This past week I had a toothache! Ok… not just a toothache it was a mouth ache! I can’t believe how can one tooth cause so much pain! You would think that if only one tooth is messed up it should only affect one tooth but it didn’t! My one messed up tooth affected not only my mouth but also my entire body! Once I was able to get the pain under control it occurred to me how much life is just like a toothache.
- When one person is hurting, it affects a whole host of people around them! Why? Because as Christians we are part of the body of Christ (I Corinthians 12:12) and “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” (1 Corinthians 12:26). Since this is the case we need to encourage each other and build each other up. (I Thessalonians 5:11) Too often when someone within the body of Christ is hurting rather than encouraging them we reject them. As Christians let us encourage the hurting and rejoice with those that are rejoicing! know not everyone that is reading this is a Christian; it still applies to you because you are not on a deserted island living by yourself. Your actions and attitude affect your work place, the people you live with and everyone else around you. Think about that…now move on to my next point.
- We shouldn’t put off seeking help when we have a need! – Too often we try to deal with our sin, our hurts, and our temptations all on our own. When we have a need it’s important that we immediately go to God. II Samuel 22:3 tells us that, “my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior.” He is the one that can forgive us, help us, and heal us (Psalm 103:3). Since He is able to do all that, why do we try to deal with it on our own? Unlike the dentist, (I don’t even want to think about that bill) Jesus Christ has already paid our bill and is waiting for us to turn to Him for instant relief!
- Just because the pain goes away doesn’t mean that the problem has been resolved! – Sometimes we cover up our sins and push our problems deep down so that we don’t feel the pain. The problem with this is that it causes an internal problem that ends up being worse than if we would have confessed our sin or resolved the problem to begin with. Nothing is hidden from God (Matthew 10:26) he is waiting to help you through it. Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.” Wow…
Do you have any teeth that are hurting? Don’t put off till tomorrow what you God can deal with today. Remember: God is able to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” Ephesians 3:20. Let’s begin allowing Jesus Christ to work in our lives because He knows what’s best for us. God Bless!
Because of HIS AMAZING GRACE,
Pastor Myron
If you have a prayer request that you would like added, please email or call Pastor Myron or simply leave a comment below and your request will be added,
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Matthew 6:6 (NIV)
Greetings PFWC Family and Friends!
Have you ever noticed how easily distracted we can become? I remember as a child that frequently I would space out and just be gazing out the window during school totally missing out on what the teacher was trying to teach me. Today we call it “Attention Deficit Disorder”, back then my mom called it “LAZY” and she had her ways of helping me to work harder at focusing. 
I’ve realized that not much has changed through the years. It seems so easy for each of us to be distracted. Have you ever been driving down the road and been distracted by an accident and almost cause an accident yourself? Maybe you have been distracted while talking to someone and miss out on what they are saying. Distractions happen and Satan would love to get us distracted from focusing in on Jesus. Satan strives very hard to get us to focus on circumstances rather than what God may be striving to teach us through that circumstance. He wants us to get our focus on anything and everything but Jesus.
2 Corinthians 4:18 (New International Version) says, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” Re-read that verse! The circumstances that we get distracted by are temporary! Jesus is eternal! We need to learn to focus on the right things. As I grew I began to overcome the tendency to be distracted and began to focus. I remember the first time I made it on the honor roll and how exciting that was, my Mom was happier and my posterior was happier! Let me encourage you today to focus on Jesus Christ. As you keep your focus on Him things will dramatically improve. Your outward situation may not change but the focus of your attention will change and that will affect everything. May God Bless you this day as you continually focus on Jesus Christ!
Hebrews 12:2-3 (The Message) “Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed-that exhilarating finish in and with God-he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!”
Because of HIS Amazing Grace,
Myron D. Atkinson
Pastor
Penn Forest Worship Center
“A Ministry of the Wesleyan Church!”
3735 Chaparral Drive SW
Roanoke, VA 24018
540-772-9482
www.pfwc.net
Greetings PFWC Family and Friends!
Over the last several weeks I have had several opportunities to witness
Teamwork at PFWC. It’s exciting to me to see this taking place. The church
is much stronger when each person realizes their worth and partners with
others. The Bible is very clear that EACH person is important to the body
of Christ. Each person has a part to play and when that part is missing it
weakens the team. Ecclesiastes 4:12 says, “Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
The key to teamwork is relationships. When they exist between each of the
members we are on our way to becoming undefeated.
T- together as a unified group of believers
E- each one of us
A- achieves miraculous results
M- more than we could ever do on our own.
W- Wow what God can do with teamwork!
O- Over-comers are developed.
R- Revelations are unleashed to the team.
K- Kingdom growth occurs and people are lead from here to eternity.
