*~*Prayer Requests for 12/10/09:
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lighthouse
Dec 9, 2009, 10:22:06 PM12/9/09
to The Lords Work Email Ministry
*~*Prayer Requests for 12/10/09:
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Would you believe that the "Inmate Mail Policy" censors based on
religious content????
Check this out: www.JusticeFellowship.org
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"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is in the
LORD" (Jeremiah 17:7).
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Hi friend,
Please keep the following individuals in your prayers:
1) "Please ask God to send an answer soon. Home in foreclosure,
mortgage company considering a modification to lower payments but
nothing definite since we are on disability and have low income. Was
to get an "agreement letter" about new payments but instead received a
statement for $9,000 today which is our past due payments. We
desperately need this modification to be approved to save our home. Am
getting very anxious but still praying and praising the Lord. Thank
you for your prayers." -Ellayne;
2) Anna asks for our prayers: "My sons out of control and i need
lots of prayers, PLEASE!!! He's using drugs and i cant get him to
accept treatment. He threatened if i sign him up he'll flunk all his
classes. He's a senior in high school and i want him to graduate in
time, but i can't let him destroy his life with drugs. I pray to the
Lord and the Virgin Mary to please help me guide my son with love.
LOrd hear my prayers.";
3) "Please pray for my friend Tony, he has been a loner for 11 yrs
due to not letting go of his hurt from his ex. He needs deliverance
and for the chains to be removed from his heart, so that he can move
forward in life, he needs to know Gods love. I am his girlfriend and
he has completely shut me out and caused me great pain. He is running
from me. I love him." -AN;
4) Jo asks for our prayers. He writes: "My daughter Jo is going
through a divorce and learning to survive as a single mom. She has
serious money issues and an autoimune system illness. She now found
out that she may have cervical cancer. We help her as much as we can,
but sometimes I think her money issues would be less if we would have
helped less. We need prayers for guidance in how to best help her, but
she needs prayers that she can get emotionally and physically healthy,
and also overcome her money problems. She does work and is looking for
another job, but given her health they may not work. Thank you for
your prayers." -Jo;
5) Virginia asks to be remembered in our prayers. She writes,
"RECENTLY DIVORCED HAVING A REAL HARD TIME, WE WORK TOGETHER SO I HAVE
TO SEE HIM ALOT. ADULTERY WAS THE REASON FOR DIVORCE I WANT TO FORGIVE
HIM AND MOVE ON BUT I CAN'T ALL I DO IS SLEEP WHEN NOT WORKING. CRY
ALOT. NEED HELP.";
6) "Thank you for your prayers for me while speaking with my
customers and players just now. Please pray for me all day as I am
tired and the Christmas season is here now. Thank you for your prayer
support and please also pray for our debit/credit card sales as we are
committing ten percent to the prayer ministry as a tithe to the Lord
for your wonderful prayer support." -Robert;
7) Danny and Donna asks for our prayers: "God the Father, Protect me
and my Family from any harms and dangers. May your graces be with us
in our daily lives. May the wishes of everyone's heart of my family be
real. I ask you this in the name of Jesus our Lord and Saviour ..
Amen.";
8) "My son and I had to relocate recently due to the current economic
condition. We are currently both looking for jobs in Nevada. We both
need prayer for favor and guidance. We both love the Lord and we
believe that He supplies all of our need according to His riches in
glory. Thank you for agreeing with us, and may God richely bless each
of you." -James;
9) Sasha asks for our prayers. She writes, "Please pray for the love
of my life. Although he and I are no longer together, please keep him
safe and well protected. Please allow him and I to be strong and
please allow us both to somehow find each other again one day. Thank
you.";
10) Please keep Chris in your prayers. He recently lost his job.
Ask the Lord to use this loss as an opportunity for blessing him if it
be His Will.;
11) "Dear God, Dear Prayer Team, please pray for Mark, whom I love
dearly. He is in need of guidance and wisdom. Please God, talk to him.
Open his heart and mind. Fill his heart and mind with understanding
and wisdom, ideas and humbleness. Bring him on his right path and
allow for our love to grow and to deepen. I am asking in prayer for a
fulfilled and committed relationship with Mark. A fulfilled and
committed relationship that will lead to us to be in a fulfilled and
committed lifelong marriage with each other. Lift Mark up and have
your angels watch over my Beloved. Thank you! Amen." -G;
12) Scott asks to be remembered in our prayers. He writes: "Please
pray for my husband's salvation. He left me and I have not seen him in
more than 4 weeks. I would like to pray for his health, peace of mind,
softening of our hearts, forgiveness, renewing of the mind and our
reconciliation and restoration of our marriage.";
13) "I am going on 4 months without employment since I was laid off
from my job back in early Feb. Thankfully the Lord has provided for me
financially in the interim with severance pay and unemployment.
Please pray for God's "door" or "window" to become apparent and to
open in His timing." -Miranda;
14) Tony writes: "Please pray for Willa Medinger who is recovering
from a massive stroke. Willa is the wife of Alan Medinger-former
Exodus president and director of Regeneration. She is expected to be
in ICU a few more days. Please pray for a full recovery.";
15) "Please be in prayer for my family. My husband, Mark learned
yesterday that his company is closing, and he as well as the rest of
the employees will no longer have employment after December 29th. Mark
has a deep desire to be a witness during this time, to demonstrate his
faith in God for provision and a plan. We are going to believe; after
all, we are believers right?! We're going to trust that God has a plan
and a purpose and in His perfect timing He will open another door, to
an even better job." -Mileah;
16) "I have a genetic eye disorder that I have dealt with most all my
life. Recently I lost vision in my right eye. I had a corneal
transplant,but immediatly lost the vision again. I have had another
corneal transplant that so far is not doing well. I am praying for my
eye to heal and to regain my vision so that I can go back to work.(I
am the sole wage earner for my family. My husband has retired and has
heart disease, so is limited in what he can do.) Please pray for my
vision. Thank you." -Marilyn;
17) Dynita asks to be remembered in our prayers: "I am in need of
prayer of my family and that who ever that trieing to put hexes,--
etc. of the enemy that have attempted to penetrate me be put to the
pitts of hell where they belong and bind up in the name of Jesus! i
pray that my finances be release from the enemy hands and the
strongholds be destroyed over me and my family and be cast aside and
destroyed any demonic spirit be turned around in jesus name. thank you
for your prayers. your friend in christ jesus of nazareth i pray.";
18) "My husband and I have a 3-year-old son who is absolutely a joy
to us. We love him so very much, but there have been a lot of behavior
issues that have put me in tears on more than one occassion. I feel
exhausted and somewhat hopeless at times trying to be the mom he needs
while teaching him what he needs. It is hard to take him places
because of how he acts and it becomes somewhat isolating when I am at
home with him all day. Please pray for guidance and clarity for my
husband and I and for our son to learn to behave a little better!
