Why pay the price for Unity? -- Phil Tiews

A Broken BrideThe wedding march swells as all eyes turn toward the back of the church in anticipation of the Bride’s grand entrance.  The Groom’s heart swells, too, as He eagerly awaits His love’s coming forth to be joined together forever.  There is a scuffling sound and down the aisle scurry two feet beautifully adorned in white satin shoes.  They are followed by a pair of legs, but before they can make it to the front, they are overtaken by arms, each with hands waving for attention.  The torso comes next, hopping and rolling forward awkwardly, but forcing a place in the middle of the appendages due to its greater size.  Lastly the head processes, chin held high in a sense of dignity and beauty, at least as high as it can be given the absence of a neck which refused to take a subordinate position and is up first, glad to be ahead for once.  As the various members of the body of the Bride jockey for position closest to the Groom, the look of pain and grief on His face, still mingled with undying love, can only be imagined.

The Bible tells us that all God’s work in history is moving toward the great wedding feast of the Lamb when Jesus will have His heart’s desire, to be married eternally to the Bride the Father promised and He purchased by His own blood.  If the wedding were to take place today, I am afraid that it would be more like the one pictured above than the glorious feast of Revelations.  Jesus’ Beloved is divided along theological, racial, ethnic, and cultural lines.  She is further broken by disputes, prejudices, and damaged relationships.  What cause we have for mourning and humiliation over her state!

In our shame and consternation, though, there is great reason for rejoicing.  God promises that

…Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.  Eph 5:25-27

Jesus will complete the work He began on the cross, removing stain, wrinkle, blemish – to say nothing of brokenness and division – so that on the great wedding day, the Bride will be radiant.  We live in trust in His power and love to bring this transformation about.  And in the meantime we cooperate with every movement of the Spirit in our lives to prepare us for that day. 

This is the first reason that we are an ecumenical community.  We are looking for the day when the Bride will reflect in her wholeness, devotion and radiance the love which flows from Jesus to us.  Only God can resolve the divisions and heal the brokenness, but we can cooperate with the grace He has extended to us to walk out in a limited way that Bridal radiance by loving and serving each other across lines of church, tradition, culture and more.  Christian unity is not an exercise in tolerance; it is the heart response of the Bride as she is being prepared to be presented to her Groom.

A Team Divided on Itself There is a second motivation for our investment in unity.  Imagine an all-star football team, something like the NFL Pro-Bowl.  Representatives from many teams have assembled, a few from the Patriots, several from the Eagles, only one from some teams, but each gifted and accomplished in their own way.  The whistle blows and the ball is kicked off, the game begins.  But there is something wrong here.  The Colt quarterback will only throw to the tight end because he is also a Colt, ignoring all the other receivers.  Meanwhile the right tackle decides he won’t block for the running back because his team was beaten badly by the back’s team earlier in the year.  So it goes, players working with those from their own teams or a few others who they like for one reason or another, but without any overall unity or cohesion.  You know what the result will be, a shellacking of the All-Pros by the All-Foes.

We are in a contest far more serious than any Pro-Bowl – a war for the souls of men and the revelation of the kingdom of God on the earth.  Our spiritual enemies take advantage of the gaps in our lines and those who we hope to reach pull back because the message of the Gospel is marred by the rancor of the messengers toward one another.  Jesus said

 I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me? John 17:20-21

The world looks at us to see what they can learn about Jesus.  When they see a unity rooted in the love for one another such as the Father and Son have for each other, Jesus says it will be a sign testifying to Him. 

A Family Discovered We find ourselves in the back of a van on a long trip.  Around us are all these other kids who look different and act different than we do, and who frankly are beginning to get on each other’s nerves.  We cry out to the Driver, ‘Dad, these kids are bothering us!’, only to hear, to our shock, all the other kids crying the same thing!  Something is wrong here.  Where did Dad pick up all these others and why are they on the family trip with us and who do they think they are addressing our Father as ‘Dad’.  Just then Dad turns around and shouts “Don’t make me stop this car and come back there!!!” – no just kidding!  Dad actually turns around and addressing all of the kids at once says (adjusting the pronouns just a bit):

¹⁹You love because I first loved you. ²⁰Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. ²¹The commandment you have from Me is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also. 1 John 4:19-21

A third reason that we are an ecumenical community is that those who have known the love of God and love Him in response, also must love what He loves.  And it turns out that what He loves are all those other folks who are alive in His Son, Jesus, but are not like us!  We have discovered that in Jesus we are all brothers and sisters, children in the same family and we can’t do a thing about it.  Now, like it or not, we need to love one another!  But actually, the more we are conformed to the image of Jesus, the more we like it!  We might not agree, but we don’t need to agree in order to love.  If we did, marriage would never work!  We just need to lay our lives down for one another as Jesus did for us.

A Costly Calling It is costly to be an ecumenical community.  It is simpler and more efficient to work with those who agree with us theologically, organizationally, culturally.  And God loves and blesses the different expressions of his Church on the earth who share these traits in common.  But he has blessed and honored us with a costly call – to try to express in our limited way that unity which we shall all someday have in fullness at the wedding feast of the Lamb.  Living this call is inconvenient, it makes extra demands on our schedules, at times we hurt or aggravate one another – but it is worth it!  We get to experience imperfectly, in humility, but prophetically the oneness for which Jesus prayed, hopefully as an encouragement and a testimony to the whole Body of Christ. 

How Charismatic do you want to be? -- Aimee Bacik

“I came that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”          John 10:10

  One of the five main charisms that define The Word of God is that of being charismatic – open to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and actively seeking all that the Spirit has for us.  Jesus promised that he came that we might have life, and have it to the full.  This means that we cannot keep the “charismatic” part of our life with him confined to our Sunday prayer meetings or other times that involve charismatic worship. 

We are called to live lives that are characterized by the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through us.  As Paul says in his first letter to the Corinthians, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.”  (I Corinthians 4:20)  How do we live the life of the Spirit on a daily basis?  How do we live a life of power?

Pray for God’s direction - then listen!  I have always tried to pray about what God wants me to do and listen for his voice leading me.  He has spoken to me clearly in many ways throughout my life.  It was through his guidance that I was able to make major decisions in my life, such as deciding where to go to college, where to go to law school, and whether to join the community. 

While I seldom forget to pray about the big choices that I make in my life, I find that it is sometimes easy to forget that God wants to be involved in the small choices, as well.  The evangelist Benny Hinn wrote that he began each day by saying, “Good morning, Holy Spirit!”  This was his way of inviting the Holy Spirit to guide him and lead him throughout the day. 

While not all of us might feel led to say those exact words each morning, we should begin each day by giving it over to the Lord and inviting him to be in control of what we do and say.  Not only do we need to begin each day this way, but we should also continually ask the Holy Spirit for guidance as we go about caring for our families, interacting with our co-workers, doing our daily work, or even simply being with our friends or family. 

We have heard many prophecies over the past few months about the divine appointments that the Lord has for us.  However, many times we are too busy and too distracted by our daily lives to notice ways in which the Lord might be presenting us with divine appointments.  Just by taking a few minutes every hour or so to come before the Lord and ask for the wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can become more sensitive to his leading, and allow him to work through us.  I think that we will be amazed by the ways the Lord wants to work through us, even in the small, day-to- day details of our lives.

Expect God’s grace “If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” (Luke 11:13)  This was probably one of the first scripture verses that I can remember memorizing as a child.  It is one of the verses that is included in the Life and the Spirit Seminars that The Word of God has given over the years to many thousands of people. 

How many of us really believe this passage?  I do not mean just know that it is true, I mean believe it with all your heart, and be willing to stake your life on it?  Do we really believe that God is just waiting to pour his Holy Spirit down on us?  Do we live each day expecting the power of the Spirit to be manifest in our lives?  I know that I do not always find it easy to believe this.  Yet, Paul tells us that the Lord is “able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine by the power at work within us.”  (Ephesians 3:20) 

I believe that the Lord wants to do powerful things in and through us.  If we come before him in faith, asking for his Holy Spirit, he will hear and answer our prayer.  Jesus wants to give us the Holy Spirit more than we want to receive him.  If we come before him with open hearts, we will be filled.  Paul tells us to “strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.”  (I Corinthians 12:31)  He would not have urged us to strive after spiritual gifts if the Lord did not want us to have more gifts.  I believe that we have only just begun to see the gifts that the Lord has for us.  There is much more that he wants to give us.

