Teach Our Children

Praying is on my mind. I was delighted to have so many people respond this past Sunday with the commitment to seek God in prayer on a daily basis. May the Lord bless you as you pursue him. One of my strongest prayers is for our investment in the lives of children. Jesus showed a clear sense of love and concern for children, something that was rare in that day. As we follow the steps of Jesus and bless children, God will bless us. There is a calling on a church body for the development of spiritual understanding for children as they learn the truth of God’s Word. We are the dispensers of that truth. Our Children’s Ministry is key to whether God will bless us or not. If we are faithful to our children, God will put us in charge of even more things.

The Scripture is clear when it challenges parents to instruct their children. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 says it in a very clear and challenging way.

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

May our relationship with Jesus Christ be expressed and impressed on our children as they see our faith as the most integral part of our lives, then the covenant of Jesus will be passed down in a healthy and strong way, and the legacy of our faith will continue well beyond our lifetime.

Just Do It!

When Johnny Jones, living in a middle-class suburb in central California, made a commitment to pray five blessings on five neighbors for five minutes a day for five days a week for five weeks, surprising things began to happen. One neighbor asked him how she could have a personal relationship with Christ. When Johnny shared the Gospel with her, she accepted Christ as her Savior. A drug-dealing neighbor asked Johnny to pray for him and help him turn his life around and get out of the drug business. A Buddhist couple from across the street asked if they could go to church with Johnny’s family. And a Hispanic couple living next door asked him to start a Bible study for their neighborhood. Johnny Jones’ prayers mattered to God. They provided God the opportunity he was looking for to work in the hearts and lives of Johnny’s neighbors.

I read that story in a magazine article on the subject of prayer, of course. If you take a close notice of the story, you will realize that four neighbors are mentioned and yet the story presents five neighbors being prayed for. I think that is realistic also. Nevertheless, prayer matters to God. As I conclude this series on prayer this coming Sunday, I have a sense there is more to learn about prayer. I also believe that what God wants to do for us in prayer is just beginning. There is so much more that he has in mind. I know that things don’t just change around after a six-week series on prayer, but I do hope you will sense how significant this gift is as a real and deep connection with God, inviting us to release our request and to know him better, and to be totally honest with our loving God.

Prayer Changes Me

Here is another thought provoking story – Four associates were playing a round of golf on Sunday morning. None of their scores was good. On top of their embarrassment it began to rain. The men returned to the clubhouse only to learn that the electrical power line had been hit by lightening so the restaurant was closed. As the men prepared to rush for their cars, one of them remarked, “We could have just as well gone to church this morning.” Another of the men disagreed, “Oh, I couldn’t have gone to church, anyway. My wife is sick in bed this morning.”

The title of that story is “Bad Day for Church.” I know pastors are supposed to care about church attendance. At times in church history, church attendance had been associated with being a “good” Christian. There are many different mixed messages about attending, which can feel like obligation, or even legalism. But there are two things that come to my mind when I think of people making church a priority.

1. The Bible commands the followers of Christ to assemble together. In Hebrews 10:25 it says, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” The word is assembled, and sometimes translated “worshipping together.” It is something God wants us to do.

2. I have noticed over the years a correlation between God at work in someone’s heart and seeing them at church more often. When God is stirring someone about their spiritual condition, the challenging circumstances of their life or many other kinds of needs, people move towards God through attending church. Your spiritual temperature will often dictate your desire to worship God, be with other believers and study His Word. If those things aren’t very important to you, that usually indicates your spiritual fervor is stagnant or even on the decline.

Like so many people do in blogs, if you have a comment on what I have just said, feel free to send me a note as a reply to this e-mail. I want to fan your desire to be a part of our worship connection here at New Harvest because God commands it and it reflects your desire for the things of God.