So, on this Monday morning as the pressures of work resume (maybe they
never ceased), remember that you have Christians brothers and sisters that
are lifting you up in prayer. You are an important part of the TEAM!
Don’t allow yourself to become overwhelmed, discouraged or withdrawn because
“GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN YOU THAN he that is in the world!” Thanks for
being part of the team!
Because of HIS Amazing Grace
Myron D. Atkinson
Pastor
Penn Forest Worship Center
“A Ministry of the Wesleyan Church!”
3735 Chaparral Drive SW
Roanoke, VA 24018
540-772-9482
www.pfwc.net
Has there ever had a time where you ran out of gas? I’ve experienced this on several occasions, the latest being last Sunday. As I headed to church Sunday Morning I knew that I was on empty and I decided I’d fill up after church. After church I left to head to the gas station and I could feel the car beginning to sputter. Several thoughts went through my mind: “Who would I call?, What would I do?, Not now, I’m almost there! How Embarrassing!”. As the car sputtered it died and I coasted to a stop. I was fortunate, I ran out of gas right in front of the gasoline pump. I thanked God and then filled up with
Premium gasoline.
Later as I reviewed what took place I realized that often we behave spiritually just like I did with my car. We fail to take the time to fill ourselves up spiritually by spending time with God through reading the Bible, Prayer and Worship. Once we realize that we are on empty spiritually a host of emotions go through our minds with the biggest being Pride! Too often we have so much pride that we won’t admit or are embarrassed to admit that we are struggling. Let me urge you this day to not allow Pride to get in your way of seeking help. Confess to God your lack of making Him a priority in your life. Ask Him to forgive you and to fill you up again. Seek Christian friends to hold you accountable and determine to return to your first Love. God is waiting and longing to fill you up with the best He has to offer!
You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. Revelation 2:3-7
Because of HIS Amazing Grace,
Myron D. Atkinson
Pastor
Penn Forest Worship Center
“A Ministry of the Wesleyan Church!”
Greetings PFWC Family and Friends,
Last week I had the privilege to attend the Young Life fund raising banquet. Normally fund raising banquets are… hmmm… well fund raising events. However, I must say that this one was different. As I sat there and heard a young man from Cave Spring High School share how as a result of Young Life he came into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, I was challenged! I was challenged that we as a church should be doing MORE! We need to do MORE! We CAN DO MORE:
- Mentoring – Teaching others what we know. This is also called Discipleship
- Outreach – Reaching out to others and connecting them to church
- Relationship Building – The best way to reach out and connect a person to Jesus Christ is to build a relationship with them.
- Evangelism – Helping people connect d to Jesus Christ!
As I pondered this thought I realized that getting a person connected to the church does not mean coming onto the church property. WE ARE THE CHURCH! In order to connect a person to the “church” we have to be the ones to reach out to them. We at PFWC have a wonderful tool that people use every week. What is that tool? Our Campus at 3735 Chaparral! Our Campus is a tool that God has given to us to connect with people and in so doing we are able to introduce them to Jesus Christ. If we do not take advantage of this opportunity then we are not being wise stewards of what God has entrusted to us.
- Did you know that 80% of Christians made that decision to follow Jesus Christ before age 18?
- Did you know that from now through May that we will 600-700 different people through our facilities and many of them under the age of 18?
- Did you know that nearly 50% of those involved in UPWARD do not attend church?
- Did you know that nearly 60% of those involved in Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts and Girl Scouts do not attend church?
Ok, so why am I telling you this? Often times we look for the more challenging way to reach people, i.e. going downtown in the evening to share JESUS, when all we need to do is come out and begin to build relationships with those already meeting on our campus. I believe that we could easily jump 20-30 people in our weekly attendance if each family would intentionally build relationships with an unchurched family that is already meeting on our campus. Come on out on Monday evening, and just greet the parents. It’s easy to do because they are EVERYWHERE ! As we approach 2008 we need to realize that it’s not to LATE to do MORE!Your Partner in Ministry,
Myron D. Atkinson
Pastor
Penn Forest Worship Center
“A Ministry of the Wesleyan Church!”
3735 Chaparral Drive SW
Roanoke, VA 24018
540-772-9482
www.pfwc.net
Over the last several weeks I have been preaching through this series. During the rest of this month I will be wrapping up this series and focusing specifically on The Battle of Offense. The most deceptive snare Satan uses to get believers out of the will of God is offense. Most people are ensnared by the bait of Satan and don’t even realize it.
Don’t be fooled! You will encounter offense, and it’s up to you how it will affect your relationship with God and others as Satan battles against you. Your response will determine your future. If offense is handled correctly, you will become stronger rather than bitter and win the battle! Don’t miss the next two Sundays.