Prayer For My Children

*May love and strength be in your hands*

 *May love and courage be in your heart,* 

*May love and wisdom be in your mind. *

 *May God go with you and work through you,* 

*Today and in all your days. Amen*

Tim Tedbow's Shortest Sermon

How have you used the name Jesus Christ today? In the past, whenever I've heard someone use the Lord's name as a curse I've responded by saying "that's going to cost you." Now, thanks to Tim Tebow I have a new way to respond. Thanks Tim! 

A Washington Post reporter, Kent Babb, sent this tweet last Friday night: "In the Pat's locker room, a cameraman has a mishap and yells, "Jesus Christ!"  Tebow, in earshot, looks at the guy and says, "He loves you."  So far Babb's comment has been "retweeted" more than 3000 times.  In fact, Babb sent a later tweet promising that the first tweet was 100% true.  If you are a faithful reader of my blog, you know I like Tim Tebow.  He is a great young man, a great witness for Christ and I hope he will make a great football comeback this year.  (He had some struggles on Friday night.)  I really liked his short locker room sermon and I think he offers all of us a great suggestion.


Don't you just inwardly CRINGE when you hear someone use the name of Jesus as a curse?  I still remember the words to the old hymn that says, "There's just something about that name."  We pray "in the name of Jesus" because he told his disciples, "You may ask me for anything in my name and I will do it" (John 14:14).  Jesus said those words to his disciples after telling them that he would soon go to heaven and they would then receive the Holy Spirit.  When we pray "in Jesus name" we are asking the Holy Spirit to do for us, and through us, what Jesus would lead and empower us to accomplish.  There is great power in the name of Jesus.  That is why I loved Tim Tebow's mini sermon in the locker room.  He took a curse and turned it into the truth when he said, "He loves you."  We can too.

 
 Have you ever noticed that non-Christians use the name of Jesus on a regular basis?  Why don't you ever hear someone shout the name of Buddha, Hare-Krishna, or Muhammad as a curse?  Why do people get angry or fearful and react by speaking the name of Jesus Christ?  Could it be that deep down they know - "there's just something about that name"?  Maybe Satan is constantly looking for ways to damage or lessen the name of Jesus.  If that is the case, Christians should constantly be looking for ways to glorify Christ with our words and actions.

So...why don't all of us follow the example Tim Tebow set last Friday night?  He heard the name of his Lord misused - and turned it into something good.  A cameraman heard Tim Tebow tell him that Jesus Christ loves him.  A newsman tweeted the incident and now a LOT of people have heard Tebow's mini-sermon.

The next time I hear someone use the name of the Lord in a wrong way, I am not going to "cringe" - I'm going to speak up too.  We can speak the truth in love by saying, "He loves you."  We can smile instead of cringe because truthfully, we have all broken the Commandment and misused the name of the Lord, and we should give the same grace to others that God has shown us. 

My thanks to Kent Babb for his tweet!  I bet he didn't know that he was tweeting a sermon that will be preached by thousands in the years to come.  St. Francis of Assisi once said, "It is no use walking anywhere to preach, unless we preach as we walk."  Your walk with God will be strengthened if you think about those words and remember - there really is something about that name!

source: http://www.janetdenison.com/blog/180-tim-tebow-s-shortest-sermon

Remember When - For John- Happy Valentine's Day

Remember when I was young and so were you
And time stood still and love was all we knew
You were the first, so was I
We made love and then you cried
Remember when?

Remember when we vowed the vows and walked the walk
Gave our hearts, made the start, it was hard
We lived and learned, life threw curves
There was joy, there was hurt
Remember when?

Remember when old ones died and new were born
And life was changed, disassembled, rearranged
We came together, fell apart
And broke each other's hearts
Remember when?

Remember when the sound of little feet
Was the music we danced to week to week
Brought back the love, we found trust
Vowed we'd never give it up
Remember when?

Remember when thirty seemed so old
Now lookin' back, it's just a steppin' stone
To where we are, where we've been
Said we'd do it all again
Remember when?

Remember when we said when we turned gray
When the children grow up and move away
We won't be sad, we'll be glad
For all the life we've had
And we'll remember when.

Kansas House Prayer- The House of Representatives that is...

House Prayer

This event actually happened in the Kansas Legislative House of Representatives in Topeka on January 23, 1996.    Rev. Joe Wright is the pastor of Central Christian Church in Wichita and was guest chaplain that day.  He prayed a prayer of repentance that was written by Bob Russell, pastor of  Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. According to an article in the Kansas City Star from January 24, 1996, as he was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard instead. His prayer stirred controversy and one member of the legislative body actually walked out.  Others criticized the prayer.  The controversy didn't end there.  Later that year in the Colorado House, Republican representative Mark Paschall angered lawmakers by using Joe Wright's prayer as the invocation.  Some members there also walked out in protest.  

With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called one nation under God.

 “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 worshiped other gods and called it multiculturalism;
We have endorsed perversion and called it alternative lifestyle;
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, to openly ask it in the name of Your Son, the living Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen”.