June 22, 2004
Live in what must be. Do not live in your human imagination of what is possible.
Live in the Word - in the love and infinite faithfulness of the LORD Jesus.
The faith that always thanks Him -
not for the experiences, but for the promises on which it can rely.
A. Murray
I am having a pretty rough week - it seems like one piece of bad news on top of the other. My spirit is so burdened. But I know that my Redeemer lives, that He will stand upon this earth as her LORD and King and that I will see Him with my very own eyes. And for that - I praise Him. My burdens are transitory - He is forever.
Walter Hemphill was supposed to have surgery for his heart - but they were unable to operate because he is so weak. There is the start of renal failure. Please pray that Walt can gain the strength to be operated on. Please keep Donna and his family in your prayers as well.
Sam Arnold is also not doing well. Willie went to see him on Monday and reports that Sam is really weak. Please keep Betty and the whole family in your prayers.
I am requesting prayer for a young woman named Crystal Snow. Crystal was one of my first - and most faithful - Care Fresno Kids. She was with our program for years. She moved out of town to live with her father a few years back. Crystal’s mother was in services this past Sonday to tell us that Crystal is back in town. She is 16, pregnant, and addicted. I cannot begin to tell you how heartbroken I am. Please pray that Jesus can reach Crystal before it is too late.
Char Cole is requesting prayer for all of the counselors up at Sugarpine Christian Camp. This past week was their “Inner City” camp and to say that it was difficult would be an understatement. These counselors are young and for the most part not equipped to handle the defiance, fighting and vulgar language these children act out with. And to compound the difficulties - one young 10 year old girl tried to take her own life. After you pray for the counselors - please pray for these broken children. After a week at camp - they had to go back into lives that we cannot imagine and to act out in anger is their only defense. Pray for this little girl who is in so much pain that death seems preferable to the life she has. Father God, show us, Your children, how to reach out to these children of pain with Your message of love and hope.
Floyd & Bev Willis went to visit Rick, Leslie and Kayla on Sonday, the 16th. Rick is now taking some type of pill that allows him to take his chemo at home. Please continue to pray for Rick’s recovery - and that he will come to know Jesus in a personal relationship.
Chantal is still undergoing some difficult tests in preparation for her surgery. Please pray for strength and patience for both her and Charles.
The Willis family is on the road on vacation together. Please pray for their safety. The Willis’ represent a part of our church family that simply fascinates me. I am constantly amazed at the number of three & four generations of the same family that are in our congregation. What a testimony of faithfulness throughout the generations!
Willie & Joy Nolte should be arriving in Hawaii at about 9:00 tonight - our time. Please pray for our beloved pastor & his wife as they enjoy this much needed and deserved vacation. Please pray for my family - as we have Clark with us this week. It will be a week of fun times for us - but I now have two teenage eating machines in my kitchen!
Lets continue to keep Annie Dennis’ father in prayer for his health and for salvation, Cheryl Baledra with her cancer, Mandy and her cancer, Connie & her baby for continued good health, Carola Polythress for continued recovery from her stroke, Khamla and her continued recovery, Biana’s nephew, Brent, as they wrap up filming in South Africa, Kris Baiz and her foot, Robert Kammer & his sleep apnea, Anna & her job situation and Anna’s mom for depression.
Continue to pray for our missionaries, Reaching Hand Society in India, Jan & Larry Martin in Thailand, Bounkham & Khamla to Laos, and Dr. George Pe Myat Win in the Congo and all those who serve Jesus to the very best of their hearts and abilities.
Please continue to keep our pastors and church leadership - in all of our congregations - lifted high in prayer. This week lets take a little extra time to pray for Marva Ward - the leader of our children’s ministries.
Pray for our country and those who serve her so faithfully in the military.
Most high and glorious God,
It is at these times in my life - when I am feeling the burdens weighing me down that I most need You and it is now that I find You most faithful to me. Everlasting Father, my troubles seem to be just a vapor in the wind when compared to the foreverness of You. I praise You and thank You for all that You are in eternity and in me.
Father God, we lift before You, Walter Hemphill and Sam Arnold. Father they have served You faithfully all these many years - and we thank You and praise You for them. We ask, LORD God, that You be with them during this time of illness. We ask that You strengthen them and comfort them. Father, hold the wives of these two great men and their families close to Your heart as they go through this time. Bring them comfort of soul and spirit.
LORD of All, we lift up before You Crystal Snow, this little 10 year old girl, and all of the lost children in our society. Great is the measure of Your love - it has no boundaries, it has no limits and there is no one that it cannot reach. We ask that You pour Your love on all of these children and help them find their way back to You. You are their only hope in a world that is so bleak for them. Their parents have failed them, society has failed them, they have nothing left. Energize Your church to reach out to these children with Your love, help us to be the tools in Your hand that will bring them back to You. You are all that they really need.
Father, we pray for the counselors and staff up at Camp Sugarpine. Great comforter, comfort them and strengthen them as they deal with all the children that will pass through Camp Sugarpine this summer. Father, keep them strong as witnesses for You. Grant them the wisdom to speak effectively to these children and help them to find themselves in You.
We continue to ask Your healing and comfort for Rick and his family. We ask that the tests that Chantel is undergoing be successful and that she also finds her strength in You.
Father, we ask for traveling mercies on all of the family that is traveling or about to travel. We think of the Willis’ and their family. Bless them as they travel. Abba, we ask that You be with Willie and Joy as they are in Hawaii. Father, bring rest to them. Let everything go will on their vacation and bring them back to us restored and renewed.
Father we ask You blessing on each situation represented by the names that we call out before Your throne. Annie Dennis’ father, Cheryl, Mandy, Connie & her baby, Carola, Khamla,, Brent, Kris, Robert, Anna & her mom.
With gratitude we call out to You on behalf of all the missionaries that serve You in so many places in this world. In particular we ask Your blessings on The Reaching Hand Society, Larry and Jan Martin, Bounkham & Khamla, and Dr. George Pe Myat Win
Great Provider, we bring before You our pastors and the leadership of our church. We ask that You pour Your abundant blessings on them and that You provide for their every need. We lift before You all of our church family and ask that You strengthen us and give us eyes to see what You see and a heart to reach out to the lost in Your name. Father, our children’s ministries are so important. It is the fertile field in which the future of Your Church is trained up to follow You. We ask Your blessings on Marva Ward as she leads our Children’s ministries. Give her fresh vision and guidance. Father, we ask that You provide for the financial needs of our church. Help us to manage our resources in such a way as to glorify Your name.
Father, You have promised that if we who are called by Your name will call upon You, You will heal our land. LORD God Who sits enthroned upon eternity, we call out upon You and ask that You heal our land. Father, it seems that America turns further and further away from You each day. Use us in any way possible to turn our country back to You. Our desire is that the words, “One nation, under God,” be more than just part of our pledge but to be the reality of our country. We pray for wisdom for our leaders and safety for all those who faithfully serve in the military.
LORD Jesus, We know that You live and we know that You have redeemed us. We thank You for the promise that we will see You return to this earth as her King and that we will see the earth healed and restored through You. We thank You that justice and mercy will be the law of the earth in those days. Thank You for the joy of today and the promise of tomorrow, and of an eternity in Your presence. We love You - and we always will. Amen