Abortion and other acts of playing God

One of the things that strikes me is how many times today, man trys to make himself God. Has that changed through history? Yesterday I found myself in an IVF debate. I am extremely pro-life. I always take the stand for life. I am against abortion for all reasons, I am against the death penalty. I do not believe in euthenasia. ....but what about creating life? Should man take extreme measures to begin life and what is considered extreme? Isn't this the center of the Embryonic stem cell question?

There are many bueatiful children created by IVF. And I read someone's opinion yesterday that they would be fine with it if only one egg was fertalized and implanted..or the number fertelized were always the number planted at a time. frozen eggs they were ok with, frozen fertalized eggs, not so much. I take the opinion that even in this God has shown us himself. IT is this technology that will one day render abortion obsolete. But I can not stand and say that IVF is NOT playing God. I believe it is.

I found this quote...so I thought I would post it with all this.

"The greatest act of faith is when man decides he is not God."

Know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Psalm 100:3

Wise Words

I read this today...and it seemed to apply to my life lately. I want so badly to go home. Home for me is not this bright spot, but rather...a place with a lot of painful memories. And yet, my heart yearns to return to what little comfort can be found there with my family. I miss them so much, but make no mistake...going home will hurt my heart. It will be hard, and a lot of memories will return. I would still be fighting the past, as well. And yet...

God's words are wise.

Don't Ask God for What You think is good; ask Him for what He thinks is good for you.

After this manner therefore pray ye... Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:9,10.

Imitation and Christian life

This article was in my hometown paper. I just wanted to share it because I thought it was so good.

Imitation and Christian life

David Sandvick, Columnist

"That has to be the best costume out of the whole bunch and you should win a prize." That's what I told a girl at our church costume party.

Oh, there were plenty of other good ones to be sure. Some disguises included princesses, a mad scientist, a chicken, Supergirl, and even Troy Polamalu dressed as Hines Ward of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

All of them were fun, but one really stood out in the crowd to me. It was a "Mini-Me." That's right, this amazingly talented and gifted girl inspired us all by dressing as the person who most inspires her ... me. Or more specifically, Pastor David.

Dressed in a navy blue suit, customary white shirt, obligatory Mickey Mouse tie, and Christmas socks, she calmly asked what scripture I would like her to read this evening. She said this as she leafed through her Bible with glasses sitting down on the end of her nose. A lapel microphone attached to the Mickey tie completed the ensemble. It really was a "Mini-Me."

Many people might let a flattering thing like this go to their heads, but not me. I just appreciate it for what it is ... an extremely brilliant child honoring a fantastic role model in her life.

But, all kidding aside, imitation is what the Christian life is all about. The apostle Paul told his readers to imitate him as he was an imitator of Jesus Christ. The very word "Christian" means "little Christ." It means that we follow his example and incorporate his teachings in the daily routines of life. When people look at us, they should at least be catching a glimpse of Jesus and the life he lived. You can learn what Jesus taught and how he lived at a good church this Sunday.

As for "Mini-Me," thank goodness she didn't want to preach a sermon as me. That would have cleared the place out!

David Sandvick is the pastor of First English Baptist Church in Frostburg.

Dare to Be Drug Free

On Friday, my kids school is allowing students to wear halloween themed tshirts for drug free week. (yesterday it was bandanas, today it was sunglasses, tomorrow it is ...ok I forget tomorrow....thursday is red tshirts and friday is a halloween tshirt. My kids wear uniforms to school...and i have no problem with this...but what about the kids who may not own a halloween themed tshirt? They just do not get to wear anything special....I guess they could get thier free dress pass..which means they can wear jeans and a school tshirt...other then that you must wear the uniform. Our school has a lot of students whose parents are not well off--78% get free lunch and another 20-some % get reduced lunch. Let's face it...middle class parents have problems paying for all the "extra's".

On friday there is a carnival too. Parents buy tickets...and then thier kids use the tickets to buy food and play games. My youngest and I are going to go and join in..but I refuse to pay more then 20$ for my kids to eat and play games for that hour. I have already donated cokes (which the schooli s then gonna sell at the cost of 2 tickets or 50 cents per cup, candy for candy bags that every kid will get one of in the school, and I am baking two cakes...every kid gets a piece of cake....I do not thik they are charging for it...i could be wrong though.

