Month: September 2017

GET TOGETHER- SEEK THE MAN MORE THAN THE METHODJer 29:13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. Mt 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
During these last two weeks, our congregation has been involved in a special time of prayer. We have had different leaders leading prayer meetings at different times on different days. I haven’t been able to come to all of them, but I have been able to come to some of them. 

 The Lord has blessed me with the opportunity over the past twenty-seven years to read several books on prayer. The best one that I have read is the Bible. I like it because it is inerrant and makes praying pretty simple in most cases.

On the other hand, I have gained a lot of insight on prayer from the various authors that I have read on prayer. Several years ago I read one by Richard Foster the name of the book is Prayer : Finding The Heart’s True Home. I guess that of all the books that I have read beside the Bible Foster’s book influenced as much as any other. One thing that I remember in particular from reading his book is that different people have different temperament’s in prayer. Some of us may be more vocal. Some of us may be ready to start praying at the drop of a hat. Others may feel like they need to sit quietly before the Lord before they verbalize their prayers.
I observed that at the different prayer meetings that I attended last week. At one prayer meeting one of our leaders read scripture to saturate the spiritual atmosphere in our sanctuary. While she was doing this, some sat quietly while other walked around the sanctuary praying quietly. 

The next night we had prayer meeting after our small group. Sometimes there would be periods of silence as people waited for direction on how to pray. At other times people would pray out loud concerning the things that God was laying on their hearts.

At the one that I had the opportunity to lead we used Ac 1:8 for the first thirty minutes. “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” We prayed for our congregation, other congregations, our city, our region, our nation, and the world. The last part of the prayer meeting we prayed in the Spirit and freely as Holy Spirit brought people, situations, and circumstances by us. 

The next prayer meeting that I attended the people began praying in the Holy Spirit walking around the sanctuary while music played. During this time people would write on a board things, people, situations, or words from the Lord that the Holy Spirit was bringing by them.

We have really been able to tell the difference in the spiritual atmosphere here at CCF during this special season of prayer. The point I wanted to make and I pray that it benefits all who read this is this. There are times that God gives us strategies and plans to pray through. But don’t ever let anybody make it too hard for you. Also, your temperament in prayer may be different than mine. But remember from the two verses that we started with. Seek Jesus with your whole heart. Seek first the Kingdom. The Holy Spirit will lead you and guide you. Stand on the Word of God when you pray. Here are a few passages that should help you to grow in confidence when you pray.
Ps 34:17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles.

Ps 56:9 When I cry out to You, Then my enemies will turn back; This I know, because God is for me.

Ps 57:2 I will cry out to God Most High, To God who performs all things for me.

Mt 7:7 ¶ “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
Joh 16:23 ¶ “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.
No matter what your prayer temperament is seek God with all of your heart in prayer.
Let Us Pray

Lord Jesús we thank You that we can come boldly before Your throne of grace. Today stir our hearts to pray and believe with more confidence than we ever have before.

In Jesus Name

Amen
Pray without ceasing!

Your Friend/Kinfolk

Preston

GET TOGETHER- I SAY AGAIN DON’T QUIT!
2Co 4:17,18 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Our enemy Satan has various schemes to attempt to get Christians to quit. Just a few of them are condemnation, discouragement, fatigue, hopelessness and the lie that God has left you. There are many more and I really don’t have the time to name them all in this devotional, but you get the picture.

We get a picture of one reason that he wants to do this in Joh 10:10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. He wants to rob us as God’s people from fulfilling our destiny. He is a thief and a destroyer. Jesus has a plan and a desire for us to have eternal life; and life and life more abundantly as we serve Him here on earth.

I can remember when I was a sophomore in high school. We were practicing football in the hot August heat. It was during two a day practices. They didn’t give you water in those days except on certain occasions and this day wasn’t one of them. I was throwing up, had cotton mouth, and thought that I was going to die. Our coach came over and began to get on me pretty hard. I remember him saying don’t you wish that you were in Panama City at the Hang Out. I was thinking that if I could I sure would like to be there. I thought about quitting, but I knew that I wasn’t going to. I knew that I couldn’t look my brother, my daddy, and several others in the face if I did. Besides I wanted to get one of those uniforms when they handed them out. I am sure glad that I didn’t quit. We won a few games had some tough losses, but I built relationships with people that I played with and against that have lasted a lifetime. Also, I learned many lessons that have been helpful in the Kingdom about not giving up.  
Perhaps today you are serving God and the enemy is trying to get you to quit. You may feel like you are not seeing the results that you would like to see from your effort. He is trying to get you to give up on the destiny that God has for you in the Kingdom. Big victories always come after big battles. 

The Greek term for affliction in this passage is thlipsis, thlip’-sis. It means trouble involving direct suffering and it also means persecution. Today you may be facing persecution for your faith from people. You may be suffering because of what the enemy is throwing at you. No matter what it is don’t quit. You are on the right team. Jesus Has promised us help. The Word of God promises us help. Isa 59:19 So shall they fear The name of the LORD from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.” Remember that this is just for a short time. It is temporary. God is leading you to victories that will last for eternity.

