Stepping out in faith…

Taking a leap can be hard…really hard…like, really really hard.

That feeling of the unknown, of not knowing what is going to happen can be absolutely terrifying. I remember vividly the first time I ever did a “trust-fall” exercise. We went all out..the person falling had to stand on the edge of a table and fall into the waiting arms of the group below.

I don’t know about you, but there was an instant just as I let myself fall back, I had that moment of thinking, “Are they actually going to catch me?” There was no certainty. There was no absolute confidence. There was only the choice……

God is asking you to jump. God is asking you to trust. God is asking you to take a leap and have the faith that He will catch you. I don’t know what He is asking you to do, but He is asking. He asks all who believe in Him to use the gifts He has given you to further His kingdom and to bring more of His children with you into a saving knowledge of Him and His Son. Will you jump?

This world can be a scary place, especially if you’re trying to live a lifestyle of faithfulness. Temptation lurks around every corner. The majority of people are not cheering you on to succeed, but all to often are waiting to laugh when you fail just to feel better about themselves.  But God’s not asking you to jump into a life of ease and comfort…that wouldn’t exactly require faith to do.  It’s only a leap of faith if there’s uncertainty about the ending.

Will you fail?    Possibly

Will it hurt?      Possibly

Will you have to pick yourself up and jump again?  Possibly

Will you endure trials and temptations?  Possibly

Is there a chance that things will end up differently than you hope?  Possibly

But my friend, leap anyway….and enjoy the ride.

People who skydive say that there’s a brief moment before the wind starts buffeting and before your chute opens where you are in free fall and it’s a feeling of absolute freedom.

One of the biggest falsehoods in following Christ is the belief that “God won’t give me anything more than I can handle.”  This is an absolute lie. Let’s say it how it should ACTUALLY read…. “God won’t give you more than you can handle WITH HIS HELP.”

Matthew 28:20 says “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

John 16:33 says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

God asks you to take Him at his word, to step out in faith, to BELIEVE and then ACT on your belief.  We live in a spiritually dark world. We are surrounded, literally SURROUNDED by the walking dead who could, and will spend eternity in hell if we don’t take the chance, take the leap, and speak out. As scary as that sounds, we have a promise from the very mouth that spoke the universe into existence that He is beside us and His spirit dwells within us.

The trust is shown in the act of putting feet to your faith. Anyone can say they have faith and trust that God will always be there. But DOING something about it is an entirely different thing. That’s when true character and depth of faith is shown. That’s where our conviction to serve the God of the universe is revealed, or shown to be a false front.

My prayer for you today is you will be overwhelmed with opportunities to share God’s love and your own story with the people around you. Your friends, family, coworkers, heck, anyone you come into contact with. I pray that you will take the leap that Jesus spoke of when he challenged us to Go and make disciples.

I believe in you…..and so does your Father in heaven.  SO TAKE THE LEAP.

Believe, Go, and tell others.

 

 

So, this is what it feels like to be fish food…

In 12 years of being a youth and worship pastor, and then eventually an interim pastor, I have probably read the story of Jonah and the whale at least 100 times. I’m sure you’ve heard it, but just in case, here’s the short version.

• Jonah is called by God to prophecy to Ninevah, one of the biggest and most evil cities of his time.
• Jonah ran and tried to escape by ship.
• God made a storm come and since Jonah knew he had cursed the trip, he told the crew to throw him overboard.
• God made a whale swallow him.
• The whale spit him up on dry land.
• Jonah went to Ninevah exactly like God intended.

In 2010, when I stopped working for churches and settled quite comfortably into my role as a pew warmer, I was Jonah pure and simple. I’ve been called by God to be a minister since I was 16 years old. I have worked for churches in 4 different states and loved being in ministry. Then in 2010 I decided I was done and moved home, started teaching full time, and ignored my calling.

God tried MANY times to get my attention. He used people, circumstance, and His word to show me many times than it was and is His intention that I bring the good news of the gospel to a fallen world. And for 9 years, every time I felt that tug back to preaching, I ran the other direction, either focusing on teaching, my family, or some other endeavor.

I have told many people that in so many ways, the last 9 years have been one huge disaster after another. My divorce, losing jobs, suffering from and then conquering a gambling problem, my finances being a shamble….  the list goes on and on. And not only was it threatening to take me down, but also take down those around me. I thought my world was over, but all that had happened was I was in the belly of the whale. God was preparing me. God was holding my hand and waiting for me to simply follow my own advice and turn and run to Him so that He could put me EXACTLY WHERE I NEED TO BE.

