(For my friend, Alma
I'm praying for you!)

Oh Lord, my heart is breaking for my friends,
I am grieved and I don't know what to do.
I've done all I can to offer them hope;
All that's left, Father, is to lift them up to You.

I can't change the situations in their lives,
Oh God, they seem so powerless and weak.
Jesus, You who share their every sorrow,
Fill their hearts with the strength and peace they seek.

Lord, let me stand in the gap for all my friends,
Let me lift them in prayer to You each day,
Let me be faithful, Lord, to show Your love,
And shine a beacon of hope to light the way.

Let me be a witness of all that You can do
Through a life that's set apart for Your glory,
And when the raging tempests come their way
Let perfect peace and comfort be their story.

Let my example be a source of hope,
A vivid picture of Your redeeming love.
Let me always tenderly point the way
To the refuge found in Jesus Christ, above.







 

                                                Dear God, With this prayer
                                                  I call to mind my friends.
                                                I ask for Your blessings on them.
                                                  May angels fill their nights
                                                And bless their days.

                                         May they find joy and peace and harmony.
                                         May I be a source of happiness in their lives.
                                         May our bond be strong and based on truth.

                                               May they always know that
                                                 In me, they have support.
                                               May I live a life that
                                                 Lives up to this prayer.

                                                  Thank you God...Amen.

Is Yours

Have you yet learned the joy and obedience of tithing? In case you don't know, tithing is giving one tenth of your income to God. You may not think it sounds like such a joy but then a wonderful story comes along to show how God smiles on our giving in obedience to his Word.
A few weeks ago, a close friend of mine whom I will call Gisele called to tell me what had happened to her earlier that morning at church. Gisele is in a very precarious financial situation right now and it has been this way for over four years. Yes, she makes it every month but just barely. Regardless of how small her income is, however, she always gives God the first tenth of it. She learned this principle as a child but lately it has been a real test of faith.
On this Sunday morning she was one hour late to church because of having to take back roads she didn't know well. Previously she had always taken the turnpike to church but the toll had just gone up and she literally did not have the fifty cents to pay it. When she finally made it to the church parking lot she just sat there awhile. She hated to go in that late. Well, she finally thought, I'll just go in and give my tithe. This was a toughie because she had little food in her house and was $20 short on her rent which was due the next day.
She went in and found the guy who counts the offering and gave her tithe and then asked him for better directions to get back home. She was explaining she was short for the toll when the Pastor's wife who knows her well overheard. She walked up and said, "Oh, Gisele, just take the turnpike!" and handed her a twenty dollar bill. As Gisele was saying how much this meant to her the woman said; "You know what - God has really blessed me - here, take this too" and handed her an additional hundred dollars.
Gisele could now take the turnpike home, buy some food and pay her rent. Her tithe had only been $32 so God had quadrupled his return to her at a very opportune time. She felt reenergized and encouraged by the Lord's loving-kindness.
Begin your own walk of faith and obedience. If you have never tithed before, think of it this way: God owns it all anyway and you get to keep 90%. That's a pretty good deal. In the end you will find that you cannot out-give God.

Ask

A couple of weeks ago I was asked to pray for a man by a friend of his. He agreed to the prayer and I asked him what he wanted from God. "Nothing" he said, "I don't want to bother him. If my wife and son and I are healthy, that's all I ask for."
So, I began to pray. Hmmm...what to pray for someone who really was asking for nothing. Then I was reminded of the scripture passage; "You do not have because you do not ask." (James 4:2b) I prayed for the Lord to give this man ability to "ask." I happen to know through his friend that he suffered as a child from a step-father who did not love or accept him. Because of that, he expects little from his heavenly Father.
As I prayed I said; "Lord, you know how Tom (not his real name) loves his little son. You know how he delights when Tommy asks him for things. Daddy, can I have an ice cream cone? Daddy, please read that story one more time. You delight the same way, Lord, when Tom comes to you like a child. You are eagerly watching for every request, delighted to respond."
How is your own "asker"? Do you hesitate to "bother" God? Over the years I have seen many who somehow think they have a prayer quota and want to save their requests for emergencies. Or they see their own needs as inconsequential compared to the needs of others.
Go ahead and begin -- ask. You have Father God's full attention for every request, small and large. Are you like Tom who needs courage and grace to come boldly to God? Then make that the first thing you ask.

that is not acceptable

That is not acceptable

Several of my friends identify me with this phrase: "That is not acceptable!" I first used it while I worked as an Operations Manager for a corporation. A vendor could not deliver what had been promised on time; a deadline was going to be missed because of incompetence; an office procedure could not be changed because "this is how we've always done it." Something would rise up inside of me and I would say quietly but firmly; "that is not acceptable."
It carried over into my spiritual walk and particularly into my prayer life. Don't tell me that such and such person is unreachable by God. Don't tell me this prayer can't be answered. Don't tell me the church will never have the same power they had at Pentecost. Don't tell me NO. That is not acceptable.
Sometimes we go along and accept the status quo for a very long time. We get so used to compromise and accepting second best and "half answers" that we forget we don't have to stand for it. "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work." (1 John 3:8) Aren't we supposed to be carrying on for Jesus until he returns? Why should we put up with even half of what the devil dishes out?
The next time you get hit by demonic forces, stop and think about it a minute. Do you have to take that lying down? Is that God's very best for you? No? You know what to say then, don't you? THAT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE!

i ask and i wonder?

I   wonder, I ask many questions

I wonder about occasions

And if this will lead me to fall

It be from the pinnacle

Let it be my accusation

My utter rebellion

A like worthy, I believe.

A life commendable to live

Is possible only if,

I have a question to give

This questioning has that chance

If I allow a creative disturbance

And if this lead my story short

Let it provoke with out comfort,

Let it be my only payment

My own indictment

This life never less

Is reserve, I guess

For those who can offer,

A time to ask and wonder,

No matter what the ending,

Be it pain, torture or suffering.

"Confusion"

i don`t know what i fell,

i can`t understand 

what i think what was i`m going?

i`am confuse.

 i want you to stay for for i cant live

without you but it hurts me so badly

co`z your tears kills me slowly, 

i want your love for it bring happiness to me 

but it makes my life miserable

for i hate to see you with me yet lonely.

i want to set you free

for i know`am not good enough for you

but i am afraid to see you fall having

nobody to catch you the way i do.

i want you to be happy being free

from my vicinity but  that 

would make you vulnerable

from vicious that is

rampant in every way hate i do?

all i want is for you to be happy 

but it brought me in this way

the state of being confuse as the way:

                        -TAKE IT AS AN ADVICE-