Prayer For Personal Revival and Renewal

Taken from powertochange.com

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test my thoughts. Point out anything in me that makes you sad, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Psalm 139:23-24 TLB).

Confession of sin is necessary for fellowship with God and revival among God’s people. The word ‘confess’ has as its root meaning, ‘to say the same as.’ Confession, then, is agreeing with God about your sin.

Below you will find a series of questions to help you think through areas of your life that may need cleansing. On reading these questions, as you are convicted of sin, confess it at once to God. Be willing to make it right. Then you can claim cleansing and forgiveness. 1 John 1:9 says: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (NIV).

Be sure to name your sin to God: “Lord, I have not put You first in my plans,” or, “I have neglected Your Word and prayer.” Do not make the least excuse for sin of any kind in your life. Proverbs 28:13 says: “He [or she] who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy” (NIV).

You may wish to write down the specific sins that come to mind as you read the questions. Then, when you’re finished confessing, tear the paper into bits and throw it away as a reminder that God does indeed cleanse you from “all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9b). Embrace the promise of Psalm 103:12: “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

Personal revival from the presence of the Lord begins today – if you desire it:

• Matthew 6:12-15
  
  • Is there anyone against whom you hold a grudge?
  • Anyone you haven’t forgiven?Anyone you hate?Anyone you do not love?
  • Are there misunderstandings that you are unwilling to forget?
  • Is there any person against whom you are harboring bitterness, resentment or jealousy?
  • Anyone you dislike to hear praised or well spoken of?
  • Do you allow anything to justify a wrong attitude toward another?

• Matthew 6:33
  
  • Is there anything in which you have failed to put God first?
  • Have your decisions been made after your own wisdom and desires, rather than seeking and following God’s will?
  • Do any of the following, in any way, interfere with your surrender and service to God: ambition, pleasures, loved ones, friendships, desire for recognition, money or your plans?

• Mark 16:15
  
  • Have you failed to seek the lost for Christ?
  • Have you failed to witness consistently with your mouth for the Lord Jesus Christ?
  • Has your life not shown the Lord Jesus to the lost?

• John 13:35
  
  • Are you secretly pleased over the misfortunes of another?
  • Are you secretly annoyed over the accomplishments or advancements of another?
  • Are you guilty of any contention or strife?
  • Do you quarrel, argue or engage in heated discussions?
  • Are you a partaker in any division or party spirit?
  • Are there people whom you deliberately slight?

• Acts 20:35
  
  • Have you robbed God by withholding His due of your time, talents and treasure?
  • Have you failed to support Kingdom work either by service, prayer or giving?

• 1 Corinthians 4:2
  
  • Are you undependable so that you cannot be trusted with responsibilities in the Lord’s work?
  • Are you allowing your emotions to be stirred for things of the Lord, but doing nothing about it?

• 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20
  • Are you careless in any way with your body?
  • Do you fail to care for it as the temple of the Holy Spirit?
  • Are you guilty of intemperance in eating or drinking?
  • Do you have any habits which defile the body?

• 1 Corinthians 10:31
  
  • Do you take the slightest credit for anything good about yourself, rather than give all the glory to God?
  • Do you talk of what you have done rather than of what Christ has done?
  • Do your statements begin mostly with ‘I’?
  • Are your feelings easily hurt?
  • Have you made a pretense of being something that you are not?

• Ephesians 3:20
  
  • Are you self-conscious rather than Christ-conscious?
  • Do you allow feelings of inferiority to keep you from attempting things you should in serving God?

• Ephesians 4:28
  
  • Do you underpay?
  • Do you do very little in your work?
  • Have you been careless in the payment of your debts?
  • Have you sought to evade payment of debts?
  • Do you waste time? Do you waste time for others?

• Ephesians 4:31
  
  • Do you complain?
  • Do you find fault?
  • Do you have a critical attitude towards any person or thing?
  • Are you irritable or cranky?
  • Do you ever carry hidden anger?
  • Do you become impatient with others?
  • Are you ever harsh or unkind?

