God

Encouragement and Prayer: Renewed In Spirit! (01/04/22)
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Encouragement and Prayer: Renewed In Spirit! (01/04/22)

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This is the audio from the January 4, 2022 live social media broadcast of encouragement and prayer by Impact Prayer Ministry’s director, Tom Lemler.

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
Psalm 51:10 (NIV)

This week’s prayer emphasis will be about being renewed.  Even after we have received new life in Christ, we have times when we “grow tired and weary”.  It is in these times we have God’s promise that we can be renewed as we put our hope in Him.  As we live our life in Christ, He desires to renew us in every way possible.  When we stumble and fall, we can be picked up by God and set on the right path again.  Our hope in God is not in vain when we allow Him to renew us through all of our weaknesses into His strength.

As you pray this week, ask God to help you recognize and admit where you are weak.  Pray that the pure heart God creates in you would renew your spirit each day.  Pray for a patient endurance that comes from a renewed spirit within you.  Pray that the people around  you would see a purity in you that comes from a renewed spirit.

You can find the live video feeds of these encouragement and prayer times on Impact Prayer Ministry’s Facebook page.

In prayer,
Tom

Encouragement and Prayer: Renewed Even Through Death! (01/03/22)
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Encouragement and Prayer: Renewed Even Through Death! (01/03/22)

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This is the audio from the January 3, 2022 live social media broadcast of encouragement and prayer by Impact Prayer Ministry’s director, Tom Lemler.

“Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.”
Isaiah 40:30 (NIV)

This week’s prayer emphasis will be about being renewed.  Even after we have received new life in Christ, we have times when we “grow tired and weary”.  It is in these times we have God’s promise that we can be renewed as we put our hope in Him.  As we live our life in Christ, He desires to renew us in every way possible.  When we stumble and fall, we can be picked up by God and set on the right path again.  Our hope in God is not in vain when we allow Him to renew us through all of our weaknesses into His strength.  As you pray this week, ask God to help you recognize and admit where you are weak.  Pray that you would fully place your hope in Him so that you would be renewed.  Pray that even your faith would be renewed in times when it becomes weak.  Pray that God’s renewal in  your life would lead you to greater endurance as you live each day for Him.

Renewed Even Through Death

“If a man dies, will he live again?  All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come.”
Job 14:14 (NIV)

Pray that you would live this life with an eye toward an eternal renewal that is to come.  Pray that the promise of being renewed after death would give you great hope in the midst of the difficult days of life.  Pray that your hope would be shared with others so they would know of a renewal to come.

You can find the live video feeds of these encouragement and prayer times on Impact Prayer Ministry’s Facebook page.

In prayer,
Tom

A Time To REST? (Sermon Audio)
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A Time To REST? (Sermon Audio)

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This is the audio from the January 2, 2022 sermon, “A Time To REST?”, shared by Tom Lemler at the North Wayne Mennonite Church.

Text:  Mark 6:30-44

God created us with a need to rest.  He even set the example for us as we see in scripture following the creation of all things that on the seventh day God rested from all His work.  But rest done God’s way isn’t strictly about us and often helps us to see how God would have us to be involved in the lives of others.  So when our idea of rest seems to be interrupted, perhaps it would be good to consider a time to . . .

  • Retreat.  Mark 6:30-32
    • Finding a place of quiet solitude can be a good thing from time to time.  Making the time to be alone with His Father appears to be a priority of Jesus not only in His actions, but also in the teaching of His disciples.  Even in the midst of good work and productive ministry, briefly stepping back from the needs of people can help us have a better view of things from God’s perspective.  While a time to retreat is good, and even necessary at times, it alone will not assure true rest.
  • Encourage.  Mark 6:33-34
    • Even as Jesus made plans to withdraw to a quiet place with His disciples, a crowd of people ended up arriving at the intended destination even before He did.  Rather than turn around and go back to where they had come from, or even seek out a more secluded place, Jesus took notice of the crowd and had compassion on them.  At their intended place of retreat, Jesus took the opportunity to encourage the people as He began to teach.  When we recognize that our desire for rest isn’t all about us, we are more likely to use our times of stepping away from routine to encourage those we encounter in our quiet places.
  • Serve.  Mark 6:35-40
    • Just as our desire for a time to rest may involve retreat and encouraging others, we may discover it is also a time to serve.  I know it probably sounds strange to think of a time to rest as being a time to serve, yet there is something uniquely refreshing about serving when you know without a doubt that it is God serving others through you.  As Jesus called the disciples to serve the crowd, they did a quick tally and concluded that the task was too big.  When Jesus tells them to see what they can find, I believe He does so to emphasize the impossibility of the task by human standards.  When we serve outside of our comfort zone in ways that require God to work through us, I believe we not only find a time to rest, but also a time of rest.
  • Thank.  Mark 6:41-44
    • Even before the crowd was fed and the leftovers collected, Jesus paused and recognized a time to thank.  Someone has once said (and interestingly the source is greatly debated) that it is amazing what can be accomplished if you don’t care who gets the credit.  I believe that even greater is what can be accomplished if you set out to deliberately give God the credit.  Perhaps one of the reasons we become so weary at times is because we’ve convinced ourselves that everything in front of us has been accomplished by us.  We wear ourselves out just thinking of all we have done.  We are most prepared to find a time to rest when we make it a priority to have a time to thank God.  It is in offering thanks to God that we acknowledge His hand in our life and we are able to lift Jesus up so that many would be drawn to Him.

