Prayer Walking

The road looked more like a wide path. It was wide enough for people, animals with carts, and bicycles. It wound through a village of huts made with mud bricks and covered with a roof of straw. The huts were separated from each other by gardens and fields of field corn and pea trees. At one point we had to cross a bridge that had so many gaps and holes we wondered how anyone crossed it safely. We were in Africa but we were not sight-seeing. We were Prayer Walking.

As we walked we prayed for the people in the huts we passed. We observed the yards for signs of children and other evidence that would guide our prayers. In between the huts the pastor would talk and give us useful information about the area and the people who lived there. Sometimes we talked to each other pointing out things that we could pray for concerning the people and the church we were helping on our mission trip.

The rest of the week we walked, prayed, and carried Bibles and Evangecubes, (a tool for sharing the gospel with pictures). We saw hundreds come to Christ. Salvation is the work of God. Evangelism is a combination of the work of the Holy Spirit through our prayers, preparation, and participation in sharing the Word of Christ.

“Prayer walking is intercession on location with information in cooperation against opposition for glorification.” (Prayer Walking: A Journey of Faith, by Dan R. Crawford and Calvin Miller) Another definition is: “Walking on-site with insight.”

We continued to use Prayer Walking in the Dominican Republic and Vancouver. Our Children’s Ministry and Youth have learned about missions through Prayer Walking.

We are beginning a new ministry of Prayer Walking on Sunday nights. This will be our Sunday night worship during the summer. Over the course of the summer we plan to walk every street and pray for every home and business in Gentry. We want to take what we have learned on the mission field abroad and put it into practice on the mission field at home.

James said, “…The intense prayer of the righteous is very powerful.” (James 5:16b HCSB)

In a prayer meeting recently one of our prayer warriors prayed, “Lord, we need more people praying!” Come and join us. If you do not wish to walk there will also be a group praying in the church while others are walking. Prayer makes a difference in our lives and will make a difference in our church.

Bro. Robin

Macaroni Necklaces

My daughter was laughing as she handed me a cup that she had custom made just for me. She said, “Remember when we were kids and we gave you a macaroni necklace we made you in Bible School and even though you did not like it you wore it anyway, just because it was from us and given with love? Well, think of this cup as the adult version of the macaroni necklace.”

As I looked at the cup I saw that it had one of my favorite verses of scripture, surrounded by flowers and hearts. She explained that she told the person who made it for her that she wanted it for her Dad for Father’s Day. She told her the scripture she wanted on it and from those instructions she had a certain expectation. She certainly did not expect hearts and flowers and feminine looking artwork.

My daughter does not like confrontation and did not want to send the cup back but she gave the artist a less than perfect review. The artist quickly responded and wanted to know what was wrong and when she understood the problem asked for the cup back in order to make it right. 

I can’t wait to see what it will look like the next time I see it. Whatever it looks like I know I will love it because I love my daughter, the same reason I loved those macaroni necklaces.

The scripture on the mug is one of my favorites, Ecclesiastes 12:12b. “Of making of many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.” I like this verse because I love to read but sometimes need to be reminded to get my nose out of the book and look around at life.

It is like a comic I saw that had two teenage boys meeting and one t-shirt read “Carpe Diem,” (Seize the Day), and the other read, “YOLO,” (You Only Live Once). The first boy said, “Same as yours only in Latin.”

Jesus was saying the same thing when He said, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.” He preceded that with the instruction, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33-34 ESV) When we get our priorities straight everything either falls in line or falls away.

There were several times when Jesus was surrounded by children. If macaroni was around in those days I am sure he would have gotten a necklace or two, or a card with macaroni letters, as I have. I am also sure that He would have loved them for it.

I wonder sometimes if some of the things we do for Jesus as adults are just like that, in adult versions. We offer our service out of love. Jesus receives our service and returns to us the same love. Sort of makes me feel glad to be His child.

Bro. Robin

Open Windows

A few years back we prayed to increase our mission effectiveness. The opportunity came for us to help the Hmong Church by giving them space to meet in our facility. They met with us for a year until they had nearly tripled in size, and were able to purchase their own building in Decatur. Our prayers were answered and the Lord opened a door for the gospel to the Hmong people.

As I thought about open doors I remembered a time when the church I pastored wanted to reach the Hispanic population in our community. We put together a van to take food and the gospel to the soccer fields. At first our ministry was appreciated. However, after a few weeks they stopped coming to our van and made it clear that our help was not wanted. We saw a door suddenly close.

Soon after this a couple joined our church.  The wife was deaf and the husband interpreted for her. We also had another family who had a deaf son. One day his mother told me that her son really enjoyed watching the older man interpret for his wife.  They began to sit together and the older man interpreted for both of them. In time the number of deaf people attending our church grew into a deaf Sunday School class, and then a deaf Church. God closed one door but opened another.

