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Consider

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“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds . . . encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” —Hebrews 10:24-25

The concept of gathering has taken many new forms over the last few weeks as many of us around the world seek a way forward for our churches. This new reality has made me wonder: Why do you go to your church? Why do you keep going back to the same group of people in the same building? I have asked these questions for years in membership classes or leadership trainings, and I am always interested in the answers. Some common answers are: My family attends here. My friends are here. I like how I feel when I am here. I love the worship music. I love the pastor. It is my weekly connection with God. I love my small group and couldn’t make it without them.

I have rarely heard the words from Hebrew uttered when I ask these questions. In fact, I have never had someone tell me, “I go to this church simply to encourage others.” I am sure that there are some who make it their mission each week to be a catalyst for love and good deeds, but if we are not careful, we can decide to go to church for what we can get out of the gathering instead of what we can offer to the gathering. 

I believe that Hebrews 10:24-25 is asking us to consider another way.

What if Christians around the world decided that the purpose of gathering together was to encourage each other to live each day for Christ? What if, when we gathered, we understood that true worship of God is connected to a love for our brothers and sisters? What if the connection to others is enhanced through authentic worship of God?

What if this coming Sunday, we consider the true purpose of Church: worship? In a world that is focused on the self, what if the church became a gathering that was focused on God and others? There is no question that love and good deeds would abound. 

As you think of each other this week, make it your mission to truly fellowship. Move past thinking of our basic needs and, in earnest prayer, thank God for His goodness and pray for the needs of others. As Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).

Prayer for the week: Father, remind me that as I worship You this week, I have a responsibility to encourage others. Teach me what it means to have deep fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Christ and may my life encourage someone else to live for you!

Wendell Brown is the district superintendent of the North Central Ohio District, Church of the Nazarene.

The Holiness Today staff is currently participating with Christians around the world in limiting to our normal corporate worship participation due to the coronavirus. We are joyfully awaiting the resuming of normal worship schedules once the crisis has passed.

Written for Coffee Break. 

Day of Prayer & Fasting

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Today has been chosen as a day of prayer and fasting by the Nazarene leadership in our district. We are asking that everyone join in and cry out to the Lord. The following guidelines have been provided. Please read through them and join us in crying out to our Lord in this time of need and uncertainty.

Prayer Guide

“Then if My people who are called by My Name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.”  2 Chronicles 7:13-14 (NLT)

Before praying, stop and ask the Lord to speak to you.  Let His promises speak into your life right now.

Read Psalm 34

Psalm 9:10, Psalm 16:8, Psalm 18:30, Psalm 32:6-7, Psalm 33:4, Psalm 37:4, Psalm 46:1, Isaiah 26:3-4, Isaiah 43:1d-3a, Lamentations 3:21-26, Luke 11:9-10

Now acknowledge to God that you are ready to seek His Purposes.

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.”  Matthew 6:33 (NLT)

1 Chronicles 16:11, Psalm 40:16, Psalm 63:1, Psalm 105:1-4, Proverbs 8:17, Proverbs 19:21, Jeremiah 29:13, Lamentations 3:25, Hebrews 11:6

Remind yourself of God’s Greatness

Consider His power and majesty.  Think of the good things God has done in your life.  Consider His marvelous working throughout history.

1 Chronicles 16:8-10, 1 Chronicles 29:11-13, 2 Chronicles 20:6, Psalm 29:2, Psalm 66:1-5, Psalm 77:12-14, Psalm 126:3, Isaiah 40:23-26, Ephesians 3:20-21

Confess your sins to God

“But we have sinned and done wrong.  We have rebelled against You and Your commands and regulations.”  Daniel 9:4 (NLT)

Take time here to honestly evaluate your life.  Where are you living outside of God’s will for your life?

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  This I declare about the Lord:  He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust Him.  For He will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease.”  Psalm 91:1-3 (NLT)

In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened; He saved me from all my troubles.  For the angel of the Lord is a guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear Him.”  Psalm 34:6-7 (NLT)

Psalm 32:5, Psalm 38:18, Psalm 51:10-12, Psalm 66:18, Psalm 103: 1-5, 10-12, Proverbs 28:13, Isaiah 55:6-7, 1 John 1:9

Ask God to intervene and stop the spread of COVID-19.