It just strikes me as how unfair it is to the kids who may not be able to pay the 10$ to buy a spirit shirt...or to go out and buy halloween shirts that the kid will only wear probably 2 times. This friday and one day next week. by next year the kids grow out of them usually...well my kids fit from last year. But still. The school says the reasons they want the uniforms is because it takes away "class"...but by having these special days...does it really?

today was shades day...you wear shades to signify a stand against drugs. And i like the drug free type weeks. I actually think they are good things. But at the same time...I feel like some of the kids are being excluded...and most of them honestly...are the kids that need reached the most on the drug free type stuff. They are in situations that are more likely to actually see drugs. And I say that as that kid growing up. There just does not seem like a good solution.

Shalom

Shalom to you now, shalom my friend
May God’s full mercy bless you my friend
In all your living, and through your loving
Christ be your shalom, Christ be your shalom.

Every sunday we end our service with this song. During the service we have a greet your neighbor time, but it is called "the passing of the peace". It reminds me that peace is not found in this world, but in only God. That only God can offer us peace. Searching the world for peace is a useless attempt. Peace comes through knowing God.

Shalom means peace in Hebrew. When we talk about it, we are talking about that inner peace. God's peace that we carry within ourselves.

To each of those I love, I wish Shalom. It can be a greeting or a goodbye. But always peace, through God's love.

I wanna Go home

After 15 years being away from home, the thing I wish for more then anything is the chance to go home. Only there is no jobs there, nothing there but family. Can not go home if the funds are not there to substain the family.

I wonder sometimes, what God's plan is. I just do not understand His plan, but I know there is one. And that is good enough for me. If it is God's will for me to go home, one day I will. But it does not stop me from wishing...

Keeping Hope Alive- Mid Week Epistole by Rev. Jim Massey

KEEPING HOPE ALIVE
The story goes of a university where there was a piano teacher that was simply and affectionately known as "Herman." One night at a university concert, a distinguished piano player suddenly became ill while performing an extremely difficult piece. No sooner had the artist retired from the stage when Herman rose from his seat in the audience, walked on stage, sat down at the piano and with great mastery completed the performance.

Later that evening, at a party, one of the students asked Herman how he was able to perform such a demanding piece so beautifully without notice and with no rehearsal. He replied, "In 1939, when I was a budding young concert pianist, I was arrested and placed in a Nazi concentration camp. Putting it mildly, the future looked bleak. But I knew that in order to keep the flicker of hope alive that I might someday play again, I needed to practice every day. I began by fingering a piece from my repertoire on my bare board bed late one night. The next night I added a second piece and soon I was running through my entire repertoire. I did this every night for five years.

It so happens that the piece I played tonight at the concert hall was part of that repertoire. That constant practice is what kept my hope alive. Everyday I renewed my hope that I would one day be able to play my music again on a real piano, and in freedom."

Does this not remind us that the way we keep our faith alive and well is that we must continually practice? We do this when we are greeting our family of a morning when we get out of bed and go to work. We also do this at our work and school when we make the difficult decisions of each day. Do we work hard and show ourselves as laborers approved or do we simply get by?

A teacher once told me that the way a student begins learning to do his tasks as a child will have a direct effect on the way he acts as an adult. I can see some of the ways this could be true.

Now my question for you is, cannot this be true with a Christian as he relates daily to the God who is in the world around us? Maybe we need to practice more!

Holy Father, help us truly live for You today. When we greet one another help us see that we are greeting You as well. When we laugh with our friends, let it be something that we would truly be willing to share with Your Son. When we cry with another, let it be the tears similar to the ones shed in Gethsemane for the way the world lets sin walk among us. All these things we ask for Your grace to abide in this day. In the blessed name of Christ we pray. Amen.

This has been Rev. Jim Massey. Join me next week for another Mid-week Epistle.

What is Faith?

Faith is the center of our belief, I think. Without faith, there is nothing. Look at Faith from the biblical point of view.

Matthew 6:
26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'

Matthew 8:
The Faith of the Centurion
5When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6"Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering."
7Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him."

8The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

10When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

13Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour.

Luke 8
40Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. 41Then a man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came and fell at Jesus' feet, pleading with him to come to his house 42because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.
As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. 43And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years,[d] but no one could heal her. 44She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.

45"Who touched me?" Jesus asked.
When they all denied it, Peter said, "Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you."

46But Jesus said, "Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me."

47Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. 48Then he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace."


Mark 11
The Withered Fig Tree
20In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21Peter remembered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!"
22"Have[f] faith in God," Jesus answered. 23"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."


