Below, is a blog post by our founder. We hope you are encouraged!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Whew. It has been a tough season. A season of being broken before the Lord. Did I say it has been tough?? The beauty of this season has been learning more about the faithful, wonderful, loving, kind, amazing, awesome, healing, providing God I serve. There have many moments where I felt like, "God, where are you?".... Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever felt like God has deserted you and left you for the wolves? It is a scary feeling. You ask yourself a ton of questions all wondering whether you did something wrong or if you are crazy to believe in God. Listen, some may say you are crazy because you have faith to believe in God. And, maybe you are! Yet, you are crazy enough to know that there is NOTHING this present life can offer you to fulfill the void you have in your life. We all have tried to make people or things our god and be god in our own lives. I miserably failed. And, I understand now it is because the void/longing we all have in our heart can only be filled by God, our Creator, our Father. Law school caused me to question everything I believed. And, I am SOO thankful. Like in school, as a student you find out how much you know and have retained by your test scores. What are your faith test scores saying about you? Do you only trust God when things are going your way?? Faith is the substance of things hoped for, evidence of things not seen. What are you believing God for? Philippians 1:6 is a constant motivator for someone like me, that strives for perfection. Yes, I know, no one is perfect. I am not perfect. You are not perfect. My friends are not perfect. My family is not perfect. I know. I, also know that as God has shown me more about life in this season, the struggles are all preparation. A while back, you could not have convinced me that I was in God's will. Why? I, also, had this notion that I missed God because I was suffering. WRONG! We miss God when we disobey Him. You may be in a tough season right now, but that does not mean you are outside the will of God. I know, I know- someone somewhere in some pulpit told you that you're only in the will of God if everything is going right. Next time you hear that, ask them for the scripture. Yes, God has promised us amazing blessings. He also made it clear that we would endure suffering. Let's think for a minute. Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He suffered. Was it outside the will of God? I THINK NOT!!!! He was right dab smack in it. He was beaten. He was lied on. He was lied to. He was betrayed. All while in the perfect will of God. In the wilderness of your Christian walk, you are being prepared. The bigger question is: Will you survive? Not just survive physically, but spiritually. Will you trust God when the tears are flowing down your eyes profusely? Will you trust Him when chaos seems to overtake every area of your life? Will you trust Him to be God in every area, every situation, every inch of your heart. I know there is a part of you that does not want to suffer. I get that. I do. Yet, I also have learned avoiding pain and suffering only places me in a place of disobedience to God. Not only do I miss God but I also have to go through the process later. My friend, He is with and for you. Though you cannot comprehend or explain it all, you have to have faith in the King of Kings. He loves you. He allowed His Son to suffer an excruciating and painful death to save your soul. Will you survive in faith? Will you allow Him to prepare you? I am praying your strength. I know how it feels to be prepared for the great work of the Lord. praying for you always, cph
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AP Friends- Prayer is VITAL to our Christian walk. Prayer is conversation with God. Very soon,we will release our FIRST prayercast. Prayercasts are our way of praying with you every week. We all have hectic schedules yet we know there is POWER in prayer. Each week, Always Praying will release a prayercast filled with God's word, love and encouragement. Join our mailing list to have it sent every Sunday. Prayer is powerful. James 5:16 says, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."
As 2013 comes to an end and you begin to prepare for 2014, let us remember some of the powers/benefits that we can experience during prayer: 1. There is hope in prayer. For some of you, 2013 has been a very long year- filled with more downs than ups. It may seem like you are living day to day with little optimism for the future. There is hope in prayer. Jesus is our hope. Don’t let another second go by allowing defeat to consume you. You are the child of the Most High God, the One who created the Universe, and the One who sent His son to die for our sins. There is hope! There is hope for you and your current circumstances. Go to God in prayer and make a decision that you will live a life of hope and not defeat. "In your distress you called and I rescued you, I answered you out of a thundercloud..." -Psalm 81:7 2. There is healing in prayer. This year may have been filled with emotional, mental or physical sickness yet God is still in the healing business. He is the Healer! He wants to heal your body, your mind and your emotions. God desires for us to whole and free from the sicknesses and wounds that have held us back. If you are experiencing physical sickness, please use wisdom, see a doctor, and follow their instructions. God can heal you supernaturally, through medicine or even a medical procedure. Always pray and trust God that His spirit will lead the doctors and nurses you work with. If you are experiencing mental or emotional wounds or sickness, please don’t keep it to yourself, get help. Find a trusted advisor or pastor or family member or friend. It is wise to get help and you should consider professional Christian counseling. Professional Christian counseling is great way to begin the healing process and be encouraged through scripture for the issues that have affected you. "I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you." -2 Kings 20:5 "They will turn to the Lord, and He will respond to their pleas and heal them." -Isaiah 19:22 3. There is freedom in prayer. One of the greatest acts that Jesus did for us was to die on the cross for our sins. He did not have to take the burden for our shortcomings yet He did. Praise Jesus. In prayer, we have time to take our sins to God and walk away free and clean of the sin (1 John 1:9). This does not mean that consequences from our sin will necessarily be erased but it does mean that once we repent, God remembers our sins no more (Psalm 103:12). "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who DAILY BEARS OUR BURDENS. Our God is a God who saves." -Psalm 68:19-20 4. There is wisdom in prayer. In James Chapter 1, it says that if any man lacks wisdom to ask of God. Are you in need of wisdom for your next steps? Is there uncertainty about what you should do? Well, the answer is prayer. Seek God. "Ask the Lord your God for a sign..." -Isaiah 7:10 “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” –Jeremiah 33:3 5. There is peace in prayer. Often times we walk around in life filled with worries and cares. There is no need to when you serve Jesus Christ. He cares for you and wants you to live in peace. No matter what the burden is, whether is something you directly caused or some tragedy that came out of nowhere, Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He wants to give you peace and comfort, talk with Him. "Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you." -1 Peter 5:7 6. We encounter the presence of God in prayer. Often times people pray when they need something from God, which is okay. God wants us to come to Him when we need things yet let’s not forget that we can pray to Him to just enjoy His presence and greatness. Let’s bask in His presence. We have fellowship with the Creator of all things. He wants to fellowship with you! Enter the New Year with godly boldness and confidence knowing the God hears your prayers. “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” 1 John 5:14-15 Here, we will periodically post blogs to help encourage you in your daily walk with God.
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Welcome!Here young adults share their struggles and victories to encourage you on your Christian journey. You are never alone! God is with and for you and we always praying for you! Archives
November 2017
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