PRAY FOR THE LOST!

PRAY FOR THE LOST!

"Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous. First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance."(Isaiah 59:1-2, John 9:31, Proverbs15:29, 1 Timothy 2:1-6, 2 Peter  3:9)

The compilation above sums up the position of the unrepentant. God does not listen to the prayers of sinners. Apart from the prayer of repentance and trust their prayers for help and comfort fall on non-listening ears... For example, if someone completely unrelated to you who had seen how well you had raised your children and/or  grandchildren, how you had provided for them, how you had protected them and loved them with abandon, would come to you and told you how they had observed your passionate love for your family. They are coming to you now to request that you would give them the same privilege without any family ties you would probably; definitely refuse their request on the basis of lack of familial rights. God has the same position. Until the sinner has been brought into the family He will hear their prayers but not listen to their requests.

Boredom-Day 14

Boredom-Day 14

 

I know that I’m getting ever closer to that magic age when those of us who have been active throughout our lives are supposed to slow down and take it easy (retirement) but I wasn’t prepared for the reality of being off for an extended period. I recently broke my foot while doing my pre-trip preparation at work.  The doctor said that the type of break I had would be a career ending injury for a professional athlete, (Good thing I’m not a professional athlete.) and that surgery would be required for my foot to heal properly. Well, as some of you know, there isn’t a simple process to get the medical and short term disability benefits started. Since it happened at work I had to go through all the Workers Comp rigmarole so that helped prolong the process. In any case it looks like I’ll be off work for almost ten weeks. That’s a lot of time. I find my unoccupied mind wandering from thought to thought and topic to topic. Every once in a while it lands on something.

[I compare this process to the actions observed when flies hitch a ride on a manure spreader. When the manure spreader hits a bump they all get up and fly around for a while and land somewhere completely different but still on the manure spreader. (A similar behavior happens with people in corporate management and in government.)  I guess that since I am the first person that I know of to record this phenomenon I get to name it. I’m trying to figure out what to call it. Here are some of the possibilities: “Manure Spreader Effect”, “Bumped Fly Syndrome”,” Hodges’ Distraction Paradigm”.]

But I digress…

The other day while my unoccupied mind was flying around I finally figured out why Valerie has been burning the microwave popcorn. It seemed that my darling lovely wife was having trouble completing this simple task without setting off the smoke detectors. You’re just supposed to put the bag in, close the door, push the “POPCORN” button, press the “START” button, wait until the microwave beeps, and take out the popped bag and enjoy…Right???  I even accused her of using the smoke alarms as timers. Obviously there is a missing factor at work here. Why is the popcorn burning even though published procedure is being followed? This was just the sort of puzzle I needed to occupy my mind. Upon closer examination I found what appears to be the underlying cause.  It seems that there are more than two sizes of microwave popcorn bags. We thought there were only two sizes 1.2 and 3.5. Someone in the Microwave Popcorn Cartel (MPC) has decided to package their delicious snack in an intermediate 2.4 oz. size bag without telling the Microwave Oven Cartel (MOC). I’m sure if the MPC had let the MOC know of their intention to do this the MOC would have placed another convenient button on the control panel for the intermediate popcorn bag (IPB).

 Problem identified… So what is the solution???

1.       We could be careful that in the future we purchase our microwave popcorn in only the prescribed 1.2 or 3.5 ounce packets.

2.       We could buy another microwave with an additional setting for the IPB (2.4 oz. intermediate popcorn bag)

3.       We could pop the corn on the 3.5 oz. setting and take it out before it burns.

4.       We could ask congress to make it illegal to sell microwave popcorn in any size but 1.2 and 3.5 ounce bags.

5.       We could ask congress to make it mandatory to purchase only the 3.5 ounce bags from a prescribed government exchange and fine us if we stop buying microwave popcorn.

I think I’ll just go with option 3 for now.

Next…

GH

The video linked below may be the most important nine minutes you ever spend!
http://wretchednetwork.wordpress.com/2013/11/08/steve-lawsons-impromptu-gospel-presentation/

Call you blessed

To: The person who pulled out today and blocked the road in front of a fully loaded 35000 GVWR delivery truck

Consider yourself very blessed.  In spite of the grievous error you committed The God of all creation has decided to allow you to live at least a little while longer. Many factors had to be in place for you to survive today.

1.       The truck driver was alert.

2.       The truck driver had recently completed training and passed the strict certification standards for a major international corporation.

3.       The truck driver is also an experienced motorcyclist who prides himself in staying out of dangerous situations.

4.       The truck driver was able to maneuver the truck around your sorry self without damage to you, your car, your passengers, his equipment, himself or his passenger.

5.       God, in His infinite mercy, made it a point today to make sure that these and a multitude of other factors were in place so you would , perhaps, live long enough to read this letter and make sure you are right with Him.

The passenger in the truck had a few choice descriptive adjectives which he hurled your way. (The truck driver happened to agree with all of them but the one about your pedigree. I don’t know you personally so I can’t confirm or deny whether you do or do not have canine lineage.)

At least three families were spared the grief such an event would have caused. We looked your way through our mirrors as you drove away apparently oblivious to the disaster that almost occurred. If our vehicles had met at that moment there would have been an accounting for the difference between the masses of our vehicles. The laws of physics state that for each action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Your little car just doesn’t have the mass necessary to make up the difference. The same thing applies to our daily lives. We go through life every day in full view of a righteous, holy and just God. One day He is going to require an accounting for all the sins you have committed in your life. Every stray word, every thoughtless action, each time you have lied or looked with lust at another person…… You see, we are all guilty of sinning against an infinite and holy God. The Good News is He made a provision for you and me to avoid an eternity in Hell. (Yes, it’s a real place) He himself became the sacrifice for our sins. God the Father sent Jesus who is God the Son to take our punishment. Through His death, burial and resurrection our sins may be washed away if we will turn away from our sins and trust Jesus for our salvation. I hope you are able to do this.

 The truck driver is a born again Christian who has repented and trusted Christ for his salvation. As a result he has chosen not to condemn you for your actions but to pray for you. You will now be placed on THE LIST. Our Sunday school class has a list of folks for whom we are praying for their salvation. I don’t know your name so I’ll just have to choose one for you when I put you on THE LIST. The people on THE LIST are prayed for daily by folks from our church and our CMA chapter. I’m not sure if I should call you Bill or George or Sue or Larry or Moe or Curly. I think I’ll leave it up to our Sunday school class to choose your name. For now I’m just going to call you blessed.

Sincerely,

The Truck Driver

Pray for our president

I believe in the power of prayer to the one true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God who delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt, who raised His Son Jesus from the dead, who sent the Holy Spirit to live in the lives of those who have repented of their sins and trusted Jesus Christ for their eternal salvation. The bible states that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much[1].  It also states that that righteousness is given to those who have repented and trusted Christ[2]. In contrast the bible states that the prayers of the unrighteous are an abomination to Him[3] and he will not hear them[4]. With that in mind I am calling on those of you who have recognized Christ as the only Lord and Master[5] and received forgiveness through repentance and faith in Jesus to pray the following prayer daily throughout the current term of President Obama.

 

 

Our most holy and precious heavenly Father,

I come in humility toward you. I recognize that you and you only are the Creator of all things. Only you are worthy to be called Lord and Master. I pray that you will forgive my sins and shortcomings so that my prayers will be more acceptable to you. Help me to live a life that is pleasing to you and that my actions will not be a hindrance to unbelievers.  

Father, I cannot know the true heart condition of another person. Only you know the condition of the souls of others. Your holy scripture states that we are to pray for those in authority over us. In obedience to that command I offer up a prayer for the President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama. Father, he lives in a situation where he is subject to many strong influences. I can only imagine what they may be. Even though he is our president he is still only a man who is subject to all the same pressures and desires as any man.  I pray that he has or will come to a place of repentance and trust in Jesus Christ. I pray that you will break down any barriers in his life that hinder him from hearing and responding to the Gospel.  I pray that the Holy Spirit will strive mightily with his spirit.  I pray that you will bring him to the point in his life where he can hear and listen and respond positively to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Amen

 

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[1] James 5:16  

[2] Romans 4:22-25,  Rom 5:17  - 19

[3] Proverbs 15:8  ,  Pro 28:

[4] John 9:31,  Isa 59:1 -2   

[5] John 3:18

Nate's Perspective

It’s funny how kids can make you think about things in new ways. My five year old grandson Nate recently lost his Grandma Massey. My wife Valerie and I went to the viewing to pay our respects and help any way we could. When we got to the funeral home we visited with the family and friends that we knew, met some of their family we hadn’t seen before and generally made the rounds. When we finished I headed back to the lounge to where the rest of the kids were. Nate happened to be back there by himself playing a video game on his dad’s phone.  He looked up and said, “Hi Papaw.” I said, “Hi Nate, how ya doin’?” He said, “OK” and went back to his video game. I took a seat just to be there and keep him company. After a short time he looked up from his game and asked, “Papaw what are you doin’ here in heaben?” I said,” Nate I’m not in heaven. We’re at the funeral home not heaven.” … “Oh”, he answered, and went back to his video game.  His Mom and Dad had explained to him that Grandma Massey had passed away and now she was going away to live with Jesus in Heaven.  I guess he processed that information the same way that most five year olds do. Since grandma Massey was in the next room this must be heaven.  Five year olds have an amazing capacity to retain information for future reference they just don’t have the background to sort that info.  

You know, we adults are much the same as five year olds when it comes to processing information. If we’re not given the background on a situation we can come to incorrect or incomplete conclusions. Too many times the Gospel is given to the lost without the background necessary to come to the correct conclusion.  Much of the time they are told that all they have to do is say a simple prayer or just keep the two greatest commandments. The benefit of “accepting Christ” is explained as a matter of life enhancement and heaven after that. No mention is made of God’s absolute holiness or our absolute sinfulness. No mention is made of repentance and a changed life, or the alternative, hell. If they are mentioned it’s only in general, vague terms that don’t carry the weight or information needed to understand the gravity of their plight. Folks, we gotta start laying out the whole truth to the lost. Their hearts need to be awakened to the fact we are vile sinners in God’s eyes and in need of a savior. How do we do that? We can change the “Modern Message” back to the “Old Truth”.  What we tell them needs to have the hard edge of truth. No more sugar coating. Until we are willing to break their hearts with our words they will not be able to arrive at the right conclusion.

EXAMPLES FROM THE GAULEY II

EXAMPLES FROM THE GAULEY II
The Gauley River has several colorfully and aptly named rapids such as Koontz's Flume, Canyon Doors, Upper and Lower Mash, Rocky Top, Heaven's Gate, Upper and Lower Staircase, Rollercoaster, Cliffside, Rattlesnake, and Roostertail. The last rapid of the trip on the Lower Gauley is a Class V called “Pure Screaming Hell” it’s a wild and strong run at the bottom of which are two holes. The smaller one called “Purgatory” (being good Baptists and not believing in purgatory) we ended up in the other one called “Hell Hole”. Believe me it is well named. Throughout the day we had come through some other big water with drops and holes and ledges. But this one is the biggest water on the lower river. Joshua, my son, and I were seated in the front of the raft and as the day progressed and we gained confidence the guide would put us into better and better parts of the river. When Josh and I would see a roller or a big drop we would give one last big pull with our paddles and pull the front of that tiny raft as deep as we could. But, when we got to Hell Hole and looked over the edge we …… didn’t. The raft went into the bottom of the hole at a steep angle. We hit bottom and “momentarily” leveled out. For the briefest of moments we settled into the foam until the water caught the raft and began to churn it like a washing machine. All of us went out including the guide. I was told that after we were flushed out of the hole our tiny raft was caught and tumbled end over end until it was finally spit out.
When I was tossed from the boat I found myself on my back under about six feet of churning river trying to orient myself and head to the surface. I’m a fairly experienced swimmer so I tried to get myself over on my stomach to swim to the surface but something wouldn’t let me. I tried stubbornly to get to the surface on my own becoming angrier and more frustrated the harder I tried. Something was thwarting my efforts to save myself. Finally, I remembered the safety instructions given by Kip back at the outfitters shop. The life vest is designed to turn an unconscious swimmer face up and float them to the surface. My struggling was only making my situation worse. I had to trust the vest. I had to surrender to its design and allow it to bring me to the safety of the surface.
Isn’t that a lot like the grace and mercy offered by God through Jesus Christ? It’s only when we recognize the graveness of our situation and surrender to the design of God’s grace that we are turned toward the Son and receive mercy. Ephesians 2:1-9