• Ephesians 5:16
  
  • Do you listen to unedifying radio or TV programs?
  • Do you read unworthy magazines or websites?
  • Do you find it necessary to seek satisfaction from any questionable source?
  • Are you doing certain things that show you are not satisfied in the Lord Jesus Christ?

• Ephesians 5:20
  
  • Have you neglected to thank Him for all things: the seemingly bad as well as the good?
  • Have you virtually called God a liar by doubting His Word?
  • Do you worry?
  • Is your spiritual temperature based on your feelings instead of on the facts of God’s Word?

• Philippians 1:21
  
  • Are you taken up with the cares of this life?
  • Is your conversation or heart joy over ‘things’ rather than the Lord and His Word?
  • Does anything mean more to you than living for and pleasing Christ?

• Philippians 2:14
  
  • Do you ever, by word or deed, seek to hurt someone?
  • Do you gossip?
  • Do you speak unkindly concerning people when they are not present?
  • Do you carry prejudice against true Christians because they are of some different group than yours or because they do not see everything exactly as you do?

• Philippians 4:4
  
  • Have you neglected to seek to be pleasing to Him in all things?
  • Do you carry any bitterness toward God?
  • Have you complained against Him in any way?
  • Have you been dissatisfied with His provision for you?
  • Is there any unwillingness in your heart to obey God fully?
  • Do you have any reservations as to what you would or would not do concerning anything that might be His will?
  • Have you disobeyed some direct leading from Him?

• Colossians 3:9
  
  • Do you engage in empty and unprofitable conversation?
  • Do you ever lie?
  • Do you ever exaggerate? Cheat? Steal?
  • Do you overcharge?

• 2 Timothy 2:22
  
  • Do you have any personal habits that are not pure?
  • Do you allow impure thoughts about the opposite sex to stay in your mind?
  • Do you read that which is impure or suggests unholy things?
  • Do you indulge in any entertainment that is unclean?
  • Are you guilty of the lustful look?

If you are looking for a deeply satisfying relationship with God, I encourage you to pray by faith and ask the Holy Spirit to fill you. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, God has given you His Holy Spirit to help you live life according to His perfect plan. Why not pray this simple prayer and by faith invite Him to fill you with His Spirit:

Dear Father, I need You. I acknowledge that I have sinned against You by directing my own life. I thank You that You have forgiven my sins through Christ’s death on the cross for me. I now invite Christ to again take His place on the throne of my life. Fill me with the Holy Spirit as You commanded me to be filled, and as You promised in Your Word that You would do if I asked in faith. I pray this in the name of Jesus. As an expression of my faith, I thank You for directing my life and for filling me with the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Pentecost Sunday, May 15, 2016

Please click on the links below for helpful information regarding Pentecost Sunday.

Pentecost Sunday - Brief Article

Pentecost Sunday - More Information - Good Article

May 15 - Pentecost Sunday

Hope Quotes - Leonard Sweet from FB

Faith does not just find God in the past, but finds God in the future. Can you thank God, this minute, not just for what has been, but for what is coming?

The gifts of God are found in fields of obedience and trust.

Pentecost makes all of us Spirit whisperers, people who charge the real with spirit.

God, as an artist, has a distinctive style: symmetric, succinct, exuberant, lavish, a flair for surprise, and a lover of variety.

Pentecost

When the Feast of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force—no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them.     Acts 2:1-4 The Message

Pentecost Painting

Be Wise

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.  Colossians 4:5-6

Revival in 1905 - Pray. Confess. Obey. Repeat.

