Have you ever thought of prayer as an act of worship? Pastor Ed today suggests that idea. When we truly and earnestly pray, it is an act of worshipping our Creator and Savior. The best thing is that in that place of earnest petition, God will meet us there, guaranteed! As Pastor Ed says, it’s not really explainable, but God will fill us with peace when we seek Him. We can rest in the knowledge that though we may not get an immediate answer, He still cares about us and wants to take care of us!

Pastor Ed discusses in today’s message the importance of harmony among believers. Unity is difficult, especially in a world of people with personalities and opinions! Satan uses these differing opinions and will connect lies to them, causing disharmony between believers. Problems can arise, even in the church, and can at times become so great that it tears brothers and sisters in Christ apart! The apostle Paul warns us about this, and encourages us to fight back and stay united as a church body!

Pastor Ed discusses discourse among believers in today’s message. There are times when Christians come against each other over petty things, yet they make a huge ordeal over them! The message from the apostle Paul today is very clear though: our spiritual battle, when defined by Jesus, is against Satan, and against the evil that permeates our world. We should all be coming together to fight against that darkness, and focus on spreading the light that is the gospel, rather than fighting against each other!

Maybe you've heard this saying before...you can park yourself in a garage, but it won't make you a car. :-) This is a comical way to say that you can say almost anything you want about yourself and it doesn't necessarily mean that it's true. The Body of Christ is the same. There are many within the church that are just that...in the church...but NOT in the Body of Christ. They have made a profession of faith but it actually hasn't taken place yet.

Stop and think about approaching the United States border after visiting Canada. You stop and provide proper identification. Now, if you don't have proper identification, you won't be allowed to enter. And that identification comes from the fact that YOU are a citizen of the United States. And you are a citizen because you were born here or have naturalized. Pastor Ed will remind us today that we are citizens of heaven and that we must live as if we ARE citizens of heaven. There are many who profess to be citizens who actually aren't.

Did you hear that Christian? Your life has the potential to be used mightily by God to bring blessing to others or it can be governed by your flesh, which will bring others down. In the last edition of Voice of Faith Pastor Ed asked us to consider the choices that we need to make in order to DO what we're called to do. God didn't turn you into a robot when you accepted Jesus...He set you free from sin so that you could now choose to say yes to Him daily and be used to glorify God.

Pastor Ed reminds us today that our walk with Jesus is just that...a walk. It's something that we have to participate in. You see God started this walk in your life by extending grace to you so that you could then place your faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. But, that was only the beginning of the journey. We'll be reminded today that our lives in Jesus didn't end at the altar...they began. We need to make active decisions daily to walk with Jesus and be used by Him to further His kingdom.

Pastor Ed makes a precarious statement here: Christians – people who are very aware of Jesus’s salvation being the only way to eternal life – can start to rely on our own works to get us points with Jesus. How is this possible? Today’s message helps us see that we can get comfortable in our walk with God, and sometimes try to turn the attention away from Him and on to ourselves. The apostle Paul reminds us of how much greater Jesus’s sacrifice was than anything we could ever do!

Have you ever wondered why sometimes a song sticks in your head, or a particular picture catches your attention multiple times? Have you ever heard the same message time and time again? Pastor Ed today asks us to look at repetition not as a burdensome thing, but as a reminder of a great love, the greatest love that could ever be given to us! We can tend to wander away from our beliefs without realizing it, but by hearing the message of Jesus again and again, we can keep on a steady path of devotion to Him!

Legalism is something we don’t necessarily think about today. It seems like something that happened in Biblical times, its history! But Pastor Ed reminds us today that legalism is still around, just in different forms than we might imagine. Any teaching that takes the focus off of Jesus and places it on us falls under that category, and is dangerous! It minimizes salvation, and places unbearable burdens on us. That is never the relationship that Jesus wants to have with us!