Reimagine!! (3,530)

I was asked to take the lead at a Prayer Breakfast for Dr. Adam Greenway, the 9th President of Southwestern Baptist Seminary. Having served on the faculty of this institution for more than two decades, Dr. Greenway is one of my former students. So I gladly accepted the invitation to lead. However the date of the Prayer Breakfast was changed to a day when I was to be out of the state. Thus, I never led the Prayer Breakfast. But why let preparation go to waste? I will share my thoughts with my…

Addiction in America is an ever increasing national crisis! Millions of Americans have addictions. "According to data from the DEA, from 2006 through 2014, a total of 100 billion doses of oxycodone and hydrocodone were shipped to pharmacies across the country, and from there into households."

This has resulted in "770,000" opioid deaths, which has killed more Americans than all…

Weekly Prayer for the Arabian Peninsula - January 13, 2020

 

Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said, the late ruler of Oman, passed away on January 10, 2010. He is a ruler who has been lauded for mediating role he played between conflicting parties in the…

Lord Jesus, You are a Warrior and the Supreme Commander of Heaven's Armies. All power on earth and in heaven has been given to You.

Lord God, we want to pray for all our military and their families.

We pray for safety and peace of mind, for hope and joy, for encouragement and energy, for perseverance and special grace for every moment on the battle fields and at home.

We pray for those who make decisions that impact our military profoundly that they will do what is right in Your…

One of my favorite movies is Chariots of Fire. It tells the story of men competing in the 1924 Olympics. At one point in the movie the fiancee of Harold Abrahams, who would win the 100 meter race, asked why he was so possessed by his training. One of the other runners said, “Because he has the chance of being the fastest.” She counters, “But all of you are running in the Olympics.” He answers, he does not just have the chance of being a…

Jesus’s statement about justifying God before men is among the quiet things in The Gospels. Yet this his is at the heart of what God does with our lives. Luke 7:29-30 says,

“When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not…

Beyond the Walls is a weekly email to help Christ-followers move beyond the walls of their church buildings, homes, comfort zones, and culture to engage people where we live, work and play with the Gospel. 

If anyone prayed for our first prayer service on Sunday, Thank You!  God met us and gave us a great time of community prayer.

About 15 people participated, including several leaders.  We provided some instructions at the beginning and then we went into our prayer time.  We had selected 6 topics beforehand, and had identified a facilitator for each topic.  We took each topic in turn, with the facilitator sharing for 3-5 minutes on a couple of things they were thankful for in their area…

Last summer, a couple of the Elders of our church felt a nudge from God that we needed to move in the direction of being more of a praying church.  A group of about a dozen people began to gather every other week (it was the off-season for our small groups) to pray for the church, for our community, and for the development of the prayer ministry.

A core group of three of us continued to meet after the summer to make plans for launching a prayer ministry.  In this blog, which I expect…

Greetings Praying Friends!

For over 13 years officially I have worked with the amazing network group, International Orality Network. Last October an opportunity came for me to move into ministry in a paid position with a Bible Translation organization called 4.2.20 Foundation as the Prayer Strategist and Director of Prayer Strategies. They are based out of Jerusalem. 

During this year of 2019 I have been transitioning from that previous position and…

Moving fully into new position with 4.2.20 Foundation: https://4220Foundation.com

I remember once making a request of my parents that was so out of sync with the plans for the family, that they just stared at me, no verbal response, just a glare. Some may say that my request was unanswered. It took me years to learn that my request was answered. The answer was in their glare – a silent “no.” The more I studied prayer, the more I discovered that Jesus never mentioned unanswered prayer in his teaching on the subject. In spite of both secular and church pressure to admit to…

There has to be a point where any of us begins to pray to a God that we know little about. I often think those are refreshing prayers. We find one of these in the 24th chapter of Genesis. Abraham sends his servant on a mission that would be impossible without the direction of God. After traveling for weeks he stops outside the town where Abraham's family lived, and prays.

“O LORD, God of…

We all have Prayer Lists.

Most write their own list. Some simply memorize or visualize who they pray for. Many follow the printed list in the Sunday bulletin. Apps send them to our smartphones.

The difficulty with Prayer Lists is not having enough people, places, or things to pray about; The problem is how to keep it fresh. AND, how to give ourselves permission to take a name off the list! (Personally, I find that…

I have had several striking coincidences this week. I am reminded of something I recently read, and you have read or heard many times. A hard-bitten detective in a mystery novel said, “I don't believe in coincidences.” Accidental coincidences are an unlikely explanation of many things that take place.

This week I wrote a pastor friend whom I have not seen in several years. I said I was praying for God to do more in…

“ . . . The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 5:16b)

“Fervent”, translated from the Greek “energeo”, which means: “to be active” “be mighty in” “to be at work” “to be effective” “to produce”. The implication is that a praying person will be effective as he applies much effort and time in the praying.

Further . . .

“Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers,…

161 YEARS AGO … AMERICA’S 3RD GREAT AWAKENING BEGAN!

Oh, it did not look like it … not at the beginning! Jeremiah Lanphier had been passing out handbills, announcing a “Prayer Meeting” at the North Dutch Church on Fulton Street, downtown New York City during the lunch hour from Noon till 1:00 p.m. It was to include “singing, prayer and exhortation – no one to take more than 5 minutes” or a bell would ring to tell you to stop and let someone else pray.

At noon, September…