Prayz Network

“It always seems as if the speakers and songs come on at just the right time, when I’m questioning, doubting, or struggling, and also when I’m in a place of praise and worship. God is good.” Jenna, Norwalk WI

” [Prayz Network] is just really encouraging, uplifting and instructional. Puts a song in my heart, a skip to my walk, and light to my path.” James, Westby WI

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I finally got my bicycle out! We live on a ridgetop where the views are breathtaking, and pedaling the hills seems harder every year.

As I was riding along passing freshly plowed fields and starling cows in pasture with a loud “MOO!” (That always gives me a chuckle), the winds were picking up. The further I rode the more intense the winds against me. I pedaled harder and harder, barely moving at all.

Some days are like that. I push harder and harder, but it seems like I’m making little progress. The winds blow strong against me – physically, spiritually, culturally… Sometimes I feel I’m riding against the wind-weary and exhausted; ready to give up.
As I pedaled, the words to Mandisa’s “Press On” started playing in my mind, “One step in front of the other. I’m gonna press on, I’m gonna press on…”

Discouragement, Hopelessness, ISIS. Terrorism. The War Against Christians. Moral Decline in Our Nation. Powers of Darkness. Hatred. Turmoil.… All are reasons that we, as believers, need to press on. Press On even when the winds against us are strong; even when it seems we aren’t making a dent in the darkness; even when we are weary and feel like giving up. Press On.

Returning home is usually the easiest part, because I can coast down the last hill all the way to our driveway. This time, I felt it had been more of a battle than a bicycle ride and kept my eye on the crest of the hill ahead; looking forward to the moment I could just coast… As I reached the peak of the hill and started down the other side, I was hit by a strong crosswind. It actually pushed me and the bike sideways and I almost went down. I’m thinking, “This is supposed to be the easy part!” Then I realized, things may not be getting easier in the days ahead. The winds against us are growing stronger and we may be hit by unexpected crosswinds that try to knock us down, but through it all, we have a call and we need to Press On!

“…one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 3:13,14

I pray that God will strengthen you today-whatever winds may be blowing against you. May you be encouraged to press on! ~darla

Eastern mysticism would have us believe God is inside us. Deism would have us believe God is outside of us. Atheism would have us believe God is nowhere. And agnosticism doubts it all.

In all the dogma of myriad faiths and philosophies, there is a hollowness that leaves us wondering, “Is Science the answer? Is philosophy the answer? Is theology the answer?”

But science carves out the soul; philosophy puts man at the loom of truth, where he might weave anything he likes; and theology alone creates religious fanaticism, as we’ve seen through jihads and crusades alike.

Where is the answer? Where is the hope?

These questions have dogged humanity since the beginning, because humanity has ever cried, “I’ll do it by myself!” Like the prodigal son, we have run from the truth and to our passions, and thrown ourselves with the pigs in the mud.

“We came from primordial soup.”

“We were seeded by aliens.”

“We arose from an impersonal creator.”

Every answer we synthesize is a non-answer that confuses and circles us back to the cry of our hearts, “There must be something more!”

There is only one source of truth. No, it’s not theology, it’s not philosophy, and it’s not science. It’s the person of Jesus Christ. Because only in Jesus is science, philosophy and theology wrapped into physical reality, and come to bear our mistakes and experience our pain. Only in Jesus is there meaning and love, judgment and holiness, origin and ending, power and meekness, and everything else our souls long for like substantive water in a desert of superfluity. Only in Jesus is the transcendent made touchable. Only through Jesus is God around us, outside of us, and inside of us at once, while remaining His own in every way. Only through Jesus may we find peace, and only through the Holy Spirit may we be sustained through everything this world offers. Only in Jesus can we find pleasure without pain. And only through Jesus can we find joy through suffering.

Being a follower of Jesus does not look like religion, though religion is part of it. Being a follower of Jesus does not look like science, though science finds its origin and meaning in Him. Being a follower of Jesus does not mean we trust in philosophy alone, though philosophy springs from the heart of Christ as He hangs on a tree, bloodied and battered for our sakes. Only in Jesus are all the elements of humanity both necessary and meaningful. There are no areas of life that He does not touch, and to be a follower of Him demands we surrender every element of ourselves to Him.

Our hearts cry, “There must be something more!” because there is. And His name is Jesus.

B. McPherson
Director of Operations
TSPF

Spring. It’s coming back again.

