Pray? Me? Why?

Oh say, can you pray

by the dawn’s early light ?

Will you talk to the Lord above

as you remember His love ?

He listens to you

and knows what you do,

so own up to your struggles;

He can bring you through.

Pray for the others you know,

no doubt they need Him, so

be thankful for such joy

He brings man, woman, girl and boy.

So, join in with other 

believers who pray;

Celebrate the love of God, 

That’s so important today.

             + + + 

by Elaine Hardt ©2020

What Can I Tell You About Life, My Child?

Oh, I can't tell you what you ought to be

or ought to do,

but I can tell you how it was for me.

Life is downright daily,

a lot of chores needin' repeatin'

but it frees the mind for thinkin'.

Life is full of waiting' but I finally up and decided

to be thankful for the pauses.

Life is full of decisions, some little spur-of-the-moment

implusive and superficial, and some heart-throbbin'

big and scary life-changin' decisions --

the prayin'-over kind.

Maybe, Probably, Certainly

  Is it “Yes,” or is it “No”?

Is it “Later,” or is it “Now”?

Finding the right answers,

the LORD will show you how.

Challenges will come every day!

Do not complain and do not shirk;

You’re growing older and wiser,

Good decisions help do the work.

Lots of things allow a little time

to think, and plan and do —

achieve success, find happiness. 

Other things say, “Hurry!” to you. 

Start first thing in the morning

to anticipate your day;

Read the Bible, make your lists,

and, of course, you’ll want to pray.

Yes, you’ll learn lessons from mistakes —

it’s the sensible thing to do;

But, what a relief in the evening

to know that God has blessed you. 

            
by Elaine Hardt ©2016 

Several Mistakes to Avoid

          We all know by now that it’s a good thing to avoid mistakes.  While we can learn from them it’s evident that life would be more efficient and less stressful if we’d learn by observing the mistakes of others, with the result of making better choices than they did.

Can most people be wrong?

Jesus said that most people make the wrong decision (Matthew 7:13). Busy-ness and stress seem to occupy most people’s time and energy; they coast along with three assumptions that lead to a major mistake. 

What are the three assumptions?

Overwhelmingly, people of all times and all places in life have accepted three common assumptions that the Bible tells us are not true.  

1. God is tolerant.
2. People are good at heart.
3. We can earn God’s approval in some way. 

These three ideas are universally popular, but lead to devastating consequences — a dreadful mistake.  

Why are these assumptions incorrect?

• If God is tolerant, then He is not holy.
• If people are good, then where does sin and selfishness and evil originate?  It’s not a mere lack of education or absence of spiritual awareness that keeps mankind from goodness.
• If there were some way for us to earn or deserve God’s approval, some way to remove all of our imperfections, then God would not have sent His Son Jesus, the Messiah, to suffer and die to redeem mankind.  God’s Word then would have listed all the merits and demerits, and we would be on our own to work hard to assure our place in Life after death.