Discovering/Revealing God’s Will Through Fervent Prayer

God gets the glory. Always. You want to try and accomplish some incredible task in your own strength, go right ahead. I hope you live a long time because you are going to need lots of time to do it. On the other hand, even the impossible tasks for us are simple to the LORD. He is the Almighty.

As we began to pray together this past week, and specifically in our group prayer meetings on Wednesday, some themes emerged that I’d like to share with you. I pray these revelations will provoke you to join us daily in seeking the LORD together. Here they are:

1.       God is in control. He already has a plan to bless Shadycrest, provide for our needs, and expand our influence in His Kingdom. Will we join Him in His plans? (Ps. 24:1)

2.       We must seek Him. He is jealous for the glory for He deserves the glory and we do not. We must rid our hearts of selfish intent. We must pursue goals for the glory of God and none for us (2 Chronicles 7:14 & Jeremiah 29:13 are instructive here).

3.       We must not be afraid to ask. We have needs as a church and we often don’t see blessing because we don’t seek the LORD and ask together in unity. Asking for provision of real needs is faith in action. The LORD blesses people who are full of faith (James 4:2-3 is instructive here).

4.       We must have a missional vision for the blessing we receive. Will God bless us if He know we are going to spend that financial blessing on more stuff for us? We believe not. We are committing to make God’s mission our mission!

Break Our Hearts, Oh God

When God looks down on the greater Pearland community He sees two kinds of people. It’s not black and white. It’s not rich or poor. It’s not Republican or Democrat. He sees lost people and saved people. He sees people on the way to heaven and people on the way to hell.

The words “lost” and “hell” are no longer politically correct. We want to say people are “unchurched” or “unsaved” or “spiritually challenged.” But the Bible says they are lost. Jesus said, “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10).

We don’t sing, “Amazing grace how sweet the sound; that saved a wretch like me; I once was confused” or “I once was unsure” or “I once was unchurched.” We sing, “I once was LOST and now I’m found; was blind, but now I see.”

According to the Apostle Paul, he really was a man of constant sorrow. He was broken-hearted because of the lost condition of his fellow Jews. He wrote, “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel” (Romans 9:2-4).

Are we broken-hearted for the lost in our community? We must be! Our mission compels us to be! If we are not, then we must seek God, change our ways, and pray daily for a broken heart…until it comes!

Givers…Can I Get an Amen?

Two men were marooned on a tiny island. One man paced back and forth worried and dreadfully frightened, while the other man sat back, whistling and sunning himself. The first man said, "Aren’t you afraid we’re going to die here?" "Nope," said the second man. “How can you be so sure?” the first man asked. “Well, you see…” said the second man, “I make $100,000 a month and I tithe faithfully to my church… My Pastor will find me."

Did you laugh at that? That is a funny story, but it speaks of a perception that isn’t true in most cases. The perception is that pastors are motivated to preach on giving because of their selfish concern for the church budget and building program. Do pastors shy away from preaching on giving so as not to appear focused on the bottom line? (not this one) No, our mission is not to “pay our bills,” instead our mission is the glory of God through gospel sharing and serving others!

Can’t we just assume if people are growing spiritually they will eventually learn to give? Consider this: there is no other area of spiritual growth where we make assumptions that believers will grow without reminders, exhortations, and accountability. Do we learn to pray, witness, or serve without being taught these things? No. Nor should we learn to give without being taught to give.  

The reality is the bible speaks extensively about giving, tithing, sacrifice, sharing, and stewardship. Therefore, we should have the conversation and challenge one another to such obedience with regularity. We should embrace the conversation about giving with great joy and give, give, give!

Exciting Weeks Ahead…Can You See It?

Sometimes we get shortsighted. Sometimes, as the saying goes, “we can’t see the forest for the trees.” I pray you join me in “seeing” the blessing of the Lord that is here and that is coming! Exciting weeks are ahead of us…do you see?

“…a man reaps what he sows” (Galatians 6:7).

I have the honor of working with our baptism candidates and I’m presently working with 7 of them. What a joy! Celebrate each week of baptism with us! Sing praise! Clap!

Aug. 9^th – Stephen Atkinson rejoins us for a day of outstanding preaching from an Irishman who is passionate about reaching the Jews for the glory of Jesus Christ.

