My people perish for lack of knowledge"

Dear Gentle Reader,

...the Bible says "My people perish for lack of knowledge" the
knowledge being the wiles of the devil who roams around seeking who he may
devour. We..including many Christians are unknowingly being harassed by the
evil or unclean spirits and they have to be cast out and renounced. The
Bible says that for those who don't forgive...there are "tormenters" who are
released to really harrass the person because unforgiveness gives an open
door to the devil and opens the door to satanic agents. Ask JESUS to help
you forgive the ones who you have unforgiveness and HE will help you and
release you from the Tormeters who are assailing your mind. I had many
issues of unforgiveness and I had to cry out to Jesus and HE helped me and
gave me peace. The Bible also says that if you do not forgive your brother
then your Father in Heaven will not forgive you. Fantasy is a spirit that
attacks your mind and is a spirit of insanty. It must be cast out and
rebuked. When you meditate, Meditate on scripture and fill your mind with
the Word of God and That will transform your mind. Read it out loud so it
goes into your spirit and may GOD bless you and guide you and lead you into
all truth. Love
Denis

A Story or real?

Gentle Reader,

The Presence of God

When I am invited into the presence of a friend,
I look forward to the event and feel honoured.
When God invites me to spend time in His presence,
He desires me to know and feel His love.
With faith and hope I turn my heart and mind to God,
and ask Him to help me become more aware of His loving presence.





Don't let this happen to you look where I look see what I see and don't let people pass you by and don't pass them by without a further glance

AFTER A FEW OF THE USUAL SUNDAY EVENING HYMNS,
THE CHURCH'S PASTOR SLOWLY STOOD UP,
WALKED OVER TO THE PULPIT AND,
BEFORE HE GAVE HIS SERMON FOR THE EVENING,
BRIEFLY INTRODUCED A GUEST MINISTER
WHO WAS IN THE SERVICE THAT EVENING.

IN THE INTRODUCTION, THE PASTOR TOLD THE CONGREGATION
THAT THE GUEST MINISTER WAS ONE OF HIS DEAREST
CHILDHOOD FRIENDS AND THAT HE WANTED HIM TO HAVE A FEW
MOMENTS TO GREET THE CHURCH AND SHARE WHATEVER
HE FELT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE FOR THE SERVICE.

WITH THAT, AN ELDERLY MAN STEPPED UP TO THE PULPIT AND
BEGAN TO SPEAK.

"A FATHER, HIS SON, AND A FRIEND OF HIS SON'S WERE
SAILING OFF THE PACIFIC COAST," HE BEGAN.
"WHEN A FAST APPROACHING STORM BLOCKED ANY ATTEMPT
TO GET BACK TO THE SHORE. THE WAVES WERE SO HIGH, THAT
EVEN THOUGH THE FATHER WAS AN EXPERIENCED SAILOR, HE
COULD NOT KEEP THE BOAT UPRIGHT AND THE THREE WERE
SWEPT INTO THE OCEAN AS THE BOAT CAPSIZED."

THE OLD MAN HESITATED FOR A MOMENT,
MAKING EYE CONTACT WITH TWO TEENAGERS WHO WERE,
FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE SERVICE BEGAN
LOOKING SOMEWHAT INTERESTED IN HIS STORY.
THE AGED MINISTER CONTINUED WITH HIS STORY,
"GRABBING A RESCUE LINE, THE FATHER HAD TO MAKE THE
MOST EXCRUCIATING DECISION OF HIS LIFE, TO WHICH BOY
WOULD HE THROW THE OTHER END OF THE LIFE LINE?
HE ONLY HAD SECONDS TO MAKE THE DECISION.
THE FATHER KNEW THAT HIS SON WAS A CHRISTIAN AND HE,
ALSO, KNEW THAT HIS SON'S FRIEND WAS NOT.
THE AGONY OF HIS DECISION COULD NOT BE MATCHED BY THE
TORRENT OF WAVES.
AS THE FATHER YELLED OUT, 'I LOVE YOU, SON!'
HE THREW OUT THE LIFE LINE TO HIS SON'S FRIEND.
BY THE TIME THE FATHER HAD PULLED THE FRIEND BACK TO
THE CAPSIZED BOAT, HIS SON HAD DISAPPEARED BENEATH THE
RAGING SWELLS INTO THE BLACK OF NIGHT.

