A The Baptist Deacon

Prayer works!  As I prayed this morning I asked that whatever I write on this blog be an inspiration and something people would read. I also asked that I would allow my topics to be led by the Sprit and that I would not mislead or confuse anyone.

With the above being said I am going to write about prayer today. I have a routine with my internet usage. I have certain sites I go to first each morning and I work my way to the Christianblogsites. Once there I always check out the recent blogs on the first page.

 I noticed a new post from “Faithfully Fighting” You need to go to her site and read the update. http://lynnwv.christianblogsites.com/blog It deals with the power of prayer and how prayers are answered especially when more than one person is praying for the same goal.

Another site you need to visit today that also deals with prayer is: http://funyungrl.christianblogsites.com/blog

So let’s look at a few scriptures about prayer: (Just to let you know there are at least 128 verses that have some mention of prayer)

Proverbs 15:29: The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.

Matthew 21:22: And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

1 Timothy 2:1: I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;

James 5:  ¹⁵And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. ¹⁶Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. ¹⁷Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. ¹⁸And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

Now, as I mentioned above there were at least 128 verses that had the word prayer or pray  in them. I decided to look at the above verses today because I believe they best describe the topic I want to bring to your attention and to cause you to think about.

Look at Proverbs 15:29 it says the Lord is far from the wicked but he heareth the prayer of the righteous. Yes God will hear our prayers and God answers each and everyone of them even if it seems it goes unanswered (look at the second link above).

Look at the next scripture Matthew 21:22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Now does this mean we should ask for riches untold or fancy sports cars? No. It is okay to pray that God will meet your needs. Sometimes God will let you go a while without answering your prayer or He might give you an answer that you were not willing to accept. When we ask God for something we must be willing to accept what His answer is. God will sometimes even grant us some of our wishes and desires which should be an even bigger blessing for us. Do we take God for granted? I think the answer must be yes. I also think that is the reason a prayer is not immediately answered.

Last year I lost a high paying job due to cutbacks. I spent months looking for a new job and went on a bunch of job interviews all of which seemed promising, but no one would call back. Now God provided me with things to do to provide for my family during this time, but I was unhappy. It was not what I wanted to do. It was as if my family was on a roller coaster ride that just would not end. I experienced several emotions during this time. I went from joy to extreme depression. God has provided a job which is something I enjoy, but at an extreme pay cut. You know what though, He is providing for my needs and I am very thankful for what he has given me.

1 Timothy 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men.  This is a greeting in this letter from Timothy. What does this greeting teach us? We should be willing to pray and give thanks for all men. Do we pray for our fellow man? Do we pray for the lost, hurting, discouraged and broken? We should especially be concerned for the lost for no matter how bad it seems we have it; they ultimately have the worst possible fate waiting for them unless they are saved and they can only be saved when the Holy Sprit is calling.     

James 5:  ¹⁵And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. ¹⁶Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. ¹⁷Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. ¹⁸And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. These last few verses have to be one of the most powerful examples of what prayer can do. Notice what a prayer of faith can do; save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Verses 17 and 18 talk about Elias and it brings out he was a man subject to like passions, which I take to mean he was just a man, but he knew God, so he had power with God. He was able to pray and stop the rain for three years and six months, and then he was able to pray again and cause it to rain.

Do you want to have power with God? Take time to pray. Take time to do what God ask you to do. You may be surprised by what God will grant through prayer.

I feel the need this morning to ask each of you who read these blogs as well as post to a blog to pray for Lynn of Faithfully Fighting.

Her procedure is this morning and by the time this post it may already be underway. I am sure she is scared. I am sure here family is scared we need to pray for them as well.

I commented to her blog last week. She wrote me back and told me she felt honored that I would pray for her. As a Christian it is a privilege to pray for her. It is a privilege that I have an advocate with the Father that I can take time to pray. I don’t have to rely on a priest, but I can cast my cares directly upon Him.   

I don’t know Lynn personally but I believe she is my sister in Christ, and my sister needs our prayers. So please find some time somewhere today and ask God to intervene, to comfort her and her family, to guide the surgeon’s hands and most of all to heal her body.  

Let us not forget that sometimes bad things happen to good people. If we were in her place I feel sure we would want prayers of people who know God.

I will usually only post one time a day or every couple of days. Today will be a bit unusual because this is my second post. I wanted to announce the birth of my brother’s baby which was my first post.

Until Next time may God Bless You!

My brother and his wife had there baby this morning around 5:30 CST. Baby Madison's weight was 6 pounds and 15oz and she is somewhere around 19" long. I don't have all of the details yet. 

I plain to go visit today around lunch time if they feel up to company. They were up all night after all.

So I will borrow from yesterdays post with a little advise to my brother:

Proverbs 22:6 says: Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

May God bless you Madison and I pray he saves you when you reach the age of accountability.

I'll try to post a few pictures as soon as I get them.

 May God Bless You

My family is now officially on baby watch as my brother and his wife are expecting their first child. Her official due date was Friday the 25^th, which came and went without a birth. Her doctor historically will not let a pregnancy go very long past a due date. Nicole has an appointment with her doctor this afternoon so who knows maybe my next post will be about baby Madison. I pray everything goes well and with no complications.