I have often heard it said that when God closes a door He opens a window. That statement confuses me. It has always been my experience that closed doors lead to other doors that God is opening for us.

When I search the scriptures for windows I found something interesting. There are times that God opens windows but not for us to go through. God opens windows to send us His blessings.

To the prophet Malachi God said, “’Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,’ says the Lord of Hosts, ‘If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.’” (Malachi 3:10, nkjv)

Doors are for opportunities for us. Windows are for blessings from God. Whether God opens or closes a door I look for a window, not as a way of escape, or as way to a new opportunity. I look for windows because I know God is looking for opportunities to bless me. He blesses me when I give, as He promised to Malachi. He also blesses me when I go through His open door.

Look for doors AND windows from God. He always has a plan and a blessing for us.

Bro. Robin

Overwhelming Joy

Growing up in Missouri one of my favorite winter traditions was sledding. We lived on the top of a hill and depending on the amount of snow we had several options. After a fresh snowfall the road from the top of the hill to the creek at the bottom became impassable for cars, and perfect for sleds. It was a long run, fast in places, with three big turns.

The last turn was the most difficult to make. If you made it that far you either crashed into brush on the outside of the turn or, if you were lucky enough to make the turn, you had to try to stop before you ended up in the creek.

The best part of the day was after sled traffic packed the snow and it became possible to sled from the top all the way to the bottom without crashing, flipping or slowing down. People from the whole neighborhood would spend the day on the hill to enjoy the fun while it lasted.

Its funny how I remember so clearly sledding down the hill but remember so little walking back up, dragging my sled. We actually spent a lot more time going up than down. But the joy of sledding down the hill, even though it passed so quickly, completely overshadowed the drudgery of walking back up. A little joy can completely compensate for a lot of difficulty.

Jesus talked about how sorrow can be turned to joy. He said, “When a woman is in labor she has pain because her time has come. But when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the suffering because of the joy that a person has been born into the world.” (John 16:21) He compared this joy to the joy His disciples will have when they see Him again.

We experienced this kind of joy first hand last December when we welcomed our new granddaughter, (Robyn Loriean Marsh), into this world. We were anxious for our daughter as she went into surgery. None of us wanted her to experience the pain we knew was coming. Later we saw her with her new baby in her arms. The pain was surpassed by overwhelming joy.

That is what Jesus does so often in our lives. He is able to take the pain that life dishes out and replace it with overwhelming joy. Jesus said, “I have spoken these things to you so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11)

Joy to the world, the Lord has come.

Bro Robin

Better Than a Cell Phone

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Soon after I got my first cell phone I was taking my oldest daughter to lunch one day. I took one of my kids to lunch each week to spend some time with each of them individually. I had picked her up from school and we were going to get a burger when my cell phone rang. It was the office and a church member had just been taken to the hospital. As we rushed through lunch my daughter looked at my cell phone and remarked, “I do not like that thing already.” One form of communication had interrupted another and I too could see a potential problem.

We have so many ways to communicate with each other these days. Everyone seems to carry a cell phone. Plus we have text, email, and messaging through various social media such as Facebook and Twitter. In fact, some people prefer messaging because you can respond on your own time without feeling you are a slave to other people’s desires to communicate. I feel their pain.

I wonder sometime if we are aware that God is also communicating with us through multiple means. He speaks to us through many of the ways we speak to each other. He calls me on the phone through the encouraging words of friends. He texts me through His Word, the Bible, and books Christians write. He speaks to me through music on Christian radio. He even uses social media. When I read the posts people write that spoke to them, He also speaks to me.

I have a friend who lost his wife to cancer last year. He writes a prayer on Facebook nearly every day that comes directly from his heart. Many days as I have read the prayer of his heart God has also spoken to mine.

Prayer is our side of the conversation with God. He speaks to us in many ways. How many ways do we speak to Him? We pray in the morning, at meals, at night. We can offer prayers of service because doing the work of God is a prayer. We can communicate with God through our hands, hearts, thoughts, actions, and words.

We pray for Revival in our Church but have you given any thought about how much you want Revival? Have you thought about how you can communicate your heart to the only one who can bring Revival to us?

Paul said, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:17 (ESV)

Do not just talk. Communicate with God and listen with your eyes and ears as He communicates with you.

Bro. Robin

Spiritual Spring Cleaning

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Spring is a time for spring cleaning. When we start spring cleaning we put things in three piles. One pile is for trash: things to throw away. These are the things that are broken or of no use to anyone. The next pile is for yard sale: things to share. This pile includes things we do not want but could be useful to someone else. The last pile is for things to keep, at least for another year.

