly, David’s journey was nothing short of miraculous—he went from tending sheep in the fields to reigning as the king of Israel (1 Samuel 16:11–13; 2 Samuel 5:3–4). When God intervenes in your life, He can elevate your status, transform your circumstances, and reshape your future in ways you never saw coming.
Maybe you find yourself in a season where change feels elusive. Your prayers might seem unanswered, doors may appear firmly shut, and your dreams could feel out of reach. But remember, just because things are delayed doesn’t mean they’re denied. God can turn a situation around in an instant. Psalm 126:2 reminds us, “Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing.” The very mouth that once cried can become a source of testimony. The eyes that shed tears can become witnesses to God’s inYour current chapter isn’t the end of your story. Keep planting seeds of faith, keep praying, keep believing, and keep trusting in God. Psalm 126:5 reminds us, “Those who sow in tears will reap in joy.” One day, you might find yourself looking back at those moments of sorrow and saying, “Look at what the Lord has accomplished!” What God is about to do in your life could be so incredible that it’ll be hard to put into words. Your next testimony might be so amazing that all you can say is: IT WAS LIKE A DREAM!
Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for being the God who changes our circumstances. We trust that You can turn our tears into laughter, our sadness into joy, and our bondage into freedom.
Lord, please remember everyone who is waiting for a breakthrough. Shift their situations according to Your perfect plan. Open doors that no one can close, restore what has been lost, and bring hope where disappointment has taken root.
Father, let our stories be so extraordinary that we will know for sure it was Your hand at work. May those who have seen our struggles also witness Your unwavering faithfulness.
We declare that our season is shifting. Tears will transform into testimonies, waiting will lead to fulfillment, and what seems impossible will become a testament to Your power. Soon, we will look back and say, “It was like a dream!”
In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I am reaching out to your ministry because I desperately need prayer.

I have been going through a very deep spiritual struggle, and I feel lost, frightened, and spiritually exhausted. I love Jesus Christ and I sincerely want to follow Him, but I have become deeply afraid about my eternal salvation.

Matthew 7:21–23 has been weighing extremely heavily upon me. When I read Jesus' warning about people saying, “Lord, Lord,” but being told that He never knew them, I become terrified that somehow I could be one of those people.

I am deeply afraid of hell and of being separated from God forever.

I examine my life and see so many weaknesses, failures, sins, inconsistencies, and areas where I struggle. I keep thinking that I am not doing enough, that I am not good enough, or that perhaps God does not truly accept me.

Sometimes I struggle to believe that God is truly merciful and gracious toward me. His judgment and holiness can seem so overwhelming that I forget how enormous His love and grace are.

I know intellectually that salvation is by grace through faith and not by my own works, but my heart struggles to rest in that truth.

I feel as though I am constantly trying to make myself right with God, yet I know I cannot save myself.

I need Jesus.

I need His mercy.

I need His grace.

I need His forgiveness.

I need the Holy Spirit to transform me.

I need to know that I am truly loved and accepted by God through Christ.

Please pray that God would take away this overwhelming condemnation and replace it with genuine biblical assurance.

Please pray that I would understand Matthew 7:21–23 correctly and not allow fear to destroy my relationship with Jesus.

Please pray that I would truly know Jesus—not merely know about Him.

Please pray that the Holy Spirit would search my heart, reveal anything that needs to change, lead me into genuine repentance, and give me a deeper love for God.

Please pray that I would stop trying to save myself through my own efforts and learn to completely trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Please pray that Romans 8:1 would become deeply rooted in my heart:

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Please also pray that I would truly believe the words of Jesus:

“Whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” — John 6:37

I don't want to run away from God because I am afraid of Him.

I want to run toward Him.

I want my relationship with Jesus to become real, deep, genuine, and unshakable.

Please pray for a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit, renewed faith, spiritual discernment, freedom from condemnation, freedom from fear, genuine repentance, and a restored joy in my salvation.

Please pray that God would help me surrender everything to Him and trust His character even when my emotions tell me otherwise.

I am asking you to please stand with me in prayer.

Please pray for my mind, heart, soul, faith, salvation, relationship with Jesus, and my entire life.

I especially ask that you pray that I would come to understand the difference between Holy Spirit conviction that draws me toward Christ and condemnation that makes me believe I am hopeless and rejected.

I don't want to be a fake Christian.

I don't want to merely have religious words.

I want to know Jesus Christ personally and sincerely.

I want to love Him.

I want to follow Him.

I want to surrender my life to Him.

And I want to spend eternity with Him.

Please pray that God would meet me exactly where I am and lead me into a deep assurance that rests not in my ability to be perfect, but in the mercy, grace, righteousness, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to pray for me.

May the Lord bless you and everyone in your ministry abundantly for standing in the gap for people who are struggling.

In the precious name of Jesus Christ,

Amen.

