How many ways to heaven are there?

But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.  And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.  More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that He raised Christ from the dead.  But He did not raise Him if in fact the dead are not raised.  For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.  And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.  Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.  If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. --1 Corinthians 15:12-19

We have raised an American generation that worships at the altar of Tolerance. We have taught our children to respect other cultures, even their religions.  We have asked them to turn a blind eye to pagan rituals, Muslim jihad, and militant atheism.  As a result, we do not speak out against astrology, fortune telling, or mysticism; we make excuses for middle-eastern immigrants bent on the destruction of the Christian way of life; and we have allowed our government to become antagonistic toward Christianity, outlawing public prayer and display of Bible verses on public (and even private companies engaged in public commerce) property.

The over-riding theology of today is this: All roads lead home.

Those who did not grow up in the church ask our children, "How can you be sure you are right?"  Those who have grown up in the church, but who are not rooted in Christian scripture, accept the arguments that:

• The world came into existence through a "big bang", and all life on Earth has evolved to its current form, thus nullifying the concept of Creation by a Powerful God;
• Human beings are basically "good", thus contradicting the concept of Original Sin and its aftermath;
• Humans can do enough good in life, or make up for their mistakes, so that eternal punishment isn't necessary or worthy of thought, thus making Christ's sacrificial death unnecessary, nullifying God's great act of Grace;
• Jesus was a good man, and perhaps a great teacher, on par with other great religious leaders like Mohammed, Ghandi, or Joseph Smith, thus making Jesus a liar when He said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by Me."
• Everybody on Earth, no matter what they believe or don't believe, will end up in Heaven, because a loving God would not condemn three-fourths of all humans to an actual Hell, thus making God a liar when He promised a final Judgment Day, a "separation of the sheep and the goats," as Jesus said.

To be fair, this is not a new concept.  When my late father started guest preaching in 1970 as he was training to become a full time pastor, I remember him summarizing the then-current theological culture in this way: "It doesn't matter what you believe, as long as you are sincere.  That is a lie from Satan himself."

This morning I heard a powerful sermon on Luke 22:44.  Jesus was in fear of His life--perhaps the first time in His entire existence that He felt fear.  He begged the Father three times to spare His life, to find another way of redemption so that Jesus would not have to suffer.  Knowing beforehand the circumstances--the arrest, the mock trial, the people slapping Him, beating Him, and mashing a crown of thorns into His head, before being forced to carry His own cross up a hill so that He could have His hands and feet nailed to that cross and left to die--knowing all this, He literally sweat blood thinking about it, begging His Father to let Him avoid it.  Luke, a physician, described the medical condition called Hematidrosis, which can be caused by extreme stress. Jesus took that fear to his Father, and the Father said no.  Even after Jesus had prayed about it three times. 

The preacher went on to say this: If Jesus is not the only way for us to have fellowship with the Father, then we should have no respect for God.  If the whole Crucifixion story was for show, and it was not absolutely necessary for Jesus to die to take away my sins, then that was an awful lot of drama for nothing.  Any parent who would allow that much drama to go on in their child's life without any meaning is a parent that does not deserve respect at all.

When we ponder that, we really have to reassess what we think about God.  If we trust God to be all-powerful, and all-knowing, then we must conclude that the death and subsequent resurrection of Jesus was the only way to set things right between God and man.  There was no other way.  On the other hand, if we truly believe that all roads lead to heaven, then we do not believe in God at all.  Jesus was just a man, and the stories of the miracles He performed are the stuff of myth and legend.  And, as Paul said in the quote above, "we, above all men, are to be pitied."  Jesus died for a cause without eternal implications, like someone who would die for global warming, or to stop the death penalty.  The Apostles, who all died as martyrs, each gave his life for a lie.

My friends, I believe that Jesus is the only salvation we have.  I believe that if you reject Him in this life, He will reject you in the next.  And I believe that time is running out.  In the 13th chapter of Luke, Jesus told this parable:

A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any.  So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, "For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?"  The man replied, "Sir, leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine!  If not, then cut it down."  (Luke 13:6-9)

The one who cares for a vineyard is called a husbandman.  The Church is called "the bride of Christ".  Heaven is often referred to as the Marriage Supper of The Lamb.  So the Husband of the Church, the Son of God, is interceding with the Father for your soul.  He is digging up weeds, putting out fertilizer, and providing water.  If you do not respond and bear fruit, you will be cut down and thrown into the fire.  I urge you, Friend, to respond to Him; give Him your life, and let Him produce fruit in you.  Without Him, you are fruitless, and God may remove you from this earth to make room for others who might be more receptive to Him.