The frost might still cling under the cover of night, and choke the grass and bite the seeds; but as the sun returns and warms each morning, there are bird sounds again, and smells that I had thought extinct. The other day I stepped outside barefoot. BAREFOOT! I could hardly believe it. It seems like only a few weeks ago it was so cold my knuckles hurt by the time I opened my car door.

But light brings life to desolate places (*cough* Wisconsin *cough*). Winter stomps the vine and steals its color, but each year the warmth of spring resurrects it, and it grows stronger than before. I don’t think it was an accident that Jesus used the analogy of the vine as an illustration of who He is, and how we are connected to Him. “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” –John 15:5

If a branch is cut off, and winter comes, the severed branch will die, but the vine will endure. If we are not rooted in Christ, we will not be able to bear the winters, the storms, or the turmoil of life. And neither will we be able to enjoy the warmth of spring when Christ returns and says, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” -1 Corinthians 15:55

Even as our brothers and sisters are crushed for Christ’s name, Christ endures, and if we are grafted into Him, so will we.

“Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,

‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8:34-39

So it doesn’t matter if I’m tending frostbite in winter, or sunbathing in summer; or dealing with turmoil, or resting in peace; if I have Jesus, I have everything I need.

But I sure don’t mind this weather.

-B. McPherson
Director of Operations
TSPF

These words rang out from a refugee camp in Jordan:

“We’re choosing celebration
Breaking into freedom
You’re the song
You’re the song
Of our hearts

We cast aside our shadows
Trust You with our sorrows
You’re the song
You’re the song
Of our hearts

We’re dancing to the rhythm of Your heart
We’re rising from the ashes to the stars
Into Your arms of love
You’re the joy
The song in my heart
The hope of my soul

In the shadows
In the sorrows
In the desert
When the pain hits
You are constant
Ever-present
You’re the song of my heart

You’re the joy joy joy lighting my soul…”

– lyrics from the Rend Collective song, “Joy.”

Lyrics so easy to sing from our padded pews;
Lyrics easy to sing from our comfy homes with
running water and refrigerator full.

But, what kind of faith does it take to sing “Joy ”When you’ve lost it all? When you’ve lost your home and family and everything you’ve ever known? When the past is gone; the future uncertain. What kind of faith does it take then to sing “Joy?”

It’s the kind of faith we need, my friend. As the days grow darker and more difficult; when answers can’t be found in this world, we need a faith that can sing “Joy” through it all. We need faith in a faithful, eternal God who loves us with an everlasting love. And it’s that kind of faith I hope to share with you each day on the Prayz Network.

The joy of the LORD is our strength – Indeed!

In Christ’s love & service….and for His glory,
Darla

Winter blues. Mid-life crisis. Whatever label I want to put on it, my thoughts were continually on the past— the what ifs, the should haves, the I wishes; longing for a do-over. Mentally beating myself up over failures and wasted time, I was slowly sinking into a pit of self-condemnation. I was there long enough that I started to feel stuck. Powerless. Useless. Depressed.

One night I had a dream. I don’t remember the details of the dream itself, but what I do remember is I woke with a start to a stern voice saying, “If you keep looking back, you can’t move forward! Remember Lot’s wife?”– reminding me of the story of Lot and his wife being spared from certain destruction, leaving Sodom and Gomorrah before it was destroyed for its godless, sinful depravity. Lot’s wife, in spite of the angel’s warning not to, turned to look back and turned into a pillar of salt. A pillar of salt. With my thoughts filled with my perception of what I was not, instead of what God says I am becoming, my self-condemnation was rendering me inert; unable to move forward, anchored in place as I focused on my past and my perceived failings. Much like a pillar of salt.

I spent my waking moments –moments that stretched into an hour– talking to God and asking for His help out of the pit I’d allowed myself to slip into. I realized I had been allowing Satan’s whispered words of condemnation to cloud the beautiful redemption of Jesus Christ and effectively making me ineffective.

God didn’t send Jesus to the cross as a sacrifice for my sins to have me continue to wallow in them! Neither does he want me, you, any of us to keep looking back, whether in longing, or regret. He wants us to move forward with Him, trusting our future with Him. He has empowered us, as new creations in Him, to live free. Free from the condemnation that would hold us paralyzed in the past.

Moving forward in Him ~Lisa

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, love has been on my mind more than usual. No, not the “ushy-gushy” sort of love, but the love we are called to live day after day. The love we were offered by Christ as he suffered on our behalf. The love we, as Christians, should offer freely to everyone around us.

