Mt Hope Audio Still Online

If you haven't had the chance to hear about "The Rock" the audio from when I filled in at Mt Hope church is still online. Instructions and link is HERE

Aubrey Anderson comes home!

After nearly losing her life and a month in the hospital, Aubrey has come home!
You can read the news story HERE. I am so thankful the Lord has brought her through this!

OUR LATEST UPDATE ON AUBREY ANDERSON

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30

We checked out of the Wesley hospital at around 6:00 last night. It is great to be home and we are so grateful to everyone who prayed for her recovery and sent encouraging notes. In Psalms 106:1- It says, "Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever."

I was reminded the other morning in my prayers, that what Aubrey went through was truly for the pleasure and glory of the Lord. What she had could not be cured. The doctors and nurses could only come along side and support her body for healing. It was the power of prayer that healed her, and brought her home. Rejoice in the Lord's goodness. Thanks is not enough for what everyone has done. Realize the power and the impact of offering up a prayer to a living and holy God. He rejoiced in them and used them to heal my precious daughter.

-Bill/Karen

Old Churches

I love old churches! Every now and then I have to do some audio work in an old church here. It's an old Presbyterian church. Lot's of old wood and creeky steps and creeky wood floors under the carpet up the dark back hall into the choir loft. From the rafters of the church I look out over old wooden pews and a pulpit that looks so old. I love to imagine old time preachers clearly sharing the Scriptures. I love to imagine people sitting on their old wool and cotton Sunday clothes listening to God's Word and worshiping. It seems I have a pretty hard time finding good stuff to read from pastors post 1940's or 1950's. I know just a little about the change in American culture in the 1950's and 1960's.... It seems a pretty dramatic shift in theology came along. I can't be too specific, I haven't researched it enough. Anyway I love the old sermons from some of the Puritan's. I think of a young America when these churches were new and the doctrine was pretty pure. When preachers talked about the state of man before a Holy God.

I also LOVE old Bibles. To hold a Bible in your hands from 100 even 200 years ago and see it's the same exact words! The same exact truth and it works the same way it always has....unchanging truth of God cutting to the heart to reveal sin and our need for Christ.

Gotta run....have a great day.

An Army of ONE

I just finished my weekly meeting with Pastor Samuel in India. Tonight we discussed the urgent need to get Telugu language Bibles in the hands of people there. Every day they ask him and he has nothing to give them. I want to get MANY Bibles in the hands of people there. With the current exchange rate, a Bible is $3. If you have any ideas on how we can raise some money to purchase Bibles, please let me know.

We also discussed again (he asked again) me going to them by the end of 2008. He said they want to load me up and tour me all over the Southern states preaching the Word. You see they don't have the preachers there like we have here. They don't have much theological training. That's why it surprises me so much because I don't have any either, but it did remind me how thankful I should be for a church that feeds me and teaches me so much, so well.

I admitted to him that the thought really scared me. Preaching to over 300 pastors at once in one place they have planned and then all these churches. Let's be honest, there is true persecution over there and I don't know if an American can make that big of a splash without drawing some unwanted attention. My love for Samuel and the Christians there quickly rushed over my fear and I told him I would honestly pursue this goal.

In my mind I visualized what it would be like the day I leave to go there. I am sure my family would not want me to go and worry about me.... I am pretty sure my mom would worry about me. I also think she would be proud of me. That's when it hit me.... Wow what an opportunity! Think about it. We grow up with dreams of being able to impact the world. This is a true opportunity to truly impact the world with the greatest message and the greatest gift the world could ever receive or desire! God has given me great connections with a great man of God in India plus great connections with the opportunity to go to Africa with the Gospel message!

That thought suddenly flashed me back to a night here in Hutch at Holy Cross Catholic Church. I remember I was hit really hard in the heart by God's Word. I remember I got up and went to the restroom and prayed (don't ask me why...I just had to go talk to God about things) Walking in they foyer I prayed with the deepest prayer I could pray...."Lord I do not want to just live and die. How many lives were wasted and meant nothing! I want to live my life for You Lord! Don't let me come to heaven well rested without wear. Let my life be used up serving You. Lord Jesus take my life and let it stand for something! I have done nothing with it and will not do much with it.... I want You to have it! When I die, let them know that my life was not wasted, but was used to further the Kingdom of God." That's pretty close to exact word for word as I prayed it.

So it just hit me. The Lord is answering my prayers! Every time I get to read His Word and get to know Him better. Every time an uneducated man like me gets to use a God given spiritual gift to share His Word with others.... Anytime a person responds..... It's all His work, I know I can take none of the credit....but I am so humbled by it. I am on such a wonderful ride! I don't know where He will take me, or how He will use me. I am filled with fear as to where He might take me or what He might call me to do. I often try to derail the path He has me on with my sin. Yet, He is faithful. He has heard my first prayer to Him. He has said OK and called me His son and saved me from my sins by His grace. He is daily step by step using my life. How much or how little he uses me I don't care, just to know that the Lord loves me and that He would use me.... Is it possible? Can this man from such a small town impact the WORLD for the Lord? In His power and His strength according to His will....yes.

Guess what, He wants to do the same with You. Will you turn your life over to Him to use where He pleases, as He pleases..... Want Your life to count for something worthwhile? Join the Lord's Army. You may serve in ways that go totally unnoticed with no thanks. You may get pats on the back.... You may get the opportunity to talk to others around the world...then again they may be on your street. You may even be killed or beaten or imprisoned. Is that life served for our King's glory worth it? Join the Prince of Peace. He IS the Army of ONE. One Way, One Truth, One Life.... No one comes to the Father but by HIM (Jn 14:6) Wow... It almost makes me brave enough to donate blood......( I said ALMOST).

Daily Prayer 11/27/07

Father- Thank You for Your wonderful mercies! You are so good to us. What a privlage that we could even know You!

We thank You for the health of Aubrey Anderson. It sounds like she is finally doing much better. I just pray no long term damage was done to her kidneys, but of course even if there is, it will be according to Your plan for her life. It will be used by You for Your glory, we know this.

For the wonderful pastors and Bible students in India....I know so many meetings have been going on and so much teaching has been happening. I pray for spiritual discernment and that Your Holy Spirit would teach them and help them to accurately understand the Scriptures.

I thank You that You would even open our eyes to behold such wonderful things in Your Word! We know we do not know anything because we are smart or have figured things out, but simply because You have taught us from Your Word.

More praise for Tatum and baby Aubrie's growth.

Of course we continue to pour our hearts out to You with concern for Thaddeus' heart. We rest in our trust in You Lord.....Thank You so much for the growth in his heart so far...we just pray that it would continue. I have not forgotten my bold request and I know You remember it Lord. I pray for His healing according to Your will for Your glory and for His health.

Father I also pray for Jill. No one said it, but I am a bit concerned about her health with the new baby she has on the way. I just pray You would keep her healthy and keep her body's chemicals in balance and prevent her from having any seizures.

I want to really pray Lord for Peter Krause. Peter has Downs Syndrome and has had a heart surgery. He is now 6 months old and not eating like he is supposed to. They may have to do a G-tube (what Emma had) because he is not eating on his own. He has pulmonary hypertension and his parents are scared to put him through a surgery for fear of what might happen. We certainly understand their fear Lord. Please comfort them and help them to rest in You and may they seek You more earnestly in this time.

