Ecclesiastes 12:10

  If there is one aspect that Jesus seems to emphasize in his teaching about prayer, it is that it is not a one and done thing. (Luke 18:1-8, Luke 11:5-13)   Prayer takes constancy to work. If I ask and don’t receive, it shouldn’t be taken as a reason to not pray anymore. Take the example of Elijah: Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.  Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit. James 5:17-18   Here James gives him as an example of the effective nature of prayer. He changed the weather! But exactly how did that work?   In 1 Kings 18:42-45, we see Elijah praying for the rain to come back. In verse 42, He is confident that it will rain by his proclamation to King Ahab. That’s important (James 1:16). But notice how many times it took.   Not after the first prayer or the second at...

   Something has gone wrong in your home congregation and you are thinking about packing up and heading someplace else. Should I stay? Should I go? You don't want to leave the place that has been your home, but could that be what is best?  Here are five reasonable considerations on why it might be best to go. 1.       The Church Is Unscriptural And Will Not Change    We all make mistakes, even churches.  They use bad judgment and don’t consider the consequences of their actions.  But when we do wrong and refuse to make it right, it becomes willful rebellion.  When a church embraces something that goes beyond the Word of God, a faithful Christian can’t be part of it.  Our presence is a form of acceptance and that makes us participants in the error (2 nd John 9-11).  If we stay too long, there is temptation to give up right principles and go along.  I've seen many sound Christians p...

               There is an old story about a wealthy banker whose wife was away on holiday.  During her travels she ran across a stunning set of jewelry that she just couldn’t live without.  She sent a telegraph to her husband asking if he would be willing to buy the item for her at such large price.  The husband replied with the answer, “No price to high”.  She was overjoyed he thought of her so highly bought the jewelry.  When she returned home, she was confused then to find a very irate husband. When she asked him about why he was angry, he replied, “They left out the comma”.                A comma can make a big difference in a sentence.  Once a comma left out of an 1870 tariff bill cost the United States government one million in lost revenue.  Even though it is a small thing, it still can change a...