My Prayer Times

There are some days that are filled with worries from the previous day and I wake up praying and go to bed that night praying. Other days are filled with bliss and I awake praying that the coffee is ready because I really don't have anything urgent to pray about. When all is well and life is good we tend to be less prayerful.

When my days flow nicely and all is well I have a great time to reflect on my blessings and say prayers of thankfulness. When I do that I become more aware of those who are not having a good day and lift up prayers of support. Wether I kneel in prayer seeking answers or in prayer of thinksgiving I am changed by my going to God with an open spirit.

Prayer changes everything in me and I see and act in a new light. I may get answers I need and I may become the answer to someone else's prayer of need. Giving to others in response to Christ is a great answer to my prayer of thanksgiving. Either way I need to pray every day.

Stark Contrast

Christmas.time presents a stark contrast between A Christians Joy of giving to others in honor of Jesus' birth and the gross comercial hype and greed from companies that lust after every cent they can rangle out of our joyful desire. The constant balst from all media seems to leave the true Christmas message of salvation blowing like a straw in the wind.

Pastors do their best to remind their congregations of the “Reason for the Season” but often wonder if even that message gets through. I am confident that it does even if the barage of buy buy buy is constant through Christmas day. In the hearts of true believers on Christmas eve candles are lit and we sing silent night and peace wins out.

Yes we will buy buy buy but we will also know the joy Jesus in our hearts as we give each gift. Open your heart to the baby Jesus and all he did for us while He walked upon the earth.

A light in the Dark

Many years ago I was a Scout Master for our churches Boy Scout Troop. I loved the week-end hiking and camping trips in central Texas. Sometimes we would camp a mile from the place we had to park the church van and backpack to the camp site. All we had for the week-end camp was what we could carry with us. That included food, eating gear, and tents. The rest we had to get from the land such as fire wood, water, and sometimes extra shelter.

At night we did everything by the light of the camp fire or used a flashlight in the tent or on the way to the latrine. It is amazing how much light a small campfire can produce during the night far away from the city lights. In the darkness even a fire as small as one candle can be seen from a great distance.

I am reminded the the Gospel is God's light for our path in the darkness of a sinful world. We are sometims the living Gospel for others and our small light is enough to guide them through the darkness to the love of Christ and salvation. So let your light shine in the darkness.

Isaiah 9:6
The Prince of Peace

The Gospels are clear that Jesus teaches His disciples to be peace makers with teaching like turn the other cheek, go the second mile and give the shirt off your back. Being a peace maker is not an easy calling. Many people do not understand that vital Christian role and some of them even strike out at the peace maker. There are times when the other person prefers violence and becomes angry at your efforts to make peace.

During the civil rights clashes of the 1960's Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. took Jesus at His word and practice non-violence in confronting the evil of racial hatred. He was attacked by the raciest on both sides and was martyred for the cause. Yet his dream came to pass and this new generation is moving us forward to peace between people. We still have a long way to go but we are getting there day by day.

Today we celebrate Jesus as the Prince of Peace and we pray for peace. I pray that the day will come when the armed forces of every country will only be stationed within their own borders and that we will truly turn our swords in to plow shears.

In the name of the Prince of Peace - Pray for Peace and Make Peace!

PRAYER
Lord Jesus I have promised to follow you all the days of my life as your disciple. Send the Holy Spirit to guide me in the ways of you peace even in the presence of evil. AMEN
Pastor Larry Odom-Groh

Bill of Rights Day

Today we celebrate our "Bill of Rights" added to our Constitution 222 years ago today.

Some of us don' know what that means but the importance of the Bill of Rights can not be over stated.

To celebrate this day look of the bill of rights and study each one and consider what life is like with out them. There are places in this world where these rights do not exist. Get arrested in one of those countries and you will discover the difference.
Every American should take some time today to thank God that you have those rights.

Christmas Words

We can all see the sights and sounds of Christmas all around us. We can also speak the words of Christmas, words that carry power and feeling. Most of us are most comfortable with the Familiar words like family, friends, fellowship, feasting, trees, lights, surprise and memories. There are also Bible words like love one another, love our neighbor, love the stranger, love our enemies, and love the Lord with all your heart. These all come from the love God shared with us on that first Christmas. Then there are the Season's words like peace, service, sharing, gifts, fairness, honesty, greetings, and have a happy. These are words that flow like a gentle stream from Thanksgiving through New Years. At last there is the Supreme word: Christ, without whom there would be no Christmas. Preachers always want to remind us to keep the Christ in Christmas and I am no different. When every you are speaking the words of Christmas remember that one supreme word that gives us all the rest.

Near Death Conditions

Something went very wrong and my daughter's kidneys shut down. Her son found her when she was mere hours from death and called 911. The hospital was able to treat her in time to save her life but more theraphy was needed and she is still in the hospital recovering. I am also recovering from hearing that from her doctor. I realized at that moment that I really do not wish to out live my daughters and I plan to live a long time.

The thing is that any of us can be in near death conditions without any warrning. Accidents, sickness, in the line of fire from an angry person with a gun can all create conditions that can bring an end to our presence on this earth. Though most of us do not want to think about it all of us need to be ready for that eventuality. All of us will die at some point no matter what we wish otherwise.

Every adlt needs a proper will that get updated from time to time. Every five years is a good time to review you will. If you don't have a will the state will provide one for you and it may not be to your liking. We also need a living will stating what we want done medically in the event that we ca not speak for our selves. Having a statement of our desire for what we want done with our body after death is also important, it is a kindness to our close relatives to do so.

Take some time to think about these things!