Hello Family let us pray,
Most Heavenly Father we pray to You our thanks for the
blessings You have so generously shared on this day. Father we so often find our blessings to be
in abundance that we feel compelled to share them with those who in our eyes
may be less fortunate. As we do so we
pray for their well-being and strength to carry on from this day to the
next. Father Your words are so powerful
to us that study them, may we be granted the ability and talent to share those
words with others who have not had the opportunity for study. Father we appreciate the freedom our Spirit
feels even at times when we are overrun with tribulations that seem to
overpower us, our Spirit remains unbroken and untethered, like the Apostle
Paul, allow our Spirit Father to be seen and heard, provide the bold nature
that is necessary to continue reaching out to others even as we are in some way
contained. Father we call upon You to
heal the sick and ill, to protect the weak and weary. Father provide the nourishment so many in our
world need due to hunger and famine. Yes
we know as humans we can only do so much, but we also know You to be
Omni-Powerful and capable of all things in all place because of your Omni-Presence,
we are so very thankful to know You Father.
The sacrifice of Your Son has set us free and walks us into eternal
life, His suffering broke the chains of sin that had been upon us, and forever
has changed our lives, yes we are thankful for all He has done for us. It is in his name, Christ Jesus that we offer
these prayers to You….AMEN.
Welcome again Family, it is a wonderful cold day this
Sunday, but for us and our church it is Harvest Festival, a time of good feast
and community with one another, a time of sharing. Who has heard of Watchman Nee? He was an incredible man from China, he
started many churches within China over his lifetime, but was imprisoned by the
Communists and spent the last twenty or so years of his life behind bars.
His captors, fearful that Nee would convert his guards to
Christianity, changed the guard standing outside his cell on a daily
basis. Apparently the government’s fears
were justified as a number of his guards were indeed converted. It would seem in Nee’s study of the Bible he
took away a considerable lesson from the Apostle Paul.
Remember Paul is well known for writing a number of letters
that comprise the New Testament, one of which was written to the
Ephesians. In this letter Paul was very
descriptive of he vehemently refused to allow the circumstances of his
imprisonment as he wrote the letter to change his identity in any way or
fashion. Regardless of where he happened
to be, despite chains that bound him in place he continued to work as the
Lord’s Ambassador.
For most people today it would be easy to imagine Paul
looking at the chains that bound him and simply giving up. But not Paul, instead he grew stronger, more
bold, less intimidated, and less ashamed.
His physical body may have been confined to chains, but his spirit was
never truly bound. Never forget his
message to the Philippians, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens
me.”
It is time to assess our circumstances and, like Paul, not
allow those circumstances define who we are.
If we are standing in chains today all is not lost, it is not time to
give up. All is not lost, because God is
still calling us to be His Ambassadors.
Answer that call, standing in the middle of whatever is happening in
your life, grow so bold to answer God’s call, be the Ambassador He wants you to
be.
Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, 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.
Ephesians 6:19-20
Go in Peace
Blessings to you all
Aloha
Randy