Then, January 19th happened and I felt what it meant to be to meet someone who was created by God just for me. A person whom from the very first conversation we ever had showed a love for God, a love for family, and a desire to have a committed married relationship with Christ at the center. And did I mention she is GORGEOUS!!!!!!!

We fell in love quickly and COMPLETELY. She builds me up and challenges me. She encourages me and humbles me. She prays for me and more importantly prays with me.

February 1st, I lost my teaching job that I have had for 12 years. I was a divorced father of two with astoundingly large amounts of debt and now had no consistent reliable sources of income. I prayed that if God was trying to get me to go back into ministry, for him to make it abundantly clear. The minute I said “Amen” my phone dinged with an email alert regarding a pastoral job opening right across the river.

And the greatest thing she did  was when I looked at her and said, “So, you think you could ever be a Pastor’s wife?”   She did hesitate when she said, “Yes, and I will go with you anywhere you are called.”  This was the final push I needed to really let God finally place me back where He always intended. I cannot wait to make her my wife some day soon.

 

On Sunday, May 5th, I was voted in as the new pastor at Friendship Ridge Christian Fellowship in Belpre, Ohio. While Belpre, Ohio isn’t the most evil place in the empire, it is nonetheless where I have been called to again preach the gospel to a lost and broken world.

The potential I felt in my spirit from the second I stepped foot on the property is something I have never experienced. I cannot wait to see what God has in store in my life and the lives of the congregation that has put their trust in me to guide them closer to a God that loves them.

Notice the beginning and ending of the Jonah story from earlier.

• Jonah is called by God to prophecy to Ninevah, one of the biggest and most evil cities of his time.
• Jonah went to Ninevah exactly like God intended.

How much of our lives is wasted by all the time we take on the stuff in the middle. When all we have to do is answer the call and go where He calls us, when He calls us, how He calls us.

Well I’ve spent enough time in the belly of the whale. I’ve spent enough time running. I’ve spent enough time pretending to be anything but a Pastor. I cannot wait to see what the Lord is going to do.

2014 – The Year that Changed Everything

Divorce is never easy.

Never

Due to my own actions, I found myself realizing this in a huge way.

Notice those words….. my own actions.

When I decided to put my own needs before others in 2014, and acted on it, and then lied to everyone I knew, I put into motion the spiral that resulted in my divorce. I can give all of the excuses in the world: That I wasn’t happy. We were incompatible. We were from different worlds. That what we had wasn’t a good marriage. But they are all excuses.

I reaped what I sowed in a major way and am still reaping today. Finances plague me. I lost many friendships that have never been renewed. I lost my church and the trust of the people there and still struggle with that today. I entered another relationship way too soon and put my children through another roller coaster of emotions when that ended.

BUT GOD WAS NOT DONE WITH ME,

I struggled with whether I had ran too far from who God wanted me to be. I struggled with whether the sin of divorce, emotional infidelity, lying to my friends and family, and walking away from ministry had disqualified me from serving God. I had felt called from the age of 18 – was He done with me? Did what I do cause the ministry I had been a part of the previous 16 years to be worthless?

No.

1 Timothy 1:9 says ^“who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.”   It wasn’t my works which began my calling in ministry, and my works cannot take that calling away. I am called because of God’s purpose and grace, and His purpose doesn’t change.

So, I have been and will continue to take up that calling. I accept the forgiveness and grace that God offers with all that I am. I will do all I can to use the gifts God has given me to point others to Him. I’ve been blessed to now be in a relationship with a wonderful woman who encourages me and strengthens me every day, and for the first time I think I am ready to receive that encouragement, I wasn’t ready in my marriage or previous relationship. But I am now.

I’m done using my voice to sing and bring glory to myself. I’m done hiding and begging forgiveness for acts that I have already been forgiven for. God wants me to and requires me to make an impact in this world for Him.

Are you there? Have you felt those same things? Have you felt defeated and like what you’ve done has removed you so far from Him that you can’t get back?

My friend, God still loves you as much as He ever did. He still died for your sins; past, present, and future. He still wants good things for you and wants you to live an extraordinary life. And He wants you to love others and bring them to Him. Bring as many with you into His embrace as you can.

I’m forgiven. I’m called. I am a child of God.

I hope you realize that you are too.

 

Tired of Waiting

Well, I think around 6 years is plenty of time to wait in between blog posts.

I’ve been very tired lately.

Tired of waiting to serve Him

Tired of waiting to sing for Him.

Tired of waiting for answers from the wrong sources.