Many have heard of the Great Welsh Revival of 1904-1905. It touched all classes and ages. Newspapers kept tally as the churches swelled with new converts—over 100,000 in one six-month period. In Cardiff police reported a 60% decrease in drunkenness and 40% fewer people in jail at the New Year of 1905. In Glamorgan the convictions for drunkenness decreased from 11,282 in 1904 to 5,615 in 1907. Stocks of Welsh Bibles were sold out. Profanity was so diminished in the coal mines that the pitponies dragging the coal carts in the tunnels did not understand their commands any more and stood still, confused. Even children held their own meetings in homes and barns.
What is not as well known is the fact that the power of revival spread to America as well as many other countries. Welsh immigrants who lived in Pennsylvania were receiving news of the homeland. Suddenly in December 1904 an awakening began in Wilkes-Barre, and the Rev. J.D. Roberts in one month instructed 123 converts.
By early spring the Methodists in Philadelphia were claiming ten thousand converts, the greatest ingathering since 1880. In Schenectady, New York, the local Ministerial Association heard reports of the great revival in Wales and united all evangelical denominations in meetings for prayer and evangelistic rallies. By January 22, 1905 all the evangelical congregations in the city were packed with awakened and seeking people. In Troy, New York the awakening began during the January week of prayer held in the Second Presbyterian church, and spread to 29 other churches in the city.
Throughout New England the revival spread in the spring of 1905. J. Edwin Orr wrote that “the movement was characterized by an intense sensation of the presence of God in the congregations, as in the Welsh Revival. . . The churches were obviously in the midst of a revival of greater Power and extent than New England had known since 1858.”
The southern states were not overlooked by the Lord. Late in 1904, the Atlanta newspapers reported that nearly a thousand businessmen had united in intercession for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. On November 2, with unprecedented unanimity, stores, factories and offices closed in the middle of the day for prayer. Georgia’s Supreme Court adjourned.
In Louisville, Kentucky the press reported “the most remarkable revival ever known in the city is now interesting Louisville. . . Fifty-eight of the leading business firms of the city are closed at the noon hour” for prayer meetings. In March 1905 Henry Clay Morrison said, “The whole city is breathing a spiritual atmosphere. . . Everywhere in shop and store, in the mill and on the street, salvation is the one topic of conversation.”
In Redwood Falls, Minnesota the awakening brought out six hundred men, women and children to interdenominational meetings during temperatures of 22 degrees below zero. A wave of revival touched many of the churches of the Minneapolis area, and W.B. Riley told of a movement in Spring Valley where a sixth of the population professed conversion.

This is taken from Desiring God, JohnPiper.

Pray, Confess, Obey. Repeat.

Happy Mother's Day

Pray - Hope

                                  

Prayer Marathon

Pray continually. I Thes. 5:17

Do you struggle to maintain a consistent prayer life? Many of us do. We know that prayer is important, but it can also be downright difficult. We have moments of deep communion with God and then we have times when it feels like we’re just going through the motions. Why do we struggle so in our prayers?

The life of faith is a marathon. The ups, the downs, and the plateaus in our prayer life are a reflection of this race. And just as in a marathon we need to keep running, so we keep praying. The point is: Don’t give up!

That is God’s encouragement too. The apostle Paul said, “pray continually” (1 Thess. 5:17), “keep on praying” (Rom. 12:12 nlt), and “devote yourselves to prayer” (Col. 4:2). All of these statements carry the idea of remaining steadfast and continuing in the work of prayer.

And because God, our heavenly Father, is a personal being, we can develop a time of close communion with Him, just as we do with our close human relationships. A. W. Tozer writes that as we learn to pray, our prayer life can grow “from the initial most casual brush to the fullest, most intimate communion of which the human soul is capable.” And that’s what we really want—deep communication with God. It happens when we keep praying.

Dear Father, we often struggle to spend time with You. Help us to make the time, and help us sense Your goodness and presence.

There is never a day when we don’t need to pray.

ODB 5-5-16

Today - National Day of Prayer

National Prayer To Pray At Noon.

Dear heavenly Father, we come to You today as a humble people desperate for Your supernatural intervention on behalf of our beloved nation.  First, we thank You for all the blessings You have bestowed on our land, blessings that have allowed us to bring so much good and benefit to not only our own citizens but also to the rest of the world. The very ideals upon which this country was founded were based on biblical truths, no matter how some try to rewrite history to deny that very fact today.