Thank you." -Amanda;
19) Chuck asks for our prayers. He writes, "Please pray for me and
my wife. We are seperated but still very much in love. We continue to
see each other and are very much involved in each other's lives, but
we're confused and frightened when it comes to deciding whether or not
we should take the next step and try living together again. Please
pray that God will give us guidance and strength, and open our hearts
and minds to let us see the right path to follow. Our names are Chuck
and Wendy. Thank you for your kindness." -Chuck;
20) J asks for our prayers: "My 5 year old son has a lot of eating
difficulties. He is very tiny for his age - 3 feet tall, 30 lbs. He
has not gained any weight in several months. He has very few foods he
eats and those have to be forced. He has a lot of aversion to food
textures (he basically eats soft, smooth food like fruit and yogurt -
no veggies, meat or bread). He has some behavioral issues as well.
Meal time is very difficult for our family. It is a struggle and
usually ends in frustration for everyone. It is dictating our entire
lives. Please pray that he would would learn to chew better, that he
would not be afraid to try new things, and that he would be
cooperative, and that he would decide that eating is fun!! Also pray
that he would grow, gain weight and be healthy.";
21) "I am in great need of prayer and i'm asking for your help. I
have an addiction i can't seem to stop. its not good for my general
health and its ruining a relationship thats important. the guilty and
shame its causing is to much to bear. please please pray for me. i am
also looking for a good church home with a recovery program. i will be
attending one tonight for a bible study. i am a born again believer
and am ashamed that i have strayed from the church into this habit.
please pray the stronghold be broken.thankyou so very much!" -Lisa;
22) Charles asks to be remembered in our prayers. He writes:
"Please pray for me and do all that your site is intended to do. For I
believe that where two or more are gathered that He (JESUS/IESOUS/
YEHOSHUA) is in the midst and will give them the supplications of
their heart. It is in this fact of knowing that for with YAHWEH
nothing shall be impossible that I ask in the blood of the Lamb that
my marriage to Anita is restored, that my covenant with her and GOD
is re-established and that our family is made whole, that my ministry
takes off and that my book will exceed all sales quotas that in my
wealth I will build up the kingdom of GOD and shall bless his people
for Jesus states that we have him but for a short time but the poor we
shall have always. I pray right now that GOD will make haste and not
tarry and that this prayer will come to pass right now by the blood of
the Lamb and in the name Jesus Christ do I believe that I have all
that I have prayed for. Amen. Amen. Amen."; and lastly . . .
23) "I just got a 3 day eviction notice to leave my home. I have a
wife and 2 young daughters with no savings left, no money, and no
place to go. I need God to work with me and help me use my skills to
find income streams and a place to live. Thanks for the prayers. I
NEED THEM." -Jeff
**God bless you for caring enough to pray!!!**
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"For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans
10:13).
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*~*Spotlight Site*~*
http://myplacewithjesus.com
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The Sandpiper
By Robert Peterson
www.LighthousePrayerLine.org
She was six years old when I first met her on
the beach near where I live. I drive to this beach,
a distance of three or four miles, whenever the
world begins to close in on me. She was building
a sand castle or something and looked up, her
eyes as blue as the sea.
'Hello,' she said.
I answered with a nod, not really in the mood to
bother with a small child.
'I'm building,' she said.
'I see that. What is it?' I asked, not really caring.
'Oh, I don't know, I just like the feel of sand.'
That sounds good, I thought, and slipped off my
shoes.
A sandpiper glided by.
'That's a joy,' the child said.
'It's a what?'
'It's a joy. My mama says sandpipers come to
bring us joy.'
The bird went gliding down the beach. Good-bye
joy, I muttered to myself, hello pain, and turned
to walk on. I was depressed, my life seemed
completely out of balance.
'What's your name?' She wouldn't give up.
'Robert,' I answered. 'I'm Robert Peterson.'
'Mine's Wendy...I'm six.'
'Hi, Wendy.'
She giggled. 'You're funny,' she said.
In spite of my gloom, I laughed too and walked
on. Her musical giggle followed me.
'Come again, Mr. P,' she called. 'We'll have another
happy day.'
The next few days consisted of a group of unruly
Boy Scouts, PTA meetings, and an ailing mother.
The sun was shining one morning as I took my
hands out of the dishwater. I need a sandpiper, I
said to myself, gathering up my coat.
The ever-changing balm of the seashore awaited
me. The breeze was chilly but I strode along,
trying to recapture the serenity I needed.
'Hello, Mr. P,' she said. 'Do you want to play?'
'What did you have in mind?' I asked, with a twinge
of annoyance.
'I don't know. You say.'
'How about charades?' I asked sarcastically.
The tinkling laughter burst forth again. 'I don't
know what that is.'
'Then let's just walk.'
Looking at her, I noticed the delicate fairness
of her face. 'Where do you live?' I asked.
'Over there.' She pointed toward a row of summer
cottages.
Strange, I thought, in winter.
'Where do you go to school?'
'I don't go to school. Mommy says we're on vacation.'
She chattered little girl talk as we strolled up the
beach, but my mind was on other things. When I
left for home, Wendy said it had been a happy day.
Feeling surprisingly better, I smiled at her and agreed.
Three weeks later, I rushed to my beach in a state
of near panic. I was in no mood to even greet Wendy.
I thought I saw her mother on the porch and felt like
demanding she keep her child at home.
'Look, if you don't mind,' I said crossly when Wendy
caught up with me, 'I'd rather be alone today.' She
seemed unusually pale and out of breath.
'Why?' she asked.
I turned to her and shouted, 'Because my mother
died!' and thought, My God, why was I saying this
to a little child?
'Oh,' she said quietly, 'then this is a bad day.'
'Yes,' I said, 'and yesterday and the day before
and -- oh, go away!'
'Did it hurt?' she inquired.
'Did what hurt?' I was exasperated with her, with
myself.
'When she died?'
'Of course it hurt!' I snapped, misunderstanding,
wrapped up in myself. I strode off.
A month or so after that, when I next went to the
beach, she wasn't there. Feeling guilty, ashamed,
and admitting to myself I missed her, I went up
to the cottage after my walk and knocked at the
door. A drawn looking young woman with honey-
colored hair opened the door.
'Hello,' I said, 'I'm Robert Peterson. I missed your
little girl today and wondered where she was.'
'Oh yes, Mr. Peterson, please come in. Wendy
spoke of you so much. I'm afraid I allowed her to
bother you. If she was a nuisance, please, accept
my apologies.'
'Not at all--she's a delightful child.' I said, suddenly
realizing that I meant what I had just said.
'Wendy died last week, Mr. Peterson. She had
leukemia. Maybe she didn't tell you.'
Struck dumb, I groped for a chair. I had to catch
my breath.
'She loved this beach, so when she asked to come,
we couldn't say no. She seemed so much better here
and had a lot of what she called happy days. But the
last few weeks, she declined rapidly...' Her voice
faltered, 'She left something for you, if only I can find it.
Could you wait a moment while I look?'
I nodded stupidly, my mind racing for something to say
to this lovely young woman. She handed me a smeared
envelope with 'MR. P' printed in bold childish letters.
Inside was a drawing in bright crayon hues--a yellow
beach, a blue sea, and a brown bird. Underneath was
carefully printed:
A SANDPIPER TO BRING YOU JOY.
