The Church Living in Fear

This is our lesson on prayer this week. This is a very well writtten blog post. We need to pray carefully about who we vote for in the March 1st primaries. We have been talking about and praying about FEAR in our lives and this post applies as well. As we live and work in Montgomery and our country, we must overcome FEAR and replace it with LOVE.

PONDER this verse this week and pray for the Lord God to banish fear from our lives as followers of Christ. There is NO ROOM FOR fear in the life of a follower. Fear affects our decisions. It makes us "uncourageous" and it can cripple us from doing what we have been called to do.

 
"There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love". (1 John 4:18)

Church Running on Fear

FACING OUR FEARS: RACISM

YES IT STILL EXISTS and will until we see that "new heaven and new earth" but that doesn't make it okay.

As followers of Christ, we must make EVERY ATTEMPT to love ALL people and ask the Lord to help us get past the stereotypes. So why are we scared to reach out to others whose culture is sometimes very different than ours? It is ironic that the city that set the tone to free people from such horrific racism is still struggling with it today. Though it is not always as overt.....it still exists. How can we change that?

Here are a few prayer points and a good book to read if you want some great insight into racism and it asks the question...."where were all the white Christians during the civil rights movement and why would they let this happen?" It gives some great insights tot he Christian church in the south on how to change the present and the future. It is written by Alan Cross, former pastor of Gateway Baptist Church here in Montgomery. It is well worth the read.

Prayer Points:

1. As with every sin, a heart change needs to occur. Let's start by praying for our own hearts to be cleansed of the sin of racism. Let's ask the Lord for forgiveness if we have treated anyone unfairly. And then we must repent..turn around from thinking that we can judge, stereotype or treat people in an unlovely manner.  And it is sin...to not see another human being as worthy of your care and respect.

2. Pray for our Christian churches in the Greater Montgomery area. Pray for our churches to wake up and take a stand when they see things that are wrong.

3. Pray for your neighbors, coworkers, etc. that are different from you culturally. Ask the Lord to help you see them the way He does. Ask for the opportunity to reach out and begin a friendship with someone who might be different. Ask them about their culture and get to know their dreams, fears and desires. Being different is a beautiful gift God gave us and expects us to love each other despite our differences. 

 

 There is NO EXCUSE for racism among Christians.

Contemplate this verse and its meaning in your life this week. Pray over and ask the Lord to reveal to you what you need to live through it.

Colossians 3:12-15 "Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 

When Heaven and Earth Collide

FACING OUR FEARS: Schools in the Greater Montgomery Area

 We, in Montgomery, have a false sense of security when we think by putting our kids in a private school or home school they will be immuned and protected there from the "evils" of public school life. NOT!!!!    In EVERY type of school in Montgomery there are challenges and the chance of something happening to our kids. Bullying, crime, drugs, sex and suicide ALL happen in EVERY TYPE OF SCHOOL in Montgomery. When we put our security in a "place", we have false thinking when it comes to our faith journey.

My boys had good and bad experiences in home, public and private schools. If we think we can protect our children from EVIL by sheltering them, we have false thinking. So what is the solution?

WE HAVE TO PUT OUR SECURITY AND OUR CHILDREN'S SECURITY IN THE LORD. No other.........

What can we pray for then?
1. For ALL children in the Greater Montgomery area to have a safe and productive day today and every day.
2. For ALL children in our schools: home, public and private to have the opportunity to hear the gospel and be able to hear it in a way that they understand it.
3. For our churches to step up and "partner" with their local schools. To go and pray for the admin staff, the teachers and even walk the halls and pray for the students makes a huge impact on the schools. Our churches MUST be partners in their neighborhoods with our schools and be LIGHT in the midst of darkness.
4. For each of us to teach our children to be "little missionaries" or "little Christs" to their classrooms, their teachers and everyone they meet at school. What they learn at home about people who are different than they are will come out at school. Be aware that WE as the adults teach them how to treat people.
5. DON'T BE AFRAID to get involved yourself in your child's school. My husband and I found that the more we were involved, the better education our kids got. AND....we, as a family, were a witness to others.
6. Pray for ourselves, as parents. We need to NOT go into our kids classrooms and schools ON THE DEFENSE...but on the offense, being ready to offer solutions and work together not against each other. WE ARE WITNESSES even when our children have issues at school. THE WAY WE GO ABOUT IT MATTERS....

1 Peter 3:8-12 
 "Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”