A direct line to God

Have you ever heard someone say that sister so-and-so has a direct line to heaven? I have heard people refer to certain older saints in awe because they seemed to have a special relationship with God? I must admit that I have probably had similar thoughts. We tend to think that certain people have a special relationship with God that no one else can have. Believe me, it just isn’t that way.

In the Old Testament, it might have been that way. The Old Covenant required men to bring an animal sacrifice to the priest and the priest would pray to God for the individual. The average man could not go into the tabernacle for himself. Only the priests could go into the Holy Place. Beyond that was an even holier placed called the Holy of Holies; only the High Priest could go there, and then only once a year. Sorry for the women and children; they were left out altogether.

Under the New Covenant, thankfully, worship is completely different. The New Testament teaches that Jesus Christ became the sacrifice for us (I John 2:2) and that we can all now go directly to God through him (Hebrews 4:16). All of us can pray to God for ourselves because God has made us all priests unto himself (I Peter 2:9, Rev 1:6, KJV). None of us is anymore qualified to pray than anyone else. The door is open to God for us all; the direct line to heaven is never busy and anyone can use the heavenly line to make a call to God at any time.

This is not to say that we don’t need the ministry. The Apostle Paul makes it clear that we do (Ephesians 4:11-13). Neither does it mean that we don’t need the church. Jesus taught us to bind together with other believers in prayer (Matthew 18;19); this is probably because it helps to increase our faith when we know someone is praying with us about a need. My point is that none of us need feel like we are not worthy to approach God or good enough to pray to him for ourselves.

I think many people ask grandma to pray because they know she has a regular prayer life; That is the key. When someone makes pray a daily discipline it is easy to pray. Someone may not feel like he or she is worthy to pray because they haven’t prayed in a long time. They might also feel condemned if they know they have sin in their lives that they haven’t repented of. This need not stop one from praying. If someone feels convicted or condemned when he starts to pray, all he needs to do is repent and ask God to put his sin under the blood of Jesus. Then he is free to pray without guilt again.

We humans tend to make pray more complicated than it has to be. Pray is a one on one conversation with God. A prayer life means that one develops the pattern of daily, consistent prayer. Prayer takes many forms and each person’s prayer will be different. According to a person’s personality her prayer may be loud or soft. Some may walk or kneel and pray; some may sit in their favorite rocking chair and pray. At my house we have a prayer chair. My wife usually sits in that chair to pray and it has become a special chair.

It doesn’t matter where you pray; it doesn’t matter when you pray. The important thing is to pray. It does help to have a certain time each day to call on God. However, prayer is available to us 24/7. If you want or need to talk to Jesus, you have a direct line to him. Make us of it today.

Blessings,

Pastor Jones 

Am I reaching my maximum capacity?

Recently I have been reading a book by John C. Maxwell called, “No Limits.” Like most of Maxell’s writings, the book is largely about perspective and attitude. One of the things that has stood out to me in this writing is knowing the difference between what I can and cannot control. There are many things in life that I cannot control. There are also things that only I can control. Knowing the difference is essential to reaching my full capacity, in my career, in ministry, and in my personal goals.

I certainly cannot control what other people think about me anymore than I can control the weather. I cannot control the actions of others. I cannot control the state of today’s politics or economics. I can’t even prevent myself from getting a flat tire, catching a cold, etc. When we focus on what we cannot control, it can be tempting to get frustrated, angry, bitter, or even depressed. Instead we should be focusing our energy on what we can control. Controlling what we can, and not wasting precious energy one what we can’t, is one of the most important lessons we can learn in life. One might say that it makes the difference between a person being perpetually frustrated or at peace.

