Tag Archives: prayer

An Ear To Heaven

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“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” Rev 2:17

There are many voices speaking in the world these days. Some cry peace and safety. Others cry murder and mayhem. The truth is both voices are probably half right. This world has always, since, the fall been a mixture of peace and murder…safety and mayhem. Even the Tribulation will have a mixture of the two things albeit increasingly heavy on the murder and mayhem side.

I know many brothers and sisters in the faith who are glued to the world news sources hoping to figure out what is coming when. I can’t say I blame them. I do a fair amount of world news watching and comparative Scripture study to find the prophetic match-ups myself. I think there is a certain amount of wisdom in keeping one ear to the ground, so to speak. However, if one ear is to the ground the other needs to be kept keenly tuned to the sound of Heaven. You see an ear to the ground can only tell us how things are.  In the days ahead we won’t need to listen very hard to figure out how things are. What we will need to listen for is how God wants us to be in the midst of how things are and what God wants to do in the midst of how things are. You see our role as the people of God is to hear the voice of God, the commands of God and to come into agreement with them. Sometimes that will require us to sacrifice. Sometimes agreement will call us to take up our authority. And always it will cause us to hope.

Pastor Wrinkles: Unintended Consequences Pt. 6

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Today we shall finish up our discussion regarding the fall of mankind into sin. We have spent the last posts talking about some of the things we lost in the fall. If you would like to chime in on any or all of those discussions they can be found,

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AND HERE

The fall was truly devastating for our race but there is a solution…

It is true, we lost so much in the fall and most days we don’t even stop to realize that it didn’t have to be this way. Friend:

If you have ever felt like you have no purpose in living and life is just an empty shell not worth living.” It’s because you have lost your sense of significance in the fall;

If you are ever afraid that you won’t be able to provide for yourself or your family. That is because you have lost your sufficiency in the fall;

If you ever feel like your life doesn’t matter and the world would be better off without you. It’s because you lost your security your sense of belonging in the fall;

If you feel like you are less than enough and disappointed in how you have turned out. It is because you have lost your assurance in the fall;

If you feel powerless and like the world is about to swallow you whole it’s because you have lost your authority in the fall;

If you feel like you are on a hamster wheel and all your work is nothing more than trying to knock down a mountain with a toothpick, it is because you lost your rest in the fall;

And if you feel like your world is a war zone it is because you are under the influence of the fall!

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Our race gained nothing good by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In fact, whatever knowledge or ability we gained in those moments has done nothing  but destroy us. I am glad that the bible does not end with the book of Genesis. The Fall of Man, the eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is not the end of the Bible. It is the beginning. While our story starts in darkness the rest of the Bible is about God working in our history to fix the mess that Adam and Eve made and bringing us back into the light.

You may be reading today feeling insignificant, insufficient, insecure, not sure of anything, ashamed, guilty, feeling weak and hopeless, tired, weary and at war with the world. All  of that is perfectly natural. Life has become all of those things for all of us. It is the human condition; BUT GOD has provided an answer. He made Adam, and Adam failed in the Garden, but God has solved the problem of the Fall. The Bible tells us that God clothed himself in flesh and became a man named Jesus and the Bible tells us that Jesus is a second Adam.

  When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. 13 Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. 14 Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. 15 But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. 16 And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.

18 Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. 19 Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. Ro. 5:13-18 NLT

The Devil may have gotten Adam to destroy the world but,

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work 1 John 3:8

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You may be here today feeling like your life has no purpose. Jesus can give that to you.

You may be here today and your life is falling apart and you can’t fix it. Jesus can provide what you need to get back on track.

You may be here today feeling alone and unwanted. Jesus can put you in a forever family.

You may be here today feeling ashamed because of the life you have lived. Jesus can forgive you and clean your conscience.

You may be here today feeling powerless to do anything about your circumstances. Jesus can give you back your authority to live the life He always intended.

You may be here today tired and weary from life’s hardships. Jesus can refresh you with His presence.

You may be here today feeling like you are at war with yourself and the world. Jesus can give you peace.

Jesus came to destroy the devil’s work. Jesus came to restore what the fall of man took away.

But if that is so you might ask why doesn’t everyone experience this restoration. Because it is based on each person’s faith in the son of God which leads people to give their lives to Jesus Christ and to declare Him Lord. Paul the Apostle said it this way,

“The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”d that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

So if you need any of the things listed above pray with me now and let Jesus do the work that needs to be done.

Sunset Prayer

Pray: Jesus, I know God sent you to Earth to deal with the consequences of the fall. I admit I have allowed sin to affect my life and now I am broken by this evil power. Please forgive me for letting sin into my life and please forgive me for sinning. Jesus come and set me free from the power of the fall and fix my life. You are my Lord. You alone are my God from this point forward and I believe God has raised you from the dead and because of that you have the power to hear this prayer and help me. Thank you Lord for doing that and saving me from myself and sin. Amen.

The Forever Space

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Linger.”

