Crime and Broken Hearts

CRIME: Another wave of violence seems to be hitting the Montgomery area lately. We had kept numbers low but all of the sudden in the past 6 weeks or so, things are ramping up.

We need to PRAY NOW so that more lives are not lost to death and other lives are not snuffed away in prison. What do we do? How can we help? Most of us may not know those who are doing the killing or being killed BUT we are citizens of this area AND we are Christians called to pray(not a suggestion...it is a call) so we need to care.

 Let's begin praying for our area this week for these thing:

1. That hearts will be changed. Crime is a SYMPTOM of a broken heart. Only the Lord can repair it. Lots of reasons the heart gets broken....let's pray that HE will start a work in every person in this area who has a "broken" heart. He CAN repair it. 

2. Pray for our public safety officers/personnel that they will have wisdom. Pray for judges and lawyers and all involved in criminal cases. Pray that they will have the wisdom to know how to handle EACH person who comes through their doors. 

3. Pray for our Mental Health system to be fixed. Change needs to happen and though there are rumblings of change, it is a BIG problem...a GOD SIZED problem that needs fixing...FAST! Approximately 40% of all inmates in Alabama have severe mental health issues. Jails and prisons are not equipped to restore health to those prisoners.(Stats from NAMI-AL) 

4. Pray for ourselves. YOU and I come across people every day who have the symptoms of a BROKEN heart. We are God's vehicle to bring GOOD NEWS to the brokenhearted. Are you and I ready to do that? Are you and I willing to be open to the Holy Spirit using you to bring soothing healing news to the brokenhearted? Are you and I willing to do things/help others on God's terms, not our own? 

Ponder the scripture here and see what the Lord would have you do this week to be "healers of the heart" vehicles for our city!

Schools/Students

SCHOOLS: Take time this week to pray for STUDENTS at ALL of our schools, both public and private. Don't think that because your child goes to a private school, that they are sheltered from the social problems of our time. Many of the same problems exist on a smaller scale in private schools BECAUSE we are ALL imperfect human beings.

Prayer points:
1. Pray for all students to be exposed to the gospel by someone who they know who is a Christian. Pray for openness to the heart of who Jesus is.

2. Pray for the parents of all students who come. Each parent needs wisdom and direction for directing and guiding their child. Not every parent grew up with good role models. Not every students choices are because they have "bad" parents.
3. Pray for the Holy Spirit to take full control of the students who ARE followers of Christ. Pray that they will take a stand and do the right thing despite what the "world" says is okay.
4. Pray for families to be healed and needs to be met so that when our students come to school, they will be focused and ready to learn.
 
For our kids in the Greater Montgomery area.............   

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” James 1:22

Racism

This weeks prayer point: RACISM.

 Let this be our prayer this week as we live and work and relate to each other.....this shouldn't have ever happened. EVER! It should never happen again but it could. As followers of Christ WE MUST step up and LIVE....be "imitators" of Christ. That should be our prayer this week and every week. Let's continue to examine ourselves and our actions, making sure we are exemplifying Christ in how we treat others.

 September 15, 2013 is the anniversary of these young girls being killed by HATERS of life. This should have never happened.

Ephesians 5:1-2 "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma"

Praying for Families in Greater Montgomery

FAMILY:
Most of you have heard this horrific story from yesterday(link at bottom). It made national news. A family is devastated. I can't even imagine what they are going through right now. We don't know what really went down to get to this point but I think we can all agree that this "didn't happen" overnight. Dad didn't just wake up and decide to kill all five of his children one day. I have been around the foster care/adoption/mental health scene for a very long time now and know that things like this, when they happen, is a build up of YEARS of dysfunction, sin and family issues that are very, very deep. IN MONTGOMERY, every year, many kids are placed into the foster care system because of abuse, neglect and sometimes horrific acts of violence.

Families from ALL walks of life can become prey to this. It is not just the poor or uneducated or blacks or whites. The family is under attack every day....not from necessarily physical attacks but spiritual ones. And it comes in many forms. It does not have to be extreme like the story below. It does not even have to involves social services.....it comes in many forms: rebellion from children, parents bad decisions, mental health problems and the list goes on.

THIS WEEK: pray for families in the GREATER MONTGOMERY area. Here are a few prayer points to guide you to prayer.

1. Pray for parents in our area to stop, think, act before they do something they will regret. Pray for hearts of parents to change. Not every parent will kill all of their children physically, but we can murder our kids with our words...things we can't take back. A kid we fostered once said to me(not that this is okay, but he made a point)-he said: " my bruises healed on my skin from being hit, but the bruises of my moms words have never gone away". 

2. Pray for the kids in our area who go to school every day with sadness, depression, mental health issues and other things that no one ever notices. Pray for someone to notice. 

3. Pray for HEARTS to be changed all over our city, our county and surrounding areas....starting with our own. Only then, can things change. 

4. Pray for your involvement in supporting foster care and adoption. Can you help a family get back on their feet by being a helping family to their kids? Or do you have room for one more kid who needs a family? Pray and see what the Lord tells you. You don't have to have a child in your home to help the foster care and adoption ministry in this area.If you would like more information on supporting this ministry in our area, contact Lisa Rose at 334-271-6794 or email her at lrose@mgmbaptist.org

God's Word says this: "The Lord is CLOSE to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed". Psalm 34:18 


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/09/09/deputies-seek-5-children-missing-from-sc/15350941/

Get Out of Self.....

“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.” – Philippians 2:3, NKJV

This is one of the basic premises of being a follower of Christ. Put others first. The way that we can see Montgomery "changed" is that we start thinking of others needs above our own. See, we are very blessed. If we have an intimate relationship with Christ, we already have our needs taken care of. We don't have to scratch and claw for our needs to be met. Jesus has that handled. He really does. 

Because He has that handled in our lives, we can then set aside focusing on self to focusing on being "little Christs" to others especially those who don't have Him to meet their needs. 

In our area, there are thousands of people who woke up this morning hurting, scared and lonely. They are frightened of what the day will hold for them. YOU and I can be that "hope" they need today. Look around you at work, at the grocery store, in the restaurant.....they are hurting....they need God! You have that great gift to give to others.

Ready for the day? I am!! Let's make ourselves get out of "our self" and see the need around us. Ask the Lord to show you the world around you today. See people through Christ's eyes. Don't judge. Minister instead.

Do that because it is the "Christ" thing to do. Crime, Racial issues, poverty, school problems, lack of jobs, consumerism and other core issues that exist in Montgomery can only be overcome if HEARTS are changed. Plans and strategies are good but only HEART CHANGE can make the real difference.