This is why our hearts are so broken over how You continue to be marginalized and dismissed by both our people and our institutions. We are also saddened by the fact that Your people have contributed greatly to the spiritual apathy that now engulfs us. Our satisfaction in remaining religious without being fully committed to living out the truths of Your Word has caused us to become co-conspirators with the forces of evil that are destroying us as a society.

It is for this reason that we personally and collectively repent of our carnality and recommit ourselves to becoming visible and verbal disciples of Jesus Christ. Enable us, by Your Spirit, to no longer be secret agent Christians but rather to publicly declare and live out Your truth in a spirit of love so that You feel welcome in our country once again.

Thank You for Your promise to hear our prayers when we call to You with hearts of repentance and obedience, which is how we are appealing to You today, Father. On behalf of Your church, we affirm afresh the priority You are to us that You would fill every dimension of our lives as we seek to bring You glory through the advancement of Your kingdom in our personal lives, our family lives, and in the lives of our churches and our government leaders. We confidently invite heaven’s intervention into all the affairs of our nation and we praise You in advance for Your answer.

In Jesus’ name we pray.
Amen.

by Dr. Tony Evans

Praise and Worship

If you praise and worship Jesus with your mouth, and your life does not praise and worship him, there's something wrong!

Kieth Green

Gear Up For Work - Deliver Hope

Taken from Wired For Men, 4-25-16 Gearing Up For Work . . . you have put off the old self . . . and have put on the new self—Colossians 3:9-10 At work, we serve. We serve the users of products and services that we and our companies produce and sell. But what about the people working alongside us? What about the people with whom we spend so much time—our bosses, our teams, our peers, our rivals, our friends? What about those who inspire and teach us, or who frustrate and annoy us? Well, each one was designed and built by our Creator God. Each was found worthy of the great sacrifice of our King, Jesus Christ. And each was put into our lives for a reason. So our responsibility is clear: we must love them (Matthew 22:36-40). We must love (and serve and lead and influence) all the people with whom we work. Now, this kind of thing is undertaken best with action—not “in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18). It’s done by doing. It’s done by treating people with care; doing our work with care; doing the hard things, when the hard things are the right things. It’s done by allowing ourselves to become the people we’re meant to become. It’s done, actually, by simply becoming ourselves—our new selves. For that, though, we must first put on the proper gear: “. . . dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love”(Colossians 3:12-14 MSG).

Okay, so what do we do? What’s something you can do today, brother, to love or serve or lead or influence someone at work? Take it up a notch, maybe, and focus on the toughest person—the last one you’d normally choose.

A Prayer Of Praise

                                

Father, you are so worthy of it all—my attention, praise, worship, and love. Your works are amazing, beyond anything I can even express.

Help me be a light that shines toward you today. It is often hard for me to stand out from the world and be different. Give me the courage to make your goodness known and to never be ashamed.

Please give peace to my friends who are standing up for you and as a result have found themselves friendless or with few who understand them.

I thank you for your wonderful works and all that you have done and will do.

In the glorious name of Jesus Christ, amen.

From Max Lucado's new 365-day devotional God Is With You Every Day [2015] 

Interesting - Do The Opposite - Hope For The Church

12 Downslope Markers - Be Aware

Reach People and Make Disciples

Good and brief blog about working together to reach people and make disciples. Click on the link to the right of the pic.

How Did They Start Churches

2 Hopeful Truths

Terrible Truth - I am the problem.

Terrific Truth - God is the solution.

Romans 5:8. HOPE.

Adapted from a tweet by John Ortberg.

Hope In Prayer

Thank You, Father, for giving me Your Spirit to help me when I pray. Thank You for hearing my prayers and for loving me.

From ODB 4-22-16. 

Do The Normal

                                   

Seven Steps To Great Parenting

My friend and fellow parent, Scott Burks, posted this on his fb page.

Step 1 :: Focus your life on Jesus ... This is your top priority! 

Step 2 :: Practice 100% involvement in your child's activities ... Attend everything your possibly can. 

Step 3 :: Don't try to parent by yourself ... Rely on friends and family for help. 

Step 4 :: Never quit! Parenting is for life. 