The Post has asked us to Tell us about times in which you linger — when you don’t want an event, or a day to end. What is it you love about these times? Why do you wish you could linger forever?

I love to linger in the place of prayer. To find that space where the troubles of the day just melt away in the sweet presence of Jesus, is to find life’s greatest treasure.

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While all prayer must eventually lead to action, I think most of us act to quickly and pray to hesitantly. It is not until I have refreshed my harried soul that I can safely come out of the place of prayer and into the fray of ministry.

It is not just the unburdening of my soul that draws me to this place. It is not just that I can freely express myself without fear of judgment or retribution; It is that even as I speak, He answers. Prayer is not a monologue shouted into an empty universe. It is a dialogue framed in the intimate whispers of lovers.

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I do not hesitate to leave the place of prayer out of fear of losing my space in line at the throne of God. Prayer is  an unending connection, a communion that always is and always shall be for the believer. It is the place in this world where we touch forever, where time and need are all washed away in the flow of the river of God. The thread of that tributary can be found in every moment and in every place. In one sense I never leave prayer or at least I am never more than a stone’s throw away. Yet even knowing I can always come back  I hesitate to step away from prayer because in that place I know forever and I understand grace in ways my time in this world makes me forget.

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The Road To Powerful Prayer

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Our church is hosting Ron Auch this week author of several books dealing with The Christian’s Intimacy With God, including

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Ron taught on the subject , The Road To Powerful Prayer.

Here are some quotes from the conference.

“If you wonder if you have faith for a thing you don’t. Those who have faith know it and walk in it.”

“Worship is the one thing we can do to bless the Lord.”

“The Lord of the work is always more important than the work of the Lord.”

“Revival needs intimacy. Intimacy creates revival. Revival brings new birth. We want the new birth without the intimacy.”

“You can have church growth without prayer but you can’t have spiritual awakening without prayer.”

“Sometimes we think if we don’t give God good instruction, He might mess up.”

“Part of Satan’s plan is to make us fight him and stop pursuing Jesus.”

It was a great conference and we have more teaching today and tonight.

Which quote resonates with you?

Is My Prayer Good Enough?

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles
The crucifix at Kylemore Abbey

The crucifix at Kylemore Abbey

A group of us gather at our church three times a week for an hour of morning prayer. We generally do a brief devotion and then spend about fifteen to twenty minutes in solitary prayer and meditation before coming together for a half an hour of corporate prayer.

This morning in my time of meditation I felt the Spirit of God nudge me with these thoughts which I penned into my journal,  “The Holy Spirit does not rely on your ability to express His manifestation in order to define the boundaries of His manifestation. The power of your prayers does not come from your words, your volume or your emotion. He is able to do as much work whether you pray long or pray short whether you pray soft or pray loud. How you express your prayer does not determine the power released as long as you are praying in line with the Spirit’s desires.”

I think many of us get hung up on whether or not we are “good pray-ers”. But God does not need people who can pray long flowery or loud exciting prayers. He is the God who invented speech and nothing in the way of language surprises Him. Time means little to a God who dwells in eternity so pray as long or as short as you want. Although, time does mean something to the people you are praying with. Remember,  we aren’t in eternity yet so when you pray with people try not to pretend a thousand years are like a day. God’s not deaf nor does He have a nervous condition but the people you are with might have either; So you might want to tailor your volume according to the auditory sensibilities or the nerves of the people around you. I think the way we pray has more to do with whom we are  praying with than whom we are praying to.

God doesn’t need long flowery or loud exciting prayers. But what HE does need is people who will commit to discovering and praying His will. In fact God is most excited when we catch His vision for prayer. Emotional excitement is secondary to Him but what really grabs His heart is when His people pray His Kingdom to come on Earth and His will to be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.

What specific kingdom prayers is God directing you to pray these days?

 

The Recreating Silences

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“We must seek out the recreating silences of solitude if we want to be with others meaningfully. We must seek the fellowship and accountability of others if we want to be alone safely. We must cultivate both if we are to live in obedience.” Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, Solitude

Two Right Feet In Prayer

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Two Right Feet.”

The Daily Post has asked us, What are the things you need to do within 30 minutes of waking up to ensure your day gets off on the right foot? What happened the last time you didn’t do one of these things?

For me this is all about  prayer and Bible Study. I am finding the older I get the more regimented I get, particularly in the spiritual disciplines. As a young guy I thought the lifestyle of discipline was stodgy. There was a part of me that thought if it wasn’t unscripted or spontaneous then it wasn’t real, but the older I become the more I see that intentionality particularly with the spiritual life is the pathway to the longevity of success.

Beginning the day with prayer and study allows me to tune my spiritual senses to the voice of God. It allows His conviction and direction to come in. When I miss my time in prayer I feel like I am in a ship with neither rudder nor paddle being driven along by every whim the river of life brings my way. So most mornings now I make the time to pray.

The crucifix at Kylemore Abbey