By
Edd Sterchi
Oftentimes
a prayer will begin this way: “Let us pray...” Since
Paul was one who imitated Christ in his life (cf. 1
Cor. 11:1), maybe we should alter the phrase to,
“Let us pray like Paul did.” How did Paul pray?
There is a good example of how he prayed in 2 Cor.
12:8 where he himself prayed pertaining to an
affliction, “Concerning this thing I pleaded with
the Lord three times that it might depart from me.”
To pray like Paul did we must pray...
...specifically.
Paul prayed “concerning” that particular infirmity
(i.e. the thorn in his flesh, 2 Cor. 12:7). We would
do well in our personal prayers to be very personal.
We should pray concerning specific matters in our
life. Our personal prayers are just between us and
God. That is why we are to go to a very private
place when we pray (cf. Matt. 6:6). Personal prayers
are not the time to generalize.
...entreatingly.
Paul “pleaded with the Lord.” It is important that
we pour out our hearts and emotions before the Lord.
With our innermost feelings we should let our
“requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6).
...repeatedly.
Paul prayed “three times.” Too many times, we pray
for something once (if even that) and let it go.
Pray about it over and over again. We need to
remember that Jesus Himself taught the importance of
persistence in prayer (cf. Luke 18:1-8). Indeed, let
us “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17).
...purposefully.
Paul prayed concerning this burden “that it might
depart.” We should also pray with great purpose and
intent – with much resolve and determination. We
should always “continue earnestly in prayer, being
vigilant in it” (Col. 4:2).
Paul’s
prayer was answered, albeit not the way he initially
desired. But his prayer was heard and answered with
what was best for him. Let us all take a lesson from
this great man of prayer and resolve to improve our
own prayer lives. Now, “Let us pray...”
- Edd Sterchi preaches for the Broadway Church
of Christ in Campbellsville, KY. He may be contacted
through the congregation's website: http://www.broadwaychurchofchrist.net/
By
Ron Thomas
Reading
through Ezekiel one can’t help but notice the Lord’s
great displeasure with His people because they
desired and decided to be like the other nations.
Rather than destroying them, the Lord sent prophet
after prophet to warn them of a pending judgment. By
the time of Ezekiel, the northern kingdom of Israel
(base in Samaria) was gone (the northern tribes) and
Jerusalem/Judah had already experienced one invasion
by Babylon, with many taken into captivity. Still
the people, as a nation, refused to learn.
What
was the core problem Jerusalem and the area
surrounding the city refused to address? The
problem, as mentioned, was directly connected to
their decisions. In Joshua 24:14-15, the Lord’s
prophet called upon the leaders of Israel to make a
decision: "Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him
in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods
which your fathers served on the other side of the
River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD! And if it seems
evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves
this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which
your fathers served that were on the other side of
the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose
land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will
serve the LORD" (NKJV).
Throughout
their history, some eight hundred years later, they
struggled with making the right choices. To Ezekiel,
the Lord said, “So I sought for a man among them who
would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on
behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it;
but I found no one” (22:30, NKJV). Clearly, the Lord
had men/saints standing in the gap, but these people
could not stanch the flow of depravity that was
coming through the wall. Why was this? It had
everything to do with leadership.
Leadership
is a key to all things related to groups. On a
baseball team there is the coach/manager. In
government there are mayor, governors, and even the
president. In social clubs there is a designated
leader. These leaders to a greater or lesser degree
determine the direction of those being led. The same
is also in relation to the church. In the New
Testament, the Lord set forth the elders as the
leaders in the congregation. This responsibility
does not reside in the preacher, but in the
collective wisdom of at least two godly men.
The
Lord needs men to stand in the gap. If they do not
they will themselves be swept through in the flood
that surely will be experienced.
- Ron Thomas preacher for the Sunrush Church
of Christ, Chillicothe, OH. He may be contacted
through the congregation's website. http://sunrushchurchofchrist.com
By
Gerald Cowan
Someone
has said we should pray as if everything depended
upon God and work as if everything depended upon us.
Prayer may be ineffective if God doesn’t do His
part, and it may be futile if the one praying
doesn’t do his part.
A
little girl prayed: “Dear God, please don’t let the
rabbits get in my brother’s traps. Thank you God,
‘cause I know you won’t let rabbits get in the
traps.” Her mother heard the prayer and asked, “How
do you know God won’t let the rabbits get in the
traps?” “Because I smashed all of the traps,” the
girl replied.
