Keep On Praying On
I want to, once again, affirm those who meet to pray each week at CCC’s prayer group. I am glad to hear that it will be continued once the Bible study starts up again and I so look forward to participating in it. Thanks prayer warriors!! It is so vitally important. A.W. Tozer, the great Christian writer and holiness preacher, stated these words, “The church that is not jealously protected by mighty intercession and sacrificial labors will before long become the abode of every evil bird and the hiding place for unsuspected corruption. The creeping wilderness will soon take over that church that trusts in its own strength and forgets to watch and pray.” It is pretty clear that we must be vigilant in prayer.
In Ephesians 6:17 – 18a we read, “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit…” (KJV) In this passage, the Apostle Paul lists it among the vital armor that we as believers need to adorn ourselves with if we are to be effective agents of the Lord against the enemy of our souls, the Church and our community that needs an effective spiritual compass. Without prayer, we are fighting the good fight in our own power. Without the power of God behind our efforts, we are ineffective at best and in the God’s way and even against Him at worst.
James, the half-brother of Jesus and leader of the early Church in Jerusalem, said it like this in the Epistle bearing his name, “pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored [to a spiritual tone of mind and heart]. The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]” (James 5:16b Amplified). Tremendous power is available for those who pray, trusting in God’s power rather than their own. When the Church refuses to pray, it is the same as telling the Lord we do not need Him; I think we all know we need God desperately, especially in this hour.
Be blessed,
Pastor Chris
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Crazy Days
I don’t have to tell you that we are experiencing some crazy times in more ways than one. With the spike in gas prices, the entrance of Donald Trump into the political foray, the exit of Donald Trump from the political foray, Washington D.C. scandals galore and the ever-present upheaval in the Middle East, it is often difficult to determine where we are headed. However, eccentricities are nothing new to the history of our species. Jesus’ day was full of oddities including the rise of decadent Roman emperors (some far worse than our political leaders), immoral behavior of societal elites and the plethora of deities that inundated the religious landscape. Social injustice was the norm for most and overwhelming poverty permeated every state in the empire.
Trouble is a given in our world and it is doubtful that it will be eliminated anytime soon. But the Lord forewarned us so that we would not be taken by surprise. In John 16:33 we read, “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” (NIV). Jesus tells us that we need to take heart and be encouraged for He is still on the throne and in Him we can experience peace in the midst of the storm. We should be ever vigilant knowing that we are seeing the signs and times reflecting the turmoil Jesus spoke of almost two thousand years ago. However, we also need to be at peace knowing we have a Savior who has defeated hell and the grave and is continually at work in our lives as we allow him access.
In reference to their suffering, the Apostle Paul sets out to encourage fellow believers at Rome with these words, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us (Romans 8:35, 37). Paul continues to embolden the reader, “…neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39). Be heartened knowing that while we may be living in crazy days, Christ is with us every step of the way.
Be blessed and be grateful.
Pastor Chris Hayden
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Want Some Whine with that Cheese?
I saw an excerpt the other day from Stephen Covey about the 90/10 principle. It goes something like this: 10% of life is made up of what happens to you, while 90% is decided by how you react to it. What does this mean? It means that we have control over 90% of what is currently going on in our lives by our attitudes and decisions from those attitudes. Here’s an illustration: You cannot control a red light (10%), but you can control how you react to it (90%). Just carry that example throughout everything that happens during your day.
What would happen if we did this in regard to how we treat people? Someone cuts in front of us in traffic (10%) and it ruins our day (90%). Think what would happen if instead of getting upset, we said, “That person must be in a real hurry, so I am going to pray they don’t get in an accident.” Someone does something we do not like, but instead of getting angry or rude with that person, we are kind and treat them in a manner we would want to be treated thereby making a friend rather than an unwanted stranger.
Philippians 4:6-8 is a passage that encourages and exhorts believers to have a positive outlook on life. Do not be burdened with unnecessary cares, be thankful for the good things, and think on the good report, not the negative one; if there is any virtue or any praise, think on these things. If you need more reasons to not be negative, consider that studies have shown that positive people live longer (on average 10 more years). Here’s another, positive work environments outperform negative work environments. Positive people attract others to themselves while negative individuals repel them.
Only 2 of the 2 to 4 million Israelites entered into the promise land; those two were Joshua and Caleb. They saw the difficulties of the land as no big thing for God, while everyone else consistently indulged in a whole lot of WHINE with their cheese. How about you? Remember, being positive is a choice. (Tip: negative people don’t think it’s a choice, they think it’s because of their circumstances or someone doing something they don’t like).
Be blessed and be grateful,
Pastor Chris
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