The Marvelous Message

 It is a joyful thing to see your children eager to pray or bless a meal. The words they speak are often simple, even at times off kilter, yet they are full of faith. For us learned and cynical adults, we cannot help but marvel, when we examine the heart of hope in a child. For example, out of all the public prayers that I have heard over the years, one in particular stands out above the rest. It is from my middle child, Elliot. Obviously, since I am his dad, I am thrilled that he chooses to pray sometimes before we have a family meal, but it is the content of his prayer that intrigues me the most. I have heard some children belt out a lyrical rhyme before a meal, others will bless every living thing before blessing the meal, and then there are some who will say a few incoherent words and then silently look at an adult, seeking a nod of approval to end the prayer. Strangely enough, I don’t remember teaching Elliot exactly what to say when he prays over food. All I remember is th...

O Foolish Marah! What were you thinking? Everything that I have taught you has been for nothing. How utterly pathetic you are! Yet, you dare tell Dibbah that you were simply following my counsel. You better know that if I was at liberty to leave my mission, I would surely seek you out and demolish you myself! I told you to cause thoughts of self pity in that mindless grungy , but you have gone too far. Sure, he pined away for a time, but you should have known that he was prone to go to t hat enemy in prayer! I assumed you realized that once you had caused him to pity his own piety, you were then to have him think that he needed to cover the hurt and forget the problems with worldly pleasures! To make him see that the only solace was to find comfort in amusement. While he silently cried over the predicament within the congregation, you should have prodded him into binge watching a television show to get his mind “off of things” or made him see merit in taking some lavish vac...

This is the third study on prayer. God bless you and may His grace shine upon you and give you peace. Matthew 6:7-8 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8   Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. LUKE 11:5-8   A nd he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; 6   For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? 7   And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. 8   I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.   Luke 18:1 And he spake a parable un...

This is the second lesson of the series of messages on prayer. Again, the main theme is “Lord, teach us to pray…” which is taken from Luke chapter 11 and verse 1. THE SECRET LIFE OF PRAYER Richard Baxter “ Prayer is the breath of the new creature.” Matthew 6:1   Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 2   Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 3   But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 4   That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. 5   And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they m...

               It has certainly been a while since my last post, but the past couple months have been a blur. A little over 2 weeks ago my my family and I traveled to North Carolina to see family and then to South Carolina for Bethany Free Will Baptist's Homecoming. The speaker for this year was a little dry, but the food and fellowship was definitely one of the highlights of the trip (In case you haven't figured out, I was the speaker). There is much I would like to post, and perhaps soon enough, I will. For now, I am going to impart some key information from a message series I have been preaching on Sunday evenings. No, it is not a David Jeremiah series or some type of Bible based curriculum. It is simply from personal study.               Now, I realize that in almost every case there is truly no such thing as “original ideas.” Someone may have a dif...