 

So, I’ve decided to start again. I’ve decided to follow the old saint Joshua and declare again that “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

I will be blogging regularly about a lot of things.   How divorce effected my thoughts on ministry and whether God could use me again.  How grace slowly and firmly inserted itself into my heart and forgiveness rained down on me. How the love of God, my children, my family, and finding the right relationship has led me back to a place where I am ready to claim my calling to minister to people whenever and however they will allow me.

I hope you’ll come along for the ride.

An exclusive club

A lot of people get onto Christians as “exclusivist” and get angry when I ever mention that someone may not go to heaven because they don’t claim Christ as Savior.  Read here about how exclusive a club Christianity actually is…

John 9:10-13 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹² Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.  “

Did you hear it? “To all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”  Guess, what?  I AM A CHILD OF GOD. Do you know what makes me a child of God? It is not the fact that I live, breathe air, am human, or am a “member of the global consciousness.” It is because I received Him and believe in His name. That is the only reason I am a child of God. That is the only reason I will rise to meet Him in the air and live eternally with Him.

 It is an extremely exclusive club. The only way to join is to accept that you are a sinner, and accept Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. That is THE ONLY WAY. Jesus doesn’t mince words, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man may come to the Father except through me.”  But wait, is it all that exclusive? 

Anyone can come to the Father. Anyone can receive Christ and believe on His name. He doesn’t discriminate who may come. He invites ALL to come, the only people that make this such an exclusive club are the ones who reject His gift. Christians cannot change the fact that everyone is invited to come. Christans, even if they are hypocritical or rude, cannot force someone not to make the choice to come to Christ.

It is about seeing your need for forgiveness and accepting the sacrifice, and then, it is about surrendering your life to Him. It is about ending who you are to become more in Christ. That’s the hard part, because too often, we choose our own desires and wants over the abundant life of Christ. WE make this exclusive by turning away from the very one who wants to include you in His family.

That verse from John is as true today as ever. He created this world and all that is in it, and so many people still do not recognize Him. The sad part is that the church, the “body” have done a pretty poor job in showing Jesus to those who need Him the most, the unsaved. We need to start reaching out in love to those in need. Not accepting their sinful condition, but loving them in spite of it.

But make no mistake, it is a personal choice to come to Christ. No one can make this decision for you, and no one can force you to stay away from him. It is your choice.

So, the next time you say that the church is exclusivistic, as yourself, are you being excluded, or are you choosing to be excluded?

The real debt crisis isn’t monetary, it’s morality.

Watching the constant arguing and posturing of our elected officials got me thinking…the problem isn’t that our country owes money and has a deficit of finance, it’s that we have a defecit of morality. Watching a world that says showing obvious nudity, sexual immorality, perversion, and violence just depresses me. It’s hard to be a Social Studies teacher who doesn’t want to watch the evening news.

We have forgotten that the most important debt we owe is to Jesus. We did nothing to deserve forgiveness. We did nothing to warrant the sacrifice poured out for us. Many people get mad at me for saying this, but the reason bad things happen to good people is because at heart, there are no good people. We are all sinners. “There are none righteous, no not one.” There are nice people with amazing acts of service and awesome intentions. But, in our heart of hearts, no one is “good.” 

We base our goodness on a standard of this world, and looking around, that standard gets lower and lower. We make drug-addicted, foul-mouthed, obnoxious people celebrities because they have an image. At the same time, we remove the words and images of Christ from our public buildings, schools, and even our homes.

God bases His goodness on the standard of His Son. Anything good we possess, anything good we have done, anything good we are is a result of the love of our Father and His Son, Jesus.

That’s the real debt crisis…we owe Christ everything, and too often, we give Him nothing.

New things are good

So, it’s been a long time since I blogged. I think I am going to start this habit up again. The past year has been nuts. Jolene, Caolinn, and I moved from Ellwood City and Western Pennsylvania after a life-changing 8 years which saw us live in 5 different houses, serve in ministry at 2 different churches, Jolene completed her education, I went back to school, and we were blessed beyond measure with so many friends and awesome experiences that it still hurts not to be around them daily.

We arrived back in Parkersburg in August and our bank promptly backed out of the deal on our new house, so we found a rental in less than a week, I was teaching online and sleeping at my mom’s and driving back and forth to my in-laws where Jolene was staying. We found a nice place and have had a really amazing time.

I was blessed to become a member of a southern gospel quartet, which has been a dream of mine for years, and since Bill Gaither still hasn’t called, I accepted the position of lead singer with the Faith Harmony Boys (http://www.faithharmonyboys.com) and have spent a great deal of the past year travelling around West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania sing with some amazing men of God. The only thing that could make this gig better would be to sing EVERY DAY.

