Day 2
“And
they were bringing even their babies to Him so that He might touch them, but
when the disciples saw it, they began rebuking them.
“But
Jesus called for them, saying, ‘Permit the children to come to Me, and do not
hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive
the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it at all.’” Luke 18:15-18
I
was introduced to fasting at age twelve while selling Girl Scout cookies in my neighbourhood. (Note:
I was not a Christian and I loved to eat.)
Here’s
how it started. There were some girls who
lived just up the street. They wore
school uniforms because they were religious.
They went to Catholic school, (had no idea what that meant). We did not go to church or talk about God
except at Thanksgiving and funerals.
However,
I intended to win the prize for selling the most Girl Scout cookies for the
year. Their house was in walking
distance, so I went there to sell them cookies.
When
I got there, they told me they could not have any because they were fasting for
Lent. I thought they said lint but when
I got home, I pulled out our encyclopedias (they were big, heavy volumes of
real books) and did some research.
I
learned Lent was about giving up eating meals for 40 days before Easter and had
something to do with the time Jesus was fasting in the desert. I did have a Bible and had read through the
Gospels a few times by then and recognized how serious Easter was, with Jesus
getting crucified and all.
What
might I present to this unknown God as an offering to demonstrate my love of
Him? It had to be something REALLY
valuable to me and something that Mom and Dad would not notice. I wanted God to know I meant business…but
what could I do without for 40 days and nights!?. I was only 12 years old!
I
skipped it that first year. It seemed
too difficult. The next year, however, I
prepared myself and prayed and promised God I would give up salt for Lent.
The
fact is, I love lots of salt on my food.
Always have and giving it up gave me a great feeling of
self-satisfaction. I imagined this was
joy! Joy -- giving Him all the salt I would have liked to have on my
food.
It
was hard that first season of Lent. But
I made a way to make it easy. Every time
I reached for the salt shaker or particularly salty food (no potato chips!)
or even found myself thinking how much I wished I hadn't been so foolish to
give up salt of all things, I would pray and thank Him for the privilege of
knowing Him and being loved by Him.
Take
care with love, especially His! Your
servant and friend in Christ, who still prays for you each morning. Darlene
PS:
My statement of faith: https://especiallyhislove.blogspot.com You can find the WeakDay Devotion online by doing
a Google search for “WeakDay Devotion” (Also, there is an android “Google
Blogger” app you can download to read them on your phone.)
NEW PRAYER REQUESTS and UPDATES
(NOTE:
Words underlined have a link embedded to
provide more details)
For
more information, I’m researching and pulling an overview of this for you
at: https://newsaboutcovid19.blogspot.com/
Please
pray for the health care workers, those trying to contain the spread and most
importantly those who contract the virus – that they are wise and take
precautions to protect others.
Latest Update: (source John Hopkins) