Thy Rod & Thy Staff
Nondenominational Church
A place to serve, not sit.
What We Do
Church Purpose
Our purpose at our Bible base church is to get people to be like Christ and turn from that which is contrary to Him. We would like very much to lead others to make Christ the foundation of their lives. We would like to show Jesus as a faithful friend, a loyal companion, as someone who will stand by our side when no one else will.
As a body of Bible based Christian believers, we see our whole purpose as doing the will of God so that His Spirit might be manifested in our midst. With His hand we hope to convince others that Christ is our Lord and Savior. We want to show that if we trust in Him, He will very clearly show us that He is who He claims to be.– a Provider who can supply whatever we need whenever we need it under any and all circumstances, a Physician with no limitations in His healing power, a Counselor with infinite understanding and wisdom. We would very much like to reflect Christ in our midst as the Good Shepherd (Psalms 23 and John 10:1:18), as the one and only way to God, our Father in heaven.
Consequently, our Bible based churches goal is to get others to see the love of God and act accordingly. Undoubtedly God wants us to do His will but He wants it to be done out of love. God wants us to serve Him not because we have too but because we want too. God wants us to serve Him because we see Him as He is. He wants us to do His will because we see that doing His will is for out good. This is the purpose of our church and the platform on which it stands. We want to weld together a body of believers who love Jesus Christ so much that they want to be just like Him.
What Jesus Did
‘Repeated Pleadings!’ – Mark 14:39
[After Jesus found Peter, James, and John sleeping rather than praying, he] left them again and prayed the same prayer as before.
Key Thought
So often we find ourselves praying the same prayer several times. Is doing so wrong? Should we keep on praying? How often is too often to pray the same prayer? These are legitimate questions. We do know several things for certain:
- Even though Jesus requested God to let the coming crisis of the cross be lifted from him, God did not grant his request. Jesus asked that God’s will be done and not his own. We are told that Jesus’ prayer was heard, [1] which is a reminder that God can hear us and answer “No” to our prayer. He may have other and bigger plans for us if we are willing to submit ourselves to his will.
- Jesus prayed for deliverance three times while submitting himself to the will of God. [2] Paul also prayed three times for his thorn in the flesh to be removed as well. [3] So I believe that we should seek the LORD repeatedly about issues. In fact, Jesus encourages us to keep on praying and not lose heart, [4] suggesting that three times is not a biblical limit on repeated prayers. Yet, it is crucial that we are willing to leave things in God’s hands to answer in the way that glorifies him.
- Since Jesus faced such desperate trials, we can be assured that we can go to the Father through him and know that we are heard — that not just our words are heard, but also the unspeakable emotions of our hearts. [5]
[2] Matthew 26:44.
[3] 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.
[4] Luke 18:1-8.
[5] Romans 8:26-27.
Today’s Prayer
Father, please hear the prayer of my heart. I want to ask you to please … (add your own prayer concerns here.) Yet Father, not what I want, but may your will be done in my life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Related Scripture Readings
Ⓒ 1996-2024 Heartlight, Inc. This material may not be reproduced in part or whole for commercial use without written consent. What Jesus Did! is written by Phil Ware and is available in book form. Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.