I am still so very happy it worked out that we got to get together as a family....Lord You know how special those rare occasions are and how much they mean to us. Thank You for the safe return of every one.

I also thank You for the positive feedback on the Mt. Hope Message. It can be a hard message to hear but also a great message to hear. I thank You that the one's I feared the most would be upset have so far responded well....I pray for the others that it would be received well. I hope they feel comfortable enough to contact me about it Lord. We just want to seek You and our Savior in truth.....may we all regard ourselves as the least and just come to Your Word and deal with the text.

In Christ's Name, Amen.

Aubrey Anderson Update

I got this note from our church today.

Aubrey Anderson
We have great news! Aubrey had the catheter removed from her tummy yesterday, and the surgery went well. Her bun (which measures her kidney function) was 19 this morning, which is in the "normal" range! Praise God! She has made great improvements over this past weekend. When her lab results are all in the "normal" range, and she is able to eat and drink without throwing up, she will be headed for home!

Mt Hope Audio

Here is the audio of the message I was allowed to bring in Mt Hope yesterday.

Click HERE to download it and save to listen at your leisure.
(right click on link and choose save file as) Otherwise a quicktime player will play the audio.

Click HERE to stream it right now.
(Click this link and Windows Media player will open and stream the file)

Message is 36 minutes long so please set aside some time. Maybe download it to your mp3 player or burn it to CD for the next road trip.

I pray God's Word will do it's work and I pray that we may know Him better though the Scriptures.

Of course as always I love your questions and feedback....Let's just work through it in truth and love.

Welcome Back!

I have taken the last few days off just to rest (and work). I was preparing for an opportunity to bring the message at Mt Hope Federated Church today. It's always an interesting process to prepare to go to a church. Often times you don't know much about the church. You don't know what they have been studying or much about what they believe. You just take a passage and prepare it as best you can and go "fire away". A church that loves God and loves the truth of His Scriptures will love you for it, no matter how hard the message. In fact people who are in Christ love the pure teaching of the Word. I don't know if today's message was "hard"...I presented it as clearly and as lovingly as possible but there we definitely words in there that you wont hear in the majority of churches in the United States today. That part makes me somewhat nervous. If it is a church that has a "tastes great, less filling" approach to God's Word. Or if it's a church totally void of truth such as "feel good" ministries like Joel Osteen...I am pretty sure the message would not be received well at all.... Well today this was a church that loves the truth of the Scriptures and it went well. I hope I handled the text faithfully...that's my biggest worry. Knowing there is a greater judgment for those who teach. Woe to the man who leads Christ's sheep astray!

That having been said I plan to post the message so you can hear it. It is the truth of God's Word from Hebrews chapter 10. Some may get upset with it's contents, others will rejoice at the Truth it contains. I am just praying that anyone who hears it will do this.... Simply examine the text with me....my teaching of the text is either right or wrong. If I am right, some are faced with a fork in the road. If I am wrong I am now in a very serious and dangerous position before the Lord. I believe the text is very clear and I invite you to join me in Hebrews 10 when I get it posted. (Should have it for you tomorrow).

Father thank You for the safe delivery of our families back to our homes after a wonderful time we got to spend together. I pray our love for one another was strengthened. Strengthen our love for our Savior who died our death so that we may rest in the forgiveness that we have through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.

Tomorrow I will return to the Daily Prayers.... I am still praying about what section of Scripture we should take on next.

Thanksgiving Poem-author unknown

A THANKSGIVING POEM

May Your Stuffing Be Tasty, May Your Turkey Be Plump,
May Your Potatoes 'n Gravy Have Nary A Lump,
May Your Yams Be Delicious And Your Pies Take A Prize,
May Your Thanksgiving Dinner Stay Off Of Your Thighs.

Daily Prayer 11/20/07

Father tonight I just thank You for all You have done for us this year. Many trials have tested us this year, but I also think You have caused a lot of growth. I just pray for our safety as we travel and I pray for sweet times with our families. Give us opportunities to talk about Your goodness.

Father show us what book we should start in next with our daily prayers. You know what words we need the most, I pray for wisdom and guidance.

Tonight I just rest in You and we offer You our simple thanks for Who You are and what great Love You have shown us in Christ Jesus Your Son. Amen.

Five Finger Prayer

This is so neat. I had never heard this before. This is beautiful - and it is surely worth making the 5 finger prayer a part of our lives.


1. Your thumb is nearest you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C. S. Lewis once said, a "sweet duty."

2. The next finger is the pointing finger. Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.

3. The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God's guidance.

4. The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger, as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.

5. And lastly comes our little finger - the smallest finger of all which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, "The least shall be the greatest among you." Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.

Daily Prayer 11/19/07

Tonight we finish the book of 1 John. It may be difficult to get the big picture of a book taking it in such small bites, but I just pray we are taking little bits away from the Scriptures each day and growing slowly in God's Word. When the daily events of life pop up, I hope that some of God's truth will pop into your mind. That's the Christian life. To first be saved from our sins and then just slowly put one foot in front of the other as we walk after Christ. Scripture is our guide that pops into our mind to guide us. How can we be guided in life without the Scriptures? Without our light and guide, we are stumbling in the dark and in danger of falling into a pit.

Let's finish this very black and white testimony of John.

1 John 5:18-21 We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in {the power of} the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

Little children, guard yourselves from idols.


Father-

We know no one is perfect, but as John tells us here we must look at our pattern of life. If the pattern of our life is sin, we are not Your child. We are not "born again" as Jesus said in John chapter 3. A changed life is the proof of something happening internally to the believer. My family knows me Lord and if they will only remember back before 5 years ago they will remember a young man who was very different from the person You have made me. Help them to remember and help them to see my wickedness. We all know that something has happened. No one can convince me something serious did not change in my direction and pattern of life. This is a change I did not pursue or want. You chased me down like the hound of heaven and set me on a new path. If we think Christ has died for our sins, let our pattern of life be our evidence to ourselves. Do we pursue and desire to be more like Christ? Your Word says this is the evidence of our salvation that we love You and hate sin. There is a very sharp contrast between the one who belongs to You and one who belongs to satan.

Again as Psalm 1 says there are only two possible types of people in the world, the righteous and the wicked. John says "that the whole world lies in {the power of} the evil one" The whole world is under satan's dominion. How else could he say to Jesus....Luke 4:5-8 And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, "I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. "Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours." Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY.' " Who handed it over to satan Father? Adam in the garden of Eden took the power and control You gave him in his submission and obedience to You (theocracy) and handed it to satan by obeying a lie. May we heed Christ's words as He quotes the first commandment to satan.

Funny Lord that satan the evil one would have the audacity to quote scripture to the eternal Christ, the creator of even satan, lucifer himself!

As John closes this book with a great proclamation of the Gospel...

"And we know that the Son of God has come, Father the virgin born set aside His pre-existing glory and became like us...to die a human death we should have died...to feel the separation and bear the punishment along with the required blood sacrifice to cover sins as You established long ago with Israel...even before that Lord! A death had to occur even in the garden of Eden to cover Adam and Eve's sin. You killed and provided the covering for them even then!


