So it Begins!

Our 24 hours of prayer has started!  One of the elders here at Ontario Christian Church kicked things off this morning!  I am thrilled that people are still devoted to prayer!  Out of all the slots of time to fill, only 2 remained unfilled as of this morning: midnight Saturday and 4 am Sunday!  That is exciting!

I have encouraged our people to fast during this time also.  We don’t talk a whole lot about fasting, but Jesus assumed we would do it just like he assumed we would pray!  Matthew 6 says, “When you fast” not if.  We assume that fasting is supposed to be completely private, but it is shown by Jesus to be just as private as praying, and we don’t hesitate to tell someone that we are praying for them.  Maybe we need to encourage one another to fast more regularly and offer ourselves as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God!

WHEN YOU PRAY!

WHEN YOU FAST!

Power of Prayer

This weekend Ontario Christian Church will be participating in our 2nd 24 hours of prayer.  This is an incredible time of corporate and individual prayer where I have asked members of this body to sign up for 1 hour time slots to come to the building and pray.  While they are here, they are asked to pray for the lost, pray for our community, pray for this church, pray for the universal Church, and really anything that comes to mind!

Too often we ignore Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount regarding prayer.  Jesus never said, “If you pray” he said, “When you pray.”  How often do we spend an entire hour in prayer?  I mean really in prayer.  Last year, after I had been at this church for just over 2 months, we organized the 1st 24 hours of prayer and the reaction was the same from almost everyone, “1 hour?  How can I pray for a whole hour?”  The reaction afterwards was the same also, “That hour went by so fast – I could have gone for another hour with no problem!” 

Amazing things happen when we enter the throne room of God!  Time seems to either stand still, or fly by!  Allow God to meet you in prayer this weekend as our church meets God on Saturday and Sunday!

 WHEN YOU PRAY!

Thoughts thanks to Fishing & Catching

OK…if you read my last post, you know where I was going in stating the differences between fishing and catching.  Jesus called us to both fish for men, and to catch men. 

Honestly, that was the basis of last weeks Bible Study on the Life of Christ.  This whole week something has been rolling around in my head (and unfortunately, there is far too much room for that).  In keeping with the fishing theme, I wondered to myself, and involved some people in a discussion of whether or not we are actually involved in a catch & release program.  I don’t know if it is the same in other countries, but here in the US, there is a sad trend going on in the church to get people to “cross a line” and then we seem to forget about them.

Let me explain what I mean by “cross a line.”  For some, it is that trip down the aisle, or the sinner’s prayer.  Maybe it is baptism.  For some, it might even be membership into a certain church.  What happens then?  Where is the discipleship? 

When was the last time someone asked you what you were reading in the Bible for your own benefit?  When was the last time you asked that of someone else?  What is God showing you about his character?  How is your prayer life?  These are questions that should be asked as the beginnings of discipleship, and they aren’t even asked down the road. 

Let’s step out of our comfort zones, quit this catch & release junk, and start making disciples!

Lovin’ God or Lovin’ Others

Why does it seem that too often I hear about people who are either loving God, or they are loving on others?  I had a friend whose ministry was called LOGALOO – Loving On God And Loving On Others.  As I prepare a sermon this weekend on John 21 I realize that it is not an either or thing!  We have got to be doing both!  I have seen churches that are great at loving God through their worship, and through their faithfulness to His Word.  I have seen other churches who have got the loving other part figured out, but it is to the point that it has become simply a social gospel.  Not the gospel that calls men out of their sin!

Church, we have got to be doing both!  We must love God, and that has to be our motivator to love others.  Even our motivation can mess things up.  I asked my 8 year old daughter today why we are supposed to trust Jesus, and her answer was so that we could spend forever with him in heaven.  I said that is true, but I explained to her that our motivation has to come strictly from our love for God.  We cannot be serving the people God loves because it will benefit us, or our church, and we can’t even do it because we think we will be given some extra jewels in our crown!  Our motivation has to be love – love for God!

“Do you love me?  Feed my sheep.” 

Easter is Over!?

So, the eggs have all been found; the tomb has been shown to be empty; Jesus has appeared to his disciples…now what?

We had an incredible easter weekend with a record number of people in attendance at our current building!  What do we do now?  Hopefully, somewhere on your journey this weekend, or before, you have encountered the living God!  Even the angels, when the followers of Jesus were looking for him, asked, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He is not here.  He has risen.” 

Don’t just stay looking longingly into the empty tomb, go out into the world and tell about how encountering the risen savior has changed your life! 

No one leaves an encounter with God unchanged!  Allow people to encounter God through you this week!

Quit looking for the living among the dead, and quit acting dead when you should be living!

Feeding Ourselves?

I am not sure how many of you who read this are in ministry, but I am going to assume that at least 2 of you are, since the only 2 people who read this are ministers!  Maybe you are not in occupational ministry, but you volunteer your time at your church.

Can I ask you a question?  How seriously do you take the responsiblity to move from the milk to solid foods of biblical teaching?  I am sure that everyone will say that they take it seriously, but how do you go about it?  It makes spiritual growth difficult, but isn’t it worth it to be serving the almighty God?  If you were teaching a Sunday School class, and a small group on Sunday night, but doing nothing on Wednesday night, if you did not feel like you were being fed, wouldn’t you go to a Bible Study on Wednesday?  Or, do you just gripe that you are always teaching, and not do anything else about it?

I guess I am just venting, but it really isn’t the responsibility of a preacher, or an elder, or anyone other than you to make sure that you are going deeper! Right?  I want to help volunteers and ministers grow as much as possible, but if you won’t go to study times available to you, there is only so much I can do. 

 Volunteers, do your pastor a favor, study and grow on your own, and take advantage of growth opportunities given to you!

Done ranting now!  Go about your business!