We found a home church in Mineral Wells Baptist Church. I have been going to churches since I was 5 years old and only twice have I been a member of a church where Jolene and I could barely sit down our first time because the members were trying to love us with Christ’s love. It was amazing. We have found a real family, and Pastor Brian Arthur could be one of the most amazing pastors I have ever had the privilege to be shephered by.

Jolene and I have been blessed even more by the arrival of our new, precious littl miracle, Meredith. Jolene had a very rough time following delivery and I am not making too big of a deal by saying that she almost died. However, she is recovered and other than us both being a little sleep deprived, we are loving Meredith and Caolinn adores her little sisiter.

We will be moving into a new house that happened to fall into our laps in 2 weeks and I cannot wait to see what God has in store. This will be our last move (God-willing) so it will be nice to have a HOME for a long time.

This year presents amazing opportunities. I begin my 5th school year of teaching with the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, the nation’s premiere online charter school, and will be completing my last year of my Masters program through Franciscan University of Steubenville. All of that while singing part time, and trying to be a husband, father, and active servant of God. I ask your prayers for patience, guidance, and energy beyond measure.

I promise my blogs from here on out will definitely be shorter. I hope you will be blessed by them.

Palm Sunday Sermon

Peer pressure
Mark 11:1-11

A little boy was sick on Palm Sunday and stayed home from church with his mother. His father returned from church holding a palm branch.

The little boy was curious and asked, “Why do you have that palm branch, dad?”

“You see, when Jesus came into town, everyone waved Palm Branches to honor him, so we got Palm Branches today.”

The little boy replied, ” Aw Shucks! The one Sunday I miss is the Sunday that Jesus shows up!”

Today, we are remembering the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. If you were one of the followers of Jesus during this event, it looked like the show was getting on the road. While we know there is still danger in Jerusalem, it looks like it is all going to turn out ok. The crowds like Jesus and are responding with celebration and acknowledgement given to a king.

Jesus has been on the way to Jerusalem for weeks or months, he is not in a hurry and he stops and teaches all along the way. He zigzags’ his way there and arrives just in time.

He arrives on the last possible day to be involved in the full celebration of Passover. The place is packed, some historians say that their could have been more than 150 thousand people in Jerusalem that week. The noise of people and animals had to be deafening. You really can’t see anything except the sea of humanity.

It is like going to Cedar Point or King’s Island on discount ticket day. There are so many people it is uncomfortable, everything is expensive. The lines for everything are long.

I imagine that almost everyone is carrying something, food, water, snacks for the kids, bedding, cooking stuff. You name it someone is struggling to get it through the crowd.

This was the week before Passover, the most important festival of the year. It was a time of preparation for the huge celebration. The celebration of freedom and salvation provided directly by the work of God. Generations before, God instructed the people to use the blood of a lamb to protect their families. And in Jesus day the celebration of the event was still celebrated by the offering of blood and the sharing of a meal and telling the story.

Many country folks brought their offering with them – a lamb. The city people would have to purchase an animal. And today was the day that you had to have your lamb. The lamb was to be treated as a pet during the week as it lived with you. The general idea is that the lamb would take on your sins by exposure to you.

On Friday the lambs would be taken to the temple and slaughtered and the blood offered for the protection of the family. The idea behind remembering Passover was that  by being faithful to remembering God’s past acts, we will continue to receive God’s mercy in the future.

So, Jesus is coming to town for the celebration of this great feast. He books a room a few miles out of town. Then he says,

“Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ’Why are you doing this?’ tell him, ’The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’ ”

So, one or two miles out, Jesus stops and sends two disciples to go get a donkey colt. Let me get this straight, he walks everywhere for years and now that He is within a couple of miles of Jerusalem, He needs a ride?

He sends two unnamed followers to the edge of the village on a heavy travel day to borrow a ride. Notice he did not tell them to ask first. Horse/donkey thieving was a big deal back then. This sounds like something that is a little risky. That’s a lot like asking these followers, “go into town to the car dealer and you will find a new 4 wheel drive pickup truck. It will be brand new and no one has ever driven it. It will still have sticker on the front window. The key will be in the ignition. If the salesman or security guards ask you a question, tell them that the Lord needs it and will send it back in just a little while.

Are these the disciples that Jesus did not like very much? These two disciples could end up being stoned right on the spot. He has asked them to do some strange things but, this seems a little dangerous for the disciples. This is pretty radical stuff, and it gets my mind going.

— The thing that really stands out is that the Lord needs something.

