Afghanistan and Haiti have been in the news lately.  Natural disaster, political unrest, the suffering and atrocities of war.  Unimaginable human suffering.  Sometimes the calls for prayer can leave us speechless – what do we pray for? How do we wrap our arms around it. we have no words for the situations.  Yet we are to pray even in situations that seem hopeless from our perspective.  This requires a deep faith as well as an understanding of what prayer is and what it isn’t.

The Favor Of The Lord

Psalm 30:5-7

We hear often about God’s Favor in gospel music and in Church.  Often when I hear this term, I am troubled because it is usually undefined and I find myself wondering what the person means by this term.  What is it?  Who has it?  Let’s think about this for a few minutes as we explore the topic.

God IS In Charge

This is a statement that all Christians would agree with.  However, living with this reality is hard.  We like control  We work hard and things “usually” work ut.  But there are times it does not work as we would like it to.  Do we acknowledge that we are not in ultimate control or do we just get frustrated and mad.  God is in charge is a reality that we all face.  How can we deal with the tension between our hard work and  the limits of our control?

He Was Never “Just” A Baby

Luke 2:11-14

On Christmas we celebrate the birth of Christ.  The Baby born in a manager.  So true, but we must understand that this is not the whole story.  He was never just a baby; He was and is the Christ Child.  He was and is Savior and Lord.  This has implications beyond celebrating the birth of a baby.  As Christians we celebrate the birth of our Lord.  He is worthy of worship and worthy of obedience.

COVID has changed the world.  It affects travel, Church, Family and every aspect of our society.  However, we are also in a season that is often associated with much joy.  For the Christian the celebration of the Christ child, the savior of the world. For everyone celebrations of a season of fun and great joy.  How do we reconcile the two things?  In the reality of a world where so much thought is given to COVID how do we remain thankful? 

The election is over, and I am relieved.  How can we maintain the proper perspective on such a contentious election?  As Christians we need to remember that the temporal (what happens while we are alive) is important but never the most important thing.  Listen and think.

Change is inevitable, Growth is a Choice.  We change, life Changes.  How are we to handle change?

Mark 9:24 is set in the context of a father’s love for his sick child, “Lord I believe, help my unbelief.”  The father’s child has been troubled by an evil spirit since he was young.  The father has tried many things.  He even brought his child to the disciples, but they were unable to help.

He believes but he is struggling.  Christians experience these moments.  I believe, you are God, you are able, but – I am struggling.  My issue, my struggles are still there.  I need help. 

The prayer of a doubting heart is honest, it is simple, it is sometimes uttered in pain.  However, it also recognizes that God is my everything, I have nowhere else to turn.  “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.”

Godly Mothers are always there.  They won’t give up on us no matter what.  Through the baby years, through the teen years and even as adults they continue to believe in us and to be there for us.  Give them the Tribute they deserve.

In this great big world of ours it is easy to feel insignificant.  It is easy to think that what we do doesn’t matter.  The truth is we all have influence on someone.  This is true no matter what our status in life.  We have families, we have friends, we have people who look at us that we don’t even know.  That chance encounter with the store clerk or fast food (drive through) worker.  Maybe we even have enemies who are looking.  We don’t know who’s looking but we all have influence and we have more influence than we think.