Broad view of  “gifts of the Holy Spirit”  The Lord does not just have one gift for us, he has many gifts for us.  Often, however, we do not have a broad enough idea of the gifts that the Lord wants to give us.  There are many places in the Bible where gifts of the Spirit are listed.  For example, Isaiah 11:2-3 lists wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge, and fear of the Lord.  In Romans 12:6-8 Paul lists prophecy, ministering, teaching, exhortation, generosity and acts of mercy.   In 1 Corinthians 12:28-30, Paul also lists apostles, mighty deeds, administration, healing, assistance, tongues and interpreting tongues. 

Do we limit God by our definitions of what are gifts of the Spirit?   When I was in college, I spent a great deal of time doing administrative work for University Christian Outreach.   Although I was good at the work, I did not especially like it.  Once I realized that it was a gift of the Spirit, my attitude towards doing the work totally changed.  I was able to view my work in an entirely different light.  Rather than being something that I was just good at doing, I began to view the administrative work as an opportunity to exercise a gift from God. 

I believe that the Lord has given us many of the gifts listed above, as well as many other gifts that I have not listed.  If we ask God to open up our eyes to the gifts that he has already given us, and to the many gifts he wants to give us, I believe that we will see many amazing ways in which the Lord wants to use us.

Share the life of the Spirit. God did not give us gifts of the Holy Spirit so that we could hold onto them for ourselves.  He gave us the gifts so that we could build up the body of Christ.   As Paul says, “he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ….”  (Ephesians 4:11-12)  Not only are we called to share our gifts with one another, but we are called to reach out to those around us and share the good news. 

We have been given the amazing gift of abundant life in the Spirit.  We have not been given this gift because we are worthy, but we have been given this gift because we are amazingly loved by God.  This is a truth that the world is dying to know.  God is calling us to reach out and tell those around us of the good news of his love, and of the gift of his Holy Spirit.  Soon, we will have an opportunity to act on this call.  In May, The Word of God will be sponsoring and running a Life in the Spirit Seminar.  Is there someone who the Lord wants you to invite to come?  Is this something that the Lord would like you to attend so that you can be refreshed in the Spirit?

Intimacy and Mission.  In the last few months we have heard many prophesies about intimacy with God, and reaching out to evangelize those around us.  Both of these things are impossible to do without an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds.  I think the question that the Lord is asking us right now is, “How foolish are you willing to be?”  Are we willing to look foolish in the eyes of the world in order to show others what it means to live life abundantly?  Are we willing to allow the power of the Holy Spirit to work in and through us in mighty ways, in ways that we have never imagined?  If we are, I believe that we will see the power of the Lord in ways that we have never seen before.

The Word of God Launches New Website

Finally catching up some with the 21^st century, The Word of God is launching a website so revised it is really new!  Our vision is to be more than a barebones source of information about the community.  We hope to provide resources people, both community members and others, will find helpful and encouraging as they seek to follow the Lord.  Check out the library for articles on a variety of subjects and testimonies of God’s work in people’s lives. This is meant to be a collaborative effort – a community website in fact and not just name!  Several of the articles have an option for adding a comment to dialog about the topic and share what God is teaching us.  If you would like to add an article, we are eager to hear from you.  You can send it to Phil Tiews at Phil@thewordofGodcommunity.org .  The Lord has poured so much into our lives over the years in The Word of God, we hope the website will provide a venue for sharing some of that with other brothers and sisters.  We also welcome suggestions for how to improve the site.

The new site was possible due to the massive effort of Matt Stauffer and Steve Lucchetti.  Lots of thanks to both these brothers.  If you would like to join the team to continue developing and maintaining the website, please contact us!

Evidence For Evangelism -- Bob Magill

How a lawyer assembles the evidence for the defense of the Gospel

by Bob Magill

The year 2000, a millennial year and a jubilee year, is a good year to tell others about the person who is the reason for the dating system which we use. One tool that we can use in evangelism is the historical evidence for our faith.

Like a trial, history attempts to discover and explain events that occurred in the past. It uses the evidence of witnesses and things in order to arrive at some conclusion both about what happened and the significance of what happened. The "rules of evidence" for both disciplines are essentially the same and are based on common sense—the way human minds work.

Now what I'm talking about here is evidence that the Gospels are good history, not that they are inspired books or inerrant. By simply demonstrating that the Gospels are reliable history, we can more easily introduce someone to Jesus. They can then discover for themselves why the church, in creating the canon, came to believe that the books were inspired as well.

Much has been made in the secular press of The Jesus Seminar, a group of liberal Bible Scholars who have tried to cast doubt on the historical reliability of the Gospels. However, they are much longer on opinion than on facts. We can give facts.

Lets look at the things that we could show to a jury in the courts of history. The first phase of a trial is to get evidence admitted. What is our evidence?

1. Manuscript Evidence Very old physical manuscripts of the New Testament, in whole or in part, have been preserved. Look at their great number, the relatively short gap in time between the date of the creation of the original writing and the events recorded, and the harmony between the various manuscript copies. Now compare those factors with those of other ancient histories. It is easy to see that the manuscript support for the New Testament as a whole is better than for any other ancient history. See the chart (Exhibit 1). Ancient history doesn't get any better than this.

2. Dates and authorship If the gap in time between Jesus and the time the Gospels were written can be claimed to be large, some scholars use the claimed gap as an opportunity to insert their own opinions as to what really happened, dismissing the Gospel  

WORK	WHEN WRITEN	EARLIEST COPY	TIME LAPSE	#OF COPIES
Herodotus	488-428 B.C.	A.D. 900	1,300yrs	8
Thucydides	c 460-400 B.C	C. A.D. 900	1,300 yrs	8
Tacitus	A.D. 100	A.D.1100	1,000 yrs	20
Caesar's Gallic War	58-50 B.C.	A.D.900	950 yrs	9-10
New Testament	A.D. 40-100	A.D.130 full manu­scripts A.D. 359	30-310 yrs	5000+ Greek, 10,000 Latin, 9300 others

Exhibit 1. When compared to other ancient texts, there are far more copies of the New Testament written far closer to the events portrayed in them, than any other ancient docu­ment. Based on this, we have more reason to trust in the reliability of the new Testament than Julius Caesar's Gallic War!

accounts as legends. Thus, over a hundred years ago, The German Tubingen school claimed that the Matthew, Mark and Luke's Gospels were first written after 130 AD and John not until the late second century.

Then in 1934, the noted papyrologist C.H. Roberts exam­ined a neglected papyrus fragment of the Gospel of John, which had been recovered from Egypt, and dated it to between 100-150 AD. (Exhibit 2) Since this was a fragment of a copy found in Egypt, far from Ephesus, the original was undoubtedly written earlier. The range of dates now given by mainline scholars for the writing of the Gospels runs from 50 AD (earliest) to 100 AD (latest). See Josh McDowell, The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict. 1999, p. 52.

 

Exhibit 2. How old are the Gospels? Some skeptical scholars used to date them 130 AD or later. Then in 1934 this fragment of a copy of the Gospel of John was discovered in Egypt, miles from Ephesus where it was written. It was dated between 100-150 AD, pushing the authorship of the original back to 50-100 AD, well within the lifetime of John, the purported author.

Internal evidence alone suggests, at least for Luke, a date near 60 AD since his Gospel precedes his Acts which ends without telling what happens to Paul, who died c. 62-67AD.   This date range is sufficient to allow for the Gospels to have been written by, or with testimony from, eyewitnesses. But there is even more evidence pertaining to authorship. Early church documents exist, some only in fragments recorded later, whose authors claim personal knowledge of the authorship. For example, Papias (c. 125 AD) records a statement of John that "Mark having been the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately all that he mentioned, whether sayings or doings of Christ...' Irenaeus (c. 180), who was a disciple ofPolycarp who was a disciple of John, also attests that the four Gospels were written by the persons whose names they bear: Matthew ("when Peter and Paul were preaching the gospel In Rome"), Mark, Luke, and John the "disciple of the Lord, who also leaned on His breast, himself produced his Gospel, while he was living at Ephesus in Asia." (as quoted in Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ. 1996.p.23-24).

3. Corroboration documents archaeology

A. Documents: There is corroboration of the existence, death, resurrection and sayings of Jesus from another witness: Paul. "The authorship and early date for eight of his letters (including Gal. and 1 & II Cor.) is undoubted." (Columbia Encyclopedia. 5^th ed., 1993) Paul states that he was an eyewitness to the risen Lord and that he had been in personal contact with eyewitnesses to Christ's ministry:

Peter, James, and John (Gal.l and 1 Cor. 15: letters written 49-56 AD).