To believe so strongly, to know the word is truth. That is faith.

to me, part of walking the faith journey is about works. It is about doing the works not because they are required however. It is about doing them because they are something we do to serve the God who loved us enough to send us Christ. About a form of worship through acts. When Methodist join the church they promise to give of thier tithes, acts, and thier prayers....for the glory of God. Not because it is required, but because you do it out of a commitment to the one who first loved you. There is an old hymn titled Jesus, Lover of my Soul. It is a love relationship. do you serve those you love? do you care for them and help them and show them acts of love? So, why would you do it differently when you are talking about a relationship with the person who first loved you?

Faith is to know with such truth that just touching the robe of Christ will heal you. Faith is knowing that Christ is so powerful, that He does not need to lay hands on you...just say and it is so. Faith is knowing that what Christ said, without a doubt is true.

Likely Voters?

An interesting observation from a site I post on. I post (mostly read) on a Christian Evangelical site..and there is a poll there on "Are you going to vote"...85% said yes...and out of the 35 post that people responded to the poll...only one says they will vote Democrat. Most said they will either proudly vote Republican or Hold thier nose and vote Republican.

But it makes me wonder if Evangelicals are going to stay home the way Democrats are counting on them to do so.

No matter what polls say, Historically Republicans are better at getting thier base out to vote. I do not think polls give facts anyway. There is only one poll that counts...that is November. I think it will be interesting to see the response if the Democrats fail to take back even 1 house.

No doubt, Christians will again be blamed and blasted as being the evil of the United States. Some would think that you should tap a person on the shoulder and point out that you catch more flys with honey.

Exodus Decoded on History Channel

Last night we were watching the Exodus Decoded on the History channel..and the whole show is about how the exodus actually happened earlier then suspected by like 50 years and then the guy goes on to show archelogical evidence to support this claim.

One part of the show that struck me was...The Israelie slaves were the first to use an alphabetic writing. And so, they went to the slave mines to find writing of this type....to see where in the time period they found writing to prove it was during the time that the guy suspected...etc. etc. etc.. All that is not why I am posting this.

It is what was written there on that Cave/Mine. L was how they Called God. And What was written was "L. Save Me". I was struck by the thought... Is that not our prayer still today? "Lord, Save me" We cry out today just as our forefathers to our faith cried out. And God heard thier prayers by sending Moses. No matter what happens in our life, God will hear our prayers as well.

God's Will

Over and over I have asked myself, Why Monroe? When everything was falling apart last spring, I kept praying faithfully..."Thy Will. Thy Will for our family. Thy Will for our lives. Father, Always, Thy Will be done." And more then once the last few months I have asked, "Why Monroe?"

A lady in my old church told me one time about how hard it was to accept when things were for our good. We get so excited about helping others...but when it is for us...well, that is a little harder to accept.

Tonight, I was reading a devotional and one of the things that stuck out to me was that author of it was telling about how, they forgot to look at life. The story was of a women with her mother on a trip. And the mother, normally buried in a book in a long car trip, was anxiously looking for animals. Asking what had gotten into her, she said..."The sign back there said 'watch for animals'" and so that is what she was doing. She had seen so many new things, but if she had failed to stop and see the signs, what wonders of God she would of missed.

I think a lot about my own life. I have always felt God made me for a purpose. So many times, I have felt God's hand guiding me. He has given me so many special gifts, that He made just for me. Gifts other people did not have. I wonder if I am using them for all His good that I could. Many of them I was using in Silver City. I was doing God's work using the gifts He had given me. And then, He in his ultamite wisdom brought me here to Monroe. Am I doing what He wills for me here? It is not without trying that I have failed to become involved in any sort of real activity here. Everytime I finally get to a point where I can, Life comes along and pulls me out. And I wonder too if that is Thy Will. God's purpose here is not to use those gifts. And I do not understand it.

But then, maybe I do not need to understand. Maybe I just need to go with the flow until God points me in the direction. Keep trying, and enjoy the scenes around me as I "Watch for Animals".

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
Text: Robert Robinson, 1735-1790
Music: Wyeth's Repository of Sacred Music, Part Second
Tune: NETTLETON, Meter: 87.87 D

1. Come, thou Fount of every blessing,
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
mount of thy redeeming love.

2. Here I raise mine Ebenezer;
hither by thy help I'm come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood.

3. O to grace how great a debtor
daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here's my heart, O take and seal it,
seal it for thy courts above.

