Dear LORD,
We're still hoping we'll wake up. We're still hoping we'll
open a sleepy eye and think, "What a horrible dream."
But we won't, will we, Father? What we saw was not a dream. Planes
did gouge towers. Flames did consume our fortress. People did
perish. It was no dream and, dear Father, we are sad. There
is a ballet dancer who will no longer dance and a doctor who will
no longer heal. A church has lost her priest, a classroom is minus
a teacher. Cora ran a food pantry. Paige was a counselor and
Dana, dearest
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Father, Dana was only three years old. (Who held her in
those final moments? We are sad, Father. For as the innocent are
buried, our innocence is buried as well. |
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We thought we were safe. Perhaps we should have known better.
But we didn't. And so we come to you. We don't ask you
for help; we beg you for it. We don't request it; we implore it.
We know what you can do. We've read the accounts. We've pondered
the stories and now we plead, "Do
it again, LORD. Do it again."
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Remember Joseph? You rescued him
from the pit. You can do the same for us. |
Do it again, LORD.
Remember the Hebrews in Egypt? You protected their children from
the angel of death. We have children too, Lord.
Do it again, LORD.
And Sarah? Remember her prayers? You heard them. Joshua? Remember
his fears?
You inspired him. The women at the tomb? You resurrected their
hope.
The doubts of Thomas? You took them away.
Do it again, LORD.
Do it again.
You changed Daniel from a captive into a king's counselor. you
took Peter the fisherman and made him Peter an apostle. Because of
you, David went from leading sheep to leading armies.
Do it again, LORD,
for we need counselors today, Lord. We need apostles. We need
leaders.
Do it again, dear LORD.
Most of all, do again what you did at Calvary. What we saw here
last Tuesday, you saw there that Friday. Innocence slaughtered.
Goodness murdered. Mothers weeping. Evil dancing. Just as the
smoke eclipsed out morning, so the darkness fell on your Son. Just
as our towers were shattered, the very Tower of Eternity was
pierced. And by dusk, heaven's sweetest song was silent, buried
behind a rock. But you did not waver, O Lord. You did
not waver. After three days in a dark hole, you rolled the
rock and rumbled the earth and turned the darkest Friday into the
brightest Sunday.
Do it again, LORD,
Grant us a September Easter. We thank you, dear
Father, for these hours of unity. Christians are praying with
Jews. Republicans are standing with Democrats. Skin colors have
been covered by the ash of burning buildings. We thank you for
these hours of unity. And we thank you for these hours of
prayer. The Enemy sought to bring us to our knees and succeeded.
He had no idea, however, that we would kneel before you. And he
has no idea what you can do. Let your mercy be upon our
President, Vice President, and their families. Grant to
those who lead us wisdom beyond their years and experience. Have
mercy upon the souls who have departed and the wounded who remain.
Give us grace that we might forgive and faith that we might
believe. And look kindly upon your church. For two thousand years
you've used her to heal a hurting world.
DO IT AGAIN LORD,
DO IT AGAIN.
Through Christ,
Amen.
FOR ALL OF US WHO NEED
HIS HELP! JUST PUSH!
A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room
filled
with light, and God appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for
him to
do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin.
The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with
all his
might. So, this the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled
from
sun up to sun down; his shoulders set squarely against the cold,
massive
surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all of his might. Each
night the
man
returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day
had
been spent in vain.
Since the man was showing discouragement, the Adversary (Satan)
decided
to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the weary mind: "you
have been
pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn't moved."
Thus,
giving the man the impression that the task was impossible and the
he was a
failure.
These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man. "Why kill
myself
over this?" he thought. "I'll just put in my time, giving just the
minimum
effort; and that will be good enough."
And that is what he planned to do, until one day he decided to make
it a
matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the Lord.
"Lord," he said, "I have labored long and hard in your service,
putting
all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this
time, I
have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong?
Why am I
failing?"
The Lord responded compassionately, "My friend, when I asked you to
serve
Me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against
the rock
with all of your strength, which you have done. Never once did I
mention to
you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now
you come
to Me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But,
is that
really so?
Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy
and
brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, your legs
have
become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much, and
your
abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven't
moved the
rock.
But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your
faith
and trust in My wisdom. This you have done. Now I, My friend, will
now move
the rock."
