Category: Prayer Circle

“He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.”  Matthew 28:6    

We pray for the whole Christian church on earth as we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior on Easter Day.  Praise our resurrected Lord for defeating sin and death and Satan on our behalf.  Thank God for the “new lease on life” that is our because Jesus rose from the grave.  Ask that we experience the full joy of the Easter gospel not just today, but every day! (more…)

“He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.”  Matthew 28:6    

We pray for the whole Christian church on earth as we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior on Easter Day.  Praise our resurrected Lord for defeating sin and death and Satan on our behalf.  Thank God for the “new lease on life” that is our because Jesus rose from the grave.  Ask that we experience the full joy of the Easter gospel not just today, but everyday! (more…)

And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  John 9:2

Many times people see illness or affliction as a punishment from God. The first disciples of Jesus were not different when they asked, “ … who sinned, this man or his parents?” (John 9:2b). Jesus responded that the man’s blindness was an opportunity for God’s glory to be displayed, and He healed the man.

When illness comes to us or a loved one, we may not consider it to be an opportunity for God to display His goodness. And God’s goodness does not necessarily mean He will provide physical healing. He may, but do we need to have physical healing to see God’s goodness in our lives?

Nothing, not even pain, can take away the assurance that Jesus died to pay for our sins; in this we have spiritual healing. We can be aware that God’s love, kindness, and presence are in our lives when our trust is in His promises. Illness or affliction cannot change that. Believing in Jesus Christ as Savior assures us of an everlasting life where there will be no more pain. (more…)

“I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the virgin Mary, is my Lord.  He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with his holy, precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death.”

Jesus has saved you from all the attacks of Satan and the effects of sin!  That means you aren’t going to hell – he no longer holds any anger against you, and death cannot harm you.  Hell couldn’t hold him and has no hold on you.

Don’t let the tempter make you think he’s a slave master or that you have to serve him in order to be saved.  Give that up for Lent, by repenting of thinking that Jesus is some despot that you have to satiate or satisfy.  Let him be your Lord today and every day by letting him love you. (more…)

[Be] filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God.  (Philippians 1:11)

“Actions speak louder than words.” How true! And actions praise louder—and often more convincingly—than words when God’s love motivates the actions.

God’s love took action in Jesus Christ. Jesus lived God’s love for us in His suffering and death on the cross for our sins. His love brought us redemption and a new, living, and eternal relationship with God, our Father. We rightly praise Jesus for His act of love on our behalf.

We doubly praise Him when we put our praise in action by keeping His command to serve others. That’s active praise. It costs something, however, to practice active praise. It can cost convenience. Time. Resources. Personal preferences. It can cost the opportunity to do something far more glamorous and lucrative. Yet service motivated by praise keeps on serving. Why? Because Jesus’ love neither stopped for His convenience, nor required the recognition and applause of others. Jesus’ example shows what active love looks like. In Him, let your actions show forth His praise! (more…)

… pray without ceasing … (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

I think it’s safe to say that babies are born with little patience. They want to eat … NOW. They need a diaper change … NOW. They want to be picked up … NOW. And when they don’t get what they want NOW, they are very persistent in letting you know about it.

Jesus approves of persistence. In his Gospel, Luke recorded a parable Jesus told His disciples about always praying and not giving up. In the parable, a widow kept approaching an unrighteous judge to demand justice against her adversary. Because of her persistence, the judge granted her the justice she was seeking. (Luke 18:1–8.)

The lesson of Jesus’ parable is this: if an unrighteous judge will listen to the persistent cries of a widow and give to her what she asks, how much more will our loving, righteous God listen to the persistent prayers of His people? The apostle Paul encourages us to be persistent as we learn to pray without ceasing. We have God’s assurance that He will hear us and He will answer us. (more…)

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.  (Luke 9:51)

Ash Wednesday marks a turning point in the book of Luke, and it is a turning point also for us. We are leaning now into the season of Lent, the barest season of the year. Spring is so near, and yet so far.  As winter lingers, we bundle up, and we drink hot drinks, and we huddle together to worship and to sing songs of hope, and of journey, and of weariness. We set our faces toward springtime, as Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem.

But the land between here and there is rough. Over the next several weeks, we will travel with Jesus toward his destination. But while he is always journeying, he never seems to be getting any closer to Jerusalem itself, so that by chapter 17, after 8 chapters of travel, he is still “between Samaria and Galilee,” miles and miles from Jerusalem.

If you know this feeling, always pushing toward some goal, always with your face set toward the destination, but never getting there, never arriving, then this Lenten season is for you. Here’s a time to reflect on the gifts the journey brings to you and to others, and to reconsider how your journey in life steps into the footsteps of our Savior and leads to the cross. (more…)

Sometimes simply earthly trinkets can create happiness in our lives. And, of course, they can come and go. But that which has value far beyond our temporal gifts is of eternal worth. May we never take those things for granted, and join with the Apostle Paul in his prayer to the Ephesians:

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you (us) with all power through his Spirit…that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ… (Eph. 3)

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“And now, O sons, listen to me: blessed are those who keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it.” Proverbs 8:32-33

What noises are interfering with my time for listening to God?

“Turn. That. Thing. Down!” came Dad’s sharp words when the radio blared. “Change the channel! Now!” was Mom’s direction when the TV show was too steamy for young minds. Today’s noises come from more sources — movies, video games, and social media. Some noises are so loud they even cause ear damage. How can the world’s noises be turned off before they cause even more damage: heart and mind damage?

God’s instruction is … listen to me (Proverbs 8:32). He directs His people to think of … whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable…(Philippians 4:8b). When these good things fill hearts and minds, God promises His blessings. … the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 4:7). (more…)

Who Can Be Trusted?

Peter said,[…] “Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” […] And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.  (Acts 5:4b, 11 )

It happens all too often. Public officials get elected, promoting squeaky-clean images and touting honorable lives. Then they get caught in a scandal. They try to cover it up. They deny any knowledge or involvement, but evidence proves otherwise. They have lied to the people. They have lied to God. The community has been betrayed. The people are left wondering, “What is the truth? Who can be trusted?”  (more…)