First Baptist Church Richwood

Here are a couple of prayers to pray as we begin 2010:

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.

~St. Francis

Good 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,
it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.

~St. Francis

Do you find it difficult to forgive one who has wronged you? Then you will find it difficult to get to heaven. ~Charles Spurgeon

When deep injury is done to us; we never recover until we forgive.”

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God is a forgiving God. He promises that as far as the east is from the west that’s how far He removes our sins from us.

One point a lot of Christ Followers choose to ignore is that even though God forgives our sins, we still must face the consequences of them. Sin is sin. All sin that remains unconfessed and unrepented of will send the sinner to hell. Different sins have different consequences.

If an individual went and chose to engage in sinful behaviors and contracted HIV but then later in life turned to God in repentence; God would forgive that person, but God is not obligated to remove or heal the person of HIV. The HIV would be a lingering consequence of that sinful choice.

God loves everyone and does not want to see anyone perish, but even King David confessed that the consequences of his sins were lifelong. Sometimes, we too, will have to carry lifelong reminders of our sins, but we can be assurred that God has indeed forgiven us, so long as we call on Him and sincerely, humbly ask for His forgiveness of all of our sins.

Be Blessed!

Sue Sarver is finally home from the hospital, praise God! Please continue to life up Sue, Jake and their entire family in your prayers as Sue continues to recover.

Please continue to hold Jim & Linda Wright in your prayers. Please pray that the radiation Jim receives will shrink the mass in his throat so that he can verbally communicate.

Father in Heaven, I pray your comfort, peace and healing for these folks in the mighty name of Jesus. AMEN!

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny ornaments and wreaths but do not show love to my family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors, then I’m just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table, but do not show love to my family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors then I’m just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love to my family, friends, neighbors and coworkers, it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, holly and mistletoe, attend a dozen Christmas parties and sing in the Christmas program, but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.

Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the spouse.

Love is kind, though tired and fatigued.

Love doesn’t envy another’s home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love doesn’t yell at the kids to get out of the way, but is thankful they are there to be in the way.

Love doesn’t give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can’t.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.

Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust, but giving the gift of love will never be outdone.”

Who are you going to love this week?

And in what way are you going to love them?

Sue came through her surgery well.  The surgeon said her heart looked really good.  Please continue to pray for her as she recover and for Jake and the family as they care for her.

Sue Sarver will be having heart bypass Surgery on Thursday morning around 11am. Please pray for Sue as well as the doctors and medical team and for Jake and the entire family. Thank You!

Some gifts you can give this Christmas are beyond monetary value: Mend a quarrel, dismiss suspicion, tell someone, “I love you.” Give something away—anonymously. Forgive someone who has treated you wrong. Turn away wrath with a soft answer. Visit someone in a nursing home. Apologize if you were wrong. Be especially kind to someone with whom you work. Give as God gave to you in Christ, without obligation, or announcement, or reservation, or hypocrisy.

~Chuck Swindoll

Please pray for Hal Parish who was taken by EMS to Memorial Hospital in Union County.