[The Lord's Prayer]

"Our Father who art in heaven." "Yes?"

"Don't interrupt me. I'm praying."

"But you called me."

"Called you? I didn't call you. I'm praying. Our Father who art in heaven."

"There you did it again."

"Did What?"

"Called me. You said, Our Father who art in heaven. Here I am. What's on your mind?"

"But I didn't mean anything by it. I was, you know, just saying my prayers for the day. I always say the Lord's Prayer. It makes me feel good, kind of like getting a duty done."

"All right. Go on."

"Hallowed be thy name . . ."

"Hold it. What do you mean by that?"

"By what?"

"By 'hallowed be thy name'?"

"It means, it means, good grief, I don't know what it means. How should I know? It's just a part of the prayer. By the way, what does it mean?"

"It means honored, holy, wonderful."

"Hey, that makes sense. I never thought about what 'hallowed' meant before. "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

"Do you really mean that?"

"Sure, why not?"

"What are you doing about it?"

"Doing? Nothing, I guess. I just think it would be kind of neat if you got control of everything down here like you have up there." "Have I got control of you?"

"Well, I go to church."

"That isn't what I asked you. What about your bad temper? You've really got a problem there, you know. And then there's the way you spend your money, all on yourself. And what about the kind of books you read?"

"Stop picking on me! I'm just as good as some of the rest of those people at the church."

"Excuse me. I thought you were praying for my will to be done. If that is to happen, it will have to start with the ones who are praying for it. Like you, for example."

"Oh, all right. I guess I do have some hang-ups. Now that you mention it, I could probably name some others."

"So could I."

"I haven't thought about it very much until now, but I really would like to cut out some of those things. I would like to, you know, be really free."

"Good. Now we're getting somewhere. We'll work together, you and I. Some victories can truly be won. I'm proud of you."

"Look, Lord, I need to finish up here. This is taking a lot longer than it usually does. Give us this day, our daily bread." "You need to cut out the bread. You're overweight as it is."

"Hey, wait a minute! What is this, 'Criticize Me Day'? Here I was doing my religious duty, and all of a sudden you break in and remind me of all my hang-ups."

"Praying is a dangerous thing. You could wind up changed, you know. That's what I'm trying to get across to you. You called me, and here I am. It's too late to stop now. Keep praying. I'm interested in the next part of your prayer."

. . . pause . . .

"Well, go on."

"I'm scared to." "Scared? Of what?"

"I know what you'll say."

"Try me and see."

"Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespasse against us."

"What about Ann?"

"See? I knew it! I knew you would bring her up! Why Lord, she's told lies about me, spread stories about my family. She never paid back the debt she owes me. I've sworn to get even with her!"

"But your prayer? What about your prayer?"

"I didn't mean it."

"Well, at least you're honest. But it's not much fun carrying that load of bitterness around inside, is it?"

"No. But I'll feel better as soon as I get even. Boy, have I got some plans for that neighbor. She'll wish she had never moved into this neighborhood."

"You won't feel any better. You'll feel worse. Revenge isn't sweet. Think of how unhappy you already are. But I can change all that."

"You can? How?"

"Forgive Ann. Then I'll forgive you. Then the hate and sin will be Ann's problem and not yours. You will have settled your heart."

"Oh, you're right. You always are. And more than I want to revenge Ann, I want to be right with you..., (sigh). All right . . . All right . .. I forgive her. "Help her to find the right road in life, Lord. She's bound to be awfully miserable now that I think about it. Anybody who goes around doing the things she does to others has to be out of it. Someway, somehow, show her the right way." "There now! Wonderful! How do you feel?"

"Hmmmmmm. Well, not bad. Not bad at all. In fact, I feel pretty great! You know, I don't think I'll have to go to bed uptight tonight for the first time since I can remember. Maybe I won't be so tired from now on because I'm not getting enough rest."

"You're not through with your prayer. Go on."

"Oh, all right. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

"Good! Good! I'll do that. Just don't put yourself in a place where you can be tempted."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Don't turn on the TV when you know the laundry needs to be done and the house needs to be picked up. Also, about the time you spend coffeeing with your friends, if you can't influence the conversation to positive things, perhaps you should rethink the value of those friendships. Another thing, your neighbors and friends shouldn't be your standard for 'keeping up'. And please don't use me only for an escape hatch."

"I don't understand the last part."

"Sure you do. You've done it a lot of times. You get caught in a bad situation. You get into trouble and then you come running to me, 'Lord, help me out of this mess, and I promise you I'll never do it again.' You remember some of those bargains you tried to make with me?" "Yes and I'm ashamed, Lord. I really am." "Which bargain are you remembering?" "Well, there was the night that Bill was gone and the children and I were home alone. The wind was blowing so hard I thought the roof would go any minute and tornado warnings were out. I remember praying, "Oh God, if you spare us, I'll never skip my devotions again."