Do you need a time to REST?
How will a deliberate life of Retreat, Encouragement, Service, and Thanks help you experience a greater rest?

Stories of the Heart: No Place To Hide! (12/31/21)
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Stories of the Heart: No Place To Hide! (12/31/21)

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As I continue to process the experiences from my time in Bowling Green, Kentucky serving in disaster relief response with IDES, I will try posting some “Jesus in the midst of disaster” stories as I get the opportunity.

Here are some thoughts from one cleanup experience:

No Place To Hide

On my phone is a photo of a child’s photo that serves as a reminder to me about praying for the children who experienced the chaos of disaster during the Christmas season.  The subject of the photo is a happy-looking young girl that would appear to not have a care in the world.  The photo itself, and its discovery, tell a different story.

The photo is a bit water-stained and blurred around the edges and was found in a home where the residents had come back to claim everything they wanted and we were told to clean out everything else as they were not coming back again — the trauma of seeing the neighborhood was just too much.  The house, like most of those neighboring it, was missing most of its roof and had assorted debris all over the place both inside and out.  As we carried rain-soaked furniture to the curb, I realized that most of the furniture were missing the cushions.  As we cleaned further, we discovered two closets that had couch cushions, blankets, pillows, and comforters spilling out from the open doors — the apparent places of refuge as the tornado took its toll on the structure.  As I cleaned out the closet in the room I was working in, I found a blood-stained pillow among all of the other padding.  Fortunately I knew that this was not one of the homes that had experienced a fatality, but my heart went out to this family that I had never met that had evidently experienced an injury during the storm.  They had done their best but found there was no place to fully hide.

As I continued to clean up debris and belongings, I prayed for those in this particular home who had been injured.  I prayed for those in the neighborhood who would have physical and/or emotional wounds from their experiences.  As I worked and prayed, I came across this young girl’s photo and some of the toys and belongings left behind in various rooms.  I prayed for this girl’s family and the siblings she likely had based on the different sizes of clothing in the different closets.  I prayed for those who seek refuge from the storms of life and feel they have no place to hide.  This was an encounter that touched me deeply even though it was different than many of the other encounters I experienced.  In this instance, I never met the individuals who had hid out in these closets during the storm.  I didn’t have the opportunity to listen to their story or to pray with them about the comfort that is available through having peace with God.  Yet through the cleanup process and my prayer time, their story had no place to hide as I prayed for them in the very closets they hid in and under the open sky where their roof used to be.

And in a big way, this photo I have of one young girl serves as both a reminder, and as a representative, of the need to continually pray for the comfort and healing of many children who need to know God is a refuge where they can hide and a very present help in time of need.

In prayer,
Tom

Encouragement and Prayer: Remember the Warnings of God! (12/31/21)
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Encouragement and Prayer: Remember the Warnings of God! (12/31/21)

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This is the audio from the December 31, 2021 live social media broadcast of encouragement and prayer by Impact Prayer Ministry’s director, Tom Lemler.

“I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you. I did not tell you this at first because I was with you.”
John 16:4 (NIV)

As we prepare to finish another year it is a good time to pause and remember some things that God would have us never forget.  While we each have events take place which seem like they will be forever etched in our mind, experience says that without a consistent reminder we will likely forget most of those memorable events.  For this reason, God is constantly calling us to remember as He gives us reminders and memorials to help us do so.

As you pray this week, ask God to help you understand your own weaknesses and seek His help in remembering the things that are of utmost importance.  Pray that you would remember the warnings of Jesus when trouble comes so that you are prepared to trust Him.  Pray that the people around you would remember both the promises and warnings of God.

You can find the live video feeds of these encouragement and prayer times on Impact Prayer Ministry’s Facebook page.

In prayer,
Tom

Encouragement and Prayer: Remember the Name of the Lord! (12/30/21)
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Encouragement and Prayer: Remember the Name of the Lord! (12/30/21)

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This is the audio from the December 30, 2021 live social media broadcast of encouragement and prayer by Impact Prayer Ministry’s director, Tom Lemler.

