A Life Saved by Prayer

   

  Many years ago, my dad was coming down the side of a mountain in an 18-wheeler. He as a long-haul truck driver. It was late at night. He often drove at night to avoid getting stuck in traffic. You did not get paid for sitting still in traffic. 

    My mom was at home with me. We were both sleeping. She was awakened from her sleep. She felt that something was terribly wrong, but she could not have imagined what was wrong.  So, she started fervently praying for my dad. 

    My dad knew exactly what was wrong. The load had shifted and the straps securing the load had broken. The trailer was in danger of pulling the truck off the side of the mountain. 

    From the moment that my mom started praying, an angel appeared that looked similar to me with long blond hair. My dad said that he could see her in the side mirrors. When the trailer tilted one way, she would hold it up. When it started to tilt the other way, she went to the other side and held that side up. All the way down the mountain she flew from one side to the other keeping the trailer up. 

    When my dad reached a place to get off of the road, he stopped and called home. His 1st two questions were, "Were you praying and where is Janie" My mom answered, "Yes! I was praying" and "Janie is asleep in bed." The replied, "Thank you" and then explained what had happened. 

    Prayer works. Prayer at the right time can save lives. If you ever feel a strong urge to pray for someone, please pray. You may just save that person's life. 

Remember what James 5:16 says. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Helping your child Learn

 

We all want our children to be the best that they can be. We want them to learn and grow. However, sometimes things don't go quite as planned. Today I want to talk about two things that could be the problem. These two things go hand in hand. It is eye hand coordination and small muscle strength in the hands. Both the eye and the hands have muscles. As we all know muscle need to be exercised to be strong and healthy. However, most people forget about the eyes and the hands. 

Even if your child is not having problems, it would be a good idea to check for problems and even do some of the activities to help prevent problems. Symptoms of these problems include but are not limited to: 

• poor reading skills
• poor writing skills
• avoidance of schoolwork
• not being about to catch a ball
• not being about to kick a ball
• not being about to hit a ball with a bat
• running into things
• not putting things completely on a surface (such as a cup half on and half off of a table)
• frequently knocking over things
• rapid eye blinking when trying to focus on any reading material 

I good test to see if your child could develop these issues or if these issues could be from eye hand coordination problems is to simply try to get your child to follow a point without moving his or her head.  Please don't assume that your child's eye is good because they can pass and eye exam. My son has 20/20 vision, and he still had poor eye hand coordination. Most eye doctors are not trained to catch or correct this type of vision issue. 

1. Get something like a cute pencil eraser and have your child look at it. Hold it Infront of your child's face. Can your child focus on it with his or her eyes for 5 to 10 seconds without losing focus? If your child's eyes wonder around, there is a change of an issue. 
2. Now slowly move the object up, down, left and right. Did your child's eyes follow? If not, there is a chance of an issue. 

Another common problem is poor hand strength. This will cause your child to not be able to write. Now this problem can be with or without eye problems. Symptoms can include but or not limited to the following:

• poor writing skills
• poor pencil grip
• refusal to play with play dough or Legos for any length of time
• dislike of coloring 
• dislike of drawing
• dislike of most activities that involve sitting still (think about those activities involve the hands)

These issues can be helped and even fixed with time, patience, and hard work. Here are some activities for these issues. 

• Play with play dough 
• Picking up small things with tweezers
• Coloring
• Drawing
• painting
• Buttoning and unbuttoning 
• String or thread anything onto a shoestring
• Lacing cards
• Building with Legos
• Putting puzzles together
• Practice letter writing
• Mazes (make sure your child staying in the middle of the maze lines)
• Tracing (draw straight and zigzag lines for your child to trace)
• Cutting (draw lines straight and zigzag onto a piece of paper then have the child cut on the line)
• play catch with different size balls

Make these activities as fun as possible. Congratulate verbally on even small improvements to help with their motivation. Remember that when you start using a muscle that is weak, it normally hurts a little. Children as well as adults have a tendency to avoid things that cause pain. With that being said, don't push your child so hard that he or she over does it. You want this to be fun, not a punishment.

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Have you Prayed today?

 Prayer

According to Jesus, His House is to be a house of Prayer. You can read this for yourself in Matthew 21:13

Jesus said to them, “It is written [in Scripture], ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.” He was quoting from 

Isaiah 56:7 All these I will bring to My holy mountain And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”

The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is within you, whom you have [received as a gift] from God, and that you are not your own [property]?

When you accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour your body becomes the house "temple" of the Lord. He says that his house shall be called a house of prayer. 

