Bible, Life's Moments

Stay Hopeful My Friends

In the face of the Terror at Boston one might be inclined toward despair… please do not do it. Rather be inclined toward hope. Yes evil tends to make a big splash. It erupts quickly. It hurts. It leaves terrible damage in its wake and lingering pain for years and years. Still it cannot vanquish that which is good.

I offer two lines of evidence:

First, watch the videos of the Boston attack. Not ten seconds passed before heroes chased confusion from their hearts and minds. They were true first responders. Some in uniform. Most civilian. Some, I’m sure, acted out of training. Others from instinct. All from character. They are the “good’ who run toward chaos when evil thinks to overcome.

Second, never stop considering the Lord. In the face of centuries of evil–some beyond description–he runs continuously to those in need of rescue. From ultimate salvation to a brief moment in time, he responds. This is why the Apostle John said, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

We witnessed darkness at the Boston Marathon, but we witnessed greater light in and through the heroes of the attack on the Boston Marathon. We have and we will witness darkness in our own marathons, but we can witness greater light in and through the ultimate First Responder. Stay hopeful my friends.

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To My Daughter: Penned by my son, Matthew

Just click on the link below. My son’s message to his little girl is an inspiration.

To My Daughter.

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Jesus Loves Me This I Know

Too bad we can’t put music to our typed words in these posts. If we could, I’d accompany the following with the music:

♫Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to him belong. They are weak, but he is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me.
The Bible tells me so.♫

And then I would change some of the pronouns for the second time through:

♫Jesus loves you this I know for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to him belong. They are weak, but he is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves you. Yes, Jesus loves you. Yes, Jesus loves you.
The Bible tells me so.♫

And then conclude by making it inclusive:

♫Jesus loves us this I know for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to him belong. They are weak, but he is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves us. Yes, Jesus loves us. Yes, Jesus loves us.
The Bible tells me so.♫

Yup, that’s what I thought I would like to do…right up until I witnessed the clip below. Now I just think I would like to share the voice of Whitney Huston as she sings one of my favorite songs of all time.

We miss you, Whitney.

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Childlike Prayer

Proud grandmothers. You can’t blame them for wanting to brag about their grandchildren. Those little ones are the apples of Granny’s eyes and the blessings from Granny’s God all rolled up in sticky hands and sweet hearts. And sometimes the bragging is beyond beautiful because it is so deserving…

My sister, Barbara, sent me the text of an email her little granddaughter’s teacher sent to her son, Jeff, and daughter-in-law, Amanda. Here it is:

Hi Amanda,

I just wanted to take a minute and email you and let you know your daughter did the sweetest thing this afternoon when they got up from nap, I told the class I would have to leave as soon as Mr. ________ got there to take Mrs. ________ to doctor and she got down on her knees out of her chair and prayed for her right then. Of course that brought tears to my eyes. I just thought I would share that with you and your husband…

Oh man, you can’t blame Granny Barb for swelling up from pride over that. Little McKoy, as they say down in Georgia, “just blessed their hearts.” Such a spontaneous act of prayer comes from a heart fully dependent on and fully devoted to God. It’s called faith. It’s called worship. We learn about this kind of trust in Mark 10:13-16. Here’s what Mark recorded:

And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

The Lord loves this childlike faith. Notice I wrote “childlike faith,” not childish faith. We all know the difference. One is beautiful, pure, expectant. The other is manipulative, greedy, and indulgent. Little McKoy’s immediate turn to prayer erupted as naturally for her as her desire to hug her daddy’s neck when he comes home from work. She depends on both her Dad’s.

Have you thought about your “turning to God in prayer” quotient lately? Are you just as likely to drop to your knees in prayer as you are to start talking about your problems? Do you find yourself fully dependent and fully expectant in your walk with the Savior? If not, what’s the hold up? What roadblocks are you facing?

Could it be so easy…so simple…so childlike? Try dropping to your knees. Let McKoy show you how.

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The Bible on the History Channel

Coming March 3rd. The reviews by folks like Rick Warren and Luis Palau give us hope this will be a great mini-series. Our church, West Sound Community Church, is going all in. We are kicking off this Sunday with preview messages. Then on March 3rd we will join with many other churches utilizing Sunday morning messages that will prepare you to see the Sunday evening shows on the History Channel. We are also encouraging people to host Viewer Parties for friends and family. And, finally, we will be driving home the power of God’s truth with Small Group Bible Studies complimenting the entire campaign. The goal? As always, our purpose is to glorify God by developing followers of Christ who are passionate about God, His Word, His Church, and His World.

If you want to get a head start, download the Operation Andrew prayer slick at this link (Operation Andrew) and watch the trailer below. The trailer will give you some food for thought and some motivation, while the Operation Andrew prayer slick will give you a tried and true format from Billy Graham Evangelism to assist your prayer efforts on behalf of others. The slick contains two prayer cards. Download it. Print it. Cut it in half. Use one and share the other with another.

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