A Prayer for Stephen Small

Dear Lord Jesus,

     We lift Stephen up to You at this time.  We ask for Your healing mercies to be poured out upon this child of Yours.  We ask that You  would make Your presence felt and known by Stephen and all those around him.  Grant Your peace to him and his family as they press through this trial.  We ask that You will also raise up the community around Stephen to support them during this time.  Give the doctors and nurses the clarity of mind and sharpened skill to give Stephen the best of care.  Guide the doctors' hands as they remove everything and anything that should not be there.  We know that You are our true Healer.  We know that our hope lies in You alone.  And we thank You for giving us hope.  We thank You for who You are.  And we thank You that You are always faithful to hear us when we cry Your Name.  We love You, Jesus.

Amen

My Testimony

I grew-up in a Christian home.  I had a great childhood with loving parents and siblings.  I remember being a young boy, about 8 or 9 years old.  My younger brother and I would read the Bible, pray, watch TBN with mom, and even preach to each other.  Our family never really settled down in a church.  So we never really got involved with any other believers.  As we entered our teen years, we were given the choice to go to church with mom if we wanted to or not.  Of course, most any teen that has not had any involvement, and therefore no positive experience, with church will opt-out of going when given the chance.  But I still believed I was a Christian.  When people asked what religion I was, I would tell them, “I’m a Christian.”  Then they would ask me what denomination I was.  I didn't know, so I asked my dad.  He said, “Tell them you’re the kind that believes in Jesus Christ.”  That sounded good to me!  Ha-ha!  And that is STILL my answer today by the way.  But I did not even know what it meant to be a Christian.  I said I was.  I thought I was.  But I knew nothing of what that meant.  I kept those same answers all through childhood, my teen years, and even as a young adult.  It was not until September 11, 2001 that I began to question what I really believed.

Until then, I thought I was OK with God.  After all, I was a “good guy.”  I tried to help whomever I could.  I didn’t try to hurt anyone.  The same basic criteria many people recite when asked about their eternal destiny.

Now I did not personally know anyone in the area of the twin towers, the pentagon, or in Pennsylvania where the plane went down.  I did not know anyone that could have or would have been on those planes either.  In short, there was no direct logical reason that that attack should have affected me the way it did, unless, it was a wake-up call from God.  And that it was!  I started asking myself, “Just what DO I believe?”  I have always thought I was Christian.  I even knew the term Salvation and what that meant.  Well, I remembered that my parents gave me a Bible when I moved out.  They gave each of my siblings one too.  And my dad had told me that if and when I ever have big life questions, I will find the answers in the Bible.  So I embarked on my journey.  With a beer in my hand and a cigarette in my lips, I was going to find some answers!  I started reading the Bible here and there.  I even tuned in to a local Christian station I had heard my mom listen to on occasion.  On the radio, I heard a program which came out of a church in the same town my parents lived.  After a month or so of listening, reading, and praying, I said to myself that, “… it wasn’t too far to drive and I knew the area, so why not? I’ll check it out.”  That Sunday was November 11, 2001.  I heard the message.  I enjoyed the service.  And I agreed with everything I had heard, yet I arrogantly was still unmoved.  Then after the service, I stuck around to meet and talk with anyone who would.  Ha-ha!  I had never done that before!  So I spoke with a couple members.  One of them asked me, “Are you saved?”  I said, “Yes, sir!  If the words in this book are true”, thumping on my Bible,” then I’m saved.”  He said, “Let me ask again.  Are you saved?”  And I again said, “Yes, sir!  If the words in this book are true then I’m saved.”  Then he said something that threw me.  He said, “Let me put it another way.  What do you mean ‘if’?”  I paused to think for a minute.  And said, “I’m not sure I follow you.”  Then he asked if I had a few minutes to chat.  I said “sure.”  And we found a place to sit.  He explained to me that I was building my life upon an “if”.  And there is no stability or security in an “if”.  He asked me, “Do you believe the words in that book?”  I said, “Yes.”  He asked, “Cover to cover?”  I said, “Yes.”  “Then” he said, “You need to accept that book, cover to cover, as truth.  If anyone or anything ever says anything that does not line-up with what is in that book, it is a lie.”  Now this was my Bible we were discussing.  It was not a book or tract that was given to me by someone at the church.  This was my Bible that my parents gave me when I was very young.  He then explained to me what it cost God to save me.  The price Jesus paid for me to have peace with God.  And what it means to follow Jesus.  I gave my life to Jesus Christ that day.  And I was baptized that evening!  My life has never been the same.  And that is a good thing my friends!

I have had plenty of struggles though!  Do not be fooled.  My life has not been perfect by any stretch of the imagination.  I kept going to church, reading my Bible, praying, and my faith kept growing.  But life doesn't all-of-the-sudden get easy when you are saved.  In fact, it gets harder in many ways, just easier to deal with.  And yes, there were times when I was so far from God that you probably would not know I was a Christian even if I told you I was.  But God still loved me through those times.  He let me make a few mistakes, but he kept me out of any major troubles.  God has brought me so very far in the time since that spiritual awakening in September.  But the journey is nowhere near over.  God has taught me so very much also!  But I still have so much to learn.  I have grown a whole lot.  But there is still plenty of room for growth.

