I belong to a little prayer group consisting of my two sisters in Christ. We pray once a week at each other's homes. We follow a prayer pattern called A.C.T.S. or Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. We've been meeting for seven years and over those seven years we've seen many changes in our lives, in our nation and in our world.
Health issues have come and gone, grandchildren have been born, retirements commenced, responsibilities at work have increased, businesses have started and failed and yet God is faithful. Our nation has suffered through a deep recession, two wars, debt that threatens to undo us, and bitter partisanship, but God is faithful. Today found us praying for the Japanese who have endured one of the most devastating, catasrophic events ever to have occurred when both natural and man-made calamities crashed together against them, and still, God is faithful. He calls to them over the tumult.
What inspires the human spirit? Is it "fukutsu no seishin" which in Japanese means, "never give up, or in, or out? Is it resilliance and resolve? Is it fierce independence, innovation, character, or a strong sense of shared purpose and pain? For my prayer group it is Christ and Christ alone. There is no other Solid Rock as sure as this One. If we fall into the deepest pit, Christ is already there. No matter what befalls us, He goes before us, comes behind us, lifts us up, and covers us with His wings. Paul says in Romans 8:38-39, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Our deepest prayer is that all people everywhere would come to know Jesus Christ so that they are filled to overflowing with the love, holiness, comfort, peace, forgiveness and sense of oneness that only the Good Shepherd can provide. Then, no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in, good,bad,or ugly, we can share the joy and divide the pain with Jesus.
Health issues have come and gone, grandchildren have been born, retirements commenced, responsibilities at work have increased, businesses have started and failed and yet God is faithful. Our nation has suffered through a deep recession, two wars, debt that threatens to undo us, and bitter partisanship, but God is faithful. Today found us praying for the Japanese who have endured one of the most devastating, catasrophic events ever to have occurred when both natural and man-made calamities crashed together against them, and still, God is faithful. He calls to them over the tumult.
What inspires the human spirit? Is it "fukutsu no seishin" which in Japanese means, "never give up, or in, or out? Is it resilliance and resolve? Is it fierce independence, innovation, character, or a strong sense of shared purpose and pain? For my prayer group it is Christ and Christ alone. There is no other Solid Rock as sure as this One. If we fall into the deepest pit, Christ is already there. No matter what befalls us, He goes before us, comes behind us, lifts us up, and covers us with His wings. Paul says in Romans 8:38-39, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Our deepest prayer is that all people everywhere would come to know Jesus Christ so that they are filled to overflowing with the love, holiness, comfort, peace, forgiveness and sense of oneness that only the Good Shepherd can provide. Then, no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in, good,bad,or ugly, we can share the joy and divide the pain with Jesus.
Your prayer is my prayer - the verses quoted are ones I also hold dear - and the music and lyrics of "In Christ Alone" are playing in my mind. What a beautiful statement of belief, and of longing. Thank you for expressing it so clearly.
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