Why don’t more people evangelize? Well, there are many reasons, but people will usually say thing like:. Let me give you one example that I personally experienced that overcomes all of these. A friend of mine took me out to dinner at a restaurant in a town I’ll call Oakville. While at dinner, my friend Tim asked me about my ministry. How to pray with people, when to pray, what to pray, etcetera. I explained it’s very situational and really depends upon the circumstances and what the person needs in their life. Just then, the waitress came with the check. I asked her what her name was, and she said “Susan”. I said “Susan, my name is John and I’m a Christian and I try to make it a habit to pray for my wait staff is there anything I can pray for you for?” She began to get misty and said, “Oh my gosh nobody’s ever asked me that before.” I said “well, I’m asking you now. She said slowly “well, my house burned… Read More »Evangelizing in a restaurant
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I get requests to pray for people. A lot. And I don’t mind it. In fact; I’m glad to help. But the job of an intercessor is – as the name implies – to intercede, not to take ownership. What I’m talking about is what I call prayer outsourcing. Think about God’s relationship with humanity. In the beginning, there was only Adam, and Adam represented all of us and because of this, when Adam sinned, we all felt the effects, which is why all suffer from original sin. Adam sneezed and humanity got sick. But then God began to change the relationship – to broaden the base, as it were and He chose to make a covenant with a people, (Noah), instead of an individual (Adam). Then a tribe (Abraham), then a family (Jacob) and their individual descendants (Levi, Benjamin, Joseph, Reuben, etc.). But God always had a representative between Him and the common man. For example, He spoke to the people through Moses, then He chose the descendants of Levi to be His go-betweens.… Read More »Is intercessory prayer helpful?
Is intercessory prayer helpful?
We are made up of a flesh (material) and spirit (non-material) and we sometimes forget that the gap between the two is not very far apart. Most know that non-material things (like stress) can affect our material bodies but few realize that material things (like addiction) can just as easily open an unwanted door and affect our spirit. Truly, it is a narrow gap and sometimes afflicting spirits can affect our physical bodies. This is NOT a case of demonic possession – but it is where deliverance ministry comes in. I was helping out on the prayer team at a healing prayer service when a man sat down in front of me. “What are we asking Jesus for today?” I asked the man. He replied, “I get these really bad anxiety attacks.” “That sounds difficult,” I said “tell me about them”. He continued, “It bothers me all the time but sometimes it gets out of hand. I’ve even been driving and gotten a panic attack so bad I had to pull into the nearest hospital and… Read More »Beyond Healing the Body
Beyond Healing the Body
This is from the Gospel of John chapter 19:28-30: “After this, Jesus, knowing that all was finished, said to fulfill the scripture, “I thirst”. A jar of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head, and gave up his spirit.” So, obviously, this is a powerful scene in the Bible. But what does Jesus mean “it is finished?” What is the it? A friend and I were studying this verse, so I asked him what “it” was. The exchange went like this: “Everything! Jesus did it all, so there’s nothing more to do because He did it all, and He even said so.” I pressed further, “So you say that it’s finished and nothing more needs to be done by anyone?” He replied, “That’s right. Nothing more can be done because Jesus did it all.” So I said, “So you’re saying that… Read More »It is finished…
It is finished…
In 1986, when he was 25 years old, drug addict Jonathan Wayne Nobles brutally attacked two women in Austin, Texas, stabbing them to death. He was arrested, and stood trial. He never took the stand, and virtually the entire case rested on his confession. It was an open and shut case. He was found guilty and, according to Texas law, sentenced to death. He was sent to Huntsville Prison. When he first arrived, he alienated almost everyone. He got into fights, broke away from the guards and physically harmed himself just to get out of his cell. But one of the people who befriended him was the priest who ministered to the prisoners. He encouraged Jon to attend Mass. So he did. He went once. And then again. And then again. And he kept going back. Something just clicked. After several months, Jon Nobles was baptized. And his life after that changed. Jon Nobles became known for his kindness, looking out for other inmates, ministering to them, quoting the scriptures. He developed a deep devotion… Read More »The Amazing Story of Jon Wayne Nobles
The Amazing Story of Jon Wayne Nobles
By Leslie Kowalski How many times have you prayed for a specific request, need or for a certain outcome or resolution to a problem, but it seemed your prayers weren’t answered? Does God hear you? Is He ignoring your need or painful situation? There are several reasons that you might not be receiving the response you had hoped for: Trusting God’s timing: His timing is different from ours. We want what we want and it’s usually right now! That’s not how He works. Place your trust in Him. He is always working in the background on situations we may not know or see. He always answers prayers. Sometimes the answer is, “Wait” or “not yet”. “Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10 Another purpose: God may have a plan that will ultimately serve your spiritual growth or your good better than what you could have imagined. In this case, He is saying, “No, I have something better for you.” “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,… Read More »God…why don’t you answer my prayer?
