Welfare, Choice, Politics, Ambition, Enlightenment

Pastor with GUTS!
Retrieved from email FWD by Pat Darnell  |  [Source Unknown]
Thought you might enjoy this interesting prayer given in Kansas at the opening session of their Senate. It seems prayer still upsets some people.. When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:

Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask

your forgiveness and

to seek your

direction and

guidance. We know

Your

Word says, 'Woe to those

who call evil

good,' but that is exactly what we

have done.

We have

lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed

our values.

We have exploited the poor and

called it

the lottery.

We have

rewarded laziness and called it

welfare..

We have

killed our unborn and called it

choice.

We have shot abortionists and

called it

justifiable.

We have neglected to discipline

our children and called it building

self esteem....

We have abused power and called it

politics.

We have coveted our neighbor's

possessions and called it ambition.

We have

polluted

the air with

profanity and pornography

and

called it

freedom of expression.

We have

ridiculed the time-honored values

of our forefathers and called it

enlightenment.

Search us,

Oh, God,

and know our hearts

today; cleanse

us from every sin and set us free.

Amen!

The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest. In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively. The church is now receiving international requests for copies of this prayer from India, Africa and Korea .

Commentator
Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, 'The Rest of the Story,'and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired.

With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called 'one nation under God.'

Exonerate Yourself :: Did it Occur to anyone to Ask -- a Hallmark Moment

A woman came home from work late, tired and irritated,
to find her 5-year old son waiting for her at the door.

SON: 'Mummy, may I ask you a question?'

MUM: 'Yeah sure, what it is?' replied the woman.

SON: 'Mummy, how much do you make an hour?'

MUM: 'That's none of your business.
Why do you ask such a thing?' the woman said angrily.

SON: 'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?'

MUM: 'If you must know, I make $20 an hour.'

SON: 'Oh,' the little boy replied, with his head down.

SON: "Mummy, may I please borrow $5?"

The mother was furious,
'If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a
silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room
and go to bed.
Think about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard everyday for such childish frivolities.'

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut
the door..

The woman sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions.
How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?

After about an hour or so, the woman had calmed down, and started to think:

Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $5 and he really didn't ask for money very often.
The woman went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

'Are you asleep, son?' She asked.

'No Mummy, I'm awake,' replied the boy.

'I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier' said the woman.
'It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the $5 you asked for.'

The little boy sat straight up, smiling. 'Oh, thank you Mummy!' he yelled.
Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.

The woman saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.

The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his mother.

'Why do you want more money if you already have some?' the mother grumbled.

'Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,' the little boy replied.

'Mummy, I have $20 now. Can I buy an hour of your time?

Everyday at 17:00 hours

SING as if no one is listening. DANCE as if no one is watching. LOVE as if you have never been loved before.
Retrieved by Pat Darnell
[SOURCE Unknown]

" ... Recently, I overheard a mother and daughter in their last moments together at the airport.. They had announced the departure. Standing near the security gate, they hugged, and the mother said, 'I love you, and I pray you enough.'

The daughter replied, 'Mom, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I pray you enough, too, Mom.'

They kissed, and the daughter left. The mother walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there, I could see she wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on her privacy, but she welcomed me in by asking, 'Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?'

Yes, I have,' I replied. 'Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?'

'Well...I'm not as young as I once was, she lives so far away & has her own busy life. I have some challenges ahead, and the reality is - her next trip back will be for my funeral,' she said.

'When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I pray you enough.' May I ask what that means?'

She began to smile. 'That's a prayer that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone.' She paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and she smiled even more. 'When we said, 'I pray you enough,' we wanted the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.'

Then, turning toward me, she shared the following as if she were reciting it from memory.

I pray you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear..

I pray you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.

I pray you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I pray you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I pray you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I pray you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I pray you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

Then, she began to cry, and walked away.

They say, it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but an entire life to forget them. ... "

Rage -- Get it to the Maker, He needs all that you have

[PHOTO Credit UNKNOWN]
by Pat Darnell

Rage is the observable pace and speed of the Spirit of God the Father Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth.... so I say.

Why say that? Simple: it is too easy to skip over unless one is "slowed down" and able to see better.

It is said that rabbi's practice three-day fasts, having only water, to cleanse themselves for an important event. And it is also done when important decisions must be made. How are we to judge others if we are not some how transformed into a better judge?

So it is with seeing the blinding, raging, speeding works of God. Think it over.

Clues are all over the Bible; in both books. The old testaments suggest a seven spirited God, whose name cannot be said. The new testaments, especially Revelations of John, repeat the same seven spirits of God, seven heads, seven seals. It is a pretty important number; so must be number three, but I have heard rabbi's sometimes have seven day fasts when confronted with enormous decisions.

This is what I want to say: if you have rage ... and almost everyone does ... then point it directly to God through Jesus Christ. That is the crux of this post. God in his infinite conservation of all things will use your rage. Where you fail in emotional upheaval, He creates and puts everything to good use.

Would you ever say "the volcano flows calmly in bows of gentle turns" ? No you are more likely to say "the volcano rages." God, in one of His "seven" spirits creates, controls and, recycles, volcanoes in raging speed.

Restoration Churches in America

An Explanation
Retrieved verbatim by Pat Darnell  |  McTavish, TJM. c2005. A Theological Miscellany

[Page 89 ...]
The term restoration churches refers to groups that have formed to restore what they believe to be the practice of the New Testament church, renouncing all creeds and holding only to the Bible as their authority. The movement began in North America in the early 1800's and is also called the "Christians-only-movement." It had two main thrusts

1. emulating the New Testament church
2. restoring the unity of the Church by avoiding denominational structures

Over time the movement divided between these two aims. Those stressing early Christian practices largely withdrew from contact with other churches while those who sought unity other churches lost many of the "primitive" or early Christian traits.

In the process, the movement to end denominational-ism resulted in the formation of many new denominations, though. [M]ost restorations groups refuse to be considered denominations and avoid organizations and avoid organizations that officially link their local churches.

Because many of these churches call themselves "Christian" or "Churches of Christ" it is often hard to tell which branch of the movement they belong to.

Thus:
Groups stemming from the "Christians Only" movement include:

• Christian Church -- Disciples of Christ
• Christian Churches and Churches of Christ -- Independent
• Churches of Christ -- Non-instrumental
• International Churches of Christ -- "Crossroads" or "Boston" movement

(McTavish, TJM. c2005. page 89. A Theological Miscellany)