I want to blog about my 30th year class reunion. I will fill you in over time, but it was OFF THE HOOK! In the meantime check out some of my hometown peeps!
Ok….so call me wierd, but I really used to like this song…actually…it’s still kinda “GROOVY BABY”….
This is me and my High School Sweetie…Dosen’t she make an old fat guy look good!?!
Three the hard way. My man in the middle is a great friend and my former martial arts instructor. He can take your heart heart and show it to you…4 real (LOL)
Each week a call is sent out to the passengers on the LiFeTrain for corporate prayer at noon. Why you may ask?
Question: “Is corporate prayer important? Is corporate prayer more powerful than an individual praying alone?”
Answer: Corporate prayer is an important part of the life of the church, along with worship, sound doctrine, communion, and fellowship. The early church met regularly to learn the doctrine of the apostles, break bread and pray together (Acts 2:42), beginning immediately after Jesus’ resurrection (Acts 1:14) and continuing to this day. When we pray together with other believers, the effects can be very positive. Corporate prayer edifies and unifies us as we share our common faith. The same Holy Spirit that dwells within each believer causes our hearts to rejoice as we hear praises to our Lord and Savior, knitting us together in a unique bond of fellowship found nowhere else in life.
To those who may be alone and struggling with life’s burdens, hearing others lift them up to the throne of grace can be a great encouragement. It also builds in us love and concern for others as we intercede for them. Corporate prayer also teaches younger believers how to pray and brings them into the intimate fellowship of the body of Christ. At the same time, corporate prayer will only be a reflection of the hearts of the individuals who participate. We are to come to God in humility (James 4:10), truth (Psalm 145:18), and obedience (1 John 3:21-22), with thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6) and confidence (Hebrews 4:16). Sadly, corporate prayer can also become a platform for those whose words are directed, not to God, but to their hearers. Jesus warned against such behavior in Matthew 6:5-8 where he exhorts us not to be showy, long-winded, or hypocritical in our prayers, but to pray secretly in our own rooms in order to avoid such temptation.
There is nothing in Scripture to suggest that corporate prayers are “more powerful” than individual prayers in the sense of moving the hand of God. Far too many Christians equate prayer with “getting things from God,” and group prayer becomes mainly an occasion to recite a list of our wants. Biblical prayers, however, are multi-faceted, encompassing the whole of the desire to enter into conscious and intimate communion with our holy, perfect, and righteous God. That such a God would bend an ear to His creatures causes praise and adoration to pour forth in abundance (Psalm 27:4; 63:1-8), produces heartfelt repentance and confession (Psalm 51; Luke 18:9-14), generates an outpouring of gratitude and thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6; Colossians 1:12), and creates sincere intercessory pleas on behalf of others (2 Thessalonians 1:11; 2:16).
Petition for the pray-er is not found in the prayers of Paul or Jesus, except where they state their desires, but always in submission to God’s will (Matthew 26:39; 2 Corinthians 12:7-9). Prayer, then, is cooperating with God to bring about His plan, not trying to bend Him to our will. As we abandon our own desires in submission to the One who knows our circumstances far better than we ever could, and who “knows what you need before you ask” (Matthew 6:8), our prayers reach their highest level. Prayers offered in submission to the Divine will, therefore, are always answered positively, whether offered by one person or a thousand. Here is true power in prayer.
The idea that corporate prayers are more likely to move the hand of God comes largely from a misinterpretation of Matthew 18:19-20, “Again I say to you that if two of you shall agree on earth as regarding anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them by My Father in Heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst.” These verses come from a larger passage which addresses the procedures to be followed in the case of church discipline of a sinning member. To interpret them as promising believers a blank check for anything they might agree to ask God for, no matter how sinful or foolish, not only does not fit the context of church discipline, but it denies the rest of Scripture, especially the sovereignty of God and the many commands for believers’ obedient submission to His will, not the other way around.
In addition, to believe that when “two or three are gathered” to pray, some kind of magical power boost is automatically applied to our prayers is nonsense. Of course Jesus is present when two or three pray, but He is equally present when a believer prays alone, even if that person is separated from others by thousands of miles. The misinterpretation of these verses shows us why it’s important to read and understand passages in their context and in the light of all of Scripture.
Periodically I like to stop and thank you for all the great friendships that I have developed over the last couple of years on the Train (LiFeTrain). So, I axe that you just…
This is a mirror moment for me today. I hope this realization that I have come to will somehow bring about a measure of peace for you as well in terms of dealing with shall we say challenging folk.
