SPARE TIRE OR STEERING WHEEL?
Read Time: 6 min 5 sec
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?"
Corrie Ten Boom
THE GOOD STUFF
LENT DEVOTIONAL 03: PRAYER
"Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His presence continually! Remember the wondrous works that He has done." - 1 Chronicles 16:11-12a
Lent is a sweet time to prepare our hearts for the celebration that is Easter. One of the best ways to do this is through prayer. Prayer is simply our communication with God. Most of the time we can see prayer as a time to make our requests known to God (Philippians 4) which is imperative, but it should also be a time to hear from God.
As we spend time in prayer preparing our hearts for Easter, let’s step into intentional prayer times using “Three R’s”: Repentance, Reflection, and Remembrance.
The first R is Repentance. Our prayer times should have regular rhythms of confessing our sin and asking the Lord’s forgiveness. This is important because having unconfessed sin in our lives can prevent us from fully enjoying Jesus. Confessing our sin and allowing for Jesus to forgive us, enables us to rejoice over all that He has done for us on the cross and allows us to reflect on His sacrifice.
This leads to the next R, which is Reflection. During our times of prayer, it is a good practice to sit quietly and reflect on all that God has done in our lives. Maybe He has given you the strength to overcome a sin, reconcile a relationship, or step out in obedience by reaching out to your neighbor to begin a relationship. Maybe the Lord has sustained you through a difficult season, given you clarity on a decision, or you've seen Him do something powerful in the life of a friend. Spend this time reflecting on the specific ways you have seen God at work recently.
Let your time of reflection lead you to worship through “Remembrance,” our third R. Use this time to proclaim what God has done for you through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He has saved you from eternal death and given you life abundant, not just for the future, but also here and now. This is a fantastic time to pray through scripture, speak out the promises of God seen in His Word, and thank Him for His goodness and faithfulness. Allow for Jesus to saturate you in the Gospel, giving you the confidence of true salvation and freedom from sin.
APPLICATION
As we draw closer to Easter, spend time intentionally repenting to the Lord, reflecting on His goodness, and remembering His faithfulness! Set aside a specific time this week to practice this rhythm of prayer.
Cory Freeman | Lead Witness Pastor
P.S. Join us tonight at 6pm for our third Lent Worship set on YouTube.
STORY
BRINGING ACTS 2 TO LIFE
Kate Starr, a leader in the Young Adult ministry, has had a crazy last few months. She mourned as a close family friend died in a tragic event in December. She spent the end of 2020 in Mexico visiting family. She had her hand crushed when the jack slipped while she was changing a flat tire on January 8th. She tested positive for COVID-19 on January 14th and had to quarantine for a few weeks. And then, while driving to a leader vision night on January 30th, she got in a single-car accident after slipping through snow and ice on the interstate, sending her car airborne and totaling it on impact with the ground.
Wheew…
The Young Adult ministry walked through all of these things with her, but they felt called to do more. Another leader in the ministry had the idea to try and raise funds to help Kate as she looked to purchase a used car. The leader sent out a message to the other Young Adult leaders and within a few hours they had raised over $500. Then once the idea was shared in secret with the rest of the group, they quickly raised close to $3,000 to surprise Kate with; one person donated $1,000 anonymously. All of this was raised by young adults, many of which are full-time students. They recognized the call to live generously and joyfully gave in a way that resembled the fellowship of believers in Acts 2:44-47:
“And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
On Wednesday, February 24th, the ministry was able to tell Kate about what God had done and present her with the money that was raised. She was speechless and amazed at the generosity of her brothers and sisters in Christ.
May the Lord continue to use these young adults and their generosity to bring glory to His name and many more to believe in Him!
STAFF PICKS
LISTEN
My recommendation is a podcast called The Briefing which is a daily analysis of news and events from a Christian worldview by Dr. Albert Mohler. This podcast is part of my daily routine on the drive to work and helps me think through the events happening in the world from a Christian perspective.
- Mark Wiley, Executive Pastor
READ
Evolution....intelligent design....creation...or a little of all three? Do you know what you believe? Check out THE ULTIMATE ANSWERS PACK by Ken Ham and Bodie Hodge. Its trove of answers, all Biblically rooted in Scripture, is like digging for buried treasure! Unearth the answers to some of life's biggest questions. It's worth the expedition!
- Gay Shingleton, Operations Administrative Assistant