As you grow older, don’t grow colder.

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CURRENT RADIO SERIES Dream Weaver   CURRENT TV SERIES Destiny

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”   --Romans 12:19 So often, people want to be the judge, juror, and executioner of other’s faults and failures and sins. Can you relate? It’s like getting older…when physically we get less flexible and our muscles can stiffen after exercise. The same thing that happens to us physically can happen to us mentally and emotionally too. Our attitudes can stiffen and harden, and over time we can become cynical, brittle, critical, and inflexible. Instead of just growing older, we grow colder because we’re holding on to some things that we refuse to let go. You know, Jesus had some very, very strong words to the unforgiving and the unrelenting…to those who tried to play God with others. In fact, Jesus rejected them, while at the same time He accepted the sinful, repentant woman who came to Him to begin anew. Perhaps you’re carrying around a judgmental attitude today. If so, do you know what the antidote for that problem is? It’s the power of forgiveness given to us by Christ Himself! If you have a critical spirit in your heart today, ask God to help you let it go. Don’t let your attitude stiffen and harden as you grow older! Instead, let God be the judge! As you grow older, don’t grow colder.

Pray or Else

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;”
Luke 18:1
We live in an age of substitutes. You can go to the store and buy hamburgers that don’t have any meat in them. You can buy clothing that has no natural materials. You can even get plastic and metal replacement parts for bad knees, hips, and shoulders. In many cases the substitutes that we’ve come up with work as well as (or at least almost as well as) the original. But there are some things that cannot be replaced. For the Christian, prayer is one of those things. There are only two choices for the believer—either we pray, or we will faint. Life is not meant to be lived in our own strength, and if we make that attempt, we are doomed to failure.
One hymnist said it this way:
Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath,
The Christian’s native air,
His watchword at the gates of death;
He enters Heav’n with prayer.
God’s plan for our lives as His children revolves around our communication with Him. We hear from Him through His Word, and He hears from us when we pray. Most religions throughout history have relied on a group of priests or religious leaders to go to their gods on behalf of the people. But Christianity offers a different approach. Because God adopts us into His family when we place our faith in Jesus Christ as our Saviour, He allows us to come directly to Him with our petitions.
God places all of His resources behind His promises to provide for our needs, yet many Christians do without for the simple reason that they do not pray.

Today’s Growth Principle: 

A Christian who does not pray—faithfully, diligently, and regularly—is a Christian headed toward defeat.