Paul, in his letters, like Jesus in the gospels, frequently implores us to pray. And like Jesus, Paul also provides examples of prayer. Here, Paul directs us in how we should approach our prayer life.
First, he commands that we continue earnestly in prayer. The word can also be translated as “busily engaged in.” Prayer is to be active and ongoing. Secondly, he commands that we be vigilant, which means to be in constant readiness or to be on the alert. We should always be ready with a prayer in our heart, and alert to those things which distract us from a life of prayer. Finally, we are to approach prayer with an attitude of thanksgiving. Prayer is a privilege: We can enter the throne room of the universe and commune with God! We can praise Him for who He is and for His work in our lives, as well as bring our petitions. Lord, may we approach prayer with persistence, and may we guard our prayer life from anything that would diminish it.
Jeff Mericle
I think most of us would agree that the end of 2020 could not arrive quickly enough. A worldwide pandemic has kept us in its grip for the better part of 10 months and a national election fraught with questions, doubts, and upheaval on every side has left many disillusioned. The church has faced the closing of its doors for months on end. Add in the fear and misinformation, the relative ease with which we settle into bad spiritual habits, the cancellation of church life and services, and we arrive at Christmas wondering how we have survived it all.
In many ways, the arrival of Jesus Christ on that first Christmas day found a world similarly dominated by fear and hopelessness. I trust our world this year has been brought through these great challenges to prepare hearts for the Good News of Jesus Christ, whose birth we celebrate today. I am looking for revival in 2021 as the message of our Lord is shared by His people to a world that has been brought to the end of itself.
As God’s people, we know of His goodness, great love, and provision for our sin and there has never been a better time for us to shout it from the rooftops, even as the angels declared to the shepherds that first Christmas morning (Luke 2:11). For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. I am anticipating a harvest of souls as a result of the message of Christmas. Tell someone the true story of the Child born in Bethlehem, for with all that has been going on, I believe they will now listen with great interest.
Merry Christmas from the fields white unto harvest,
Pastor Jack Abeelen and the staff at Morningstar Christian Chapel
There are over a dozen times in the gospel narratives that the authors brought to attention an enhanced level of concern in Jesus’ speech by stating that Jesus “cried out” as He spoke a particular message to those listening in. I’ve been told before when everything is dramatic, nothing is dramatic.
Every time Jesus opened His mouth, even though everything He spoke was true, it wasn’t always said as if it were the last words He was ever to share (Isaiah 42:2). But then there were important moments, at important times, concerning important truths about Himself or His message that Jesus could not hold back. Jesus would cry out with a passion-filled zeal because these truths or realities He spoke must be heard, must be understood, must be taken seriously because they meant everything!
If you have ever found yourself having a conversation about Jesus or maybe even teaching the Bible and you find yourself getting a little louder or excited at some point, it’s usually because you started sharing a truth about Jesus that is critical for your audience to hear. To that I say, Amen! If you find yourself just trying to be passionate because you think everything you have to say is important, well, I’d point you to the classic story of the boy who cried wolf.
Be passionate about the things that matter… Jesus!
Pastor Jason Witt
Here, Peter glances in the rear view to Isaiah 53: “All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” With 1 Peter 2:25, the apostle reminds us of Jesus’ loving sacrifice on the cross; the sacrifice that bridged the chasm between our fallen souls and God’s loving presence for those who know Jesus as their Shepherd.
The word of God is filled with comparisons that identify we humans as sheep and the Lord as the one true Shepherd. Why sheep? Sheep are helpless without a shepherd. Sheep are prone to “follow the leader,” regardless of how foolish that leader may be. Sheep are likely to wander. A sheep’s only chance of survival is to remain under the care of a dedicated shepherd.
It is amazing to know that the Lord is not only our compassionate Shepherd, but that He has gladly taken on the responsibility as the Overseer of our souls. I am grateful that He loves His sheep so very much, and I’ll bet you are, too.
Jeff Deal
God uses the things that we see as problems in our lives to make us more like Jesus. Our trials don’t go to waste, they are not the result of bad luck or being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but they are ordained by God for us. In light of this we have to know that nothing can get to the sheep unless it comes through the Shepherd.
