Prayer Meeting Time

Pastor Maye has been mentioning the Sunday evening prayer time for several weeks now. I've been thinking about attending and then planning to attend, but just never doing it.

This past Sunday evening Yvonne and I went for the first time. And, I'm gad we did! It was a real blessing. The church has a prayer room set up with little benches to kneel at and even provided cushions for the knees :)

One wall has a huge map of the world. on other walls there are groupings of pictures of missionaries, military, church members, etc. The lights were turned low, and there was soft music playing in the background. It was the nicest prayer meeting experience I've ever had at a church.

I spent considerable time laying my hands on different parts of the global map praying for the different servicemen and women that have been involved in our ministry that are now stationed around the world, including those deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq.

That prayer meeting was definitely worth attending!

The Peace of God that Passes All Understanding

This past Sunday morning Pastor Aubrey Maye preached an excellent and very passionate message about the "peace of God" in the midst of difficult times. His text came from Philippians 4: 4-7.

Phil 4:4-7

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. NIV

He talked about the different kinds of peace, but focuses most of his comments on the kind of supernatural peace that comes from the Lord in the midst of difficulties. It's easy to have peace when everything is going well. It's also easy to have peace when we get our prayers answered the way we want them to be answered. But it's another kind of peace all together that is needed when things are chaotic and the answers to prayer are not coming the way we'd like them to. That is the supernatural peace that comes from an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. It's a peace that passes human understanding.

Especially in uncertain times like those we are going through right now, with the economic crisis we're experiencing. Anxiety, worry, and stress can dominate and preoccupy a person's mind and heart and steal away faith, joy, and trust in Jesus.

While he was preaching I thought of the passage of scripture in Habakkuk 3:17-19

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights. NIV

Jesus does not change with the circumstances. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He can be trusted, even in dark, troublesome times. It is only as we go through the valleys in life that we can come to know Jesus as the Lilly of the valley.

Revival Services at Azalea Gardens Church

Yvonne and I attended the revival services at Azalea Gardens Church (Church of God) last week from Sunday evening through Wednesday evening (Oct 12-15). Cliff West was the evangelist that spoke each evening. He was a good preacher. The Lord spoke to Yvonne and me several times through what he said. It's been a lot of years since I've attended a series of revival services like that. Pastor James the minister of music did an excellent job of leading worship, along with the choir and the instrumentalists. It was spiritually refreshing!

We just watched the movie "Fireproof"

I haven't written anything for over a month now. But, coming back home tonight I couldn't wait to post my take on the new movie called "Fireproof." Our Saturday night activitiy this week was to go to Fudruckers Restaurant for dinner and then to see the movie.

My recommendation: go see it! It's an excellent movie! The action scenes are gripping, the acting is great and really believable, and the message is powerful.

If you're married and having a hard time right now, this movie is worth seeing because it contains a possible alternative to getting a divorce. Anyway, that's my take on the film. I enjoyed it!