Prayer in All Seasons

 Prayer is and has always been a part of the people of God 's relationship with Him. Many have, over the centuries cried out on behalf of one another and lifted their voices in all and every season

Prayer has seen many Christians through difficult times. Prayer, is our voice unto God.

Many seek miracles of all sorts but often the real miracle of prayer is not that there is a tangible answer to our request to God, but at times, the true miracle is that in spite of not receiving an answer, in the way we might want, we still hold fast to Him, knowing that no matter what befalls us Jesus is there and that he has his hand upon us all never to leave nor forsake us.

Our God hears our cries for his intervention in our lives. 

We Ought to Pray

Jesus teaching his Disciples two thousand years ago and believers in all ages regarding prayer.

"And he spoke a parable to them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;" Lk 18:1

Prayer a Heavenly Ministry

Jesus teaches us to pray. Prayer is a heavenly ministry that all Christian are called to participate in as part of the Priesthood of believers.

"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light," 1Pet:2:9

The act of prayer is so much an act of worship. Often, we approach prayer as just a means of acquiring wants or needs; but it is far more than that, it is a worship relationship, a communion.

 "And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints." Rev: 5:8

"Let my prayer be set forth before you as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice" Ps: 141:2

Much of our time of prayer should be to give thanks and praise to our God, giving him worship, acknowledging our Lord for all that he is on our behalf.

 We in our prayer should offer our Lord thanks.

"Sacrifice thank offerings to God; fulfill your vows to the Most High, Ps: 50:14

and also; "He who sacrifices thanks offerings honors me, and he prepares the way (by giving thanks) so that I may show him the salvation of God." Ps: 50; 23

When we offer him thanks it places us to be active in a proper piratical relationship with God wherein, we see his salvation work in our lives.

Enter Our Closet

When we pray, we enter into what Christ has done for each of us. Jesus taught the disciples and us, to avail ourselves of prayer, to "enter into your closet"

"But you, when you pray, enter into your closet, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father which is in secret; and your Father which sees in secret shall reward you openly." Matt: 6:6

Many see this admonishment as speaking that we should only pray in private alone, in a personal seclusion, and it does speak to that to some degree, but it may be better understood when we grasp what the closet is.

In that culture and day, the closet was the place where a persons most valued possessions were kept. Our most valued possession is our relationship that we have with our Lord. This speaks to us of entering this relationship in a deep personal way, that is engaging it, participating in it, of having communion with God in Jesus. This is a personal relationship the Holy Trinity through Jesus.

The Door is Always Opened 

Remember that Jesus is the door, that is, Jesus is the way in to this Holy relationship. Jesus makes it possible for us, he moves it beyond just a ritualistic act and makes it a relationship.

"I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." Jhn: 10:9

This door stands open to us at any time, that is, our God is always available to communion with each of us at any and at all times.

"After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up here, and I will show you things which must be hereafter." Rev: 4:1

That door is always opened to us at any time, it will not shut.

 Prayer For All Seasons

What about prayer, for us each day? Often, we "feel" that there are no results, this can be hard during times when life or situations seemed to remain unchangeable, or situations get worse, how should see this? Understand, that the point is not just in "getting an answer”, but rather in turning to our Lord as the answer himself. Look at the Epistle of the Apostle St. James; he addresses perseverance in difficulties. This discussion of perseverance is uses to lead to an admonition regarding prayer.

"Behold, we count them happy which endure. You have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy." Jam: 5:11

This speaks to us of the certainty and confidence that we have in Christ and that we see he is our one true hope in every and all needs, whether we are facing problems and troubles or if things are going well in life, either way, we should pray, recall that prayer should be worship filled.

Prayer is not just for the day of trouble but times of joy and personal worship.

"Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise”. (13)

When we need healing, or afflicted with difficulties or sickness, we can ask help in prayer for help in overcoming weakness.

 " Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed." (14-16)

St. James adds assurances that our prayers can affect situations, prayer is not just the domain of spiritual giants, but for us all.  

"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again, he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops."(17-18)

Prayer is powerful leading some to be restored to fellowship or the strength to turn away from harmful behavior.

"My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins." (21-22)                          

For One Another

Some might ask, “do we need to come together with and for each other?”, “should we only pray alone?”. Christians are intended to be in a community relationship, and prayer for each other gives us an opportunity to vest our lives into each other’s, to participate in each other’s lives.

When we are asked to pray with or for each other our response should not be to lecture, sermonize or quote Scriptures at each other, but to hear that persons' need and join with them in their sorrows, their frustration, pain or even their joy.