So knowing that these problems you are facing haven’t escaped God’s notice, but to the contrary, that God is going to do something with this problem that will build you up and bring Him glory, we can rejoice in the trial.
Whatever you are experiencing today, count it all joy, for God is working a great work in you.
Pastor Doug Hardin
Is it just me or is it a little harder to live by this verse right now? Making a stand for Christ puts a target on our back. Because of our stance on topics such as marriage, abortion, and the exclusivity of Jesus being the only means of salvation, the world hates us. Our nation is currently divided on almost every issue and the world will tell us that we are on the wrong side. They enjoy making us the enemy and labeling us as hateful bigots. When their hostile words are directed towards us, the natural response is to fight fire with fire, but Jesus has called us to live a different way.
As we stand for Christ, let us take a position of love and blessing. May we be the ones going out of our way to do good to those who hate us and to pray for those who wish to persecute us. We are to follow the example of our King! Jesus willingly laid aside all His rights and died a shameful death. As many of His enemies gather around the cross, they mocked Him and spoke words of blasphemy against His name. As Jesus slowly died on the cross, He cried out to His Father asking Him to forgive them. In the greatest act of love, Jesus died for those people who mocked Him, spit on Him, and beat Him beyond recognition. Are you looking more like the world or Jesus as you interact with your enemies?
For the King,
Daniel Batistelli
There is not too much that needs to be said about this Proverb, its pretty straightforward. Let’s commit today to be a man or woman of our word. If people know they can count on us when things are good, they will have all the confidence to call on us when they are in trouble. There’s no better witness to nonbelievers and believers alike than to be there for someone when we’ve said that we would.
Loving our neighbors,
Pastor Gerard Deleeuw
Though David was anointed to be king of Israel as a teenager, it took him awhile before he actually took over as leader of the nation. At 30 years old, he was the king only over a small portion of Judah for seven-and-a-half years. Then he took over the whole nation for 33 years.
What made David such a good king was his willingness to wait on the Lord. He could have marched right up to Saul and told him the country was his and to step aside. David also had opportunities to kill Saul, who had proved to be a terrible king, but he didn’t. He waited for the Lord to open doors and showed himself to be a faithful leader.
We all have things in our life we wish would happen quicker, but God’s got His reasons for the delays. May we learn from David, who in the above verse eventually became king, but was willing to trust in the Lord’s perfect timing.
Wait, I say wait on the Lord,
Pastor Ron Kitchell
Our verse is part of what Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, declared to him about God. Note the word he uses to describe God: He is greater than all gods. It is a difficult concept to grasp: greater or greatest! We are always on the move looking for the next great thing. Whether it’s a bike, car, faster car, apartment, condo, house, or bigger house. In every pursuit we rarely come to “This is it and there is nothing greater!” We usually stop whenever our checkbook is on empty. We have come this far in our quest for the greatest.
But when we turn to our Lord, He is at the top, there is none like Him, no one compares to Him, there is no competition and no hill to climb, He is the GREATEST. I love that, my God is the greatest, the only true God. He is Almighty, All-Powerful, All-Knowing, Omnipresent; there is nothing to be improved upon or another god to seek for, He alone is God! Knowing that about Him and that He loves me solves any real issue immediately. My God reigns!
Chew on that today,
Pastor Jack Abeelen
True sacrifice is always out of survival, never out of surplus. We have a tendency to say, “Lord, if You bless me, then I’ll give. If You bless us, then we’ll move out.” That’s exactly backwards. You give first, then the blessing is released.
The Father is determined to make us men and women of faith. And He’ll put us in situation after situation where faith must be exercised. It takes no faith to give out of surplus. It takes tremendous faith to give out of survival – when you just don’t have it – whether it’s time, finances, or love.
The widow believed. She stepped out in faith, and God blessed. Her needs were met. The Lord will not be a debtor to any man. If you are giving, sharing, and sacrificing, He will never be in your debt. He’ll more than make it up.
Pastor William Del Casale