At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own
intellect
to decipher what He wants, when actually what God wants is just a
simple
obedience and faith in Him. By all means, exercise the faith that
moves
mountains, but know that it is still God who moves mountains.
When everything seems to go wrong ... just P.U.S.H.!
When the job gets you down ... just P.U.S.H.!
When people don't react the way you think they should... just
P.U.S.H.!
When your money looks "gone" and the bills are due...just P.U.S.H!
When people just don't understand you ... just P.U.S.H.!
P=ray
U=ntil
S=omething
H=appens
Pass this on, some one you love may get this just in time! |
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WHAT A
BLESSING TO HAVE A GOD FEARING MAN OF PRAYER LEADING OUR
COUNTRY. |
Hello Dear Friends,
I heard such a wonderful thing at church today that I knew I
would have to share it with you all.
Most of you already know that our preacher is Max Lucado, a
Christian author who is very popular for his many wonderful
books about the Lord.
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This week, Max was
invited, along with several other famous preachers,to have |
lunch
at the White House with President Bush. Their meeting took place
on Thursday and Max shared with us this morning how it had gone.
As the
ministers sat down to lunch and waited for President Bush to
appear, Max said that he was expecting G.W. to walk in the room
looking tired, serious, and depressed. When the President came
in, Max said he looked
totally the opposite of tired: he was energetic, joyful, and
very focused on his talk with the ministers.
Max asked President Bush how he could seem so calm and
peaceful in the midst of all the tragedy. The President's reply
was,
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"I'm feeling stronger now than I've ever been in my life. And
the reason is because every person in America is praying for me.
When I stay on my knees, that's when I have power."
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The ministers then asked the President how he would like them
to pray for him, and how their congregations back home should be
praying. Mr. Bush asked, first, for clarity of mind so that he
could make wise decisions,
and then he asked that we pray specifically for his wife and two
daughters, as he is very concerned about their safety.
I knew that you would be as encouraged as I was to hear
about this meeting. We must thank God that we have a President
who loves and fears the Lord. No human leader is perfect, but
God is perfect, so let's keep President Bush lifted up in prayer
before the Father.
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IS THIS
NORMAL?
Four thousand gathered for mid-day prayer
in a downtown cathedral. A New
York City church, filled and emptied six times last Tuesday. The
owner of
a Manhattan tennis shoe store threw open his doors and gave running
shoes
to those fleeing the towers. People stood in lines to give blood, in
hospitals
to treat the sick, in sanctuaries to pray for the wounded.
America was different this week. We wept for people we did not know.
We
sent money to families we've never seen. Talk-show hosts read
Scriptures,
journalists printed prayers. Our focus shifted from fashion hemlines
and
box scores to orphans and widows and the future of the world.
We were different this week. Republicans stood next to Democrats.
Catholics prayed with Jews. Skin color was covered by the ash of
burning towers.
This is a different country than it was a week ago.
We're not as self-centered as we were. We're not as self-reliant as
we
were. Hands are out. Knees are bent. This is not normal. And I have
to
ask the question, "Do we want to go back to normal?"
Are we being given a glimpse of a new way of life? Are we, as a
nation,
being reminded that the enemy is not each other and the power is not
in
ourselves and the future is not in our bank accounts?
Could this unselfish prayerfulness be the way God intended for us to
live
all along? Maybe this, in his eyes, is the way we are called to
live. And
perhaps the best response to this tragedy is to refuse to go back to
normal.
Perhaps the best response is to follow the example of Tom Burnet. He
was
a passenger of flight 93. Minutes before the plane crashed in the
fields of
Pennsylvania he reached is wife by cell phone. "We're all going to
die," he
told her, "but there are three of us who are going to do something
about it."
We can do something about it as well. We can resolve to care more.
We can
resolve to pray more. And we can resolve that, God being our helper,
we'll
never go back to normal again.
by Max
Lucado
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Will America's
turning to GOD Bless This Nation?
2 Chronicles 26:5 |
"He sought
GOD during the days of
Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of
GOD. As
long a he sought the LORD, GOD
gave him success!"
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''First WTC Stamp''
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May today there be peace within you. May you trust God that you
are exactly where you are meant to be.
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AND REMEMBER: "Friends are quiet angels who lift us to
our feet when our wings have trouble
remembering how to fly."
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