God stands ready to forgive.  His rejecting the plea of His Son was the ultimate act of grace for you and me. He is a God of love, a God of grace, a God of mercy.  No matter what we have done, it will not separate us from His love.  But if we reject the sacrificial death of His Son for our sins, as the one and only salvation for us, then we will spend eternity separated from Him.  God will use all means possible to woo us into His presence.  But the choice is ultimately ours.  Choose Him!

All means all

And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

Had communion at church this morning.  It was a very worshipful time.  The Worship Leader told this story:

Last weekend was Mother's day, and I had the pleasure of taking my wife (the mother of my two children), my mother, my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law, and my kids out to a nice restaurant.  It was a very nice restaurant.  Now, being a preparing type of person, I looked up the restaurant on-line before making plans to go.  I was able to see this very nice restaurant beforehand, and view their menu.  The prices were very nice, as well.

Because I had looked at the prices beforehand, I was able to tell them to get anything they wanted.  I wasn't worried--I didn't think, "Oh, I hope they don't order THAT."  I had come prepared.  And believe me, the ladies did just that--they ordered EVERYTHING they wanted.  I didn't wince, or grimace; I just smiled, because I was prepared to pay the bill.

That's the way Jesus was at the Last Supper.  He sat His disciples down, and He let them know that He was sufficient for ALL their needs.  He extends the same grace to us today.  Do you need some more encouragement?  He is sufficient.  Do you need an extra helping of grace? Christ is sufficient.  There is no need that we have that He cannot fulfill.  For as often as we need Him, he is always there for us, prepared to meet our needs.

This story reminded me of a passage in Luke 12 that I had read this week.  I honestly had never seen it before.  Luke 12:35-38 says this:

Be dressed and ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes.  I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them.  It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night.

Jesus put those words into action just before the Last Supper.  John 13:1-5 says, "It was just before the Passover Feast.  Jesus knew that the time had come for Him to leave this world and go to the Father.  Having loved His own who were in the world, He now showed them the full extent of His love. The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus.  Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God, and was returning to God.  So He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist.  After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him."

This is a powerful story of Servant-Leadership, and is used as an example for the disciples (and us) to serve one another in love.  But according to Luke 12:37, Jesus wants to serve us all in that same way--He will leave the table (even where He is the guest of honor), roll up his sleeves and put on an apron, meet us where we are, and attend to our needs.

The Worship Leader at church this morning told another story about God's grace, and His ability to meet all of our needs.  When God called Moses to lead His people out of slavery and bondage, Moses was hesitant.

Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is His Name?'  Then what shall I tell them?"  God said to Moses: "I AM WHO I AM.  This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' " --Exodus 3:13-14

God's answer was not limited.  If He had said, "I am Jehovah-Jireh", the Lord Our Provider, then the people would have sought Him for provision.  If He had said, "I am Jehovah-Rapha", the Lord Your Healer, then the people would have sought Him for health and well-being.  If He had said, "I am Jehovah-Sabaoth", the Lord Our Protector, then the people would have sought Him for protection from their enemies.  But God didn't say any of those things, because He is all of those things.  God said "I AM", and that identity allows, and even invites, us to seek Him for all our needs, in every situation.

What are you in need of today?  Do you need forgiveness and salvation, to restore fellowship with Him? He is able to meet that need for you.  Do you need love and acceptance? He is willing to meet that need in your life.  Do you need peace or joy, patience or kindness, faithfulness or self-control? These are the gifts of the Spirit, which are given to all freely, without cost, because Jesus Himself bore on Himself the cost of our Redemption.  All we need to do is to pray, believing.

"Is any among you in trouble?  He should pray.  Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.  Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up.  If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.  Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."  --James 5:13-16

Just before the worship leader asked us to drink the cup in this morning's Communion service, he asked us to hold our cups over our heads.  He said that simple act symbolized our entire congregation, and each individual, being under the Blood of Jesus.  The Blood that washes us white as snow.  The Blood that covers us so that, when we stand before God at the Final Judgment, He will not see our sin.  The Blood without which there is no forgiveness of sin.  As the Senior Pastor said later in the service, what we call our needs (food, shelter, clothing, health, happiness) are important, but Jesus, and his blood sacrifice, are essential.  He knows what we need before we ask; He knows our needs better than we do ourselves; and He is sufficient to meet all our needs.