"I protected you, but you didn't keep your promise, did you?"

"I'm sorry, Lord, I really am. Up until now I thought that if I just prayed the Lord's Prayer every day, then I could do what I liked. I --- didn't expect anything to happen like it did." "Go ahead and finish your prayer."

"For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen."

"Do you know what would bring me glory? What would really make me happy?"

"No, but I'd like to know. I want to please you now. I can see what a mess I've made of my life. And I can see how great it would be to really be one of your followers."

"You just answered the question."

"I did?"

"Yes. The thing that would bring me glory is to have people like you truly love me. And I see that happening between us. Now that some of these old sins are exposed and out of the way, well, there is no telling what we can do together." "Lord, let's see what we can make of me, OK?" "Yes, let's see."

Author Unknown
Feel free to copy.

[The Urge To Pray]

Have you ever felt the urge to pray for someone and then just put it on a list and said, "I'll pray for them later."? Or has anyone ever called you and said, "I need you to pray for me, I have this need."?

Read the following story and may it change the way that you may think about prayer and also the way you pray. You will be blessed by this.

A missionary on furlough told this true story while visiting his home church in Michigan... "While serving at a small field hospital in Africa, every two weeks I traveled by bicycle through the jungle to a nearby city for supplies.
This was a journey of two days and required camping overnight at the halfway point. On one of these journeys, I arrived in the city where I planned to collect money from a bank, purchase medicine and supplies, and then begin my two-day journey back to the field hospital.
Upon arrival in the city, I observed two men fighting, one of whom had been seriously injured. I treated him for his injuries and at the same time talked to him about the Lord Jesus Christ. I then traveled two days, camping overnight, and arrived home without incident.

Two weeks later I repeated my journey. Upon arriving in the city, I was approached by the young man I had treated he told me that he had known I carried money and medicines. He said, "Some friends and I followed you into the jungle, knowing you would camp overnight. We planned to kill you and take your money and drugs But just as we were about to move into your camp, we saw that you were surrounded by 26 armed guards.'"

At this I laughed and said that I was certainly all alone out in that jungle campsite. The young man pressed the point, however, and said, 'No sir, I was not the only person to see the guards. My five friends also saw them, and we all counted them." It was because of those guards that we were afraid and left you alone.

At this point in the sermon, one of the men in the congregation jumped to his feet and interrupted the missionary and asked if he could tell him the exact day that this happened. The missionary told the congregation the date, and the man who interrupted told him this story: "On the night of your incident in Africa, it was morning here and I was preparing to go play golf. I was about to putt when I felt the urge to pray for you. In fact, the urging of the Lord was so strong, I called men in this church to meet with me here in the sanctuary to pray for you. Would all of those men who met with me on that day stand up?"

The men who had met together to pray that day stood up. The missionary wasn't concerned with who they were, he was too busy counting how many men he saw. There were 26." This story is an incredible example of how the Spirit of the Lord moves in mysterious ways.

If you ever hear such prodding, go along with it. Nothing is ever hurt by prayer except the gates of hell. I encourage you to forward this to as many people as you know. If we all take it to heart, we can turn this world towards Christ once again. As the above true story clear illustrates, "with God all things are possible" and more importantly, how God hears and answers the prayers of the faithful.

[Anon]

[The Painting of the Last Supper]

The story behind painting of the Last Supper is extremely interesting and instructive. Two incidents connected with this painting afford a most convincing lesson on the effects of thought in the life of a boy or girl, or of a man or woman.

The Last Supper was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci, a noted Italian artist. The time engaged for its completion was seven years. The figures representing the twelve apostles and Christ himself were painted from living persons. The live model for the painting of the figure of Jesus was chosen first. When it was decided that Da Vinci would paint this great picture, hundreds and hundreds of young men were carefully viewed in an endeavor to find a face and personality of unaffected by sin. Finally, after weeks of laborious searching a young man, nineteen years of age, was selected as the model for the portrayal of Christ. For six months Da Vinci worked on the production of this leading character of the famous painting.

During the next six years Da Vinci continued his labors on his sublime work of art. One by one, fitting persons were chosen to represent each of the eleven apostles, space being left for the painting of the figure representing Judas Iscariot as the final task of this masterpiece. This was the apostle, you remember, who betrayed his Lord for thirty pieces of silver with $16.95, in our present day currency.

For weeks Da Vinci searched for a man with hard callous face, with a countenance marked by scars of avarice, deceit, who would betray his best friend. After many discouraging experiences in searching for the type of person required to represent Judas, word came to Da Vinci that a man whose appearance fully met the requirements had been found. He was in a dungeon in Rome, sentenced to die for a life of crime and murder.