HIS BODY WAS NEVER RECOVERED.
BY THIS TIME, THE TWO TEENAGERS WERE SITTING UP
STRAIGHT IN THE PEW, ANXIOUSLY WAITING FOR THE NEXT
WORDS TO COME OUT OF THE OLD MINISTER'S MOUTH.
"THE FATHER," HE CONTINUED, "KNEW HIS SON WOULD STEP
INTO ETERNITY WITH JESUS AND HE COULD NOT BEAR THE
THOUGHT OF HIS SON'S FRIEND STEPPING INTO AN ETERNITY
WITHOUT JESUS, THEREFORE, HE SACRIFICED HIS SON TO
SAVE THE SON'S FRIEND. "
HOW GREAT IS THE LOVE OF GOD THAT HE SHOULD DO THE
SAME FOR US.

OUR HEAVENLY FATHER SACRIFICED HIS ONLY
BEGOTTEN SON THAT WE COULD BE SAVED.

I URGE YOU TO ACCEPT HIS OFFER TO RESCUE YOU AND TAKE A

HOLD OF THE LIFE LINE HE IS THROWING OUT TO YOU IN THIS
SERVICE."

WITH THAT, THE OLD MAN TURNED AND SAT BACK DOWN IN HIS
CHAIR AS SILENCE FILLED THE ROOM.

THE PASTOR AGAIN WALKED SLOWLY TO THE PULPIT AND
DELIVERED A BRIEF SERMON WITH AN INVITATION AT THE
END.

HOWEVER, NO ONE RESPONDED TO THE APPEAL. WITHIN
MINUTES AFTER THE SERVICE ENDED, THE TWO TEENAGERS
WERE AT THE OLD MAN'S SIDE.
"THAT WAS A NICE STORY," POLITELY STATED ONE OF THEM,
"BUT I DON'T THINK IT WAS VERY REALISTIC FOR A FATHER
TO GIVE UP HIS ONLY SON'S LIFE IN HOPES THAT THE OTHER
BOY WOULD BECOME A CHRISTIAN."
"WELL, YOU'VE GOT A POINT THERE," THE OLD MAN REPLIED
GLANCING DOWN AT HIS WORN BIBLE. A BIG SMILE HIS NARROW
FACE.
HE ONCE AGAIN LOOKED UP AT THE BOYS
AND SAID, "IT SURE ISN'T VERY REALISTIC, IS IT? BUT
I'M STANDING HERE TODAY TO TELL YOU THAT STORY GIVES
ME A GLIMPSE OF WHAT IT MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE FOR GOD TO
GIVE UP
HIS SON FOR ME. YOU SEE....
I WAS THAT FATHER AND YOUR PASTOR IS MY SON'S FRIEND."

Missing part of Prayer

Gentle Reader,
Prayer requires action. I want to help you with a simple but
powerful truth that could revolutionize your prayer life. So much of the
time we treat our prayer life like we are rubbing a magical lamp and asking
the genie inside for our wishes to be granted. Even mature Believers often
fall into the trap of treating God like some kind of cosmic concierge who is
there at our beck and call to fulfill our every whim and desire. The truth
that I want to share with you today is that prayer requires action on our
part.

When we pray, we are demonstrating our dependence upon God. We are saying
to God that "we need you," that "without you we can do nothing." Prayer is
also an act of faith. What is the use in praying unless you have faith
there is a God who hears you and faith there is a God who can help you? So
when we pray we not only demonstrate our dependence upon God, but also our
faith in God.

The key moment comes AFTER we have prayed. What do we do then? This is the
critical point where many Believers fail. Prayer requires action on our
part. Too many who pray, fail to follow up their prayers with ACTION! They
pray and seek God for a need in their life, finish praying, and then sit
back waiting for God to meet their need. Is God able? Of course, He is
God! However, never forget that we pray out of faith, and true Biblical
faith requires ACTION!

If you are praying for God to heal your body, pray, but then ACT! Go see
the doctors and specialists that are out there to help you heal. Go
research what your health issue is and find the best people possible to help
bring complete and total healing to your body. God heals in many ways and
by far the most common way God heals is through human instruments called
doctors. So if you need healing, pray, ask God to heal you, and then put
your faith into action and do all you can in seeing your body healed.

If you are praying for God to meet your financial needs, pray, but then ACT!
Seek out successful men and women and get their wise counsel. Sit down and
put a game plan together to help you meet your financial needs and achieve
your financial goals. God can provide for us in many ways, but His most
common form of provision is through our hard work. So if you have financial
needs, pray, ask God to provide for you, then put your faith into action and
do all you can to see that your financial needs are met.