"and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true;" We do not love You and want to draw near and learn more about You because we are smart. It's only because You have GIVEN us understanding so we CAN know You. Does anyone want to know You? Let them pray and ask for understanding.


"and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ". Father if we are "In Christ" who can take us out of Christ? As Romans 8 says:

[There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Rom 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.


"This is the true God and eternal life." Lord just as Jesus said Himself "I am the Way the Truth and the Life...no man comes to the Father but by Me."

"Little children, guard yourselves from idols." Here Father John's final words to us may seem like an abrupt closing, but in light of the verses before....what else is there to say? We should belong to and be fully dedicated to Jesus Christ our Savior who created us and died for us and will save us will His might hand from death! Will we foolishly give ANYTHING in this life more importance than that? Will we still sin and forget that first commandment? YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY. What do we serve before You. What will we enjoy before You? Football on TV? Our possessions? Our careers? Our families? What will come between us and our Lord? What is the price that can purchase our attention away from the greatest commandment?

This is a hard book Father because it is so black and white. I know I have beat myself up over it several times over the last five years. Help us to remember this: It's the PATTERN OF OUR LIVES Not one sin and we are terrible heathens who hate God, but we strive for holiness. Our flesh will never be able to serve You as our new hearts desire to. Only when we arrive in heaven will we be perfect. But help us to examine our life to see if we are "in Christ" then help us to walk. Daily may we take one step forward with slow steady progress towards holiness. Like a child we will stumble and fall, but will we get up and run away to the evil one who is waiting with a sweet smile and open arms to devour us? Of course not, we will continue towards the Good King the Great God and Savior who died for our sins and who truly loves us.

Father for Aubrey hear our prayer. Heal her kidneys and help her to stop throwing up. Give the doctors wisdom and bring this family we love so much back home to us. We miss them so much at church, but understand they are away at work for You.

For baby Thaddeus, we pray for continued positive news. May each trip bring more and more good news. Victoria was telling me of a baby with a large hole in the same spot as Thad's and by some way the doctors can't understand it healed itself completely before the baby was born. We know it was You and You can and are willing to do these good things in accordance with Your plans. We hope we have a great story like them to tell one day. May we always tell the story of how God healed our baby boy's heart!

For this weeks Thanksgiving travels I pray for our safety. It's not looking too good Lord for our making it home. I will just leave this in Your hands and go where You want me. I also give You thanks for the opportunity to preach in Mt. Hope this Sunday. Please give me careful words and discernment as I handle Your Word. It's a job I will do with great care and concern for Your sheep.

In Your Name Lord Jesus we ask the Father...and to Your Name Lord Jesus we give all our love and worship....amen!

Daily Prayer 11/17/07

1 John 5:16-17 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not {leading} to death, he shall ask and {God} will for him give life to those who commit sin not {leading} to death. There is a sin {leading} to death; I do not say that he should make request for this. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not {leading} to death.


Father, we often call You the Judge. Just as a man must face "the judge" in a court of law when we break the law, we too must face the JUDGE in a Holy and righteous court one day. As Your Word says "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). There is no coming back, no more chances....we live and then face the judgement of a God who says in Exodus 34:7 "yet He will by no means leave {the guilty} unpunished." Still we have very little fear because we think You will judge our hearts not our sins. As the book of Jeremiah 17:9 says "The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?" If we are hoping You will judge our hearts, we should be filled with fear! I know what sin is in my heart and You know Lord how much sin is in there that has not even been uncovered yet. Lord help our souls if You were to judge our hearts! You will judge our sins according to Holiness and Righteousness.

Romans 3 says of the sin and the human heart...Rom 3:9-20 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; as it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE." "THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING," "THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS"; "WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS"; "THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN." "THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES."

Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law {comes} the knowledge of sin.

Rom 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Lord we are all guilty of sins that lead to death. Not just physical death, but spiritual death. We also know Your judgment of our sins... Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Oh, Lord... What a great gift of salvation You have given the guilty through Your Son who stood in our place as the judgement was handed down and You poured that foaming bowl of wrath out on Him! What anger was poured out that crushed Jesus our Savior, Your only Son! The anger that was directed at us has fallen on Him! Now what is left? Is there even a drop of wrath left for me to bear Lord? Isaiah 53:6 "All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him." Not a drop was left Lord....He bore it all! If He did not bear EVERY sin and PAY the debt in FULL, we are still guilty and under Your Holy Judgment. One sin is enough to send my soul to hell for eternity! Are You a harsh Judge? You are Holy and Just! You are a KIND judge because You were willing to take our wrath so the ones You love and have chosen would be the outward expression of Your great love and mercy for mankind.

What about the angels? If they sin, they will spend forever in hell. There is no salvation for an angel according to Your Word. Just as there is no salvation for an angel, there should be no salvation for a person who sins, but You have chosen to display Your great love and mercy. You did not overlook sin as an unjust judge, but Your perfect justice was carried out as Christ felt the pain of every sin.

I say this Lord in light of tonights scripture so that we could first remember what great love You have shown us and second that we would love You and pray for one another that we might not sin against You and that we would pray for others that they would not sin ending in physical and eternal death in hell. The only way to avoid that death is not to be a "better person" but that their heart would be healed by faith in the death of Christ for our sins.


Lord Jesus, thank You for loving us enough to be willing to die for us as the Father determined to display His Love and Mercy from the beginning of time.

So much more could be said and we have so many needs to pray for Lord, but I trust You will hear the desires of our hearts and answer acccording to Your will.

Daily Prayer 11/16/07

1 John 5:14-15 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us {in} whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.

Father...Here it is very clearly for us to believe. If we ask ANYTHING ACCORDING TO YOUR WILL...you hear us. If You hear us, You will gladly give to us. Lord You know how this verse has been used and taught wrongly for so long. According to Your Will is the part we must see and understand.....who knows the will of God? Who has understanding? If we are to know Your will, we must know YOU well....How do we know You well? By Your Word! We do not know Your Word, thus we do not know You, thus we do not know how to pray according to Your will...therefore You do not hear us and answer our prayers, because we ask wrongly for the wrong things. You have been kind to us Lord and You have granted us our requests to some extent. I pray now we will dive into Your Word to know You so we can pray as we should for the right things.

Also Lord it's important for us to know that You only hear the prayers of Your children. If a person does not belong to You, You turn your ear away from them. You can hear them, but You have turned away from them. They are the wicked one's who belong to the devil. Only those who have trusted in the death of Christ for the payment of their sins belong to You by faith. This may seem like I am saying a mean thing, but Father it's only because a person does not truly know You according to Your Word. You are a very Holy and mighty God! All powerful and to be feared with great reverence.... Who would dare come to such a great power that makes the power of the sun look like less than a candle. A hundred suns look less than a candle to the mighty power that comes from You. Peels of thunder and light surround Your throne...You are the source of all power. Your whisper to man on earth is like loud thunder that cause people to fall to their faces in fear. It make people fall like dead men. The radiance of Your power made Moses face glow just from being exposed to Your glory on Mt. Sinai.

Let us never forget what a Holy and Mighty God we come to and petition!

May we ask carefully....

