Is That Jesus Knocking?

The story is told of a child’s sincere faith: A nurse on the pediatric ward, before listening to the little ones’ chests, would plug the stethoscope into their ears and let them listen to their own hearts. Their eyes would always light up with awe, but she never got a response equal to four-year-old David’s comment.

Gently she tucked the stethoscope into his ears and placed the disc over his heart. “Listen,” she said … “What do you suppose that is?”

He drew his eyebrows together in a puzzled line and looked up as if lost in the mystery of the strange tap-tap-tapping deep in his chest. Then his face broke out in a wondrous grin, and he asked, “Is that Jesus knocking?”

Many Thanks

Dear Readers, as we are progressing towards the end of 2012, I want to thank you all for your educational e-mails that you sent to me over the past year. I am totally messed up now and have little chance of recovery.

I can no longer open a bathroom door without using a paper towel, nor let the waitress put lemon slices in my ice water without worrying about the bacteria on the lemon peel. I cannot sit down on a hotel bedspread because I can only imagine what has happened on it since it was last washed. I have trouble shaking hands with someone who has been driving because the number one pastime while driving alone is picking one’s nose. Eating a little snack sends me on a guilt trip because I can only imagine how many gallons of trans fats I have consumed over the years.

I cannot touch any woman’s handbag for fear she has placed it on the floor of a public toilet. I must send my special thanks for the email about rat pooh in the glue on envelopes because I now have to use a wet sponge with every envelope that needs sealing.

ALSO, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.

Thanks to you I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes. I no longer buy fuel without taking someone along to watch the car, so a serial killer does not crawl in my back seat when I am filling up. And thanks for letting me know I cannot boil a cup of water in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face, disfiguring me for life.

I no longer go to the cinema because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS when I sit down. I no longer go to shopping centers because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me. And I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a huge phone bill with calls to Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore and Uzbekistan.

Thanks to you I cannot use anyone’s toilet but mine because a big black snake could be lurking under the seat and cause me instant death when it bites my butt. And thanks to your great advice I cannot ever pick up a dime coin dropped in the car park because it was probably placed there by a sex molester waiting to grab me as I bend over. I cannot do any gardening because I’m afraid I’ll get bitten by the Violin Spider and my hand will fall off.

P. S. I now keep my toothbrush in the living room, because I was told by e-mail that water splashes over 6 ft. out of the toilet.. NOW YOU HAVE YOURSELF A VERY GOOD DAY… AND A GREAT 2013!

Birthdays

As we close out 2012 — and good riddance — the following are celebrating their birthday this week: Hayley Farmer on Thursday, Dec. 27; Evelyn Lawson and Judy Medford on Friday, Dec. 28; Ashley LaPierre, James Whitehead, and Jamie Farmer on Saturday, Dec. 29; Katie Jenkins and Joan Huskey on Sunday, Dec. 30; Edna Davis on Monday, Dec. 31; Jonathan Ray, Jesse Moreno, and Christian Lawson on Tuesday, Jan. 1. Let’s make an extra effort to surprise these fine folks and wish them a HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

Our Condolences

go to Mrs. Frances Rebecca “Becky” Brown, 51, Gist Bridge Road. Buffalo, S.C., widow of Jim Brown passed away Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012 at her home. Let’s keep this family in our prayers as the relatives go through the grieving process and life adjustments.

Prayer Concerns

At the top of our prayer list this week is our country. When you read this, we all have already fallen over the “fiscal cliff” in Washington. Let’s pray that our “so-called” political leaders can set aside their politics and agree on a workable solution that the American people would support.

Let’s also pray for each of us, that the year 2013 will see many people give control of their lives to Jesus Christ and make professions of faith for Him. Starting with a new list if you know someone who needs our prayers, please send their name and situation to me.

God’s Plan For Us In 2013

Do you have a specific and detailed plan for your life in 2013? God does. He is the Master Architect of each life. We can let Him build our lives in 2013 according to His plans. Or we can go through 2013 with no plan and see what the end result will be this time next year.

God has a plan. We call it “God’s Will.” Permit me to describe God’s Will for each of us: The will of God will never take you, Where the grace of God cannot keep you, Where the arms of God cannot support you, Where the riches of God cannot supply your needs, Where the power of God cannot endow you.

The will of God will never take you, Where the Spirit of God cannot work through you, Where the wisdom of God cannot teach you, Where the army of God cannot protect you, Where the hands of God cannot mold you.

The will of God will never take you, Where the love of God cannot enfold you, Where the mercies of God cannot sustain you, Where the peace of God cannot calm your fears, Where the authority of God cannot overrule for you.

The will of God will never take you, Where the comfort of God cannot dry your tears, Where the Word of God cannot feed you, Where the miracles of God cannot be done for you, Where the omnipresence of God cannot find you.

“Everything happens for a purpose. We may not see the wisdom of it all now but trust and believe in the Lord that everything is for the best.”

The way to be anxious about nothing is to be prayerful about everything.

My Thoughts

For me, the new year 2013 is very much like opening a present. We do not know what it contains, but we hope it will be something that we like.

In 2013, there will be many marriages, many divorces, many birthdays, many funerals, many “arguments,” many changes and many adjustments. For those individuals who have received God’s gift of salvation and who live for Him, 2013 will not be a year of surprises. Why? First, God is in total control of everything in the Universe; everyone on planet earth; every situation whether good or bad on earth … EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE! Secondly, as a member of God’s Forever Family, God has promised in Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” So, Christians KNOW that this time next year, everything will have worked to the best. But for those who reject Christ in 2013, life is a gamble … a gamble with the highest stakes — his/her soul. And guess what? Just like the casino, the gambler always loses in the long run.

It is my earnest desire and prayer that those who rejected Christ in 2012 will decide to receive Christ in 2013 and become a member of God’s Forever Family … truly the MOST IMPORTANT DECISION that will be made in the new year.

Thought Of The Week

“Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, and leave the rest to God.”

If You Have Good News

Email me at cap9296@aol.com, call me at 864-441-2371, mail me at POB 128, Buffalo. Until next YEAR, may God bless you richly. Until next YEAR, may God bless you richly.