CALL TO PRAYER

Oh, my loving Father and God of all,

Please, Father, bring to you in prayer this day all those who seek and need you and your divine and unending love.

Bring them in prayer through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, your son.

Let them know the sacrifice He made for all mankind to forgive them of their sins.

Let them know the commanding, overpowering love You have for them through your son.

Let them know the absolute and unconditional love you offer.

Let them know and undergo the totality of your forgiveness of their sins.

Father, they are calling for you, while they meander without direction in blindness and ignorance.

Point them, Father, to your son, Lord Jesus, so that they may begin to know the truth and have faith.

Light their way, Father, and lead them upon the path of righteousness for Your sake.

Place Your loving, comforting arms around them for they need rest from the tempestuous seas of life that surround them.

Oh, Father, who uses the earth as his footstool, help them to know that nothing is impossible for You and those who have faith in You through Your son, Jesus Christ.  

Hear us and bless us O' mighty Father, our God, through our prayers,

as we are commanded, in Jesus' name we pray these things.

Amen and Amen

 

1 Thessalonians 5

English Standard Version (ESV)

The Day of the Lord

5 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. ² For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ³ While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. ⁴ But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. ⁵ For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. ⁶ So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. ⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. ⁸ But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. ⁹ For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁰ who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. ¹¹ Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Final Instructions and Benediction

¹² We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, ¹³ and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. ¹⁴ And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. ¹⁵ See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. ¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰ Do not despise prophecies, ²¹ but test everything; hold fast what is good. ²² Abstain from every form of evil.
²³ Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
²⁵ Brothers, pray for us.
²⁶ Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
²⁷ I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.
²⁸ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

When life seems hopeless

  

     When the world seems hopelessly torn apart by hate, wars, self –centered behavior by all around us, that is the time mankind needs our Lord most of all.  For our Lord represents the opposite of those things.  We do not cry out for help when seas are calm.  It is when the storm is upon us that we cry out.  If you have our Lord in your life when the storm hits, you take the waves in a calmer more confident manner.  You lay your fears at the foot of the Lord for him to dispense with. 
     You are never alone when you have Jesus in your life.  You may forget his spiritual presence when you glide across silk smooth seas, but he is there even then.    It is a little misleading when we say, …when you have the Lord in your life...for he is always there.  You need merely to have faith and pray to him.  Make it complicated as so many have endeavored to do, but that is not necessary.  He doesn’t make you jump through hoops and crawl on your hands and knees to him.  A person gets on their knees owing to our Lord’s pure love and complete goodness.  It is an involuntary reaction to his overpowering presence of love and goodness.  If you can love, how much more can God love.  If you can be good, how much more can God be good.  So much so that he gave us His only son, Jesus Christ, to die on that cross to forgive us our sins.  Surely, we can but give him a little of our abundant love and goodness in return.  This is the first day of the rest of eternity as Christians.
    
Remember, when one conquers the world with love, there are no losers, only winners.

Pray to our Father in the name of His son, Lord Jesus, have faith, and it shall be done.

     When I look back over my long life, I see God stepping in time after time.  At the time, I was blind for the most part, now, I see.
      You see birds, you see the sky and clouds, you see the trees around you, but do you see God?  You hear the breeze blowing through the trees rustling the leaves, you hear people talking, you hear cars and airplanes, but do you hear God.  Have you ever taken the time to sit quietly and really talk and listen to God?  Why would he talk to someone that scoffs at his name or never gives him time and just listens.  He listens to us always.  Why can't you give him just a little time each day...just you and He. He so badly wants to talk with you.  He loves you.  I know and so do millions of others.  It will not be long before He becomes a driving force in your life.  What a change He makes.  He has me loving neighbors that before I would have cursed.  He has me doing things I only dreamed of before putting my faith in him.  Come to Him.  Put your cares in his pocket, and let his arms surround you with His love and caring.  If you are reading this, He probably already has done this.  For nobody comes to the Son that the Father has not sent.  In other words, God has brought you to Christ Jesus, his son.  Welcome fellow saint.  Make yourself comfortable.  You are among brothers and sisters in the Lord.  Your life will never be the same, nor will any of those around you.  You are special...you are chosen...you are a Christian.  Begin to build your faith.  Put on your new self.  And...listen and talk with God.

     The world appears in turmoil,Wars, nuclear threats, religious fighting. Put your faith in God through His son, Jesus Christ, and you will know that it is not turmoil.  This is what God planned in the beginning.  He is in control.  Love and help others, and let our Father take care of the tough work.  Make your life as much of a reflection of Jesus as possible to bring others to Him.  Fear nothing, but, if you must fear something, fear our Father for does he not create and control all things, all times, all places. Be a good servant, love your neighbor, and, remember, we Christians are not perfect.  Have compassion for others who are not perfect also.  Let us be calm in the face of adversity.  Let us be confident and loving to show others where the one and only true God puts his hand. 

     I have gone through an intense journey in writing this book.  I started out saying I am going to write a book about faith and get it published and blah, blah, blah.  It started out fast and great, but then the Lord shut me down for awhile.  He said, you must learn more lessons.  The first being, if you write for our Father, you must know humility.  This book and any glory or money it may generate goes to our Father, not me.  There is no me in Christianity.  It is about our Father, not about me.  Now, He opens the door to my writing once again.  He is always teaching.  Just like when He was upon this earth in human form.