Prayer changes things! We are instructed in Ephesians 6:18, "praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints....". The power of prayer! I read an interesting article about a cardiologist named Randy Byrd....he did a study which showed that victims of heart attack, heart failure and other cardiac problems who were prayed for fared better than those who were not. Byrd had prayer go up for 192 patients, while 201 were not prayed for. Everyone of those patients were in the coronary intensive care unit of a California hospital. The patients, doctors and nurses did know who was in which group. As for the prayer warriors...they were scattered across the country and were given only the first names of the patients, their diagnosis and prognosis. As for the results...the "prayed for" group had significantly fewer complications than the "unprayed for" group....and fewer members of the former group died. The ones who weren't prayed for were five times more likely to develop infections requiring antibiotics, and three times more likely to develop a lung condition, leading to heart failure. Just a coincidence? I serve a God...and His Name is not coincidence! Prayer works! I am living, walking proof of what prayer can do.....After that heart attack and the seven bypasses the doctors said my heart was in really bad shape. But thanks to the many, many prayer warriors...he sat there amazed saying "I am really impressed with the condition of your heart...it has improved so much". Prayer works.....the physical world may scream one thing, but God's Word has the final say, and the Word can scream a whole lot louder this old world! As the old saying goes, "Don't go by the way you feel but stand on the Word that's real"! Amen! God bless each and every one of you........Pastor Jim

Brenda and I were driving in "white out" conditions recently....I mean, we could barely see the hood of the truck let alone the road in front. Brenda said that every time the road "disappeared" she would just close her eyes and pray....I said "that's funny, I did the same thing". Okay, not really...after all I was driving and we did want to get home that night. But it makes me think of Philippians 3:13, "Brethern, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before". Whether we are driving on the road, or walking down the street, there is only one way to get to our destination...keep our eyes on the road ahead. We need to do the same in our walk with the Lord...keep our eyes on Him and let Him lead us every step of the way. The devil, and even our old nature, wants us to keep looking back...."ah, I should have done this" or "look what you did...what a mess" or "that's just the way you are and have always been...it'll never change". Don't listen to that stuff.....grab onto the Word that "you are a new creation in Christ, everything is new and the old has passed away" (2 Corinthians 5:17). The victory is ahead and it's yours....letting Jesus show you the way. Remember, you can't change the past, but the Lord can give you a beautiful future. We are just like the Apostle Paul....running a race.......any good runner will tell you, they are not at all concerned with the mile behind them....just the race in front. We "...press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14). Amen! We are aimed right at that "finish line"! Yours in Christ, Pastor Jim

I was talking with a fellow recently, and told him that God loves him. His response was, "I hope so". What a sad way to go through life...hoping that God loves you, and not knowing for sure. I shared several scriptures with him, emphasizing the love of God such as John 3:16 ("....for God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son..."). There so many others like Romans 5:8 and 1 John 4:9. It makes me think however...how many other people are out there...wondering if, hoping maybe, even doubting that God loves them! Let them know...share the love of God with them. That's what the life, death, resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ is all about! It's like a little Bible tract I wrote several years ago, "God loves you....really". He really, truly does! And people need to know that! Working with you in sharing the love of Christ, Pastor Jim

"Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life" (Proverbs 4:23 Amplified). It's so easy to get offended and allow our hearts to be hardened in this day and age....there is just so much going on in this old world. When someone says something (to us or about us) that hurts us, remember the words of our Lord and walk in love and forgiveness (Ephesians 4:30-5:2). Christ has forgiven us and we are to be conformed to the image of Christ...doing as He has and will do! The power of walking in love! Forgiveness sets you free! Blessings, blessings, blessings is what I pray for you in Jesus, Pastor Jim

Fill your mouth with the praises of God, and the Lord will fill your life with His presence! Amen! Even in the toughest of situations we need to praise God for what He has done through Christ....after all, it's not called the "sacrifice" of praise for nothing. Praise Him even when you don't really feel like it...and watch Him move! (Psalm 22:3,4). Pastor Jim

Victory is ours in Christ! If we trust our own strength to "pull us through" everything we face, then that's exactly where we will end up...flat on our face! But when we give it all to Christ, God will lead us in triumph (2 Corinthians 2:14)...total victory! Romans 8:35 says, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" The only way the "stuff" will separate us from the love Christ is if we let it. Key....Don't let it! Guaranteed...we are in this old world, and in this old world, we have tribulation (John 16:33)......but in Christ, we have victory! Whatever you are facing today, know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you are in Christ, following Him...and He is the Victorious One (Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 3:8)....and He won that victory through the cross, through His shed blood, through His death and His ascension.....for you! Shall that situation, that trial, that tribulation gain the victory over you? Don't let it! Romans 8:37 says, "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us." You are not "just a conqueror"....the Word says you "more than a conqueror"! In the Greek, that is "hupernikao" which means "to vanquish beyond, gain a decisive victory (in other words, no question as to who wins)"! "Hupernikao" comes from two other Greek words......."Huper" meaning "over, above, beyond, more than, superior to, and exceeding abundantly"....the other word is "nikao" which means "conquer, overcome, get the victory and prevail". Do you see what God is saying about you? You are victorious.....over and above any and all situations, trials and tribulations that may come your way! You are more than a conqueror! Make that your declaration for the new year! And remember, Jesus loves you....and in Him, you are blessed! Pastor Jim

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In case you're feeling down, we just want you to know....all is not lost! Trust in God! Amen!

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