Step 5 :: Speak words of life ... Be encouraging, say yes more than no, and think before your speak.

Step 6 :: Trust the Bible when making hard decisions about your children. Scripture will never lead you down the wrong path! 

Step 7 :: Pray all the time! Your children belong to God ... Talk to Him about their lives ... Ask Him for help daily!

Christianity - A Message of Hope

                                           

Sabbath

                                 

Prayer Of Jesus - Disciplined Lifestyle

This can be found at youversion.com. Daily Plans. Effective prayer.

What caused Jesus to pray? 

It was the eve of Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, and trial. Lord Jesus knew ahead of time about His suffering, the weight of humanity’s sin, and the cross that He was to bear. He was overwhelmed with intense stress and turbulent emotions. He needed someone to talk to, or to pray with. Jesus asked God the Father if there was an alternative to His will, if there was another way to achieve salvation for mankind. The Father’s answer stated the obvious - Jesus is the only way to salvation. 

How did Jesus pray? 

Jesus had a discipline to His prayer. He prayed as was His custom. (Luke 22:39) 
Jesus had a specific place for prayer– Mount Olives–away from distractions. (Luke 22:39) 
Jesus prayed in solitude and in a group. (Luke 22:39-41) 
Jesus prayed to resist temptation. (Luke 22:40) 
Jesus was alert and cautious in prayer - watch and pray. (Luke 22:45-46) 
Jesus had a posture of submission and surrender in prayer. (Luke 22:41) 
Jesus prayed emotionally with sweat like drops of blood. (Luke 22:44) 

Was Jesus’ prayer answered?

Angels from Heaven strengthened Jesus. God gave Jesus the fortitude to endure the suffering and the Cross. For this reason, we have salvation, forgiveness, healing, and deliverance in the name of Jesus. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved except for the name of Jesus.

How can we pray like Jesus? 

Prayer ought to be a discipline that we develop in our lives, irrespective of our emotions and circumstances. If we find a specific place and time for prayer, it will help us stick to our prayer schedule and will also keep us away from distractions. 
Prayer must be accompanied with the faith that the Father will hear us and that His will be accomplished in our lives. We should make the effort to be alert and watchful in prayer. Connect to God through prayer with your soul, spirit and body. We need to expect answers to our prayers. Beyond the pursuit of an answer, prayer is to find and know God. (Job 11:6-10, Deuteronomy 4:29) 

A Few Thoughts From The Week

Share the gospel - in deeds and with words - share the gospel.

This day is a gift from God, make it a gift to God.

The person who desires a friend without faults will be without a friend.

Wear a smile, it will improve your entire outfit.

Yes - From Twitter

                                                  

Persistent, Persistent, Persistent

“Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, "In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Give me legal protection from my opponent.' For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, 'Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.'" And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?"”

Luke 18:1-8 NASB

Hannah's Prayer

Prayer of Hannah, an Emotional One 

What caused Hannah to pray? 

Hannah was in great agony. In the Jewish culture, being barren was considered a great misfortune and a curse. Elkanah, Hannah’s husband, was compelled to marry Peninnah because of Hannah’s barrenness. Peninnah, who bore many children, teased and mocked Hannah. Hannah felt suffocated in pain and depression. In her anguish, she went to the temple to pray. 

How did Hannah pray? (1 Samuel 1:10-18) 

Hannah’s prayer was laden with emotion and fervent in spirit before God. She found solace from her pain and anguish when she prayed. Hannah spoke to God without any pretense – her emotions lay exposed, her heart was undistracted, her mind was focused, and her spirit was connected to God’s. 

Hannah’s prayer started with a request for a child. However, by the end of her prayer, she made a commitment to give the child back to the Lord to serve Him. She went home with the belief that God had started work on her behalf and therefore she was happy and light hearted. 

Did God answer Hannah’s prayer? (1 Samuel 1:20) 

In due time, Hannah received her blessing. She bore a son who she called Samuel. 

How can we pray like Hannah? 