With heartfelt gratitude and Christian love,
Markus Klinger from London Ontario Canada

DOMINION DAILY DEVOTION ~ DAY 237
DATE: 25TH AUGUST 2026
TOPIC: COME TO JESUS, AND FIND REST
ANCHOR SCRIPTURE: MATTHEW 11:28 (NKJV)
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Devotional message:

Are you struggling with sin?Are you struggling with fornication, pornography, or masturbation?Are you battling guilt and self-condemnation?Are you carrying bitterness, unforgiveness, rejection, or disappointment?Are you struggling under sickness, oppression, or the weight of circumstances that seem too heavy to bear?

Perhaps you have reached a place where you feel overwhelmed and wonder whether there is still hope.There is hope—and His name is Jesus.

Jesus does not merely offer temporary relief; He offers Himself. He calls the weary, the broken, the burdened, and those who have wandered away to come to Him.

He says:Matthew 11:28–30 (NKJV)
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest... For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Notice that Jesus does not say, “Fix yourself first, then come.”He says, “Come to Me.”You do not have to clean yourself up before approaching Him. Come with your brokenness. Come with your failures. Come with your questions. Come with your burdens. Come with the struggles you have been unable to overcome by yourself.

Jesus is able to forgive, restore, transform, and give you a new beginning.

The Apostle John gives us this assurance:1 John 1:9 (NKJV)“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”Your sin is not greater than His grace.Your past is not greater than His mercy.Your failure does not have to become your identity.There is forgiveness in Christ.

Jesus also invites us into fellowship with Him. Revelation 3:20 presents the picture of Christ standing at the door and knocking:“If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”The invitation is personal.He is calling you to open your heart and allow Him to reign over your life.

But receiving Jesus is more than merely repeating words. It is surrendering your life to His lordship—turning away from sin, trusting Him, following His Word, and allowing His Spirit to transform you.

And if you have already received Christ but find yourself struggling, do not run away from Him in shame. Run toward Him.

The enemy may tell you that you have failed too many times, that God will never accept you again, or that your situation can never change.Do not believe that lie.

Perhaps today you are carrying a burden that nobody else knows about.Jesus knows.Perhaps you have been smiling publicly while secretly fighting a battle.Jesus sees.

Perhaps you have reached the point where you have exhausted every human option.

Jesus is still calling:“Come to Me.”Bring Him your guilt,brokenness,sin,fears,disappointments and burdens.He is able to give you the rest your soul desperately needs.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus,I come to You just as I am. I acknowledge that I need You and cannot save or transform myself by my own strength.Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and help me to follow You all the days of my life.I receive Your rest, Your grace, and Your new beginning.In Jesus' name, Amen.

DAILY BIBLE READING
Psalm 103:1–5,Isaiah 1:18,1 John 1:5–9,Luke 15:11–24,Jhn 8:31–36

Author : Alfred Wabuko Manyasi
Contact :
Email : DominionvoicesminisrtyAnderson Mwila.com
Facebook : Alfred Wabuko Manyasi
Dominion Daily Devotion, 2026
© Dominion Voices Ministry

The IAO Community
We are excited to invite you all to The It Aint Over Community. Where everyone is Welcome, and It’s all Free. This is a place to meet others and connect. We strive to be there for one another and help each other along with daily struggles and other issues. We strive to be a family, Come on and join us, You will be welcome, Create an account, Get involved, if you have any issues leave us a comment below. https://iaom1.com/portal/

The IAO Community
We are excited to invite you all to The It Aint Over Community. Where everyone is Welcome, and It’s all Free. This is a place to meet others and connect. We strive to be there for one another and help each other along with daily struggles and other issues. We strive to be a family, Come on and join us, You will be welcome, Create an account, Get involved, if you have any issues leave us a comment below. https://iaom1.com/portal/

THAT WAS THEN. THIS IS NOW. BUT WHAT HAPPENED THEN CAN HAPPEN AGAIN.

When we read the book of Acts, we see a church marked by boldness, prayer, sacrifice, biblical conviction, community, mission, and an unwavering commitment to Jesus Christ.

https://patrickryanlewis.com/2026/08/23/that-was-then-this-is-now-but-it-can-happen-again/

The early church wasn't perfect. Scripture openly records its struggles, disagreements, and failures. But there was something unmistakable about those believers:

Christ had the preeminence.
 They feared God more than people.
 They prayed believing God could move.
 They were willing to sacrifice for the gospel.
 They lived with eternity in view.
 They confronted sin while extending grace.
 They cared deeply about reaching people with Jesus.

The question isn't whether we can somehow recreate the first century.
The question is whether we are willing to recover those same spiritual priorities in the twenty-first century.
Before pointing at everything wrong with the church today, we should ask:

Lord, what needs to change in me?

Am I more concerned with God's approval or people's approval?
Am I willing to stand for truth when it costs me something?
Is Jesus truly first in my life?
Do I pray expecting God to work?
Am I more passionate about the gospel than my preferences?
Do I live like eternity is real?

We don't simply need better programs, bigger churches, or newer strategies.

We need Christ-centered churches filled with surrendered people who believe the gospel is true, Jesus is alive, eternity is real, and the mission is worth our lives.

Maybe our prayer needs to become very simple:

Lord, do it again.

Read the full blog and consider what it would look like for the church—and for each of us individually—to recover the passion, courage, holiness, prayer, and mission we see in the book of Acts.