The Larger Perspective - by Jim Massey (Mid Week Epistole)

THE LARGER PERSPECTIVE
I once had a friend tell me that no matter how we try, there will come a time when everyone must come to the grave. It will either be in death or in comfort for another, but we will eventually come. It truly reminds us that our life here on earth passes quickly. It is what we learn in that short existence that will truly change the lives of others.
Not long ago, James Gordon Gilkey, one of the Christian leaders in Portland, Oregon, was told by his physician that he had fallen victim to an incurable disease. There was no possible way by which death could be averted, or even long delayed. When this man heard the news, what did he do? Here is his account of the hours which followed: "I walked out to my home five miles from the center of the city. There I looked at the river and the mountain that I loved, and then -- as the twilight deepened -at the stars glimmering in the sky. I said to them, 'I may not see you many times more. But, river, I shall be alive when you have ceased your running to the sea. Mountain, I shall be alive when you have sunk down into the plain. Stars, I shall be alive when you have fallen to the sea.'"
That reminds me that the true life a Christian dwells eternally with God and we will all share in praise of Him forever.
A man was once asked what his favorite passage in the Bible was. His reply was “It came to pass!” When asked why, he said that is the Good News for him. “No sin ever comes to stay when you know the love of Jesus. It will all “’Come to pass.’”

Holy God, sometimes we miss the larger perspective of Your Kingdom. We think only of the here and now and do not glance at the Heavenly Kingdom that will be eternal. Give us the assurance of Your blessed love this day. We pray this in the blessed and eternal assurance of Jesus Christ. Amen.

This has been Rev. Jim Massey. Join me next week for another Mid-week Epistle.

Mountains

Mountains by Lonestar

Lucinda Jones workin' at the Eye Hall:
Ten years worth of bacon, eggs an' tears
She's waited on every creed an' color,
While waitin' on this day to get here
Graveyard shifts, two big tips,
Makin' every quarter count,
Was worth it all to see her son,
In that cap an' gown

There are times in life when you gotta crawl,
Lose your grip, trip an' fall
When you can't lean on no-one else:
That's when you find yourself
I've been around an' I've noticed that,
Walkin's easier when the road is flat
Them danged ol' heels'll get you every time
Yeah, the good Lord gave us mountains,
So we could learn how to climb

Bobby, Bobby Dunn came back from the war,
Lost his leg but they couldn't take his will
Hell bent to run in that local marathon,
He trained through the endless pain an' pills
It hurt so bad that sometimes,
He just had to cry,
He didn't stop until he crossed,
That finish line

There are times in life when you gotta crawl,
Lose your grip, trip an' fall
When you can't lean on no-one else:
That's when you find yourself
I've been around an' I've noticed that,
Walkin's easier when the road is flat
Them danged ol' heels'll get you every time
Yeah, the good Lord gave us mountains,
So we could learn how to climb

This world ain't fair,
It can knock you on your butt
You can just lie there,
Or you can get back up
You gotta get back up

There are times in life when you gotta crawl,
Lose your grip, trip an' fall
When you can't lean on no-one else:
That's when you find yourself
I've been around an' I've noticed that,
Walkin's easier when the road is flat
Them danged ol' heels'll get you every time
Yeah, the good Lord gave us mountains,
(The good Lord gave us mountains)
So we could learn how to climb
Yeah, oh

God Hears Our Prayers

The word pray or prayer is in the bible 365 times. 365 times! God hears our prayers. It is one of the easist and most underused ways we can become closer to God.

God hears and answers our prayers. Let Go and Let God help. Remember...Help is on the way, all you have to do is ask for it through prayer.

1 Peter 3:12
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."

James 5:15
And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.

James 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

1 Thessalonians 5:17
pray continually;

Colossians 4:2
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Matthew 6:9
"This, then, is how you should pray: " 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

Matthew 21:22
If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

Matthew 26:41
"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

Mark 11:24
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Mark 11:25
And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."

Luke 6:28
bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

Luke 18:1
[ The Parable of the Persistent Widow ] Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

and Jesus prayed for us too...

John 17:20
[ Jesus Prays for All Believers ] "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,

Isaiah 30

Are these words really just for Israel? Or do they still hold true today for all who worship our Lord?

Isaiah 30
Woe to the Obstinate Nation
1 "Woe to the obstinate children,"
declares the LORD,
"to those who carry out plans that are not mine,
forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit,
heaping sin upon sin;
2 who go down to Egypt
without consulting me;
who look for help to Pharaoh's protection,
to Egypt's shade for refuge.

3 But Pharaoh's protection will be to your shame,
Egypt's shade will bring you disgrace.

4 Though they have officials in Zoan
and their envoys have arrived in Hanes,

5 everyone will be put to shame
because of a people useless to them,
who bring neither help nor advantage,
but only shame and disgrace."

