Standing in the Gap Ministry
It seems today you find pastors, teachers and professors write articles and preach sermons on the gospel, evangelism, and the love of Jesus but they seem to forget something very important and that is God. An article on christianity.com titled The 4 Loves of a Healthy Church by Dr. Josh Moody is a good example of how popular phrases and ideology has replaced sound doctrine which gives understanding of the God we seem to forget. Dr. Moody contends that the four loves of a healthy church are: love of Jesus, love of Jesus’ word, love of Jesus’ people, and love of Jesus’ mission. Those are all good things but I find it somewhat troubling that neither God or the Holy Spirit made it into the top four loves of a church. After all, a healthy church should display a love and a desire for both God the Father and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Some may say that Dr. Moody didn’t forget about God because Jesus is God. The problem with that viewpoint is it is based on a lazy and improper approach to the teaching of the trinity. Jesus did say that “I am in the Father and the Father in Me” and “before Abraham was, I am.” However, Jesus also made a very clear distinction between himself and God the Father. Jesus did not intend for people to view himself and God the Father interchangeably as the same person. A good example of the importance of acknowledging both God and Jesus is the definition of eternal life given in John 17:3 (KJV) “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” To understand the person and work of each member of the trinity is fundamental. Dr. Moody only mentions God once in his article and that is to state that in healthy churches Jesus is their God and the love of their lives. The article itself is at odds with Jesus’ own words who clearly taught that the greatest commandment is “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Mat 22:37). In order for us to grow healthy in our church we need to understand each person of the trinity, their roles, and their works.
The issue I have with the four loves listed in the article is not merely that the love for God was omitted. The issue is that the love of God was omitted. There is a big difference between our love for God and the love of God. The love of God is a love that is beyond our capability. We as Christians are to let the love of God dwell within us. A good application of this is seen in 1 John 3:16-17, “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” The love of God dwells richly in those who love Him and keep His commandments. But those who oppose God do not have the love of God in them. Jesus told the Jews who sought to kill him, “But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you” (John 5:42). If there is one love that is an indicator of the health of a church it is evidence of the love of God and the love of God does not make the top four loves in this article. So let me ask you a question. Did the author forget something very important?
Joseph Roman
Wednesday March 16, 2025
How’s Your Prayer Life?
How are you doing? Not a rhetorical question?
How’s your prayer life? Watch the video to find out the best indicator to see how effective your prayer life really is.
There is no substitute for prayer. Praise is excellent, and good works are noble, but prayer is indispensable. “Ask and ye shall receive,” has its counterpart in, Ask not and ye shall receive not. The prayerless life is a barren life. Jesus said: “Men ought always to pray.” He set a glorious example ” Sit ye here while I go and pray yonder.” His human life was the grandest life ever lived, yet It was a life of conscious dependence upon God, and constant supplication for His aid and blessing.
JAMES H. POTTS, FRom the introduction of
Touching Incidents and Remarkable Answers to Prayerby S. B. Shaw
Anxiety
Do you struggle with anxiety, worry and stress? The cultural environment and world unsteadiness and the move away from God has caused anxiety to be a major issue for almost everyone. The anxiety page has some coping tools and mechanisms that are useful in dealing with anxiety. Ultimately, the more you grow spiritually, the closer you get to God, the more peace you will have.
Is Prayer a Privilege or a Duty?
Click Here for a 4 minute read on the Place of Prayer by R. C. Sproul.
Blog
The blog page has a collection of articles aimed at increasing your knowledge and understanding of prayer and Scripture. There are also intriguing articles intended to engage your mind along with practical articles wit ideas to help you make your prayer life more effective.
The Cambridge Dictionary defines essence as the basic or most important idea or quality of something. What is the essence or the most important quality of our prayers? Is it what we ask for, how we ask, our ability to believe, our persistence, or is it how we live our lives? … Click the button to check out the blog article The Essence of Prayer.
FROM THE PORTFOLIO
Our Work
Prayer Resources for Parents and Kids
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. Deu 6:5-7 KJV
About Us
Standing in the Gap Ministry is just that “a ministry”. We do not take donations and are not soliciting for funds. We are dedicated to providing resources to help you have a closer walk with God and see more of your prayers answered. We believe the fate of this nation, our churches and our families may well be decided by whether or not we truly love God. We can tell God we love Him but God cannot be mocked. He knows if we love Him and His Word tells us that if we love Him we will keep His commandments and love our brother.
We believe God will heal this nation “IF” we do four things:
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2Chronicles 7:14 KJV
Our Team
Dr. Joseph Roman
Founder
Dr. Roman has a Masters of Pastoral Counseling and a Masters of Divinity from Liberty University. He obtained a Doctor of Ministry degree in Church Revitalization from the Louisville Southern Baptist Seminary.
Lora
Editor/Women’s and Children’s Ministry/Author.
Lora has a Bachelor degree in Human Resource Development from Indiana State University. She has vast experience with the Public School System, particularly assistive technology, combined with engaging church ministry.
Kaitlyn
Lead Designer/Professional Development Leader (exercising your faith in your career)/Author
Kaitlyn is an artist, pianist, teacher and talented leader. You will find her articles engaging, edifying and interesting.
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