Prayer Works

I would like to take a moment to share with you an amazing thing called Prayer Works. A ministry of Life 102.5, Prayer Works is a place where you can submit a prayer request (anonymously if you so please). The cool things is that people can send you a message (without seeing your email) saying that they're prayed for you, or to offer encouragement. There is also a button that you can click that will put a star under the prayer request, indication that you've prayed for that person.

Prayer Works is great even if you don't have something for which you need a prayer request. I go on often and read the prayer requests. I say a prayer for them and let them know that I have prayed for them. It's an amazing thing, really, to see people who don't even know each other praying together.

To go to Prayer Works, visit Life 102.5
On the top menu, go to Ministry -> Prayer Works.

God Bless,
Kyle

St. Patrick's Cathedral in NYC

This last weekend, I went on a trip to New York City. One of our visits was St. Patrick's Cathedral, a beautiful Catholic cathedral. Now I'm not Catholic, but it was an amazing experience.

First of all, the church is beautiful. There are many places to light candles. It's very quiet and respectful. What I first noted was the great atmosphere of faith in the church. I really felt like God was there, listening to everyone who was praying there. It was such an amazing feeling. The second amazing thing i noticed, was that everyone was praying together. Within my group, there were Catholics, Presbyterians, and Lutherans all sitting together and praying. It reminded me that even with everything that's going on around the world, people still come together. There doesn't have to be fighting, arguing, or violence. Sharing a faith in God brings people together, and it's such an amazing event to witness. I believe that I saw Jesus in every one of those people there in that church.

I highly suggest visiting St. Patrick's Cathedral if you're in New York City.
Also, I apologize for not having written in a long time.

God Bless,
Kyle

I apologize

Dear readers (the few I have left),

I must apologize for not bringing God's amazing and uplifting Word to you in the last few months. I've been quite busy, but that should not matter. Anyway, I will try harder now to get more articles up (and with a variety of messages.) Hope you like what's to come.

In Christ,
Kyle

Bats and Us????

This last fall I participated in a musical. It was during a dress rehearsal the week before the show when I first met Jerry. He flew from a hidden perch somewhere in the theatre and landed on the stage, causing quite a commotion. Jerry, well, he is a bat.

A few nights after that incident, I was lying in bed, reading. Jerry happened to pop into my mind I wondered: Why would God deny such a creature its sight? It seemed slightly cruel for a while, until I thought about it a little more.

Bats are fascinating creatures. God did not give them the sight that He has given most other creatures. He gave them their sonic ability to use in place of that denied sight. Somehow, they live just fine without being able to see.

That brought me to see how much we have in common with the bats. God's plan for us is always in motion, though we don't always see that it is. Just as He gave bats their special abilities, He has given us a "replacement" as well. That would be the ability to have Faith

We must let faith guide us when we cannot see, because God knows what's best.

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Hebrews 11:1


In Christ,
Kyle

The Orange

In church, a story was told during the sermon:

There was a young boy. He was living on the streets as an orphan. Eventually, he made it to the orphanage, where he at least had a roof over his head and some food in his stomach. It was nearing Christmas when he arrived at the orphanage. He was told of a benefactor who donated to the orphanage for their Christmas dinner. Normally they ate low-cost, bland meals, but on Christmas, they have a real feast, complete with with a real ham. It was even all-you-can-eat! The boy hadn't even heard that before! The benefactor even donates a brilliant tree for the main hall! They decorate it with dazzling white lights and ornaments. At the end of the night, every boy receives an orange, a rare commodity in these times. Oranges were this boy's favorite foods. He's never had one, but he's smelled them. Once, when he was really daring, he scraped his thumb across an orange when the fruit vendor was in town. That was an amazing day, because he had that amazing smell all day. After hearing about all of the festivities, the boy was starry-eyed. His hopes were high, above the clouds. He couldn't wait.

Christmas day came. They had the meal, he saw the tree, and then it came time for the oranges. The boys lined up, and he was at the end, for he did not know exactly what was going on. As he reached the portly man at the front of the main hall.

