it's time to pray

Colossians chapter two verse 10, "And you are complete in Him, who is the Head of all principality and power." Now this is great news. What a joy and what a message for all people. In Jesus, we have everything we need to be victorious in this life. Sometimes when I'm discouraged or weary, I encourage myself through Christ saying, "Come on, Carter, just keep on running." Because we already have the...

Psalm 127:2 says, "It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; For so He gives His beloved sleep." I can't help but wonder if this might not be, for many people, the most worrisome time they have ever known. Fears for children, provision, retirement, safety, health-to name a few-are keeping multitudes awake every night and often all night. I want you to consid...

Did you know that in Christ you are as righteous as God is? Now that may sound blasphemous, but it is in the scriptures. Even with all our failing struggles and trials, we are as righteous as He is because of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. His sacrifice was an invitation to partake of His victory. Christ says, I am the bread of life. I am all that you will ever need in life. This is a promi...

God had a friend named Adam that He would meet with in the cool of the evening. Adam was created in God's own image along with his wife, Eve. God would fellowship with them day and night. One day, Adam and Eve decided they could operate independently of God, and that's when sin entered the human race. A separation began that moment between man, woman, and God Himself. You know, the fact is God doe...

The book of Nehemiah chapter 1:3 and 4, "And they said to me, 'The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down and its gates are burned with fire.' So, it was when I heard these words that I sat down and wept and mourned for many days, I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven." Every miracul...

I want to remind you today that when you honor God, He will do mighty things through you. Not things that will get you on the cover of a magazine, but things that are eternal and life changing. You might find something that you know came from God, to give to someone who is hungry. You might find yourself saying something that you didn't come up with, but sense it is from someone speaking it throug...

The Gospel of Mark chapter four, verses 37 to 40. "And a great windstorm arose and the waves beat into the boat so that it was already filling, but He was in the stern asleep on a pillow and they woke Him and said to Him, 'Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?' Then He arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, 'Peace, be still.' And the wind ceased and there was a great calm, but H...

You know, perhaps three of the most powerful words spoken in the Bible are simply, "It is finished." These words declare that Christ came to us to end the bondage of sin. He came so that we can be free and now come into the presence of God. When we come to God and we understand that He died to give us the victory, He says that we can ask Him for whatever we need, and He will give it to us. In othe...

The Gospel of Mark, chapter nine, beginning of verse 21. "So He asked his father, how long has this been happening to him? And he said, 'from childhood and often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.' Jesus said to him, 'if you can believe all things are possible to him who believes.' Immediately the f...

Have you ever asked yourself, "Will I ever be free?" Your crime may be, "Oh God, is there any hope for me? I've seen things that I should not have seen. I've consumed things and now they consume me. I'm controlled by things that I thought I could control." And as the darkness envelops you, you wonder, "Will I ever be free from this prison and these marks in my character, my heart, and my mind?" Th...

The Gospel of Luke chapter 21, tells us that one day, Jesus saw a woman in the temple giving an offering of all that she had. Though we don't know her whole story, we do know that she was in need, and most likely desperate. We also know that Jesus saw her and did speak very well of her. Last week here at Times Square Church, someone visited and left six dollars in an envelope with a prayer request...

When Jesus died on the cross, it changed the course of history. There are not many names that are remembered throughout history, but we do remember the name of Jesus Christ, the son of God. We remember because out of his love for us, He was crucified on the cross. What's amazing is that His great love for His enemies was displayed on the cross. There may be people in this generation that won't rem...

As a young boy, things were spoken over my life that should never be said to a child. And as I grew older, those words of fear persisted in my mind and my heart. After nine years of feeling lost in crowds and imprisoned in my mind, I finally came to Christ as my savior. And one night, I was reading my Bible in Romans 8:31, it said, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" That night, I prayed a...

Paul the Apostle said in 2 Timothy 1:7, "For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." There's so much to be afraid about in this world today. And I think, in particular, about the coronavirus that seems to be going from town to town, city to city, person to person, heart to heart. So many people are afraid of the future. I want to challenge you today...

Matthew Chapter 8, verses two and three, "And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him saying, 'Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.' Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed. Immediately, his leprosy was cleansed." The beginning of the healing process begins with an honest heart, a heart that is sick and tired of playing games, a heart that is ready...

Romans 5:5, "Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy spirit who was given to us." When Jesus commits to us, He also commits His spirit to us. It is through this commitment that He changes us, heals us, and puts His love in our hearts. We can share the blessings in favor of God's love with others who need it the most– the unwanted, the dow...

Genesis 1, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light." You know, you and I all have dark days; days when there seems to be emptiness within and no clear path forward. We're tempted to...

Matthew Chapter 21, verses 21 and 22, "So Jesus answered and said to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing you will receive.'" Now, Jesus says, these words are conditional on...

Let me share with you today some of the words of Psalm 46. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;…Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" For so many of us today, the social upheavals...

There's something that God will do in these last days. God promised that those of us who fear His name would have healing in their wings, and that promise is still for us today. As the church of Jesus Christ we have the power to push back the last-day curse that is developing in our society and in this generation. And we can push back false reasonings against family, against fathers and against ch...

I want to remind you that God's mercies are brand new today. We don't have to be disappointed in ourselves. We need to hope in the living God who loves us. Our lives are His love being lived out, and He gives us strength to live that brand new life because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. He never grows tired of our cries or failures because He knows He's raising us up. His life in us is eno...

Psalm 7:1, says this, "Oh, Lord, my God, in You I put my trust." Many years ago, in a time of illness, sorrow threatened to swallow my heart of confidence in God. With my pen in hand and oxygen tank at my side, one day I made a choice. I wrote a song about the faithfulness of God, even when I don't understand. It was eventually recorded as part of a collection on a CD called "Quiet Times." And som...

You and I pray for others because hell is a real place. The devil wants people there forever. He hates God and those created in God's image. His goal is to drag God's creation down to an indescribable place of wrath, fire and anguish; of eternal pain. Hell is a place of pitiful, unanswered, pleading. And what makes hell really hell, is the absence of God. No matter what anyone tries to tell you, h...

Psalm 77, verses 2 and 3, "In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; My soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God and was troubled; I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed." When we complain about the circumstances in our lives, we rarely stop to consider that complaint in the Christian life can be a veiled accusation against the v...

I am reminding you today that there are many who go to church week after week, singing songs of love to God, yet have unresolved conflicts and unforgiveness in their heart towards their very own family, their friends, and sometimes their brothers and sisters in Christ. They appear before God asking for a blessing yet sadly, God doesn't recognize them because their hands lifted up in praise to God,...