As I thought about spring cleaning another kind of spiritual cleaning came to mind. I have been studying Colossians 3. Paul talks about how we need to put off the old person, with all its bad habits, and put on the new person with all the Godly characteristics. I thought about all the things that I need to get out of my life and mentally put them on a “Put Off” list. I then looked at the Godly Characteristics that I needed to work on and put them on a “Put On” list.

I also need to think of my spiritual growth the same way I look at spring cleaning? If so, then I  need to make three lists.

The first list is like the trash pile. The trash pile is for things to throw away, such as things that are broken, or are of no use to anyone. Old habits, such as immorality, are of no use to anyone. Old attitudes, such as greed and lust, are of no use to anyone. Old feelings, such as hate, anger, or envy are of no use to anyone. The list of things I need to “Put Off” goes on. Those are all bad but there are so many more things we store up that we think are not so bad that we also need to remove. Bad feelings, bad language, and lies are among the things Paul warns the church about. Gossip and a critical spirit are also included in some of Paul’s other letters. The trash pile can get pretty deep if we are not careful.

The second list is like the keep pile. The Bible is also full of Godly characteristics we need to “Put On” and add to our lives. The things we need to keep include anything in God’s Word that renews us in knowing God better. We sometimes need to be reminded that we are made in His image at creation and we are remade into the image of His Son, Jesus, at salvation.

The third list is like the share pile. Paul said, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness faith, gentleness, self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23) I think this is a partial list but you get the idea. Fruit does not grow to benefit the tree. Fruit grows to spread the tree and benefit all those around it. The Fruit of the Spirit is God sharing Himself with the world through us.

Consider God’s Word like a mirror to reveal your Spiritual life. Take a good look and then look at your lists again. Is there anything missing? Have you written something God’s Word doesn’t support? What do you need to throw away, keep, and share?

“Above all, put on love – the perfect bond of unity.” (Colossians 3:14)

Bro. Robin

Power and Heat

Spring is almost here but the air is still cool. This means jackets and heaters stay on for a while longer. This would not be a problem if the heater in Joyce’s car was reliable. It has always had issues but she has learned to deal with them by adjusting the dials like the combination on a safe. But last fall not even the combination would work. So we decided it was time to have some work done on it.

After charging us the equivalent of a house payment she drove the car to work and turned on the heater. It worked! She had heat. She turned the thermostat down a tad to control the heat and suddenly she was getting cold air. She turned it up and got heat, hot heat. Turned slightly down and she got cold, no heat. There was nothing in between all the way hot and all the way cold.

I called the shop and got a conversation that included things like, “It could be several things,” and, “We won’t know how much it will cost until we find the problem.” We decided Joyce could live with it for now.

I realized later my mistake in describing the problem. We did not just want heat we wanted control over the heater. It was a matter of control. I also thought about how typical that is for many areas of our lives. We all like control and need it to some degree in our lives in order to feel secure. We need to feel some sense of power to make our own decisions for our own lives.

God also recognizes our need for power. He sent Jesus to bring us salvation and then gave us the power to choose. He gave us the Holy Spirit to empower us to be able to live the Christian life that He promised us in His word.

Paul said, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:7 ESV) God wants us to feel secure in Him.

Bro. Robin

I Can Fly

One of my favorite games as a child was playing Superman. I would stand on a high place, like a wall, hold out my arms, and jump. If I was high enough and jumped just right I might have a whole second of flight. At a young age a second can seem like a long time. Then my dad, or an older brother, would catch me and I would say, “Again.” I knew that as long as he was there I could fly.

I played the same game with my children and now it is my grandchildren I hear saying, “Again, Poppa.” As long as I can I will keep holding out my arms to catch them.

I enjoy listening to Christian music and one song that has caught my attention lately is “Whom Shall I Fear (God of Angel Armies)” by Chris Tomlin and Ed Cash. Based on scripture, Chris Tomlin sings about God’s protection. The chorus says, “Whom shall I fear, I know who goes before me, I know who stands behind, the God of angel armies, is always by my side.” Music can draw us in and encourage us with an interpretation of God’s word that speaks to our hearts. I find myself thinking about God’s protection as I hum along with this song.

There are many scriptures that speak of god’s protection. One of my favorites is Psalm 34:7, which says, “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and rescues them.”  He is always there to protect us and catch us. We can fly, just like those angel armies, into His hands.

Bro. Robin

Plugging In

One Saturday afternoon last summer we noticed that the house was getting warmer and the air conditioner had not come on. It had been a cool couple of days so we hadn’t noticed if the AC was running or not. As the house grew warmer I checked the thermostat and saw that according to the settings it should be on but nothing was happening. I checked the breaker box to see if perhaps a power surge had shut off the power to the A/C, but everything looked good there.

