There is a story of a young man who approached the foreman of a logging crew and asked for a job. “That depends,” replied the foreman. “Let’s see you fell this tree.” The young man stepped forward and skillfully felled a great tree. Impressed, the foreman exclaimed, “You can start Monday.”



Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday rolled by — and Thursday afternoon the foreman approached the young man and said, “You can pick up your paycheck on the way out today.”



Startled, the young man replied, “I thought you paid on Friday.”



“Normally we do,” said the foreman. “But we’re letting you go today because you’ve fallen behind. Our daily felling charts show that you’ve dropped from first place on Monday to last place today.”



“But I’m a hard worker,” the young man objected. “I arrive first, leave last and even have worked through my coffee breaks!”



The foreman, sensing the young man’s integrity, thought for a minute and then asked, “Have you been sharpening your axe?”



The young man replied, “No sir, I’ve been working too hard to take time for that!”

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Here’s a good question we should ask ourselves, “Are we using, ‘dull axes’ in our attempt to make an impact for Jesus and if so, what do we need to do to sharpen our influence?”

John Bunyan once said: “You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray, until you have prayed.”

It is impossible to be sharp in our influence for Christ outside of prayer!

E. Stanley Jones penned, “Prayer is surrender – surrender to the will of God and cooperation with that will. If I throw out a boathook from the boat and catch hold of the shore and pull, do I pull the shore to me, or do I pull myself to the shore? Prayer is not pulling God to my will, but aligning of my will to the will of God.”

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For the last few weeks I have shared from my heart that I believe there is coming for many Christians a, “re-awakening”, to the fact that the most innovative, powerful, and the most important influence in the world is the Person and work of the Lord Jesus in and through His church! It will be an “aha! moment” that it is really Jesus Christ Followers who embody the needed leadership in the world. It will be a re-awakening to the fact that it is the Christians who are the ambassadors of the true peace plan for man – the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is Christians who will one day inherit the earth and the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus! And that this re-awakening will result in a re-commitment to godly disciplines that facilitate growth in a Christian’s life. The godly disciplines of prayer, service in the church, study of God’s Word and making Christ known in our generation helping people physically, emotionally and spiritually!

Oh how we need such a re-awakening — and fast!

We are watching our culture change in dramatic ways – very quickly – right before our eyes! It reminds me of Judges 17:6 which says “every man did that which was right in his own eyes…” and Isaiah 5:20, “those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness …”

Currently, the Supreme Court is considering whether to re-define marriage which means that they are considering whether to change the meaning of the first institution that God created which has shaped western civilization for thousands of years.

Edward Gibbons, famed author of the book, “The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire”, identified that the number one reason for the fall of the Roman Empire was the undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home.

If same sex marriage passes, American society as we have known it since our founding, is done! But, there is hope – just as there has always been hope in the Kingdom that Jesus is building. Jesus disintegrates, disintegration — and brings renewal and healing that will last forever!

I ask you, are you sensing the voice of the Holy Spirit calling you to pray?

I trust you have heard of Pastor Saeed Abedini …

Today, he is in an Iranian prison for his faithfulness to Jesus Christ. He has been beaten and tortured for his faith and his unwillingness to turn to Islam. He wrote, “As an American and as a prisoner for Christ, I have spent many hours praying and crying out to God for revival for this great nation. We all hope for the success of our nation and for America to be blessed, but without revival there can be no true success or blessing. Change starts with us. Revival starts with us. The first step to revival is praying …Please use this opportunity. Please use your freedom for the kingdom of God!”

Stephanie and I want to invite you to join us in prayer for Ten Days between May 14th to the 24th which actually coincide historically to when the early church prayed for ten days between the ascension of Christ and the day of Pentecost. After the early church gathered for those ten days in prayer in Jerusalem while awaiting the promise of the Father, the Gospel was preached and 3,000 people came to faith in Jesus Christ!

Let’s set aside a portion of our time every day from May 14th-23rd (perhaps between 12:00 -1:00pm) to give the Lord our attention, praying for a revival and a re-awakening beginning in each of our own hearts!

May the Lord sharpen our lives and our influence to His glory!