I also thank You that by the washing of Christ's blood we can stand upright and boldly approach Your mighty throne of grace to make our request....I only pray we would be careful to pray according to Your will. Help us to seek Your will in each situation.

Go, little baby go! We are so excited to see the progress You have caused in little Thad's heart! We pray it would continue!

Aubrey did a little better today and finally made a little urine. That means some very slight kidney function has returned. I pray it continues. She is coloring a lot and a cheerful little girl despite all her trouble, pain and constant discomfort.

Baby Aubrie is doing well

I pray for the people of Bangledesh. I hope they will seek the source and force behind all weather patterns, the Lord Almighty who controls the winds. May Christ be their Savior and their God.

For all the good things you do for us Lord we thank You. Amen!

(Nick Younger's Birthday is Sat.)

1996 Kansas Prayer

When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session Of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:

"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good", but that is exactly what we have done.

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We confess that.

We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it Pluralism.

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery,

We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare,

We have killed our unborn and called it choice,

We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable,

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem,

We have abused power and called it politics,

We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition,

We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression,

We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent to direct us to the center of Your will and to openly ask these things in the name of Your Son, the living Savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen!"

Bangladesh Cyclone Kills Hundreds

Here is the report on the storm Jeff prayed about. Let's keep these poor people in our prayers.


DHAKA, Bangladesh - A cyclone killed over 1,200 people and left much of southern Bangladesh cut off from the rest of the country before heading inland and losing strength Friday, officials said.
This baby was born during the storm and is well. His name is Cyclone. Thank God for protecting him and keeping him alive! As you can see from the picture, these are poor people.

Daily Prayer 11/15/07

1 John 5:5-13 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son. The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.


Father- Your inspired Word from John is so clear. The only eternal life possible is in Christ alone. Nor ourselves, not anything we can do to merit eternal life...It's not in us but in Him. Without Christ there is no eternal life...only eternal death in the lake of fire awaits. Not the temporary fire, but Your Word says ETERNAL life in Christ or death in the lake of fire. It's sad Father that some don't know for sure where they would go if they died today. But we CAN know....some teach you can't know but here it is very clear..."These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, SO THAT you may KNOW that you HAVE eternal life." What a comfort! What peace! Believe in Christ...Faith in that Death...it is enough that we can KNOW we will be in heaven. So if I am asked, the only answer I need is the only answer there is....Christ my Savior has died for my sins. I have no debt or guilt with God. I KNOW I will be in heaven with the One who paid my debt and took my wrath. He is all I need!

Father we lay our lives, our souls, our families, our children, our jobs and all we own at Your feet to be used by You as You please. I only say this. Too often my eyes are fixed on this life and the things of this world, so I will struggle to understand and I will not be able to see beyond the moment or myself too often. When I do this Lord, I pray that You will help me. Holy Spirit give me an eternal heavenly view of this life and the perfect, sovereign will of the Holy Father who is so powerful and mighty none could see Him and live. The infinite mind that thought up the plan to pour out infinite mercy and love on the helpless state of mankind. Remind me Spirit that He does as He pleases and His ways are so much higher than our ways. Teach me to remember that and focus on pursuing obedience and personal holiness.

We give you the thanks for the good report on Thaddeus' heart. We will keep praying and watching as You work.

We pray for little Aubrey that her kidneys will start working soon. I pray she will stop throwing up. We pray that her recovery would be quick and soon.

For our new baby Aubrie in our family we thank You for her health. A little jaundice seems to have cleared up. Crystal's fever I think has gone away. Thank You for protecting them from serious illness. I also thank You that Olivia could make it there to be with them. Thank You for our Mothers Lord!

Finally Lord, today (Thurs) Is Wayne's birthday (for our family). We thank You for him and pray that he would be a caring and loving husband for our Mom. He is a fun, but quiet man who seems to be very kind. Only you know his heart Lord. I just pray that we would show love and respect and thanks as he is the one who is there to care for our Mother and I pray that You would be working in his heart to seek the answers to the greatest questions of life. Just be at work there Lord...that's all I ask. There is no greater birthday gift Lord than to be born again into eternal life by the blood of Christ. That is a gift only You can give. Only You can stir the heart to receive the gift. But as one who has nothing to give, I ask that You would bless him for us.

Keep our children and families safe and turn our hearts to desire to read and obey Your Word....Amen.

A Few Random Thoughts

First sorry for no Daily Prayer yest. No internet connection at home. We are getting our DSL hooked up. It will be better than our dial-up so I am happy about that! I got the slowest DSL available. I like the faster speed and not taking up the phone line...that's nice. Main reason is they are phasing out my dial-up by jacking the price way up. So DSL is also cheaper than dial-up! It will be interesting to see how it works. I have built my own computer I affectionately call "Frankenstein" it's made of all old throw away computer parts. It's not too fast, but certainly no worse than my old store bought lap top from 1968....oh, '98...my bad. So to speed it up I have stepped into the geeky world of Linux. Linux is an operating system like Windows or Mac...but it's FREE!!!! All the software for it....FREE!!!!! YEA! So I have spending way too much time on that. In fact I told a co-worker and brother in Christ, that I have a technology lust. I said it kiddingly, but it really is true. I will be honest, if I had a thousand dollars in my hand and I would have a terrible time deciding between a wise use of the money and this new computer I want. Idols and temptations and lusts come in many different forms. Mine is computers. Next computer thought really quick.... I like a slow connection because it keeps our family from using the internet too much...email is about it. Too much junk online. If you have kids you MUST have a filter!

Quick update on Aubrey Anderson....

She had a seizure last night and was unresponsive. This is a bad turn, but not completely unexpected. I also know how God uses these states to heal the body while it rests. It's just not much improvement. We really need to pray the kidneys will begin working again.

Update on baby Thaddeus....

In the words of my little girl singing... "Hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah, praised be the Lord!"

Good news at the doctor yesterday.... the heart is growing and things seem to be improving!

Father I have prayed for a complete inutero healing. I pray it will be done. Like Mindy said though who cares if it happens before or after birth, we just want him to be well.


Let's see what else......

One final thing I ask for your prayers on. I have been asked to preach at a couple churches recently. I LOVE to proclaim God's Word to His people....BUT I am very apprehensive about doing it. To stand in a pulpit and accurately handle the word of God is a HUGE responsibility and should be undertaken with great fear and work. I fear handling it accurately....I always do....so I work harder. I also think there must be someone better than me to fill in.... Thirdly, it really makes me look inwardly. I feel a man must be walking in the Spirit and free from unconfessed sin....dedicated to the Word. I am not as strong and as clean as I want to be. I must pray about it. I love the work in preparing a message....what a HUGE benefit to the soul! I only teach from the overflow of what I have learned myself. So if this opportunity comes through, I look forward to it but know it will be hard work. Please pray for me! Sin and the attacks of satan to ruin your work are a constant threat. How many men or women in the church have been pulled out of service because they fell into a terrible sin. Satan has then done a good thing, he has rendered a worker useless and damaged his ability to spread God's Word. (I also think a person is not permanently out but can recover a ministry after proof of repentance and recovery of whatever the weakness or sin was.) I know how easily a person can slip and fall, so that worries me sometimes, but I know it all revolves around my filling my heart with God's Word and pursuing Christ from the heart. It's when I am not constantly renewing my mind with the Bible and setting my mind on Christ that the sinful heart regains it's foothold in my mind.

