The Work of Prayer

I was thinking this morning of so many that are hurting right now and in need of a Comforter. We have a precious daughter that never leaves the concerns of our hearts. She has helped to teach me the meaning of “pray without ceasing”.

What came to my heart this morning is that no greater work in the Kingdom of God unites His children together, like the work of prayer. The work of prayer unites my heart with my friends that are hurting around the world. I can’t be beside each one, but I can bind my heart with theirs in supplication. I can’t heal those that are sick, but I can plead before the great physician to bring healing. I can plead before the throne for a soul that could slip off into eternity without God. I can beg and plead before God to bring the prodigal home. I can humbly lift my enemy before God and pray for restoration.

Nothing keeps me as close to so many as the great work of prayer. The prayer of faith heals the sick. The prayer of revival heals our land. May we bring the kingdom of God together by doing the work of Prayer. Prayer seeks for God to help others, but the work of prayer changes me from within.

Satan’s favorite word…”Toxic”

One of the most dangerous words in our vocabulary……….

There is a word that secular counselors and psychiatrist have promoted for their philosophy. It is the word “toxic”. This word in their psychology is anyone or anything that does not allow a person to be what their desires have become. I believe that a great deal of this thinking has originated from the beliefs of Satanists and agnostics. The satanic bible exclaims, “Do what thou wilt is the whole of the law”.

These secular counselors are teaching our children and adults that those who follow biblical morality and philosophy make a “toxic” environment for you if you desire to be your own self. “In all thy ways acknowledge Him” is a toxic statement for those who want to choose whether they are male or female. Being raised under the loving teaching of God’s Word can become a toxicity if we choose to be our own selves. Anyone who stresses to you that there is a right way and a wrong way, is a “toxic” person.

We must be so careful to not allow secularism and the satanic influence of psychology and psychiatry, that is not grounded in scripture to be covertly indoctrinated in our minds.

It does not take long before the best of people can begin to believe the toxic dogma of “do what thou wilt is the whole of the law”. We need to keep a listening ear for this word among our children.

Please share if there is someone who could use these thoughts…

Thoughts on Finding a Church Home

If you are seeking a new church home, look at the young people in the services. If you see teens and children that spend the service being entertained by friends, phones, games and other electronics, you will generally find a church lacking in its hunger for God’s Word. A church ,with children that enjoy singing, and are attentive to the preaching, places a priority on the Word of God and it shows in their spirit.

No church is perfect, but the spiritual hunger that we nourish in our young people makes a difference in generations to come.

Not only does it give them spiritual nourishment, but it gives them a hunger to want to know God’s Word more.

A God Who Can…

Believing in a God that can…

I had a Pastor from a large, well known church in America call to say that he and his church were praying for our precious daughter. (A church known as a praying church) His daughter had traveled the same path and the prayer of God’s people and the grace of God drew her back. I asked him if something happened that began to turn her around. He said, Mark, I tried everything from begging, manipulation, loving and kindness, but it was only the supernatural working of a mighty God, through the prayers of our people, that turned her back to God. Now she is a faithful pastors wife.

How desperately churches need to be reminded that “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man, availeth much.” My wife and I can say, with no uncertainty, that we have seen God working through prayer.

I wrote this statement over a year ago and it is even more real today.

“ God’s ability to change someone does not need human influence or effort. God can locate a persons heart and soul, deep behind the security walls of sin and self with which they hide”.

Sometimes we just have to take our hands off the situation, and let God do His work.

The Ministry of “Weakness”

The Lord has allowed Julie and me to walk a path of testing for the last seven years. We can, without hesitation, say that these have been the most blessed years of our life and ministry. We have wept an ocean of tears. Our hearts have oft felt like they would break in two. The difficulty of the years, though, have been far outweighed by the grace, peace and fellowship we have experienced from the Lord. God has given us the opportunity to minister in a far greater way.

With hopeful expectation, we wait everyday for Emily to come home. God has flooded our hearts with peace, that He is in control. I’ve watched my wife weep deeply and then turn around and try to lift someone else’s burden. God’s goodness can always be found in God’s trying.

We often do not understand why God chooses to disrupt our pathway. I remember how healthy I had been all my life. Loved sports…loved the outdoors…..strong as an ox…all that surely made it easier to serve the Lord….. or I would think. Then God had a different plan. Twenty-eight surgeries…… a heart attack….five heart procedures…nine spinal surgeries…hundreds of doctors appointments…..memory loss….six years of every moment pain…..asthma, cellulitis, afib, severe arthritis, and I could bore you with more.

If I were to choose the path to best serve the Lord, in my flesh I probably would not choose this new path. It hinders me…It frustrates me….It embarrasses me….it weakens me. But, that reminds me that with God, there is strength in weakness. Often we would never seek to draw from His resources if ours were not depleted. God is teaching me everyday that His peace is better than my potential. His grace is better than my guarantees. Some may say, aren’t you hurt at God for what He has allowed. I can fervently say, NO….What are the benefits then, Mark?? The opportunity to fellowship with Him more in prayer. The opportunity to lean on Him more. The opportunity to understand more the beauty of His name. The joy to give Him my burdens so I can help share someone else’s. The experience of reaching into the Word of God daily to pull out words to transform my life.

Julie and I love serving God together. We love singing. I love preaching. I’m humbled at seeing people saved. We love counseling. We love teaching…..but I have become so thankful for the ministry of “weakness”. It has taught me so much. It has blessed me so much. It has deepened my trust in God, so much.

If God is taking you through trials. Please let Him use it to glorify Himself, edify others, and make you more like Him. Let’s thank the Lord for “weakness”.

