The God Beyond Words

Below is an article found and shared by our Prayer Team.

Jesus said . . . “How hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” The disciples . . . said to each other, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus . . . said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” —Mark 10:24-27
 
I’m a little embarrassed to say this, but one of my favorite authors is Theodor Geisel, also known as Dr. Seuss. That’s right—one of my favorite authors is a children’s writer. Dr. Seuss was a master of helping us to see and understand big and amazing things in simple, childlike ways.
 
One of my favorite stories by Dr. Seuss is On Beyond Zebra!. In this story a boy is showing another boy how to spell: “The A is for Ape. And the B is for Bear. The C is for Camel. The H is for Hare. The M is for Mouse. And the R is for Rat. I know all the twenty-six letters like that.”
 
But that wasn’t enough for this boy. He found it necessary to go “on beyond Z,” or “on beyond Zebra.” “In the places I go,” he said, “there are things that I see that I never could spell if I stopped with the Z.”
 
And do you know what? That’s absolutely true in our relationship with God. Our little alphabet is completely inadequate when it comes to describing God, especially when it comes to describing what God has done for your and my salvation—and our neighbors’. Jesus says, simply and clearly, “All things are possible with God.” This means God can do things in your neighbors’ lives that are beyond description. In fact, God can do things that are “on beyond” our imagination—including things he can do for your neighbors through people like you and me (Ephesians 3:20). “But you don’t know my neighbor!” you might be saying. That’s true.
 
I don’t know your neighbor. I don’t know the pain he or she has had. I don’t know how thick your neighbor’s skin is against the work of the Holy Spirit. I don’t know how skilled your neighbor is in tying your thoughts into knots when you try to share your faith with him. I don’t know your neighbor and the unique challenge she is for you.
 
But I do know something about God. God can do the impossible. He saved you and me. He also has the desire to save your neighbor. These are miracles we can’t begin to describe! And God is the one who does them!
 
Sometimes we need to be reminded that God doesn’t expect us to do miracles. He simply wants us to pray for our neighbors, show them we care, and share his message of good news in Jesus. God wants us to live as examples of Jesus’ love for our neighbors.
 
As we pray for our neighbors, God’s Spirit works at preparing their hearts to receive him. As we pray, God’s Spirit also works in us to give us the compassion and care for our neighbors that God himself has. And in the meantime God prepares opportunities for us to spend time with and talk with our neighbors. All we have to do is be faithful, listening, looking for needs to be filled, and sharing about how much God means to us.
 
And in God’s strength we can do that (Philippians 4:13)! Let God work through you in surprising ways. God’s love for you and your neighbor in his wonder-filled life for you goes “on beyond Zebra”!
 
Prayer Starters for Praying Mark 10:24-27
• Praise God that his grace reaches all the way into your life, into your neighborhood, and into the lives of each person you will meet today.
• Ask God to fill you with a love that is “on beyond Zebra.” Ask God to give you his love for your neighbor.
• Thank God that he is able to do the impossible. Thank God, too, for his desire to do the impossible in your life and in your neighbors’ lives.
 
--Adapted from Be Jesus in Your Neighborhood (Developing a Prayer, Care, Share Lifestyle in 30 Days) by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org.

Prayer Points

  • Praise God as the creator of all life, including your own (Isa. 45:18).

  • Give thanks for his splendor, seen in all his mighty creation (Psalm 148).

  • Confess to God those times when you have forgotten that all of your life and this world is a creation of God.

  • Commit yourself to seeing your life as God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:10).

  • Ask God to show you the good works that he has prepared in advance for you to do.

  • Pray that parents will raise their children as the handiwork of God and encourage their children’s creativity as image-bearers of the Creator. 
     
    Prayer Pointer
    “Teach us to pray that we may cause
    The enemy to flee,
    That we his evil power may bind,
    His prisoners to free.”
    —Watchman Nee
     

Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org.

Connection (Devotions for Everyday Life) © 2025 is a free devotional published daily by OneCry Prayer. Find more resources at www.onecry.com

Jesus is Praying for You

Below is an article found and shared by our Prayer Team, written by Asheritah Ciuciu.

“Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.”
Hebrews 7:25 (NIV)

I can’t pray anymore.

I tried, but it felt like my prayers were hitting the proverbial ceiling.

Does God even hear me? Does He still care?

Perhaps you’ve gone through seasons like that, too, where you’re discouraged by your inability to pray or you feel like you don’t know what to say. Maybe you’ve tried to make a new habit of praying this year, but you keep getting distracted as your thoughts ping-pong from prayer to your grocery list to that unpaid bill and it’s so discouraging that you just give up.