In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 it says "be unceasing and persistent in prayer;" in the Amplified Bible. In the King James is says "Pray without ceasing."  and the NIV says "pray continually,"

Continually is G90 in the Greek. G90 means: ἀδιαλείπτως adialeiptōs, adv. [4] [√ 1.1 + 1328 + 3309]. constantly, unceasingly:– continually (3), constantly (1)

according to the NIV Exhaustive Concordance Dictionary. Copyright © 2015 by Zondervan.

So, what does this mean for you? It means that you should live a life where you pray consistently, daily, and frequently. When problems come your way, your first thought should be to pray. 

Every time that the Apostles had a difficult time, they turned to prayer. 

When Paul and Silas got thrown in prison, they prayed. See Acts 16: 25-26, "And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed."

When Peter was thrown in prison, there was prayer. See Acts 12:5-17, "  So Peter was kept in prison, but fervent and persistent prayer for him was being made to God by the church. The very night before Herod was to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries were in front of the door guarding the prison. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared [beside him] and a light shone in the cell. The angel struck Peter’s side and awakened him, saying, “Get up quickly!” And the chains fell off his hands. The angel said to him, “Prepare yourself and strap on your sandals [to get ready for whatever may happen].” And he did so. Then the angel told him, “Put on your robe and follow me.”  And Peter went out following the angel. He did not realize that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.  When they had passed the first guard and the second, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city. Of its own accord it swung open for them; and they went out and went along one street, and at once the angel left him.  When Peter came to his senses, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel and has rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting [to do to me].”  When he realized what had happened, he went to the house of [a]Mary the mother of John, who was also called [b]Mark, where many [believers] were gathered together and were praying continually [and had been praying all night]. When he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer. Recognizing Peter’s voice, in her joy she failed to open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gateway. They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. They kept saying, “It is his angel!”  But [meanwhile] Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were completely amazed.  But motioning to them with his hand to be quiet and listen, he described how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to [c]James and the brothers and sisters.” Then he left and went to another place.

According to Paul in Philippians 4:6 said, "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."

We are to live a life of Prayer. When problems come, Pray! In Good times Pray!  

Creation Week

(From Genesis chapter 1)

Day 1

God said, "Let there be light" and there was light. He then divided the light from the darkness. Even from the beginning, God made a distinction between light and darkness. 

Day 2

God divided the waters from the waters. In other words, he put in the firmament (sky). This means that at one time there was water above the sky. 

Day 3

On this day God caused the water on earth to be gathered together so that dry land could appear. At this time God gave boundaries to the water. "And marked for it My [appointed] boundary And set bars and doors [defining the shorelines], And said, ‘This far you shall come, but no farther. And here your proud waves shall stop’?" Job 38:10-11

Day 4

This rest of the solar system was created on this day. God created the sun, moon, stars, and what we now call planets. However, he even had a purpose for creating all of this. In Genesis 1:14-18 it says, "Then God said, “Let there be light-bearers (sun, moon, stars) in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be useful for signs (tokens) [of God’s provident care], and for marking seasons, days, and years;  and let them be useful as lights in the expanse of the heavens to provide light on the earth”; and it was so, [just as He commanded]. God made the two great lights—the greater light (the sun) to rule the day, and the lesser light (the moon) to rule the night; He made the [galaxies of] stars also [that is, all the amazing wonders in the heavens].  God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to provide light upon the earth, to rule over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good and He affirmed and sustained it." 

Day 5

This day saw the fish and birds being created. Then God said, “Let the waters swarm and abundantly produce living creatures, and let birds soar above the earth [k]in the open expanse of the heavens.”  God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind; and God saw that it was good and He affirmed and sustained it.  And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”

Day 6

This day was very busy. On this day all the other animals on earth were created. After God had created the various animals that live on land, he made man in his own image. Humans did not come from animals. To teach such is to degrade humans. When you teach that humans are just highly evolved animals, the results are going to be that humans start behaving worse than most animals. We are to be an image bearer of God Almighty.  

At this time the animals and the humans ate plants. There was no death. All was good. 

Day 7

God Blessed and Sanctified this day.  So the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts (inhabitants). And by the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested (ceased) on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. So God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it [as His own, that is, set it apart as holy from other days], because in it He rested from all His work which He had created and done. Genesis 2:1-3

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In the Beginning

In the Beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth. 

This literal creation was done in 7 literal days with God resting on the 7th day as an example for us to follow.  One of the 10 commandments tells us to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. 

