We celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ this past Sunday. With regard to His resurrection, the apostle Paul wrote the following in I Corinthians 15:14-17:

¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. ¹⁵ We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.

Paul was making the case for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Why did Paul do this? For the same reason that we believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior! It is because He is our hope for resurrection to eternal life in heaven. Without Him our faith is futile. For this reason, we share our faith with and pray for those who are without this hope in their hearts.
Jesus is the one and only Savior and He will save anyone who cries out to Him in repentance and faith. His cross and empty tomb made it possible for sinful man to have a personal relationship with Holy God. Surrendering your heart to Christ makes your relationship with Him personal, and that makes all the difference in the world. Let’s pray for the people we know that do not have a relationship with Him.

MONDAY

Personal

There are a couple of steps to reach people who do not have a relationship with Christ. You can begin by separating a time to pray for boldness and wisdom to speak to others about Christ. Then, you may break the ice in conversation by asking them if they went to Church on Resurrection Sunday.  If so, encourage them to continue going to Church.

TUESDAY

Finances

Your relationship with Christ should be so personal, in fact, that you bring Him into the area of your finances. This is a difficult concept for some to grasp. However, if you take some time to pray that God provide for your financial needs and those of the Church, you will begin to see Him act in this area of your life. As a part of this aspect of your relationship, you should develop the habit of tithing. The Word of God is very clear on this, in Malachi 3:10 He says:

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.

WEDNESDAY

Family

When you have a close relationship with someone, you typically introduce them to your family. You do so because this person is important and you would like your family to have a relationship this person as well. The same applies to your relationship with God. In order to make this introduction, you can begin by praying for your family members that are not saved, asking God to use you to invite them to Church. The upcoming Nicky Cruz event would be a great opportunity to do so.

THURSDAY

Church

In the same way that it is important for your family to build a relationship with God, it is important that others do so and join the Church as well. You should continue to pray for our growth in number of souls saved. In particular, we ask that you pray for this coming Sunday service, that all of the people who got saved on Resurrection Sunday return.

FRIDAY

Leaders

Our leaders in Church are also actively working to reach others for Christ. In order to support them in this endeavor, you should continue to pray for your Church leaders, asking God to continue anointing them for the works of ministry. This will help prepare them to equip the saints for the harvest of new souls that are coming.

SATURDAY

Co-workers/Classmates

Another key group to keep in your prayers are your co-workers and or classmates. Due to the interaction you have with them, you are in a key position to influence and guide them toward a relationship with Christ. Pray that God use you as a vessel for their salvation and allow Him to guide you in speaking to them about Christ.

SUNDAY

Lost Souls

The Nicky Cruz event on May 21^st is a powerful tool to reach all of the aforementioned groups for Christ. Ask God to show you who to pray for and invite to Church for the event. We are using Facebook as a tool to reach people for this event. You’ll want to make sure to acquire your tickets and share the event webpage with your friends on Facebook. Ask those who like your post about the page to share it as well. This will create a huge “net” to bring more people in.

 

 

During last week’s message in Church, we learned about The Growth Choice:

“I reserve a daily time with God for Bible reading, self-examination, and prayer to know God and His will for my life and to gain the power to follow His will.”

John Baker introduces this next choice simply writing, “In the last six chapters, you’ve been learning about coming out of the dark and exposing your problems to the light of God’s love. At whatever level, you’ve been able to accomplish this, God has been healing the hurts, hang-ups, and habits that have messed up your life. Many of you are already experiencing some of the amazing changes in your life” (Life’s Healing Choices, pg. 206).

Like any parent, we want our children to grow: physically, mentally, and spiritually. If we see they are not growing, we worry and take action to promote their growth. Here are some of the things we can do to help us grow in our walk with God:

1. I need to schedule a daily time with God.
2. I must fill my mind with Scripture.
3. Focus on my goal, not my habit.
4. I face and forsake my failures quickly.
5. I have to flee temptation, but I don’t have to fear it.
6. If I’m going to make it to the finish line, if I’m going to grow continuously, I must get involved in an ongoing support group.
7. Follow Christ to the finish line.

Each day this week, we are going to steer our prayer focus to specific areas of our lives in need of growth.

MONDAY

Personal

Separate a time to pray for individual growth. Have a pen and paper ready and ask God to give you direction in different areas in your life. I would have my Bible nearby and ask God to show you Scriptures relevant to the areas of growth needs.

TUESDAY

Finances

Pray for guidance that you may use your finances wisely and achieve financial growth.

WEDNESDAY

Family

Pray for your family that they have spiritual growth.

THURSDAY

Church

Continue to pray for our growth in number of persons in our Church and for the personal spiritual growth of our congregants with the Lord.

FRIDAY

Leaders

Pray for our leaders, that they will grow spiritually as well and be equipped to help the Church reach Gods vision and purpose.

SATURDAY

Co-workers/Classmates

Pray for your workplace and co-workers that your company will grow and prosper.

SUNDAY

Lost Souls

Pray for salvation of the lost souls that are around us, especially pray for the city of Doral that is growing at an exponential rate.

LOOKING AHEAD

Pray for the Nicky Cruz event on May 21st. Ask God to show you who to pray for and invite to Church. Use Facebook as a tool to reach out to others and keep yourselves informed. Make sure you acquire your tickets and share the event webpage with all of your Facebook friends. If someone likes your page, ask them to like and share the event page as well. That way, we can create a huge digital “net” to bring in those people God is leading us to.

We learned about The Relationship Choice last week in church: 

“I will evaluate all my relationships; offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me; and make amends for harm I’ve done to others (except when to do so would harm them or others).”