If you are praying for your marriage or for a relationship, pray, but then
ACT! Seek out Godly counsel from your pastor or some other qualified
Christian counselor. Get away with your spouse or the person you are in a
relationship with and spend quality time openly and honestly communicating
with each other. The root cause of every marital and relationship problem I
have seen in over 30 years of ministry stems from a lack of pure, honest,
and open communication. So if you have a problem with your marriage or a
relationship, pray, ask God to bring healing and restoration to your
marriage or relationship, then put your faith into action and do all you can
to have a healthy marriage or relationship.

Never forget that it is God who is the One who will heal you, provide for
you, restore your marriage or relationship, but God uses our faith in
action. Prayer is not a passive exercise but an active one! We are active
participants in God answering our prayers. It requires action on our part.
It is God who is answering our prayers, but our faith requires us to be
involved in that process. Just as James wrote to Believers that "faith
without works is dead," I tell you today that PRAYER WITHOUT ACTION IS
POWERLESS!!!

I love you and care about you so much. Most people are far too passive in
their prayer life. They pray and then sit back waiting for God to answer.
No doubt there are some things we pray about that are completely out of our
control and we must simply trust God to move on those needs. But much of
what we pray about we have the ability to put action to our prayers. It is
still God who is answering our prayers, but He is working through our
actions.

It needs to be stressed again, we are not just praying out of dependence
upon God, but out of FAITH in God. True Biblical faith requires ACTION on
our part. If you really believe something, you will live it. If we truly
believe God will heal us, or provide for our needs, or heal our marriage or
relationship, or whatever the need may be, we will be active participants in
seeing our prayers answered. God honors our faith. God is moved by our
faith. God blesses our faith. We pray in faith, therefore our prayers
require action!!!

We all need prayer!

Now, Gentle Reader, I receive about 100 prayer requests a day from all of you and people that need some help in some way (money, health, relationships, children, parents, coping with death [the final appointment]. Well, Gentle Reader, We all stand in need. More than ever before. So As I also need your prayers here is one from my Heart to your Heart.

 

Behold, Lord, an empty vessel that needs to be filled. My Lord fill it. I am weak in faith, strengthen me. I am cold in love, warm me and make me fervent that my love may go out to my friends and neighbors.

I do not have a strong and firm faith, and at times I doubt and am unable to trust You altogether.

 Oh Father, help me help us! Strengthen my faith and trust. In your hands i have sealed the treasures of all i have (my friends, family, those known to me and those friends I have not met yet.

 

I am poor in goods and grace, You are rich and came to be merciful to the poor. I am a sinnner; and you came to seek and save that which was lost. With me these things are in in abundance, with You there is the fullness of Wisdom,Knoeledge, and Understanding

Therefore I will remain with you of whom I can receive but to whom I may not give.

Amen and Amen

 

 Dennis 

 

A prayer for today

Father,

we thank thee for the night,
And for the pleasant morning light.
For rest and food and loving care,
And all that makes the day so fair.
Help us to do the thing we should,
To be to others kind and good,
In all we do, in all we say,
To grow more loving every day.

Looking to Jesus

Looking unto Jesus the AUTHOR AND FINISHER of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Oh God, I recognize all the blessings you have showered upon me. I need these blessings--both physical and spiritual. I look to you for everything and ask you not only to provide good things, but to help me appreciate them and use them properly.

Prayer of Thanks

Throughout all generations we will render thanks unto Thee
And declare Thy praise,
Evening, morning, and noon,
For our lives which are in Thy care,
For our souls which are in Thy keeping
For thy miracles which we witness daily,
And for Thy wondrous deeds and blessings toward us at all times.

Please pray...

 

In beginning God created....

My Study Bible it's called the Companion Bible

Gentle Reader,

 

My wife Marti's, cousin Colleen from Indiana sufferers from kidney failure awaiting transplant has suffered a massive infection needing emergency surgery. In her weakened condition she needs prayer warriors to uplift her during this time. She will not be able to attend her only daughters wedding in two weeks as she will be in the hospital. Pray that she is able to find a donor and that she will recover in order to attend her daughters wedding. 

 Please pray for this single Mother that God will raise her up!

Thank you,

Dennis

A Prayer of Paul

Taken from The Nag Hammadi Library

The Prayer of the Apostle Paul

Translation by Dieter Mueller
(Approximately two lines are missing.)

