“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty;

for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;

Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all.”

~1 Chronicles 29:11~

If you are on the highway today, please be careful.  Take it easy and drive safely.

Continue to pray for the Annie Armstrong Week of Prayer.

http://www.anniearmstrong.com/whoisannie/

Thought for the Day: A God who will supply all our needs

Here is a dilemma for your consideration: You are driving along on a wild stormy night. You pass by a bus stop, and you see three people waiting for the bus:

1. An old lady who is about to die.

2. An old friend who once saved your life.

3. The perfect man (or woman) you have been dreaming about.

Which one would you choose, knowing that there could only be one passenger in your car?

This is a moral/ethical dilemma that was once actually used as part of a job application.

You could pick up the old lady, because she is going to die, and thus you should save her first; or you could take the old friend because he once saved your life, and this would be the perfect chance to pay him back. However, you may never be able to find your perfect dream lover again.

Think before you continue reading………………………………

The candidate who was hired (out of 200 applicants) had no trouble coming up with his answer.

His answer was, “I would give the car keys to my old friend, and let him take the old lady to the hospital. I would stay behind and wait for the bus with the woman of my dreams.”

Why didn’t I think of that??? I was feeling pretty good about taking care of the needs of that old lady, and along comes someone who meets ALL of their needs!

It’s very much the way I feel before God. I am a person who gets pleasure from trying to meet the needs of people around me. But, so often I fall short. That’s why I’m so very thankful to have a God who can not only meet all my needs, but also the needs of everyone else I come in contact with.

“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Phil 4:19-20)

Have a great day!

Alan Smith
Boone Church of Christ
Boone, North Carolina

Thank you for praying today.  Your prayers mean so much to so many.

Anna Lee

“For the LORD gives wisdom;

from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

~Proverbs 2:6, HCSB)~

Caroline Cutrer

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/carolinecutrer

Sometimes God is taking care of us when we are being obedient tho Him.  Marty Simpson took off work Wednesday to prepare the jambalaya for the SLU BCM students.  His work partner had a wreck and had to be taken to the hospital.  If Marty had not been at SLU, he would have been in the same vehicle.  Thank you, God, for Marty’s service to you and your protection for him because of that service.

The associational WMU will meet at 10:00 this morning at East Fork to learn more about North American missions as we celebrate the Week of Prayer.  Rev. Fred Day, a retired missionary to the Caribbean, will be speaking.  We will share lunch after the meeting.  I hope to see some of you there today.

The North Americans who represent all the other missionaries for our prayer times for yesterday and today:

Day 1: Send North America
Church planting is at the core of the North American Mission Board’s national strategy, Send North America. This strategy is designed to mobilize churches to plant churches, mobilize church planters, and equip church planters and “sending churches” for evangelistic church planting.

Day 2: Shaun and Deshni Pillay, Connecticut
Shaun is church planter and pastor of Cornerstone International Church in Norwich. The church ministers to a large international population and a large homeless community meeting physical needs and directing people to Christ.

Thought for the Day: A prayer as we grow older

The author of the following prayer is unknown to me:

Lord, keep me from the fatal habit of thinking that I must say something on every subject and on every occasion. Release me from craving to straighten out everybody’s affairs.

Make me thoughtful but not moody; helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all – but Thou knowest, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end.

Keep my mind from the recital of endless details – give me wings to get to the point.

Seal my lips on my aches and pains. They are increasing and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by.

I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others but help me to listen to them with patience.

I dare not ask for improved memory but a growing humility and lessening cocksureness when my memory seems to clash with the memory of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.

Keep me reasonably sweet. I do not want to be a “saint” – some of them are hard to live with – but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil.

Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places and talents in unexpected people. Give me the grace to tell them so.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Growing old can be a frightening thing. We worry about what we will be like in the years ahead. We hope to be wise and gentle and kind and loving. The only way to be that way as an old person, though, is to strive to live that way every day as a young person.

“Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, ‘I have no pleasure in them.’ ” (Eccl. 12:1)

Have a great day!

Alan Smith
White House Church of Christ
White House, Tennessee

Do something today to help someone of your choice.  Smile while doing your chosen activity.

Anna Lee

“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

and His ears are open to their prayers;

but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

~1 Peter 3:12~

Lindsey Sanders is now home from the hospital.  Pray she will be able to get proper treatment to help her recover.

Marsha C. Bankston is still in North Oaks.  She has received six units of blood and is better, but she is still undergoing tests to determine why her liver is enlarged.

Continue to pray for the people whose lives have been devastated by the tornadoes this week.

Thought for the Day: WHO INFLUENCES WHOM?

There’s a story that Thomas Wheeler, CEO of the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, tells on himself.  He and his wife were driving along an interstate highway when he noticed that their car was low on gas.  Wheeler got off the highway at the next exit and soon found a rundown gas station with just one gas pump.  He asked the attendant to fill the tank and check the oil, then went for a little walk around the station to stretch his legs.

As he was returning to the car, he noticed that the attendant and his wife were engaged in an animated conversation.  The conversation stopped as he paid the attendant.  But as he was getting back into the car, he saw the attendant wave and heard him say, “It was great talking to you.”

As they drove out of the station, Wheeler asked his wife if she knew the man.  She said that she did.  They had gone to high school together and had dated steadily for about a year. ” Boy, were you lucky that I came along,” bragged Wheeler.  “If you had married him, you’d be the wife of a gas station attendant instead of the wife of a chief executive officer.”

“My dear,” replied his wife, “if I had married him, he’d be the chief executive officer and you’d be the gas station attendant!”

So, which of the two had the greater influence on the other – the husband or the wife?  You see, in any relationship, both parties have an influence on the other.  After 34 years of marriage, I have influenced my wife to be different than she was 34 years ago (she now enjoys playing computer games) and she has influenced me to be different than I was 34 years ago (I eat more vegetables than I used to!).  It would be interesting to consider which of us has had a greater pull on the other through the years.

But an even more important question is this:  Who has the greater influence on the other — you or the world?  That is to say, has the world shaped you and made you what you are today, or have you changed the world around you by your influence on it?

Christians are called by God not to be transformed by the world, but to be a transforming influence on the world.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus described our calling in this way:

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?  It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.  You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13-16)

Make a decision today not to let the world pull you away from God.  Rather determine to live in such a way that will draw the people around you closer to God.

Have a great day!

Alan Smith
Helen Street Church of Christ
Fayetteville, North Carolina

The ladies of our association will meet Monday at East Fork Baptist Church to learn more about North American Missions and the Annie Armstrong Week of Pray for American Missions (US and Canada).  It is covered lunch and begins at 10:00.  I hope to see you there.

Week of Pray for North American Missions

2012 Week of Prayer for North American Missions
and the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering®

Theme: Whatever It Takes

Scripture: Mark 2:1-5 (HCSB)

“When He entered Capernaum again after some days, it was reported that He was at home. So many people gathered together that there was no more room, not even in the doorway, and He was speaking the message to them. Then they came to Him bringing a paralytic, carried by four men. Since they were not able to bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above where He was. And when they had broken through, they lowered the stretcher on which the paralytic was lying. Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

National Goal: $70 million

Dates: March 4-11, 2012

The annual Week of Prayer for North American Missions is March 4-11, 2012. This year, five missionaries representing thousands of missionaries serving throughout the United States, Canada, and their territories are spotlighted. The other three days focus on ways Southern Baptists are reaching the lost in North America.

The Annie of the Offering

http://www.anniearmstrong.com/whoisannie/

Have a meaningful Lord’s Day!

Anna Lee