A
man who prayed fervently and frequently for God to
burn down a bar and brothel in his neighborhood got
tired of waiting and decided he would “lend God the
matches.”
That
probably is not what is meant by doing your own part
to get your prayer answered. James 2:15-16 and 1
John 3:17-19 give us an important key to effective
praying: Don’t pray for God to warm, feed, and
supply needs of others when you yourself could do
it, but make no effort to do it.
- Gerald Cowan, a longtime preacher and missionary,
is retired from full-time pulpit preaching. Gerald
publishes an e-mail newsletter entitled GERALD
COWAN’S PERSONAL PERIODICAL WRITINGS. He is
available for Gospel Meetings and he may be
contacted at Geraldcowan1931@aol.com
By David A. Sargent
Twin
sisters, Claire and Chloe Gruenke, are accustomed to
doing things together. Yet the actions of these
13-year-old girls at the recent southern Illinois
state track meet reveal the depth of their love for
one another.
The
twins were both running in the 800 meter race when
Chloe heard a pop in her thigh and fell to the track
in pain. Claire saw what had happened and stopped to
help her sister up. Then in a beautiful display of
love and solidarity, Claire put her sister on her back
and carried her 370 meters – almost a full lap around
the track – to the finish line. The duo completed the
race with a standing ovation from the crowd.
Similar to the sentiments of the
1969 hit song written by Bobby Scott and Bob Russell
and made famous by the Hollies (“He Ain’t Heavy, He’s
My Brother”), Claire would say it was no burden for
her to carry her sister. “It’s about showing
compassion, love and sportsmanship,” Claire said.
“Even if you lose and help somebody, it’s still worth
it. The energy from the crowd made me stronger. They
were saying I can’t believe you just did that.” *
Consider
the words of Solomon ... “Two are better than one,
Because they have a good reward for their labor. For
if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe
to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one
to help him up” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10).
You
and I are like Chloe … we are the ones who have fallen
onto the track beneath the weight of the burden of our
sin. Because of our sin, we are disqualified and
condemned.
But
then Jesus came to our rescue. When we accept His
offer of salvation, He becomes our burden-bearer,
taking the burden of our sin upon Himself, which is
exactly what He did for us when He died on the cross
for our sins. “He Himself bore
our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having
died to sins, might live for righteousness; by whose
stripes you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24).
Jesus
FREES us from the burden of sin so that we can follow
Him as we “run the Christian race.”
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so
great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every
weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and
let us run with endurance the race that is set before
us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our
faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured
the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at
the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2).
Jesus
will bear the burden of sin for those who will place
their faith and trust in Him (Acts 16:30-31), turn
from their sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess
His name before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized
(immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins
(Acts 2:38). He will continue to cleanse those who
continue to follow Him as they walk – or “run” -- in
the light of His Word (1 John 1:7).
Won’t
YOU allow Jesus to bear the burden of your sins so
that you can complete the race and share in His
victory?
- David A. Sargent, minister for the Church of Christ
at Creekwood in Mobile, Alabama, is also the editor of
an electronic devotional entitled "Living Water."
To learn more about this excellent resource contact
David via their website: http://www.creekwoodcc.org
* Information gleaned from “Twin sister carries
sibling across finish line at track meet” by Fox
4 News --
http://fox4kc.com/2014/05/13/twin-sister-carries-sibling-across-finish-line-at-track-meet/
By Alan Smith
Reaching
the end of a job interview, the Human Resources person
asked the young MBA fresh out of MIT, "And what
starting salary were you looking for?"
The
candidate responded, "In the neighborhood of $125,000
a year, depending on the benefits package."
The
HR person said, "Well, what would you say to a package
of 5-weeks vacation, 14 paid holidays, full medical
and dental, company matching retirement fund to 50%
salary, and a company car leased every two years - say
a red Corvette?"
The
graduate sat up mouth agape and said, "Wow! Are you
kidding?"
And
the HR person responded, "Certainly.....but you
started it!"
That's
the trouble with a lot of young people today (I never
thought I would be old enough to say that!) -- they
want to start at the top and work their way up from
there.
We
as Christians are sometimes the same way, though. We
want what's at "the top" without going through what
lies below. For example, we want patience (and we want
it right now!), but we don't want the trials that
develop patience. We'd rather start at the top.
