PRAYER RETREAT

Prayer affects everything we do by enriching our lives, transforming our hearts, and enabling us to see God’s glory as we grow in our personal relationship with Him. For many of us, September is the month when another season begins and when scholastic learning is officially back in full swing. Due to the fact that we have so much to do each day and so many different situations to deal with in our lives, I am reminding you to “Be joyful always; pray continually; [and] give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV). I pray that God will help us acknowledge Him in all of our ways so that He will direct our path each day (Proverbs 3:5-6)! Every morning, when we begin a new day, our mind is actively programmed to be up and ready to meet the challenges of the day. Some questions that appear foremost in my thoughts each day are: What will this day hold for me? Will I get everything accomplished that I really need to do?  Will there be enough time for me to accomplish all the tasks that I need to complete? Sometimes, I wonder if I am getting too old to be useful in doing everything for myself and in helping others who may be in need of my services. Some mornings, depending on our age, we may not feel like getting out of bed, but I’m reminded of a story that can be found in Numbers (Chapter 17) about receiving life out of dry death. The story of Aaron’s staff is strange. However, it is clearly a miracle – a dead stick of wood comes to life overnight, sprouts, buds, and produces almonds. God did this to make it clear to the people of Israel that Aaron was His priest, the one whom He had chosen and no one else. But there is more! This is a picture of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, for “He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground…” (Isaiah 53:2 NIV) and “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit” (Isaiah 11:1 NIV) – This is the unexpected life out of death, like Aaron’s staff!

From this chapter in Numbers, we can learn two things 1) Stop grumbling! (2) There is life in us even when we are old. “The next day Moses entered the Tent of the Testimony and saw that Aaron’s staff, which represented the house of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds (Numbers 17:8 NIV).” Here is life out of dry death. So often, many of us grumble when we are not being heard because the older we get, it seems as if no one listens to us. However, there is still life in the body and one can still blossom and produce valuable insight as we use God’s spiritual gifts according to His purpose and plan for sharing our faith in this world.

God is a God of all seasons! Our prayer life affects our faith in Christ and if we have a sincere heart, it will sustain us as we go through different physical and spiritual seasons. There is a place for all to serve and work to build up the kingdom of God. I do believe there’s power in prayer and that it is always appropriate to pray to God in all situations. There is no situation that is too big or too small for our Heavenly Father to handle. Prayer is one of the most important values of our First Baptist Church Family of Junction City, as we experience healthy church growth and continue “Fulfilling God’s Great Commission in Unity.” “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16 NIV). Do we qualify? We are credited as being righteous by our faith-in-action through Christ Jesus. We are looking forward with great anticipation and excitement to our annual prayer retreat on September 29^th from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. at Rock Springs. This is a glorious time for us to pray together in Jesus’ name and to work together as a congregation. This is a time for us not to focus on grumbling about the past, but a time to see the present clearly, and to see that there is new life in the future for each of us in God’s church. This is a time for all members, young and old, to spend the day together sharing God’s word. There are programs for adults and children and nursery services will be provided. Please contact the church office and sign up today! Someone said: “The book of James begins with the assertion that hardship is a big part of the Christian pilgrimage and immediately calls the church to pray for the special wisdom God gives in hardship. The book ends the same way: There will be suffering; we must be patient (James 5:7-12); and we must pray, pray, pray!” Remember to let your requests be made known to God (Philippians 4:6-7) through prayer by casting all of your cares on Him because He cares for YOU (1 Peter 5:7)!  James H. Callaway

AWANA

WOW!!!
Its that time of year again.  Awana is ready to start.  Would you like to be an approved workman?  Awana will lead you there as you lead othersw.  We need the support of the whole church in prayer and in time.  We would like to start an AWANA mentor program where adults in the church will give up 10 to 15 minutes of their time on Sundays between 5:30 and 6:00 PM to help the children learn their memory verse.  What a wonderful feeling and blessing you will receive knowing you have personally helped a young mind learn about God through the Bible.  If you would like to be more involved let us know by contacting the church office.  If you have any young neighbors, friends or family we will be happy to get you material for them to see or deliver it
with you.  Remember God answers prayer and Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed.   Roy Richardson, AWANA Commander