Message from Pastor Leo

May 01, 2008

What’s the sense in reading the Bible?

For the last few weeks I’ve been in a conundrum.  My heart seems to be going in every direction at the same time and it doesn’t make any sense.  I was praying and trying to take in everything that I’ve been reading over and over again as I read the Bible, and I felt like the Lord said, “Leo, I’m going to give you a prayer.  I want you to write it down, and I want you to begin to pray this prayer.  I want you to pray it with your church, and with your extended church family through Real Life Radio.  I want you to get My church praying this prayer.”

You and I have already learned that when God wants to do something, He begins by telling His people, “Start seeking Me for this.  Start praying for this to happen.”  This is the prayer that I feel God has put on my heart, and I want to share it with you:

Dear Lord God,

Please, Lord, rise up among thy people.  Not for our sakes alone, but because you’re God, would you please rise up among us in our generation and show yourself through all of your glorious works,  as you did at the beginning of your church?

We in this generation have lost the true purpose of what you want, both to do in us, and through us.  We’re lost little lambs who need you, our God, to intervene in our lives and give us fresh direction from your word.  Our generation toils without results.  We preach without power.  When we call upon you to use your gifts of healing, for the most part there’s no answer from Heaven – the lame still don’t walk, the blind don’t see, and the deaf don’t hear – so that the beautiful name of your church is in doubt.  We’ve brought disgrace upon your name and your church because we do not follow according to the due order of your word.  We’ve lost our true direction and we don’t recognize the times and the seasons we live in.

Please, Lord, rise up among thy people once again and show yourself strong on our behalf, that your great and holy name might be held in reverence, and that your only begotten son, our Lord, Jesus Christ, who has washed us in His own blood and saved us from our sins, might be the center of our life and the center of your church once again.

Please, Lord, rise up among thy people.

God wants you to go beyond ritual and religion.  He wants you to go beyond a philosophy or a creed.  He wants you to build a relationship with Him.  He wants you to know Him – to draw close to Him.  However, because of our sinful nature, we’re always going the opposite direction.  Instead of trying to become more intimate with God, we turn things into a system so we can feel like we’re getting the strength to deal with our issues, but still have control of our own lives.  The mistake we make is that our lives are not our own.  We’ve been bought for a price.

Jesus Christ made the ultimate sacrifice for you and His sacrifice saves you from Hell.  All He wants in return is to have a relationship with you.  He wants you to draw closer to Him and to make Him the center of your life. 

How do you do that? 

Read your Bible.

May the Lord Jesus Christ Be Magnified!

Pastor Leo A. Giovinetti