About 10 days ago, while lending a hand getting our facilities ready for our United Pastors Network gathering, I unfortunately fell from a ladder.  The result was a broken shoulder, a broken wrist, a broken thumb, a lacerated thumb and two badly bruised heels.  (Sorry to be so graphic, but I know a few of you love details!)

What have I learned from this experience?  I have certainly developed a deeper respect for ladders!

I have also developed a deeper gratitude for supportive, loving people in my life.  Starting with my wife, I am grateful for her amazing and patient care.  I am thankful for the rest of my family, who have been so helpful during this time.

I am also thankful for the cards, the messages of love and support, and all the kind offers of assistance that have come from our congregation and friends.  Last, but certainly not least, I am appreciative for all the prayers of so many.

I have once again been reminded that God’s people are the greatest people on earth!

Pastor Dale

BTW, I am on the mend and hope to be back to full strength and activity in the not-too-distant future!

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Freedom is a wonderful thing.  It is something we easily take for granted.  It is something we often fail to fully appreciate.

In reality, freedom is a bit of a paradox.  Most of the freedoms people experience actually were purchased at a significant price.  As the old adage states, “freedom is never really free.”

Let’s take a look at a few examples:

• The freedom we share as Americans comes at the cost of the sacrifice of brave soldiers who have won it for us and those men and women who daily protect it for us.

• Financial freedom comes through paying the price of hard work and prudent spending.

• Relational freedom is earned through trust and loyalty.

• Freedom on the job is awarded to those who demonstrate responsibility, cooperation and conscientiousness in their assigned duties.

• In the spiritual arena of life, freedom from sin and the deserved judgment of God for our sins cost Jesus His life on the Cross.

What’s the point for us to remember?  Here are two important reminders:

• Whatever freedoms you are experiencing and enjoying, don’t forget to think about and be thankful for the price paid to purchase them.

• Whatever freedoms you want to preserve, remember to fulfill the responsibilities that accompany them.  Responsible living is the ongoing price of freedom.

Pastor Dale

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When was the last time you were lost?  While we have the luxury of GPS systems in our cars and on our smart phones, we still face the challenge of interpreting and following these directions.  When we are in unfamiliar territory, trying to find our way to a certain destination, each turn matters.  One wrong turn can result in a lot of wasted time.  Wrong turns can lead to dead ends and dangerous places.  The goal is to get good, reliable directions and make all the “right ” turns.

Have you ever stopped to think about all the decisions — all the turns —  you make every day?  In each 24 hour period we face literally thousands of decision crossroads.  Many of the choices we make are inconsequential — “no big deal.”  Whether you wear a blue or green shirt to work is not likely to either propel or curtail your career success.  It is simply a decision of a moment’s preference or mood, not a matter of critical concern or great deliberation.

However, there are decisions — turns —  we make during the course of our day that carry significant consequences for our future.  While some of these crucial decision crossroads are obvious, such as how we handle blatant temptations, most are not so obvious.  They are choices of:

• Our  attitudes.

• Our thoughts.

• Our  responses.

• Our interactions.

• Our words.

Just a few minutes of a bad attitude can be disastrous.  A choice to entertain negative, resentful or impure thoughts can lead to some very ugly end points.  An angry verbal response or interaction can set a relationship on a downhill slide.  Taking the wrong turn in our heads or hearts leads to dead ends and dangerous places.

The good news is, when we discover that we have taken a wrong turn, we have the opportunity to get back on the right track.  Most GPS systems have a “recalculating” function.  When the directions have not been properly followed, an opportunity is provided for a course correction.

How does this apply to you?

If you have made a wrong or unwise turn in your head or heart, “recalculate” today.  Get back on the right track.  Correct your wrong turns.  Work and pray to make the “right” turns in your attitudes, thoughts, responses, interactions and words!

Pastor Dale

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Today is the National Day of Prayer.  It is a time set apart to ask God for His continued mercy and grace upon our country.  It is a time for humility and repentance.  It is a time to pray the prayer Jesus taught us to prayer, “May Your Kingdom come and Your will be done” in this nation, and in each of our lives.

To pray like this, we must really believe that prayer makes a difference.  We must be convinced that prayer is something more than a religious ritual.  We must know that God responds to people who call on His name.  He breaks in upon places and people who reach out to Him.

This reality is clearly seen in the New Testament book of Acts.  Following Jesus’ resurrection, the Lord told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  Their waiting was not to be a passive passing of time.  It was to be an active process of prayer.  Jesus had promised the coming of the Spirit, but preparation for His coming happened through prayer.

Following Jesus’ instructions, 120 believers gathered in an upper room in Jerusalem to prepare for the Holy Spirit’s outpouring: 

” They all joined together constantly in prayer … ”  –  Acts 1:14

Their praying paid off:

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.  Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.  They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit … ”  –  Acts 2:1-4

In response to their prayers, the Holy Spirit burst on the scene in great power, changed lives and totally altered the course of history with the coming of Kingdom grace.

All of this happened in response to 120 believers who:

• Engaged in heart-felt, humble, persistent prayer.

• Expected God to answer their request for the coming of His Holy Spirit in their place.

The engagement in prayer and the expectant faith of this small group of folks led to an incredible experience with God.  It led to the launching of the church in power into our world.  Thank God for 120 people of prayer!

The same can happen in our time.  It doesn’t take large numbers to make a big spiritual impact.  But it does take people of vision — people with “120 Vision.”  It takes people who see and believe that their heart-felt, humble and persistent prayers can and will make a difference in individual lives, our nation and our world.

May God give each of us 120 Vision!

Pastor Dale

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What do the following situations described in the Bible have in common?

• The Israelites standing on the shores of the Red Sea, with the water in front of them and Pharaoh’s army closing in behind them.

• Young David standing before the Philistine giant, Goliath.

• Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego thrown into a fiery furnace.

• Daniel forced into a den of lions.

• Paul and Silas locked into the inner dungeon of a Philippian prison.

All of these situations describe people who were in very vulnerable situations — situations that were critical to their survival and future.  These people were in need of a real, God-given breakthrough.  

These examples are designed to instruct and encourage us.  While our life circumstances may not appear as dire, drastic or dramatic as these, we too find ourselves in tough places.  We find ourselves in need of spiritual, mental, emotional, relational or financial breakthroughs.  We find ourselves in situations where we need God to come through and bring a breakthrough to our problems and points of pain.

Here is great news.  God is a God of breakthroughs.

If you study the Bible stories mentioned above you will discover another similarity.  In every one of these situations God broke into circumstances, and the result was an incredible breakthrough!  God did not desert these folks in their momenst of need.  He did for them what they couldn’t do for themselves.  He intervened, and things changed for the better.

How can we secure supernatural breakthroughs in our lives?

Prayer is the pathway to breakthroughs.  Take a look at the following passage and take hold of the promise it contains for you:

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin.  Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

What kind of breakthrough do you need?  Take your problems and pain to God in prayer.  Believe that He has a breakthrough for you!

Pastor Dale

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