So with the above comments being made what makes a good mother or father? Is it providing a loving home, keeping food on the table, sending the child to school, seeing that all there wants are met or spoiling the child? I could go on but let’s stop here for a moment. Every child is probably at least a little spoiled unless they are in an abusive situation. Let’s not kid ourselves there are abusive parents out there. How could someone abuse something so precious? That could be a question for a different day.

I believe that there is nothing wrong with the things I just mentioned (except for the abusive situations) even the last two if in moderation. As a parent myself I want to see that my children get everything that they want (providing it is a good thing), but is it realistic? I will answer that question and say no. One reason which is the biggest reason I simply can not afford everything they want. The second reason which is important as well is a child has to be taught that in life they will not always be able to get what they want.

As a Christian parent providing a loving home is a requirement as is providing the things that are needed (not wanted but needed).  Now good parents that are not Christians want this same thing as well.

Now let’s talk about parents that are supposedly Christian parents who wake up on Sunday mornings and choose to do something other than take there children to church. Once in a while it might be okay, but Sunday after Sunday? Do they want there children to saved when they reach the age of accountability? Where do they want there children to learn about Jesus at? Is this something they want them to learn from there friends? Sometimes even the best of friends will mislead you when it comes to the bible. It could be that their friends believe differently than you. Do they want them to learn from a complete stranger or even worse an internet site that believes that anything goes? I will tell you that if you are a parent and  if you don’t teach you children about God they will learn from somewhere, then they will be able to draw there own conclusion about God. Will it be the conclusion you want them to have? What if they get it in there mind that God does not exist? What then? A set mind is a hard thing to change, especially when the world offers so much to try and convince them there is not a God. Is this what you want for your children?

Let’s look at what Proverbs 22:6 says: Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Who is supposed to train the child? The school teacher, the best friend or the world? Train children, not in the way they would go, that of their corrupt hearts, but in the way they should go; in which if you love them, you would have them go.

Look at Mark chapter 10 verses 13 – 16   ¹³And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.  ¹⁴But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. ¹⁵Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. ¹⁶And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.

A child is a precious gift from God. The world gets more wicked each and every day. So whose responsibility is it to teach your child about God? As a parent it is your responsibility to train your children in the way they should go. Jesus said “forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God.”

As a parent living here below your greatest responsibility is to your children!

I am not a professional writer nor have I ever claimed to be. I have figured out how to use spell check, so hopefully there want be any misspelled words to deal with. 

I have a lot of ideals for things to write about on this blog. I believe the ideals I have so far are by divine inspiration. When I first saw this forum I was strongly impressed to contribute a small part. With each new entry it is my prayer that I will be able to express my thoughts in a way that is pleasing to God. I am not “politically correct” concerning the things of the world – but that will be topic for another time.

This brings me to today’s topic. 58 years of marriage.   

This is what my grandparents celebrated yesterday. Now in today’s world it is unusual for marriages to make it for ten years let alone 58. In fact more than half of all marriages now end in divorce. What makes a marriage last? Even some couples who go to church wind up in divorce.  

Now divorce has been around sense the days of Moses.

 Deuteronomy 24

 VS1. When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.

Now you need to read the next few verses in Deut. 24 to get the best understanding of what is being said and the conditions being set forth. 

In Matthew chapter 5 starting at verse 31It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:  ³²But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

The world as a whole misunderstands divorce. They are under the impression if this one doesn’t work out then I will just get rid of him or her and get another one.

Matt. Ch 19: 3-8 ³The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?   ⁴And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, ⁵And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? ⁶Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. ⁷They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? ⁸He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.

God never intended for a man to divorce his wife or vise versa. I will ask again what makes a marriage last?  

It takes a lot of give and take, compromise, a unwillingness to give up and a lot of prayer.

The devil is as a raging lion seeking to devour whoever and whatever he can. Divorce is one way he can do this.

Now I believe that all options should be exhausted before divorce is considered.

I know divorce is a topic no one wants to talk about. Its not popular to hear the truth. I could write a lot more on this subject and get deeper than I went today, but I believe this is a far as I need to go for now.

I look forward to reading your comments – good or bad so feel free to comment. You can also send me stories by clicking on the link at the top of the page.

May God bless and keep you!

Until next week… 

This is my first official entry. I’ll start by telling you a little about me.

First and foremost I am a Christian (even though I am very unworthy). This does not mean that I am perfect just forgiven.

I am a member of Spring Hill The Baptist Church of Christ in Walling Tennessee where I am a Deacon. I also serve as church clerk and treasurer.

I have been married to Milynda for 17 years and almost five months. We have three boys Jacob, Adam and Ethan and a very spoiled little girl Makayla.

We live on the family farm where we raise cattle and horses.

I hope to use this blog as a means tell people about the wonderful love of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

I pray that the views expressed here will be by the divine inspiration of God and will inspire you and allow me to draw strength. I am of The Baptist faith. Future entries will examine in more detail what I believe.

It is not my intention to argue doctrine, bible or faith. What you see here is what you get.

May God bless you!

Bible verse for today come from Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.