And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

Colossians 1:9-12

Earlier in this passage Paul and Timothy reported that they were continually praying for the Colossians that they be filled with “all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” As this happens, believers need to put this knowledge into practice. But how do people, who by their very nature disobey God, accomplish this? How can someone overcome his own nature? Paul states very clearly in Romans that we are incapable of pleasing God (Romans 8:7-8). Thankfully, God does not leave us to ourselves. He gives us His Spirit (John 14:16, 17), and with the Spirit comes life changing power (Eph. 1:16-21). This is the power that enables a sinful man to carry out God’s will by overcoming his own nature. “All power” that is necessary to be molded into the image of Christ is supplied by the Spirit. We, too, should pray for others to deliberately receive the completely adequate power that is necessary to obey God in all ways.

In prayer is taken from past Samaritan Ministries monthly prayer guides.

From Kathy in Minnesota:

I have been a Samaritan Ministries person for a long time. I have often seen the Special Prayer Needs requests, but I had not thought to do anything with them.

Then I became a Special Prayer Needs request. The notes and checks started coming, and they fell on us like wonderfully welcomed snowflakes. What a blessing to feel so loved and so bathed in prayer. Thank you one and all. God bless you!

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

Colossians 1:9-12

Knowing about someone is not the same as knowing them personally. We may have an idea of what another person is like based on what we have read or heard about them, but we don’t really know them until we meet them in person and spend time with them. The more we interact with them, the better we know them. Paul was praying that the Colossians would grow in their knowledge of God in this way.

Earlier in this passage Paul prayed that the Colossians would be “filled with the knowledge of His will.” He wanted them to understand God’s commands and precepts to enable them to know what God has determined shall be done to bless mankind through Christ and what He wishes to be done by His followers. As we apply God’s will to our lives by understanding His purposes and obeying His commands, we will bear fruit in good works, and our understanding of God will grow from knowing His will to knowing Him. As we walk in fellowship with Him in our everyday lives, joining Him in His work, we grow in our knowledge of Him.

Are you praying for other believers that they will grow in their knowledge of God?

In prayer is taken from past Samaritan Ministries monthly prayer guides.

By Michael Miller

A diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in January 2010 gave Randy Winton the strength to walk into a new ministry—and carry the rest of his family with him.

Randy and his sons, Cody and Jesse, are The Wintons, a Gospel bluegrass trio that travels the nation and has recorded two CDs. Randy’s wife, Lisa, contributed by playing bass early in the life of the band, but now that she is busy with their two little daughters she aids the ministry through extensive behind-the-scenes support jobs. When the Wintons are on one of their motor home tours, young daughters, Anna and Heidi, are along for the ride as well.

But the Wintons have gone beyond music. This month, Rescued, their first film, will be released on DVD. The hour-long movie’s aim is to get Christians thinking about their “Biblical role to care for orphans,” Randy says.

“It’s not a Biblical mandate that we adopt, but it’s a Biblical mandate that we care for orphans.” Read the rest of this entry

From Linda in Colorado:

Thank you for your awesome ministry. What a wonderful blessing it has been to receive cards and notes filled with caring prayers for my healing. This is the first time we’ve had to submit a request for financial help. But what a blessing it has been!!

I love reading the names and places. I actually got my map out and marked the locations.

Even though I may not ever meet these brothers and sisters in Christ here on earth, I know we’ll have a grand meeting in heaven.

Thanks again for meeting my need spiritually, physically and financially.

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

Colossians 1:9-12

What type of results do we specifically pray for in other believers? What results will be evident in the life of one who is walking worthy of the Lord? First, Paul asks the Lord that his fellow believers would bear fruit in every good work. But how? As we are filled with the knowledge of His will, we must put it into practice. Knowledge then transforms into wisdom so that we are able to discern how it affects real life situations.

When real life is affected by the application of God’s will, the result is the bearing of fruit. So whenever believers obey God’s word in the situations they face, they bear fruit and do the good works God created them to do (Ephesians 2:10). Remember to ask God to help your brothers and sisters in Christ to bear fruit in every good work. Paul and Timothy asked for this and more.

In prayer is taken from past Samaritan Ministries monthly prayer guides.

Investing in a family economy is obviously a priority for many Samaritan Ministries members. We want to be good stewards with the money God has entrusted us with, and sharing health care needs with fellow believers is one way to do that, especially when compared with exorbitant health insurance costs.

That’s one reason why Samaritan Ministries executive vice president James Lansberry and several other Samaritan members will be featured speakers at the 2012 Family Economics Conference March 8-10 at Wheaton College in the Chicago suburb of Wheaton, Illinois.

James will speak at 1:30 p.m. Friday, March 9, on “Health Care, Hospitals, and the Future of Family Freedoms in Medicine.” (Full schedule here.)

To encourage you Samaritan members reading this to attend, conference organizers are offering you a $20 discount on a family registration by entering the coupon code “Samaritan” when you register.

Several Samaritan members will already be there. Besides James Lansberry, speakers will include members Kevin Swanson of Generations with Vision, Doug Phillips of Vision Forum, and Alex and Cassie Michael, a/k/a The Thrifty Couple.

Among the panelists will be SMI members James McDonald, pastor of Providence Church in Morton, Illinois, Theresa Bowen of Candle in the Window Hospitality Network, and Jonathan Lewis of Homeschool Enrichment magazine.

The conference is being offered by Generations with Vision. Besides the Samaritan members, other speakers will be the Rev. R.C. Sproul Jr. of Highland Ministries and Ligonier Ministries, Erik Weir, Steve and Teri Maxwell, Dave Tucker, and Scott Bailey.

Topics include “Raising Sons to Provide,” “Starting a Business—The First 100 Days,” “Household Budget Management,” “Marketing a Family Business,” “Household Chores and Time Management,” “Who Owes You a Job? A Challenge for Young Men,” a special Proverbs 31 track for ladies, and more.

The conference also will offer seven Q&A panels.

Also included in the price of registration is a family pass to the 2012 annual Liberty Day Celebration on Saturday night after the conference (value of $59). The celebration will include a dramatic re-enactment of the second Virginia Convention and stories and lessons of liberty from our nation’s founders.

To register, go here.

Pastor Glen Crouse saw a need for a children’s book on the basics of faith in Christ, so he wrote one.

As the spiritual leader of Rantoul Christian Church in Rantoul, Illinois, he is often approached by parents saying their children wanted to be baptized. Could he talk to them?

The problem was, Glen says, that he was typically unable to discern whether these children understood the Christian faith and the symbolism of baptism. Parents, he says, are usually better at discerning the spiritual condition of their children.

Glen needed a resource to give to parents to work through with their children—something that could help children understand their need for faith in Christ and their need to be baptized.

“A few years ago, I had several parents come to me within days of each other,” he says. “I just decided it was time to get it done.”

“It” was the 33-page booklet Jesus, Your Very Best Friend, which takes children through an understanding of their need to repent and to obey Jesus. Glen says he wrote it in a way that allows a child’s level of interest to dictate the pace they proceed—and whether they proceed at all.

“If they’re really interested and obsessed by it, let them do it at their own pace,” Glen says. “If they find out that it’s requiring a little bit of work and study, that may indicate that their interest is not from pure motives. If they don’t want to learn about Jesus and what that means, maybe they’re not ready to make a life-changing decision.”

He urges parents to let a child’s “own inner thirst and hunger drive them in the right direction.”

“It’s another one of those things I as a preacher can’t really determine,” Glen says. “Their speed at moving through the book is indicative of how genuine their faith really is.”

The pastor gave the book the friendship spin to give it “a flavor that would be attractive to children and to their parents as well.”

“That was not necessarily a Biblical idea, and yet it’s not counter to Scripture either, to call Jesus our friend,” Glen says. “It was more for softening the approach rather than giving it a theological title, more of an approach to catch their eye and their interest.”

Glen developed this approach over 35 years in the ministry.

“I had referenced most of these Bible passages in discussions with adults and children, so it was really a matter of collating the material,” he says.

The booklet has been out in its original, home-produced form for a little more than a year, and in a publisher’s version since April. Besides members of his congregation, his main customers have been other “preacher friends” who have been ordering as many as 20 copies at a time. Glen says he received an immediate positive response when he first started sending review samples to churches and knew it “was something that was really needed out there.”

“I realized it needed to come out of my hands,” he says.

For Glen, the “bottom line” was “to see children make an informed decision for Christ.”

“Not an emotional one, not because their friends are doing it,” he says. “I want them to understand their commitment for doing it. If it’s not an informed decision, they’ll fall away.” ♦

Dr. Jane Orient, executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons and a member of Samaritan Ministries, wrote in a Washington Times op-ed piece why some people, both patients and doctors, really want out of Medicare—and how government makes it difficult.

Something, of course, needs to be done because the overloaded Medicare ship is sinking. Wouldn’t it make sense to let willing people off the ship? Why shouldn’t we encourage people to spend their own money on medical care instead of burdening an overstressed system?

The fact is the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) apparently wants to trap Medicare beneficiaries on the sinking ship. It is acting as though American citizens, once they sign up for Medicare Part B, are not allowed to buy a “covered” service from a physician who does not file a claim for it. The government is having to borrow 40 cents out of every dollar it spends, but it still threatens physicians with a fine of $2,000 for turning down government money – at least if they accept any payment from the patient. …

If we let some patients pay for medical care the way they pay for groceries, we’ll find out the true free-market price. Apparently, that is a terrifying prospect to somebody. That would explain the threat to use the law enforcement powers of the federal government against Medicare-free doctors.

From Russell and Joy in Texas:

We are so thankful for God’s grace in our lives. We know that regardless of our circumstances, God is good and present. In this case He answered our prayers through the hands of health care workers when I needed surgery for a hernia.

We are so thankful for God’s provision through Samaritan members. The staff and members have been faithful to us, both in financial provision and in all the prayers and notes of encouragement.

This event was our first shared need, and I found myself more eager to read the notes than to receive the checks! This is a marvelous ministry, and we will continue to pray for the members and staff on a regular basis.

Thank you so very much!