Tears welled up in my eyes, and a heart that had
almost forgotten to love opened wide. I took Wendy's
mother in my arms. 'I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so
sorry,' I uttered over and over, and we wept together.
The precious little picture is framed now and hangs
in my study. Six words--one for each year of her life
-- that speak to me of harmony, courage, and
undemanding love.
A gift from a child with sea blue eyes and hair the
color of sand, who taught me the gift of love.
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NOTE: This is a true story sent out by Robert
Peterson. It happened over 20 years ago and
the incident changed his life forever. It serves
as a reminder to all of us that we need to take
time to enjoy living and life and each other.
The price of hating other human beings is
loving oneself less.
Life is so complicated, the hustle and bustle of
everyday traumas can make us lose focus about
what is truly important or what is only a momentary
setback or crisis.
This week, be sure to give your loved ones an extra
hug, and by all means, take a moment...even if it is
only ten seconds, to stop and smell the roses.
This comes from someone's heart, and is read by
many and now I share it with you...
May God Bless everyone who receives this! There
are NO coincidences!
Everything that happens to us happens for a
reason. Never brush aside anyone as insignificant.
Who knows what they can teach us?
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I wish for you, a SANDPIPER!!
I know and love one.
Do you?
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The Holy Spirit Compels You To Unite !
By Richard A. Kent
Last week we spoke of the “new thing” God is stirring in the body of
Christ. We spoke of unity and how separate teachings and titles
(denominations) can cause division, and cause confusion to those
seeking a truth that seems to be blurred in a cloud of human theories
and flat out rebellion at times. Where the arguments of man have
indeed been the most hindering and power robbing aspect to the
Christian faith. How can a faith that holds to “one way to Heaven”
teach multiple truths? The answer is- it can not
In my journey to fulfill the quest God has placed before me, I have
heard so many comments from members of various churches. Most stating
they know there this is an issue in the body of Christ, and that we as
the body need to work towards a remedy, but they also seem to have an
empathic attitude towards the idea that it can really happen. “It will
have to be a mighty move of the Holy Spirit” they say. Not realizing
that move has already begun as we speak. From my experience, I feel
that is mostly a spirit of pride that to this day prevents the true
unification of the Christian faith. It is Mankind’s persistence in
maintaining its stance that they are right and others are wrong, that
their specific denomination holds the only solid truth, and others are
lost.
The best picture I can give to show as an example of our unification
problem is that of puzzle. There are many pieces of this puzzle placed
through-out the world. They are scattered in this maze of doctrines
and theories, and found in hundreds of our local churches. The enemy
of God with a simple strike has blown what once was a solid picture
into a scattered puzzle with the people having no real knowledge of
how to restore it. In order to bring the church back to it roots, we
must begin putting the pieces back together. These pieces I speak of
are the members of what the word of God says are the five fold
ministry, found in Ephesians 4:11, It reads: "It was he who gave some
to be (1) apostles, some to be (2) prophets, some to be (3)
evangelists, and some to be (4) pastors and (5) teachers." Without
these called men and women working together and in one accord, it is
much like a team of horses pulling in opposite directions and ripping
the body of Christ into separate pieces, and thus hindering the works
of the true church from the inside.
Without a doubt no man or woman can claim in truth these words to be
false. How or why then, would any not place this on the top of the
prayers list on every Christian church in the world? Why is not the
most talked about move in the Christian faith? How can we simply
ignore something this huge and just go back to our normal churches and
hope it just goes away. I am here to tell the church, “It’s not going
to go away”. The true men and women of God will be united, and yes it
will be a mighty move of the Holy Spirit, but it will also be a mighty
move of choice. I Mean, that we as believers have to consciously make
the choice to hear the voice of God and act on it-amen. I believe not
to act on it would be sin. I ask each person that reads this short
article to take this to prayer. Take it into our churches, speak with
it to the local pastors, and let’s make a choice to do what’s right
today.
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World Hope International is a faith based relief and development
organization alleviating suffering and injustice through education,
enterprise and community health.
Visit: http://worldhope.org
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So True!
LighthousePrayerLine.org
A father wanted to read a magazine but was being bothered by his
little girl, Shelby. She wanted to know what the United States looked
like. He tore a sheet out of his new magazine on which was printed the
map of the country.
Tearing it into small pieces, he gave it to Shelby , and said, 'Go
into the other room and see if you can put this together. This will
show you our whole country today.'
After a few minutes, Shelby returned and handed him the map, correctly
fitted and taped together. The father was surprised and asked how she
had finished so quickly.
'Oh,' she said, 'on the other side of the paper is a picture of Jesus.
When I got Jesus back where He belonged, then our country just came
together.'
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Cosmic Treason
By R.C. Sproul
"The sinfulness of sin" sounds like a vacuous redundancy that adds no
information to the subject under discussion. However, the necessity of
speaking of the sinfulness of sin has been thrust upon us by a culture
and even a church that has diminished the significance of sin itself.
Sin is communicated in our day in terms of making mistakes or of
making poor choices. When I take an examination or a spelling test if
I make a mistake, I miss a particular word. It is one thing to make a
mistake. It is another to look at my neighbor's paper and copy his
answers in order to make a good grade. In this case, my mistake has
risen to the level of a moral transgression. Though sin may be
involved in making mistakes as a result of slothfulness in
preparation, nevertheless, the act of cheating takes the exercise to a
more serious level. Calling sin "making poor choices" is true, but it
is also a euphemism that can discount the severity of the action. The
decision to sin is indeed a poor one, but once again, it is more than
a mistake. It is an act of moral transgression.
In my book, The Truth of the Cross, I spend an entire chapter
discussing this notion of the sinfulness of sin. I begin that chapter
by using the anecdote of my utter incredulity when I received arecent
edition of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. Though I was happy to
receive this free issue, I was puzzled as to why anyone would send it
to me. As I leafed through the pages of quotations that included
statements from Immanuel Kant, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, and others,
to my complete astonishment I came upon a quotation from me. That I
was quoted in such a learned collection definitely surprised me. I was
puzzled by what I could have said that merited inclusion in such an
anthology, and the answer was found in a simple statement attributed
to me: "Sin is cosmic treason." What I meant by that statement was
that even the slightest sin that a creature commits against his
Creator does violence to the Creator's holiness, His glory, and His
righteousness. Every sin, no matter how seemingly insignificant, is an
act of rebellion against the sovereign God who reigns and rules over
us and as such is an act of treason against the cosmic King.
Cosmic treason is one way to characterize the notion of sin, but when
we look at the ways in which the Scriptures describe sin, we see three
that stand out in importance. First, sin is a debt; second, it is an
expression of enmity; third, it is depicted as a crime. In the first
instance, we who are sinners are described by Scripture as debtors who
cannot pay their debts. In this sense, we are talking not about
financial indebtedness but a moral indebtedness. God has the sovereign
right to impose obligations upon His creatures. When we fail to keep
these obligations, we are debtors to our Lord. This debt represents a
failure to keep a moral obligation.
The second way in which sin is described biblically is as an
expression of enmity. In this regard, sin is not restricted merely to
an external action that transgresses a divine law. Rather, it
represents an internal motive, a motive that is driven by an inherent
hostility toward the God of the universe. It is rarely discussed in
the church or in the world that the biblical description of human
fallenness includes an indictment that we are by nature enemies of
God. In our enmity toward Him, we do not want to have Him even in our
thinking, and this attitude is one of hostility toward the very fact
that God commands us to obey His will. It is because of this concept
of enmity that the New Testament so often describes our redemption in
terms of reconciliation. One of the necessary conditions for
reconciliation is that there must be some previous enmity between at
least two parties. This enmity is what is presupposed by the redeeming
work of our Mediator, Jesus Christ, who overcomes this dimension of
enmity.
The third way in which the Bible speaks of sin is in terms of
transgression of law. The Westminster Shorter Catechism answers the
fourteenth question, "What is sin?" by the response, "Sin is any want
of conformity to, or transgression of, the law of God." Here we see
sin described both in terms of passive and active disobedience. We
speak of sins of commission and sins of omission. When we fail to do
what God requires, we see this lack of conformity to His will. But not
only are we guilty of failing to do what God requires, we also
actively do what God prohibits. Thus, sin is a transgression against
the law of God.
When people violate the laws of men in a serious way, we speak of
their actions not merely as misdemeanors but, in the final analysis,
as crimes. In the same regard, our actions of rebellion and
transgression of the law of God are not seen by Him as mere
misdemeanors; rather, they are felonious. They are criminal in their
impact. If we take the reality of sin seriously in our lives, we see
that we commit crimes against a holy God and against His kingdom. Our
crimes are not virtues; they are vices, and any transgression of a
holy God is vicious by definition. It is not until we understand who
God is that we gain any real understanding of the seriousness of our
sin. Because we live inthe midst of sinful people where the standards
of human behavior are set by the patterns of the culture around us, we
are not moved by the seriousness of our transgressions. We are indeed
at ease in Zion. But when God's character is made clear to usand we
are able to measure our actions not in relative terms with respect to
other humans but in absolute terms with respect to God, His character,
and His law, then we begin to be awakened to the egregious character
of our rebellion.
Not until we take God seriously will we ever take sin seriously. But
if we acknowledge the righteous character of God, then we, like the
saints of old, will cover our mouths with our hands and repent in dust
and ashes before Him.
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When the Stakes Are Highest
By Jill Carattini
LighthousePrayerLine.org
There is a place in my Bible that is prone to be frequently
revisited. In fact, it is quite often the place I find in front of me
when I open the book. And every time it happens, like a scent that
uproots a potent memory, I recall the story behind the pages.
Some time ago, between classes in college, I was reading in a park
when the skies shifted without warning and the pounding rain left a
permanent bookmark on a chapter in John. The pages have long since
dried, leaving the paper wavy and wrinkled, and easy to turn to upon
opening. But something about the lasting impressions of the rain—no
doubt, a fitting metaphor of life—has also impressed that day into my
mind. The hardest rains always leave indelible imprints.
In The Problem with Pain, C.S. Lewis refers to pain as God's megaphone
to rouse a deaf world. Convincingly, he presents a careful theodicy,
considering the problem of suffering from an entirely theoretical
perspective. He presents the things we know to be true of suffering,
pain, and evil, what we know of the suffering and death of Christ, and
the strength we are given when the peripheral questions of life are
answered by a good God. Twenty years later, in the pages of A Grief
Observed, Lewis describes watching his beloved wife lose her battle
with cancer and wrestling with God through the pain. Here, he writes
as a man who bitterly and intimately knows what he knows to be true of
God and evil, suffering and Christ, even as his soul is breaking.
Writes Lewis, "Your bid—for God or no God, for a good God or the
Cosmic Sadist, for eternal life or nonentity—will not be serious if
nothing much is staked on it. And you will never discover how serious
it was until the stakes are raised horribly high."(1) He continues,
"Nothing less will shake a man—or at any rate a man like me—out of his
merely verbal thinking and his merely notional beliefs. He has to be
knocked silly before he comes to his senses. Only torture will bring
out the truth. Only under torture does he discover it himself."(2)
I believe the first time I really and fearfully looked the object of
my faith in the eyes was while I was pounding my fists against the
chest of God, half-demanding, half-pleading to know why my father was
dying. Those indelible days gave new meaning to Paul's admonition,
"Work out your salvation in fear and trembling." In our prayers we
cry and in our hymns we sing, "Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed
Lord, To the cross where Thou hast died. Draw me nearer, nearer, To
Thy precious, bleeding side." But when the stakes are at their
highest, do we really mean it? Have we counted that cost?
Just before Paul admonishes the Philippian Church to work out their
salvation in fear and trembling, he describes the cost of Christ,
"who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God
something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very
nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in
appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:6-8). In his life, his body,
his very attitude, Christ carried the cost of our sin; he carried our
dire need for hope in life and in sorrow, and our inability to draw
near to God ourselves. There was a point in my dad's pain from
spreading cancer when he said to me, "I had no idea how Christ
suffered." There is something about our pain that can lead us to the
foot of the cross, to the utmost expression of love wrought with
stripes and sorrow. As the hymn continues, "There are depths of love
that I cannot know, Till I cross the narrow sea; There are heights of
joy that I may not reach, Till I rest in peace with Thee."
It is fitting, then, that the pages marked by rain in my Bible tell
the story of the death and resurrection of Lazarus. As Mary and
Martha and Jesus wept, the rain seemed appropriate. But I remember
clearly being struck with another thought: Surely, it was Lazarus who
got the lesser end of the deal that day. To a crowd of people
mourning death and loss, Jesus proclaimed radically, "I am the
resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even
though he dies" (John 11:25). While Jesus spoke to the mourning crowd
about true life, Lazarus himself was closer to truly living. I
wondered that day how Lazarus felt about coming back. He was one
great step closer to the heights and depths of the joy we long for on
earth, the kingdom Jesus had told him about; he had been drawn nearer
to the almighty God. For Lazarus, humanity's deepest problem and
loudest prayer had been answered. And then it began to rain, ever
etching that thought into my Bible and my consciousness.
**(1) C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed (New York: HarperCollins, 1989),
49. (2) Ibid., 49-50.
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"Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares
about you" (1 Peter 5:7 – NLT).
Be sure to send in your prayer request for the next
mailing.
You are in my thoughts and prayers! May the Lord
continue to bless you with knowledge of Himself.
Your friend in Christ,
Mark Seay
Lighthouse Prayer Line
105 Quincy Drive
Greer, SC 29650
LighthousePrayerLine.org
"Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the
Lord" (Romans 12:11).
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We hope you have found today's newsletter encouraging to your
walk with Jesus Christ. Please send all prayer requests and
praise reports to us by using the "comments" hyperlink, which
can be found at the end of each blog/article. God is Good!!!
A Candle Loses Nothing by Lighting Another Candle. Please Keep This
Candle Going!