Alert in Prayer

Prayer keeps our heart and minds on the source of all blessings which is our Lord himself.

"Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." Col: 3:2

Prayer that is focused on our Lord Jesus and guided by His Spirit will keep us spiritually alert.

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." Eph: 6:18

For His Work

"Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should ." Eph:6-19-20

 Christians should pray that the body of Christ all over the world wherever it is at work, would be powerful and reach many with the Gospel.

We should be in a state of prayerful readiness, always tuning to Jesus, ever ready to bring our needs to him, but our joys as well with all gratitude.

"Be Instant in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving:" Colossians:4:2

You Request

St. Paul wrote to Christians in Philippi which was largely a retirement community of former Roman soldiers, they understood the need to have a strong supply line, they would understand the point if the Roman Empire could supply its' legions while they were in far off lands, how much more so could the great God be trusted to supply our needs as we do his work upon the Earth, we can have peace in Jesus. Bring our needs to Jesus, he not only has the answer, Jesus is the answer.

Even the way prayer should be ended with the affirmation of Amen reflects that Jesus is the answer and that God hears and receives our prayers. 

Amen is one of the titles which the Holy Spirit calls our Lord Jesus, as the affirmation of God's willingness to grant us help in whatever we face.

"These are the words of the Amen," Rev:3:14a

"For all the promises of God in him are yes, and in him Amen, to the glory of God by us." 2 Cor:1:20

"Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Philip: 4:6-7

In the Mouth Two Witness

God himself has provided us the means by which we can be confident that we will have our prayers answered according to his eternal purpose in each and all of our lives. Jesus stands as our advocate and High Priest who is even now speaking our names in prayer and intercession for us all.

"Therefore, He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."Heb:5:25

And in like manner the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity, makes continues intercession for us conveying our needs to the very heart of the of the God the Father, bringing the whole of the Holy Trinity into lives.

St. Paul tells us regarding this truth in his Epistle to the Church at Roman

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans" Rm:8:26

This is in accordance with the Biblical principle that in mouth of two or three witness a matter is established. St. Paul draws on this very principle, which is found in Deuteronomy, in his letter to the Corinth Christians

 "This will be my third visit to you. "Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." 2Cor:12:1

This knowing that Jesus and the Holy Spirit both are "witnessing" to our need at the very heart of the Father so we know that the answer God's answer for us will be establish. This should be of great encouragement.

We all can turn to Jesus each day and in all seasons through which we pass, in every, and all circumstances that we face in this life, good and bad, enjoin him in prayer in this deep personal relationship. Let us always be found being in prayer in all seasons.

Benediction: May we each and all come to our Lord and God in times of prayer in all seasons through which we pass, today, tomorrow and forevermore. Amen.

Rev.Todd Crouch, Norman, Oklahoma 

                                   "If It Is Not About Jesus, It Is Not About Anything"

 

All Things New

 “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" 2Cor:5:17

We live in a time when hope is diminished in the land. It is a time when some people feel that their lives are meaningless and without hope. Hope is dead for many persons and unfortunately even Christians can at times succumb to this sense of hopelessness.

Hopelessness

Some don’t even know that there can be hope, they live out their hopelessness in meaningless pursuits or they live with misplaced hopes looking to something in which to find their needs met, yet it this thing never seems to fulfill that deep seated need.

Dead Spiritually 

Many people pass through life unaware of what Jesus Christ has accomplished on their behalf, that Jesus has accomplished everything needed for salvation for us by and in Christ. This salvation is there for them. An all-new life is there, they could experience it, yet they do not. But instead of this new life much of humanity goes its way in ignorance or indifference, and in some cases rejection of who Jesus is.

They are dead spiritually, that is, they are not living that life which they could be, as were all of us, until, through Jesus, God moved to made away for us to experience a whole new life.  

"And You being dead in your sins and the circumcision of your flesh" Col: 2:13a.

This is how we all conducted ourselves, dead in our sins, yet, this is the state of spiritual slumber humanity lives out of in the ignorance of who Jesus Christ is.

 We “lived” in death and understand that death is not just a state or condition, it is a way of life that produces a “deadness”, the way of death, which is only for the here and now and produces nothing which can last or has eternal value.

There was no hope in this ignorance of who our Lord is and all that Jesus has done for humanity. This sense of deadness characterizes the lives of millions. Too many follows after meaningless pursuits and attempts to give humanities' temporary existence meaning, but nothing answers this need.