Non-Christian sources also corroborate that some events described in the Gospels occurred and were noted by contemporary historians. For example, the Roman historian Tacitus (115 AD; Annals 15.44). describes the leader of the Christians whom Nero persecuted: "Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus"

Josephus, the Jewish historian, wrote 3 passages in his book The Antiquities of the Jews (c 93 AD) which confirm some of the events recorded in the Gospels: the murder by Herod of John the Baptist, the killing of James after the death of Festus, and a lengthy passage about Jesus. Some claim that this passage, in whole or part, is an addition to Josephus by Christians; but it appears in all the existing manuscripts. The most objective version is a 4^th century Arabic text saying "they reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive: accordingly, he was perhaps the messiah concerning whom the prophets have recounted wonders." (McDowell, p. 57)

B. Archaeology: Numerous archaeological finds have been made confirming details found in the Gospels, while none have been discovered which contradict. For example, the pool of Bethesda (John 5:2) has been excavated (see F.F.ruce, "The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?, p, 94). And in 1961, an Italian team turned over a stone being used as a step in Caesarea Maritima and discov­ered the only known inscription referring to Pontius Pilate.    Exhibit 3. Some used (to doubt the account of the crucifixion because no historical record of Pontus Pilate had been found. In 1961 Italian archeologists discov­ered in Caesarea Maritima, a fragmentary inscription carrying the name of Pontius Pilate. Caesarea Maritima was the usual residence of the Roman authori­ties in Judea. In full, the inscrip­tion states that Pilate, the Procu­rator of Judea from 26-36 AD, dedicated a temple in honor of Tiberius.

4. The Lack of Factual Rebuttal Evidence

While there are "expert witnesses" with opinions against the Gospels as history, they have no "fact witnesses" to support them. There is not—as far as I know—testimony from any 1^st or 2^nd century witness who says "I know personally—or I have been told by a person with personal knowledge—that a) the events in the Gospels did not happen b) Jesus never existed c) the Gospels were not written until the second century d) the Gospels were not written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John or e) any combination of the above." Thus, the only fact witnesses in the matter support the historical quality of the Gospels.

Now, whether or not the Gospels are accurate and credible and reliable on all points or whether miracles can occur are other matters. That is for the second trial phase — argu­ments over the credibility and interpretation of the evi­dence, a phase we must discuss some other time. All that I have attempted here is to get the evidence admitted into court, that is, to get someone to read the Gospels as history.

But as a foretaste of such arguments, I would respond to someone who cites The Jesus Seminar that "The Jesus Seminar represents an extremely small number of radical-fringe scholars who are on the far, far left wing of New Testament thinking. It does not represent mainstream scholarship. ..What they have in mind is a totally new form of Christianity." (Gregory A. Boyd, quoted by Strobel, p. 114-115). What we have in mind is the truth" of the things which have been accomplished among us, just as they were delivered to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word." Luke 1:4 & 1.

The Simple Truth -- Dave Mangan

Have you ever wondered why life is so complicated and everything is so difficult?  What if it's not?  Have you ever had the experience of taking a lot of time and effort to accomplish some task only to find out that it could have been done in one third of the time with only half the effort?  I sure have.  So what's the missing ingredient?  I think the missing ingredient is truth.  Simply put, when we see things for what they really are we can respond in the wisest manner.  It is my contention that the Christian life is simple.  Don't get me wrong, I don't mean that it is easy.  By simple I mean that it is not complicated -- it doesn't have many moving parts.  In 2 Corinthians 11:3 Paul urges us not to be "led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ."  Another translation says don't be robbed of the simplicity that is in Christ.

Another way to put this is that you know a whole lot more than you think you do.  We who have been baptized into Christ have received a tremendous amount of grace and knowledge.  Think about it and I'll bet you that in about 90% of your situations you have no trouble distinguishing what is the right thing to do.  The teachings of scripture and the Church are clear.  Also consider this.  Our major "problems" usually don't come from that 10% of our situations that may be a bit more difficult to figure out.  Our problems more commonly come from those situations where we know what we ought to do but we don't want to do it.

So how do we handle this problem?  I think a prescription of realizing some simple truth and a double dose of God's grace is the solution.  I know when I am fighting one of those battles when I want to do it my way rather than God's way, the basic problem is that I don't really believe that any one will take care of me if I don't take care of myself -- not even God. 

But what is the truth?  The truth is that God loves me and he showed it when Jesus died for me on the cross.  In the Gospel of John we read: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son..."  This was a tremendous act of love.  How much proof do I need!  All that he does is love.  When he deals with me in any fashion, whether I understand it or not, he is acting out of love for me.

One of the ways I like to share this truth with others is to say that God loves you whether you like it or not.  God loves you and there is nothing you can do about it.  It doesn't begin with you.  It isn't true merely because you believe it and you can't make it go away by not believing it.  God loves you because that's the way he is.  So there!

So what do we do if we have cut ourselves off from that wonderful love?  This is where the double dose of grace comes in.  God is absolutely delighted to forgive us and show us mercy if we turn to him.  Consider a couple of thoughts from the scriptures. 

In Micah 7:18 we read:  "Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy."  He doesn't forgive us grudgingly.  He enjoys doing it.

In Mark 3:13 we are told: "Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him.  As I read this one day my eyes kept landing one the word "wanted."  I began to realize that he didn't just call me because he had to or because it was his job.  He actually wanted to do it.  He really likes me.  Growing in these simple truths has changed my life.

In summary let me put it this way.  God loves us and his love for us is complete and unconditional.  We have turned away from that love and have gotten ourselves into a peck of trouble in the process.  And if that's not bad enough, we might even do it again.  But thanks be to God he has provided a solution to our dilemma -- his wonderful, forgiving grace.

I pray that as you have read this you have experienced more than my inadequate words.  I pray that the Holy Spirit has brought these simple, basic truths to life in your heart.  For that you need his grace.  I can't give that to you; you'll have to ask Jesus for it.  After all, you're better off dealing with him than me anyway.

Missionary -- Vision

‘Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…’ (Matt 28:19) ‘…you will be my witnesses … to the ends of the earth’ (Acts 1:8)

Jesus very clearly sent his disciples out to spread the gospel and establish his church in all the earth.  And they responded!  Within decades the Good News had spread to the known world.

Does he intend for all of us, his current day disciples, to go to the foreign mission field, or join some mission here in America?  We believe the answer is ‘yes’ … and ‘no’!

Our understanding of the Christian life is that we are those who ‘… are not our own; we were bought at a price.’ (1 Cor 6:20)  Our lives belong to Jesus and it is our honor to have him direct them where he will.  For some of us that may mean being uprooted and sent out to a new place to serve him as a ‘missionary’.

However, the call to a missionary lifestyle is not confined to those serving in ‘missions’.  All of us are called to live not for ourselves, but for Jesus.  He has prepared us and deployed us through every sphere of society to be ambassadors of his Kingdom – in our homes, offices, schools, businesses, neighborhoods … everywhere.  Christianity isn’t divided into the active and the observers.  All of us have the great privilege of being partners with Jesus in his rescue mission to the world, seeing people redeemed and the structures of society transformed.

As Paul asks in 2 Cor 2:16, ‘who is equal to such a task?’  We know that we cannot live such a radical vision of Christian life and service by our own strength.  By his Spirit, God draws our hearts into mission and empowers us to serve. 

So, if his call is to ‘go’, then go.  But even if his call is to ‘stay’, we are still his missionaries in all the circumstances of our lives, bringing the aroma of Christ wherever we go.

Be Filled With The Spirit

Jesus made a promise to his followers, ‘you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ Acts 1:8  And this is exactly what happened!  On the Jewish feast of Pentecost the Holy Spirit filled Jesus’ followers and everything changed.  Their faith awoke.  They shared about Jesus boldly.  They were used to heal people.  They experienced guidance. And more… What happened back then wasn’t a one-time event to kick-start Christianity.  The Bible describes it as ‘the gift of the Father’, the gift of his own Spirit to dwell in those who are united to him through faith in Jesus.  We aren’t meant simply to believe the right things about God, but to live in intimate unity with him because he dwells within us!  Exactly HOW this all works is a great mystery, but the good news is that it DOES work!

Just some of the things the Bible tells us the Holy Spirit will do in us:

• Conform us to the image of Jesus (II Cor 3:18)
• Change our character – the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-25)
• Give us gifts to serve others and share the Gospel (I Cor 12, Rom12)
• Guide us (John 12:26)
• Empower us to worship (John 4:23)
• Unite us with other Christians (Eph 4:2-5)

Is the infilling of the Holy Spirit for you?  Yes, all those who are united to Jesus are given his Spirit.  The Bible urges us to open fully to the Father’s gift, to ‘be filled’ with the Spirit.