Da Vinci made the trip to Rome at once, and this man was brought out from his imprisonment in the dungeon and led out into the light of the sun. There Da Vinci saw before him a dark, swarthy man, his long shaggy and unkempt hair sprawled over his face. A face which portrayed a character of viciousness and complete ruin. At last the painter had found the person he wanted to represent the character of Judas in his painting. By special permission from the king, this prisoner was carried to Milan where the fresco was being painted.

For six months the prisoner sat before Da Vinci, at appointed hours each day, as the gifted artist diligently continued his task of transmitting to his painting this base character in the picture representing the traitor and betrayer of the Savior. As he finished his last stroke, he turned to the guards and said, "I have finished, you may take the prisoner away."

The convict suddenly broke loose from their control and rushed up to Da Vinci, crying as he did so; "Oh, Da Vinci, look at me! Do you not know who am?" Da Vinci, with the trained eyes of a great character student, carefully scrutinized the man upon whose face he had constantly gazed for six months and replied; "No, I have never seen you in my life until you were brought before me out of the dungeon in Rome."
Then lifting his eyes toward heaven, the prisoner said, "O God, have I fallen so low?" Then turning his face to the painter he cried, "Leonardo Da Vinci, look at me again, for I am the same man you painted just seven years ago as the figure of Christ!" This is the true story of the painting of the Last Supper that teaches so strongly the lesson of the effects of right and wrong thinking of an individual. He was a young man whose character was so pure and unspoiled by the sins of the world, that he represented a countenance and innocence and beauty fit to be used for the painting of a representation of Christ. But during the seven years, following a life of sin and crime, he was changed into a perfect picture of the most notorious character ever known in the history of the world..... worth reflecting on.<> Feel free to copy this short or email it to a friend

[What does your child live with?]

[How To Be Happy]

['IF YOU GIVE, YOU WILL RECEIVE.
YOUR GIFT WILL RETURN TO YOU IN FULL MEASURE,
PRESSED DOWN, SHAKEN TOGETHER TO MAKE ROOM FOR MORE...' Luke 6:38]

Did you hear about the preacher who was told by one of his members, 'Pastor, you're becoming one of today's greatest expositors'? Driving home he told his wife about it, and asked, 'I wonder just how many great expositors there are in the world today?' Unable to resist, she replied, 'One less than you think, dear!'

The truth is, wrapped up in ourselves, we make a pretty small package, don't we? Too many of us live in little worlds bordered on the north, south, east, and west by 'us.'If you want to be miserable without even trying, do these twelve things; they're guaranteed to work.

(1) Always think and talk about yourself (2) Always use the personal pronoun 'I' (3) Always mirror yourself in the opinions of others (4) Always listen to everything people say about you (5) Always demand consideration and respect (6) Always insist that people agree with you (7) Always sulk if they don't show appreciation (8) Always be suspicious (9) Always be sensitive to slights (10) Always be jealous (11) Trust nobody but yourself (12) Never forget the good deeds you do, or the criticism you receive.

On the other hand, if you want to be happy, begin to give to others, and God will multiply it back to you, over and over again. Try it!

[The above Excerpt is from... The Word For Today. and used with their permission]
[A Free Quarterly Devotional, by United Christian Broadcasters]
[Offices in the UK, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland]
Email: ucb@ucb.co.uk -Web: www.ucb.co.uk
[UCB Headquaters: PO Box 255, Stoke-on-Trent, St4 8YY, England, Tel: 0845 60 40 40]

Nothing brings results like �praying the Word�.
God says, �I will watch over My Word to perform it�. (Jer. 1:2)
His Word is not subject to your circumstances,
but your circumstances are subject to His Word.
Here�s a prayer for your healing:
Use it daily.

Father, it is written that you will restore me to health and heal my wounds. (Jer. 30:17)
You have promised to forgive all my iniquities and heal all my diseases. (Psalm 103:2-3)
You said if we would serve You, then You would take away sickness from our midst. (Ex. 23:25)
You said, if we attend to your Words and keep them in our hearts, they would bring life and health to our flesh. (Prov. 4:20-23)
It is written that You healed all that were sick that it might be fulfilled � �He took up infirmities and carried our diseases�. (Matt. 8:16-17) If you bore them, then I don�t have to

You told us to �Lay hands upon the sick and they shall recover.� (Mk. 16:18)
You said whatever I pray for and believe � I will have. (Mk.11:24)
You said that if I abide in You and Your Words abide in me, I could ask what I wish and it shall be done. (Jn. 15:17)
You said You�d give us power over all the power of the enemy and nothing would by any means hurt us. (Lk. 10:19)
Your Word declares that You have not given me the spirit of fear, so I refuse to accept that spirit. (2 Tim 1:7)
Father, You are not a man that You should lie. You have said it and You will do it. You have spoken it and You will make it good. (Num. 23:19)
I thank you in Jesus� name for my healing today.

