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From The Pastor

March 13, 2020 by Rev. John Hartman

From the Pastor

Note: At this time, we are planning to hold all worship services as normally scheduled. Please watch for e-mails, Facebook page or check the church telephone worship schedule for any updates to this information.

I remember the old TV commercial, “How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie-Roll center of a Tootsie-Pop?” The commercial shows a boy on a quest to find the answer to this question, and coming upon a wise old owl. The owl answers the question by direct experimentation, taking the Tootsie-Pop and licking it three times before crunching through it to the Tootsie-Roll center. Handing the bare stick back to the boy the owl pronounces his authoritative and obvious answer: “Three.” Then the voiceover on the commercial is heard, “How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie-Roll center of a Tootsie-Pop? . . . The world may never know.”

Here is a question to ponder. How many words does it take for God to hear your prayer? Jesus gave us a straightforward answer, — not many. Unfortunately, we don’t seem to believe him. We tend to slip into thinking of prayer as a technique or skill that when properly executed will move God to act on our behalf. And so, we think too hard about the kind of language we’re using, carefully choosing words that sound like they should belong in a prayer. There are some people who grew up praying in the Elizabethan English of the King James Bible. Now that’s not a bad thing, but it is also okay if that is not your desired vocabulary. Also, we sometimes overthink the content of our prayer, — as if some things just shouldn’t be included. The result of all this is that we fail to do the very thing that Jesus wants us to do when we pray, — be real with Him. Thus, we fail to simply bring our lives (or the people around us) before him.

Jesus promises that before we speak God already knows what we need. All of our prayers rest on this promise, no matter how long they are, what they sound like, or what they are about. God knows you and wills to do you good. The world may never know how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie-pop, but there is no such mystery around prayer. Simply bring your life before God and pray words that are honest and true.

In worship this Sunday, we are going to be handing out the 2020 Prayer Cards to those in attendance. We are asking you to keep this card with you for a year, and to lift up the person or persons in your prayer time with the Lord. Praying on behalf of someone else is one of the most important and powerful thing you can do as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Be sure to contact your people and let them know that you have their name, and that you are committed to this endeavor of regularly lifting them up to the Lord. This will also give you the opportunity to stay in touch with them and discover their desired areas of prayer in joys and sorrows, celebrations and concerns. Anyone who is unable to join us this Sunday will have a card mailed to you. Please make the investment to pray for the people that God has placed in your life here at Chestnut Level, so that we can be a more loving, faithful, giving, and praying church.

Pastor John