A Cord of Three Strands

A little encouragement for those in ministry this Monday morning. In the book of Ecclesiastes, there is a warning not to go at it alone in life. This passage is in Chapter 4:7-12 and it portrays to me, the importance of friends in the ministry to keep you from falling away and getting into trouble. Your friends in the ministry will stand by you for what is right and you find strength in numbers. As the key verse says…A cord of three strands can’t be broken easily. Hope this encourages you to find good, ministry building friends.

Frogs In The Pond Spirituality?

Alright everyone…from time to time a strange event happens and I am reminded of a spiritual truth. This is your time to explain the unexplainable…a time to show your inner spiritual application of the abnormal.

I was just standing outside by my lake\pond behind my apartment just watching the stars, counting the many aircraft zooming ahead all while being drowned by the croaking of frogs. For those of you who have ever heard a pond full of frogs, you know how the crazy sound is. All of a sudden, like there was a cue from one frog…SILENCE! For about three seconds there was not a sound by the pond! Then it all started back up like it never stopped! What is the meaning of this? Has anyone ever heard of a pond of frogs just going silent all at once? Take a guess at what I was reminded of due to this strange happening.

Worship, Work, And Play

Came across an interesting quote about worship:

MOST CHRISTIANS TEND TO:

WORSHIP THEIR WORK, TO WORK AT THEIR PLAY, AND TO PLAY WITH THEIR WORSHIP – Gordon, Dahl

What do you think? How can we balance work, worship, and play correctly? Has anyone ever struggled with getting priorities in line?

The Power of Prayer

The topic of prayer has been bouncing around the office with my pastor and secretary. We all feel that we need to commit to praying together as a staff for the church needs at least once a week. An issue I have with most church’s prayer ministry is that it is inward. What I mean by this is that the focus on a church’s prayer should not necessarily be only on the health needs of the members and families of them. There is a place for that though and I’m not bashing this important aspect.

Who\What\How should a church body be praying for? It pained me to look at the “Prayer List” in the Sanctuary Lobby and see not one mention of praying for the lost in the community, the youth, children, the pastor, the overall vision of ministry to be executed in the community, etc. These issues should be the first priority in a church’s prayer ministry. We have gotten so wrapped up on letting others know about our own physical needs that we neglect the spiritual needs of others. Our church has an “Intercessory Prayer Room” and it has sat vacant for several years from what I gather. Does your church have a specific location that members, staff, deacons, or even someone off the streets can go and spend time in uninterrupted prayer? For the first time in a while, my wife and I kneeled together and prayed for more than 5 minutes Wednesday night after some trying moments in church. We are committing to pray together in the prayer room every Wednesday after church.

The greatest movements are all started in prayer. God shows you His perfect will, vision, and direction when you fellowship with him in prayer.

Should Christians Support Starbucks?

I know the very title of this post is going to raise eyebrows and begin the process of hate-mail but I must get this off my mind! The answer is NO! They shouldn’t! If you are truly a Christ Follower, would you support the advancement of the New Age, Zen Buddhism, Mysticism, etc.??? Under the disguise of casual interactions with friends, over-priced (and low quality coffees), and social status is a little company that has made its way into the store shelves. This company is the the supplier of Starbuck’s Teas…TAZO

  You can visit their site by clicking here. Did you know that they claim each box of tea is “blessed by a Shaman” ? This is a crying out to all who read and even are daily drinkers of coffee to banish Starbucks from their vocabulary and checkbooks! You might be saying that you don’t drink tea so it doesn’t affect you…I site the many verses in the Bible warning us not to partake in the ways of the world and having nothing to do with paganism. So come on “Christians” stop giving your money to companies that support everything you “believe” to be wrong.