Rejoice Always - by Jude Howell

“Rejoice Always, Pray without ceasing give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

                                              1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

I have had an opportunity to meet the greatest people in my Church.

They are friendly, eager to help and mindful of the needs of others.

I first met our Prayer leader many years ago before I called St Paul United Methodist Church, my home!

She was a friend of my Mothers and I heard about her and her Prayer Ministry all the time.

My Mother was always either getting home from or going to a Prayer function.

Years later I joined St Paul and Steve started coming with me to church. It wasn’t long until we  were  either going to or coming from a Prayer function!

All my life I had tried to pray, I mean really pray for more than 3 minutes!

My mind would always wander and I would start making a grocery list in my mind and organizing my “to do” list for the next day.

I joined the Prayer Team led by Joan Simpson and my prayer life changed!

Joan would say the most beautiful prayers for anyone who had requested prayer.

She would always follow up soon after to see if prayers had been answered

She really cares! Praying is serious business to her. Prayer has been the calling on Joan’s life more years than I have been alive.

She gets on her knees all during the day and night to pray for whomever God lays on her heart to pray for.

Joan is a Prayer Warrior! I never knew what that meant until I met her. I had no idea what Intercessory prayer was until I joined the Prayer Team. Praying without ceasing finally came to life for me through this Precious lady!

St Paul United Methodist Church Prayer Ministry has grown from a one church Ministry to church’s in our city and out of town as well.

The reason for this is because of the miracles that have been witnessed from answered prayers for all of those who have sought God’s favor and blessings through this Prayer Ministry!

Prayer:

Heavenly Father we come to You with grateful hearts.

Thank You for our Prayer Warriors .

Thank You Lord for Joan Simpson. 

Plans For Good - by Margaret Chester

For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.                  Jeremiah 29:11-12  (RSV) 

And God who knows the heart bore witness to them, giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us;                                                              Acts 15:8  (RSV)

We were discussing our favorite bible verses during intermission at “Art Under the Dome,” and I offered Jeremiah 29:11-12.  My friends asked when it had become important to me.  Some people talk about their faith coming to them like a bolt of lightning or a sudden revelation.  But that has not been my experience.   For me my faith and belief in my Heavenly Father has always been there, even at times when I could not find words to express this. I have always known that God knows what is in my heart and has a plan for me. I have always known that when I pray to God He will hear me.  This was especially meaningful to me during a time in my life that seemed so dark that I didn’t even know the words to pray.  Then I remembered that I didn’t need the words because God knows my heart.

Prayer – All knowing and all powerful God, I thank you for this day and the knowledge that all things are in your hands.  Help me to understand your plan for me; show me the path to fulfill that plan.  In Jesus’ name I pray.  AMEN

   

Thought for today – Destiny waits in the hand of God, shaping the still unshapen..”

― T.S. Eliot

Overcoming Temptations - by Drew Saucier

"At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him."                                                                                                                                                         Mark 1:12-13

Lent is a time of cleansing yourself of your sins and getting reconnected to the Lord. We all know that, but do we really do Lent the right way? Is giving up your favorite candy or your favorite Coke what God really planned for us? What if we're supposed to really focus on turning away from those temptations the devil is throwing at us while we're in the wilderness. We all know those temptations, whether it be when you're at that party and you're offered a drink that you know you shouldn't take or when you stay out all Saturday night instead of heading home so you can go to church in the morning. God expects us to be strong in these moments, yet most of the time we fail him. So this Lent, try zeroing in on being a holy Christian and reconnecting with God so that those temptations don't seem so tempting anymore.

"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."

                                                                                                 1 Corinthians 10:13

Our Christian Responsibility - by Joy Wells

“…whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me….whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.”       Matthew 25:  40, 45

It is a sad fact that many go to bed hungry each night; as Christians, we do what we can to alleviate this form of suffering.  But I wonder how many countless more individuals go to bed hungry for a word of encouragement and the recognition that they matter.  Perhaps the real challenge to our own personal growth is the challenge of our responsibility to those around us.  Indeed, we define our faith in the ordinary stuff of our daily routine, and the way we are with others may be the truest test of our faith.    How do I respond to the homeless person on the street?  What about the sharp-tongued, harried mother just trying to get through the check-out line?  The irritating comments made by someone I disagree with?  How about the lonely widow down the street?  The list goes on and on, doesn’t it?

Read again the words of Jesus above.  There is no escaping the reality that all our thoughts, words, and deeds addressed to others are in a real sense addressed to Jesus!  “Though Christ no longer visibly moves among us, we minister to Him in the ragamuffins within reach.  Each encounter with a brother or sister is a mysterious encounter with Jesus Himself.”  (Brennan Manning, Ragamuffin Gospel)

 “The kingdom of God is within you.” * As Christians, Jesus lives within each of us, and His light is within.  Indeed, we are people with a treasure inside, and that treasure is beyond price.  Let’s not discount what we have to give to those who may be hurting.  Let’s be “a vessel for honor, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.” *   Mother Teresa was such a vessel.  She said, “We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.”  Elizabeth Elliott put it more directly:  “Let me not imagine that my love for the Lord is very great if I am unwilling to do for a human being something very small.”