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Anyone who is to find Christ must first find the church. How could
anyone know where Christ is and what faith is in him unless he knew
where his believers are? ~Martin Luther
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"If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O LORD, who could
stand?" (Psalm 130:3).
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Would you believe that the "Inmate Mail Policy" censors based on
religious content????
Check this out: www.JusticeFellowship.org
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"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is in the
LORD" (Jeremiah 17:7).
((¯`»¦«´¯))((¯`»¦«´¯))((¯`»¦«´¯))((¯`»¦«´¯))((¯`»¦«´¯))
Hi friend,
Please keep the following individuals in your prayers:
1) "Please ask God to send an answer soon. Home in foreclosure,
mortgage company considering a modification to lower payments but
nothing definite since we are on disability and have low income. Was
to get an "agreement letter" about new payments but instead received a
statement for $9,000 today which is our past due payments. We
desperately need this modification to be approved to save our home. Am
getting very anxious but still praying and praising the Lord. Thank
you for your prayers." -Ellayne;
2) Anna asks for our prayers: "My sons out of control and i need
lots of prayers, PLEASE!!! He's using drugs and i cant get him to
accept treatment. He threatened if i sign him up he'll flunk all his
classes. He's a senior in high school and i want him to graduate in
time, but i can't let him destroy his life with drugs. I pray to the
Lord and the Virgin Mary to please help me guide my son with love.
LOrd hear my prayers.";
3) "Please pray for my friend Tony, he has been a loner for 11 yrs
due to not letting go of his hurt from his ex. He needs deliverance
and for the chains to be removed from his heart, so that he can move
forward in life, he needs to know Gods love. I am his girlfriend and
he has completely shut me out and caused me great pain. He is running
from me. I love him." -AN;
4) Jo asks for our prayers. He writes: "My daughter Jo is going
through a divorce and learning to survive as a single mom. She has
serious money issues and an autoimune system illness. She now found
out that she may have cervical cancer. We help her as much as we can,
but sometimes I think her money issues would be less if we would have
helped less. We need prayers for guidance in how to best help her, but
she needs prayers that she can get emotionally and physically healthy,
and also overcome her money problems. She does work and is looking for
another job, but given her health they may not work. Thank you for
your prayers." -Jo;
5) Virginia asks to be remembered in our prayers. She writes,
"RECENTLY DIVORCED HAVING A REAL HARD TIME, WE WORK TOGETHER SO I HAVE
TO SEE HIM ALOT. ADULTERY WAS THE REASON FOR DIVORCE I WANT TO FORGIVE
HIM AND MOVE ON BUT I CAN'T ALL I DO IS SLEEP WHEN NOT WORKING. CRY
ALOT. NEED HELP.";
6) "Thank you for your prayers for me while speaking with my
customers and players just now. Please pray for me all day as I am
tired and the Christmas season is here now. Thank you for your prayer
support and please also pray for our debit/credit card sales as we are
committing ten percent to the prayer ministry as a tithe to the Lord
for your wonderful prayer support." -Robert;
7) Danny and Donna asks for our prayers: "God the Father, Protect me
and my Family from any harms and dangers. May your graces be with us
in our daily lives. May the wishes of everyone's heart of my family be
real. I ask you this in the name of Jesus our Lord and Saviour ..
Amen.";
8) "My son and I had to relocate recently due to the current economic
condition. We are currently both looking for jobs in Nevada. We both
need prayer for favor and guidance. We both love the Lord and we
believe that He supplies all of our need according to His riches in
glory. Thank you for agreeing with us, and may God richely bless each
of you." -James;
9) Sasha asks for our prayers. She writes, "Please pray for the love
of my life. Although he and I are no longer together, please keep him
safe and well protected. Please allow him and I to be strong and
please allow us both to somehow find each other again one day. Thank
you.";
10) Please keep Chris in your prayers. He recently lost his job.
Ask the Lord to use this loss as an opportunity for blessing him if it
be His Will.;
11) "Dear God, Dear Prayer Team, please pray for Mark, whom I love
dearly. He is in need of guidance and wisdom. Please God, talk to him.
Open his heart and mind. Fill his heart and mind with understanding
and wisdom, ideas and humbleness. Bring him on his right path and
allow for our love to grow and to deepen. I am asking in prayer for a
fulfilled and committed relationship with Mark. A fulfilled and
committed relationship that will lead to us to be in a fulfilled and
committed lifelong marriage with each other. Lift Mark up and have
your angels watch over my Beloved. Thank you! Amen." -G;
12) Scott asks to be remembered in our prayers. He writes: "Please
pray for my husband's salvation. He left me and I have not seen him in
more than 4 weeks. I would like to pray for his health, peace of mind,
softening of our hearts, forgiveness, renewing of the mind and our
reconciliation and restoration of our marriage.";
13) "I am going on 4 months without employment since I was laid off
from my job back in early Feb. Thankfully the Lord has provided for me
financially in the interim with severance pay and unemployment.
Please pray for God's "door" or "window" to become apparent and to
open in His timing." -Miranda;
14) Tony writes: "Please pray for Willa Medinger who is recovering
from a massive stroke. Willa is the wife of Alan Medinger-former
Exodus president and director of Regeneration. She is expected to be
in ICU a few more days. Please pray for a full recovery.";
15) "Please be in prayer for my family. My husband, Mark learned
yesterday that his company is closing, and he as well as the rest of
the employees will no longer have employment after December 29th. Mark
has a deep desire to be a witness during this time, to demonstrate his
faith in God for provision and a plan. We are going to believe; after
all, we are believers right?! We're going to trust that God has a plan
and a purpose and in His perfect timing He will open another door, to
an even better job." -Mileah;
16) "I have a genetic eye disorder that I have dealt with most all my
life. Recently I lost vision in my right eye. I had a corneal
transplant,but immediatly lost the vision again. I have had another
corneal transplant that so far is not doing well. I am praying for my
eye to heal and to regain my vision so that I can go back to work.(I
am the sole wage earner for my family. My husband has retired and has
heart disease, so is limited in what he can do.) Please pray for my
vision. Thank you." -Marilyn;
17) Dynita asks to be remembered in our prayers: "I am in need of
prayer of my family and that who ever that trieing to put hexes,--
etc. of the enemy that have attempted to penetrate me be put to the
pitts of hell where they belong and bind up in the name of Jesus! i
pray that my finances be release from the enemy hands and the
strongholds be destroyed over me and my family and be cast aside and
destroyed any demonic spirit be turned around in jesus name. thank you
for your prayers. your friend in christ jesus of nazareth i pray.";
18) "My husband and I have a 3-year-old son who is absolutely a joy
to us. We love him so very much, but there have been a lot of behavior
issues that have put me in tears on more than one occassion. I feel
exhausted and somewhat hopeless at times trying to be the mom he needs
while teaching him what he needs. It is hard to take him places
because of how he acts and it becomes somewhat isolating when I am at
home with him all day. Please pray for guidance and clarity for my
husband and I and for our son to learn to behave a little better!