I don’t recall many times that Jesus says he needs or wants anything. He asks for water at the well. He will borrow a tomb for the weekend. I am sure there are others but I don’t recall him whining about his personal needs.

Couldn’t he just pray and God would make or send a new pickup or donkey. Bang! It’s there. Or, have it lowered slowly out of the clouds. Wouldn’t that be more impressive than borrowing one? I think he could have done any of those things. Shoot, I think He could have changed one of the disciples into a donkey for a few minutes if He wanted to, but maybe no one volunteered.

ButI believe that we are all aware that what He could do and what Je does do are often very different things.

So, even with Jesus physically present the Lord wants someone to do something physical.

He needs something to help him fulfill prophesy.

The prophesy Jesus is going to fulfill comes from : Zechariah 9 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

He wants willing people to carry out tasks on behalf of the Lord. The disciples must go and do and the owner or responsible person must let what he owns be used.

People, Christians must choose to participate in Gods plan.

Jesus provides the directions of where and what to say and the disciples scoot up the road and get the ride.

They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?”  That’s where it could have gotten interesting. And even though they had started the task, when confronted they had a couple of choices. After all, Jesus was not there to see the looks on the faces or to hear the tone of voice used.

– They could have just said, “O. is this yours, I thought it belonged to my friend…sorry about that. His must be up the way some place.”

– They could have just run off being confronted on this strange mission.

But, they responded just as Jesus told them. They gave this vague response, “The Lord needs it and will send it back.” And the potential problem just vanished. They just made the lame statement and the people said OK.

Then, they headed back down the road mission accomplished.

When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields.

So, Jesus is sitting on an unbroken donkey, and is not bucked off. That is a bit of a miracle in itself. Perhaps a special revelation of his divine nature, but the donkey is never quoted. So we can only guess what made him so calm in the strange crowds was the identity of the person suddenly on his back.

The people, most likely disciples, start taking off their coats and collecting palm branches and wave them and throw them in the road in front of the donkey.

This is done as a sign of respect for Jesus. The people are making an offering of support and treating His procession like a king returning from battle.

The Jews were looking for a king. They were looking a king that will release them from captivity, and give them absolute freedom from Rome.So it is not just any King that they are looking for; They are looking for a God-sent king of the Jews.

This little parade has things lining up as if Jesus was that person.

As the parade moves toward Jerusalem the people along the way join in the excitement and the group grows. More people grab branches to wave and throw their coats on the ground.

They are escorting Jesus into the city, their actions draw the attention of others and a crowd gathers. Some just watch, but others join in the excitement.

The excitement from the crowd is a bit like peer pressure. The excitement draws to participate in the event. Everybody wants to get in on the fun. There is a chant that starts.

Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,

“Hosanna!”    “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”  “Hosanna in the highest!”

Hosanna – in Hebrew means “please save or save now.” It is used in Jewish and Christian worship to give adoration and praise to God. In today’s scripture it is part of the identification that the crowd was telling the hearers that Jesus was the messiah. I wonder if it was done as a chant, the leaders shouting one thing and the followers another.

Do ya’ll remember peer pressure in school? It could be terrible; some smoked or drank alcohol and their friends felt pressure to do it too. There were other kinds of pressure, what to wear, where to go, who to go with.

I remember begging my parents for a pair of Chuck Taylor tennis shoes. I finally ended up with a pair, but I found out that I really did not jump any higher. My joy was short lived in other ways too. I was happy and proud of my shoes with the logo on the ankles. But it had no lasting value. It never really made me a part of the group, I just dressed like them. But the shoes did not make me one of them.

— Here is the point, do you think that some of the people involved in the parade on Palm Sunday were also in the crowd outside of Pilot’s residence on Friday morning?

There was their excitement then too. The disciples were no longer leading the parade and a different group was influencing the crowd. I hope you will recall that Pilot offers to free one prisoner and they shout for Jesus to be free….But not Jesus of Nazareth, They shouted for Jesus– Bar –Rabus. They were asked what should happen to Jesus of Nazareth? The shouts of Crucify Him start someplace and then they ring out all around

Peer pressure makes people want to be in the popular group.

Peer pressure makes people want to fit in with the crowd and not stand out.

Peer pressure keeps people quiet and self-controlled even when wrong things are happening.

Peer pressure keeps people from taking risks and speaking the truth.

Peer pressure is choosing the group over choosing God.

They were influenced to choose a murderer and thief instead of the Lamb of God.

Now, we could never be influenced like that right? We are sophisticated and mature we could not be influenced by peer pressure to choose something other than Jesus.

