HARRISBURG FIRST CHURCH OF GOD

www.harrisburgfirstchurch.org

January/February Newsletter Article

A New Year’s Prayer for 2010

“Father, forgive us for thinking that prayer is a waste of time, and help us to see that without prayer our work is a waste of time.  Amen.”  (Peter Marshall, former Chaplain to the US Senate)

 There is an old story of two men who were chopping trees in the forest.  The first man set a steady pace and worked all day without stopping.  The second man worked equally hard, but he took a few minutes every hour on the hour to sit down and rest.  Well, at the end of the day the second man had cut and stacked twice as much wood as the first one.

 The first man came to his co-worker and said, “I don’t understand it.  I’ve worked just as hard as you have and I haven’t even stopped to rest.  You have rested every hour during the day.  How did you cut twice as much wood as I did?

 The second man said, “Well you see, you’re right, I have stopped to rest.  But the thing you fail to notice is that each time I sat down I sharpened my axe.”  Too many times we get so busy chopping the wood that we forget to take time out to sharpen the axe.

 The point of the story is:  If you’ll sharpen the axe first you’ll work better, you’ll work smarter, and you’ll work happier.

 We sharpen our lives by sitting regularly in the presence of Christ through prayer.  Only Jesus understands what the future and 2010 will bring.

 JESUS MADE THESE PROMISES AND MORE:

 “He who abides in me, and I in him, bear much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” – John 15:5

“When you pray, go into your room, close the door and prayer to your Father, who is unseen.  Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.  ‑ Matthew 6:6.

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Pastor Wayne

Harrisburg First Church of God, 15 N. 4th St., Harrisburg, PA 17101 - 717-236-8562