• Get emotional with God: Pray simple and heartfelt prayers to God. 
• Focus in prayer: Redirect your emotions to focus in prayer; do not get distracted by your surroundings and negative voices. 
• Let God’s Will be our will: Pray with utmost sincerity; then, our desires become aligned to the Will of God. 
• Faith and Confidence: It is normal for prayers to begin on our knees in anguish and desperation, especially when we go through painful situations, like Hannah’s. However, our fellowship with God helps us to rise up with strength, comfort, and courage to face the situation.

Leave your prayer room with the confidence that God has started His work on your behalf.

Taken from youversion.com

You Can Pray These For Your Church

Click on the link and begin to pray.

18 Things To Pray For Your Church

Change

                                    

I Am Very Talented - Just For Laughs

                               

Zero Talent

                                 

If God

                                    

Blessed Are You, O Lord - Book of Common Prayer

Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
As once you ransomed your people from Egypt
and led them to freedom in the promised land,
so now you have delivered us from the dominion of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of your risen Son.
May we, the first fruits of your new creation,
rejoice in this new day you have made,
and praise you for your mighty acts.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Romans 12:1-2 The Message

                         

The Word Of God Is Powerful

“"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts. "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”
Isaiah 55:9-11 NASB

Romans 12 - God's Word

Renewing your mind through the Bible is God's way to transformation. When you read, meditate upon, and apply God's word in your daily life, you are changed from the inside out.

Excerpt from Renewing Your Mind at YouVersion.com

Follow Me

13 Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them.14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,”Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. 15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Mark 2:13-17 NIV

Discipleship Is Important

Discipleship - These Things Can Help Measure It

Aaaawwwww

God's Power

Never measure God’s unlimited power by your limited expectations.

ODB

Prayer - Life Changing Conversation

Conversation with God leads to an encounter with God. Prayer is not only the way we learn what Jesus has done for us but also is the way we “daily receive God’s benefits.” Prayer turns theology into experience. Through it we sense his presence and receive his joy, his love, his peace and confidence, and thereby we are changed in attitude, behavior, and character. 

Excerpt from PRAYER by Timothy Keller 
Reprinted by arrangement with DUTTON, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random 
House Company. Copyright © 

Together

COMMUNITY by Joshua Dubois

 

TOGETHER

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

                                                                                                                                                                Hebrews 10:24-24

The value and dignity of the individual…is threatened whenever it is assumed that individual desires, hopes and ideals can be fitted with frictionless harmony into the collective purposes of man. The individual is not discrete.  He cannot find his fulfillment outside the community; but he also cannot find fulfillment completely within society. In so far as he finds fulfillment within society he must abate his individual ambitions. He must “die to self” if he would truly live. In so far as he finds fulfillment beyond every historical community he lives his life in painful tension with even the best community, sometimes achieving standards of conduct which defy the standards of the community with a resolute “we must obey God rather than man.”                       -Reinhold Niebuhr, the Irony of American History

Lord, wrap me not only in your love but also in connection with other people. Show me the way toward brothers and sisters who will edify me, and I them. Place me within your community. Amen

 

Tyrone R. Lawton

"As iron sharpens iron ...so does one man sharpens another"

                                                                      Prov. 27:17

Today and Everyday

                              

Draw Near

Jesus is the mediator between us and God (1 Tim 2:5; cf. Heb 8:6; 12:24). All ancient lands and cultures had temples, because human beings once knew innately that there was a gap, a yawning chasm, between us and the divine. God is great and we are small—God is perfect and we are flawed. Temples were places where an effort was made to bridge that gap. Sacrifices and offerings were made and rituals observed by professional “mediators” (priests) who sought to bring the remote divinity near. All such efforts were understood to be partial and fragmentary. No religion claimed that the gap could be closed. 

Aristotle, for example, said that while it might be possible to venerate and appease the gods, actual intimate friendship with a god was impossible. The philosopher reasoned that friendship requires that both parties share much in common as equals. They must be alike. But since God is infinitely greater than human beings, “the possibility of friendship ceases.” 