... your light, give me your mercy! My Redeemer, redeem me, for I am yours; the one who has come forth from you. You are my mind; bring me forth! You are my treasure house; open for me! You are my fullness; take me to you! You are (my) repose; give me the perfect thing that cannot be grasped!

I invoke you, the one who is and who pre-existed in the name which is exalted above every name, through Jesus Christ, the Lord of Lords, the King of the ages; give me your gifts, of which you do not repent, through the Son of Man, the Spirit, the Paraclete of truth. Give me authority when I ask you; give healing for my body when I ask you through the Evangelist, and redeem my eternal light soul and my spirit. And the First-born of the Pleroma of grace -- reveal him to my mind!

Grant what no angel eye has seen and no archon ear (has) heard, and what has not entered into the human heart which came to be angelic and (modelled) after the image of the psychic God when it was formed in the beginning, since I have faith and hope. And place upon me your beloved, elect, and blessed greatness, the First-born, the First-begotten, and the wonderful mystery of your house; for yours is the power and the glory and the praise and the greatness for ever and ever. Amen.



Prayer of Paul (the) Apostle.
In Peace.
Christ is holy.

A Father's Prayer

This is the best dowry of hopes, wishes and prayers I would be able to offer:

May God give you the grace of wit and wisdom to understand that rainbows are only the result of showers, dust, and hope.

May you always have joy in the morning and trust in the evening and may your sorrows be short and without scars.

May your lives have a spirit neither bent by belligerence nor broken by failure; may you simply love each other.

May you share with each other spring flowers, dirty dishes, music, rain, death, mushrooms, a measure of boredom, strawberries, and God.

May that God never make you immune to the wonderful afflictions of real love, making you instead farsighted to each other's faults, tongue-tied to criticism, and short of memory to petty hurts and slights.

May God provide the confidence and serenity that comes only from the assurance of each other's fidelity and the tolerance, as years go by, of wrinkles and gray hairs, short tempers, curlers, and Monday mornings.

May no one steal from you laughter at the top of the stairs or giggles and whispers in a dark room.

May you keep a hunger for each other, the appetite to taste tomorrow, and deep knowledge of and devotion to your past, heritage and families.

May you perpetuate trust, the radiation of vitality, kind answers to sharp questions and sharp humor to unkind attitudes.

May your fights be fierce and short, and may each truce be warm and long and held in each other's arms before the sun comes up.

May you walk with wise men, sing loud songs at late hours, share secrets, have healthy children, and provide smiles for lonesome strangers and prayers for those without hope.

May you never forget small things; smiles, birthdays, holding hands, family, old friends, the neglected, and the simplicity of saying please and thank you.

May you keep a warm, generous, and happy house where love is the insulation and God is present. May your children be friends of God's child, Jesus.

May your union bring a smile to the face of the Holy Spirit and may he live in your pots and pans, in your hope and aspirations.


- Author Unknown

The Cross

Loving Father,
I offer you all that I do today:
my thoughts, works, joys and sufferings.
I desire to join my heart this day to the heart of your Son,
Who gave himself up totally to your service
And to the service of others.
Through your Spirit, may I live like him,
Joined to his offering On the cross.

Friends

bless these dear people who read this small prayer and pass it on to their loved ones.
Amen and Amen

Amos 3 :3

Amos 3 :3 Shall two walk together, except they have agreed?

There's A Hole In My Sidewalk:
In Five Easy Chapters

CHAPTER ONE
I walk down a street and there's a big hole. I don't see it and fall into it. It's dark and hopeless and it takes me a long time to find my way out. It's not my fault !

CHAPTER TWO
I walk down the same street. There's a big hole and I can see it, but I still fall in. It's dark and hopeless and it takes me a long time to get out. It's still not my fault.

CHAPTER THREE
I walk down a street. There's a big hole. I can see it, but I still fall in. It's become a habit. But I keep my eyes open and get out immediately. It is my fault.

CHAPTER FOUR
I walk down a street. There's a big hole. And I walk around it.

CHAPTER FIVE
I walk down a different street.

Colossians 2:6 As therefore ye received Christ Jesus the Lord, [so] WALK in Him,

Father,
Help me to walk before you in Love for all, and Grace to many

the Truth!

