Prayer Requests

Military Police, Private First Class Stephen Marcum, 26, has been serving our country in Afghanistan. He was critically injured on October 15, 2009 when an IED incident occurred near the town of Kandahar. He is now in Washington D.C, where he has underwent several surgeries, some life threatening. He has extensive injuries to his legs, arms, face and head. He has regained consciousness, but is having trouble breathing and is on a respirator. His has a wife, Marybeth, who is expecting their 2nd child in four months, and a 3 year old son Donovan. Please pray for his speedy recovery and that God would comfort his family in this trying time. Also, let us never forget to pray for our military personnel, who put their lives on the line everyday fighting for our country and our freedoms.

Please pray for a 17 year old girl named Rifqa Bary. She is a Sri Lankan American from a Muslim family. She has converted from Islam to Christianity and is threatened with death for converting according to Islamic law. She is in need of our prayers for her protection and that she can be a witness to her people. If you would like to hear her story and learn more of why she needs our prayers you can visit this website http://rifqabary.com/howtohelp.html.

Count your blessings

Our pastor preached a message this past Sunday on counting your blessings. He said that we should think from time to time on how much God has blessed us with so we don’t forget how good He is to us. This got me thinking and this week I asked God to show me His blessings on my life and what they should mean to me, so every morning this week God has been filling my heart and opening my eyes to see them.
I have been privileged here of late to be able to teach Sunday school to kids between the ages of 6-10 at my church and the Lord was showing me what a blessing it is. This past Sunday He gave me a lesson to teach on prayer. What a privilege to teach kids the wonderful blessing that we have in being able to pray to the Almighty Creator of the Universe. That the very God who made everything we see wants to talk to us and wants to know us. He cares for our hurt and provides all that we need. He knows everything we are going through because He has been there Himself already. Prayer is truly one of the greatest blessings that God has given us. Kids just light up when you teach them about God, they are so hungry and want to drink up everything you have to tell them about God’s love. They are not yet like so many adults who have hardened their hearts and because of circumstances in their life blamed God instead of seeing that God is trying to woo them to Himself. Thank you God for the blessing of being able to teach children about you and your wonderful love.
I also just recently got married about 6 months ago. God has showed me how much of a blessing it is to have a husband who truly loves me dearly. I prayed a long time ago for God to send me the one that He wanted me to spend the rest of my life with. I’m so glad I put it in His hands because He truly does write the perfect love story. It’s also a blessing to know that when trials come we can go to the Lord in prayer together knowing He holds the answer and is right there ready to help. There are so many people who get married and never get to experience the kind of love that my husband and I share, so I know I am truly blessed.
The Biggest Blessing of all I have to say is having the Lord Jesus live in my heart. What a wondrous thought that God is so big he can be everywhere at once and yet so small he can live in men’s hearts. Jesus came to be the propitiation for our sins and to make it possible for us to have a relationship with him and His Father. Aren’t you glad that God didn’t give up on man although we deserved it many times down through the ages? God cared enough to send his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16. What a blessing it will be when we reach heaven someday and can thank Him face to face for all the blessings he has bestowed upon us.There are so many blessings in my life they would be too numerous to mention but I just wanted to testify of a few of them. I just want to remind all of you to count your blessings daily. Don’t forget to thank God for this day. Thank Him that you even have breath in your lungs to live for Him one more day. If your not living for Him don’t wait another day ask Him into your heart and you will see that He is good. What the world has to offer cannot satisfy you like God can. Give Him a try and then you can say with me “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation” Psalm 68:19. “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits” Psalm 103:2. “What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?” Psalm 116:12.

Afraid of the dark?

When I was a kid I was really afraid of the dark. I used to have really bad nightmares and I would lie awake scared to go to sleep because I didn’t want to have another one. The nightmares weren’t usually about monsters or things that go bump in the night but they were about real people who would try to hurt me and my family. So I would always sleep with a light on because I was afraid that someone might be hiding in the darkness of my room.

When I was a teenager I still had these nightmares though not as frequent. At the age of fourteen, I gave my heart and life to the Lord. I asked my Savior to take those nightmares away and He did. He was the only one who was able to help me. I had told my parents but they could never really do much for me. It was such a blessing to be able to sleep peacefully at night. The Lord can do all things, so what is it for Him to take care of a little child who is afraid of the dark.

The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:7 "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” Also in Matthew 10:29-31 it says, “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall to the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.” The Lord Jesus says that the very hairs of our head are numbered, what a wondrous thought. If the Lord took the time to know how many hairs we have on our head don’t you think if you call on Him for help He will take the time to answer your prayer? If not even a little bird falls to the ground without God knowing about it, then when we are scared God knows all about it. He said to fear not we are worth more than many sparrows to Him. He is the very one who fashioned us and made us in His image.

I also read a story of a little girl who was so afraid of the dark that she could hardly sleep at night. She would see shadows and hear noises in her room at night and think it was monsters. She would put the covers over her head and lie awake scared to that if she went to sleep they would get her. Her Mother one night read to her out of the Bible, the story of Daniel and how God protected him. Daniel was thrown into the lions den where it was dark because he would not stop praying to his God. But God protected him and sent His angel to shut the lion’s mouths and that whole night that Daniel was in there the lions did not touch him. The Mother told her daughter that Daniel may have been a little scared but more than anything Daniel knew and believed that His God was all powerful and that He was able to deliver him. The little girl went to bed that night praying that God would protect her like He did Daniel. She prayed that God would show her His angels that He had sent to watch over her. When her Mother left the room and switched off the light she saw strong looking men with swords standing all around her bed. She knew God had answered her prayer. For the first time in a long time she was able to sleep peacefully without any covers over her head because she knew she could trust God to take care of her.

I wanted to share these stories, because I recently heard that a little boy I know and love very much is scared of the dark. I wanted to share with Him what God did for people like Daniel, the little girl and me, so he would know that God can and will do the same for him. God is bigger than anything that we can or cannot see and if we are in the hollow of his big hand we have nothing to fear. Sometimes I wonder why God would take time out of His busy schedule to come and help me but He does. There has never been a time when I needed help that He didn’t come to my rescue. He can do the same for you if you’ll only ask Him to. So go ahead ask Him, He stands ready to prove to you that the God of Daniel still LIVES and REIGNS today.