How can you be filled more completely with the Spirit?  It is pretty simple – ask.  Jesus said, ‘… how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those Luke 11:13)

• Ask God in faith to fill you with his Spirit
• Begin to respond to new things you experience which seem like the Spirit’s fresh action
• Seek other Christians who are trying to ‘walk in the Spirit’ for mutual support

__________________________

To learn more view our calendar and join us at an upcoming Prayer Meeting or Contact us for other opportunities

Charismatic -- Vision

Coming   Soon

Community Life Nights are Back this Summer!

We had so much fun together last summer that we are bringing back the Community Life Nights! 

Mark your calendars now for the following dates: Saturday, July 17. 5:30—8:00 pm       @ Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1500 Scio Church, AA Saturday, July 31, 4—7 pm       @ Dawn Farm (see below for details)

  Plans are just getting formed, but here are some of the things you can expect:      Great ‘organized pot-luck’ dinner      Activities for children of all ages and adults Workshops on things like:      Crafts                 Worship Signing      All your Technology questions answered      Irish Dancing        C. S. Lewis      Digital photography And more

If you have a recommendation for an activity or you would like to help with one of these, please let me know!

New this year – All-Community Service Night On July 31 we will be going to Dawn Farm and doing a variety of tasks to help their tremendous ministry.  There will be something for everyone from farming to cleaning to office work, whatever is needed.  And then we will close with a dinner at which some of the residents may join us.  Sounds like a great day!

More details will be coming soon, but make sure to set the dates aside now.  Hope to see you this summer!

The Word of God Calendar

Healing of Vision -- Steve Thomashefski

Sometime during the months of September and October of 2003, I noticed that the vision in my right eye seemed to be progressively getting worse. I saw Dr. Gary Moss on the 14^th of October to have my eye checked. Having seen him in January of 2003, he asked why I was back so soon and I gave him the explanation. He told me in January the vision in my right eye was 20/60 and the vision in my left eye was 20/70.

After the eye exam he said something like this: “In 20 + years of practicing optometry I have never seen anything like this. Your right eye is still 20/60-70 but your left eye is 20/25! That’s like 5 lines on the chart!

He proceeded, at no charge to me, to look at and test the 3 factors that determine vision:

     1.   the depth of the eyeball;      2.   the shape of the eyeball;      3.   the condition of the lens.

The depth and shape of the eyeball (which he measured) were the same as they were for as long as I’ve been his patient. He did not have the equipment to measure the lens but after a ‘visual inspection’ he said he could see no difference from previous exams. As a scientist, he had no explanation for how my vision improved so radically!

Glory to God who “gives sight to the blind”! In part I feel like the Lord is doing in the “natural” while at the same time He is also sharpening and clarifying my vision of the “supernatural” 

Thank You Lord Jesus!

Healing Of My Back -- Betty Brice

We had gone through the Life in the Spirit Seminar and this was the evening we were to be prayed with to receive the Holy Spirit and whatever gifts the Spirit had for us. When the time came, my back hurt so much that I couldn't concentrate on what was going on.  I had injured it many years before and, because it was the vertebrae where the nerves went through to my arms, etc., it never healed properly.  I eventually had had to have carpal tunnel surgery in both wrists, but even then the symptoms weren't completely alleviated. It would be okay for a while, but with use, the pain would return and continued to get worse and worse until I had to have a series of traction treatments. I prayed a lot for healing, without success, or so it seemed. My husband and I went on the weekend, which was held at a Camp Fire Girls Camp some­place north of Linden. It was a beautiful wooded setting. There were several bunk houses, a large dining hall, the two story building where the meetings took place, and probably other buildings as well. The meetings took place on the upper floor and the lower level had the rest rooms, prayer room, and other rooms that we did not use.

During one of the talks, I went down to the rest room. On the way back up, a man that I didn't know was coming down and I heard the Lord say to me, "Ask him to pray for you." There was a little alcove halfway up where the stairs turned, so I waited there for this man to come back up. When I told him about my back and that I had heard the Lord tell me to ask him to pray for me, he said that he would get his wife. The couple introduced themselves as David and Elizabeth Rocha and they did pray for me. (They were the heads of the men's and women's group that Doug and I were later assigned to.) Nothing happened at that time and I guess I was a little disappointed.

That evening, it was announced that there was a prayer room and if anyone wanted or needed prayer they were to go there. The lady in charge of the small group that I had been assigned to, seemed concerned about me. She wanted to make sure that I had received the gift of tongues and whatever other gifts the Lord had for me. She suggested that we go over to the prayer room.

When we got there, the atmosphere of the prayer room was so thick that I had difficulty going into the room. I had to force myself to go in and then went just inside the door. There were a lot of people already there and I could see a glow down at the end of the room. It was not from a lamp and I wondered about it. (Much later, I realized that the glow was the shekina [spelling?] glory and that the thick atmosphere I had experienced was the manifest presence of the Lord.)

I sat in a chair near the door, with my back to the rest of the room, and several people gathered around me to pray for me. As they were praying, I found myself praying and entreating the Lord to heal my back. The room seemed really warm and I starting feeling something like tingles going up and down my back on both sides of my spine. It lasted for about ten minutes and all the pain went away and it never really came back. For awhile, my back would get painful, but after resting, the pain would go away. Eventually, my upper back quit hurting altogether. The vertebrae that had been injured was sore for a long time, but even the soreness went away over time.

Unfortunately, I never told anyone about it. Even now, I am sure that Dave and Elizabeth would like to know that they were God's instruments on that weekend.

Healing Of Congestive Heart Failure -- Betty Brice

In 1989 I had been diagnosed with a large lymphoma cancer which had intruded into the liver.  I had some strong chemotherapy treatment and, after that treatment, radiation.  The chemotherapy drugs apparently damaged my heart.  I had to have a pacemaker installed in 1993 and was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in 1994.  In the fall of 1994, 1 had to have surgery.  The surgeon apparently did not give me enough medication to take care of fluid retention because a day or so after the surgery I had a very scary experience with congestive heart failure.  I was put on drugs to help my heart pump blood, and tried to be very careful about excess salt, etc., but periodically I would have to go to emergency to make sure the symptoms I was experiencing at the time weren't related to my heart. My cardiologist had left the practice and I had been assigned to another cardiologist whom I seldom saw.  At one point I was admitted to the chest pain clinic overnight and wasn't to be released until a cardiologist checked me over.  This doctor seemed energetic, well versed in his medical field and he invited me to sign up to be his client.  I felt frustrated with my situation and decided that I would like to see him.  I checked with my primary doctor and, since it was okay with him, made an appointment with this cardiologist.  I had to wait two months to see him and, before seeing him, I had to have an adenosine thallium stress test (which is a drug-induced stress test).

One Sunday near my appointment with this cardiologist, Sr. Ann Shields gave a testimony at the Word of God prayer meeting.  She said that someone had told her, several years earlier, that she should be praying with people for healing.  She did start praying in this manner but became very frustrated and discouraged because nothing ever happened.  Then one day, a man came up to her and asked her to pray for his healing and he was healed. She was very excited about it.

I had become very discouraged about the condition of my heart and had been praying that the Lord would heal the congestive heart failure.  As Ann Shields walked back to her seat, she went right past me and I quickly asked her to pray for my heart.  Sr. Ann laid her hand over my heart and prayed, "Lord, heal her heart" and went on her way. Truthfully, I did not experience anything. As far as I knew, my heart was still the same.

The following Friday, I had the adenosine thallium stress test. Then, the Monday after the test, I had an appointment with this cardiologist.  He came striding into the examining room with my file, which was about 1½ in. thick, and said, "Well, the good news is that your heart is normal." Then he started looking through the file. He seemed more and more perplexed and said, "There seems to be some wrong information in here." He said this several more times as he looked through the file. Finally, I said, "I think that the Lord has healed my heart." His response was, "Wel l l l l l l l, the good news is that your heart is normal. That test is very accurate and you can depend upon it." It took him 2 months to send a report to my doctor and then the report only showed what my heart was like before the test and what it was like after the test. There was no explanation of what had happened or why it had happened.

I saw this cardiologist once more several months later. He said, "We don't know what happened. Maybe your heart healed itself, or maybe the medication gave it time to heal, or maybe the medication itself healed it, or maybe it was God. The good news is that your heart is normal." Then he discharged me, but said they would keep my records of file and that I could come back to see him if I ever needed to.

Since that time, my doctor keeps track of my heart and lungs and there have been no sign of the congestive heart failure returning. I recognize that I have to be careful with salt and my diet, but there has been no sign of the congestive heart failure even though the condition of my heart has worsened and is now dependent upon medication and the grace of God to keep pumping. I was told that there is nothing anyone can do about it, other than medication, since it was damaged by the chemotherapy.

Betty Brice     September 18, 2003

Who Will Help Me -- Joan O'Connell

Have you ever been in a situation where you realized you were “over your head” with challenge, but didn’t know who to ask to help? Or what to ask for?  Several years ago, a friend with whom I was talking about challenges surrounding me as Director of the Christian Dance Network, encouraged me to get some prayer covering:  for me, personally, in addition to the ministry’s activities.  New idea to me, but it sounded right.  Gradually, I introduced the concept to various friends, as the Lord seemed to lead.  One by one, they agreed to pray for me.  Now, there is a small army of intercessors to whom I email periodic updates.  I try not to “blog” to them.  I send them prayer requests and occasionally, celebrations of answered prayer. 

Hearing and acting I feel I can call on them any time; I know they will be there, hear my cry for help, and back me up with prayer.  Since it’s an email relationship at this point, I can send a message day or night; they’ll receive and respond to my request when they get it.  [I trust that God can handle the potential time and space discrepancies.]

I had pre-requested prayers from my intercessors concerning a scheduled “procedure” my husband Patrick had done over Christmas vacation.  As Patrick purposefully hadn’t told many people about the surgery, I was cryptic.  The morning after the surgery, I wrote the following report, using the computer in the hospital ward “family room”:

Sent: Tuesday, December 23, 2008 4:02 PM Subject: Pat's doing well. Yea... Hey, all ~

THANK YOU for your prayers!

I left Patrick around 9pm at St Joe's - sitting up, chomping on a popsicle, pain level about a 1, and ready to snooze.  His nurse/techs were taking good care of him. He'll probably spend two nights in the hospital, so he'll be home for Christmas!

It was a long day!  Mostly because of simple issues like housekeeping, falling behind in room prep.  Pat was in the recovery room for about 4.5 hours --prolonged time, mainly because of the rooms upstairs not being ready for the number of people coming out of the OR.

Eventually, they let me go hang out with him in the recovery room (not normal, apparently).  We passed the time by my reading The Last Battle, C S Lewis. Thanks for your prayers.  All is well. Doc said there were "no surprises." That sounds like good news to me.

Bless the Lord. Blessings, Joan OC

That was written in the morning of the “recovery day.” We were told he could leave that afternoon.  But, four hours later, the recovery process began to get complicated. I felt the stress of wanting support, but not knowing where to turn.  After all, Pat wasn’t sharing widely about this situation.  So, to whom could I make my needs/Pat’s needs known?   Like others, our parents are no longer in the picture.  Our sibling relationships, if under reconstruction, are still loosely defined.  One “doesn’t want to worry the children…”

Asking for help Ironic, isn’t it?  We live in a virtual community of perhaps as many as 1000 committed, caring, praying Christians, but when the heat is on, I flounder. Who can I call? Where can I go?  Who will help?  I encouraged Patrick to phone his sharing partner/our friend Phil Tiews to give him an update.  Feeling the need for support for myself, I went down the hall, fired up the ‘family room’ computer and wrote this note to my prayer buddies.  I was no longer cryptic.  We needed back-up.

Sent: Tue, Dec 23, 2008 at 8:32 PM

Subject: Hi Folks.

Actually, things turned this afternoon. We're still in hospital.

Now we need

wisdom for the doctor: shall we return to the Operating Room or wait it out?

stop the bleeding (is it bleeding or is it clots remainders?)

dissolve the clots from the operation, so that the "pee" can flow freely!

AMEN.

THANKS, all,

Bless you, Joan

I'm staying in hospital tonight.  Too much excitement to go home and the weather is lousy as well.

Bless you, Joan

Describing the effect for me of knowing that some praying people out there knew of our situation would include words like: relief, comfort, feeling “you are not alone,” strength, endurance, grace.  We did wind up in the OR again late that evening, both of us returning to Patrick’s room, where I spent the night, following the second surgery.

Practical assurance  The next day, our daughter, freshly in from Chicago for the holidays, and I were sitting with Patrick in room 314.  Phil Tiews came by and visited. After initial howdy-do’s, he walked the seeming mile to the hospital coffee shop procuring for us some ‘real’ coffee and a cinnamon roll for which everybody had declined interest, but which was subsequently consumed with enthusiasm.  The visit was reassuring.  Strengthening.  A few days later, helping bridge the gap between hospital time and home time, Barb Tiews prepared and delivered to us a simple meal from her Christmas fare. Our neighbor also brought us some homemade soup.  So practical; so helpful. Did we “need” a meal?  Perhaps we could have managed. Was it loving, kind, appreciated?  You betcha

Prompts I remember when I was in junior high school, I developed a serious case of pneumonia. I was out of school, in bed, for at least 3 weeks.  One of my fondest memories of that dreary, uncomfortable time was brief glimpse of normal life that I had when a friend came by to bring me my homework.  Although I was essentially quarantined, by parents’ orders, my friend was allowed to peek into my room and say hi.  Standing in the doorway, she looked so incredibly healthy!!  Her health gave me hope and vision for what a return to normal could mean. Strength, vigor, good color.  Quite a contrast to my status, but so refreshing.

We live in the midst of a people of faith, prayer and real life adventures.  How can we “be there” for one another?  As the Holy Spirit prompts us?  “Joan, why not give ___ a call?”  Or, “Might  __’s mom would appreciate a leave-the-house break during his nap tomorrow?” 

Does the Holy Spirit prompt you to action sometimes, according to your uniqueness?  What if we responded to those prompts more frequently?  Simple acts of kindness, extended in love, by the grace and at the urging of our Lord.  How glorious!  Amen.

As we age, wrestle with child-raising issues, encounter illness and set-backs, challenges of work or lack thereof, I pray that we’ll be attentive to the still small voice of God whispering and equipping us to reach out to one another in the simplest ways, strengthening the fabric of our life together, one cup of soup, visit, phone call, shared meal, greeting card at a time.  

[PS- Patrick is doing great now, thank you.J]

Inner Healing Experience -- Betty Brice

We were attending a PRMI Dunamis Retreat. The retreat was a teaching retreat and was on praying for healing, both physical and emotional or inner. Rev. Bob Whitaker was teaching on inner healing and asked for a volunteer. I had the sense that the Lord was urging me to volunteer, so I raised my hand. Bob asked me if I wanted to face the group or sit with my back to the group. There were about 80 people attending and I knew that I would be more comfortable with my back to them. Then he asked me what I needed healing for and I explained that I wanted healing in my relationship with my mother. Even though she had died about 10 years before I still had a desire to be reconciled with her in some way. In my growing up years, I felt as though there was nothing I could do to please her and I certainly didn't experience any love from her. My brother and sisters agreed that none of us felt loved by either parent. She took good care of us, but, for the most part, my brother and sisters and I were on our own. She never asked us where we were or what we were doing. She never appeared to check up on us. It was a small town and my parents had a police whistle which they used when they wanted us home for dinner or otherwise. As a teenager and young adult, whenever I asked her for advice, she wouldn't give any to me, saying "It's your life, you have to live it." I found that very hard to deal with.

Even as a grown up and married, when I was ill or things weren't going right I would find myself yearning for my mother, even though I knew that she wasn't there for me. My mother had hurt me deeply on more than one occasion and I knew that she didn't recognize it. And there were times when I felt that she used me to get back at my dad, especially when she was angry with him.

Bob started explaining to the group the procedure that he used and asked me to visualize a time in my life when I had experienced hurt and told me to ask Jesus to come into that picture. I visualized the time when I saw my youngest sister sitting on my mother's lap and I had yearned to sit there myself but I knew I couldn't because I had already been told that I was too big. I tried to see Jesus there with me, but I couldn't. When Bob asked me if Jesus was there, I said no, that all I wanted was to feel my mother's arms around me. Barbara, a member of Bob's team was sitting just to the right of me, facing me, and she leaned forward and put her arms around me. Suddenly, her arms became my mother's arms and I found myself crying on her shoulder with her hand stroking my head. I cried for a long time, while everyone, including Bob, just sat and waited. Little by little, a peace washed over me and I felt a release of something in me that had haunted me since childhood and I knew that there had been a healing in my relationship with my mother. Finally, when the crying had stopped. Bob asked the group what they had experience during this time. Had anyone else experienced healing during this time? I looked around and saw that many in the group had been crying along with me. It was also apparent that there had been additional healing of other mother/daughter and mother/son relationships. One woman came up to me afterwards and said that she hoped that her husband had experienced healing in his relationship with his mother as I had experienced healing with mine.

Barbara, who had never had a child, told me later that, as she held me, it was like she was holding a little child of her own.