Folks, here is our focus this morning, Today on Palm Sunday it is easy to be caught up in the excitement of the crowd. It is easy to celebrate as the parade is passing by and easy to look forward to Easter morning.

From here it is easy to leap from This Sunday to Next Sunday and not remember that the world influences us negatively during the week. It is easy to just to go with what ever the crowd is doing and not be bothered by our flip flopping in our faith and our witness. It is too easy to go with the flow during the week and never really prepare ourselves for a full celebration of the proof of our faith demonstrated Easter Sunday.

The Lenten journey is a time of reflection on how you live and a time to seek the direction of God. A time to leave the crowd and stop listening and responding to what everyone else says is ok.

Peer pressure will lead you to a life where you are never satisfied. Where you will never really know Jesus because His ways are old fashioned and simple. Peer pressure will make you act out against what God wants and lead you into utter darkness and ultimate disappointment.

Folks, today is a good day to choose to revive your relationship with the father through the son. It is a day to leave what the group wants and be willing to break out of their expectations and work toward Gods. His direction and plan offer you eternal promises not just a warn-out pair of tennis shoes.

Some thoughts on prayer….

We all know that children are very honest and they tend to say things the way it should be said. Here are a few gems I found while looking at kid’s thoughts on things:

 

Kids thoughts on Love and Marriage:

 

* “If falling in love is anything like learning how to spell, I don’t want to do it. It takes too long.” — Glenn, age 7

 

* “Love is like an avalanche where you have to run for your life.” — John, age 9 One evening, a little boy was saying his prayers, and this is what he said;

 

* “Love will find you, even if you are trying to hide from it. I been trying to hide from it since I was five, but the girls keep finding me.” — Dave, age 8

 

Kid’s letters to God:

 

 

Dear God, I think about You sometimes even when I’m not praying. — Elliot

 

Dear God, Did You really mean “do unto others as they do unto you?” Because if you did, then I’m going to get my brother. — Darla

 

Dear God, Are you really invisible or is that a trick? — Lucy

 

Dear God, Is it true my father won’t get in Heaven if he uses his bowling words in the house? — Anita

 

Dear God, Instead of letting people die and having to make new ones, why don’t You just keep the ones You have now? — Jane

 

Dear God, I went to this wedding and they kissed right in church. Is that okay? — Neil

 

Dear God, Thank You for the baby brother, but what I prayed for was a puppy. — Joyce

 

Dear God, Please send me a pony. I never asked for anything before, You can look it up. — Bruce

 

Dear God, If we come back as something — please don’t let me be Jennifer Horton because I hate her. — Denise

 

Dear God, My brother is a rat. You should give him a tail. Ha ha. — Danny

 

Dear God, I want to be just like my Daddy when I get big but not with so much hair all over. — Sam

 

Dear God, I bet it is very hard for You to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only 4 people in our family and I can never do it. — Nan

 

 

But here is what a young man said one evening while saying his prayers with his Father.

“Dear God, bless my mommy & daddy, and take care of yourself, too, because without You, we’re sunk! Amen”    You see, he gets it. He knows that when he’s praying, he’s talking to God and knows that without God, we’re sunk. Just a child, but he gets what prayer is really about.

But many adults have trouble understanding how to pray.  Let me show you why. Have you ever tried to use a tool you weren’t familiar with? You don’t have good results at first because you don’t fully understand the proper usage of the tool.

Many people pray like that. They aren’t that familiar with it, and as a result, they don’t see much results and end up getting frustrated. The problem is that they don’t fully understand what prayer is.

We have always been taught that prayer is just talking to God; that it is just a conversation with God where we ask for what we need and occasionally thank Him and sometimes pray for others too, but it is so much more.

There are many different ways to pray. We sometimes pray in public, but more importantly, we also need a daily quiet time of prayer. A time of no interruptions so we can fully focus on Him and to meditate on His holiness. We need a time where we listen as He talks to us instead of us doing all of the talking.

Prayer is vital to our relationship with God. It’s the most powerful thing on earth but it is the least used of God’s tools.

God is calling every Christian to get spiritually prepared and He wants us to understand  the URGENCY of His calling. This calling is amazingly important and is essential to our survival in this world.

Many churches talk a lot about prayer, but they don’t model it and they don’t teach it. As a result, Christians don’t really understand the blessing that prayer is and the power which comes from it. We end up trying to avoid it rather than embrace it.

 

The ironic thing is that we serve a God of abundance and when we ask for something, not for our own gain but to glorify Him, we will get it in the right way and time. But we rarely ask for those blessings.