[The above Excerpt is from... The Word For Today. and used with their permission]
[A Free Quarterly Devotional, by United Christian Broadcasters]
[Offices in the UK, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland]
Email: ucb@ucb.co.uk -Web: www.ucb.co.uk
[UCB Headquaters: PO Box 255, Stoke-on-Trent, St4 8YY, England, Tel: 0845 60 40 40]

[FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND]

My name is ......
I have no respect for justice.
I maim without killing.
I break hearts and ruin lives.
I am cunning and malicious and gather strength with age.
The more I am quoted, the more I am believed.
My victims are helpless. They cannot protect themselves against me because I have no name and no face.
To track me down is impossible. The harder you try, the more elusive I become.
I am nobody's friend.
Once I tarnish a reputation, it is never the same.
I topple governments and wreck marriages.
I ruin careers and cause sleepless nights, heartaches, and indigestion.
I make innocent people cry in their pillows. Even my name hisses.
I make headlines and headaches.
I am called....

.
.
.
.
Are YOU sure you don't know my name!!!
IT
IS
........GOSSIP.
Before you repeat a story, ask yourself:
Is it true?
Is it harmless?
Is it necessary?
If it isn't, don't repeat it.
By unknown Author
Some people (YES! even some...Christians) think it's ok to Gossip, just because they're not telling a lie, but why lie when the truth can do more... dammage

[Life or Death are in your...WORDS ]

We have all got to be careful of the things we say, words are not mere words, they are messages.
WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT DEATH...

[Death is certain but the Bible speaks about untimely death! Make a personal reflection about this.
Very interesting, read until the end.
It is written in the Bible (Galatians 6:7): "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap."]

Here are some men and women who mocked God:

JOHN LENNON: Some years before, during his interview with an American Magazine, he said: "Christianity will end, it will disappear. I do not have to argue about that. I am certain. Jesus was ok, but his subjects were too simple, today we are more famous than Him" (1966). Lennon, after saying that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, was shot six times.

TANCREDO NEVES: (President of Brazil): During the Presidential campaign, he said if he got 500,000 votes from his party, not even God would remove him from Presidency. Sure he got the votes, but he got sick a day before being made President, then he died.

CAZUZA (Bi-sexual Brazilian composer, singer and poet): During a show in Canec�� ( Rio de Janeiro ), whilst smoking his cigarette, he puffed out some smoke into the air and said: "God, that's for you." He died at the age of 32 of AIDS in a horrible manner.

.

White Star Line Employee At Titanic's launch May 31, 1911: After the construction of the Titanic, a reporter asked him how safe the Titanic would be. With an ironic tone he said: : "Not even God himself can sink this ship" The result: I think you all know what happened to the Titanic.

MARILYN MONROE: She was visited by Billy Graham during a presentation of a show. He said the Spirit of God had sent him to preach to her. After hearing what the Preacher had to say, she said: "I don't need your Jesus". A week later, she was found dead in her apartment.

BON SCOTT: The ex-vocalist of the AC/DC. On one of his 1979 songs he sang: "Don't stop me, I'm going down all the way, down the highway to hell". On the 19th of February 1980, Bon Scott was found dead, he had been choked by his own vomit.

CAMPINAS/SP IN 2005: In Campinas, Brazil a group of friends, drunk, went to pick up a friend. The mother accompanied her to the car and was so worried about the drunkenness of her friends and she said to the daughter - holding her hand, who was already seated in the car: "MY DAUGHTER, GO WITH GOD AND MAY HE PROTECT YOU." She responded: "ONLY IF HE (GOD) TRAVELS IN THE TRUNK, CAUSE INSIDE HERE IT'S ALREADY FULL".Hours later, news came by that they had been involved in a fatal accident, everyone had died, the car could not be recognized what type of car it had been, but surprisingly, the trunk was intact. The police said there was no way the trunk could have remained intact. To their surprise, inside the trunk was a crate of eggs, none were broken.

CHRISTINE HEWITT: A Jamaican Journalist and entertainer, said the Bible (Word of God) was the worst book ever written, in June 2006 she was found burnt beyond recognition in her motor vehicle.

Many more important people have forgotten that there is no other name that was given so much authority as the name of Jesus.. Many have died, but only Jesus died and rose again, and he is still alive. JESUS!!!

"What benefit does it have, if a man gains the whole world but loses his soul? What can man give in exchange of his soul?" (Matthew 16:26)

AMEN Feel Free to Copy