It's so commonplace for us that I often forget how uncommon it is. Twice each month on the second and third Fridays, Linda and I have all the grandkids overnight. It begins between four and six o'clock when they start drifting in, and lasts until between nine and eleven the next morning when they start drifting out. Linda's homemade mac & cheese is the usual entrée, with hot dogs, and carrots or peas, and always her homemade applesauce, followed by ice cream for dessert.
Tonight everyone made valentines to send to Joseph, Alex' boyfriend who will be joining our youth on this year's mission trip to NYC tomorrow. Mine was a pink heart on which I wrote, "Roses are red; this heart is pink, I think this card is a big waste of ink." What else would you expect from an old man to his granddaughter's boyfriend? Then Linda had made little cards with the words "I love you because..." added to one of the kids' names. Everyone picked a card from a basket and had to finish the sentence. It was good to hear them tell what they appreciated about each other. It's 9:30, and I'm sitting in my chair writing while the bigger ones are sprawled over the hide-a-bed watching a DVD of Monk. Not many grandparents get to be such a part of their grandkids' lives, and Linda and I are continually grateful for the privilege we've been given. They all get along with each other, and bless us with their closeness to each other, and their love for the Lord, which will be expressed by four of them as they head to NYC to minister to homeless people.
Words have been my life for over forty years, but I cannot find ones adequate to express the contentment and blessing I feel sitting here in semi-darkness writing while they watch their show. We never know what tomorrow may bring, but tonight I have this moment, for which I am deeply grateful.
CAN THE DEAD PRAY FOR THE LIVING? BY STEVE FINNELL
ReplyDeleteCan the living solicit the dead to pray on their behalf? It is possible for the Virgin Mary and other dead Christians to petition God for living Christians?
THE DEAD KNOW NOTHING OF THE LIVING!
Ecclesiastes 9:5 For the living know they will die;but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for there memory is forgotten.
The dead are not cognizant of the wants and needs of the living. The dead are not even aware that the living exist.
Job 14:10,12,21 "But man dies and lies prostrate. Man expires, and where is he? 12 So man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens are no longer, He will not awake nor be aroused out of his sleep. 21 "His sons achieve honor, but he does not know it; Or they become insignificant,but he does not perceive it.
The dead know nothing. The dead are not aware of the activities or accomplishments of their relatives that are alive. Dead Christians cannot pray for things they are unaware.
CAN MEN CONSULT THE DEAD? YES.
Saul asked a medium from Endor to bring Samuel from the dead so he could talk to him. (Samuel 28:1-12)
Leviticus 19:31 'Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.
The only way to consult the dead is through mediums. God prohibits this. (Deuteronomy 18:11-12)
1 Chronicles 10:13 So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against the Lord, because of the word of the Lord which he did not keep; andalso because he asked counsel of a medium,making inquiry of it,
The only way to ask a dead person to pray for you, if that were possible, would be through a medium. Saul died because he contacted the dead through a medium.
Isaiah 8:19 When they say to you, "Consult mediums and the spirits who whisper and mutter." Should not the people consult their God?Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?
When men have wants and needs they should consult God the Father. Praying to or asking dead Christians to pray for them is not an option. The dead can only be consulted by mediums.
PRAY TO GOD THE FATHER. THE VIRGIN MARY AND OTHER DEAD CHRISTIANS CANNOT HELP YOU!
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