The Lord God is my Shepherd,
And I shall want no more.
Green pastures and still waters,
They will my soul restore. 

If I walk through Death’s shadow
No evil will I fear
For Thou, O Lord, are with me,
Thy rod and staff are near. 

A table’s set before me,
Before my jealous foes.
With oil my head’s anointed;
My cup now overflows. 

Follow me with Thy goodness
And mercy all my days,
And I shall live forever
Within Thy house of praise.

A Mother's Day card

In the spring of 1964, Sonny and Joy were just about done with the cold Colorado winters.  They both longed for the warmth, both of sunshine and from family, in the Hill Country of Texas.  They decided to sell their house and move.  Sonny left for Austin early, so he could find a job and a place for his young family to live.  Joy stayed in Denver, packing up boxes and overseeing the moving company to make sure they didn't scratch the furniture while they loaded it onto the truck.

Finally, she put two year old Rusty in the back seat of their 1961 Corvair, and started the long trip home.  She thought fondly of their time in Denver:  Sonny had moved up here first, and had called her to come up and marry him four years earlier.  Rusty had been born here.  But there were too many times they'd had to hook up a 100 watt light bulb to an extension cord and leave it lit under the hood of the car near the carburetor, so that the fuel line wouldn't freeze.  And there were more times than she could count when the young couple had been so homesick that they would get in the car after work on Friday night and drive 18 hours to central Texas, just to sleep a few hours at her mom's or his sister's house, then drive the 18 hours back late Sunday night.

That Memorial Day weekend, she would follow the moving van on the long trek southeast.  She wondered how long the truck would go before stopping for fuel.  She wondered whether she should pass the truck and get to Austin faster.  How fun it would be to walk into the U-Totem convenience store where Sonny worked, and surprise him.  No, she couldn't do that--all of their furniture and clothes were in that truck.  All she could do was sit there and fight the tedious fight, watch the monotony of the broken yellow stripe that coursed down the two-lane state highway.

Suddenly, she awoke with a start.  She had dozed off.  The truck had slowed in front of her, and she was going way too fast!  Glancing over her shoulder at her son sleeping in the back seat, she bit her lower lip and slammed on the brakes and cut the wheel too sharply.  Then the world began spinning.

The truck driver noticed the wreck in his side mirror.  The car rolled--three, four, five times before he could pull the rig over and get out.  Assessing the situation, he saw pieces of the car strewn all along the highway.  The engine was several yards away from the mangled body of the car.  The young woman was struggling with her seat belt, beating her shoulder against the car door.  By the time she got out, she was sobbing, crying, screaming, "My baby! My baby."  The driver held her back, knowing that no toddler could have survived a crash like this.  He looked again and saw the small, oil-covered body lying motionless six feet from the engine.

A fire truck showed up, then an ambulance.  In hushed tones, the drivers had a discussion about which small town to take them to: Dumas, which was a little closer, or Dalhart, which was bigger.  They finally decided on Dumas.  Joy, who had a splint on her broken left arm, began to ask why they were going to Dumas.  She had just driven through there, and there was nothing in that tiny little town.  They couldn't go back--they needed to go forward, further on toward Austin, where her husband was.  The paramedic soothed her, told her they would call her husband as soon as they got there.

Sonny got the call, and immediately called his mother-in-law.  The two of them chartered a flight from Johnson City to an airstrip near Dumas.  When he arrived at the hospital, he found a brand new children's wing that had just opened about two weeks before.  But the news was grim: Mr. Stewart, your wife is going to be okay, but there's no hope for your son.  He checked on his wife, then ran to the children's ward to find his son.  He sank to his knees and prayed.

Many people started praying for that young family.  A church in Denver.  A congregation in Blanco, Texas.  Family members on both sides.  Prayers held that family together during the nine days that Rusty was in a coma.  Prayers were lifted up during the months of therapy that followed--physical therapy, speech therapy, re-learning what most three-year-olds already knew.  Joy's broken arm mended, and her lacerated lip healed.  But what really took root during that time was a deep, abiding faith.  She would become a pastor's wife--something she had never thought she would ever want.  She didn't know how to be a hostess, but she ended up hosting countless parties at the church and parsonage. She didn't know how to pray, but the prayers of so many friends and strangers during that trying time encouraged her to become a powerful prayer warrior to this day.