Betty Brice Sept. 18, 2003

Jesus' Teaching About Answered Prayer -- Marsha Williamson

One of Jesus’ most frequent promises in the Gospels is that God will answer prayers.  Unfortunately, many Christians have lost faith in that promise and approach prayer as a means to inner peace, but not as something that will change anything.  Prayer becomes a religious exercise in “a-wishin’ and a-hopin’.” Sometimes the texts on prayer have become too familiar to us or we didn’t receive what we prayed for, so we can overlook or discount this promise.  Jesus taught some principles about prayer that are worth revisiting.

The Importance of Asking James 4:2 says, “You do not have because you do not ask.”  Not asking is a fairly sure way of not getting an answer.

Matthew 7:7-8 says, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”

 He is saying the exact same thing twice, so he must really mean it.

The Manner in Which to Ask Ask confidently. We can have confidence because God is our Father, He loves us, and He wants to give us good things.  In John 16:27 Jesus explains WHY God loves us: “the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.”  We have favor with God because we have accepted His Son, so He is glad to move on our behalf because that, in turn, glorifies Jesus. (Even evil people return favors.)

Be Persistent. Jesus tells the story in Luke 11:5-8 of the man who asked his friend at midnight for some bread and kept knocking until his friend got rid of him by giving him some bread.  In Luke 18:1-8 Jesus tells about the widow who persisted with the unjust judge until she got what she wanted.  (Those of us who have had small children know that their persistence often gets them what they want, so we can understand the dynamic here!)

Is Jesus saying we should pester God, until we wear him out?  No.  The sleeping friend/unjust judge are not symbols of God but of obstacles to getting our answers.  We need to persist because there can be spiritual blocks involved—in us, in others, or even in the heavenlies (see Daniel 10:12-13)—and persistent prayer allows God to deal with those blocks.  Do we need to understand the blocks?  Nope.  Jesus says nothing about “discovering and analyzing blocks” to get our prayers answered—he just says that OUR part is to be persistent. (If God wants us to know about any blocks, he will tell us.)

The Importance of Faith for Prayer Jesus corrected the disciples about their faith more than anything else. Correcting them for unbelief indicates that faith is something we can choose to exercise.  It is not just a feeling but a choice to believe God and his word, despite contrary data and pressures.  We need to persist not only in asking but also in believing, repeating, and confessing his promise.

Jesus said to his disciples in Mark 11:22-24, "Have faith in God.  Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, `Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.   Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”  Again, Jesus makes his point twice.

We should ask God, then thank Him, then choose to believe for as long as it takes to get our answer.  (If we stop, then we are exercising a belief that nothing will happen.)

Two Main Reasons Prayer Is Not Answered “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly” (James 4:3).  If we follow Jesus’ guideline about persistent prayer but there is something wrong in what we are asking for, God will move in and adjust our prayer to make it a correct prayer.  When we are in a state of “persisting,” God can grab a hold of us because praying gives Him access to us. Therefore, asking somewhat wrongly at the outset does not have to become a block to getting our prayers answered.

“Do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward” (Hebrews 10:35).  This is, I think, how most Christians fail to get their answers.  After a week, a few months, a few years, we all get tired, so it’s easy to throw in the towel and then sputter something about not understanding God’s mysterious ways and promises.  Please note that in the promises listed above, God never says WHEN He will answer the prayer—He just promises that He WILL.   Remember Monica who prayed for the conversion of her son Augustine for twenty years?  We all know how that ended. 

Conclusion According to what Jesus says about prayer and our role in it, Christians should expect ALL their prayers (or adjusted prayers) to be answered sooner or later—and I don’t mean that namby-pamby cop-out “Yeah, God answered and said no.”  George Muller, who ran an orphanage in England, kept a column in a journal of what he prayed and another column for answers.  His “answered” columns are proof the promise is true. 

He did pray, however, for the salvation of two friends for over twenty years but died without seeing that happen--you know, “unanswered prayer.”  At Muller’s funeral, one of the men gave his life to the Lord, and the other did so on his deathbed.  Muller got his prayers answered AFTER he died.  How cool is that? Remember, God didn’t say WHEN He would answer—just that He WOULD answer.  Try a journal with two columns for a few weeks and see what happens.

Pray, Don't Give Up -- Phil Tiews

¹Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. ²He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. ³And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

⁴“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, ⁵yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’”

⁶And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”   Luke 18:1-8

I’m not sure this is most folk’s favorite saying of Jesus.  Personally I prefer, ‘You may ask me for anything in my name, and — BAM — I will do it.’ (Jn 14:14 - sound effects supplied by me!)  By fallen nature we long for instant gratification and our culture reinforces this at every turn.  Even in the passage from Luke, Jesus says that God ‘will see that they get justice, and quickly.’  And yet that is the punch line for a parable which he tells ‘to show them that they should always pray and not give up’!

The widow in the story is sometimes described as ‘importune’.  That is an old fashioned word which means to ask insistently and repeatedly, or as the judge says, ‘to wear me out with her coming’.

What is the mathematics of prayer? In Matthew 18 Jesus tells his disciples that ‘if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.’ (Mt 18:19)  In 2 Chron 7:14 God tells us, ‘if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.’  So which is it?  Just 2 of us or do we have to get the whole people to pray?  So how long is it?  Ask and it is done or pray and never give up?

I want to know the formula because I want results, and I want them with the least investment possible!  (Feel free to join in on True Confessions whenever you like!)  I like to find a bargain at the store or on the internet or at a garage sale — the thing I really wanted for less than I thought I would have to pay for it.  The same is true when it comes to prayer.  I want to see results, but I don’t want to have to pay more than absolutely necessary.  How about just finding one other person and we take a moment and ask in Jesus’ name?  Done!

Wanting what God wants God wants results, too.  And He will have them, even ‘quickly’.  My problem is that God looks for different results than I do.  I want health, provision, someone’s problems solved, a successful event, lots of people to respond, and on and on.  God wants people — people who are conformed to His Son, prepared as His Bride, united with Him forever.  This beautiful world, which He made and considers good, and everything about it, which so dominate our thoughts, is a tool and a workshop for achieving His goals.  He is going to toss it away eventually and provide a new one.  People are the only part of it made to last forever, and we are the object of His heart and His works.

I am tempted to look at prayer as a way to get a little supernatural help to deal with the things which press on me or which I desire.  For God, prayer is a way to work out His purpose of conforming me to, preparing me for, uniting me with His Son.  In the process of praying He changes my heart to be like His, He aligns my life with His purposes, He brings me to look at His face and not just the works of His hands, He reveals His power, and so much more.

More love, more power I am convinced that God wants us to walk in a lot more power and to see a lot more ‘signs and wonders’ than we do now.  This is simply because He intends the Body of Christ on the earth to more faithfully manifest the life and ministry of Christ!  He is the King and brings His reign, and when He does things happen!  I am also convinced that He is committed to His purposes IN us, as well as THROUGH us.  So, sometimes we will see immediate answers to prayer, sometimes we will have to persevere, sometimes He will heed the cry of 2 or 3, sometimes He will wait until many hearts are united.

What, then, should we do?  Pray, and then pray some more!  Pray with our faces turned toward Him and our ears open to His voice.  Pray for the things on His heart and which He has placed on ours.  Pray with warring and as well as waiting.  And this advice coming from someone who struggles to pray!

It is becoming increasingly obvious to me that ‘apart from Jesus we can do nothing’, but also that He wants us to do lots!  The key to community health and fruitfulness—prayer.  The key to ongoing effective NextGeneration outreach—prayer.  The key to Christian unity and transformation in the County—prayer.  The key to our conformation to Christ and entering into Bridal partnership with Him—you guessed it — prayer.  Not prayer as a technique but as living connection to the living God.  Jesus wants to us ‘pray and never give up’ so that we see His kingdom come quickly.

Importunity is important!            

A Prayerful Attitude -- Dave Mangan

When approaching prayer (or anything else for that matter), it is good to ask the question “Why?”  “Why am I doing this?”  “What is it supposed to accomplish in my life.” As I see it, one of the primary goals of all prayer is a changed life.  If our prayer does not affect our life then something is wrong.  After all, we do not spend time in prayer to change God or form Him, but rather, that He might change us and form us.  If this is indeed being done, we should expect to see our prayer time with the Lord spilling over into the other areas of our life.  Granted, this may take some time and we need to be patient, but it should happen.

One of the dangers, though, of having a specific prayer time each day is confining our awareness of God to that time alone.  It is easy to adopt the attitude that we have put our time in with the Lord and now we are free to do as we please.  But what we should be hungering for is the renewed mind that Paul speaks of in Romans 12:2.  We need to grow continually in our awareness of God’s presence in all the areas of our life.  As we do this we will find that we are much more able to do all things as “unto the Lord ( Col. 3:23).”