Thank you." -Amanda;
19) Chuck asks for our prayers. He writes, "Please pray for me and
my wife. We are seperated but still very much in love. We continue to
see each other and are very much involved in each other's lives, but
we're confused and frightened when it comes to deciding whether or not
we should take the next step and try living together again. Please
pray that God will give us guidance and strength, and open our hearts
and minds to let us see the right path to follow. Our names are Chuck
and Wendy. Thank you for your kindness." -Chuck;
20) J asks for our prayers: "My 5 year old son has a lot of eating
difficulties. He is very tiny for his age - 3 feet tall, 30 lbs. He
has not gained any weight in several months. He has very few foods he
eats and those have to be forced. He has a lot of aversion to food
textures (he basically eats soft, smooth food like fruit and yogurt -
no veggies, meat or bread). He has some behavioral issues as well.
Meal time is very difficult for our family. It is a struggle and
usually ends in frustration for everyone. It is dictating our entire
lives. Please pray that he would would learn to chew better, that he
would not be afraid to try new things, and that he would be
cooperative, and that he would decide that eating is fun!! Also pray
that he would grow, gain weight and be healthy.";
21) "I am in great need of prayer and i'm asking for your help. I
have an addiction i can't seem to stop. its not good for my general
health and its ruining a relationship thats important. the guilty and
shame its causing is to much to bear. please please pray for me. i am
also looking for a good church home with a recovery program. i will be
attending one tonight for a bible study. i am a born again believer
and am ashamed that i have strayed from the church into this habit.
please pray the stronghold be broken.thankyou so very much!" -Lisa;
22) Charles asks to be remembered in our prayers. He writes:
"Please pray for me and do all that your site is intended to do. For I
believe that where two or more are gathered that He (JESUS/IESOUS/
YEHOSHUA) is in the midst and will give them the supplications of
their heart. It is in this fact of knowing that for with YAHWEH
nothing shall be impossible that I ask in the blood of the Lamb that
my marriage to Anita is restored, that my covenant with her and GOD
is re-established and that our family is made whole, that my ministry
takes off and that my book will exceed all sales quotas that in my
wealth I will build up the kingdom of GOD and shall bless his people
for Jesus states that we have him but for a short time but the poor we
shall have always. I pray right now that GOD will make haste and not
tarry and that this prayer will come to pass right now by the blood of
the Lamb and in the name Jesus Christ do I believe that I have all
that I have prayed for. Amen. Amen. Amen."; and lastly . . .
23) "I just got a 3 day eviction notice to leave my home. I have a
wife and 2 young daughters with no savings left, no money, and no
place to go. I need God to work with me and help me use my skills to
find income streams and a place to live. Thanks for the prayers. I
NEED THEM." -Jeff
**God bless you for caring enough to pray!!!**
........................................
"For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans
10:13).
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*~*Spotlight Site*~*
http://myplacewithjesus.com
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The Sandpiper
By Robert Peterson
www.LighthousePrayerLine.org
She was six years old when I first met her on
the beach near where I live. I drive to this beach,
a distance of three or four miles, whenever the
world begins to close in on me. She was building
a sand castle or something and looked up, her
eyes as blue as the sea.
'Hello,' she said.
I answered with a nod, not really in the mood to
bother with a small child.
'I'm building,' she said.
'I see that. What is it?' I asked, not really caring.
'Oh, I don't know, I just like the feel of sand.'
That sounds good, I thought, and slipped off my
shoes.
A sandpiper glided by.
'That's a joy,' the child said.
'It's a what?'
'It's a joy. My mama says sandpipers come to
bring us joy.'
The bird went gliding down the beach. Good-bye
joy, I muttered to myself, hello pain, and turned
to walk on. I was depressed, my life seemed
completely out of balance.
'What's your name?' She wouldn't give up.
'Robert,' I answered. 'I'm Robert Peterson.'
'Mine's Wendy...I'm six.'
'Hi, Wendy.'
She giggled. 'You're funny,' she said.
In spite of my gloom, I laughed too and walked
on. Her musical giggle followed me.
'Come again, Mr. P,' she called. 'We'll have another
happy day.'
The next few days consisted of a group of unruly
Boy Scouts, PTA meetings, and an ailing mother.
The sun was shining one morning as I took my
hands out of the dishwater. I need a sandpiper, I
said to myself, gathering up my coat.
The ever-changing balm of the seashore awaited
me. The breeze was chilly but I strode along,
trying to recapture the serenity I needed.
'Hello, Mr. P,' she said. 'Do you want to play?'
'What did you have in mind?' I asked, with a twinge
of annoyance.
'I don't know. You say.'
'How about charades?' I asked sarcastically.
The tinkling laughter burst forth again. 'I don't
know what that is.'
'Then let's just walk.'
Looking at her, I noticed the delicate fairness
of her face. 'Where do you live?' I asked.
'Over there.' She pointed toward a row of summer
cottages.
Strange, I thought, in winter.
'Where do you go to school?'
'I don't go to school. Mommy says we're on vacation.'
She chattered little girl talk as we strolled up the
beach, but my mind was on other things. When I
left for home, Wendy said it had been a happy day.
Feeling surprisingly better, I smiled at her and agreed.
Three weeks later, I rushed to my beach in a state
of near panic. I was in no mood to even greet Wendy.
I thought I saw her mother on the porch and felt like
demanding she keep her child at home.
'Look, if you don't mind,' I said crossly when Wendy
caught up with me, 'I'd rather be alone today.' She
seemed unusually pale and out of breath.
'Why?' she asked.
I turned to her and shouted, 'Because my mother
died!' and thought, My God, why was I saying this
to a little child?
'Oh,' she said quietly, 'then this is a bad day.'
'Yes,' I said, 'and yesterday and the day before
and -- oh, go away!'
'Did it hurt?' she inquired.
'Did what hurt?' I was exasperated with her, with
myself.
'When she died?'
'Of course it hurt!' I snapped, misunderstanding,
wrapped up in myself. I strode off.
A month or so after that, when I next went to the
beach, she wasn't there. Feeling guilty, ashamed,
and admitting to myself I missed her, I went up
to the cottage after my walk and knocked at the
door. A drawn looking young woman with honey-
colored hair opened the door.
'Hello,' I said, 'I'm Robert Peterson. I missed your
little girl today and wondered where she was.'
'Oh yes, Mr. Peterson, please come in. Wendy
spoke of you so much. I'm afraid I allowed her to
bother you. If she was a nuisance, please, accept
my apologies.'
'Not at all--she's a delightful child.' I said, suddenly
realizing that I meant what I had just said.
'Wendy died last week, Mr. Peterson. She had
leukemia. Maybe she didn't tell you.'
Struck dumb, I groped for a chair. I had to catch
my breath.
'She loved this beach, so when she asked to come,
we couldn't say no. She seemed so much better here
and had a lot of what she called happy days. But the
last few weeks, she declined rapidly...' Her voice
faltered, 'She left something for you, if only I can find it.
Could you wait a moment while I look?'
I nodded stupidly, my mind racing for something to say
to this lovely young woman. She handed me a smeared
envelope with 'MR. P' printed in bold childish letters.