That young mother became the fulfillment of Romans 12:9-13:

Love must be sincere.  Hate what is evil, cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.  Honor one another above yourselves.  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

This message is all about that woman, because she is my mother.  I am the one who was sleeping in the back seat of the car that day 49 years ago, but she is the one who struggled to get to me.  My father, who passed away last year, got there as soon as he could.  But it was my mom who stroked my head and sang softly over me in the hospital bed.  And it was her mom who suggested that they put liquid Jell-O in a baby bottle to feed me while I was in the coma, because she heard me moaning and "just figured he must have been hungry."

It was my mom that learned to tie her shoes one-handed while her arm was in the cast.  It was my mom that was so patient with me as I was growing up.  It was my mom that I learned to take my problems to--while Dad would try to "fix it", Mom would listen and understand.  It is my mom who lifts me up to the Father daily, and prays me through every valley with hope, every mountain with humility, and every plateau with encouragement.  It is my mom who smiles so much, people call her "Susie Sunshine."

Happy Mother's Day.

Find your faith and your friends to face the impossible

Everything is possible for him who believes. --Mark 9:23

Have you ever been in an impossible situation?  There are times when mentally we cannot comprehend a solution to a problem; emotionally we cannot see any way out; physically there is no possible way for something to happen.  Sure, we have read about miracles in the Bible, but those are just stories, right?  We may have heard about miracles happening to some missionary overseas, but those things just don't happen in my neighborhood, and especially not to me.

Sure, we tell our kids to "Fully Rely On God (F.R.O.G.)" and give them t-shirts and bible covers with pictures of frogs on them to help them remember.  But most of the time we are like the church in Jerusalem described in Acts chapter 12.  The Apostle Peter had been arrested and put into prison by Herod Agripa I, king of Judea.  "So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him." (Acts 12:5)  Peter was miraculously freed from prison in the middle of the night.  He went to the house of Mary, John-Mark's mother, where many of the people were praying.  He knocked on the door, and a servant girl named Rhoda answered.  She was so astonished that she shut the door in Peter's face and ran back to tell the others in the house.  They all scoffed at her!  " 'You're out of your mind,' they told her.  When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, 'It must be his angel.' " (Acts 12:15)  These were some weak-faithed Christians: they had been praying for Peter, and when Peter came to the house, they didn't believe it was him; in fact, they rationalized their unbelief, thinking that the servant girl Rhoda must be crazy, or that she had seen an angel.  "But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished." (Acts 12:16)

These were people who had seen first-hand the power of the Roman government, the ruthlessness of King Herod, and the impenetrable walls of the prison where Peter had been chained between two Roman soldiers.  They had seen several of the Apostles killed, martyred at the hands of the Roman government.  So their faith in Rome and the evil that they saw every day was real; their faith in God was theoretical.  How much like them are we today? We read the Bible and think in terms of hypothetical situations.  We ask, "What if that happened today? Could it really happen the same way?"  Undoubtedly, that was what many in the early church thought of when they read the Old Testament accounts of the Prophets.  Many in the church might have been Gentiles, who grew up hearing of the Greek or Roman gods.  But since this was the church in Jerusalem, I daresay most of the members had grown up hearing of the one true God, with stories of Noah, Moses, and Daniel.

We all know Daniel--if we grew up in the church, we all learned stories of this bold man of faith who prayed to God even when it was against the law to pray.  As a result, he was thrown into the lion's den.  Yet the lions did not devour him, as the Babylonians had intended.  Daniel spent the night with the lions, and in the morning, when King Darius came to check on him, Daniel preached this gospel to him: "My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions.  They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in His sight.  Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king." (Daniel 6:22)

Like the Jewish Christians in the early church, we have also heard of Daniel's friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and  Azariah.  We might know them better by their Persian names: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  These men of faith refused to bow before a statue in the image of King Nebuchadnezzar.  As a result, these men were arrested and thrown into the fiery furnace.  The heat from this furnace was so great that the Babylonian soldiers--the ones that were ordered to put Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah into the fiery furnace--these soldiers were themselves overcome by the heat from the furnace and they died.  But when King Nebuchadnezzar looked into the furnace, he was amazed at what he saw.  "He said, 'Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a Son of God." (Daniel 3:25).