Finally, let’s remember that love leaves a legacy!  Our deeds are our monuments!  We have the privilege to live in the future, long after we are gone.  When we honor the Lord by extending love to others, our acts will live on, growing and building in other lives exponentially.  What a wonderful thought!

Lord, thank You for loving me in countless ways!  I want to return Your love by loving others.  Help me to see Jesus in each person I encounter today, and let me extend the light of your love in any way that I can, if only by a smile or a kind word.  Let me think with the mind of Christ, see with His eyes, and love with His heart.  Amen

*Luke 17:21, 2 Timothy 2: 20-21

On Keeping Your Word - by Dr. Chris Duke

“I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that that went forth from my lips”
                                                              Psalm 89:34 (ESV)

 

Dr. David Jeremiah shared a story in a recent devotional that underscores this very scripture: 

While cleaning his home last year, Darwin Day, 70, of Grand Prairie, TX found a set of old Topps Baseball cards from 1957-1958.  Included were packets of Bazooka bubble gum, that had a wrapper which offered a prize from the company to anyone who correctly filled out in the scores from certain teams in certain games.  Since there was no deadline listed on the communication, Day filled it out and sent it in. 

Executives from Bazooka were surprised to say the least, but they kept their word.  They sent Day a baseball glove, T-shirts, a Bazooka pillow and lots of Bazooka bubble gum!  The company made good on a promise that had been made almost 60 years before!

We all make promises.  We make covenants.  Occasionally, circumstances make delivering on these covenants difficult, but we find a way.  I have in a joking way shared with my wife Ann that whether it’s a business, civic or family matter, “I have to sometimes live up to a promise if it just about kills me in doing it!”  After all, Jesus gave us the gold standard for challenging us to keep our word.  Matthew 5:37 (ESV) says “let your yes be yes and your no be no.  Anything that goes beyond this is from the evil one”.

Life teaches us that before we speak up, we should measure the consequences of answering “yes” or “no” carefully.  It is more honorable as a Christian to say “no I can’t” than to say “yes I can” in order to appease, but not follow through.

Prayer:  Lord, help us with wisdom this Lenten season.  Help us all commit to causes worth our time and energy, that also are commitments you desire us to make.  Above all, help us keep our word with others.

Closing thought:  If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath or binds himself to a pledge, he should do all that proceeds out of his mouth.  Numbers 30:2 (ESV)

Worrier or Warrior? By- Rhonda Pepper

Many things are passed down from grandmothers, to mothers, to daughters.  Many of these things are great and make us who we are.  Unfortunately some are not so great.  I have inherited the “anxiety” gene from generations of womanly worriers.  If there was an Olympic medal for worrying, I would have several.

Although I trust God, my ugly humanness makes me “what if?” entirely too often. Sometimes it is something very serious, but others it’s just petty. But it is always a sin.  What if I get in a traffic jam and I am late picking up my third grader?  What if my college student make more Bs than As?  What if I get a stain on my new white pants? What If? What If? What If?

What if, instead of wasting time worrying, that I use that time during Lent to build my faith and strengthen my relationship with God through prayer and t0 become a Godly warrior instead of a womanly worrier?

What if I remember that God is always with me even while I am experiencing anxiety?  Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

What if I remember what God has already done for me, Rhonda Jo Huffman Pepper? Praise the Lord, O my soul. And forget none of His acts of kindness. Psalm 103:2

What if I am both prayerful and thankful in EVERYTHING that I do?  Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God? ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus, Philippians 4:6-7

Lent just might be the best season to turn my gaze and thoughts from all fears to the sweet face of Jesus and let Him handle my concerns.  My time worrying will not change a thing; but my God sure can. And I can rest in His peace.

Join me this season in laying down your worries at His precious feet. It’s not gonna be easy, but it is what He demands.   My goals are to remember your Word for me and talk to You whenever fears start creeping.  I want the warrior in me to overcome the worrier.

Prayer:  Dear Lord, thank You for forgiving me for worrying.  I want to lay my anxieties at Your feet.  Please help me to leave them there and know that You can handle them far better than I am able.  I don’t want my worrying habit be a stumbling block to my faith or to others.  Amen

Not Yet -by Joy Brown

When they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped                                                                      Exodus 4:31, NIV  

When things don’t always go our way, it’s tempting to gripe at God, blame Him and want to rely on our own strength.

Almost everyone we know is walking through or has walked through a storm. If you are walking through a storm right now, do you feel God’s nearness?

Or does it feel like He has forgotten about you?

Have you wondered if God is with you?

Or do you believe He treasures you even though He’s not giving you what you want right now?

Guess what…He does has not forgotten about you! He is with you! He treasures you!

It is hard to wait, walk and worship in the storms. However, this is the perfect time to remember that God does listen to our prayers. If we trust and obey Him while in the storm, we will see how He leverages our hardships to actually work in our favor. We can rejoice over the way God will make all things beautiful in their proper time.

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us (Ephesians 3:20, MSG).

Trust in the Name of the Lord. It is impossible for Him to fail you! Worship Him through your storms. Worship God because He is always good, even when we can’t see what He is up to.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help me to learn that You make me wait because You are making me ready. Thank you for taking Your time with me. You know what is best for me. Help me trust you and when it is all said and done, I know I will be glad I trusted You. Help me realize that I trust You now. My soul waits for You, Lord.

In Jesus’ Name, I pray.

Amen.