Many things keep us from praying. But here’s one good reason to pray anyway: Jesus is praying for and with us.

A few years ago, I stumbled on this quote from Robert Murray M’Cheyne: “If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me.”

The first time I encountered that idea, I felt shocked. Really? Praying for us? That’s a lovely idea, but that’s not in the Bible … is it?

So I searched the Scriptures and was surprised by what I discovered. Hebrews 7:24-25 says: “Because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them” (NIV).

And again in Romans 8:34, the Bible affirms: “Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (NIV). It seems clear that Jesus is praying for His people every moment of every day.

I don’t know what Jesus is praying, but we glimpse His tender heart in His high priestly prayer in John 17. The Bible also says even in our sorrow, heartache and darkness, and even when we don’t feel Him, Jesus strengthens us and protects us (2 Thessalonians 3:3).

Even when we don’t know what to say, Jesus is praying for us.
Even when we don’t feel like praying, Jesus is praying for us.
Even when we think our prayers don’t make a difference, Jesus is praying for us.

This one conviction has brought such comfort to my heart on hard days: believing Jesus understands what it’s like to be human and He knows exactly what to pray — even when we don’t.

So let us confidently approach the throne of grace, knowing Jesus Himself is waiting and praying for you, for me and for us.

Precious Jesus, thank You for loving us so much that You care about the details and You pray for us, even now. We join You in our prayers and surrender to You all the hard and heavy burdens in our lives. You are able, and we trust You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Praying With Your Feet

Below is an article found and shared by our Prayer Team.

“Prayer just isn’t working,” I confessed to my friend as we huddled in the back of our favorite coffee shop.

I was trudging through a season of unexpected loss, and my relationship with Jesus felt stilted and strained. The candid conversations I once shared with my Savior had dwindled. The pages of my prayer journal sat empty. My words seemed strangled by the weight of disappointment and the ache of my hurting heart.

How could I pray if I had nothing to say?

“Maybe you should stop worrying about talking to Jesus and just focus on walking with Him,” my friend gently urged.

Her suggestion was a surprising echo of a Bible verse I’d read that morning and jotted down as a tangible reminder to keep pursuing Christ. I pulled a scrap of paper from my purse and showed my friend my sloppy scribbles: “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him” (Colossians 2:6).

The Greek word translated as “walk” in this verse doesn’t merely refer to the act of moving our feet. It conveys the idea of keeping company with someone; it implies a shared journey.

Colossians 2:6 isn’t a commentary on our gait — it’s a call for connection.

That sliver of Scripture, along with my friend’s timely words, challenged me to find a new way to connect with Jesus in the midst of my discouragement. Instead of staring at the blank pages of my prayer journal, I began taking a daily walk through the woods in my backyard. As I strolled that tree-lined trail, my presence became my prayer.

The sheer act of showing up was my way of saying, Jesus, I’ll walk with You even though I’m struggling to talk to You. I’ll draw near even when You feel far away.

Once I committed to spending time with Jesus, I recognized He was with me too. I heard His joy in the birdsong above my head and noticed His playfulness in the skittering squirrels. I spied His faithfulness in the changing seasons and His strength in the deep-rooted trees.

In my season of weary hope and waning words, my definition of prayer expanded. I discovered that sometimes prayer is brazen cries on bended knees, and sometimes it’s angry tears and silent pleas. Prayer is expressed with honest words as well as with surrendered steps.

So if you’re struggling to pray, dear friend, don’t give up! Connect with Jesus today by letting your presence speak where your words fall short. Then do it again tomorrow.

Prayer may not always involve speaking up, but it does require showing up. And when we show up with a thread of hope and a humble heart, we find Jesus is already there, ready and willing to share our journey and hear our prayers.

Dear Jesus, help me keep company with You today so I can know You more deeply tomorrow. Teach me how to pray with and without words. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Written by Alicia Bruxvoort; published by Proverbs 31 Ministries

Diligent Prayer for the Persecuted Church

Below is an article found and shared by our Prayer Team.

We are in the midst of a spiritual battle. Jesus put it this way: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).

It is vitally important that we diligently pray for the persecuted church. Praying for God’s family experiencing extreme hardships makes more of a difference than we will ever know. Christian persecution goes back to the early church (see Acts 6:8–8:1) and the stoning of Stephen—with Saul there, “congratulating the killers” (Acts 8:1, msg). Consider the extent to which this same Saul, now Paul, apostle to the Gentiles, would endure “toil and hardship” for the sake of the gospel (see 2 Corinthians 11:23–30). 

