This summer has been rewarding for me from several standpoints, not the least of which has been our nine weeks of living in the book of Acts and focusing on The Church Alive. It has been a growing time for us all to deepen our appreciation for the church and renew our commitment to the church as the Body of Christ and the Bride of Christ. Faithful participation in the deeper life of the church is vital to our being able to abide in Jesus Christ. This weekend will be the ‘exclamation point’ on the summer as we assemble for the Concert of Praise lead by our music and worship ministry people…. some 200+ of them on the platform this coming weekend. [REMEMBER THE SPECIAL TIMES: SATURDAY AT 4 & 6 PM, SUNDAY AT 9 & 11 AM] We are hopeful that many will decide to come early on Saturday or late on Sunday to allow for a more uniform distribution of the crowds we expect.
Spending time in the book of Acts this summer has reminded me of an acrostic that has guided my personal prayer time for years. I regret that I don’t get in a ‘sweet hour of prayer’ every day, but I love my unhurried time with the Lord guided by these 4, 15-minute each, components:
A – adoration – Using the Word of God, especially the Psalms, to assist my mind in identifying all that I love and adore about the Heavenly Father and referencing the Gospels to identify all I love and adore about the Lord Jesus. Praising Him for Who He is. Often it flows without any need for scriptural input. The time will fly.
C – confession – Spending time taking spiritual inventory on me…. humbly purging my thought life, my words, my actions, my reactions, my pride, my self-dependence, my unguarded moments. Never a shortage of things to talk to Him about here.
T – thanksgiving – Detailing, in the presence of the Lord, all the ways He has blessed me and all those in my nuclear family and my circle of Christian friends. I know the necessity of maintaining a grateful heart. I want Him to hear from me that I know and am thankful that His mercies are new every morning.
S – supplication – Asking, humbly and earnestly…. Beseeching and petitioning the Lord for those things that matter to me…. Praying for those I personally know and love as well as those who are known to me only vicariously through others who have shared their names and situations.
So there is the book of Acts in the Bible that encourages my faith and then there is the exercise of A.C.T.S. that sustains my faith. Join me in a sweet hour of prayer….
Pray with me…. Father God, we come to you in the Name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. We thank you for the rich resource of Your written Word and the rich resource of prayer. We can open our ears to Your voice and we can open our hearts to you with our voice. It is the rhythm of abundant life. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Blessings,
Pastor Ken
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