God…why don’t you answer my prayer?
This eternal cry of man was asked by a young lady in my 8th grade Sunday School class. I gave the standard response of original sin and, in deference to the child, I threw in an analogy that Adam and Eve were “sent to their room” as a way to put it in perspective for an 8th grader. A couple of days later I awoke in the middle of the night with a better analogy. In the beginning Adam and Eve were with God from the beginning – and all was well. We all know the story of the fall; Adam should have been watching over Eve, Eve ate the apple, Adam ate the apple, etcetera. Enter a different God into the picture. A God Adam and Eve had not encountered before. A disappointed God, an angry God, a God whom they had betrayed. Now we know that God is all-knowing, all-good and all-powerful and He had to know this was coming. So, could God have simply wiped out the two troublemakers and started over?… Read More »If God is good; why evil?
If God is good; why evil?
Recently I was in jail to share the story of the Passion of Christ with the incarcerated and I mentioned how Jesus was left abandoned after He was betrayed by Judas. Every apostle – even Peter – walked away from Jesus when He needed them most. Indeed, not only did Peter abandon Him, but he even denied knowing Him. I then pointed out the irony that the only person to defend Jesus from the authorities after he was condemned was Judas (recall that Judas returned to the chief priests to recant his testimony against Jesus and to give back the thirty pieces of silver). And yet, Peter becomes a pillar of the church and Judas a pariah. How different would our history be had Judas returned to the Lord and said, “Lord I am so, so sorry…. have mercy on me”. Instead, we know that Judas – consumed with guilt and despair – hung himself. We have all denied Jesus, abandoned Jesus and even betrayed Jesus; this is why Good Friday and Holy Saturday are… Read More »Happy Easter
Happy Easter
Are You a Victim of Identity Theft? “And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.” Gen 2:19 (KJV) Here in the second chapter of Genesis we see the first time a person’s name is used in the Bible. Thus, in naming Adam, God claims authority over His creation and by allowing Adam to name the beasts and fowl they are put under his authority. But why is this important? It just seems to be one of those verses in the Bible that is often overlooked and not deeply contemplated or meditated upon. Juxtaposed between Adam’s loneliness in the previous passage and the creation of Eve (whom Adam also names) in the next, is this small, but important verse. So important, in fact, that it is one of the foundation stones of God’s law, and thus of the universe. Names… Read More »What’s in a name?
What’s in a name?
I am asked this a lot and, like any other ministry, if you have the demeanor for it, it is a phenomenal ministry. I remember the first time I went to jail, about twelve years ago. I was nervous, and completely out of my element because I’d never been in the jail before and although I’ve seen jails on television and in movies, it’s just not the same as the real thing. The deacon, the priest and I walked into the common room of the cell block and began setting up for mass. The priest with us that day was a retired priest named Father Joe who was preparing to celebrate Mass in the cell that day. Father Joe was wearing his alb (pronounced “all-buh” – a white robe worn by the priest during Mass) so you could not see his Roman collar. Soon, the prisoners began filing in one by one. The deacon and I shook each man’s hand and greeted them as they entered. I especially recall one inmate. He was dressed in… Read More »Tell Me About Prison Ministry