Let’s pray that it won’t be as bad as feared, that the spread of the virus would recede and the numbers of those infected would not be as pervasive and widespread as many fear.

Joshua 1:9, Job 5:8-9, Psalm 23:4, Isaiah 41:10, Jeremiah 17:14, Philippians 4:6, 2 Timothy 1:7

Pray for those who are infected.

Exodus 23:25, Deuteronomy 7:15, Psalm 41:3, James 5:14-16, 3 John verse 2

Pray that those who need treatment will have access to it.

Psalm 23:1, Matthew 6:8b, Matthew 7:7, Luke 12:24, Philippians 4:19

Pray for all of us in isolation.

The Psalmist said, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble.     Psalm 46:1

2 Chronicles 20:12c, Psalm 23:2-3a, Psalm 46:10, Isaiah 32:17, Zephaniah 3:17, 1 Peter 5:7

Pray for the health workers/caregivers/first responders who are caring for those with COVID-19.

Pray for their protection from the virus, for their stamina during long and intense work hours, and for safe protocols to be observed in their institutions in order for the maximum number of people to remain protected.

Psalm 121:7-8, Proverbs 18:10, 2 Corinthians 9:12-13, Galatians 6:9-10, Ephesians 6:7, 2 Thessalonians 3:3, Hebrews 13:20-21

Pray for those who are grieving at the loss of loved ones/friends from this pandemic.

Pray for these that they would know the nearness and comfort of the Holy Spirit, that they would feel the compassion of friends and family members – even though we’ve been encouraged to practice social distancing – and a true sense of empathy and care.

Psalm 34:18, Psalm 119:50, John 14:1-4, 16, 26-27, Revelation 21:4

Pray for the U.S. and World Economies

For businesses that are having to shut down or will be adversely impacted by the associated economic downturn.  Please pray for those whose livelihoods are up in the air, who are waking up every morning with questions and are facing the future with a real sense of nervousness and anxiety. 

Deuteronomy 8:18, Matthew 6:31-34, Luke 12:27-31, Romans 8:31-32, 2 Corinthians 9:8-9

Pray for President Trump and the COVID-19 Task Force and all government officials and decision makers who are leading their respective countries and organizations through this crisis.

Pray that they might be used of God in their places of influence.  Pray that they would be able to mobilize resources quickly and effectively and get them to the people and places where they are most needed.

Psalm 33:12a, Proverbs 3:5-6, Joel 2:12-14a, Hebrews 13:7, 17, James 1:5

Pray for pastors and missionaries.

Pray for wisdom for each to know how best to carry out their ministry responsibilities, given the current restrictions.  Pray that God would give them the right words at the right time and the right actions for their situation.  Pray that their ministry’s effectiveness would not be compromised, but that God would carry them through this difficult time and use them for His glory. 

Deuteronomy 33:11, 2 Chronicles 1:10, Psalm 25:4-6, Psalm143:10, Isaiah30:21, Ezekiel 36:23b, Zechariah 4:6b, Romans 10:13-15, 1 Corinthians 2:13, 2 Corinthians 4:1-2, Ephesians 6:19-20, Colossians 1:28-29, 2 Thessalonians 3:1

Pray for the church.

That she would rise up and be what the Lord calls her to be:  an entity that cares in practical and sacrificial ways for “the least of these,” that she would manifest a winsome witness that would arrest the attention and capture the imagination of a surrounding skeptical world to where people that are currently far from God would begin to seek the Lord and open up to Him in real and genuine ways. 

Proverbs 1:5, Isaiah 65:1, Habakkuk 3:2, Matthew 4:19, Matthew 9:37-38, Luke 24;45, Acts, 2:46-47, Colossians 4:2-6, 1 Thessalonians 1:5

The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Unless noted, all Scriptures are from the NIV.