There are many things that only I can control. I am the only one who can control how I spend my time. I can spend the same thirty minutes (or four hours) watching television in the evening or reading something that will help me grow. I once met a man who spoke French, German, and Italian fluently enough to have a nice conversation with a native speaker of these languages. The man had never taken a foreign language class and had never lived out of the country for more than a couple of weeks at a time. He told me that he decided he would spend an hour a night with a language instead of being in front of the television. It worked and he was quite a linguist. Naturally, being linguistically inclined myself, I was inspired. Perhaps you have no interest in learning a language but the point is that all of us have the same amount of time in each day. It behooves us to make the most of it.

Another thing I can control is with whom I spend my time. I can choose to stop by the office of a person who will share the office gossip everyday. While this might keep me “informed,” it usually also keeps me focusing on the negative. I must admit that there are certain people I do not want to talk on the phone. If a person calls me with a definite need to talk, I am “all ears”. If the same person calls me continually, only with a need to talk about how bad the world is, I may utilize caller ID. Please don’t feel bad at me for saying so. There are some things that only I can control. One of those is the people I allow to speak into my life.

I am the only one who can control my attitude about life. One day I will have to answer to God for the talents and abilities he gave me. I want to be able to show him that I used them for the good of his kingdom. I want to have reached my maximum capacity. I will not answer for anyone else, only for myself. I need not feel bad if I can’t sing, play, draw, or paint like someone else. I need only take what I can do and use it for God’s glory.

My passion should be my priority. Many people spend years of their lives berating themselves because they can’t sing like sister so-and-so. This is such a waste of energy. My energy is renewed when I take what I know I am good at (all of have talents) and focus my time on doing it well. Mr. Maxwell uses the analogy that he will never be a good ballet dancer. Sadly (or thankfully) neither will I. Yet I will not worry about this. I will find something else I am good at doing and develop it for God’s glory.

One day I want to hear God say well done. Though my salvation is not dependent on my abilities, scripture is clear that I will answer to God for the use of my time. God help me to control the use of my time and my energy for his glory!

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Jones

Works Cited

Maxwell, John C. No Limits: Blow the Cap Off Your Capacity. New York: Hatchett Book Group, 2017. Print.

Look for the Rainbow

Recently, I saw a photo of a rainbow that a friend posted on Facebook. The caption said, “I feel hope every time I see a rainbow.” As I sit here and listen to the rain this morning her comment seems appropriate. It has been raining for days; it actually seems like months. It probably doesn’t help that I have a list of things I want to do outdoors. One of those things is to fix the wipers on my wife’s car. Thankfully, it is parked safe and sound under the carport where I can work on it this afternoon without getting wet. Meanwhile, I have to go out in the rain and drive to work when what I really would like to do is curl up in my chair with a good book. Oh, the joys of being an adult!

Actually, I don’t mind the rain so much. It is much cooler when it rains. I understand that it is watering the grass and keeping everything green. But on days like today, it is tempting to wonder if the rain will ever stop. If I didn’t have the promise of a rainbow, that is. For those of you who know the Genesis story, you will understand the reference. In the ancient world, God sent a massive storm and flooded the earth because of man’s sin. After that horrific flood, where it rained for forty days and nights, almost nothing was left alive. Only one man, Noah, and his family of eight was saved alive in a boat called an ark. After the flood, God promised Noah that he would never destroy the earth with such a flood again; he put a rainbow in the clouds as a token of his promise. If you will look close enough, there is always a rainbow after the rain.

When I think of the rainbow I am reminded of God’s promises to always take care of us. That is why the rain doesn’t bother me this morning. It may temporarily spoil my outdoor plans. It may inconvenience me and make my morning commute messy. Yet it also reminds me of the promises of God. No matter how hard it rains, I am reminded that God will not allow it to flood the entire earth. This in turn reminds me that God is always looking out for me.

Perhaps there are things I am tempted to worry or fret about this morning. Maybe my plans aren’t falling into place the way I want them to. Like the rain, there is nothing I can do but wait it out. Eventually, the rain will stop and I will walk on dry ground again. It always happens because God’s promises never fail.

Trusting Him Daily,

Sullivan Jones