Aug. 16^th – Southern Gospel Day; a new favorite Sunday of ours where we celebrate our Lord through the performing of our favorite gospel tunes; our members are talented!

Aug. 19^th – 40 Days of Devotion starts. Pray for Ingathering!

Aug. 23^rd – Youth Led Revival Sunday. Our outstanding youth leaders will inspire us. Pray!

Aug. 30^th – Back to Church Sunday. I’m excited to invite people back to church. Together, and through the blessing of invitation, we will see faces we haven’t seen in a while and rejoice together as we all get back in the swing of serving the Lord together in preparation for a strong end to our 2015 year!

GOD WANTS TO USE YOU!

Dwight L Moody was the Billy Graham of the 19^th Century. He was an international celebrity. He was a shoe salesman in Chicago when a Sunday School teacher walked into the shoe shop and led Dwight L. Moody to Christ and he became a Christian. He figured he ought to apply to become a church member, because that’s what you do when you become a Christian he thought. He applied but he was turned down. One of the men who interviewed him for church membership wrote these words. “I can truly say that I have seen few persons whose minds were spiritually darker than was Mr. Moody’s when he came into my Sunday School class. I think that the committee of the church had seldom met an applicant for membership who seemed more unlikely ever to become a Christian of clear and decided views of the gospel truth.” That’s what they wrote about him when he applied for church membership. They said, “Hey you’re too dense you’re too dark and there is no change in your life.” A year later he applied again and they said, “You’re still as dark and dense as you ever were, but at least we think you are sincere so come on and you can join our church.” God used Dwight L. Moody to shake up two continents for Jesus Christ. Today there is the Moody Press, the Moody Broadcasting Network, the Moody Institute and the Moody Bible Church.

Maybe you feel unusable or too dense to be of any good to God or His Church. Don’t believe it! God has a place for you! Let us help you find that place! 

The Power of Prayer

Abraham Lincoln is not alone in rising to greatness through a life of prayer. In the Bible, from the very beginning, we see this pattern. In the book we are currently studying, Joshua, we see a man who learned the power of prayer during his time as an aide to Moses. Prayer set Joshua apart from the rest of Israel. When Moses climbed Mt. Sinai to receive the Commandments from God, Joshua remained nearby on the mountainside…praying!

The strength of man alone does not accomplish the purposes that God has in mind for His people. It is only when we humble ourselves before Him in confession, supplication, worship and thanksgiving that he moves in us and through us to accomplish His will.

Jesus tells us, “when you pray, go into your room…close the door…and pray to your Father…then your Father, who sees what is done in secret will reward you” (Matt 6:6).

The public success of Lincoln and Joshua came not from their might, but from their private humility before Almighty God. They found victory when they fought on their knees.

Join me, in the month of August, in a greater commitment to a life under-girded by prayer. Let’s daily learn to fight on our knees for the lost and the needy in our community. Let’s daily learn to fight on our knees for the strength and the unity of our church. Let’s daily learn to fight on our knees against an enemy, the devil, who works tirelessly to thwart our plans, weaken our resolve, and break apart our relationships. Let’s break through together. Let’s see revival before this year is done! (more details forthcoming; expect great things)

Youth Ministry in 2015 and Beyond

Evangelist Rick Gage said this past year in an interview, "It breaks my heart that fewer than 10 percent of American young people are involved in a Bible-believing church." He continued saying, "So many churches have lost their passion for souls. The need to reach the lost has never been greater."

I wholeheartedly agree with Rick and I will, as long as I have breath in my body, continue to proclaim the foundational importance of staying focused on missions and outreach as individuals and as a church family. We can do that by:

1. Continually reminding ourselves of our mission to “make disciples”

2. Continually refine/reform our evangelism practices/processes

3. Continually be champions for personal evangelism, outreach events, mission trips, and the starting of new churches

4. Pray for opportunities to personally witness to the lost in our community

5. Passionately celebrate each conversion and each baptism

Now, not only do we want to see as many young people saved as we can, we also want to see them discipled. God has given us, the church, a job (the Great Commission), and that job is winning people to Jesus. As many evangelists of old have fervently repeated, “God has no hands but our hands; God has no feet but our feet; God has no tongue but our tongue to share the good news.”

Youth Ministry has always been a challenge, and it will continue to be challenging. 85% of conversions to the Christian faith occur before the age of 18. Let’s reach them together! Pray for our youth! Pray for our youth leaders!