|
It's never too early to pray
by Greg Miller By Greg Miller A band of angels appeared in the heavens to proclaim the soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ. The angels delivered their important message to pastors of groups of Christian believers everywhere. Pastor Mitch, a small-town pastor in America rejoiced in the angels news. Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus, he prayed. Pastor Mick, who led a congregation in Europe, realized the responsibility that came with the message. Dear Lord, please help our church to work even harder to proclaim the gospel, Pastor Mick prayed. Pastor Mitch and Pastor Mick were close friends. The ministers had met many years earlier when Pastor Mick was attending seminary in the United States. Pastor Mitch called Pastor Mick on the telephone to talk to him about the angels message. Im so excited!, exclaimed Pastor Mitch. I cant wait for the Lord to return! Amen, Brother, echoed Pastor Mick. I believe the return of Christ is very imminent. During the course of the conversation, the two pastors decided to begin a program that would help members of their congregations become more acquainted with each other. The pastors said they would choose a family from Pastor Micks church to visit a family in Pastor Mitchs church. After a week in America, the host American family would visit their European visitors. The visits would be one week long. Pastor Mitchs wife, Michelle, coordinated the arrangements for the trip. Her responsibilities included purchasing plane tickets, scheduling appointments for the shots necessary to travel abroad and publicity of the event through local media outlets. Within a few short weeks, all of the money needed for the traveling expenses had been raised. As a result of the PR campaign, the entire community became aware of the project. Another minister in Pastor Mitchs community, Pastor Monty, was so enthused about the project that he encouraged his congregations deacons to embark on a similar project. Pastor Monty called Pastor Mitch to tell him that the congregation was going to conduct a similar project with a church in Africa. Thats wonderful news, Brother, said Pastor Mitch. Let me assure you that our congregation will be praying that your churchs mission will be successful. One of the reasons I called was to let you know that our church will be praying for your upcoming project, said Pastor Monty. Since we wont be going on the trip with you, I just wanted you to know that we will be lifting you to Gods throne in prayer. Thanks for your prayers, said Pastor Mitch. I want to tell you that were going to begin praying for your project right away. One of the most important things Ive learned in my years of ministry is that any time youre planning to do something for the Lord, its never too early to begin asking God for His help in accomplishing your goal! To contact the writer of this column about speaking engagements and/or puppet ministry, please e-mail [email protected]. By Greg Miller 2018 Greg is retired from the Elizabethton STAR Newspaper, after working there for almost 23 years. He now freelances for the paper. Contact email address is [email protected], also facebook.com/kidcool4jesus. Available for speaking engagements/other ministries. Jesus is Lord Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |