Contact Prayers

"Pray continually" (1 Thessalonians 5:17, NIV).

One of my favorite portions of the worship services in the Contact Church of Christ involves the prayer time. Usually one of our ministers will ask the congregation for prayer requests and reasons for praise. A number of our members will raise their hands to share something good that God has done in their lives or to ask for prayers.

This week, the praise reports included:

~a family who thanked God that their daughter was recovering from her second surgery in a month

~two women who praised God that their medical tests revealed no indications of cancer

~a family who was grateful for transportation

The prayer requests included:

~comfort for the family and friends of a girl who had committed suicide (some of the Contact kids attended school with her)

~healing for a young man who had been shot in the face

~the return of a dog that has been missing from home for a few days

~comfort for the family and friends of a boy who had overdosed on drugs

Whenever we share our concerns and our praise, I believe a bond develops among us. We grow closer. We get to see God work among us. And God is honored.

The Trustworthy God

"Those who know your name will trust in you,
for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you" (Psalm 9:10, NIV).

From Abraham to Cornelius to us, has the LORD ever forsaken a believer who was seeking him? The believer's security is in the character of the trustworthy God.

A Convergence of the Civil Rights and Pro-Life Movements

Today, I am sharing a few links about the civil rights movement, the pro-life movement, and ways that my readers may help save a few babies' lives.

John Ensor makes the case that African Americans and Hispanics need to take leading roles in the pro-life movement in order for the movement to reach a tipping point in making social and legal progress at http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TasteAndSee/ByDate/2008/2578_Pray_for_the_Third_Wave/.

Alveda King, a niece of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is a leading pro-life advocate in the black community. You may read about her activities and message on numerous web sites (including http://www.texlife.org/docs/niece.shtml) by doing a search of the Internet.

If you would like to help a pro-life ministry, please check out the Contact Life ministry of the Contact Church of Christ (our home congregation) at http://www.contactchurch.net/contact_life or Christian Services of Oklahoma (our adoption agency) at http://www.christian-adoption.org.

Enjoying Life to the Glory of God

"I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live" (Ecclesiastes 3:12, NIV).

"As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete" (John 15:9-11, NIV).

Rubel Shelly has a good piece at http://www.rubelshelly.com/content.asp?CID=19803 about enjoying life to the glory of God.

Speaking of enjoying life, my wife Janet has written a short post on her blog about our 5-year old son Christopher leading a song at the Contact Church last Sunday morning. It may be read at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-CLo4pSAlcaXgi2dhLKNo?p=84. I'm not sure that anyone enjoys life more than our son.

A Few Good Articles to Share

I have a few good articles to share about Martin Luther King Jr. and the pro-life perspective.

Our Daily Bread has a good devotional piece about a turning point in Dr. King's life at http://www.rbc.org/odb/odb-01-21-08.shtml.

The Christian Chronicle has an interesting interview with Fred Gray, the attorney for Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, at http://www.christianchronicle.org/article901~A_Conversation_with_Fred_Gray.

The Lookout magazine has three powerful pro-life articles at
http://www.lookoutmag.com/articles/articledisplay.asp?id=434
http://www.lookoutmag.com/articles/articledisplay.asp?id=435
http://www.lookoutmag.com/articles/articledisplay.asp?id=436

I hope you had a great Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

Martin Luther King Jr., Roe v. Wade, and My Son's Birthday

This week, we honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day, mourn the 35th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion, and celebrate my son Christopher's 5th birthday.

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, please read Dr. King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail at http://members.aol.com/klove01/jailltr.htm.

In recognition of Roe v. Wade's anniversary, please read "Finding Forgiveness After an Abortion" at http://www.familylife.com/articles/article_detail.asp?id=1205.

In celebration of Christopher's birthday, please read my letter to him on his birthday last year at http://adisciplesthoughts.blogspot.com/2007/01/happy-birthday-christopher.html.

Doing It All for the Glory of God

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31, NIV).

During his sermon last Sunday at the Contact Church of Christ, Ron Babbit asked the congregation, "What is the purpose of the church?" Several answers came from us. "Sharing." "Helping people get to heaven." "Helping each other." Those are good answers, but someone gave the best answer: "To give glory to God." I do not know who called out that answer, but it was just what Ron was listening for, and it led to a great sermon about giving glory to God.

Since Ron's sermon, I have been asking myself, "How can I give glory to God? How can I make him look as good as he is? How can I show people how kind and just he is? How can I demonstrate how powerful he is?" I don't have a complete set of answers to my questions, but here are a few of the thoughts that have come to me:

*I can be thankful to God (even for little things like what I eat or drink).
*I can pray to God. When he answers, I can give him all the credit.
*I can trust God when circumstances should make me anxious instead.
*I can put in a good word for Jesus in everyday conversations.
*I can be kind because of the way God has shown kindness to me.
*I can admit my sins and failures as I rely on the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ to make things right between me and God.
*I can read the Bible, acknowledging my need for God's wisdom.
*I can take the time to help someone who needs help, recognizing an opportunity to be used by God to bless another's life.

I would like to be able to give God all the glory without drawing any attention to myself, but I do not know how to do it in most situations. In most of my examples, some of the glory could be deflected to me very easily. However, I must not let it stop me from attempting to give God the glory in my life.

Do you have some ideas about how you could give God the glory in your life? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.