All around us there are those whose lives are marked with attempts to gratify the flesh hoping to fill this hopeless void within themselves. It is almost, as if they are searching for evidence that they are alive. These varies pursuits might tantalize and stimulate for a time, but it can't last.

Many think only in terms of “the now”, many people seem to be going nowhere, lives become meaningless, hopelessness leads some to a life of futile pursuits, sin and debauchery.

One reason the society around us is degrading into sinful life styles and the abandonment of moral purity is, the loss of hope. When hope fails moral restraints are cast away, the idea is "live for the moment".

This is the very state that our Lord has come to set us free from, to give us all redemption, to instill new meaning to life all through Jesus, we could not have done it for ourselves.

"He has quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses" Col: 2:13b

 New Creation

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation: old things are passed away;behold, all things are become new" 2Cor:5:17

 We are new creations, now, not will be. This newness is experienced by belief and faith in who Jesus is, that is, when we believe in Jesus, we see what Jesus has done for us our lives and who he made us to be and are made new in Him.

The early church thought deeply about the entrance of Jesus into human history, they pondered its meaning, they asked "what did it mean?" what had changed in humanities relationship with God? 

St. Paul says in 2Cor: 5:14 "we have considered", this tells us that though prayer, discussion, and most possibly with contention the early church developed a theology regarding the incarnation and its impact upon humanities relationship with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  

What is it that they considered? "That one died for all, therefore all died. And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who for them and was raised again” 2Cor:5:14-15  

"I am the Resurrection"

  "I am the Resurrection" when we read this so often, we think of this as speaking of Jesus' coming again from the grave, or any future resurrection, but Jesus says this even before his own death.

The resurrection is who Jesus is, it is not just an event that Jesus is a part of. The bodily resurrection of Jesus only showed what has always been eternally true. Death cannot hold him he has defeated death from within death itself, this is why we read in the Book of Acts, which quotes the Psalm.

 "you will not permit your Holy One to see corruption" Act: 13:35

The power of Jesus being the Resurrection changes us, and all things forever, for if Jesus does not live, we could not live either. 

 In Jesus "all died”, and in Jesus the same "all", we are told, has been "raised”. Jesus could do this as being fully God yet fully human. He has brought the race(all) out of death into life, and can be entered into by simply accepting it by faith and God’s grace.  

Out of death we are brought into a new life with and by and Him. Jesus, being God, is not bound or confined by time, therefore his life, death and resurrection has eternal impact, stretching from eternity past and into eternity future, and touching even all humanity.

The Death of Nothing

There was nothing, that is materially, in the nothingness of the past before creation, and out of this nothing, and it was into the nothingness of death God spoke and brought the material creation into being. The Lord God brings creation and life out of the death of nothing.

"In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth" Gen: 1:1 

In the Gospel of St. John, the Apostle is moved by the Holy Spirit to open his account of the life of Jesus in the eternity past, even before the Great God brought the universe into being.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . He was with God in the beginning"  Jhn:1:1-2 . 

St. John here is using an important literary device, by equating the coming of the Messiah with the use of the words " In beginning", we see the opening words of the creation epic. St. John, is stating that the introduction of Jesus into human history, as one of us, is a creation event, that of an all-new creation, and in Jesus this new creation is accomplished, as well as, speaking that the very one who created is the one of whom St. John and the other Apostles were proclaiming. God has brought life out of death by Jesus alone. Jesus is life incarnate and has come to retrieve our material nature out of the nothingness of death's grasp.

All Things New

When we see this, and come believe that God makes All Things New in his Son Jesus, this gives us hope of the New Creation that he has made us to be in Jesus; and that we could not have done this on our own. He did it all for us through Jesus Christ.

We are now a new creation, made new, then we walk in newness of life, this new life is what St. Paul had written about to Roman Christians in his epistle Rom:6:4, we are now alive in and in Jesus.

We are assured and have hope of a life in eternity with our Lord Jesus Christ, we have hope. A real hope. A hope that is ours’ here and now not just someday in eternity to come, but an all-new life here and now upon the Earth and beyond rather than an eternity without Jesus and without hope.

To Whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory mystery among the gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of Glory" Col:1:27

This hope sustains us even in the face of adversity and crisis, ever with our eyes focused on Jesus, as the One, who gives us such hope, Rom:8:18-25.

In Eternity 

In the end, what has been made true is that the New Creation which he has made us to be, will be ours’ completely and fully. It will be what Jesus has already accomplished for us all fully experienced. All things have been made new in Christ .