The early church had heard of these great heroes of the faith.  But like us, they had not personalized the story.  They did not realize or comprehend that the same God who had rescued Daniel could rescue Peter, as well.  They did not understand or put into practice the fact that the same God who rescued Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah from the flames could also rescue themselves from the Roman persecution.

So this we know as background.  What do we know about these four Old Testament heroes?  They lived in Jerusalem during the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah.  When Jerusalem was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar's army, the city fell.  Those Jews still living in Jerusalem were taken into exile, meaning that they were captured and re-located to Babylonia.  Many were sold as slaves.  But a select few were taken into service in the king's palace.  These were "young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace.  He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians." (Daniel 1:4).  Once trained, these exiles, which included Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, became known as "the wise men of Babylon."  They joined the wise men from Babylon, as well as exiles from other conquered lands.  This was one of the ways that Nebuchadnezzar could control the enslaved exiles--by elevating some nobility from each conquered country to a position in Babylonian nobility, thus assimilating them into Babylonian culture.

But these four young men from Jerusalem did not fully assimilate.  They held to their faith in the God of their fathers.  They continued to pray to God, and not bow down to idols.  They even kept to the strict Jewish dietary laws.  They were offered meat and wine from the king's table; but since it was not Kosher, they instead became vegetarians, and only drank water.  It is fascinating how they went their own way, but were still accepted into the noble class and were counted among the wise men.

Now comes the impossible part.  King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream.  It troubled him, because he knew that it was significant, but he did not know what it meant.  He called in some of his wise men, and asked them to interpret the dream for him.  Not only that, but he asked them to first tell him what the dream was, and then tell him what it meant.  The wise men asked him, begged him to tell them the dream, so that they could interpret it for him.  But he refused.  I have heard some preachers interpret this to mean that Nebuchadnezzar had forgotten what the dream was.  Scripture does not say this, however.  It could be that Nebuchadnezzar wanted to test his wise men to see how wise and how spiritual they really were.  Did they have access to the gods?  Was their wisdom limited to facts, or did it extend to faith?

The wise men answered that what the king had asked was impossible.  They could no more read the king's mind than they could read the hand-writing on the wall (also found in the book of Daniel, in chapter five--this is where we get the expression, "The writing on the wall", as in, "He didn't see the writing on the wall", meaning he could not foresee what was going to happen to him.)  Nebuchadnezzar would not be swayed.  He threatened to kill not only those few wise men in his courts on that day, but all of the wise men.  The stakes were that high.  And the wise men failed.  So the king decided to exterminate them all, and start over. He issued a decree that all the wise men should be gathered up and executed.  This included Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

When the arresting officers came to arrest Daniel, Daniel tactfully asked why the king's decree was so harsh. When he learned the impossible situation, Daniel went before the king and asked for some time to discern what the king had asked for.  He then did three very important things, things that the early Christians in Jerusalem should have done, and things that we should do today.

He acted in faith
Daniel knew that the God he served was mighty to save, and that nothing was impossible with God.  Centuries before Jesus spoke those words to the disciples in Matthew 19, when they saw the rich young ruler rebuffed by Christ and asked, "Lord, who then can be saved?", Daniel knew the truth in the statement, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26).

When the Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus that they should put on the whole armor of God, what was the first metaphor he used? "Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist." (Ephesians 6:14a).  What did he mean? To prepare for spiritual battle, the first thing to do is to securely fasten your faith.  Affirm what you know to be true: Our God is mighty to save; He is righteous and true; He is merciful to those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.  Daniel recognized that he had been called by God according to His purpose, and that He was able to deliver him.

Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."  Daniel's faith was being severely tested--if he did not find the secret to the king's dream, and the interpretation of it, he and his friends would be killed.  How many of us could face down the impossible in the face of death?  Yet we place our faith in God for salvation of our souls from hell, a fate worse than death. The surety of our faith is Christ Jesus, who died in our place.  The certainty of salvation is founded in the sacrificial blood of Christ.  Most of us do not realize this now, but one day we will know the power of God for salvation, and what forgiveness of sins really means.

He asked his friends to intercede for him
"Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.  He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of Heaven concerning the mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon." (Daniel 2:17-18)  I wish that I had these three men of faith in my accountability group!  Remember, these friends of Daniel would later walk through fire and not be burned.  But before that could happen, they needed to be prayed up in order to escape death by the sword.