Billy Graham once said, “That heaven was full of blessings nobody ever asked God for…So they just sit there unused.”

Two pastors were sitting in a coffee shop discussing the best position in which to pray

One said that kneeling was the best, and the other said head bowed was best. The man at the next table finally spoke up and said the best position to pray from is when you simply realize you need more of Jesus.

Jesus and His disciples were resting on a mountain and the disciples asked Him to teach them to pray

Starting in MATTHEW 6:5-13, we see what Jesus said:
‘And when you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites, who love to pray public so they can impress people with how religious they are. I tell you the truth; they have received their reward in full. When you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to God, who is unseen. ‘Then He, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

‘And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need even before you ask Him. This, then, is how you should pray:

‘Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today, our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we have also forgiven those who sin against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

 

The first thing that Jesus says is to not be like the hypocrites who prayed in public so people would admire them.

God wants us to pray directly to Him from the center of our hearts: a private and focused prayer.

It is fine to pray in a public place as we do in church, but there is another form of prayer – a prayer that is holy – and solemn. When we pray in private, we concentrate more intently, and we end up feeling closer to God.

Now, let’s get into the actual prayer. Jesus said that we need to start praying by PRAISING. “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.” When we pray, do we exalt God? Do we first thank Him for WHO HE IS instead of going into our wish list? God is sovreign, holy, just, and true. All that we are and all that we have is because of who God is. The first thing we need to do in our prayers to God is recognize that.

The next thing that Jesus teaches us is that we need to depend on God for everything we need in life. “Give us this day, our daily bread.” God teaches us in His word that he provides good things to his loved ones.

 

Acts 14:17

Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”

Before we can expect Him to answer our prayers, we must believe He CAN and expect that He WILL. God desires to answer your prayers. He WANTS to give you the fullness of who He is.

THIS NEXT PART IS VERY IMPORTANT

“Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.” Jesus lets us know that we should ask to be forgiven. Even then, Christ realized that His death on the cross and resurrection did not mean that the world would stop sinning. We need to constantly be aware of the separation that sin creates between us and God and ask for the forgiveness that He provides. 

However, it also says that we need to forgive others who have sinned against us. Forgiveness is important to God. We cannot even approach Him until after we have forgiven others.

Matthew 6:14-15 tells us how important forgiveness is to our salvation.

‘For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.’

I know it’s hard, but you must forgive others.

Jesus also asked God to keep Him away from temptation.  “Lead us not into temptation.” You may ask why Jesus would ask that. He was God’s son, but He was totally human and temptation still lingered. Satan was constantly trying to trip Him up. Jesus included himself in this section of the prayer. He clearly says, “Lead US” because He knew the flesh was weak.

 

When we pray, we should join Jesus in asking God to lead us away from situations which will tempt us and to lead us instead where He knows we should go, not where we think we should go.

Through this prayer, God is calling each of us as inividuals to develop a deeper prayer life and He is calling this church to do it, too

Here are a few suggestions of how we can do that:

1. Don’t just pray quick prayers
We hurry through everything in life; even in our prayers. Take time to really talk to God, let Him know what’s going on in your life. He loves you and what you have to say is important to him. However, make sure you let it be a two ay conversation. Take the time to listen.

2. Make sure you ask God to deal with YOU

How many times have you asked God to set someone else straight instead of asking Him to deal with you?

God is a holy God, so don’t approach Him with malice in your mind – – but with humility in your heart. Realize that more than likely you need to change as much or more than the person you are having issues with.

3. When you pray, be specific, be respectful, and be of humble heart.

 

ECCLESIASTES 5:1-2
‘Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth; do not be hasty to utter anything before God. Rather desire to be quiet instead, because God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.’

 

Search your heart to find the root of the problem. Find exactly what needs to be dealt with. Don’t worry about “sounding good” or having a lot of fancy words. Just get to the point and let God handle things from there.

4. Pray with a servant’s heart
Ask Him for things that will help you glorify Him — not make it easier on yourself.  Zack brought an amazingly accurate point last week when he said that “God doesn’t save us just for us, but for THEM!” He didn’t perform the miracles just for his own glory, but that other’s might see and believe in the Lord’s Christ for their salvation.

ZEPHANIAH 3:9 says
‘Then I will purify the lips of the peoples’ says God, ‘so that all of them may call on the name of the Lord so they can fully serve Him.’

When we approach God, It must be done with a humbled heart – A heart that is submissive to Him and His will. Everything we ask for and everything we desire needs to be focused on one thing, bringing glory to the Father and bringing people to know Him in a salvation relationship. Spreading the gospel to the farthest reaches of our own homes, towns, and world trumps any personal need we could have.