In this regard I believe that the gift of tongues is especially helpful.  When praying in tongues we do not need to bring our full attention to our prayer.  Thus, we can still give our attention to the task at hand, and yet unite ourselves to the Lord of All in active prayer.  It would be good for us to pray in tongues often – not necessarily aloud though depending on the situation.  As I have grown in praying in tongues I am finding that when I shift gears – like finishing a conversation and walking away, for example – my first inclination is to pray in tongues.   I must admit that I have embarrassed myself a few times when doing this.

A silent awareness of God’s presence is also desirable.  Our Father has chosen to unite Himself with us through Jesus by the action of the Holy Spirit.  So every action we perform, from formal prayer to taking out the garbage, is done in His presence.  As we become more and more aware of this, praise and adoration will become a way of life for us.  When I speak of an awareness of the Lord’s presence I am not necessarily meaning that we feel it.  As we know our feelings ebb and flow.  They are not always reliable.  What I mean can be described by something Bert Ghezzi often said: “I just know it with my ‘knower.’” As a married man I know that I am in union with my wife Barbara, regardless of how I am feeling at the time.  It’s the same way with the Lord.  As we grow in faith we just “know.”  It always seems to come down to faith, doesn’t it?

Let us not brand any of this as too difficult or impossible to achieve.  Jesus suffered, died, rose, and ascended so that it could happen.  It takes a lot of grace but He is generous with an abundant supply.  May we let Him have His way!

Thanks Giving … in all circumstances -- Stephen Lucchetti

Rejoice always      Pray constantly Give thanks in all circumstances      For that is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.    1 Thes 5:16-18

Give thanks in all circumstances Apart from some notable movie examples, I can't think of anyone who doesn't enjoy and look forward to Thanksgiving.  It is a wonderful time for family and friends to get together.  Not too cold, yet cold enough.  Often it's the end of Fall colors.  For some it brings the promise of winter fun.

I find it hard to think about Thanksgiving without thinking about delicious food and fellowship.  I find it hard not to remember Thanksgivings past when we had the opportunity to get together with family and retell old favorite family stories.  Occasionally it has been a time to remember loved ones who have gone on to be with the Lord. 

Thanksgiving is also a time for us to turn our eyes toward God and give thanks to the One who has given us all we have.  Ps. 92 reminds us "It is good to give thanks to the Lord".  How easy it is sometimes to find ourselves getting caught up in the busyness of our lives and forget (even as we pray for our loved ones) to give Him thanks for all that He has done and continually does for us.   As Ps 136 reminds us:  

Give thanks to the Lord,  for he is good For his steadfast love endures forever

The psalmist goes on to specifically enumerate the world of spiritual, natural, and man made things for which to be thankful – constantly reminding us that each of these are the result of His enduring love for us!

Pray constantly Prior to Thanksgiving this year, we were especially blessed with national and statewide elections as well as a life-changing embryonic stem cell ballot proposal.  We were faced with voting choices which will affect us for many years regarding abortion, life of the unborn, gay marriage and family values. 

For the past several years, as a community, we have joined with Christians around the country in 40 Days of Prayer for our city.   HOW fitting it was then THIS year prior to such a significant election to receive a call for 40 Days For Life.  Amidst the hustle and bustle of the election we were called to offer prayer, fasting and vigils outside abortion clinics and intercede for the unborn. 

Only the Lord knows . . . How many prayers have been offered and how much fasting have brothers and sisters done?   How many hearts have changed and how many of the unborn have been saved?  Without this prayer and fasting how many more babies would have died?

I believe that the impact of 40 Days for Life has extended far beyond just praying for the unborn.  I know in my life that this effort has spilled over into greater and more fervent prayer for the election and even for society.  I've found myself fervently praying for all the candidates running for office – both Democratic and Republican.  I've prayed for their personal protection against harm and also that the Lord reveal himself to them more and more clearly.  I've found myself putting the candidates into the Lord's hands and praying that they be blessed. 

I may be wrong, but I've got a feeling that prayers like mine have also been offered by many others!  How many minds of women and men have been swayed by people humbly turning to God and seeking His forgiveness and His love – Only the Lord knows.   And yet the call to pray constantly is still there -- all around us it is easy to see that abortion continues.  Women and men fall into sin.  Society continues its move away from the eternal riches the Lord provides . . . .

Rejoice always I'm writing this before the national election is over.  And yet without even knowing the outcome I want to rejoice and give thanks to God for what he has done during this period before the election.  I may or may not be happy with who wins in November and whether this, that or another ballot initiative fails or passes.

BUT I can't think of any other election which has caught up so many good men and women and directed them to the Lord.  How much rejoicing in Heaven there must be because of that. 

There won't be rejoicing because one party or another won but rather rejoicing because women and men sought and seek Him who is the be all and end all of everything.  There is rejoicing in Heaven because men and women, sisters and brothers have repented for their sins as well as the sins of our nation and world. 

Praise the Lord for his call to prayer!   Praise God that so many, many brothers and sisters have taken this on as the word of God for today.    By doing this we as Christians have acknowledged that Jesus and God the Father are in control! 

Ps 136 clearly reminds us that God is in command over Kings, Pharaohs . . . and yes even over our government.   His steadfast loves endures forever -- THAT is why we can rejoice and why I particularly want to GIVE THANKS this Thanksgiving.  Not because of one party winning or one party losing.  Irrespective of the election outcome, the love of the Lord does in fact endure forever.

All Prayer -- Jack Flanagan

Paul uses a phrase in Eph. 6.18 that is striking.  He says ‘Pray at all time in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.’  I would like to consider ‘all prayer and supplication’ in our current context.  We’ve been speaking about worship and prayer at our gatherings recently and we have had prophetic input regarding ‘calamities’ (a time of challenge and uncertainty, personally and broader).   As a response the Lord has been insisting that we stay near Him.  The wider context for the above passage is our spiritual warfare, beginning with Eph. 6:10.  Paul, a veteran spiritual warrior, is giving us directions on how to prevail in trial and challenge.  Let’s consider the question of ‘all prayer’ together. First, I still have a clear sense the Lord is saying to us ‘Be near to Me, stay near to Me’

Remember the word ‘Be mine in 2009’?  Why?  Why stay near the Lord?  Look at Psalm 73 for insight on this:

For lo, those who are far from Thee shall perish; Thou dost put an end to those who are false to Thee. But for me, it is good to be near God;  I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all Thy works. (Ps 73:27)

Now this is how the psalm ended.  But it didn’t begin that way.  There was a measure of confusion and dejection with him.  Look at verses 1 and 2:

Truly God is good to the upright,  to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

He goes on for some time reflecting upon the prosperity of the wicked (they are a sense of ease and increase in riches) and the pangs of the righteous (all day long I have been stricken and chastened every morning.)

He acknowledges that his soul was embittered, pricked in the heart. (Not a good place)

I was stupid and ignorant, I was like a beast to you. (Vs. 21-22)

Thank God for his honesty. 

The turning point comes in verse 16:

But when I thought to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God then I perceived their end.

Oh, in times of pressure and challenge, trial and confusion, dejection and feeling out of touch, how we need

to connect with God, to get His perspective, to see how He has been with us.  And to NOT accept circumstances as they appear to be. 

The psalmist shows us it is in his nearness to God that he maintains his life connection, godly perspective, patience in well doing, balance and so on.

The Lord has room for us in His sanctuary too! What do you think the psalmist experienced in the sanctuary?  What was going on in there?  The scripture is silent on this, but I suspect he experienced in God’s presence an ability to let go of his skewed perspective and to simply surrender.  Knowing that the Lord knows his heart, I suspect he was quiet and waited before the Lord and simply gazed upon Him.  Perhaps he simply pondered a portion of God’s word, awaiting light.  Later, the apostle Paul would say in 2 Cor. 3:16 that ‘when a man turns to the Lord, the veil is removed … and beholding his glory we are changed.’  Sanity and sanctity restored!  I suspect something like this was happening.  Thank God for the sanctuary!  The sanctuary can be our prayer closet, our church, any place where we can encounter the Living God.

What gets you out of touch with the Lord and skews your perspective?  Worry, fear, reversals, sin - things don’t play out as you hoped?  Rejection?  And how do you deal with this?  Do you go to the Lord in the sanctuary, to seek His heart and understanding? 

Now, let’s look at Ps. 30.  A strong start!

O Lord my God, I cried to Thee for help, and Thou hast healed me. O Lord, Thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol, restored me to life from those gone down to the Pit. (Ps 30:1&2)

But look at vs. 6 and following:

As for me, I said in my prosperity, ‘I shall never be moved.’ By Thy favor, O Lord, Thou hast established me as a strong mountain; Thou didst hide Thy face, I was dismayed.