Have a great day....God Bless!

Update on Aubrey Anderson

Today is day 17 that Aubrey has been sick.

She has had a rough day today. She threw up her feeding tube again, and they will be inserting a new one soon. In fact, little Aubrey has thrown up every day for the past 17 days. She is on hemo-dialysis for four hours today, up from three hours yesterday.

Her hemoglobin is down to 9 and her platelets are up to 150, which is good. Please pray that 1) Aubrey will quit throwing up, 2) that her new feeding tube will stay in place, 3) that the dialysis will give her kidneys the jump start that they need, and 4) that Bill and Karen will be encouraged.

Daily Prayer 11/12/07

1 John 4:15-5:4 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us. If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the {child} born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.


Father....What a priviledge that we could call You "Father"! As John writes above we can have confidence at the judgment because of our adoption as children by faith and because You have begun a work in us that the Holy Spirit will keep working until the day we meet. What a message that there is NO FEAR IN LOVE. This is not to say that some will not be judged and this is not to say that some have been deceived and have a false assurance, but Lord fear involves punishment. My Savior took ALL my punishment on the cross. I have no penance, He has served it....He is all I have. All I can do is bow low and say I am sorry for my sin Lord. I am truly sorry for it, but I can not fear a punishment that has already been paid in full. Truly one might claim to belong to You but they may still worry about the day they will face You because Christ is not their Savior who has paid in full their debt, so they still fear the possibility of punishment. Our lives are the evidence of the truth. Sure we still sin Lord, but do we claim one thing and live another? Convict us is we have fooled ourselves, bother our conscience. True faith that has brought us into obedience to Your word produces a natural fruit in our lives that is evidence that we are truly free from the penalty of sin and we love and we obey. The hypocrite claims to love You, but their actions say otherwise. What is our victory? Not our work, our faithfulness, our avoiding punishment, but FAITH is the victory. Faith in that death that came by Love to grant us freedom and eternal life.

Father we all would like to offer prayers of thanks to You. We also pray that You would meet our needs and cause us to grow in our spiritual lives.

We a like trees Father. Some types grow quickly, others grow slowly. Some of us sway in the wind and nearly break, others are strong as oak. Some of us are planted by streams of water and are well fed and watered and grow well. Others are far from good water and so survive only by Your grace.

I do not try to place us all in this race running at the same pace. We all must find our own speed. I just pray that we first truly have eternal life by faith in Christ's death alone. I pray that we are at least in the race and that we perform only for You. May we run according to the strength You have given us and our desire to serve You well. Father, Keep the tall trees strong, keep the young trees alive, protect the seedlings from the wicked heat of the day, and may we all bear good fruit. A good tree can not produce bad fruit as Your word says, speaking of our lives. I don't care about the size of the tree, only that we would examine our fruit we are bearing as we judge our own performance. I pray we would desire to do well for You who first loved us and died for us, and called us to believe. A gift we don't deserve.....humbly we give You all our thanks! Lord Jesus You are our life!

Daily Prayer 11/11/07

1 John 4:12-14 No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son {to be} the Savior of the world.

Father many may wonder what You look like. Like other places, Your Word says here that no one has seen You. You are invisible and a spirit according to Your Word. But because of Your Love for us You took on flesh and became like Your creation. Jesus, the exact representation of You in the flesh. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Like a thought, the invisible can not be expressed until the thought becomes an outward expression. You who could not be seen, became revealed to us in Christ. Christ was the expression of Your care and love for us. Lord Jesus You became flesh for the purpose of becoming the Savior of the world. You have died for the sins of the whole world....but who will believe it? Who will draw near to You by the love You have shown us in bearing the Holy Judgment of the Father against sin? Who will accept the full and final payment for our sins? The Father knows.

Thank You for all you have done for us Lord. I pray for our country. Today we remember those who served and who died for our freedom. We hear so many stories of men laying down their lives to save each other, their friends and to protect the peace and freedom of their families back home. What a great reminder of what You did for us Lord! So we might be free from sins penalty and so we might live lives free of fear and judgment, so we might have peace with the Father, You laid down Your life for us willingly. Thank You for that love!

Lord You know all our personal needs. I lift them up to You tonight and ask for Your help and mercies as we need them and also praise You for the places You are working in our lives.

In Christ's Name we pray, amen.

Daily Prayer 11/10/07

1 John 4:7-11 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son {to be} the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Father You are the Eternal One, Our Creator and Father who set Your mind from eternity past to display Your love to us. Now this is hard for us to understand, but we will spend all eternity marveling at the plan. You know all things and You work all things according to Your will. You could have easily created a perfect universe and a perfect earth with perfect humans and animals and plants....In fact You DID create all things perfect! You could have created this world with no plan for Adam and Eve to sin and cause the earth and all of mankind to be cursed. This was not a surprise to You but part of Your plan. Your love is not just theory but it has been displayed through Your Son Jesus Christ.

Nothing worse could have happened! One third of the angels rebelled against You and followed Lucifer in His rebellion against You. Only You would allow Your GREATEST angel to turn on You. Add to that the sin and rebellion of all mankind! The blackness of the story could not be darker. Great wickedness set against our Creator. Against this black background, like a lighted Diamond, stands Christ, God who became flesh and Whom You allowed to be murdered by that wicked creation that rebelled against You. In the wickedness of man as they bruised Him, at the same time He crushed final judgment and death and paid a great price to redeem us! You offer this free gift of eternal life and reconcilliation with You by faith in that death alone! What a great gift You have given those whom You love! There is no salvation for the angels who fell, yet to display Your love in contrast to Your righteous judgment on the angels, You have been merciful to mankind. We look forward to that day when all things are made perfect again.

The word "propitiation" used here is the strongest word possible for the permanent and total satisfaction of God's Wrath. Either Christ's death for our sins is all and the only thing we need....plus NOTHING.....or else there is no payment for sins at all and we are still under Your judgment.


May we love each other with a self-sacrificing love, even to those who do not deserve it.

Praise for Aubrie who went home today with Crystal and Adam healthy and happy!

Pray for Aubrey who has had another bad day with her kidneys...very bad day....We pray for recovery again.

For Meeja's arm and other needs

For Darlene and her mother's health

For all of us that we would be blessed with a good place to study and learn Your Bible.

Amen!

Daily Prayer 11/9/07

1 John 4:2-6 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the {spirit} of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak {as} from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Father what an important passage this is! (I know I say that every night...haha) In today's world more "science" and "philosophy" and "society" deny more and more the true person of Jesus Christ. We know historically He existed and we know that after His resurrection He was seen by hundreds...it can not be denied, but more and more it will be rejected. We must be very careful because the antichrist will come and deny Christ and claim to be God. We must be solid in our knowledge of Christ. Colossians 2:8 "See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ." Your Holy Spirit that dwells in every believer can not be overcome by satan or any of his servants. You have purified us and saved us by faith and what can overcome You Lord? Romans 8 ends with Paul's powerful words on this subject. Let us just be aware that there is so much deception out there! We must be very careful what we believe....let Your Word be our guide. Holy Spirit lead us. I especially pray for those who do not have a good church to attend. Good Bible believing and Bible teaching churches are very rare these days. In Protestantism our country is flooded with all sorts of polluted water. Very rarely do we find the pure living water of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Bible. I pray for the "Protestant" and "Evangelical" churches of our country! How they have gone astray...How hard it is to find a good church! I also thank You SOOO much for churches with solid teaching. Not teaching that I think is right Lord, but teaching that is obedient to Your Word. Satan and our sin has convinced us many things that are a matter of preference are a matter of doctrine. How many church splits and denominations are due to our sin? All of them! We know Your church truly is ONE Universal Church in Christ. We know as we interact with other true believers around the world that You truly have us as a part of One church, One body of Christ. In His death we have been made "Christians" In Christ there is NO Denomination. I only pray we would be one in subjection to the authority of Your Word that You have given us to guide the Church.

