April 26, 2024, 1:00 PM
Greetings in Christ!
I hope and pray everyone is enjoying a good week.
I have struggled mightily this week with allergies and sinus issues. I've felt better as the week progressed and I plan on being in the pulpit, Lord willing, come Sunday.
Have you ever felt stuck in a particular situation as if you were on a dead-end road? It was as if there was no way to come out victorious, no matter how hard you tried.
We felt sure God was calling us and we stepped out in faith. Now, however, things have stalled. God appears to have gone silent.
However, maybe God has just where He wants us.
I think about things He has called me to do and how often I step out in faith to do them, but I rely way too much on my strength and power.
When things start going south, I have to remember that a God-sized challenge will not be conquered by human hands!
I'm not sure what the reason is for our operating the way we do. Maybe it is over-confidence in our own abilities or perhaps it's just us being lazy spiritually.
We can all be a lot like that woman driving down the street in a sweat because she had an important meeting and couldn’t find a parking space. Looking up toward heaven, she said, “Lord, take pity on me. If you find me a parking place I’ll go to Church every Sunday for the rest of my life and give up drinking.” Miraculously, a parking space opened up right in front of her destination. The woman looked up to heaven and said, “Never mind, Lord; I found one on my own.”
Be sure of this: There is a massive amount of untapped power out there from God for all of us.
It is like Jesus said in Matthew 19:26, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Rick Warren said, "If God can raise people physically, he can raise people who are dead emotionally. He can raise a dead marriage. He can resurrect a dead career. He can resurrect you from a health problem."
Here's an idea: Maybe we need to get "out of the way," come to the "end of ourselves" and start looking to God in all things.
Looking to God should ALWAYS be our first move and not just our last option.
Many times, however, we find ourselves asking the question my good friend Chuck Perry often spoke of, "Did we pray BEFORE or AFTER we got into this mess?"
Let's all start praying BEFORE and not just AFTER we get into messes.
We'll be talking more about prayer this coming Sunday.
I'll preach a message from our "Lord, Teach us to Pray" series called, "Thy Kingdom Come."
My desire is that we'll become more of a PRAYING CHURCH at FCC.
We hope and pray to see you at FCC this Sunday - Bible School @ 9:30 am and Worship @ 10:30 am.
God Bless,
Greg H.
Greg H.