What does he mean here by prosperity?  Well, it probably means his own sense of comfort and security and wealth.  Things are going well.  Perhaps a sense of ease, even well earned ease. Perhaps he just accomplished something important...

What’s the problem here? It seems he took confidence in himself – ‘I shall never be moved... established me as a strong mountain’ -- and not in the Lord.  God simply hides his face. In his experience God withdraws, and he becomes unsettled, dismayed, lost and in panic mode!  Has this ever happened to you?

Now thankfully the story does not end there; he does the right thing - he cries out to the Lord...

Hear O Lord, and be gracious to me!  O Lord, be thou my helper.

And God hears: (Vs. 11-12)

Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing...

In Psalm 30, then, the psalmist gets his eyes off the Lord, to the apparently ‘good life’ of the wicked or onto his own prosperity and good life.  When he does this, his perspective on reality becomes jaded and skewed.  Only when he goes to the Lord, draws near to the Lord, when he turns to the Lord and cries out to Him and surrenders again, does he experience God’s presence and joy.  How necessary to keep our eyes and hearts centered on the Lord!

Doesn’t it work the same way for us?  We are given a wise caution:

Not to find consolation in our prosperity, but in the Lord. Not to find confidence, or strength, or hope in our favorable affairs, our good fortunes, our lots ... but in the Lord only.  Where must our focus always be?  On the Lord! And not to lose godly perspective in adversity.

What can we do to cultivate & live in a continual sense of God’s presence? How can we continue to center on the Lord?  To keep our focus on Him?  I suspect there are a number of answers to this ... Let’s go back and consider ‘all prayer and supplication’ from Eph 6:18.

Again, the context for ‘all prayer and supplication’ is our spiritual armor.  It has been noted that ‘all prayer and supplication’ is the buckle that holds our spiritual armor together.  All prayer baths us in grace and light so that we have ready access to divine help:

To stand against the wiles of the devil, To keep the truth girding our loins and righteousness as our breast plate secure To keep the gospel of peace fresh in us And to enable the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation be strong and be ready.

Paul is encouraging us here to keep in a disposition of ‘all prayer and supplication’ as much as possible, to be aware of the Lord’s mighty presence in us, and to do this through the Spirit - ‘Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.’

What is ‘all prayer and supplication’ then? 

praying in the Spirit (the first part of versus 18) but also bringing to mind scriptures and praying accordingly (see Psalm 1) praying with all types of prayer: contrition, thanks-giving, petitions, supplications, praise, worship and intercessions. It includes praying publically and privately, solemn prayer, singing, prayer closet prayer.  Pleas for help and guidance and counsel and wisdom. It is our heart united with the Lord, in communion and communication with Him through our days.

To what end or purpose?

To keep alert (attentive, watchful) - He will bring us His wisdom.  And when his wisdom comes or He speaks, we need to be attentive to absorb His word.  Usually, His word comes to us in our thoughts.  We need to focus then, lest they become fleeting.  We need to stop then, to absorb them, and let them enter our hearts deeply. So we can persevere in supplication for all the saints - for our needs are great. And for right action, as in witnessing (prayer needs to precede action, not follow.)

Brothers and sisters, He will give us His grace for this.  Not on our own strength are we to do this.  But by the power of His Spirit He will mightily inspire within us.  The Lord is inviting us to ‘stay near to Him’ and ‘Be mine in 2009’.  ‘All Prayer’ is one way we can respond to this word.

The writer to the Hebrews encourages us to, with confidence, ‘enter the sanctuary’ and to ‘draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.’ (Heb10:19-22)

How can we stay near?  In His great love for us, He gives what we need: His Spirit, ‘all prayer’, the encouragement to enter the sanctuary and to draw near in full assurance.  Ask Him for the grace, the gift of ‘all prayer’.

Intercessors Lot -- Martha Balmer

Intercessors have a hard time of it. They are the vanguard, pushing the edge, hanging out in unsubmitted territory. They live in the realm of faith and hope—among things unseen, things not yet in their hands. By definition, intercessors are always sojourning in enemy territory — like Joshua sent ahead to scout, to declare the truth, and to lead the people in to possess the kingdom. “Don’t be surprised, as though something strange were happening to you.”(IPt 4:12)The warriors go into conflict, the plow cuts into the rough.

The intercessor’s enemy has a very simple and logical strategy—discourage him by stating the obvious, pointing out what is as plain as the nose on his face. Things like how long he has prayed without seeing an answer, the high fatality rate of thus-and-such a disease, the enormity of the task ahead, or the size of the enemy’s army. The things the enemy shows us are easy to see, because they are natural, physical things.

But we are given the task of seeing the unseen, knowing the unrealized, just as Elisha saw and knew and prayed for his servant to see the Heavenly Army. We have been given authority to declare things that are, but they are not things that can yet be seen with the natural eye, because at best they have only been partially manifested in the natural realm.

Prophetic intercessors receive the authority to pull down from heaven things that God has opened heaven to pour out. On His behalf, they claim what is His and take it back from the one who stole it—because God has shown them that it’s time! They manifest what existed long before in the heavenly realm and is now legitimately breaking into the natural realm. They bring forth in this age the first fruits of the age to come, just as Peter did when he told the lame man at the Temple to get up and walk. They make rough places plain, and then they move on to the next rough, unclaimed place.

“Don’t be surprised, as though something strange were happening to you.”

Doing things first Because they are the vanguard, intercessors have to do things first. If they are moved to pray for conviction of sin, they should not be surprised when their own sins are the first to bear the light. When they pray for repentance to fall upon the church, they will find themselves stricken with sorrow for sin. As they pray for God’s heart to be manifest in the church, they can expect the very challenges in their own relationships that will call for supernatural love. As they pray for healing gifts they can expect to start tripping over the sick. As they pray for outpourings of faith, they should not be surprised by an onslaught from the discourager that challenges them to exercise that faith before they see it around them. As they pray for change, they will feel the pressure of the resistance. As they pray for prophetic words, they may find that they are the ones who hear them and must speak them. Intercessors are the vanguard; they go in first.

An experienced complainer When I first heard the call to intercede I only had experience in complaining to God about my own desires and needs. I didn’t have anybody but myself on my heart, and I knew it. When I tried to pray for others, it was like walking through mud up to my knees; the suction was almost more than I could break, and I was always in a sweat. But I knew that God is a God who supplies what he requires, so I said yes. I didn’t even want to pray for others, but I said yes.

That was the first lesson. The territory we take is not illumined by natural light or seen by the natural eye or taken by natural strength. It is taken—against natural instinct and inclination—by spiritual sight and supernatural means. We are not guessing. We are not wishing. We are not idealists in a state of optimistic denial. We are standing on the Word of God Almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth. We are acting in obedience to the Master of the Universe, going with a flow that is inexorable. We know the One we believe; we trust the word of the Absolute; we stand on the sure Foundation.

When we move within the authority of His name, we are inexorable as well. Cancer. Depression. Addiction. Perversion. Nothing stands against God’s Word; no stronghold survives against Him. No matter what we see with the natural eye or recall throughout a lifetime of unrealized hopes, we know that any enemy stronghold is so much tissue paper against the sword of the Word of God.

Seeing with spiritual eyes An intercessor has to give up using his natural eyes in order to see the answer. He has to close his mind to the liar. He does this more and more easily as his prayer life increasingly manifests Paul’s exhortation to “pray constantly.”

“Do not be surprised, as though something strange were happening to you.” The enemy will lie to us, but the more time we spend in God’s presence, the less time and space his lies can take up in our heads and the less credence we can give his nonsense. This freedom is the logical outcome, because the more time we spend in God’s presence, the better we know who He is. And the better we know who He is — in all His glory and majesty and power — the less afraid we are of His enemy. When the enemy says, “This depression is too hard, too entrenched, too habitual, too deep,” we’ll laugh. Because in God’s presence we have seen sorrow and sighing flee away. We know the enemy is just hustling for time. He’s powerless. He just hopes we’ll believe him long enough to leave him alone during our lifetimes.

Intercessors become healers, teachers and encouragers. They manifest every spiritual gift—because they bring about what they pray for through their faith, and their faith is manifest in their works.

Rolling out the carpet of welcome Intercessors become prophets because they seek God’s heart and He reveals it to them. They become exhorters and leaders because they know what God is up to. And they know what He is up to, because they spend so much time in His presence that they SEE it. They see it unfolding like a red carpet before Him, and they put their hands behind it and PUSH! They push it on their hands and knees until it gets lighter, then they get up on their feet and push until it gets lighter still. Finally they give it a kick and watch it unroll away before them faster than they can keep up.