Prayer Changes Things

The story is told that George Mueller had a prayer list of five men who didn’t know Jesus. He prayed every day that these men would come to know Jesus. After one year, one of the men gave his life to Christ. Another one came to Jesus a decade later and then another years after that. For fifty-four years, Mueller prayed for the final two, and one gave his life to Jesus at Mueller’s funeral, and the final one did so a year after his death. The faithful prayer of one man saw five of his friends come to know Jesus. Prayer changes things.

‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭2:8

“Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting holy hands, without wrath and dissension.”

There has never been a time when prayer is more needed than today. The church should be on its knees, crying out for a mighty move of God. This world is in need, and we have the solution through Jesus Christ. The only way people realize their need for Him is by the church coming together to pray.

Desire of God’s Heart

Every soul matters to God. I know that’s not a popular belief today but Scripture backs it up. He desires that everyone would come to know Jesus. As the Bride of Christ our desires should be the same. Our heart should be for the lost and those going to hell. This is the desire of God’s Heart.

‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭2:4‬

This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

God desires that everyone be saved from hell and experience the forgiveness of their sins. That is the whole purpose for sending His Son. God set His plan of redemption into action as soon as Adam committed the first sin. When He looks at people today He sees our brokenness and our inability to fix it.

Always Lead With Love

The saying goes, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Showing we care shows people they can open up to you. They are afraid of being hurt. People want to position themselves as experts and give other people answers to their problems. Jesus had the ability to show…

Time to Work

There is a big debate about Unemployment Insurance here in the United States. When COVID-19 hit, the government approved a $600 a week bonus to those who lost their jobs because of the shutdown. Now those benefits have run out, and people are begging the government to keep the payments going because they get paid…

Walk in My Ways

God made it very clear to the Israelites that they were to keep His laws. If they did, He promised them great blessings. If they didn’t, it was only a matter of time before disaster was on their doorstep. God hasn’t changed His heart. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His message is simple, “Walk in my ways.”

‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭20:19-20

“I am the LORD your God; walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and observe them. Sanctify My sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.’

Israel had a hard time keeping their eyes on God. They didn’t obey his law or set apart the Sabbath day as holy. Instead, they did what was right in their own eyes and did whatever they wanted on the Sabbath. This leads them to be corrected by God and eventually being led into captivity. If they would’ve obeyed His Word, they would’ve been close to Him.

Book Review Replicate

From time to time I like to recommend a book or resource that I believe can help you in your walk with Jesus Christ. The book “Replicate” by Robby Gallaty and Chris Swain is one of those books. Jesus’ last command to the church was to “Go and make disciples, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you.” (Matt 28:19 I wrote a devotion here) Discipleship is the mission of the church. We are to go and make disciples. The book “Replicate” lays out all of the reasons why you and your church should be doing it and a simple plan on how to implement it.

Are You Part of the Family?

On our wall, we have several family portraits. They start with our wedding picture to our last one. Each shows our growth in both age and number. When our kids were younger, they would ask why they weren’t in specific pictures. It was hard for them to understand they weren’t born yet. Are you part of the family of God? If there was a family portrait, would you be in it?

‭‭Mark‬ ‭3:32-35

And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” 33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

Jesus was sitting inside of a house, probably Peter’s in Capernaum, teaching His followers. Mom and His brothers show up, asking for Him. Some have speculated that they were coming to take Him home because rumors were swirling that He was doing crazy things.

You Can’t Have Both

It’s mind-boggling how much people spend on self-improvement. From the books, to the online courses, to personal coaching all to change how we are. Most of it fails because people want new improvements but with very little change in their lives. You can’t have both. Jesus makes that clear in that the new work that He wants to do will take some change. The sooner we prepare ourselves, the quicker it will happen.

‭‭Mark‬ ‭2:22

“No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”

If you want things to change, you can’t keep doing it the way you’ve done it in the past. For the Jews, it was adhering to the old system of the law. Jesus came to change things, and the old way of doing things according to the law wasn’t going to work. They had gotten into a spiritual rut and didn’t even know the heart of God anymore.

It’s the Sick Who Need a Doctor

Going to see the doctor today can be an adventure. The fear of catching COVID-19 is keeping people away from hospitals and getting the care they need. Add to that the fact that hundreds of people are filled with fear, sure they have the virus taking their places, and it can be frustrating. It’s the sick who need a doctor. The same can be said for those who are spiritually sick. Pastors are inundated with people with made-up problems while the genuinely needy go ignored.

‭‭Mark‬ ‭2:17

“And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Jesus had multiple confrontations with the religious people in Jerusalem. These were the people who prided themselves on having it all together, spiritually speaking. Jesus tells theses spiritually elite that He came to minister to those who were sick. These people didn’t think they were part of that group. Self-righteous people think that they are okay, but sinners know they are messed up.

Reverence for God’s Word

When a judge walks into his courtroom, the Bailiff tells everyone to rise. When a high ranking officer in the military enters, everyone ranked underneath him stand up, come to attention, and salute. Why is it we don’t have the same reverence for God’s Word? It deserves the same respect of any judge or general.

‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭8:5

“Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up.”

The Israelites had a reverence for God’s Word. Even after seventy years of exile for forsaking God, the remnant that came back stood when Ezra opened the Law’s book. While it was being read, they stood, and the scribes read it for several hours. I encourage you to read the whole story in Nehemiah 8. By the time that Ezra was done reading, people were weeping. This shows you that there is power in the written Word of God, and it can change our lives.