6 An oracle concerning the animals of the Negev:
Through a land of hardship and distress,
of lions and lionesses,
of adders and darting snakes,
the envoys carry their riches on donkeys' backs,
their treasures on the humps of camels,
to that unprofitable nation,

7 to Egypt, whose help is utterly useless.
Therefore I call her
Rahab the Do-Nothing.

8 Go now, write it on a tablet for them,
inscribe it on a scroll,
that for the days to come
it may be an everlasting witness.

9 These are rebellious people, deceitful children,
children unwilling to listen to the LORD's instruction.

10 They say to the seers,
"See no more visions!"
and to the prophets,
"Give us no more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things,
prophesy illusions.

11 Leave this way,
get off this path,
and stop confronting us
with the Holy One of Israel!"

12 Therefore, this is what the Holy One of Israel says:
"Because you have rejected this message,
relied on oppression
and depended on deceit,

13 this sin will become for you
like a high wall, cracked and bulging,
that collapses suddenly, in an instant.

14 It will break in pieces like pottery,
shattered so mercilessly
that among its pieces not a fragment will be found
for taking coals from a hearth
or scooping water out of a cistern."

15 This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:
"In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength,
but you would have none of it.

16 You said, 'No, we will flee on horses.'
Therefore you will flee!
You said, 'We will ride off on swift horses.'
Therefore your pursuers will be swift!

17 A thousand will flee
at the threat of one;
at the threat of five
you will all flee away,
till you are left
like a flagstaff on a mountaintop,
like a banner on a hill."

18 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you;
he rises to show you compassion.
For the LORD is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him!

19 O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." 22 Then you will defile your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, "Away with you!"

23 He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows. 24 The oxen and donkeys that work the soil will eat fodder and mash, spread out with fork and shovel. 25 In the day of great slaughter, when the towers fall, streams of water will flow on every high mountain and every lofty hill. 26 The moon will shine like the sun, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the LORD binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted.

27 See, the Name of the LORD comes from afar,
with burning anger and dense clouds of smoke;
his lips are full of wrath,
and his tongue is a consuming fire.

28 His breath is like a rushing torrent,
rising up to the neck.
He shakes the nations in the sieve of destruction;
he places in the jaws of the peoples
a bit that leads them astray.

29 And you will sing
as on the night you celebrate a holy festival;
your hearts will rejoice
as when people go up with flutes
to the mountain of the LORD,
to the Rock of Israel.

30 The LORD will cause men to hear his majestic voice
and will make them see his arm coming down
with raging anger and consuming fire,
with cloudburst, thunderstorm and hail.

31 The voice of the LORD will shatter Assyria;
with his scepter he will strike them down.

32 Every stroke the LORD lays on them
with his punishing rod
will be to the music of tambourines and harps,
as he fights them in battle with the blows of his arm.

33 Topheth has long been prepared;
it has been made ready for the king.
Its fire pit has been made deep and wide,
with an abundance of fire and wood;
the breath of the LORD,
like a stream of burning sulfur,
sets it ablaze.

How to Live a Prayer - Mid week Epistole by Jim Massey

How to live a Prayer
Many times we find our prayer time consists of asking God for His presence to come into our lives or into a circumstance. We are caught up in struggles and we do not truly take the time to realize that the greatest power we bring to a problem is our prayers.
Jesus taught us to pray. He gave us the words and the example to live that would justify praying a prayer such as the Lord’s Prayer. The way He prayed was to live the prayer He would pray.
Let me show you an example. This is a prayer that was prayed over 150 years ago:

Lord, help me to glorify You.
I am poor, help me to glorify You by being content.
I am sick, help me to glorify You with patience.
I have talents, help me to glorify You by using them.
I have time, help me to redeem it by serving You.
I have a heart, let me feel no love but Yours.
I can think, let me meditate on You.

When I read that prayer, I realized that it was the way that life brings our hearts to God in prayer.

Heavenly Father, let us truly glorify you in the way we care for others. Let us truly show the patience and grace You tell us we have been provided with in the way we speak and hold our children and loved ones. God, we come to You this day in a life of prayer. Help us pray before others. We ask this in the blessed name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

This has been Rev. Jim Massey. Join me next week when we see the Larger Perspective for our world.

Prayers Please

Brianna's surgery is friday. It has cost us, well a lot. Money is extremely tight that it is just not even there. LOL. Please, keep us in your prayers.

IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL
by Ho­ra­tio G. Spaf­ford

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Refrain

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Refrain

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

Refrain

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!

Refrain

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Refrain