Pastor's Corner
A message from Pastor Andy Ross...

Past Devotionals

God Have Mercy - On Me! - January 20, 2006

Read Luke 18:9-14.

Dear friends,

One day, three men were hiking and suddenly came upon a large, raging river that seemed impassable and impossible.

The first man prayed to God, "Please God, give me the strength to cross this river."

And poof! God gave him big arms and strong legs, and he was able to swim across the river in about two hours, after almost drowning a couple of times.

Seeing this, the second man prayed to God, saying, "Please God, give me the strength, and the tools, to cross this river."

And poof! God gave him a rowboat and he was able to row across the river in about an hour, after almost capsizing the boat a couple of times.

The third man, seeing all this, prayed, "Please God, give me the strength, the tools, and the intelligence to cross this river!"

And poof! God turned him into a woman. She looked at the map, hiked upstream a couple of hundred yards, then walked across the bridge.

Yikes! We DO have our gender-embedded pride, don't we?

Somehow, I think that when you come to God in prayer, it's important to park your pride outside. In Luke 18:9-14, we see the contrast between a "polished pray-er" and a "no-account intercessor." Jesus seemed more impressed with the simple, "God have mercy on me, a sinner" prayer, than all the polished words of the Senior Pastor.

Hmmm ... and poof! We see where to begin crossing that great river!

God's blessings to you this day!

Andy Ross
Pastor