Do you ... ?????

      Questions, questions, questions.  There are always questions, especially when grandchildren are with you. I remember when my girls were small the most important question of all - WHY?  Back then, a famous phrase came about - "Because I'm the mom, that's why?"
     Many questions can start with the words "do you."  When it comes to children, here are some of the questions we ask them: "Do you have to be told 10 times?"  "Do you think that was the kind thing to do?"  "Do you want me to spank you?  Well, do you?"  (Seriously, why do we ask that ??)
    As for adults, we might be asked questions such as - "Do you like to read?" "Do you have any hobbies?"  "Do you eat right and exercise?" - My answer  to the last one - yes to the first; no to the second but I have good intentions :-)
 
     As I was praying this morning, these questions came to mind - Do you cover those you love in daily prayer?  Do you pray for God's will to be done in their lives & your life?  Do you pray consistently for this Nation to return to God along with His standards of virtue & morality that we were founded on?"
    In the area of prayer, I struggle with consistency. I do my "best", but as I've mentioned before I get distracted.  The Boston bombing became a big distraction for me last week & I'm not sure why.  I believe it's because I have a deep desire to see what's going on around me from a Biblical worldview, which can be very unnerving and often depressing.
      I confess that the devil (the Bible tells us he is the "author of confusion & the father of lies) is very good at distractions, whether in our personal lives or in the events of our nation.  I often feel over-whelmed by it all.   Yet as a Follower of Christ, I (and I pray you) am determined to persevere, keeping the things of God our first priority.  In times such as these, the eternal is all that matters.

Matthew 6:33 -  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 

I Thessalonians 5:16-18    Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus... hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. 

Here is my Prayer Notebook which I created from a photo album (holds 100 4x6 pics) purchased at Walmart.  I added tabs: Praise, Children (Grandchildren), Marriage, Nation, Other.  There are some prayers included that I like to do in the mornings.  I have kept many of the prayers on my computer, if you would like a copy of them let me know.

image from breakthroughadventures.com  

It's April Fools' Day & I'm guessing that no one wants to be considered a fool.  At least not in the terms we normally use it.  The following quote, in different forms , has been attributed to Mark Twain, Abraham Lincoln, Groucho Marx & others - "It is better to keep silent & be thought a fool than to speak & remove all doubt.  Proverbs 17:28 puts it this way - Even fools are thought to be wise when they keep silent; when they keep their mouths shut, they seem intelligent. (NLT)  

     The Bible uses the word fool & foolish 124 times with 64 of them being in Psalms & Proverbs. Thursday my Bible was open to Psalm 53:1 - The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."  I can't disagree with that. God more often than not looks at things differently than the we do.

      The lost world admires birth, social status, financial success, power, & recognition. But none of these things can guarantee eternal life. The message & miracle of God’s grace in Jesus Christ utterly confounds (“puts to shame”) the high & mighty people of this world. 

     The wise of this world cannot understand how God changes sinners into saints, & the mighty of this world are helpless to duplicate the miracle. God’s “foolishness” confounds the wise; God’s “weakness” confounds the mighty!  God turns the world’s standards upside down& usually chooses the ordinary rather than the outstanding.    (from Logos Bible Study references.)   

I Corinthians 1:27 puts it plainly - God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

     He chose a simple wooden cross & it's shame to bring hope & salvation to the lost.   As Easter approaches I need to ask: Am I willing to be a Fool for Christ? To be scorned here on earth in exchange for an eternal reward? Lord, only in Your strength, I can answer YES !!!!!

(This was first posted in April 2011.  Some thoughts just don't change.)  Be BLESSED.