The persecution continues today. According to Open Doors USA, the following facts are a heartfelt call to pray for Christians in the midst of daily persecution. Each month: 

• 322 Christians are killed for their faith 

• 214 churches and Christian properties are destroyed 

• 772 forms of violence are committed against Christians (such as beatings, abductions, rape, arrests, and forced marriages) 

Open Doors, founded by God’s Smuggler author Brother Andrew in the mid-1950s, has worked tirelessly to get Bibles into countries closed to traditional approaches to the gospel. In so doing, they have seen and sought to tell others about a variety of hostilities carried out against members of God’s family around the world. Since 2011, the ministry has distributed One With Them wristbands to remind God’s people to pray for the persecuted church.

According to The Pew Research Center, over 75% of the world’s population lives in areas with severe religious restrictions (and many of these people are Christians). Also, according to the United States Department of State, Christians in more than 60 countries face persecution from their governments or surrounding neighbors simply because of their belief in Jesus Christ. 

Oh Lord, prompt my heart each day to pray for those who don’t have the freedoms I take for granted! I am so blessed with all that I need when the persecuted church faces horrific consequences simply for believing and following You. Forgive me for failing to pray for those across the earth who face trials and horrific acts of violence each day simply for being committed to their lives in Jesus! May the prayers I pray for the persecuted result in action through the power of the Holy Spirit. Show me tangible ways to bring comfort and relief and rescue to those for whom I pray!

--Adapted from Walking and Talking with God: A Simple Way to Pray Every Day by Dean Ridings. This book is available at prayershop.org.

Prayer Points

  • Praise the God of faith, hope, and love (1 Cor. 13:13).

  • Thank him for the “new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet.1:3).

  • Confess those times when you have given in to discouragement rather than hoping in God.

  • Commit yourself to taking hold of the hope which God freely offers to you (Heb. 6:18).

  • Ask that you will have opportunity to share your hope with another person today.

  • Ask God to help you live in such a way that your unsaved friends will ask “you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Pet. 3:15). Then be ready with your answer!

Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org.

Birthday Fun!

These students celebrated birthdays within the last few weeks, and look what showed up in their yards to help them celebrate! We’ll see where the sign moves to next… :)

Why Pray Scripture?

Below is an article found and shared by our Prayer Team.

“When I turn what Scripture says about God into meditation, prayer, and praise,” said Jane McClain, “I relate to Him more intimately, praise Him more effectively, soak up His love more fully, and pray His will more soundly.” It can really do all that? Yes! There are many benefits of praying God’s Word.

Prayer naturally brings us to the Word, and God’s Word should always bring us to prayer. The two go together. Unfortunately, most of us keep them separated at all times. We have our time to read the Bible and our time to pray. It was revolutionary to me when I learned to put them together. I could start to read a chapter in the Bible, but flow in and out of prayer as I did. That practice made God’s Word stand out more as I meditated and asked Him questions about it.

Previously, I had from time to time experienced the voice of the Holy Spirit illuminating a verse or phrase or passage to my heart. And occasionally I had felt the exhilaration that comes from knowing God had shed personal light through His Word. But with this new practice, I experienced that phenomenon on a very regular basis. Scripture reading came more alive for me and I wanted to do it more, which in turn produced a more meaningful prayer life.

Living Word, thank You for revealing Your will to Your people through Scripture! Teach me to use my Bible each day as a powerful jumping off place for prayer, and as a hiding place for seeking You more fully. Show me more of Yourself and transform my life as I enter Your presence through the pages of Your holy word!
 
--Adapted from The Power of Personal Prayer (Learning to Pray with Faith and Purpose) by Jonathan Graf. This book is available at prayershop.org.

Prayer Points

  • Praise the God who loves even the little children (Lk. 18:16).

  • Give thanks for God’s promise in Prov. 22:6 to help parents train their children in the right way.

  • Confess any lack of love or any impatience you have experienced toward your children or others.

  • Commit yourself to a renewed appreciation for the place children have in God’s sight.

  • Ask for wisdom to train your children in his ways.

  • Ask God to “turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers” (Mal. 4:6) throughout his kingdom.

Connection (Devotions for Everyday Life) © 2024 is a free devotional published daily by Harvest Prayer Ministries.

