The Waiting Game

Waiting isn't easy, is it? As many of you know, Julie and I are playing the waiting game right now. Julie's due date was yesterday and today we are still waiting for the arrival of this little one. This is our fourth child and yet things are going so differently than with the other three. Jacob was a few days late, Ansley and Kalyn were both early, but with all three when the contractions started, soon thereafter we had a new baby in our arms.

But this child is different. Julie had false labor on Saturday and Sunday night as well as Wednesday morning this past week, but none of that was anything in comparison to yesterday. Julie started having contractions about 4 a.m. and kept it up all day long. We went to the doctor in the morning and the doctor told us that we should be ready for the baby to come that day. Things continued to progress, then slow down, then progress again and we finally went to the hospital at about 7:30 last night. Of course after we got there, things not only slowed down again, but almost came to a stop and so we went back home to wait things out. And here we are today, continuing to play the waiting game.

It isn't easy to wait. We are, by nature, an impatient people. In this age of microwave popcorn, high-speed internet, and instant messaging, we want everything right now. So waiting is not something that we naturally do very well.

But while I was considering all this, I remembered some verses that I had read this past week. Let me share those with you. They are from Lamentations 3:22-24. "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.'"

I am actually going to be preaching on these verses in a few weeks, as we continue our series on hiding God's Word in our hearts, so I won't go into the passage in depth right now. But I just wanted to share this powerful reminder that we are to wait on the Lord. We are so impatient, but we KNOW that His timing is best. I know it is not easy to wait. Believe me, I know! But the Lord is our portion. His timing is right and perfect. Let's wait on Him.

Please continue to pray for Julie and I as we continue to wait on the Lord during this time. And may the Lord also grant you the patience and trust and everything else you need to help you wait on Him in your own lives. Thanks and God bless!

National Day of Prayer

National Day of Prayer

Thursday, May 1

This is an important day and I want to take a moment and blog about what this day and the events surrounding it are all about. The National Day of Prayer was first instituted in 1952 during the term of Harry Truman. Millions of people are expected to be gathered together in over 35,000 different prayer gatherings across the country. Dr. Ravi Zacharias is this year's Honorary Chairman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force. The National Day of Prayer is an attempt to unite the church in this country together in prayer. On this day, we recall that our nation was founded with a dependence upon God and we want to call this country together to pray. You can find out more about the Nationald Day of Prayer at their website: http://www.ndptf.org/home/index.cfm

It is a day that invites the notion that we are One Church in this community and in this country, as Jesus prayed for us in John 17: "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me." (John 17:20-21)

It is a day that draws the collective eyes of this country toward Heaven in repentance, humility, dependence, dedication, and petition like we see called for in 2 Chronicles, chapter 7: "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)

It is a day that allows us to exercise our freedom to gather together and seek the Lord. I look at it as first and foremost a day of prayer, with the focus being prayer for our country and for our community. And calling the country and the Church together for prayer is a big deal. This is a big day and I would encourage everyone to be involved. Here in this community we observe the National Day of Prayer in a variety of ways. Check out the information below, and consider how you might like to be involved.

Bible Reading:
Monday noon through Thursday noon
The National Day of Prayer festivities actually begin on Monday, April 28 at noon with the start of the Bible Reading from the steps of City Hall. This is a community wide effort with different churches signing up to take time slots, round the clock, as the Bible is read from cover to cover, from Monday through Thursday. We, as a church, have a slot from 3-6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 30. It is a great slot and each year I hear testimonies of how much people enjoyed being able to be part of that Bible Reading. If you have never done this, then I would strongly encourage you to try it. There are still a couple of slots open and you can sign up if you call the church office.

Noon Time Prayer:
Thursday, May 1 at noon
The Bible Reading culminates with the book of Revelation being read leading up to noon on the National Day of Prayer, Thursday, May 1. At noon, as the last words are read, we transition into a prayer service on those same steps. We will have a time of worship and prayer as a community.

Concert of Prayer:
Thursday, May 1 at 700p.m.
Then we finish up the National Day of Prayer with a community-wide concert of prayer. This is a powerful opportunity for the Church in Columbus to come together in unity and focus on praying for God's work in our country and in our community. We will be focusing in on five areas: government, schools, media, families, and churches. The concert of prayer this year will be held at our church at 7:00 p.m on Thursday, May 1. I want to strongly encourage everyone to come out for this prayer time. Obviously it is important because it is a time for us to gather together in prayer. But it also has the extra emphasis of being a time when we gather together with other believers as One Church to pray to our Heavenly Father, in the Name of Jesus.

The National Day of Prayer only comes around once every year. Don't miss this opportunity to be involved. If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call at 379-9190.