James said, "My brothers and sisters, when you have
many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy,
because you know that these troubles test your faith,
and this will give you patience." (James 1:2-3, NCV)
Have
you prayed for patience lately? You need to expect
that God will give it to you immediately. And, on top
of that, you will never have any problems in life at
all. None! Everything will always go smoothly. You'll
suffer no injustices, experience no heartaches, and
never know what it means to fail. Am I kidding?
Certainly........but you started it!
May
the troubles you experience today lead you toward
patience and maturity in the days to come (no
kidding!).
Have
a great day!
- Alan Smith, author of the popular "Thought For
Today," and minister for the Cruciform Church of
Christ in Spring Lake, North Carolina, may be
contacted at alansmith.servant@gmail.com
or through the congregation's website: http://www.cruciformcoc.com/
By
Joe Slater
Whoever
said life is a breeze was wrong! At home, work,
school, and yes, even at church, we struggle with
complicated issues. Sometimes we wonder which way to
turn. How can we resolve life’s thorny problems?
Pop
psychology says to look within yourself for the
answers. Follow your heart! Do whatever you think is
right, and it will all work out.
Major
problem: God’s word says exactly the opposite! “O
Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is
not in man who walks to direct his own steps”
(Jeremiah 10:23). So, according to God’s inspired
prophet, we are looking in the wrong place when we
look within ourselves for direction. Why is that?
God,
through Jeremiah, gives us the answer in 17:9 – “The
heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately
wicked.” Ouch! It hurts me to admit that I am
sinful. The world erroneously insists that people
are fundamentally good, so we can find the right
course by looking inside ourselves. God Himself says
our hearts are deceitful and wicked; it is not in us
to direct our own steps.
That’s
not to say that there is nothing good about us, or
that we can never be correct about the direction we
should go. A heart that has been cleansed by the
blood of Jesus and trained in God’s word might very
well recommend the right path frequently. But that’s
just the point: bottom line, the right way is
determined by God’s word, not by whatever might be
in my heart. Even the heart converted to Christ may
be deceived by Satan’s lies through the weakness of
the flesh.
King
Solomon wisely wrote: “Trust in the Lord with all
your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall
direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:6).
When
the world calls you to look within yourself to find
the truth, resist that appeal with all your might.
Let God direct your paths; then you may be confident
that you will arrive safely at your eternal
destination!
- Joe Slater serves as minister of the Church of
Christ in Justin, TX. He may be contacted through
the congregation's website: http://justinchurchofchrist.com
Years ago when I was substitute
teaching, I would frequently end up in the early
elementary grades. Most who substitute teach don’t
enjoy it very much, but I always did, in part because
the younger ages had an immeasurable amount of
enthusiasm. If ever there was an errand to run, I
could always count on a number of hands waving in the
air, and it was common to hear, “pick me!” As I’ve
gotten older and more involved in the work of the
Lord’s church, I look around at my fellow Christians
at home and in other congregations my family and I
occasionally visit, and I can’t help but wonder where
that child-like enthusiasm has gone. The predominant
attitude seems to be, “Well, I hope nobody asks me to
do
anything!”
I’ve
overheard conversations dealing with something that
needs to be done to the church building or something
that needs to be done in regard to the work of the
church, and the question was often, “Well, who’s going
to do that?” Was this the attitude Isaiah had? Recall
Isaiah 6:8. Just prior to this passage, the Lord was
considering whom to send to reach out to disobedient
Israel. In this passage, Isaiah is speaking and the
Bible reads, “Also I heard the voice of the Lord,
saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?
Then said I, Here am I; send me.”
Where
is the enthusiasm of Isaiah today? Many of us in the
Lord’s church want the church to grow, but how much do
we do toward that end? We cannot expect the work of
the church to progress if we don’t help it along. The
church will not experience the same growth it saw in
the first century if only a “handful” are
evangelizing. This work requires everyone.
We can
also apply this principle to our everyday lives. Be
willing to do what needs to be done without having to
be asked. This makes for a very positive atmosphere
and an enjoyable place to be. If every Christian were
willing to fulfill his or her duties as a Christian
and pitch in and help out, every congregation of the
Lord’s church would grow in spirit and in
number.
The next time something needs to be
done for God (or another), try saying, “Here am I,
send me.”
- R. W. McAlister preaches for the Anna Church
of Christ in Anna, IL.He may be contacted through the
congregation's website:
http://www.annachurchofchrist.com/
