Our friend Norman Cox has recently written a book and I love his title, SAY THAT AGAIN, his sub-title is Wisdom In Today's World and when you read the chapters you will see it is appropriately named. Chapter 36 speaks to what is our theme of our Wednesday Night Faith Clinic teaching with Coach Jerry Miles and Mike Denigan, when spoke of the importance the personal discipline of Bible Reading. To have a healthy relationship with someone it is important not to neglect communication with one another. You hang on every word, so to speak and want to hear their voice. Norman has chosen appropriately this theme for his compilation of timely subjects.
Chapters 35, 36 and 37 spoke to me in regards to the importance and the danger of neglecting the most important parts of our relationship with the Lord. It is something that bears repeating over and over and over and again.
1ST: IF YOU REALLY CARE YOU WILL PRAY
2ND: THE EASIEST DISOBEDIENCE IS PRAYERLESSNESS
3RD: A CHURCH WITH PRAYER IS A CHURCH GOING SOMEWHERE
Here are some choice statements from these chapters. "People who do not care never pray. People who really care will always pray." Have you ever prayed over your tithe, what a unique idea? When we pay our tithe as we are taught to do, it is a first thing we do. First Things first, that is how you live a successful Christian life. It is a gem to remember that, if we never lose our inward joy, we will never lose our inward praise. Paul and Silas in Acts 16 are a good example of the value of praise in difficult situations.
Something to stop and think about and should be repeated often is, "The easiest way to Disobedience is Prayerlessness." "Prayerlessness is a spiritual killer. Without prayer, we lose contact with God in our daily life, we lose direction in life, we go without Godly counsel, we struggle without total peace and joy and we never hear what God has for us next. When we lose our prayer life we lose our sensitivity to God."
I know for many I am so to speak, preaching to the choir, but Norman says there is a need to SAY IT AGAIN and I agree. I love his chapter on, "A CHURCH WITH PRAYER IS A CHURCH GOING SOMEWHERE". Without prayer (our communion with the Holy Spirit) we have no power. A powerless church is simply a social group. Norman speaks to one of the most critical issues of our times when he writes, "Church has changed, but the message of The Cross and the Power of the Holy Spirit are still the lifeblood of any Christian message. Prayer brings direction. Payer brings confirmation. Prayer brings miracles. Simply put, prayer is the spiritual air that keeps your soul and the church alive."
WE LOVE YOU WITH THE LOVE OF THE LORD,
Pastor Cleddie and GayNell Keith
You can purchase Norman's book,
SAY THAT AGAIN on Amazon published by Christian Faith Publishing,
ISBN 978-1-0980-7273-5