Thank You so much for new baby Aubrie Genelle Johnson! How great to have her here!

Thank You for the stable condition of Aubrey Anderson. We pray for her platelet count to increase. Heal her kidneys.

Today Lord we also celebrate the 1 year Birthday of Emma in Heaven. 1 year ago today she was "born" into eternity and glory in Your presence! May we have joy not sadness as we look forward to our reunion with her. How beautiful she must be! Just like You Lord Jesus, she is bright shining like the sun as she reflects Your glory.

Be with Pastor Kota in India as they pray for a building for the Emma School. You know their prayer, I pray You will answer it according to Your will.

What joy and peace You give life Lord. Thank You for all You do for us!

Remembering Emma

Here is a great note I would like to pass along from Adam and Mindy.

I wanted to have some words to share today but I find myself speechless. Mindy said it best "Our job now is to make sure we get to heaven." So true... I went back and read the Letters In Grace Issue I wrote shortly after Emma's funeral.

First a letter from Adam and Mindy then I will give you the link to that letter.

Where has this year gone? Today is one year since Emma went to be with Jesus. Its hard to believe it has been one year, it really snuck up on us. There are days where it feels like it has been forever but then it feels like we were just taking pictures of her and bringing her home like it was yesterday.

So much has happened in this past year that we are very thankful for. We know God sent Emma to us for many reasons and we will always be greatful for that. She is in such a better place right now even though its hard to deal with her not being here with us. Parents live their lives hoping and praying that their children grow up with God and get to Heaven. We remember a card we got from Adam's cousin after Emma passed away saying something like "First of all I want to congratulate you on getting Emma to Heaven." I don't have it here in front of me right now to quote everything it said, but it really meant alot to us during that time.

We wanted to share a poem that Adam's brother Jason (he is the one who always did daily prayers for Emma) wrote a little while after Emma passed away.

Baby Emma
by: Jason Steven Younger

Sweet little Emma sent from above
Opened our heart and showed us God's love
Christ our Savior who died for our sins
That is where the story begins

God used Emma like a light in the dark
To call us to be of true faith and pure heart
Now having found us He brought her back home
Now our Lord sits in our hearts on His throne

Like lost little sheep who once went astray
Faith in Christ saved us I'm happy to say
The rest of my life I'll have Christ on that throne
Until I join Emma in God's heavenly home.


We know Emma is safe with Jesus looking down on all of us. We don't have to worry about her health or her heart because she is perfect in every way.

This will be our last message on Emma's carepage. We are having a book made of all our updates and all of your kind messages. Thank you to all who have kept up with Emma's life.

We miss her everyday but we know we will be with her once again. God bless to all and don't forget about the important things in life.

We love you baby girl!!!!!

Love,
Adam and Mindy

___________________________________________
Thank you Mindy for sharing your thoughts with us today....

I remember at Emma’s funeral I didn’t say much. I didn’t think I should. I remember three thoughts going through my head. First and foremost I just wanted to be there for my brother and Mindy. I just wanted to help them or serve them in any way I could. Secondly, I buried my sadness deep within myself and put on that Jason smile and prepared myself to show people the joy and hope that is in Christ. Thirdly, I only wanted to be God’s servant. I was praying with a deep desire that God would just give me conversations with people. As a family we have really grown closer over this past year and I think you understand me better (at least where I am coming from) and I have learned to be more sensitive to feelings and learning to speak with a little more tact. Think of the spiritual things you have worked over in your mind over this past year. Would you have even considered those things if it was not for Emma? Mindy said something that was so great to hear. She said, “The most important thing in life for us now is to get to heaven.” (That may be a bit of a paraphrase.) YES! Oh, thank You Lord YES! Here is where Emma’s work truly begins!

Before Emma would we have prayed like we do now? Before Emma did we seek to be in heaven like we do now? This little girl has had a direct impact on not only our lives but our eternities! As long as our love for her endures, our desire to be with her will endure. As long as we desire to be with her, we will be seeking Christ because He Himself said He is “The Way, the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6)

I am not going to get too deep on you here. I just don’t have it in me. BUT remember this one point:

If you can understand how a baby gets to heaven, the whole point of the Gospel is opened to you!

I don’t mean an understanding that starts with “I think God…….” But one that starts with “The Bible says….” If you can understand the TRUTH of how a baby goes directly to heaven, and not work on assumptions and feelings and hopes of what God is like, you will do fine.

Think of an aborted baby. It was not baptized, it had “original sin” and was killed and cut out. That baby I can say with full assurance of not only my life, but I would stake my eternity on it…..IS for SURE in heaven! Now if one can be so SURE of that baby being in heaven, wouldn’t you like to LIVE with that same ASSURANCE that you will be in heaven, guaranteed when you die? That assurance is there for you in God’s Word! If that is the point of our lives, will we read our Bibles like our arrival in heaven depends on it? The world is filled with SO much confusion on the subject, but you can TRUST God in His revealed Word. Something You don’t understand? Pray about it….read it and read it and pray! The third person of the Trinity will teach you. The Holy Spirit is here for that reason.

Here is the link to the letter I wrote after Emma’s funeral with much more explanation if you want to learn more. Just know that she is in Heaven right this minute and she knows the truth of all these things we are working to figure out. Do you think she loves you and want’s you to know them too? Of course. God the Father loves You too! He wants you to know and love Him and draw near to Him through His word.
CLICK HERE FOR THAT LETTER

God Bless you and thank you for putting up with me! I have been totally overwhelmed with the response from my family!

Daily Prayer 11/8/07

1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Father here John turns our focus to the important of love of truth and a pure Gospel. What an important verse You have given us here. From the time of satan tempting Eve in the garden of Eden to today, satan's desire is to attack truth and lead us astray. (In case you do not remember how satan attacked God's truth see Genesis 3:4-5) Satan is not a wicked beast concerned with the unchurched...they are no threat to him. It's truth that he must battle against. He desires to distort and lead the church astray....Father do not let us be so closed minded that we will not examine what we believe against what Your Word says, yet do not let us be so open minded we will accept every new teaching that comes along. Give us a healthy skepticism so we will search the Scriptures and trust the Bible for the answer. The verse even says the world is filled with many false teachers. Let us test Christian teaching to measure it's purity and value.

We thank You so much for the birth of Baby Aubrie today. Crystal and Adam must be so happy! We are so thankful for a healthy baby! We have learned not to take this for granted. Now draw Crystal and Adam to Yourself. I pray this miracle of life will give them a fire in their hearts to want to get to know Christ more.