“In the night I remember your name, O LORD, and I will keep your law.”
Psalm 119:55 (NIV)

As we prepare to finish another year it is a good time to pause and remember some things that God would have us never forget.  While we each have events take place which seem like they will be forever etched in our mind, experience says that without a consistent reminder we will likely forget most of those memorable events.  For this reason, God is constantly calling us to remember as He gives us reminders and memorials to help us do so.

As you pray this week, ask God to help you understand your own weaknesses and seek His help in remembering the things that are of utmost importance.  Pray that God’s name would always be on your mind as He draws you to follow His ways.  Pray that a remembrance of God’s name would lead you to honor that name with your life in everything you do.  Pray that the people around you would see you as keeping God’s name holy.

You can find the live video feeds of these encouragement and prayer times on Impact Prayer Ministry’s Facebook page.

In prayer,
Tom

Stories of the Heart: The Sky Is Falling! (12/29/21)
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Stories of the Heart: The Sky Is Falling! (12/29/21)

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As I continue to process the experiences from my time in Bowling Green, Kentucky serving in disaster relief response with IDES, I will try posting some “Jesus in the midst of disaster” stories as I get the opportunity.

Here are some thoughts from Day One:

The Sky Is Falling

My first full day in Bowling Green was a long day and I am extremely grateful that God had helped me to prepare through a multi-session “Complex Trauma and Disaster and Emotional Spiritual Care” counseling training course I completed earlier this year.  My usual role in volunteering for disaster response has been running chainsaws and helping with tree cleanup and removal from homes and property.  While I did a little bit of that during my time in Kentucky, that did not end up being my primary work during this deployment.  

After delivering a couple chainsaws to one of the volunteer groups that was involved in tree work, I took some tarps and supplies to a group doing debris cleanup in one of the hardest hit neighborhoods — a neighborhood that experienced multiple fatalities.  It was here that I spent much of the day learning in earnest the value of listening to the stories people were desperate for someone to hear.  While I did some debris cleanup that day, most of it was entering into the trauma and emotions of people in a way that gave them a safe space to share what they couldn’t keep inside but had found nowhere to unload it without burdening their neighbors.   My training had prepared me as much as possible to listen, so that is what I did.  Many of the stories from this neighborhood were filled with so much gut-wrenching emotion and raw pain that it was amazing to see a spirit of peace come over individuals as they were allowed to unload.

Many stories had an element of guilt mixed with gratitude over being spared while others were not.  One resident I listened to expressed that mix as he talked about seeing the debris flying by his windows as he sheltered in place the best he could.  As the tornado went over, he kept hearing a voice crying out, “Help me!  Help me!”  It was a voice he couldn’t ignore so he went outside in the midst of the storm to see if he could find the person needing help.  As he stood outside listening for the voice, he saw a dog fly by and then a log flew through the air and crashed through the roof of his house.  The voice was no longer being heard so he went inside to find that the log was now in his home where he had been before going outside to check on the mysterious voice.  There was concern because he was never able to find the person he heard calling for help, but he was also filled with gratitude because he was safe.  After listening to his story and praying that God’s peace would fill his heart and mind, I went on to find another person that needed a listening ear.

As the sun set that evening, it was difficult to leave the area knowing that there was much work of many kinds still needing to be done.  The sky had indeed fallen and people wanted to know they were being heard and they needed to encounter Jesus in the midst of their experiences.  I am thankful to God that He not only equipped me, but He sustained me in the work.  Whether in the chaos of disaster or the chaos of life, I pray that each of us take the time to listen to people whenever their sky is falling.

In prayer,
Tom

Encouragement and Prayer: Remember the Laws of God! (12/29/21)
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Encouragement and Prayer: Remember the Laws of God! (12/29/21)

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This is the audio from the December 29, 2021 live social media broadcast of encouragement and prayer by Impact Prayer Ministry’s director, Tom Lemler.

“I remember your ancient laws, O LORD, and I find comfort in them.”
Psalm 119:52 (NIV)

As we prepare to finish another year it is a good time to pause and remember some things that God would have us never forget.  While we each have events take place which seem like they will be forever etched in our mind, experience says that without a consistent reminder we will likely forget most of those memorable events.  For this reason, God is constantly calling us to remember as He gives us reminders and memorials to help us do so.

As you pray this week, ask God to help you understand your own weaknesses and seek His help in remembering the things that are of utmost importance.  Pray that you would find comfort in remembering the laws of God.  Pray that your path each day would be lived according to the laws of God.  Pray that the people around you would know you as one who remembers God’s laws because they see you keeping them.

You can find the live video feeds of these encouragement and prayer times on Impact Prayer Ministry’s Facebook page.

In prayer,
Tom