#ChurchRevival #BookOfActs #JesusChrist #ChristianLiving #BiblicalTruth #Faith #Prayer #Repentance #GreatCommission #Gospel #FollowJesus #ChristianChurch #SpiritualRenewal

One failing of the American church today - there are surely others as well, but I'm going to focus on this one - is the lack of connection. The book of Acts tells us that the church met daily. House to house. Breaking bread. Of course with fellowship, and that would mean mutual support.

Now that does not mean we have to meet together every day. Nor does it mean that we must go from house to house. Our modern culture and society is different. And that's ok. We don't have to copy, to the detail, the methods of that time.

But the spirit of the idea should remain the same. But when the normal for us is to show up three minuets before the beginning of the Sunday morning service, and be in our cars driving away three minutes after the final benediction, we're never going to have connection with our fellow believers. You can't offer a quick handshake and a "how are you doing?" and a "good to see you," as we pass on down the aisle toward our own seat, and call that "being friendly."

You could do that every Sunday morning for years and never actually know the other person. Some of us remember when after Sunday morning church, we'd either invite someone to come have dinner at our house, or have someone invite us to theirs. It is over a meal that you get to know the person. What is that person, or that family going through right now? What might be the struggles they're dealing with?

But we seem to live in a time when nobody wants to know anything about our neighbor. That person, or that family who sits in the pew in front of us, or behind us. And we don't want anyone else to know about us either. Certainly not know our business. But that's not the accurate definition of a "body of Believers."

So what are we going to do to change that? Or would we rather keep it as it is. It's more tidy that way, we believe, and that's the way we seem to like it. But that is not the way of the church.

Good morning to everyone. Grace and Peace be with you.

How do you measure your prosperity? Is it by your bank account, or what you drive or live in? Is it by how many friends you have? Is it measured by how many ‘collectables’ you have acquired? What exactly does prosperity look like for you?

Jeremiah 29:11 is everyone’s favorite verse to quote when it comes to times of ‘financial’ struggles. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

The definition of prosper, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is this: (1) to succeed in an enterprise or activity/ especially: to achieve economic success (2) to become strong and flourishing.

I Googled the original Hebrew verbiage and found that prosperous is not a word in the Hebrew language exactly. The word was ‘maschshevot,’ which in modern terms equates to peace, well-being and a positive future.

The enemy is very good at taking God’s word and turning it into something BIGGER for his glory. He dilutes the Word to soften it; he adjusts the meaning of the Word to satisfy popular opinion; he creates a world of his translation of the Word to satisfy the egos of all those who want the easy way. Such as:

Unconditional Love … that does not mean that I love your sin; it means that I love you enough to speak the truth in love, not judgment. The enemy will tell you that I am judging you, when I am not; I am just stating facts so that you can make an informed decision.

Eye for an eye … that is hatred, according to Jesus, who says when someone harms you, turn the other cheek

Prosperity preaching … from this verse … claims that if you ‘give’ to the church, then God will give to you, or rather that if you give to “their” church, God will give to you.

Prosperity and riches. The enemy will hamstring you into believing that God does not love you because you have not ‘given’ enough or that your gift is not good enough. These are all lies. Starting with, God wants you to be financially rich. It is not that God does not want you to be financially rich, but he knows how easily it can distract you from Him. If you are financially rich, then your heart turns to protecting your money instead of worshiping Him who gave you the riches. Prosperity in Jeremiah is speaking of hope, peace, and well-being; not Richie Rich.

I am not a RICH person, but I am better off than many. I have food in my belly, a roof over my head, people around me who love and respect me, a quality vehicle, but most of all … I have love. I have peace. I have joy. I have God. I am one of the most prosperous people I know.

Today I encourage you to find your peace in Him. Worship Him. Praise Him. Embrace Him. Love Him. When you do those things with your whole heart … the world does not seem so hard to deal with. Your eyes are open to so many opportunities for His light and love to shine. This will bring so much joy to your heart that it overflows in abundance to those around you. He knows what the world is like, and He wants you to have His peace and prosperity.

Be blessed.

**But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. – Matthew 6:33

Lifeline Today
Sunday August 23
Divine Guidance
I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Psalm 32:8 (NKJV)

Guidance is about locating God’s leading and following it. God advances us by guiding us. It is His guidance that makes us great. We are not great by trials; we are great by His continual guidance. We triumph by His guidance. It is the light of His guidance that makes our paths to shine brighter. It is His leading that makes us leaders. You cannot be led by God and be left behind.

When you re guided, sweat is eliminated. People will not see your sweat or your struggles, but they will look at you as an amazement and wonder! When you are guided by God, people will begin to say they don’t know what you are using. You are using guidance! Though they don’t see your sweat, they cannot deny your effect. Those who are committed to divine guidance get God committed to divine provision. This is your day.

Wisdom Fountain: “Moving without divine guidance leads to costly trial and error, but following heaven’s compass brings speed, accuracy, and peace.”
Prayer: Father Lord God, I pray for Your guidance to show me the right path and and fill me with the strength I need to face each day. Order my steps. Give me wisdom to make the right choices and peace when I must wait in Jesus’ name.