When I Say "I'm a Christian"

John Ferguson sent this to me.  It possibly might be worth sharing with a friend who is questioning the validity of the faith we have as Christians because of someone's thoughtless words or actions.

When I say that 'I am a Christian', I am not shouting that I am clean living.  

I'm whispering 'I was lost, but now I'm found and forgiven.'

When I say 'I am a Christian' I don't speak of this with pride.  

I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not trying to be strong.  

I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not bragging of success.  

I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not claiming to be perfect.  

My flaws are far too visible, but God believes I am worth it.

When I say 'I am a Christian' I still feel the sting of pain. 

I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not holier than thou,  

I'm just a simple sinner who received God's grace, somehow!

A Minute of Prayer

From Pew Research I recently found the following statement: “The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted in 2007 by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life, shows that prayer is a common religious practice in America, with nearly six-in-ten adults in the U.S. saying they pray at least once a day. However, frequency of prayer differs significantly by religious tradition, age, gender and income.”  The accompanying graph showed that the two groups that prayed the most were Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons, followed by Black Protestants and Evangelical Protestants.  Muslims and Hindus were 5th and 6th respectively.  (See the graph to this study at http://pewforum.org/Prayer-in-America.aspx.)

As you can see, people of many different non-Christian faiths pray a number of times a day to their god, whoever that may be.  Silas Baron (225^th SAC 1970-71) suggested in an email to me that we, as Christians, should take time to pray at least once per day, at the same time with targeted prayers to the God who created the universe and holds sit all together.

Please see the following….  Did you know that during WWII there was an adviser to Winston Churchill who organized a group of people who dropped what they were doing every day at a prescribed hour for one minute to collectively pray for the safety of England, its people and peace?  And I’m sure you know the outcome for Great Britain and the rest of the world!  There is now a group of people (possibly more that one group) organizing the same thing here in America.  I don’t see why we as Mohawk veterans can do the same thing also.  If you would like to participate, Silas and I suggest that every evening at 9:00 PM Eastern Time (8:00 PM Central, 7:00 PM Mountain and 6:00 PM Pacific), we stop whatever we’re doing and spend one minute praying for the safety of the United States, our government, our troops, our citizens, our nation’s renewal and for our friends who may not know the Lord.  (A tip would be to set an alarm on your phone or watch to remind you.)

Our prayers are the most powerful assets we have.  Someone has said that if Christians really understood the full extent of the power we have available through prayer, we might be speechless.  It certainly can't hurt to pray to our God who wants to hear from us daily.  Our country needs it and I know I do, as well.  Let's do it!  Let's join our fellow citizens.

If you know anyone else who would like to participate, please pass this along.  Let me know if you’re participating (and keep me accountable too) by emailing me at mohawkbeliever@gmail.com.