Inside was a drawing in bright crayon hues--a yellow
beach, a blue sea, and a brown bird. Underneath was
carefully printed:
A SANDPIPER TO BRING YOU JOY.
Tears welled up in my eyes, and a heart that had
almost forgotten to love opened wide. I took Wendy's
mother in my arms. 'I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so
sorry,' I uttered over and over, and we wept together.
The precious little picture is framed now and hangs
in my study. Six words--one for each year of her life
-- that speak to me of harmony, courage, and
undemanding love.
A gift from a child with sea blue eyes and hair the
color of sand, who taught me the gift of love.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: This is a true story sent out by Robert
Peterson. It happened over 20 years ago and
the incident changed his life forever. It serves
as a reminder to all of us that we need to take
time to enjoy living and life and each other.
The price of hating other human beings is
loving oneself less.
Life is so complicated, the hustle and bustle of
everyday traumas can make us lose focus about
what is truly important or what is only a momentary
setback or crisis.
This week, be sure to give your loved ones an extra
hug, and by all means, take a moment...even if it is
only ten seconds, to stop and smell the roses.
This comes from someone's heart, and is read by
many and now I share it with you...
May God Bless everyone who receives this! There
are NO coincidences!
Everything that happens to us happens for a
reason. Never brush aside anyone as insignificant.
Who knows what they can teach us?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
I wish for you, a SANDPIPER!!
I know and love one.
Do you?
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The Holy Spirit Compels You To Unite !
By Richard A. Kent
Last week we spoke of the “new thing” God is stirring in the body of
Christ. We spoke of unity and how separate teachings and titles
(denominations) can cause division, and cause confusion to those
seeking a truth that seems to be blurred in a cloud of human theories
and flat out rebellion at times. Where the arguments of man have
indeed been the most hindering and power robbing aspect to the
Christian faith. How can a faith that holds to “one way to Heaven”
teach multiple truths? The answer is- it can not
In my journey to fulfill the quest God has placed before me, I have
heard so many comments from members of various churches. Most stating
they know there this is an issue in the body of Christ, and that we as
the body need to work towards a remedy, but they also seem to have an
empathic attitude towards the idea that it can really happen. “It will
have to be a mighty move of the Holy Spirit” they say. Not realizing
that move has already begun as we speak. From my experience, I feel
that is mostly a spirit of pride that to this day prevents the true
unification of the Christian faith. It is Mankind’s persistence in
maintaining its stance that they are right and others are wrong, that
their specific denomination holds the only solid truth, and others are
lost.
The best picture I can give to show as an example of our unification
problem is that of puzzle. There are many pieces of this puzzle placed
through-out the world. They are scattered in this maze of doctrines
and theories, and found in hundreds of our local churches. The enemy
of God with a simple strike has blown what once was a solid picture
into a scattered puzzle with the people having no real knowledge of
how to restore it. In order to bring the church back to it roots, we
must begin putting the pieces back together. These pieces I speak of
are the members of what the word of God says are the five fold
ministry, found in Ephesians 4:11, It reads: "It was he who gave some
to be (1) apostles, some to be (2) prophets, some to be (3)
evangelists, and some to be (4) pastors and (5) teachers." Without
these called men and women working together and in one accord, it is
much like a team of horses pulling in opposite directions and ripping
the body of Christ into separate pieces, and thus hindering the works
of the true church from the inside.
Without a doubt no man or woman can claim in truth these words to be
false. How or why then, would any not place this on the top of the
prayers list on every Christian church in the world? Why is not the
most talked about move in the Christian faith? How can we simply
ignore something this huge and just go back to our normal churches and
hope it just goes away. I am here to tell the church, “It’s not going
to go away”. The true men and women of God will be united, and yes it
will be a mighty move of the Holy Spirit, but it will also be a mighty
move of choice. I Mean, that we as believers have to consciously make
the choice to hear the voice of God and act on it-amen. I believe not
to act on it would be sin. I ask each person that reads this short
article to take this to prayer. Take it into our churches, speak with
it to the local pastors, and let’s make a choice to do what’s right
today.
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World Hope International is a faith based relief and development
organization alleviating suffering and injustice through education,
enterprise and community health.
Visit: http://worldhope.org
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So True!
LighthousePrayerLine.org
A father wanted to read a magazine but was being bothered by his
little girl, Shelby. She wanted to know what the United States looked
like. He tore a sheet out of his new magazine on which was printed the
map of the country.
Tearing it into small pieces, he gave it to Shelby , and said, 'Go
into the other room and see if you can put this together. This will
show you our whole country today.'
After a few minutes, Shelby returned and handed him the map, correctly
fitted and taped together. The father was surprised and asked how she
had finished so quickly.
'Oh,' she said, 'on the other side of the paper is a picture of Jesus.
When I got Jesus back where He belonged, then our country just came
together.'
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Cosmic Treason
By R.C. Sproul
"The sinfulness of sin" sounds like a vacuous redundancy that adds no
information to the subject under discussion. However, the necessity of
speaking of the sinfulness of sin has been thrust upon us by a culture
and even a church that has diminished the significance of sin itself.
Sin is communicated in our day in terms of making mistakes or of
making poor choices. When I take an examination or a spelling test if
I make a mistake, I miss a particular word. It is one thing to make a
mistake. It is another to look at my neighbor's paper and copy his
answers in order to make a good grade. In this case, my mistake has
risen to the level of a moral transgression. Though sin may be
involved in making mistakes as a result of slothfulness in
preparation, nevertheless, the act of cheating takes the exercise to a
more serious level. Calling sin "making poor choices" is true, but it
is also a euphemism that can discount the severity of the action. The
decision to sin is indeed a poor one, but once again, it is more than
a mistake. It is an act of moral transgression.
In my book, The Truth of the Cross, I spend an entire chapter
discussing this notion of the sinfulness of sin. I begin that chapter
by using the anecdote of my utter incredulity when I received arecent
edition of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. Though I was happy to
receive this free issue, I was puzzled as to why anyone would send it
to me. As I leafed through the pages of quotations that included
statements from Immanuel Kant, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, and others,
to my complete astonishment I came upon a quotation from me. That I
was quoted in such a learned collection definitely surprised me. I was
puzzled by what I could have said that merited inclusion in such an
anthology, and the answer was found in a simple statement attributed
to me: "Sin is cosmic treason." What I meant by that statement was
that even the slightest sin that a creature commits against his
Creator does violence to the Creator's holiness, His glory, and His
righteousness. Every sin, no matter how seemingly insignificant, is an
act of rebellion against the sovereign God who reigns and rules over
us and as such is an act of treason against the cosmic King.
Cosmic treason is one way to characterize the notion of sin, but when
we look at the ways in which the Scriptures describe sin, we see three
that stand out in importance. First, sin is a debt; second, it is an
expression of enmity; third, it is depicted as a crime. In the first
instance, we who are sinners are described by Scripture as debtors who
cannot pay their debts. In this sense, we are talking not about
financial indebtedness but a moral indebtedness. God has the sovereign
right to impose obligations upon His creatures. When we fail to keep
these obligations, we are debtors to our Lord. This debt represents a
failure to keep a moral obligation.
