Psalm 91:10, 11


"No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling. For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways."
Some years ago a home security salesman called to see if I might have an interest in having a security system installed at my house. I told him I already had such a system; that there was an angel with a flaming sword standing guard at every door and window of my house.
There was a pause and then he said, "Oh?" Another pause, he thanked me and hung up.

What he thought of the angel bit I have no way of knowing. Obviously he was not expecting such an answer. But I wasn't kidding or just trying to brush him off. I meant it. Is it practical to rely on God to provide guardian angels? No; electronic security systems are practical. Would I advise anyone to do as I have done? No. Everyone must make their own decision. However, I believe it is not, as a dear friend of mine would say, "a heaven or hell" proposition.

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I recently celebrated my 85th birthday with most of my family. They came from Hot Springs, Dallas, Lubbock and Tyler for the day. What a great treat for me to have 2 of my 3 children, my grandchildren and all 6 of my great-grand children (all under 5 yrs) plus in-laws. All of the adults are Christians. God has blessed me without measure. My son and his wife live in Colorado and could not attend..

If anyone were to ask me what it feels like to be old, I would tell them they would have to ask someone else, because I don't know.

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If it were announced that the method of executing criminals would henceforth be changed to drilling a hole in the back of the person's head and then vacuuming out their brain, what do you think would be the public reaction? Outrage, surely. It won't happen of course. The law protects criminals from "cruel and unusual punishment." But it is not all that unusual because
approximately 3000 times a year this is the method used for partial-birth abortion. After emerging from the mother and with its head still in the birth canal, the baby is killed by the doctor by inserting a sharp instrument into its skull and the brain is vacuumed out. A living being with a beating heart and every right to live is killed. Apparently if the baby was fully delivered and then killed it would be murder. But, as long as the baby remains partially in the mother it is called a fetus and when killed it is only considered abortion. Those in favor of abortion maintain that a fetus has no rights until it is fully delivered.
Even unwanted animals receive better and more humane treatment from veterinarians.
Barbara Boxer, California congresswoman with San Francisco in her district, says that a fetus can only be considered a baby when it leaves the hospital.
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Mark 11;22-24
"So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast in the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will come to pass he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe you receive them and you will have them."
What a magnificent promise! Often overlooked or skipped because it sounds too good to be true.
Is this just pie in the sky? Does Jesus really mean this or is he just teasing us? No empty words ever issued from the lips of Jesus. Not a single one. His words are truth and life. and completely reliable. Believe this and you will live.
He begins the promise with an absolute requirement for its fulfillment: Have complete, unwavering trust in God. Believe without doubt that God can do what to us seems impossible.
One of the best descriptions of faith is this, "Walking to the edge of all the light you have and taking one more step." If we don't believe that God is omnipotent, gracious and responds to our prayers with unbounded love there's no use going any further because our words will only bounce off the ceiling. So, let us take our mustard seed of faith and go to the Throne of Grace.
What ever 'mountain' we saw before us, whatever obstacle or decision, etc. we now view from the perspective of faith. We see the 'mountain' reduced by the power of God to the point that it disappears and in its place is the clear answer to our prayer. Spiritually we have already received our request. Faith accepts the answer as already accomplished even though the manifestation may take place in the future. As an evangelist said, "That should make an Egyptian mummy shout halleluja!"
After we have prayed in faith and accepted that our prayer has been answered we should keep our spiritual eyes open for signs that our answer is being unveiled.
When we are confronted with troubles or difficult decisions our first reaction is to worry. I say again: Since the dawn of time, worry has not solved a single problem. What it does do is paralyze us with indecision.
Jesus had much to say about worry. The main thing he said about it is: "Don't!" Instead trust in the omnipotence of God even though this is counter to our sense of self-reliance and, some would say, common sense.