In ZEPHANIAH, it tells us that being humble will bring blessings.

In MATTHEW, we are reminded to have a servant’s heart.

What does a servant’s heart feel towards others?
How can one really be humble, as God requires?

These answers are found in;

PHILIPPIANS 2:3-5
‘Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.’

Conclusion

 

All of us needs a deeper prayer life. That prayer life consists of talking to Him and being quiet enough to listen as He talks to us

PSALM 46:10
‘be still and know that I am God.’

We are a busy people, So we need a time to be still and concentrate as we pray
Jesus came down off of a mountain to see the disciples trying to drive evil spirits from a young boy, but they were having no success

He said that driving out that kind of spirit required fasting and prayer. Regular prayer just wasn’t enough, in-depth, concentrated prayer is sometimes needed. We need to learn the real use and power of prayer.

 
A young Christian man approached an elder at his church. He asked if the older man would join him in prayer.

The young man wanted God to give him more patience. The older man agreed, and they began to pray

The elder prayed, “God, please send this young man troubles in the morning ….And please send him troubles in the evening …”

At the point, the young man interrupted him and said, “Hey, I asked for patience, not troubles.”

The elder replied, “I know, but it is during our troubles that we learn to have our patience.”

We need to understand that the best way to pray so we receive spiritual blessings is to pray prayers that honor God.

The best way to do that is to develop a daily prayer time where we get to know God
and what He wants for us.

I have felt the leading of the Lord this week. He is telling us that if we make this a house of prayer, He will take care of every need we have. He is saying that if we start taking prayer VERY SERIOUSLY, then He will start taking us as Christians very seriously.

ISAIAH 56:7 tells us
God’s house is to be a house of prayer” and we should take that very seriously, too

How about you? Do you feel the call to pray? Would you like to develop a daily prayer time of your own?

Would you like to get closer to God than ever before ? Here is how you do that –

Start praying, slowly and often. Ask Him to tell you about His Son. Every Father likes talking about His Son

Ask Jesus into your life. I don’t necessarily mean the prayer of salvation, but that would be good too. What I am saying is to ask Jesus to come into every part of your life and change it. Ask Him to share those parts which you have  tried to hide from Him and the world. Then, do these two things ….pray to God in Jesus’ name, and read God’s word every day.

The more you get to know God, the more you will desire more of Him, and the more you will know what His plans for you are.

Election shmelection.

So, as a social studies teacher I spend a lot of time studying politics. Those things that many people find annoying and boring excite me and make me amazingly proud to be an American.

This election cycle has been long, involved, sometimes ugly, and extremely important. I feel in my bones that our nation is at a huge crossroads and one simple push in one direction or the other can take us down a path we were never meant for. I pray constantly for the issues which our nation faces. Everything from the lives of innocent babies being protected to the sanctity of marriage to the financial future of my family.

The other evening I was privileged to be a part of an event called Re:Turn, a focused time of prayer, fasting, and worship for our nation. You see, we believe our nation was set up as a lampstand for almighty God. We also believe that our nation, and especially our churches, have started paying more attention, to quote a friend of mine, to “what happens in the white house, instead of what happens in God’s house.”

I am praying and calling others to pray for our nation and for the elections. My desire would be to see leaders elected that would honor righteousness and have a heart to know the Lord. But make no mistake, the hope of our nation does not rest on the platform of a political party, or on the shoulders of any candidate for president, or vice president for that matter. The hope of our nation is found only in the person of the Three in One, holy God and in His people walking as sons and daughters of righteousness.

At this gathering, I heard some words which touched my heart and I found an instant peace about the election.  The words were…

“Every king or ruler who has ever sat upon a throne on this earth did so only at God’s choosing.”  You see, God is still in control. God still reigns on high and his purposes shall come to pass. We spend all of our time worrying about taxes, spending, congress and the Supreme Court and forget that the SUPREME being is still in charge.

Take heart, family. If we pay attention to God’s laws and God’s standards and God’s words then we will be more than ok…we will be uplifted and sanctified.

I invite you to visit the page of Re:Turn, because we have started focusing on making it a movement, rather that an event. Too often an amazing spiritual event takes place and the peope of God immediately go off and do something else and forget what God has told them. It’s like we get our spiritual appetizer, and leave the table before we get the main course. God has so much more in store for us than a one day, 4 or 5 or 13 hour feast on His spirit and word. He desires to see his call and spirit spread to every corner of the world. He desires to see His body RADICALLY changed and pouring out upon others.

Election?  Who cares.   Revival?  YES