MINOR PROPHETS

Yesterday I joined with eight other Pastors and assistants to pray for Pastor Kirby Campbell in Marysville, WA.  I anointed him with oil and we prayed for him.  We prayed for an hour as we went around each man praying for God to do a miracle and heal him.  We are not faith healers, but we do have faith that God heals.  We sincerely asked God to do something special for him.  We are still waiting and trusting God to do something for him.  What a good man!  So, I arrived home about 12 and 1/2 hours after I left in the morning.  It was a long day.  I went to bed an hour earlier and slept in an hour later, and so I got over nine hours of sleep.  Wow!  Felt so good. Thanks for your prayers. Well, I'm in the minor prophets.  Not minor because of their message, but because of the length of their message.  Here are a few thoughts: 1) SPREAD THE GOOD WORD- Joel 1:3 says: "Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation."  We are to win a world to Christ, but let us begin at home!  We want our children serving God first of all. 2) DECISIONS- Joel 3:14 says: "Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision."  People all around us are making decisions... we need to be there for them and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them.  Also we need to be making wise decisions ourselves.  3) THE LOAD OF MINISTRY- There is a price to pay and a pressure to bear.  Amos knew all about that.  Many a man in ministry has buckled under the load and pressure of people, problems, and personal strive.  Amos 2:13 says: "Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves."  The key is to "cast your burdens upon the LORD".  It is the only way to survive the pressures of ministry and people.  4) PLUMBLINE- In Amos chapter seven, God says to Israel that He is going to put them up against a plumbline.  Now a plumbline is used to see if you are square.  If you are in balance, to see if you are standing straight up.  God uses His own measurements on us to check us out, and His measurements are accurate! 5) GOD HATH PREPARED- Jonah is about a wayward prophet, a sinful people who repent, and a God who prepares.  In these four short chapters, we see that God prepared: A great fish to swallow his servant; A gourd to give Jonah shade; A worm to eat the gourd; and a vehement east wind to come upon Jonah.  It is about the mercy of God for a wayward prophet, and a people whose children still needed to be spared.  What has God prepared for us?  God in His mercy will prepare things to draw us back to Him when we stray just like He did for Jonah. Well, so much for today!  May God bless!  Pastor Mike Mutchler