All Things Made New in Jesus. All those things of this life, and even the old creation will all pass away, leaving only the New Creation. Rev: 21:1-3.  

 These words speak of things that are, in truth, beyond the minds of any of us to fully take in and comprehend.

God gives each of us just a glimpse of this eternity that is for each who will but freely receive it. Yet, there will be some, that will reject this freely given Gift of God, they love their sin more than their Savior. 

But God has called us to have all things made new in his Holy Son Jesus, even here and now and on into Eternity,  this is the hope of all who have come to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Benediction: May we each and all live in that newness of life found only in Jesus, today, tomorrow and forevermore. Amen.

Rev.Todd Crouch, Norman, Oklahoma.

                             "If It Is Not About Jesus, It Is Not About Anything"

 

Power to Save

 “This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.” Jam: 1:19-21

St. James, who many believe, was the very brother of our Lord Jesus, was writing to early Christians. His epistle is believed to be one of the very first pieces of Christian writing possibly written around 50 AD or even sooner.

“James, the brother of the Lord” Gal: 1:19

It is possibly addressed to Jewish Christians due to its somewhat Jewish tone and reference to the Law, but it’s admonishments have broad appliance to all believers in all ages regardless of their background or geographic locations.

“to the twelve tribes scattered abroad” Jam: 1:1

If, St. James is addressing a largely Jewish audience who had been reared in the keeping of the Law, the Torah,  many of them may have interpreted difficulties in life as the evidence of God’s displeasure for short comings or failures on their part as some may have taught them to believe , or, it could be that St. James may have been be conveying to Gentile Christians that they were not experiencing difficulties due to curses levied upon them by God as they had been taught to believe about the capricious pantheon of pagan “deities” , who were  believed  to do from-time-to-time upon those who displeased them.

Some Biblical Scholars see this “twelve tribes” reference to Christians, being the Covenant people of God within the world. Some others view this as a reference to Jews living in northern Asia Minor.

Having Trails

St. James was addressing many believers in the Apostolic Church who were enduring varies challenges and trials in their Christian lives. The Apostle is, in his opening paragraphs giving these Christians encouragement to trust in the goodness and provision of God for the salvation of, not only their “souls”, but salvation while they are facing trials, and to persevere in this trust in the Lord Jesus.

  “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” Jam: 1:2-4

The trials in which these believers found themselves had been causing some of them to question their trust and reliance in God, and some, were even beginning to question whether the God, who they had been taught about, had their best interest and good at heart, or even if God had the power save them out of the trials, and some were becoming tempted to turn to their own devises to resolve these difficult situations.

The Word

These Christians had heard the word of the Gospel which speaks of the salvation, goodness, faithfulness and divine love of God as is expressed toward us through his Son Jesus and his faithful execution of the plan of God to manifest salvation to all humanity and not just to Israel if they would but freely receive it.

These Christians had heard the word and had accepted it, but challenges in life were causing them to doubt and vacillated in their thoughts about the Lord God.

St. James encourages his readers, and Christians throughout the ages, to endure and hold onto the wisdom of trusting in God for his divine assistance and power in giving and providing, and sustaining them, and saving them, even in the midst of their difficulties and not to be vacillating in their thoughts about God.

“knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

      But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways”. (3-8)

St. James, wants us to know that our God is a giving God who gives not just material sustenance but his very self to us, this is what we are not to be “double minded” about.

 It is not that God cannot or won’t give to us, it is we won’t receive it due to our skewed perception of who God is. This being “double minded” about our God causes  us inner turmoil and stress when we won’t or can’t receive form God what he tells us he so willingly wants to grant and give to us all.

“who gives to all generously and without reproach” (4b)

It is as if, God is continuously pouring out his blessing upon us in a lavish way but we are not receiving them because of our inaccurate views or presumptions and assumptions about God.

St. James knows that we all are human and can succumb to the temptation to arrive at wrong conclusions about who God tells us he is.

The Apostle, if James is indeed the “brother of our Lord”, he would have grown up in the same household with Jesus and would surely have known and witnessed Jesus’ loving, gracious and giving nature. James would have come to know who Jesus is over an extended period of time.

We are to “ask in faith”, which is, trusting in who God tells us who he is in his word which is bound up in the Gospels about who Jesus is as the Son of God. That our God, not only has saved us for eternal life, but can save us in the midst of our trials therefore we should trust him.

St. James is telling us, that the trials which befall us in life are not out of punishment but rather shows us our need for reliance and trust in God. St. James is saying “do not misinterpret who God is”. 