Encouragement

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My dear friends,

Today, I want to encourage each of you with a portion of Scripture found in Psalm 91:1-6, 9-10, 14-16. This is from the New Living Translation. “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust Him. For He will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. He will cover you with His feathers. He will shelter you with His wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. Do not dread the disease that stalks about in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High you shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. The LORD says, ‘I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.'”

The challenge is for us to make the LORD our refuge and to live in the shelter of the Most High. That means that we can’t be getting up and running outside His shelter.  For it is when we get out running, distracted by all the things going on in our lives and world, that we lose our safety and security in the LORD. Our shalom fades quickly as we focus on everything around us. However, when we make HIM our refuge and intentionally live in Him with our whole selves, we can retain His shalom. Peace, shalom, is not the absence of something but the Presence of Someone, our great God! Let’s LIVE IN Him!

Loving you all and praying for each of you!

Pastor Ann

Crying Out

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OMG has become such a part of our modern language that people don’t give it a second thought.  But what is it?  What does it mean?  Why is it so easy to say? If we back up a little…………

OH MY GOD!  No one ever says this without that exclamation point.  Sometimes its even more, as in OH! MY! GOD!

Seven letters.  So casually used, we don’t even think about their meaning.  These letters, placed in this order represent a prayer.  Not just a small little thing, but a prayer of power and perhaps of desperation.

When we are desperate, we cry out.  Even if we say we don’t believe, we cry out.  When physical pain is overwhelming and seems unending, we cry out.  When we are crushed emotionally, we cry out.  When our spirits have reached the point they can go no farther alone, WE CRY OUT.

We were made by God for fellowship with God.  I know that may sound real old fashioned and not “inclusive” according to our current culture.  The truth is that we cry out precisely because we were made by God for fellowship with Him.

Our crying out, whether it’s OMG, Oh God, Oh Please God, or another variation are all expressions of desperation.  We cry out like this when a full sentence or thought cannot come; when our ordinary, every day words are just not enough.  These utterances are our spirits reaching for the safety of home.  When nothing on earth will help, we turn to prayer. 

Once past the initial cry we are usually able to formulate the thoughts that will lead us into a deep prayer. The release of this cry will open floodgates within us if we allow it.  Desperate prayers stretch our faith and grow us spiritually as we ask and wait for results.  Desperate prayers have historically changed the world.  Elijah cried out and asked God to shut up the heavens and it didn’t rain for 3 years! 

Desperate prayers are what we need today in our country.  Prayers for the healing and protection of our country.  Prayers that will bring us back to the God of our founding fathers. 

Pastor Ann will be livestreaming at 11:15 on Sunday morning.  She will be bringing the message God wants us to understand about the great need of desperate prayer.  We hope that you’ll join us.  Please feel free to comment and share! 

SHALOM – More than Peace

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Peace.  We tend to equate this word with a lack of violence or a feeling of quiet.  It’s a word that can be applied in our individual lives or to the world at large.  The concern about Covid-19 has reduced our feelings of peace as our levels of stress have risen.  Peace then, has been reduced in most of our lives recently.

Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you…” John14:27 (NASB)

If we follow this word “peace” back through history to the word that Jesus used we find that in Hebrew, the word is shalom.  Shalom is an amazing word that encompasses far more than the simple ideas we hold of peace.

Shalom is used in reference to the well-being of others, to treaties among nations, in prayer for a range of needs from individuals to entire countries. It also includes the concepts of harmony, wholeness and completeness. Shalom was, and is, used as both a greeting and farewell.

When Jesus told his disciples that He gave them His shalom He was offering so much more than a quiet feeling or lack of violence.  Jesus was giving them the wholeness and completeness of His relationship with God.  He was giving us the opportunity to have this same relationship. 

At 11:15 a.m. on Sunday Pastor Ann will be bringing God’s current message to us about Shalom.  We will not be having our regular service but will livestream again this week due to the current situation with Covid-19. 

Please note that the church will be open, so if you have no sniffles, coughing or fever you are welcome to join us in the sanctuary.  PLEASE remain at home and join us on Facebook if you feel ill or have concerns of contagion.  THANK YOU for continuing to learn and grow in God’s word during this time.  His church will only grow stronger through this.  Shalom!