One Accord

The unity and support that have been shown over the last two weeks concerning our AHOP family have been nothing short of miraculous.  Phone calls, e-mails, and social networking have sky rocketed in an effort to lift up Baby Judah and the Robinson family, and it has been an absolute eye opener to the power of prayer.

It has me thinking about the church and how it would take on a new identity if we prayed with this kind of "fervency" and frequency on a regular basis.  What if the airwaves were being bombarded daily with prayers for the church, its people, and the community we've been called to impact? What if thousands of people began to be unified in their focus of seeing God move in a way like never before?  These are hypothetical questions at the moment, but I believe that what we have experienced recently is establishing a foundation of prayer.  That moniker was God-given, and I believe more than ever before we must live up to our name, "A House of Prayer."  Prayer moves heaven, prayer changes things on earth, and maybe most powerfully, prayer changes perspective.  When we grow closer to God, suddenly external circumstances become less daunting, our troubles may be big, but our God is greater.


Acts 2 ¹And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. ² And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.


-The church was desperate for God to move.  Every thing they had known was in question and they were surrounded with doubts.  In response they did the only thing they knew how to do and that was to pray; God responded by changing the course of history.  Are we desperate for God to move?  Are we willing to be in "one accord"?  Are we ready to plant ourselves on our knees and proclaim that we will not move until God shows up?  We serve an infinite God, let's begin to bombard heaven with big prayers, and may God prepare our hearts for the transformation that will take place.  

If God is for us...

^{Romans 8}

³¹ What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? ³² Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? ³³ Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. ³⁴ Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

³⁵ Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? ³⁶ (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”^[o]) ³⁷ No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

There is not much that anyone could add to Paul's words written to the Romans, but I will  try to encourage you with this reminder; "No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us."  Despite your feelings of insecurity, despite destitution and danger, and even despite death, we have victory through Christ.

Today you could be facing the toughest battles of your life and the enemy would have you believe that trials in this life come from God or speak to his absence.  Allow the Holy Spirit through the powerful word of God to encourage you today; he loves you; and there is nothing that can change that.

³⁸ And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[p] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. ³⁹ No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

*God is for you today, if you are anything like me you probably need the occasional reminder.  If you feel like the obstacles in the path are larger than you can handle on your own then you are correct.  You were never meant to face them alone.  God is for us, who can ever be against us?

Seek him, spend time with him, experience the vast nature of our God; when you see the greatness of our God it is much tougher to see the greatness of your trials.

#Godisbigger

Actions speak louder than words...

1 John 3:16-18

New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁶ We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister^[a] in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?
¹⁸ Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.


-Pastor Greg Delaney shared from this portion of scripture as we shared in communion on Sunday, this morning I was led to this portion of scripture as I prayed over my family, and as soon as I turn to Bible Gateway I see that the verse of the day is none other than 1 John 3:16.  I don't know about you, but when I see and hear from the same portion of scripture several times in a two day period I am certain that God is trying to tell me something.


"We know what real love is."  Millions of people are searching for the very elusive, "True Love," and as followers of Christ we have everything they are so desperate to find.  John tells us that since we understand real love that we should also give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.  Whether it be through generosity or compassion the church should be living the way Christ taught us, and that is to see others as more important than ourselves.


This is not an easy spiritual concept.  I dare say that all of us struggle to consider someone else and their needs to be more important than our own.  This is why we need to hit our knees and ask with humility and desperation that God would give us a heart transplant; that he would deposit his heart in to the church.


Later on in that portion of scripture John speaks a very powerful six words.  He states that "God is greater than our feelings."  We are self-centered and egotistical, but God is greater than our feelings.  We are lazy and unmotivated, but God is greater than our feelings.  We are proud and closed-minded but God is greater than our feelings.  He is bigger than our faults and inabilities, and he wants to use us to bring his love to the masses.  The only way we can accomplish great things for Christ is if we understand that he is greater.  


Love with his love, share the way he shared, let our actions show that we belong to the truth; and let the truth change the world around us.