The trials which we experience reveal to us our misconceptions regarding God. Trails reveal to us, who we believe God to be and what we each believe about God. Our God knows what we will do in the midst of our challenges and he wants us to know it as well.

The Apostle writes of the futility and temporary nature of giving into to the reliance upon anything other than our God, how anything which we can do or have, is only short lived, but rather, we are to trust in God alone. (9-12)

When we come to see this, that is, where we still have a skewed perception about God, then we can look back to who the word of God tells us he is and as is revealed to us in the Holy person of God’s Son Jesus, who not only tells us about God, Jesus shows us about God.

It is then we see that we are, as St. James writes, “approved”, that is, we have “persevered”. We have come to believe who God tells us he is, it is then that we “receive  the crown of life”, not just someday in eternity to come, but here and now in this life.  We experience victory and dominion over life's problems; this is present tense not just future. (12)

Our God has now saved us and wants us to walk as being saved and as his heirs here and now, living life in participation with our Lord Jesus who lives in us through the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes, the devices of the flesh seem to offer us a way of coping with trials but they will, in the end, lead us astray and will keep us from knowing our God. (13-16)

This reliance upon anything other than our Lord is described by St. James as “wickedness” because it keeps us from knowing our God and receiving what he wants to give us.

Being Saved

Sometimes, it is difficult for us to receive God’s salvation in our circumstance. We tend to view being “saved” only in terms of God giving us future eternal life. This is in fact true, but however, salvation is for us even here and now, not just in eternity to come, but now.

God has the power to bring his salvation into our lives even now, not just someday. That is, being saved is our status which we are given by grace through Jesus, even now, and this being saved is manifested in God’s divine power and providence toward us which is being given to us even when we can’t receive it in our experience.

St. James want us to receive it and reminds us of what the word of God tells us about our God, who he is, and not to trust in any other, which will only further obscure who God is toward and for us.

St. James, tells us to trust in God’s goodness as his word say’s and reminds us that all good which has come to us in life finds it origin with our God and that we should trust who the word of Scripture tells us that he is. God is eternally constantly who he is toward us and for us and is not one way or another.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” Heb: 13:8

God has reached out to us through Jesus so that , we might live fruitful lives as his Children. If we receive this it will prevent us from speaking or rashly concluding  something about God that is untrue, which only deepens our wrong view of God. (17-19)

Power to Save

St. James give us the solution to which we are told to trust. We are admonished to look to no other but our Lord God who has the power to bring forth salvation into all of lives here and now.

He tells us to recall what we have been told through the word of the Gospel about God. This word, is now within our hearts placed there by God, not just for the sake of knowing information, but for and knowing him and for the transformation of our very lives, manifesting salvation in us and to us here and now. We need to be “quick to hear” this word for it tells us our God has power to save.

“This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. (19-20) 

The Epistle tell us that word which has been implanted with in us, “is able to save your souls.” St. James uses the Greek word “emphuton” which is translated “implanted”. The word “emphuton” can only be found within St.James' epistle in the New Testament, and convey to us a “sense of being united or living in union.”

This means, that God has placed his word within our hearts and minds so that we can live in unity and union with him here and now and into eternity. It means, to be fully accepting and experiencing who God is, and conversely who we are in Jesus.

Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.” (21)

St. James then gives us confidence that God has the power to answer our needs and wants to do so for us, and that this “implanted” word which is given subsequently that we might be in union with Jesus, and carries the power to transform us in this union.

St. James is saying that “God has the power to do this”, to save us , even now in the midst of trails and difficulties, that God “is able to save your souls”.

The Greek word translated “able”, is “dumamenon” it means with “very much power”. He is telling us that God’s power to act is unlimited and he can and will do so on our behalf.

God will act to save us in our trials. St. James draws upon the Greek word “sosai” which means to “grant liberation from oppression”, whatever form that “oppression” takes.

The Lord’s brother is telling us to embrace the truth about who God is, who has the power to bring us release. And to trust who God has revealed himself to be, and that he is able and has power to save us, so that we might walk in freedom and trust in who he is, as his word tells us.

God is a God who loves us and is always giving to us and lavishly pours out his blessing upon even in the midst of trials if we will but receive it from him.

The word which our God has placed within our hearts and minds tells us to trust him, for his word tell us all that he “is able to save your souls” now and on into eternity.

Benediction: May we each and all give heed to the word of God implanted in our hearts and minds, which has great power to save us, today, tomorrow and forever more. Amen.

Rev. Todd Crouch, Norman, Oklahoma

                       “If It's Not About Jesus, It's Not About Anything!”