A place for heartfelt, honest answers to your questions from a caring pastor
A Change Is Gonna Come! There is hope for those of us seeking to be different when we wake up on Easter Sunday to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection as well as those of us seeking to end slavery and injustice.
WARNING: Slavery Still Exists in the USA!It’s shocking to hear but it is true. Human trafficking is big business in our world — comparable to illegal drugs and arms sales. Take a stand against slavery in the USA and beyond. Together you and I can make a difference.
Join me in prayer and in abolishing all slavery
Beautiful Slave a song by Take No Glory
Was This Post Helpful to You? Consider Subscribing!
Check out all your options for subscribing here! Don’t miss a single post!
Related blogs:
You just finished reading Human Trafficking Awareness Day a post on Q & A with Pastor Mark Haines, © 2012 Mark Haines. Please share it with your friends and family. Just preserve a link to the source.
Ask the Lord for a deeper love for him. Your prayer can be spoken. It also can be sung like the hymn written by Elizabeth P. Prentiss, entitled More Love for Thee. She wrote these four prayerful verses as she dealt with the overwhelming grief of losing two of her children to sickness and death. Read more of this post
When I hear that something important happened in the world today, I often wondered what news item I had missed. “Was there an earthquake? Was there a turning point in the war on terror? Did scientists find a cure for cancer? What big event have I failed to spot?”
He looks for simple, ordinary acts of service done by His people.
These events seldom make the evening news, but God notices them every moment of every day.
Never underestimate your simple, ordinary acts of service. You are sharing Jesus’ love and building God’s kingdom. We can prepare for bed each night knowing that something important happened in the world during the day because God’s love touched someone through us.
Was This Post Helpful to You? Consider Subscribing!
Check out all your options for subscribing here! Don’t miss a single post!
Related posts:
Credit: Free images from acobox.com
On one hand, many of us who strive to follow Jesus are as distressed as the average secular person. On the other hand, Jesus was called the Prince of Peace. He promised a peace that the world could not give. The apostle Paul declared we can experience a peace that defies comprehension. What are we missing?
You can experience the peace only Jesus can give. Make an appointment to do one of these things with him today.
How do you handle stress as a follower of Jesus??
Was This Post Helpful to You? Consider Subscribing!
Check out your options for subscribing here! Don’t miss a single post!
Related posts:
This post has been found most often by people doing searches so I thought it would be good to repost it with some revisions.
If something horrible happened to my granddaughter, you could not comfort me with a list of reasons implying it had to happen. Think about it with me. If Jesus himself appeared to you now and said your child will fall ill tomorrow and he gave you a list of reasons, how would you respond?
Nap time on Grandpa's chest
I know what I would do. I would start arguing with him. I’d suggest alternatives. I’d plead for the illness to fall on me and not my child. There are no reasons good enough to answer this question. Bearing that in mind, I’d like to make a few observations about God, children and the why question.
In fact, his people have asked why for thousands of years. Some of them are recorded in the Bible’s song book — the book of Psalms.
O LORD, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide when I am in trouble? (Psalm 10:1)
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help? (Psalm 22:1)
“O God my rock,” I cry, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I wander around in grief, oppressed by my enemies?” (Psalm 42:9)
For you are God, my only safe haven. Why have you tossed me aside? Why must I wander around in grief, oppressed by my enemies? (Psalm 43:2)
Wake up, O Lord! Why do you sleep? Get up! Do not reject us forever. Why do you look the other way? Why do you ignore our suffering and oppression? (Psalm 44:23-24)
Children are especially dear to God too. Our love and empathy for their pain is a faint reflection of how the Lord feels about them. God is working all the time through those who are advocates for the hurting children. His love flows into their lives through their caregivers.
Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” (Matthew 19:14)
Jesus put a little child among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not only me but also my Father who sent me.” (Mark 9:36-37)
Jesus said, “And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me. But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.” (Matthew 18:5-6)
He has not abandoned us. One of the mysteries of the crucifixion is that at the same time God the Son was dying for our sins, he felt forsaken by God.
At three o’clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, … “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Mark 15:34)
That means that when you do not understand why bad things are happening God knows how you feel. He knows what it’s like to ask the unanswerable question and hear silence in response. You are not approaching a distant, disconnected Deity. Our God understands our weaknesses and pain. (Hebrews 4:15) So, feel free to turn to the Lord and cry out your why questions. He will welcome you. He will enfold you in his arms and share your tears. You will not receive a list of reasons but he will give you help and comfort in your time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)
Credit: Free photos from acobox.com
If this post has been helpful to you perhaps you will enjoy one of these.
What do you think about this? Tell me in the comments section. By the way, if this post has helped you use one of the buttons below to share it with your friends. Thank you.
Jesus loves all the children of the world
You can discover what God is like by looking at what he did in Creation, by pondering the name he revealed to Moses and by examining Jesus’ reaction to people.
He cared about the sick. (Matthew 14:14) He was moved to help the blind. (Matthew 20:34) His heart went out to those who had almost given up all hope. (Mark 9:14-29)
Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out – the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. (Luke 7:11-17).
The loneliest people of Jesus’ day were men and women with skin diseases like leprosy. They were shut out of their homes and communities. No one would come close to them.
One leper approached Jesus and said, “You can heal me if you are willing.” Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man with leprosy. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured (Mark 1:40-45).
Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.” (Matthew 15:32).
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matthew 9:36-38).
What do you think? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below. If this post encouraged you or if you believe it might help someone you know, please share it using the buttons below. Thank you.
Hanging out with sinners was something Jesus did. In fact, I believe the Holy Spirit is still close to unbelievers at work to persuade them to turn to Jesus. You can be as close to Jesus building a relationship with someone who needs him as you are in a Sunday School class. Although it’s a vital activity, building relationships is not easy or automatic. You must be intentional about it.
Saint Francis of Assisi composed a famous prayer. After hundreds of years it still challenges Christians to strive for a truly intentional lifestyle. It calls us to the hard work of building relationships with those who are hurting and in need of God’s grace.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life
Understanding is not agreeing with someone’s opinion. Understanding is not approving of another’s behavior or decision. Understanding is not something you do in order to convert someone.
Understanding is listening to someone’s opinion and the reasons for it. Understanding is asking what led to another’s behavior or decision. Understanding grows by asking questions, listening to the answers and seeking clarification. Understanding is sharing God’s love with someone whether or not he/she ever turns to Jesus.
We can introduce the opposite of what we usually find in our world. St. Francis’ prayer is a bold one, asking for strength to give of ourselves to meet the needs of others. As I said before, it challenges us to a deeper walk with Jesus.
Think about the people you are involved with that need someone simply to listen to them, to understand them. Then, if you’re bold enough, pray Francis’ prayer and seek to understand him or her.
New Logo for iPad users
How do I offer a prayer for the Christians facing persecution?
Persecution of Christ’s followers is nothing new. The apostles, Peter and John were arrested shortly after the church was born. (Acts 4:3) Their first act after being released was to call a prayer meeting. In their prayer, they asked for more boldness. (Acts 4:29-31)
Here are my suggestions for prayer on behalf of persecuted Christians around the world today.
Ask God to give suffering believers:
What would you add to this prayer for persecuted Christians?