The second way in which sin is described biblically is as an
expression of enmity. In this regard, sin is not restricted merely to
an external action that transgresses a divine law. Rather, it
represents an internal motive, a motive that is driven by an inherent
hostility toward the God of the universe. It is rarely discussed in
the church or in the world that the biblical description of human
fallenness includes an indictment that we are by nature enemies of
God. In our enmity toward Him, we do not want to have Him even in our
thinking, and this attitude is one of hostility toward the very fact
that God commands us to obey His will. It is because of this concept
of enmity that the New Testament so often describes our redemption in
terms of reconciliation. One of the necessary conditions for
reconciliation is that there must be some previous enmity between at
least two parties. This enmity is what is presupposed by the redeeming
work of our Mediator, Jesus Christ, who overcomes this dimension of
enmity.
The third way in which the Bible speaks of sin is in terms of
transgression of law. The Westminster Shorter Catechism answers the
fourteenth question, "What is sin?" by the response, "Sin is any want
of conformity to, or transgression of, the law of God." Here we see
sin described both in terms of passive and active disobedience. We
speak of sins of commission and sins of omission. When we fail to do
what God requires, we see this lack of conformity to His will. But not
only are we guilty of failing to do what God requires, we also
actively do what God prohibits. Thus, sin is a transgression against
the law of God.
When people violate the laws of men in a serious way, we speak of
their actions not merely as misdemeanors but, in the final analysis,
as crimes. In the same regard, our actions of rebellion and
transgression of the law of God are not seen by Him as mere
misdemeanors; rather, they are felonious. They are criminal in their
impact. If we take the reality of sin seriously in our lives, we see
that we commit crimes against a holy God and against His kingdom. Our
crimes are not virtues; they are vices, and any transgression of a
holy God is vicious by definition. It is not until we understand who
God is that we gain any real understanding of the seriousness of our
sin. Because we live inthe midst of sinful people where the standards
of human behavior are set by the patterns of the culture around us, we
are not moved by the seriousness of our transgressions. We are indeed
at ease in Zion. But when God's character is made clear to usand we
are able to measure our actions not in relative terms with respect to
other humans but in absolute terms with respect to God, His character,
and His law, then we begin to be awakened to the egregious character
of our rebellion.
Not until we take God seriously will we ever take sin seriously. But
if we acknowledge the righteous character of God, then we, like the
saints of old, will cover our mouths with our hands and repent in dust
and ashes before Him.
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When the Stakes Are Highest
By Jill Carattini
LighthousePrayerLine.org
There is a place in my Bible that is prone to be frequently
revisited. In fact, it is quite often the place I find in front of me
when I open the book. And every time it happens, like a scent that
uproots a potent memory, I recall the story behind the pages.
Some time ago, between classes in college, I was reading in a park
when the skies shifted without warning and the pounding rain left a
permanent bookmark on a chapter in John. The pages have long since
dried, leaving the paper wavy and wrinkled, and easy to turn to upon
opening. But something about the lasting impressions of the rain—no
doubt, a fitting metaphor of life—has also impressed that day into my
mind. The hardest rains always leave indelible imprints.
In The Problem with Pain, C.S. Lewis refers to pain as God's megaphone
to rouse a deaf world. Convincingly, he presents a careful theodicy,
considering the problem of suffering from an entirely theoretical
perspective. He presents the things we know to be true of suffering,
pain, and evil, what we know of the suffering and death of Christ, and
the strength we are given when the peripheral questions of life are
answered by a good God. Twenty years later, in the pages of A Grief
Observed, Lewis describes watching his beloved wife lose her battle
with cancer and wrestling with God through the pain. Here, he writes
as a man who bitterly and intimately knows what he knows to be true of
God and evil, suffering and Christ, even as his soul is breaking.
Writes Lewis, "Your bid—for God or no God, for a good God or the
Cosmic Sadist, for eternal life or nonentity—will not be serious if
nothing much is staked on it. And you will never discover how serious
it was until the stakes are raised horribly high."(1) He continues,
"Nothing less will shake a man—or at any rate a man like me—out of his
merely verbal thinking and his merely notional beliefs. He has to be
knocked silly before he comes to his senses. Only torture will bring
out the truth. Only under torture does he discover it himself."(2)
I believe the first time I really and fearfully looked the object of
my faith in the eyes was while I was pounding my fists against the
chest of God, half-demanding, half-pleading to know why my father was
dying. Those indelible days gave new meaning to Paul's admonition,
"Work out your salvation in fear and trembling." In our prayers we
cry and in our hymns we sing, "Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed
Lord, To the cross where Thou hast died. Draw me nearer, nearer, To
Thy precious, bleeding side." But when the stakes are at their
highest, do we really mean it? Have we counted that cost?
Just before Paul admonishes the Philippian Church to work out their
salvation in fear and trembling, he describes the cost of Christ,
"who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God
something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very
nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in
appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:6-8). In his life, his body,
his very attitude, Christ carried the cost of our sin; he carried our
dire need for hope in life and in sorrow, and our inability to draw
near to God ourselves. There was a point in my dad's pain from
spreading cancer when he said to me, "I had no idea how Christ
suffered." There is something about our pain that can lead us to the
foot of the cross, to the utmost expression of love wrought with
stripes and sorrow. As the hymn continues, "There are depths of love
that I cannot know, Till I cross the narrow sea; There are heights of
joy that I may not reach, Till I rest in peace with Thee."
It is fitting, then, that the pages marked by rain in my Bible tell
the story of the death and resurrection of Lazarus. As Mary and
Martha and Jesus wept, the rain seemed appropriate. But I remember
clearly being struck with another thought: Surely, it was Lazarus who
got the lesser end of the deal that day. To a crowd of people
mourning death and loss, Jesus proclaimed radically, "I am the
resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even
though he dies" (John 11:25). While Jesus spoke to the mourning crowd
about true life, Lazarus himself was closer to truly living. I
wondered that day how Lazarus felt about coming back. He was one
great step closer to the heights and depths of the joy we long for on
earth, the kingdom Jesus had told him about; he had been drawn nearer
to the almighty God. For Lazarus, humanity's deepest problem and
loudest prayer had been answered. And then it began to rain, ever
etching that thought into my Bible and my consciousness.
**(1) C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed (New York: HarperCollins, 1989),
49. (2) Ibid., 49-50.
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"Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares
about you" (1 Peter 5:7 – NLT).
Be sure to send in your prayer request for the next
mailing.
You are in my thoughts and prayers! May the Lord
continue to bless you with knowledge of Himself.
Your friend in Christ,
Mark Seay
Lighthouse Prayer Line
105 Quincy Drive
Greer, SC 29650
LighthousePrayerLine.org
"Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the
Lord" (Romans 12:11).
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We hope you have found today's newsletter encouraging to your
walk with Jesus Christ. Please send all prayer requests and
praise reports to us by using the "comments" hyperlink, which
can be found at the end of each blog/article. God is Good!!!
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