We also pray for our friends 5 year old daughter Aubrey. Her dialysis equipment broke and must be fixed. Her toxicity levels have gone up and the platelets are still way low. She seems to be improving very slowly. She had to be sedated today to get the feeding tube back in. She has been throwing up and lost her feeding tube. Still a lot to pray for. We thank You Father for the improvement.

We pray for Adam and Mindy Lord that You would hold their broken hearts in Your hands. Hold them close to Your heart and give them peace knowing their little girl is with You and now so much better off than us. Encourage them in the way You continue to use her in our lives. Help them to cope with the struggles of having their little boy Thaddeus develop with another bad heart. We pray for a good outcome. First You got our attention with Emma and brought us to Your Son Jesus Christ. Now may Thaddeus be Your worker on this earth to now physically call people to Your Son to follow Him in faith and hope. We pray he will grow up to be Your servant. Make them a holy family who serves Christ Jesus in faith and truth.

Lord we pray for Pastor Samuel in India who is our brother whom we will spend all eternity with by faith in Christ. We pray for his wife Deepa and their two sons. We pray for Jesudas and Prahbudas who are working so hard for You there. Bless Prahbudas who serves so faithfully at Emma's school there. He rides his bike so far each day to get there and expects no pay. I thank You for Samuel and Deepa's love for him and willingness to care for him. Bless them all Lord. Bless the children who live in terrible conditions and come to Emma's school for food and education. I pray especially for the Muslim children that they may know You the true and living God and the True Prophet who is God who became flesh to die for our sins and who truly rose from the dead and truly ascended into heaven, the Christ who we will see come again on the clouds with the angels in glory to judge the earth. I hope we can show them in some way how much we love them and are praying for them. Maybe we can get a jar to save our change to offer to them. Change is like crumbs to us. Will we not even share our crumbs with them?

For Stanley in Buduburam. Things are hard for him as You know Lord. I pray someone there will offer him some help and care for him. I hope they can return to Liberia soon.

Our co-worker Darlene who's mother is sick and now she is also sick. She has bronchitis....pretty bad too....heal her and teach her to relax and give her freedom from her stress. You Lord Jesus should be her "center". We love her and care about her.

For all our families, children, friends and co-workers.....be with us and You know each of our needs. Forgive us as we admit our sins and help us to not keep sinning the same sins over and over but conform us to the image of Your Son.

In Christ's Name we pray...Amen.

Baby Aubrie Is Born!

Baby Aubrie is here! Crystal (my youngest sister-in-law) and her boyfriend Adam (not to be confused with my brother Adam) just had a healthy little 6 pound (ish) baby at about 3:16pm Mountain Time today. We have been praying for her and knew it would be an early delivery...so we are happy all went well and she was delivered very quickly with very little pain!

Thank You Father for caring for them. Lead them in Your ways to do what is right in Your eyes.

Thanks for the iPod!

Well this is my iPod shuffle that you helped me win! Thanks so much for your votes. The letter that came with it said I won for having the highest daily average rating. You see, I owe it totally to your help!

What's that you ask? What will I do with it? Oh, well thanks for asking.... My life is bombarded with music, so I won't use it for music much. I have a Palm TX that plays mp3's and video, so the "new" of that has worn off.... Here is the best use I have found for an mp3 player: iTunes podcasts are very valuable. There is some really good Bible teaching. Way of the Master Podcast, John MacArthur podcast....Creation Moments....Ken Ham's creation podcast....all good uses of the memory chip. Most important use for me is this.... I use it to memorize Scripture. I put a whole book of the Bible on and listen to it over and over and over. By becoming familiar with the text you can have a better understanding of the book as a whole, plus see smaller nuances that you might miss as you sit and casually read over a passage. First book I would recommend doing this with is the book of Romans. I just loaded Hebrews on the new iPod. We went through the book a while back in Letters In Grace, but I want to memorize it. Next time you hop in the car...travel with God's Word in your ears. It won't make you shake your booty, but it will make your soul dance with joy!

Daily Prayer 11/7/07

1 John 3:14-22 "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight."

Father the depth of John's words here we should take the time to stop and plumb the depth. I am not going to tonight though because I have so much on my heart and mind. I just pray the reader will read the text several times and observe all that it says. Things like, we CAN know now we have eternal life, God is judging our heart not our actions...(hate=murder) If we are "in Christ" than the Spirit will fill us with that confidence and give us that assurance of the eternal life we have come into. Our pattern of life is also the evidence. May we also see how You bless the one who loves You and displays a life of obedience from the heart in submission to Christ our Lord.

Today little Aubrie was in the news paper around the state and on the news on the state television channels. Because they don't know how she got the e-coli it stirs fear in a parents heart that it could happen to them at any time. The media plays on this fear a bit otherwise I am sure she would just be another sick little girl to them. The paper covered it because Bill (father) is principal at an area school. Father, we just thank You for the way You have used 5 year old Aubrie to give them an opportunity to speak well of You and Your Holiness and Your Sovereignty over all things. I truly love the Anderson's! Thank You for their opportunity. I thank You she did better today drinking milk and watching her favorite movie and for the first time asking for food (plain Cheerios). What an improvement. We pray her platelet numbers come back up soon. We know You have been in complete control in this event for their growth and the spread of the Gospel and for Your glory. May they endure the trail with joy. Give them good rest....I know they don't get much.

Next for our family's baby Aubrie. Crystal will have her baby a little early it seems....we are now counting the hours. We pray Father for a safe delivery and that Crystal's health would be protected by You. We pray for no complications and that she would recover quickly. I hope the first look at this baby causes them to surrender their lives to You...(You remember Lord that was when You set Your hook in me and began to reel me in on that day in July!)

We have been praying for Darlene's mother, Imogene. She really needs our prayers. She has cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes and several other complications and has now gotten sick. But that is just half the story....Darlene is now in the hospital again also very sick. I pray for her quick recovery so she can care for her mother. I also pray for her spiritual growth. Not long ago, she was hostile towards anyone even talking about You. Now she speaks about You with love and tears. I pray You would heal and comfort her body and soul.

Give our co-worker Casey strength as he recovers from the flu.

For Meeja, we have not forgotten her needs....help her Father.

For Samuel and the Church in India. Be with the Bible Students and the faithful workers there who are dedicated to working for Christ..... Many of them that help, I don't even know if they do anything else....all I ever hear about them is their work for You....that in itself is a testimony of how they hold Christ so near and dear to their hearts!

We pray for the Emma School there.....

Finally we are now praying along side Adam and Mindy. Approaching the 1 year of our little girl going home to be with You. Settle our hearts and remind us of all that You did for her and for us through her. Help us to honor her memory well.


A note of praise Father for a proud parent....I thank You that our little girl Gracie was honored with "Grace Kid of the Month" in her class at church. I pray every day that the sweet and loving little girl we have now, will grow to be a holy woman of Christ. I only ask that she would serve You well with her life and that You would protect her innocence and make her holy. For our boys we also pray that You would turn their hearts away from the world and sin and turn them to Christ. We do not hold on too tight and leave room for them to make mistakes and learn the error of their ways and give Your Holy Spirit room to convict them of their sin and need for Christ. For all our Children we lay them at Your feet with great hope and prayers for lives that will be lived for Jesus our Precious Savior who died for us and who rose in the power of the resurrection in assurance of eternal life for all who would believe. Amen.

