Ray Comfort on Abortion

http://www.180movie.com/

Prayer Meetings

I just started to read a book entitled, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala, the head pastor of Brooklyn Tabernacle and something got my attention while reading it. It's the story of how Brooklyn Tabernacle came to be the Brooklyn Tabernacle we all know it to be today. It really began with Pastor Cymbala emphasizing on the Tuesday Night Prayer Meetings they would have where they would just come to pray and to simply cried out to God. Before this, the church was struggling and Pastor Cymbala was not sure what else to do but God impressed upon him to just cry out to Him and He will take care of the rest. And so they did and God began to work. In the book, Charles Spurgeon is quoted to explain the reason behind this:

The conditions of the church may be very accurately gauged by its prayer meetings. So is the prayer meeting a grace-ometer, and from it we may judge of the amount of divine working among a people. If God be near a church, it must pray. And if he be not there, one of the first tokens of his absence will be a slothfulness in prayer.

So this started to make me think of how I viewed our prayer meetings and whether it was something of utmost importance or just of drudgery and routine. Do I see it as the lifeline of our church or just a gathering to feel good after I've done my duty? The way that God moved through this simple act of faith by Pastor Cymbala really challenged the way I viewed prayer meetings because I would fall into the second category a lot of the times because it seemed so hard and I wanted to just get it over with. But to see God so willing to work in those who are obedient to pray, I wanted to see God do that in our church especially when I meet others to pray.

Hungry for something ...

Our nature hungers for God even when it broke with Him long ago, perhaps the more intensely the longer ago it was. It experiences a sort of famine. But the devil rides it and spurs it on, to distract it from its own need. he changes its hunger into haste. That is why people today are in such a hurry. Their speed is to distract their hunger. -Louis Evely

Do we feel the hunger pains? Or are we finding constant distractions to alleviate the striking pangs that come our way. As Tozer puts it, the world is perishing for lack of the knowledge of God, and the Church is famishing for want of His presence. The cure is simple. It is the experienced fullness of God. In that moment, when all anxieties of tomorrow and whirlwind of voices subside, then we are satisfied. It is no longer broken. He has repaired us together.

"Like the blind we grope along the wall,
feeling our way like men without eyes.
At midday we stumble as if it were twilight;
among the strong, we are like the dead.

See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you
and His glory appears over you.

you will drink deeply
and delight in her overflowing abundance." (Isa)

"Blessed are those whose strength is in You,

who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs;

the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion." - Psalm 84: 5-7

I believe these verses speak one message: "God will give you the strength to seek Him, if you will do so with all of your heart." It makes the intentions of the believer so clear: he has set his desire on God, and he will follow through with this journey by the grace of God. Even when they pass through a place of dryness and tribulation, by the time they are through, it will be a blessing. But what I love the most is verse 7: to go from strength to strength... it doesn't say from strength to weakness to strength to weakness again, repeat.... It says strength to strength. I sure don't feel like I go from strength to strength all the time... yet the Bible contradicts that, which means only one thing: the things that I perceive to be stumbles and weaknesses are being used by God to be made into strengths. But it's not just for the sake of being strong. These things are happening because God is making sure that I will appear before Him in Zion; not only when I die and am taken to heaven, but in this life. This is my confirmation that God is working everything out in such a way that when I look back, I will see a series of quickenings and disciplines that led me to see Jesus in the here and now.

Let's be "confident of this: "[We] will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living." (Psalm 27:13)

Examining & Controlling the Heart’s Desires

JESUS:
My son, you will have many things to learn which you have not yet fully grasped.

DISCIPLE:
What things, Lord?

JESUS:
You must conform ALL your desires to My good pleasure and stop loving yourself, and earnestly desire that My will be done.

You frequently burn with desires that powerfully impel you to action, but what is the motive behind your actions? Is it My honor or is it your own self-interest? If I be the motive, then you will be satisfied with whatever I decide for you; but if it be your own self-interest, then this is what puts the brake to your progress and slows you down.

2. Therefore, be careful not to rely too heavily on your own desires without first consulting Me. You may later on find that you are sorry and displeased with what once pleased you and what you once thought the better thing to do.

Not every desire that seems good has to be carried not, nor is everything feeling contrary to your desires to be avoided. Even in good desires and endeavors it is sometimes necessary to hold yourself back; otherwise, overeagerness may result in dissipation of energies. At the same time, your lack of self-control may give offense to others and their opposition, in turn, may dishearten you and cause you to give up.

3. You sometimes have to resort to strong measures and manfully go against your sense appetites, disregarding what your flesh wants or does not want, and endeavor to subject it, though unwilling, to the spirit. The flesh has to be chastised and held down until it learns to give obedience in all things, to be satisfied with little, happy with what is simple, and not grumble about any physical discomfort.

.....................................................

I read this chapter in Thomas a Kempis' book The Imitation of Christ and it really made me examine the motives of my own heart. Is everything I do, say, and act upon really for God's honor and glory, or is it in my own self-interest? Kempis says, "if it be your own self-interest, then this is what puts the brake to your progress and slows you down." This is exactly how I feel sometimes. I feel stunted, stagnant, and spiritually starving. I'm still in the race, but I feel like i'm crawling, dragging myself along the narrow road instead of running with endurance. I believe God will still use and speak to the struggling believer, but I want to be more effective & grow daily in Christ.

It made me think of Jesus' life here on earth. He always consulted His Father before doing anything and selflessly did His Father's will. Consequently, the people around Him were healed & full of hope. You look at His ministry here on earth, and even as He's the Intecessor in heaven, and it's a ministry of building up and breathing life into the broken and dead.

I mean, the title of the book says it all, no? This is the way to imitate Christ. We must examine our heart's desires, but also need to ask the Lord to try to reins of our hearts to put them under His submission.

Lord, we have many things to learn which we have not yet fully grasped. But, give us teachable hearts and a spirit of understanding. Give us the courage and strength to see the truth in ourselves so that we can turn and follow You. It's not in our nature to want the things of God, this is a supernatural working of your Holy Spirit. So, fill us with Your Holy Spirit that we may obey and serve You selflessly.