Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you. Rom 16:16
Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you. Rom 16:16
PRAYING POWERFULLY
By: Chandler Francis
The first time we read of Elijah in the Bible, he’s in the middle of a conversation. The Bible reads, “And Elijah …said to Ahab, "As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word"” (1 Kings 17:1). From James, we learn that Elijah prayed for there to be a drought, and that drought lasted 3 years and 6 months (Jas. 5:17). Finally, upon Mount Carmel, when Elijah challenged 450 prophets of Baal to a contest between Baal and Jehovah, Elijah again prayed to the Lord and this time asked for the drought to end (1 Kings 18:42). There was power in Elijah’s prayers. Of course, the power was not in Elijah, but in the living God who heard Elijah’s prayer.
Paul often included in his epistles his prayer requests to the local churches (1 Thess. 5:23; 2 Thess. 3:1; Php. 1:9). He even told one church to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). Jesus taught that persistent prayers become answered prayers (Luke 11:1-10). Yes, for the righteous man or woman, prayer does much good (Jas. 5:16). This week, why don’t you try praying to God? Pray to Him full of faith (Jas. 1:5-6), according to His will (1 John 5:14), and not according to your personal own wants (Jas. 4:3). Pray to Him that you might have open doors (Col. 4:3), that you might have boldness to share His Word (Acts 4:29). Pray to Him and confess your sins to Him (1 John 1:9), and thank the Lord for the blessings in life (Col. 4:2). You see, there are many things to pray for during the week besides just thanking God for your food. Try praying powerfully this week.
Love And Forgiveness
By: Harold Nicks
Love and forgiveness, two tenets of our Christian faith. Love and forgiveness, something we all desire and something God commands us to give to others. The New Testament is replete with scriptures on love and forgiveness. In Matthew chapter 5, in the sermon on the mount, Jesus instructs us to love our enemies. He also commands us to forgive others knowing the debt He paid for our forgiveness.
I recently attended a funeral. I did not know Elizabeth well, but I knew a lot about her influence. Tommy did her eulogy; she had asked him to do it.
I need to tell their story. A story the world would think odd but not those that know and understand the love and forgiveness we have in Jesus.
Elizabeth and Frank, her husband, had one son, Ted. Ted was coming home for Christmas break from college when he was killed by a drunk driver. Tommy was that drunk driver.
Tommy received what some may consider a light sentence … minimal jail time and community service to talk at schools about the dangers of drunk driving.
In the eulogy Tommy recalled how he felt as if nobody cared about him and that God had turned away from him. He realized the destruction and pain he caused in Elizabeth and Frank’s life.
As Tommy recalled, “I was walking home to my apartment one late evening and Elizabeth thought she recognized me and pulled over to the side of the road. I was fearful and reluctant when she rolled down the window of her car and asked if she could talk to me. She asked me to get in the car, that she just wanted to talk with me. As I got in, she explained that she did not want to harm me. She was desperately wanting to know who I was, how I felt about what I had done. She also wanted me to understand the great harm I had done. I felt the weight of my crime and I could not bear the sorrow. She asked about my past and alcoholism and why I would do something so careless. After several minutes Elizabeth asked me to promise I would not take a drink that night. We cried together and I promised I would not take that drink. Elizabeth had compassion for she could see a life of waste and a lost soul.”
Through her anger, grief and despair, Elizabeth saw a lost soul…someone in need of Jesus.
Elizabeth and Frank fully understood the example Christ left us about love and forgiveness even when it is painful and not easy. The thought of a lost soul was greater than their grief. They began studying the Bible with Tommy and eventually he obeyed the gospel. They became active in Tommy’s life helping to guide him as a young Christian. Tommy is an active faithful Christian some forty years later.
Love and forgiveness – they are choices we decide to give or withhold.
Sometimes it’s loving and forgiving ourselves as Tommy did – sometimes it’s loving and forgiving others as Elizabeth and Frank did … always mindful of what Jesus did for us. HE did not withhold from us.
Love and forgiveness – God has it for each of us – we all need it – and HE freely gives it.
Waiting On The Lord
By: Carl Pollard
No one on this planet enjoys waiting. It is something that if we can help it, we do our best to avoid at all cost. Especially in our society today, patience is few and far between. We don’t enjoy waiting. And yet, each and every one of us has to wait.
We wait in traffic, at school, in a drive through, at the DMV, at the doctors office, and husbands wait on their wives. In life, there’s a whole lot of waiting to be done. As Christians, our main focus is on the second coming of Christ. Guess what? We’ve got to wait for that, too!
Sometimes I struggle to remember that it is a good thing to wait on the Lord. It isn’t easy. It goes against the grain of our fast-paced culture. But, there are benefits to waiting on God. In times of waiting we will find growth. Isaiah 40:31 says, “but those who wait on the LORD will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.”
Ornithologists, or as I like to call them, “bird nerds,” say that birds have three methods of flight. Flapping is keeping their wings in constant motion, like a hummingbird, to counteract gravity. Flapping keeps them in the air, but it is a lot of work. Second is gliding. Here the bird builds up enough speed, then coast downward a while. It is much more graceful than flapping, but unfortunately it does not get the bird very far. Reality in the form of gravity sets in quickly. Gliding is nice, but it does not last. The third way is soaring. Only a few birds, such as eagles, are capable of soaring. Eagles’s wings are so strong that they are capable of catching rising currents of warm air – thermal winds that go straight up from the earth – and without moving a feather can soar up to great heights. Eagles have been clocked at up to 80 m.p.h. without flapping at all. They just soar on invisible columns of air.
Now what Isaiah said makes a little more sense. The time will come when those who wait on the Lord will soar with wings like eagles. If we will put our trust in almighty God, He will carry us much higher than we could go flapping on our own. Waiting on the Lord Increases our strength.
Acts 1:4, says, “And while staying with them He ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father,” I wonder what was going through the minds of the apostles as they waited in Jerusalem after their Messiah left. He was their teacher, they were now all alone facing the religious leaders without Jesus there with them. Jesus says, “stay in Jerusalem.” This was probably the last place these apostles would’ve wanted to be. But they obeyed, and they waited for what appears to be around ten days.
And nothing…until the day of Pentecost. Then, their waiting was worth it. They received a gift from God!
Sometimes God asks us to wait. We wait so that our trust will deepen. We wait so that we are reminded of God’s control. We wait so that God can work. Wait on Him, and you will find strength!
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