I now realize, but must constantly remind myself, that we have the power to tolerate anyone and any situation. But tolerance is not just suffering in silence. It means going beyond any personal discomfort you may feel, and giving a gift to whom ever you would tolerate. Give your time, attention, understanding, compassion, care - all are gifts, which paradoxically, you also receive in the process of giving. And, I feel that as we do, we will experience improved self esteem and inner strength growth. In this way we can turn tolerance into strength.
Now how cool is that! “I HAVE DA POWER!”. Now, if I could just always remember that!
Monday…Again. If you are finding it hard to get going, if you have things that are pressing…seemingly urgent in nature, perhaps even insurmountable, I beg…yes beg you to check out the below.
As you start this day, this Monday, remember you have breath in your body and you are still on the Train, the LiFeTrain. Not just this site, but the fact that you have yet another day to journey down the tracks, be thankful (click below, you’ll understand). Please view this, please share this, and may your life be changed for the better…4 ever.
Come on by the Church, the Deacon, Deacon Dan… has the doors open and the Pastor has a POWERFUL message.
Students often feel a sense of relief when their finals are over at the end of a term. But did you know that all of us have one more test to face? This ultimate exam will evaluate the quality of the work we’ve done for the Lord.
Here at our online service, the Deacon and I have a vision of bringing people into the knowledge of Jesus Christ and building a community of believers who are devoted to the making and maturing of fully committed followers of Jesus Christ, in the power of the Spirit, to the glory of God the Father.
Of course a church online is not as good as a church of believers. Church service helps us serve. However, A cyber church can be a light in the great darkness, especially, and since we all know the internet offers access to the best of the best and the worst of the worse and evil now available to mankind.An internet church can carry His love to those who may never visit His house. Praise and worship are attitudinal so please come on by and join us in on-line praise! CLICK
As we venture into this weekend remember, whatever has happened is now in the past. We have now laid down another week. So, do me this favor…Do not think about the past. Learn from whatever has happened in the past (this week) and be cautious in the future. The past belongs to the past. Let us now let go of it, because it does not belong to us anymore.
As I reflect on the curse of divorce, broken friendships and even estranged family members, the story of the clay balls seems most appropriate to share. What amazes me the most as I do my research for the things that I write I am especially saddened that amongst us Christians, who should be the shinning example of successful marriages, we are the largest growing numbers of divorcees.
Perhaps if we keep the following story in mind going forward in 2007, we can circumvent throwing away…the clay balls.
Clay Balls:
A man was exploring caves by the seashore. In one of the caves he
found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls. It was like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake.
They didn’t look like much, but they intrigued the man, so he took the
bag out of the cave with him. As he strolled along the beach, he would
throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could.
He thought little about it, until he dropped one of the clay balls and
it cracked open on a rock. Inside was a beautiful, precious stone!
Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each
contained a similar treasure. He found thousands of dollars worth of
jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left. Then it struck him.
He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of
the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves. Instead of
thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of
thousands, but he had just thrown it away!
It’s like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves,
and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn’t look like much from the
outside. It isn’t always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it.
We see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or
stylish or well known or wealthy But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person.
There is a treasure in each and every one of us. If we take the time to
get to know that person, and if we ask God to show us that person the
way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth.
May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay. May we see the people in our world as God sees them.
I am so blessed by the gems of friendship I have with each of you here on the Life Train. The list grows everyday. While I am not most gifted blogger (writer) I want to Thank you all for looking beyond my clay vessel and taking the time to visit my blog.
The Bible says:
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10: Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him that is alone when he falleth, for hath not another to help him up.
That is also the scripture for “Chuckie’s Challenge”.
I write from the heart…I make no excuses…
Let’s go out on a date tonight. A concert to for Jazz lovers who can appreciate mother earth. Let’s grab some dinner, hold hands as we walk through the auditorium to our front row seats and enjoy the concert!
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Each week a call is sent out to the passengers on the LiFeTrain for corporate prayer at noon. Why you may ask?
compassion, care - all are gifts, which paradoxically, you also receive in the process of giving. And, I feel that as we do, we will experience improved self esteem and inner strength growth. In this way we can turn tolerance into strength.
perhaps even insurmountable, I beg…yes beg you to check out the below.