Valentine’s Day can easily become no more than a reason to sell cheesy merchandise. But it could be a reason to slow down and think of our families and friends. It could be a reason to give our spouses care and attention, and to do something to make them feel as valuable as they are. It could be a reason to kneel and thank God for His mercy, forgiveness and support. Continue Reading

Last night my mind went back to a merry-go-round we used to play on as kids. Everyone would pile on, then one kid would push -round and round, faster and faster! At just the right moment, the pusher would hold tight and jump on, joining the others in dizzying delight! It was such fun back then.

Today, the playground of life offers another kind of merry-go-round. It still goes round and round. It is still a bit dizzying, but it isn’t very delightful. Sometimes I even feel like one of the poor kids who accidentally flew off the ride while it was at full speed – left dazed and confused, even a bit bruised. What happened? Life was supposed to be fun, wasn’t it?

It is hard to enjoy the ride when we are carrying too much baggage. I mean, really, who needs that backpack full of worry and anxiety? Who needs to take along all that fear, frustration and stress? Leave the anger and bitterness of life’s disappointments and unrealistic expectations out of the sack and ride free! God didn’t intend for us to hold onto it.

But how? How do we let it go? How can we leave it behind when it has become such a part of us? The answer may sound simplistic, but it is also hard for so many of us to do-leave it at the feet of Jesus. That requires me spending time with Him. Quiet time. Time in which He can reveal my excess baggage. Time in which I hand it over to Him…one piece at a time. “God, here is the anger over the way he hurt me. By Your grace, I will forgive and let it go.” “God, this isn’t the way I thought things would turn out. This isn’t what I had planned, but I know Your plans are greater and You are able to take all this stuff I’m laying at Your feet and use it for good.” God will use all this stuff to grow and equip me to help others. In order to let go though, I have to trust God enough to loosen my grip and open up wide for His plan, not mine, accepting it with grace. While what we leave at His feet is freeing, what we take with us is just as important. What am I piling onto my To Do list? Wouldn’t it be better to consult with the One who created time? The One who gave me this life-this day? What is it He wants me to do today? I have a suspicion that His To Do lists for me looks much different than the ones I create for myself.

Before you head off to the playground, leave the baggage behind – at the feet of Jesus who loves you, and only take what He gives for this day. I’m sure you’ll enjoy the ride! ~darla

January is Human Trafficking Awareness month. Human Trafficking. It’s a term that seems inconsistent with our Midwestern culture and values. A term used in other countries where women and children aren’t valued and have few rights. In reality though, human trafficking is an issue right here in our own backyard. In fact, human trafficking has been documented in all 72 counties of Wisconsin in 2013. And here are a few more facts:
• Estimates show it is over a $35 billion industry worldwide
• 98% of victims of sex trafficking are women & girls- ILO 2012
• It is second only to drug trafficking, for largest criminal industry in the world. According to the US Department of Health & Human Services in 2011 it was the fastest growing criminal industry.
• At least 100,000 US children are exploited every year in prostitution in America- Shared Hope
• Estimates are at over 300,000 are forced into prostitution annually in the USA
• Approximately 66-90% of adult sex workers were victims of child trafficking and/or sex abuse
• Estimates that every 2 minutes a child is exploited in the sex industry
• 1 in 3 runaways is approached by a trafficker within the first 48 hours -or-
• 70% of runaways lead to Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) – Youthspark Provider
• 45% of CSEC happen online and 50% in Public- Youthspark Provider
• The average age of a child first used in prostitution is 11-14, some as young as 9- FBI status report 2005
• US spends more on international victims of human trafficking, than on our own. They only officially recognized it was happening in USA in 2006.
• Nationwide there are fewer than 30 safe homes for victims of sex trafficking to receive treatment and services. The severe shortage regularly causes inappropriate placement in juvenile detention centers or jail- Streetlight Tucson 2012
• Victims of human trafficking need a complex & comprehensive set of services that require sensitivity & specialized training- WI HT Protocol & Resource Manual by WI Office of Justice Assistance

The statistics are eye-opening and chilling. And what can we do? There are a number of initiatives and organizations working to end this horrific crime. Locally, the Redeem & Restore Center in Pewaukee WI offers a home and hope to women rescued from sex slavery. To learn more visit their website http://redeemandrestore.org/

Tenth Avenue North is promoting sponsorship of children in prevention of precious children being sold into slavery. Visit the Compassion website to learn more http://www.compassion.com/child-sponsorship/tenth-avenue-north.htm

Listen to their song “For Those Who Can’t Speak”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FE7slLY61jw

This video features just a few stories from people who have received hope and healing at Teen Challenge as a direct result of hearing about it from Christian radio. To learn more about Teen Challenge visit their website http://teenchallengeusa.com/