Hi everyone! Praying that your day goes well! As I reflect on the demands of my day, to prepare for our trip and to get the house ready for Alden and Jamie, God reminded me of Jesus’ busy schedule early on in his public ministry. As recorded in Mark 1 & 2, the gospel begins with the record of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, followed by John the Baptist’s imprisonment and Jesus’ calling his disciples. It also records his early ministry around the sea of Galilee, in Capernaum where Jesus taught in the synagogue and his popularity grew to enormous proportions. Remember what took place in the home of Simon Peter and his brother Andrew? James and John, the sons of Zebedee were there as well, as was also Simon Peter’s mother-in-law, sick in bed with a fever. This reference by John Mark, who collaborated with Simon Peter, validates the fact that Simon Peter was married, and that Simon Peter’s brother Andrew, Simon’s wife and mother-in-law lived with them. Knowing that Simon Peter was willing to leave his family to follow Jesus would seem rather foolish or irresponsible, but I think that it also speaks volumes to the devotion that he had towards Jesus. You know the rest of the story: Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law, she feeds them and then the whole village comes with the sick and Jesus probably spends the rest of the evening and later hours in the night healing those who were sick. Obviously, a great miracle of healing took place and Jesus could have slept in. Who would have faulted Him? But our Lord does what he habitually does every morning(as recorded in Mark 1:35) “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” He probably only got a few hours sleep but the Father compelled His Son to spend time together, perhaps to go over the events of the previous day and to remind His Son: “Son, all your life, if you let people impose their agenda on you, you will do many good things, wonderful things, you will develop a good reputation and people will like you, invite you to parties, have a good time, make lots of friends and be popular. HOWEVER, remember why you were sent, why you left heaven’s glory to live among men. Sure enough, when Simon Peter discovered Jesus gone from his house, he went looking and found Jesus alone praying. "Everyone is looking for you!" We have your daily schedule mapped out for the next several months and we think that we should also go to the big city of Jerusalem next year and really wow the crowds! What do you think, Jesus? Are you up for this? And because Jesus spent time in prayer, reflection and recommitment to the will of the Father, in verse 38, Mark records Jesus’ reply: "Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." May we also listen to the Father and hear His heart.
Our church has a great opportunity this summer with Pastor Ken and Gail and our four summer interns and we can be busy doing lots of activities. However, we should regularly go to the Father for His instructions and be about the “Father’s business”. One of the most neglected and most difficult ministry we have at Kinoole is the ministry of prayer. Why? Because the results is totally left up to God’s timetable and not man’s. It requires faith, not in the visible, but in the invisible work of the Holy Spirit. It also requires humility and diligence because as James, the stepbrother of Jesus reminds us in James 4:2-3: “You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." But Jesus also declares His church shall be a house of prayer. I have commissioned Wally Dyer and Didi Sabate to continue praying on Thursday afternoons from 1PM-2PM, not a time of convenience or something with great fanfare BUT essential to the spiritual health and vitality of Kinoole Baptist Church. I am committed to pray for one hour each week for our church; please, will you do the same? Have a good day, everyone!