Dear Church Family –
My “quote of the month” (not that I actually have such a thing but, apparently, this month I do) is from Colin Smith. I heard it on his radio program, “Open the Bible.” He said, “If you’re not in a trial currently, thank God! Then realize that many of your brothers and sisters are. Be sensitive to the needs and burdens of others.”
That thought has caused me to think about the various kinds of trials that we, or people around us, might be going through. I listed some of these as prayer prompts Sunday morning. Let me pass that list on to you today as you pray and reach out to people you know in some of these categories.
Lord, I pray…
For those for whom life is difficult right now;
For those who, because of suffering, have difficult decisions to make, or difficult tasks to do;
For those who, because of suffering, face fear, or temptation;
For those who have lost a loved one;
For those who suffer with a long illness, or a financial setback;
For those who have suffered the loss of something they hoped for;
For those who grieve for a prodigal child, or a broken relationship;
For those who feel all alone, or just feel tired and sad, worn down by suffering and grief.
For those who have difficult people in their lives, and they feel mistreated or unappreciated.
We lift these all up to You, Lord God.
Let them feel the tug of Your Spirit, drawing them up to life, and peace, and even joy.
We dare to ask these things because You are touched with the feeling of our infirmities;
You became like us to suffer for us.
We are eternally and immensely grateful,
and the least we can do is give our lives to You, a living sacrifice.
We do so in the name of Christ Jesus, our loving Lord,
Amen.
Which leads me to another quote I mentioned Sunday morning. This from John Hannah, long-time professor at Dallas Theological Seminary: “The highest privilege of life is the privilege of caring.”
I’m grateful for good times, this summer. I’m grateful for life and health and family and harvest and love and peace. And I’m mindful of those who hurt.
With praise to Christ who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities – Pastor Tim
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