Now, however, we have the ultimate mediator and priest to end all priests (Heb 4:14 –15). He eliminates the gap so that we can know God as friend (cf. Ex 33:11). It is because the Son of God was “made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest” (Heb 2:17). And because “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but . . . has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet without sin,” we are able to “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence” (Heb 4:15–16). 

Here, then, is a claim that Aristotle—indeed, all the other philosophers and religious teachers of the world—would find outrageous. How could God be our intimate friend? How could we approach him with complete confidence? It is because God became like us, equally mortal and subject to suffering and death. He did it so we could be forgiven and justified by faith apart from our efforts and merits. That is why we can draw near. 

Excerpt from PRAYER by Timothy Keller 
Reprinted by arrangement with DUTTON, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random 
House Company. Copyright © 2014 by Timothy Keller

Grand Opening

                           

Prayer Timothy Keller Thoughts

Jesus Christ taught his disciples to pray, healed people with prayers, denounced the corruption of the temple worship (which, he said, should be a “house of prayer”), and insisted that some demons could be cast out only through prayer. He prayed often and regularly with fervent cries and tears (Heb 5:7), and sometimes all night. The Holy Spirit came upon him and anointed him as he was praying (Luke 3:21–22), and he was transfigured with the divine glory as he prayed (Luke 9:29). When he faced his greatest crisis, he did so with prayer. We hear him praying for his disciples and the church on the night before he died (John 17:1–26) and then petitioning God in agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. Finally, he died praying. 

Immediately after their Lord’s death, the disciples prepare for the future by being “constantly in prayer” together (Acts 1:14). All church gatherings are “devoted . . . to prayer” (Acts 2:42; 11:5; 12:5, 12). 

The power of the Spirit descends on the early Christians in response to powerful prayer, and leaders are selected and appointed only with prayer. All Christians are expected to have a regular, faithful, devoted, fervent prayer life. In the book of Acts, prayer is one of the main signs that the Spirit has come into the heart through faith in Christ. The Spirit gives us the confidence and desire to pray to God and enables us to pray even when we don’t know what to say. Christians are taught that prayer should pervade their whole day and whole life—they should “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17). 

Prayer is so great that wherever you look in the Bible, it is there. Why? Everywhere God is, prayer is. Since God is everywhere and infinitely great, prayer must be all-pervasive in our lives. 

Excerpt from PRAYER by Timothy Keller  
Reprinted by arrangement with DUTTON, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company. Copyright © 2014 by Timothy Keller

The Sacrifice

John 20: 1-10 NIV - Easter

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. ² So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
³ So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. ⁴ Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷ as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. ⁸ Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. ⁹ (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) ¹⁰ Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

The Symbol For Christianity

The Resurrection

“Without the resurrection, the cross is meaningless.”
― Billy Graham

He Is Risen!

“The devil, darkness, and death may swagger and boast, the pangs of life will sting for a while longer, but don't worry; the forces of evil are breathing their last. Not to worry...He's risen!"  - Charles R. Swindoll

For Sale

Christ Is Alive

“A dead Christ I must do everything for; a living Christ does everything for me.” Andrew Murray, Jesus Himself

Fellow followers of the Way - The cross is not enough. Many religious founders died. Jesus died, rose from the dead and is alive. We are a people of the resurrection.o

Yes!

                              

Thinking About Easter

Nice Work God

An Irish Blessing

May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light. May good luck pursue you each morning and night.

Antici-pray-tion

Easter - Hope - Mark 16:1-8

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, they *came to the tomb when the sun had risen. 3 They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 Looking up, they *saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large.5 Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. 6 And he *said to them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. 7 But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.’”8 They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Smile

Slow Down

Pray - We Must

Prayer is the only entryway into genuine self-knowledge. It is also the main way we experience deep change—the reordering of our loves. Prayer is how God gives us so many of the unimaginable things he has for us. Indeed, prayer makes it safe for God to give us many of the things we most desire. It is the way we know God, the way we finally treat God as God. Prayer is simply the key to everything we need to do and be in life. We must learn to pray. We have to.

Timothy Keller, Prayer

In Him

The Symbol For Christianity