Faith

God Still Answers Prayer

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14

When you think about prayer; have you ever stopped to consider all the prayers of the Bible that God is still answering? Maybe it would help to think about them somewhat like going out to eat or stopping at the grocery store to buy milk and eggs. The first thing that happens whenever we start out in the car is that my wife begins rummaging through her purse for coupons. Somehow, whether we are going to Olive Garden, Pizza Hut or Walmart she finds one that we can use, then she looks to see if the date is still valid. Prayers in the Bible are somewhat like those coupons. We only get to take advantage of them if we ask to redeem them and the good news for us is that there is no expiration date!

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This morning as I was reading Paul’s prayer of blessing for the Corinthian church I stopped and went back over the words realizing that in my own life I desperately need the grace, love and fellowship that Paul asked for. These blessings are much more than just words on a page or the sound waves generated by our pastor as he prays them over us at the end of a Sunday service. This 2,000 year old prayer is a valid coupon, redeemable in our prayer closet to whoever presents it by faith to God.

God still wants you and I to experience the Grace of Jesus Christ every day. The love of God is more than a gift given long ago; it is valid and waiting for us to experience it this morning. And just as they say on television; “But wait there’s more!” remember that in these days of stress, fear and change; the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit is a gift that God longs to put into our hearts if we will only ask.

So why not put aside a moment right now as you are reading and ask God for:

Grace for every weakness, sin and sorrow

Love for all people you will meet in every place and hour

Fellowship In every conflict, disappointment or disaster

These are God’s precious promises; still active in the words of this ancient prayer. They never die but they wait on our faith to remember and believe!

God Still Has a Job For Us To Do

/ pastorpete51 / 7 Comments

I Confess that this election has been tough to deal with, but moping isn’t going to help much and as I’ve been praying, God comforted my heart with four things from Matthew’s gospel.

Then he got into the boat and His disciples followed him. Matthew 8:23. Jesus is still in my boat! As the disciples traveled across the Sea of Galilee they got caught in a storm. But no matter that water was coming over the sides and they were exhausted they had the most important thing going for them. Jesus was still on board!

All the storms we face in life have one thing in common. We get afraid, but Jesus is not! The disciples went and woke him saying, “Lord save us! We’re going to drown!”

Jesus is still in control! He is not wondering what to do next! …Then he got up and rebuked the wind and the waves and it was completely calm. Matthew 8:26b

God still has a job for us to do on the other side of the storm! Matthew 8:28 when He arrived at the other side… If we will just stick close to Jesus we will discover that He always brings us to the other side and that when we get there he has something for us to do!

Looking in Our Window

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And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching. Mark 6:5-6 ESV

When Jesus traveled about Galilee He made an impression on people because He was willing to touch anyone, even lepers and heal them. Because of this He was continually surrounded by all kinds of interesting people. Mary wanted to sit at His feet, while Zaccheus hoped to just see Him from a distance. The crowd around Jesus often looked a bit like a hospital emergency room, with folks lined up waiting to be seen, while others brought their loved ones and family. But back in Nazareth the scene was quite different. Since they couldn’t believe that Jesus was anything special the Bible tells us He couldn’t do many miracles there. Instead of healing teaching and spreading the good news, Jesus found himself unwelcome and even though there were just as many in need of His healing power, almost no one was able to receive it.

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So why not ask ourselves if the picture in our local church functions more like Nazareth or Galilee? Do sick people show up regularly but find that there is only a small staff on hand to help? Do we operate like a hospital with nurses out on strike and whose doctors are too busy meeting to review their retirement program to see new patients? When folks listen in by our doorway, might they hear a discussion of how to reduce the number of sick people allowed in or the excitement of finding a cure for Covid-19? So let’s ask ourselves the question today; “Are we in the business of shutting people out or providing a place to heal? God still forgives and restores lives. Crowds are standing just outside our windows looking in. What will they see today?