"I'm sorry," said the man. "You came after we had our order placed. We don't have one for you."

The boy's heart broke. He simply nodded at the man and turned to walk back to his room. After he rounded the corner to his hall, he broke out in a run, tears streaming down his face.

He got to his room, fell face-down in his bed, and wept. Soon, there was a tap on his shoulder. Afraid to show his tear-stained face, he ignored it, but the tapping got more urgent. He turned and saw his six roommates. Each of them had something in their hands. Lying upon an orange-stained napkin in each boy's hands was a slice of an orange. They each took one slice of their treat for the boy, so he would have a full orange. And then, everything was alright.
_______________________________

We should treat God's Word like the boys did with the oranges. If we all share just a little bit of it, we can make the world a better place, by glorifying the LORD.

Sally's Words

Once upon a time there was a girl name Sally. Sally was a junior in high school and she was a Christian. She struggled every day to stay strong and show people she was a Christ follower. She had an amazing group of friend but had very few classes with the ones who actually went to her school. One day in English, her teacher Ms. Nosey, asked the class to write a one paragraph essay on the most important thing in their lives. Sally wrote on how important God was to her. After giving the class ten minutes to write she told everyone to share what they wrote. Sally began to get really nervous, she began to wonder how she was ever going to get up in front of her class and share what she wrote. Time came for her to go up and she started..."The most important thing in my life is my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, my God"...class went silent. When she came to the end..."He has the power to save everyone's life and help you with any problem you might have" As she went to sit down everyone began to clap louder then they clapped for anyone else. Wow! Amazing, Sally made it through it all and her class didn't think she was weird.

After class she had one of her classmates come up to her. She asked Sally "Can God really help you with any problems?" Sally said yes and went to lunch with her classmate, Debra. Debra told Sally how she had made some bad choices and didnt know what to do. Sally talked to her for the whole lunch period and after school too. By the end of the day, atheist Debra had agreed to go to church with Sally the next day. Sally thought to herself "Wow miracles do happen."

Wow what a testimony! Just think what just a few words can do to change someone's soul.

Based on a true story. Names changed to keep identities safe.

With love,
Elise

Kingdoms

Being the music lover I am, I listen to my iPod quite often. I was reading one night before I went to bed, and my iPod was playing in the background. A song came on. It was one that I've heard many times before, but I never really listened to the message before. The song was "In the Blink of an Eye, by MercyMe. There were two parts of the song in which I found a really great message. The first went like this:

And though I’m living a good life
Can my life be something great?

What is the a "good" life? We often think of it as one filled with pleasure and luxury. Fast cars, money, a big mansion. In this song, he tells us that there's a difference between a "good life" and a life that is "something great". I think he's saying that a good life is exactly what we think it is: money, pampering, and material possessions. So what does it mean to have a life that is "something great?" The difference is in what you do. If you're living a life that's something great, you are living for God. So I thought "How can I do that?" I'm a very busy person. Between homework, work, sports, and other obligations, I barely even have time to breathe! Isn't everyone like that, at least sometimes? We get so busy trying to do things to "enhance" our lives (a.k.a. making them more comfortable) that we isolate ourselves from God. That leads me to the second passage from the song:

How can I further Your kingdom
When I'm so wrapped up in mine?

When we get so caught up in out kingdom of material possessions such like things, God often, but not always, nor for all people, comes second to that. You may now be asking something like: "How do we further God's kingdom, like the song says?" (and even if you weren't thinking that, I'll tell you anyway :) ). We further His kingdom by spreading His Word, and by following Jesus Christ. Doing things for others is a way of doing that. Volunteering, donating, doing random acts of kindness, they're all ways for God to work through you. But we can also simply make our everyday actions reflect God's kingdom. Just do what's right. That's the easiest way to stay out of a material kingdom, and further the Kingdom of God. Amen.

Peace,
Kyle

( Credits: Lyrics from the song "In the Blink of an Eye" by MercyMe
Lyrics found on www.christianlyricsonline.com )