An Update from Luke & Kelsey Carrig - November 2024

Grace and peace to you, friends, from a wet and cold afternoon in Ireland... but we are still smiling! Why wouldn't we? We have much to be thankful for...

“Don’t forget the LORD!” said Moses to the Israelites when they stood on the threshold of entering the land of promise. 

10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God… [Deut. 8:10-14]

In a season of thanksgiving these verses always resonate. The holiday of Thanksgiving, though not without its cultural and historical complications, is an opportunity for all of us to remember the LORD. To give thanks. 

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, says our liturgy, because He is worthy of it, and giving thanks “keeps us in our place”—so to speak—as wholly dependent on the gracious provision and care of our kind God, least we forget. 

Our ministry in Ireland has “multiplied” for the better this past while. In sharing some of these developments with you we are also giving thanks to the Lord for His goodness to us.

Our community continues to grow. We are regularly hitting over the 100 mark for Sunday worship with an influx of children we barely have room to host. Some Sunday’s have seen 50 children arrive for Sunday worship—that’s a big jump from starting with 6. But our worshiping life together has been rich this past while with people coming to, and growing in, faith. 

We now have four well attended Bible studies that happen throughout the week. Interestingly, these mid-week groups have become missional as a good number of those who attend don’t come to our church just yet. 

In September we baptized four new believers on a very chilly afternoon. This year we have also celebrated 4 weddings as a community, and had the privilege of providing marriage counselling for all these new couples.

In the pictures below are Daniel and Arais, they were married and baptized this year! 

The Church of the Nazarene is a global denomination. Some of the regional leaders for Europe have been greatly encouraged by what is happening in Ireland. In October we welcomed a group of leaders for a retreat. It was great to share with them all that God has been doing and to dream together about how God might be leading us to grow churches and ministry beyond Greystones to the whole country. We were encouraged by their visit and eager to see what God is going to do. (I'm not in the photo below because I took it 😂)

Many of you know that we need to improve our current building facility to better serve our existing ministries and enable new ones. Building costs in Ireland are staggering, not to mention the town where we serve is one of the most expensive parts of Ireland to live in. Our bill for our development is close to 3 million euro. However, we were immensely encouraged by a designated gift we receive of €500k toward our building. This gift was given to us by the Nazarene Church from a fund that exists called the Alabaster Fund, which supports bricks and mortar projects across the globe. It was affirming to receive such a sizeable gift, and we do indeed give thanks to God. Now we wait for the other 2 million 😂.

The image below on the left is our new proposed building extension. The building on the right is our existing building. 

Our family is doing really well. After four years we are finally feeling settled. Ida recently turned 6 and is looking forward to taking part in a big ballet show soon. Cohen is now 8 and has recently taken up the drums—I now have greater appreciation for my mother’s patience when I was learning many moons ago. Little Rhys is just passed 3 and is still settling in to pre-school but can name all his friends—just ask him.

On a personal development for me, God continues to provide opportunities for me to make and perform music. It is a collision of kindness to me, that I can pursue my vocation as a pastor and pursue my passion for the creative arts. I recently played a sold out concert at a venue in Dublin called Whelan’s that I have wanted to play since I was a teenager. I was also invited to a youth prison where I played some songs and shared some testimony. Making music gets me out on the street and among people that I find enhances my ministry. I hope to release some more new songs in 2025 because, for some mad reason, people want to listen.

Lastly, it was great to make a quick stop dash to West Michigan where I met with ministry partners and colleagues in missions. It was refreshing and encouraging to be reminded we are not on our own over here, but there is a host of supportive people praying and walking alongside us as we together co-labor with Christ for the advancement of the Kingdom. 

We give thanks for all this, for you and for God’s continual upholding. 

Happy Thanksgiving and blessings to you all!
 

Luke, Kelsey, Cohen, Ida and Rhys

Pray With Us

Will you join us in giving thanks: 

  • For the season of growth and renewal at our church.

  • For the Alabaster gift the Church received.  

  • For new opportunities that we are being presented with to minister inside and outside the church.

Will you continue to join us in praying: 

  • Pray that our church growth would not just be numerical but deeply spiritual. Pray for lives to be continually transformed by the gospel of Jesus. 

  • Pray for provision for us as a family, but also for the building plans for our church.  

  • Pray that we would continue to experience the power and wisdom of the triune God as a church in Greystones, Ireland. 

Join Us
If you desire to support our family through prayer, finances or by simply keeping in touch, you can do so by clicking HERE. 

918 Central Avenue. holland MI 49423

worship service time - 9:30am

Contact - office@maranatha-crc.com