I called a friend who works on heat and air systems and he had me check several things inside and outside. He told me that he thought it was strange that both outside and inside units of the system seemed to not be working at the same time. He said he would put me on the schedule for a service call on Monday and it would cost about $80, not including any needed parts. Ouch.

We spent Saturday night with the windows open. Sunday is always a busy day for us with Church and other activities. As I was getting ready for bed that night, my mind ran through a checklist of what might be wrong with the system. I remembered then that we had an exterminator service on Thursday to spray for spiders. I had checked the plug on the unit already but I thought perhaps the outlet had gone bad. I grabbed an extension cord and headed upstairs to try plugging the unit in another outlet.

As I unplugged the cord I looked at the plug and a thought suddenly dawned on me. This was not the right plug. This plug went to a ceiling fan. I looked on the floor and there, buried in insulation, was the plug to the A/C unit. I plugged it into the wall and … the unit kicked on. It is amazing how much better it worked plugged in to the power source.

How often do we find ourselves in situations when things just don’t seem to work? Could our problem be that we just are not plugged in? If you want answered prayers, plug in. If you want more from your Church, plug in. If you want to understand the Bible, plug in. If you want to know your family better, plug in.

The Bible says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7, NKJV) Come to Jesus and plug in to the power of His Spirit today.

Bro. Robin

Christmas Memories

Christmas is my favorite Christian holiday. I enjoy the music. I could listen to Christmas music all year long. I enjoy the food. I help make candy, prepare the ham, and make the filling for the pecan pie, (Joyce makes the crust). I enjoy preaching through the Christmas story. I enjoy having the family together for worship and fun.

Christmas at the Cowin house has gone through many changes throughout the years. My favorite memories involve the children. These days Christmas revolves around the Grandchildren. It is not just about the presents. In fact, there is so much more to the whole event that opening the presents almost seems anti-climactic. 

When the kids were small Christmas Eve was always a late night. We started with a Christmas Eve service at the Church followed by supper. We tried to get the kids in bed early. They were always cooperative; since they knew the sooner they went to bed the sooner Christmas morning would arrive. Then, Joyce and I would stay up late wrapping presents and sometimes putting them together before we wrapped them.

When Christmas morning arrived we had given the kids strict instruction not to wake us but wait until the alarm went off. We found out later that they would gather in one room and watch the clock until they heard our alarm. Then they would all come running in together and pile on our bed. We made them wait in our room until everything was ready and we called them in to the living room.

Some things never change. Before we opened presents we always read the Christmas Story from the Bible. Then we take turns opening each present so we can all appreciate the blessings of the day.

Some years we tried to be creative. One of my favorites was the year we wrapped the presents early but left all the names off the packages. None of them knew which package was whose until we started opening them. They soon realized that each one had their own wrapping paper. That’s how we could tell them apart. It was fun and we made good memories. We always wanted to make good memories for our children.

Remembering that year has made me think about an important lesson. We also are wrapped in our own unique “wrapping paper.” We are all special to God and He sees us all as individuals. He knows us all by name. He wants us to spend eternity with Him. That is why we have Christmas. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son…” (John 3:16).

Bro. Robin & Joyce Cowin

 

Sunday Nights

Sunday nights at church have gone through many changes throughout the years. When I was a youth we had a full Sunday night that included Training Union and Worship Service. Training Union was changed to Discipleship Training, but the program remained essentially the same. The lessons were more topical and included giving out parts to the different members of the class.

I often volunteered to be the one handing out the parts. That way I got to pick the one I wanted, usually the shortest one. Later the teacher gave me the responsibility of planning the Bible game. That sounded like fun. I soon learned that planning a game around the topic of the lesson involved studying the lesson more than just doing a part. However, it was still fun and I came to enjoy it. I think the teacher knew something about God working in my life even before I did.

I learned years later that dividing the lesson into parts was the training aspect of Discipleship Training. It did not seem like much at the time. But, we were learning how to present a lesson in front of the class. This training would prepare us to teach a class of our own someday. Many of us went on to teach as adults in one of the many church programs that included Sunday School. Class participation is still an important part of learning to teach. That is what being a disciple is all about.

Paul told his disciple, Timothy, “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Tim. 2:2). Learning to follow Jesus should include learning to teach the things you learn.

The church should grow by multiplication as well as addition. We add to the church when we lead people to Jesus through evangelism. We multiply the church when we disciple people until they are able to disciple others.

Our Sunday nights include fellowship, with game and movie nights, fellowship, food, Youth home group, Bible Drill, and Bible Studies for women and men. Come together to learn and grow in Christ. See what God will do when you truly become a disciple.

Bro. Robin