This morning in J.J.’s devotional the emphasis was on trusting God through these trials and challenges. Anytime that the enemy gets you to thinking about quitting just remember that the trouble is temporary, but the victory is eternal. As Paul says in Php 3:13,14 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Don’t quit! Don’t quit! Don’t quit!

  
Let Us Pray

Lord sometimes life can throw some challenges our way. And sometimes the voice of the enemy attempts to get us to give up. But thank You Lord that Your voice is the voice of truth and you tell us not to give up, but to stay in the game. Today help us to draw on your word and the power of the Holy Spirit until we are living in Your eternal glory forever and ever.

In Jesus Name

Amen 
May the Lord bless you in great and mighty ways!

Your Friend/Kinfolk

Preston

GET TOGETHER – DO GOOD TO ALLGa 6:9,10 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Have you ever felt like what you do in the Kingdom is of little significance? Or let me ask you this question. Do you ever get to the point that you no longer feel like doing things in the Kingdom? The Apostle Paul encourages us not to give up. He also encourages us that nothing that we do in the Kingdom is insignificant.

Doing good is something that we as Christians are called to do on an everyday basis. Sometimes when we do good people will greatly appreciate it. At other times when we do good there may be people that are not so appreciative. Never the less as Christians we are called to do good.
I remember early in my Christian journey I was at a training event for lay – people in the part of the Body of Christ that I was serving in at the time. The leader of the training event said something that I have never forgotten. He said that a good remedy for feeling down and out was to do something good for someone. I have found this to be quite true. Not that this will get us to Heaven, but because as redeemed children of God on the way to Heaven it is a blessing that we can partake of.

There is a good chance today that there will be someone around you that you can do good too. Many times, a good word of encouragement and affirmation will bless someone and help them. There may be opportunities to bless someone in a material way. I have found that praying for people no matter where that I see them when they ask for prayer is a great way to do good to people.

Paul stresses how important that it is to do good to those who are of the household of faith. The Greek term here for household is oikeios, oy-ki’-os. That term means one who belongs to a household, or extended family. It means a relative. So not only are we called to do good to those outside the church, but even more so to our brothers and sisters in Christ. 

Today ask the Holy Spirit to help you to not get discouraged when it appears that your doing good is not seeming to matter. Because my friend it does matter. Ask Him to help you to see opportunities among non-believers to do good. It is one way that they become believers. Also ask Him to help you to have a greater desire to bless those in the household of faith in some way. Remember Paul says that if we do this that we will in due season reap a reward. 
Let Us Pray 

Lord we thank You for all the people that have done good to us. We ask You today to help us live out this passage. Help us to do good to all people, but especially to those who are of the household of faith.

In Jesus Name

Amen
J.J. and I are so thankful for all of you who have done good to us.

Your Friend/Kinfolk

Preston

GET TOGETHER- Give Cheerfully2Co 9:7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
Let me ask you a couple of questions. Do you give to God! Do you give to others for the Glory of God! Do you give cheerfully? Although certainly this passage has to do with the giving of money. I believe that this principle found in this verse could also be applied to how we give of our time as well as of our financial resources.

In this passage we see that we have the freedom to choose to choose to give. And just as we have the freedom to give with our finances we also have the freedom to choose to give with our time. By the way neither one I don’t believe is a substitute for the other. But we do have that freedom.

The Greek term here for purpose is proaireomai. It means to come to a decision beforehand. Certainly, there are some things that we would not want to give of our financial resources, or time too. On the other hand, there are many wonderful ways to give of our financial resources and our time in the Kingdom. That is why we need the Holy Spirit to help us to be sure that our giving of resources and time is going into good ground.

And we certainly don’t want to have a bad attitude when we give. The Greek term here for grudgingly is lupe, loo’-pay. It means a state of unhappiness, grief, or pain. I pray that none of this describes us as givers. I pray that whne we serve with our time that we don’t do it grudgingly. I pray that we do it cheerfully. The Greek term here for necessity is anagke, an-ang-kay’. It means a general state of distress and trouble. This person never enjoys giving of their time, or their resources. 
Let us look at the cheerful giver. The Greek term here for cheerful is hilaros, hil-ar-os’. It means to be cheerfully happy. Who said that God didn’t promise to make us happy? Today if you are not a cheerful giver would you pray and ask the Lord to help you to become one. He wants to bless you. He will bless you when you give of your resources and time for His Glory in the Kingdom.
Let Us Pray
Lord Jesus we thank You for the blessings of giving. We thank You for those who have given to help us to advance the Kingdom. We thank You for us being able to give to others through our resources and time. We thank you that You gave the greatest gift ever given when You gave your life for us to be forgiven of our sins. It is a blessing and an honor to give in every way into Your Kingdom

In Jesus Name

Amen
PS I do believe in tithing and that should be done cheerfully as well. 
Please pray for the upcoming Kairos weekend at Hamilton A&I and for the beginning of the Upward Sports Flag Football Ministry this weekend.

Your Friend/Kinfolk

Preston