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 

For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Exodus 20:8-11

This commandment is just as relevant now as it was then. The Israelites had a problem remembering their creator. We have a problem remembering that our creator made the earth just as he said that he did. We have allowed the Theory of Evolution to be taught as fact to our children and then we wonder why they are leaving the faith. 

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Return to Introduction to the Old Testament

 Introduction to the Old Testament

Time Periods

In the Old Testament there are 4 major time periods. These 4 time periods span a time period of around 3600 years. 

1. Innocence
2. Conscience
3. The Patriarchs
4. Law and Prophets

1. The time of Innocence was the time that Adam and Eve lived in the garden of Eden. 

2. The time of the Conscience spans the time from the fall of man to Abraham.

3. The time of the Patriarchs goes from Abraham to Moses.

4. The time of the Law and Prophets goes from Moses to Abraham. 

Every event in the Old Testament can be placed into one of these 4 big time periods.  Knowing these time periods can help us to organize everything that we are learning into a logical order. 

Books of the Old Testament

There are 36 books in the Old Testament. They are organized into the books of the law, history, poetry, and prophecy. 

Inspired by God

• But understand this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of or comes from one’s own [personal or special] interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.  2 Peter 1:20-21 
• All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; II Timothy 3:16
• You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, so that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I am commanding you. Deuteronomy 4:2
• Every word of God is tested and refined [like silver]; He is a shield to those who trust and take refuge in Him. Do not add to His words, Or He will reprove you, and you will be found a liar. Proverbs 30:6
• I testify and warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book [its predictions, consolations, and admonitions]: if anyone adds [anything] to them, God will add to him the plagues (afflictions, calamities) which are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from or distorts the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away [from that one] his share from the tree of life and from the holy city (new Jerusalem), which are written in this book. Revelation 22:19

All of God's word is from God Almighty. All of it is useful for us to learn. None of it should be altered, changed, or taken out of context. All of it should be studied as the true word of God. 

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Solution for a World gone crazy

The world has gone crazy. I look around and don't understand all of what is going on anymore. Things that used to be more or less written in stone is being questioned and, in some cases, throw out like yesterday's garbage. 

This is sad on many levels. It shows just how many people are not rooted and grounded in the word of God. It shows that insanity that is taking place. It shows that we are closer to the return of Jesus than we were a few years ago. 

However, everything taken place is only a symptom of the real problem. The majority of the people stopped reading the Word of God. They started just relying what the preacher said on Sunday. Now instead of the people needing and getting meat they need milk again. The milk and the meat symbolize different levels of knowledge. Jesus said that "...Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4). In order to grow strong and be able to stand against the insanity that is taking hold on our world, we need to go back to the word of God. Sunday morning preaching is not going to cut it. Just as we have to eat every day, or we will grow week, we must read the word of God every day to be spiritually feed. 

According to Jesus "...there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." The very elect are the ones who are always reading and studying the word of God. They are the prayer warriors. They are the ones with a close relationship with Jesus. They are not the Sunday morning crowd that thinks that is all they need. The elect knows that they need Jesus every hour of everyday. 

Now think about what Jesus said. If there was not intervention (if it were possible) even the elect would be deceived. 

Now days there are some many false teachers and false prophets that it is hard to tell who to listen to. My advice is to stop listening to every one and start listening to God Almighty. His Word does not change. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  

Paul well wrote "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." 2 Timothy 4:3-4. That is exactly what is happening in our world. Preachers are catering to the itching ears and working overtime to preach what people want to hear instead of the truth. So, unless the word that you hear coming from you preacher lines up with the Word of God, search for a new gathering place on Sunday. For some that may mean going to a different church. For others it may be time to just gather with friends and family in your own house. Yes, we are not islands unto ourselves. However, when Jesus gave the great commission, he did not say go to every church and preach the word of God. Instead he said, "...All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." Matthew 28:18-20. 

Notice that he said go and teach all nations. Take a look around many churches. Unless it is a mega church, most are in need of people. Yes, we need to meet with other Christians for edification, but that meeting together can be done in many locations. 

At this time, many churches are failing to reach the lost, but worst yet, they are failing to reach the children who are sitting on the benches. They are failing to spiritually feed the people who are members of the church. They are failing to even help those who are struggling in their own church. This is unacceptable. Remember what Jesus told Peter. If you love me, feed my sheep.  

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.  John 21:15-17

What food was he suppose to feed God's sheep with? The obvious answer is the true Word of God. 

 The answer to this world is the spiritual food given to us from the creator of the world.