The Most Important Job in the World

Many good things are happening in the church and in the world. More living people know Christ as Savior now than at any time in the history of the world! The gospel is being published more broadly than at any time in the past. But that doesn’t change the urgency of the evangelistic task because there are also more people who are lost today than ever in the history of the world, simply because world population is growing faster than we are evangelizing.

Even though much good is being accomplished in the kingdom, I am convinced that the most important task for Christians, is to pray. To pray for the good of the saints, for the salvation of the lost and for the success of every godly effort. But even more than all that, we pray just for the sheer joy of talking to God! What an awesome privilege we have, to talk personally at any time with the Creator of the universe, who is also our Father and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Again, what an awesome privilege.

By praying for them, we can bless all those we love. Praying, as scripture teaches, that they will prosper and be in health even as their souls prosper. We can help to accomplish God’s will on earth and for those we love, simply by praying.

Jesus taught us to pray for God’s kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. I think that means God wants everyone to be saved, so we need to pray for that on a regular basis. Paul wrote to Timothy that God “desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” (I Timothy 2:4^(ESV)) and in II Peter 3:9 he wrote that the Lord is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” So a relationship with God through Christ is the first priority of God, and should be of every Christian. That won't happen unless people pray.

I say prayer is the most important work of God’s kingdom because every other good work depends on prayer for its greatest effectiveness. Without prayer no other work for God will have any great success. Preachers who don’t pray can’t preach anything worth listening too. Singers who don’t pray can’t sing with the power of the Spirit. Everything we do for God must be bathed in prayer if it is to be effective. Prayer is the most important work of the kingdom.

The wonderful thing is that prayer is also a work every Christian can do! Isn’t it marvelous that God makes the most important work the work of all Christians? He didn’t reserve the best and most important work for a few elite people, instead he allowed it to be a work we all can do.

Imagine if every Christian, every day, would 1) Pray for all the saints, 2) Pray for all the lost people on earth to be saved, and 3) Pray for God’s kingdom to come and God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven! There is absolutely nothing we can do that would have a greater effect for good and for God!

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.

Letter to a Prisoner. .

Previously published Saturday, March 7, 2009, in the
Herald-Palladium newspaper column: Insights, at:
http://www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2009/03/07/features/295090.txt

Dear Friend,

I compliment you on the interesting letter you wrote and your honesty about your life situation. All of us make mistakes, so you are not alone. I can’t imagine how difficult prison must be, but I rejoice in your desire to improve.

The fact you made mistakes and have sin in your life doesn’t mean you are not acceptable to God. It means you need God’s help. And God wants so much to help that he sent his son Jesus, to die for us. You said you’re trying to improve your life. I believe the best way to improve our situation is to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, then experience God’s love as His beloved children!

Two Bible versed in John’s Gospel (3:16-17) make this clear. These verses show God loves us and Jesus did not come to condemn, but to save. We all have things in our lives that deserve condemnation, but that is not what Jesus is about. He is about forgiveness. He came to save the world, but he also came to save you. Every one of us could read these verses like this:
16"For God so loved me that he gave his one and only Son, that if I believe in him I will not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn me, but to save me through him.”

You wrote you feel “almost lost”. Really, all of us are lost when we don’t know Christ as Savior. The only solution is this spiritual birth, in which every other Christian on earth becomes your brother or sister in Christ. You find both yourself and a new family.

This spiritual birth comes when we admit our sin to God, are sorry for that sin and ask God to forgive us. In Romans (3:22-24), the Bible says:
"22God treats everyone alike. He accepts people only because they have faith in Jesus Christ. 23All of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. 24But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins." (Contemporary English Version)

You asked about joining a church. I believe there is only one church—God’s church. Local churches and church groups have many different names, but if they teach salvation by faith in Christ, they are part of God’s one true church. We all become members in this universal church by that spiritual birth called faith in Jesus Christ. Then you find a local church in which to worship and serve.

Jesus tells us in John 3:3 “No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” Here is a prayer you can pray to be sure you have experienced this spiritual birth. God is with you and he understands the language of the heart, so when you pray in sincere faith, He will hear. If you are ready to make this decision, pray this prayer (either silently or aloud):

Heavenly Father, I am a sinner. I have done much wrong, and am truly sorry. I want to reject sin and be saved by faith in your son Jesus Christ.
Lord Jesus, I believe it is only by faith in you I can be saved. You are God’s Son and Savior of the world. Please come into my heart and cleanse me of all sin. I accept you as my Savior and with your help I’ll do my best to serve you all my remaining life. Amen.

If you prayed sincerely and believe Christ is not only Savior of the world, but your personal Savior, you are born spiritually as a child of God and are a member of his universal church. Welcome! Find another Christian and tell them you’re in the family too.

Or, find someone who is not yet a Christian and invite them into the family!

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.

New Book: Beginning the Journey

Beginning the Journey: First Steps in Your Walk with God, by Rick Blumenberg and Brenda Shepard, is my latest venture into the world of publishing. This one is an “In House” publication of First Church of God in St. Joseph, Michigan, where I serve as Associate Pastor for Missions, Life Group, and Prayer Ministries. Based on my previous book Let’s Get Down to Basics: An Introduction to Christian Living, it has been greatly improved by my co-author and friend, Brenda Shepard. Brenda wrote one of the chapters entirely, re-worked and edited all of them and wrote Appendix A and B to help the readers with Bible study.

“Journey” is designed as a workbook instead of a regular book with too small type, (like the first one). The book was inspired by Sandy Mason, our Women’s Ministries Director, who wanted something for new Christians and those new to the Church of God. Brenda first taught the class to an all women group, but it would work just as well for men or for a mixed group. Teresa LaPlante is our Director of Communications at First Church and she did a great job with the design and published it for us with our own equipment. Cristi Wright did proof-reading and offered invaluable editing insights.

The first six chapters deal with disciplines for living the Christian life. These chapters include,
1) Beginning the Journey
2) The Bible: Light for the Journey
3) Prayer: Talking with God
4) Quiet Time: Rest for the Journey
5) Fellowship: Companions on the Journey
6) Stewardship: Managing God’s Resources
7) Exploring Spiritual Gifts
8) Overcoming Temptation
9) Discovering God’s Will
10) Inviting Others on the Journey.

Appendix A: Understanding the Bible and Appendix B: Bible Study Guides are extremely helpful, especially to the new Believer who wants to establish good Bible study habits.

We live in an amazing time when print publishing is really “on demand” and we can do as few copies as we want. Even easier is electronic publishing, such as this blog, where we can write it and have it out to the public in a matter of minutes! While there is a lot of junk and garbage on the World Wide Web, it is also being used widely to give access to valuable information and to share the good news of the Gospel.

While I’m thanking people I should say thanks to Associate Pastor for High School Ministries, Randy Bennett. It is only with his help that this blog is up and running.

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's my view, from Tanner Creek.