We were never meant to fight our battles alone.  Hebrews 10:25 says, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more, as you see the Day approaching."  Jesus said, "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in Heaven.  For where two or three come together in my name, there am I  with them." (Matthew 18:19-20).  There is a story of a church that met together in west Texas to pray for rain.  But only one little girl brought an umbrella with her.  Like the church in Jerusalem who was surprised that Peter came knocking on their door, we often go through the motions when we pray.  But God has promised to act on our behalf if we truly believe.  If we have the faith to go to the Father with a request, we should also be bold enough to ask our Christian friends to intercede with us.

Remember what Jesus told Peter when he had affirmed the deity of Jesus? "I tell you that you are Peter (the Rock), and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it."  The church is a powerful resource for prayer and supplication.  In Ephesians 6, Paul exhorted the church to "Pray in the Spirit on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." (Ephesians 6:18)  Intercessory prayer, that is prayer on behalf of others, is one type of prayer that Paul was talking about.  And Daniel asked that his friends would intercede for him.

He prayed believing
"During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision." (Daniel 2:19)  I don't believe this was a dream that Daniel had while he was sleeping.  He was praying for his very life, knowing that if he did not receive the answer from God, he would be killed in the morning.  I believe his vision came to him while he was actively praying to God.  I don't know how long it took, but I believe Daniel persevered until the answer came.

The night before Jesus' crucifixion, He asked his closest friends to intercede for Him.  Peter, James and John were led into the Garden, away from the others.  Jesus asked them to watch and pray.  They fell asleep.  Jesus came and found them sleeping, and asked, "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" (Matthew 26:40)  Then He gave them this word of encouragement: "Watch and pray, so that you will not fall into temptation.  The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." (Matthew 26:41)  Jesus knows us; He was there when we were created.  Prayer, like any physical exercise, needs to be practiced to build up strength and endurance. Often we feel like we have been praying for hours when we have only been praying a few minutes.  But men of faith are known to often pray for hours on end.

The story is told of George Mueller, a great man of faith.  He ran an orphanage in Germany.  One morning, the housemother told him, "The children are ready and dressed for school.  But there is no food for them to eat." George asked her to take the 300 children into the dining room and have them sit at the tables. He thanked God for the food and waited. George knew God would provide food for the children as he always did. Within minutes, a baker knocked on the door. "Mr. Mueller," he said, "last night I could not sleep. Somehow I knew that you would need bread this morning. I got up and baked three batches for you. I will bring it in."  Soon, there was another knock at the door. It was the milkman. His cart had broken down in front of the orphanage. The milk would spoil by the time the wheel was fixed. He asked George if he could use some free milk. George smiled as the milkman brought in ten large cans of milk. It was just enough for the 300 thirsty children.

Once the vision revealed to Daniel what king Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed, and what it meant, Daniel praised God, and said:

Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are His.  He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them.  He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.  I thank and praise You, O God of my fathers: You have given me wisdom and power, You have made known to me what we asked of You, You have made known to us the dream of the king. --Daniel 2:20-23

In this prayer of praise, we see Daniel's faith--he reaffirmed what he knew about God (wisdom and power are His...He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things.")  We see his including his friends in intercession, acknowledging that he was not alone ("what WE asked of You, You have made known to US the dream of the king.")  And we see that he prayed until he received the answer ("You have made known to me what we ASKED of You.")

The next time you are faced with an impossible situation, act in faith, ask your friends to join in, and y'all pray, believing.  When the circle is complete--that is, when the acting in faith meets the praying and believing--you can move mountains.

Everyone needs compassion 
A love that's never failing
Let mercy fall on me

Everyone needs forgiveness 
The kindness of a Savior
The hope of nations

(Chorus:)
Savior
He can move the mountains 
My God is mighty to save 
He is mighty to save
Forever 
Author of Salvation 
He rose & conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave

So take me as You find me
All my fears & failures
Fill my life again

I give my life to follow
Everything I believe in
Now I surrender (I surrender)

(Chorus:) (2x)
Savior
He can move the mountains 
My God is mighty to save 
He is mighty to save
Forever 
Author of Salvation 
He rose & conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave

(Bridge:) (2x)
Shine Your light &
Let the whole world see
We're singing
For the glory 
Of the risen King
Jesus

(Chorus)
You're the Savior
You can move the mountains 
Lord You are mighty to save 
You are mighty to save
Forever 
Author of Salvation 
You rose & conquered the grave
Yes You conquered the grave