Thoughts From Galatians

*  Galatians 6     Bro. Mark Lancaster

Chapter six begins by giving us some illustrations of what will happen when we are using the “Fruit of the Spirit” to guide our daily life. The working of the Spirit of God is always a practical work. It is not just for the minister or missionary. It is for the farmer, or teacher, or church member, or husband, or factory worker. It is evidenced in practical daily living.

Healing the Wayward

Often, one of the hardest things for Christians to do, is to know how to treat a wayward Christian. We don’t know whether to shun them or love them. We often want to help them but we are uncertain what to say. In verse 1, we are told how one who is Spirit-filled will react to a wayward brother or sister. First we see the Desire to restore. Someone who is being led by the Spirit, never desires to see another Christian struggle. They will treat them with a spirit of meekness. Verse 3 reminds us that we should never get high-minded about our self. If we keep the right focus about who we are, it becomes a lot easier for us to have the desire to help someone else. The last part of verse one tells us, “Considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.”

Helping the Burdened

In verse two, we are reminded that “this is the law of Christ”.  So many people around us are hurting today. People are carrying loads that we often know nothing about. Family burdens, financial burdens, burdens with children, spiritual burdens, health burdens, and so much more. In order to care for others’ burdens, often times we have to take the focus off our own cares. In the past several months, God has sent several people our way that have had a special burden and just needed some encouragement. Unknowing to each of these individuals, my wife and I have been going through the same burden. I wanted to tell them how bad I was hurting inside, but the Lord seemed to prod me to just encourage those he had sent our way. The more I tried to help them and encourage them, the more I felt the Lord lightening the same burden on my heart. I think God is big enough to carry my burden as I help to carry someone else’s load.

Honor the Faithful

In verse six we are required to “communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.” We are reminded that those who feed us God’s Word should be given good things in return. We often do not realize the great value that should be placed on true feeding of God’s Word. It should be more valuable than money because it shows us how to be more prosperous in our money. It should be more valuable than our house because it teaches us how to truly build a home. It should be more valuable than our car because it tells us how to truly get to where we need to go. Then, if we see this teaching is so valuable, God says we ought to do good things for those who teach us the Word. I am sure we would consistently receive more out of what we are being taught if we had that type of spirit. A country preacher friend of mine said this, “A sermon does not have to be something that is pretty, it needs to be something that fixes something.” I know the preacher is not the one who does the “fixing”, but if he is used to help make things right, then maybe we need to be generous to him for helping us get something “fixed”. We pay a mechanic for fixing our car. We pay a plumber for fixing our plumbing. So, maybe we need to consider compensating those more who help us fix our problems in life. Some would say, well don’t we give him a salary for that. The salary of the church is not a compensation for what the man of God does for us personally. If he has personally blessed us, let us personally offer blessings in return.

Holding on in our service

Chapter 6 and verse 9 tells us, “Be not weary in well doing.” The labor of sowing is a good work. To till the soul, to break up the ground, to pull the weeds, and to plant the seeds are not easy jobs. There is sweat in our labor. There is aching of our bodies. There is a great deal of our time that we have to spend. It would be easy to get tired, weary, frustrated, upset, and discouraged if we did not keep in mind that harvest time is coming. I love fresh tomatoes. I have always had a garden of tomatoes no matter if it has been in five gallon buckets or an acre of land. I have never really enjoyed furrowing the rows. I hate having to constantly pull the weeds. The constant watering is inconvenient, but when I start pulling off those fresh, red, juicy tomatoes, I think nothing about those long hours of toiling in the garden. Our labor for the Lord often gets troubling and burdensome. It is hard to see the day of reaping down the road. People mistreat us. People misunderstand us, but one day God will reward us with far greater blessing than the burdens that we have born. Just stay faithful.

“When God gives direction and the devil throws a damper, don’t feel defeated for soon will come the answer. Just set your course to do His will and find delight in serving. For victory will come to those, who press on without swerving.”

Dealing with the dread of pain The endurance of daily, debilitating chronic pain can take over your mind and body. The pain medicine, to control it, can make you loose control of your mind and body, if you’re not careful. You must find peace in the Lord. Let your mind be consumed with godly music, scripture and unceasing prayer. This won’t take away the pain, but it refocuses your mind.

It’s Just Your Presence I Need

Sometimes we come to times in our life that it is not what God gives us that meets our need, it’s just meeting with God. This song talks about that.

Our God has a humorous side…

Have you ever experienced that the Lord has a sense of humor. I was experiencing excessive pain yesterday and was really down about it. I called my wife while I was out yesterday and whined to her for a minute and asked her just to pray a little harder. I was moping as I went down the road and was pulling up to a stop light. In the turning lane was a large truck with a big black tank on the back. As I drew closer, I saw that it was a sewage truck and on the back was stenciled in big white letters, “The joy of the Lord is my strength”.😊😊😊

Believing in a God that can….

Believing in a God that can…

I had a Pastor from a large, well known church in America call in the last few days to say that he and his church were praying for our precious daughter. (A church known as a praying church)His daughter had traveled the same path and the prayer of God’s people and the grace of God drew her back. I asked him if something happened that began to turn her around. He said, Mark, I tried everything from begging, manipulation, loving and kindness, but it was only the supernatural working of a mighty God that turned her. How desperately churches need to be reminded that “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man, availeth much.”My wife and I can say, with no uncertainty, that we have seen God working through prayer.

I wrote this statement over a year ago and it is even more real today. “ God’s ability to change someone does not need human influence or effort. God can locate a persons heart and soul, deep behind the security walls of sin and self with which they hide”.