How forgiving should we be? Jesus told Peter the story of a man who owed his king a large sum of money. When the man was unable to pay, the king ordered that he be sold along with his family and possessions. The man begged the king to be patient and promised to pay it all. The king was moved with compassion and forgave the man’s debt. This same man later went to a fellow servant who owed him a small amount compared to what the man had owed the king. He grabbed him by the throat, demanding instant payment. This servant begged for mercy, but the man had him arrested until he could pay. Upon learning this, the king was enraged. He berated the man, telling him that he should have forgiven the small debt of his fellow servant just as the king forgave the large debt of the man. He then imprisoned the man until he could pay his debt. Jesus said:

“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart” Matthew 18:35. 

This may sound harsh, however, not forgiving others in our hearts hinders our relationship with God and with others.

There are three things we should do when we pray this week:

1. Reveal the Hurt
2. Release the Offender
3. Replace our hurt with God’s Peace

This week, we should focus on specific areas in our lives where we need to forgive. Focus on the 3 R’s: Reveal, Release and Replace. As you pray, reveal the area in need of forgiveness, release the offending person, and then replace your hurt with God’s peace. May God grant us victory in this endeavor!

MONDAY

Personal

It is important to forgive, not just to release the debts of those who offend us, but also to free ourselves from the burden we carry by not forgiving. There is a true freedom that comes from forgiving. Yet, there are situations and circumstances that we fail to forgive others and even ourselves for. These past situations create strongholds because we carry burdens due to things we have not forgiven ourselves or others for. We should take time this Monday to make a mental list of those things, and take time to pray and forgive. 

TUESDAY

Finances

There are often financial mistakes we have made in the past that we are still paying for. Ask God to forgive these mistakes and guide you to the correct actions to restore your finances.

WEDNESDAY

Family

There may be members of our families that we have not forgiven. Take time to pray for them, release them of their debts, and reach out to them if possible.

THURSDAY

Church

Pray for our Church and its congregants, asking God to bring forgiveness and healing to the Church family. Let us pray that these messages will bear fruit in our lives.

FRIDAY

Leaders

Our leaders aren’t perfect; they make mistakes. Too often, we allow these mistakes to create roots of bitterness and disillusionment in us. Pray for our leaders within the Church, government, and work. Ask that God would forgive them and guide them moving forward.

SATURDAY

Co-workers/Classmates

Forgive those co-workers and/or classmates that hurt you. This isn’t just about forgiving them, but also about allowing your example to serve as a light, such that you can guide them to seek God. You cannot do this if you hold resentment toward them in your heart. Ask God to take away that resentment.

SUNDAY

Lost Souls

Pray for the salvation of the lost souls that surround us. Ask God that you would serve as a vessel to bring salvation, forgiveness, and healing to their souls.

We learned about “The Transformation Choice” in church last week and what a lesson that was. We needed to voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in our lives and humbly ask Him to remove our character defects. But now that you’ve realized what you want God to change or control, are you ready to let Him?

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2

John Baker dives deeper into these verses in his book. Let’s explore this scripture a little further together.

BIOLOGICAL — CHROMOSOMES

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice…”

We inherited some of our strengths, weaknesses, physical and emotional traits from our parents. We did not choose our parents, DNA or some of our tendencies toward addictions.  However, none of these inherited traits give us the right to some of the behaviors we have chosen. That’s why Paul urges us to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to God — we’re supposed to be willing.

“Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.” Psalms 143:10

SOCIOLOGICAL — CIRCUMSTANCES

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world…”

Where we were raised — the environment we were in, what we saw, how those around us behaved — all contributed to our character. Again, we did not have the opportunity to choose how those around us behaved or what our parents taught us. These behaviors or experiences actually shaped some of our hurts, habits or hang-ups. Out of those reactions, coping skills or hurts, we stepped into certain habits or additions.

“Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.” 1 Peter 1:13-14

THEOLOGICAL — CHOICES

“But be transformed by the renewing of your mind…”

We can change the choices we have made that have driven us into hurts, habits or hang-ups. When we remove one of our old habits, we must be able to replace it with a good choice. Spend quiet time in His word, have some prayer time, volunteer at church — these choices have helped transform my mind into healthy habits.

MAKE THE CHOICE. He is ready to step in and give you your heart’s desire. Pray for one another this week as we go through this “transformation” process in our lives. As always, pray for yourself, your family, co-workers, Church, our leaders and new souls for Christ’s body. Each day this week, we are going to focus on specific areas of our lives that we want God to transform.

MONDAY

Personal

Set aside a time in prayer to ask God to help you transform your thought life. Once you can transform your thoughts, your actions will soon follow.  Align your thoughts with His and keep your mind set on Him throughout your entire day.

TUESDAY

Finances

Ask God to transform your thoughts about your finances. Remember that when we give to God first, He will take care of the rest.

WEDNESDAY

Family

Pray for your family members, especially those that are not saved. Present them to God and ask God to help transform their thoughts about Him.

THURSDAY

Church

Continue to pray for our Church and its congregants. Pray that God will use these messages to help transform their lives.

FRIDAY

Leaders

Pray for our nation. There continues to be divisiveness in our country. Pray for unity and that God uses our President to be the catalyst to bring us together and transform our nation under God.

SATURDAY

Co-workers/Classmates

Pray for the salvation of their souls and that God would use us as a testimony to bring them back to Christ.

SUNDAY

Lost Souls

Pray for salvation of the lost souls that are around us. Pray that God would give you grace to be able to speak to these persons, and that He would open doors of opportunity to transform their thoughts and turn to Him for salvation.