It is only by God’s grace that I’m here to share my testimony with you.  It is only by His great mercy that we all are here, with the opportunity to make a choice, right now, that WILL affect our eternal destiny.  Every one of us will spend eternity somewhere.  And it will be in one of two places, Heaven or Hell.  An eternity enjoying God’s presence or an eternity isolated from God.  It is your choice.

Some have asked me why a loving god would send anyone to Hell.  Well, truthfully, He doesn't.  We send ourselves to Hell when we break His Law and try to pay for our transgressions with the imperfect sacrifices of our good works.

And as if that’s not explanation enough… if someone doesn't want anything to do with God here on earth, how fair would it be of God to make them spend the rest of eternity with Him?  Wouldn't that be considered “hell” by their standards?

With all that, “Are you saved?  Do you know where you will spend eternity?”  If you are not absolutely sure of your relationship with Jesus, I urge you to make sure.

Thank You for Today

Dear Lord Jesus,

      This morning I come to You to thank You for waking me up and giving me this day to live for You.  Thank You for all the people You have put in my life.  And thank You for Your guidance.  I am sorry for all the times I have doubted what You were doing in my life.  I always knew You were there and I knew You were working out Your plan for me, but I still doubted how Your plan was unfolding.  I am sorry.  You are awesome, God!  You truly never cease to amaze me!  Your goodness, grace, and mercy are unparalleled.  Thank You also for Your forgiveness and peace.  I ask that You would remind me more often of just how much You have forgiven me so that I may show more forgiveness, grace, mercy, and compassion to those around me.  I still need Your instruction, Lord.  Teach me Your ways.  I ask for Your wisdom, God, as I go through this day.  I would prefer to have more wisdom for the rest of my days, but right now, I need it for just today.  You have said that we can worry about tomorrow when tomorrow gets here.  So, just enough bread for today is what I ask.  I love You, Jesus!  Please help me share Your Gospel with someone today.  Please help me to live and love as You do.  Help me see others the dame way as You do.  Touch my eyes and restore sight.  And touch them again so that I not only see but have vision!  Thank You for today!  I love You so much, my God!  Help me to live in such a way that I may show You how much I love You.

Amen

A Prayer for Roma Haile

Dear Heavenly Father,

     This morning I lift up Roma Haile to You.  I do not know what all is going on in Roma's life, but You do.  I just know she needs your help Lord.  She needs to feel Your presence and Your comforting touch.  Remind her that You have been and still are in control of all things, and there is nothing that takes You by surprise.  Help Roma to stand firm against satanic attacks.  Help her to gather her strength from You, Jesus.  Be her peace.  God, I ask that You would fight this battle for her and let her rest for a time.  Let her renew and refresh herself in You, Lord God.  Lead her to the help, support, and comfort of Your children from a local church, if there is one near.  Thank You, God, for Roma!  Thank You for her heart and her service.  Your Word says that You are fully able to complete the work You started in her.  And we are trusting that You will.  We love You, Jesus!  Thank You for all you have done and are doing!

Amen

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

Dear Jesus,

     I just want to thank You.  Thank You for being my Lord, my God, and my Friend.  You have been so good to me I can hardly believe it.  I know I surly don't deserve it!  But You are merciful and gracious.  Wow!  I love You, God!  Thank You for calling me friend.

Amen

A Prayer for Focus

Father God,

     This morning I want to thank You for all You have done and are doing in my life.  I want to thank You for being so merciful and gracious toward me.  I am sorry for all my sins and short-comings.  And I thank You for Your faithfulness to me.  Although I know that I, in my own righteousness, am unworthy of Your goodness and grace, You have never left my side.  You have never stopped loving me and teaching me which way to go.  Thank You, Lord.  I have been blessed so much more than I deserve.  And that is all because of Your grace.  You have kept me with Your love and guided me with Your word.  It has just occurred to me that You said that You "make all things work to the good of those that love You"; as I was just thinking of Your discipline.  I have often thought of discipline as sort of a "loving punishment" so that we will learn what not to do.  While this is true sometimes, I think it also refers to Your correction.  And when I think of Your correction, I think of how You make our mistakes - our "wrongs" - into Your planned steps to making us who we are.  You truly do make all things, even our mistakes, work toward the good of  those who love You!  You are awesome, God!  I love You!
     While I'm here,  I ask that You will help me to keep my focus on the things that really matter to You.  While I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with social media, I believe I've been getting distracted from what really matters by it.  Jesus, I know that You already know what I am referring to, so I won't bother rehashing it.  But I do ask that You will help me keep my eyes on You.  I ask that You will renew the vision and calling of all Your children too.  Help them also, to place their faith in You.  Help us all to pay more attention to Your Word than to the media.  Help us all work to reconcile the strained and broken relationships with each other and start acting more like You, Jesus.  Help us be more like You.  Teach us, Lord.  We need You now more than ever.
     We love You, God.

Amen

A Prayer for Michelle's Grandmother

Dear Jesus,

We're not sure what happened or is happening to Michelle's grand mother, but we are sure that You do.  We are also sure that You are our healer.  We ask You, Lord, to heal Michelle's grandma.  Steady her breathing and restore her vitality and health to her.  We thank You for being with us.  We thank You for letting us know that You are always in control and nothing takes You by surprise.  And we thank You, God, for Your comfort in distressing times.  We love You, Lord Jesus.

Amen