A Letter To Me

I have a new favorite song (secularly speaking)...It's Brad Paisley's "Letter To Me" In the song he is writing a letter to the boyhood version of himself. If it were possible to write a letter and send it back through time to yourself, what would you say to yourself? How would you convince yourself the letter was really from you? What would you tell yourself about life and faith? Just a fun thing to think about. Maybe you could even actually write it down on paper as if you were really going to send it to yourself. It would be fun to pull it out in another 10 years and see if anything has changed.

I look back on myself as a kid almost like a father looking at his son. Who I am today is so different from who I was then. I think who I am today was in part there, just buried deep inside me. I guess that is what life is all about taking you from a rough state and molding you into the person God meant you to become. I just think I had so much potential in myself that I did not see. People always said "Jason is not working to his potential" I think that was on every report card! I just know myself so much better now that I think I could really offer myself some good advice. There were some things I really needed to know, (again just secularly speaking). I definitely would have guarded what I let into my mind. Now at 33 I can still remember things I shouldn't have seen when I was.....well too young to see it. Movies, magazines everything.....it's amazing what the brain will hold on to.

Also, I would really advise myself to watch who I choose as friends. I had some really good friends but late in high school I made some bad choices that could have had some really terrible consequences. Thank God He saved me from the trouble I could have gotten in. I will spare you the details. I thought everything in life was SOOO important, I could not see past the present, so I lived for the moment and neglected the things I should have been doing for my future. Oh, yes get this one....I would encourage myself to be disciplined. I heard it all the time and I remember Dad would make me look up "discipline" and "responsibility" in the dictionary. I don't know how I could have changed this but I SOOOO wish I was one of those people with strong self-discipline. Oh yes, laziness. I am a very hard worker, but I have a super strong lazy streak in me....I hate that about myself!

I can think of people I should have spent more time with. I wish I would have been a book worm and not a social butterfly. I would also remind myself of the things I loved so much that I would never get to do again in life.....enjoy them, drink it in and store up the memories!

Finally I would have a good talk with myself about my parents. I think the biggest shock to me after a certain age was when I realized they are not perfect. Being a father I know now how hard it is. You want to be the ideal parent, but we are just regular people with flaws that keep us from being perfect. All parents are are kids who have grown up, still trying to cope with and figure out life while now having kids of their own. I am just a person. I don't have perfect control over my anger.... sometimes I get upset and do not deal with a situation like I wish I would. It's funny now to look back and see how good my parents were! They really did a good job. A home filled with 5 young kids and we all made it through school with no real troubles or problems. We turned into 5 great adults and that is directly a result of their guidance. Mom was (and is) our love. Our gentle hearts and easy going personalities we owe to her. I still remember times when I was three with her.... Memories of times when her tender and sensitive heart was hurt.... I didn't understand it, but I do remember it. I also see it reflected in our lives. Now Dad and I had a very rough relationship at times...mostly as I became a rebellious teenager.. BUT I am SOO thankful for him. In fact I needed more of him. I am so sorry for the trouble I caused him (I caused a lot of trouble...I could be a real "destructo" sometimes.) He taught me that discipline and responsibility and strong willed leadership that is so useful to me today. The things he taught me I couldn't list here...too much. I remember him saying often "You may hate me now, but you will respect me later." So right. I do think I could have used more of his strong medicine though. Now he also has some character flaws that make him a very difficult person to understand and live with, but that may be one of the things I appreciate the most. Every day....literally every day I interact with some people in life who just seem so strong willed and impossible to get along with. BUT I have seen the mountain top. I know difficult, and you sir are not difficult. I learned so many communication skills in learning how to get along with and how to please him, it's invaluable to me today.

Anyway, somehow this has changed from the topic of writing a letter to yourself. My mind has wondered as I let my thoughts drift back to my childhood..... That's why my grade card always said "Jason does not work up to his potential" because my mind wanders too much. I would tell myself that...."Jason, you are a dreamer and that is OK! You think differently and learn differently....that's OK! Here's how your mind works and here's how I have found out I learn best...." Oh man how I could have used that advice! Back to the weird split personality thing about viewing yourself as a parent views their own child.....

You have high expectations for yourself. That's ok.... You also fail and mess up and are a flawed human being. Do you understand that about yourself? Please then, be more patient with yourself and quit punishing yourself for mistakes you have made in the past. The punishment at the time was enough. Let it go. Also as a "parent" of yourself it is your responsibility to be teaching and leading yourself to become the person you want to become. When was the last time you have thought about that? Encourage and love yourself. Seek truth and then teach yourself to follow and obey it. Teach yourself to not be lazy and discipline yourself.

You are just that same kid who grew up. You may not have the close guidance of your parents anymore. So you must now be your own "parent".... Feed your mind, discipline and guide your life.

NOW...Don't forget Christ is the center of all things....so you must read and study your Bible. Life's guidebook will teach you and guide you. Most importantly remember you have a Father in heaven who loves you SOOO much more than any human parent could ever dream of loving you. A perfect parent who has adopted you by faith in His death for your failures and sins. Cleansed and purified in His eyes, His unconditional love will never see you as anything less than perfect as His natural Son is perfect. Yes, confess (admit) your sins to Him, but they do not need to be "paid" for because Christ Jesus has already paid the full price of every one! So take it easy on yourself and move forward striving to do better and be better and be more like Him because He is good and He loves us SO much....who wouldn't run to a Father like that? Knowing my GREAT sins and MANY sins that He would be perfectly right to give me hell....I know I deserve it....I can not even keep the first and most important commandment....yet, He has loved me, paid my debt and called me His beloved son! Amazing love, how can it be?

India Update

Here's the latest from pastor Samuel Kota in Guntur, India
He sent me this picture of the new roof on their church. This place is very special to them.
What is it we think our churches need that we will sacrifice for?
I am going to work on a PayPal donation button. I have set up an account for the Church in Guntur quite a while back. PayPal has now made it possible for us to donate to him by debit or credit card and he can quickly and easily get the money they need with a very small fee.

Precious Brother Jason in the Lord,

Halleluiah for the recovery of aubrey...we pray for her and may the Lord help her with her dialis..May the Blood will be suiting to her body...Hoping for a miracle from the Lord...amen

Brother, Thank the Lord for your Prayers for our church and here is the ROOF picture and in this place, we have been conducting worship services since October 1st Sunday onwards,.... Praise God for His help so far and praying still for the WALLS and other things..

Keep praying for the work..

My dad is standing there in the picture.. He likes to serve God all thru his life..Let us pray for him..

Thank you again for your Prayers and we love you all and pray for you ..Regards to family and all..

Hoping your Prayers and Emails,

yours Brother in His Love,

Pastor Samuel Kota

India

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REV SAMUEL KOTA
# 7-6-1149/1, SANJEEVAIAH NAGAR EXTENSION
GUNTUR-522002
ANDHRA PRADESH STATE
INDIA
CELL PH NO: 0091 9866277183
http://samuelkota.tripod.com/pics
Phil 1:29