In all the commotion going on I forgot to tell you about what Christianity is all about! Some of you think you know some others of you don't know and think you do. Still others don't see what we get upset about. It's rather like the three groups there are those who make things happen, then there are those who watch things happen and then the last group who wander "what happened?"
If you can you need to move on up the food chain if you can. and while you at it bring someone along.
Now You can't force someone (unless you have a gun) but as you in America say "You can lead a horse to water
but you can't milk a cow!" "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god (Satan) of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

What are the tools that the god of this world uses (don't stop reading just yet Gentle reader, important stuff coming up) How about Post modernism [ meaning comes from one's social and culture and that transcendent knowledge and meaning do not exist] Postmodernism seeks to undermine history and the belief in "Facts" and "objectivity" In others words there is no absolute "Truth" and even if there were "You not smart enough to know it or even learn about it"

That leads to what is called deconstructionism which tells you "language cannot articulate "Truth" in an objective manner! To quote that great scholar Dan Brown "How historically accurate is history itself?" So we have entering the very popular DUH Vinci Code.

We have the belief currently going around of the "sacred feminism" We hear about the conspiracy of the church (the body of Christ) Although Mr. Brown has a real problem with the Catholic Church.

Folks are either unwilling or unconcerned to check out the one source of Truth, The Bible

But as Paul the Apostle to the Gentiles said "For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Having taught the Grace message of the Apostle Paul as committed to Timothy in 2 Tim 2:2 "And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.. ". God called me to this ministry of the reconciliation over 30 years ago. I am so please to find your fellowship in Studies of Scripture. I pray for your fellowship in the spirit of Romans 1:9 "For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of his Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers"

Oh, Grace of Grace,
Oh, Gift of Gifts,
That God should condescend,
To make my heart His dwelling place,
And be my bosom Friend.

Grace to you,
Dennis

Essential Christianity

A Pastors Prayer

Grant me Father,
Oh most merciful God, prudently to study, rightly to understand and perfectly to fulfill that which is pleasing to you, to the praise and glory of they Name.
You are Christ the King of Glory, the everlasting Son of the Father.
-Thomas Aquinas

For Inspiration

My Father,
You are power, wisdom and love, inspire in me the same three things: power to serve your will, wisdom to please you, and love to do it; power that I my do, wisdom that I may know what to do,love that I may be moved to do everything that is pleasing to You.

Prayer

What Should be Included in Prayer?
by Katherine Kehler

When I was just getting excited about prayer, I would mainly ask God for things. I later learned that while “asking” is to be part of our relationship with Him, there are other elements of prayer that, as we grow in our relationship with the Lord we will want to begin including as well.

The Westminster Catechism asks the question, “What is the chief end of man (kind)?” and answers, “To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”

So often I have treated God like an “answer-to-prayer-dispenser” rather than a Person with whom I have an enjoyable love relationship.

Although communion with God is all about our heart’s attitude, the following are four aspects of prayer that make for a healthy conversation with God.

Adoration
To show adoration to God is to worship, praise, honor and exalt Him. In other words, respect Him, be in awe of Him, and say wonderful things about Him. Psalm 103 and 145 are good examples of adoring the Lord.

Confession
When we begin to acknowledge how great, perfect and awesome our God is, we can’t help but recognize our weaknesses and sins. Admitting and confessing our sins (1 John 1:9) and knowing He has forgiven our past, present and future sin is vital to our prayer life. God is a Holy God, so we need to come to Him with a clean heart. “He would not have listened if I had not confessed my sins” (Psalm 66:18).

Thanksgiving
Giving thanks expresses our faith, and it is faith that pleases God. In Hebrews 6:11 we read, “And without faith it is impossible to please God.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 states, “In all things give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ concerning you.” We don’t necessarily give thanks for the difficult circumstances, but give thanks for His total provision during good - and painful ones.

Supplication
Asking seems to come naturally to children. As God’s children, we can freely talk to Him and ask Him for anything. And like any caring parent, He will say, “Yes” to some of our requests, “No” some of the time and at times, He will say, “Wait.”

You can remember this outline for prayer through the acronym ACTS - Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication. Each component is a necessary for an effective prayer life. There are also many other aspects of prayer, which I may write about another day, but if you are new to praying, I encourage you to begin practicing these four elements when you pray.

Father, I am awed by fact that among the six billion people on earth, I am heard by You, and You actually delight in my prayers. Thank You so much. Teach us how to pray. Amen
Also found at:

http://www.thoughts-about-god.com/reflecting/kk_prayer_included.htm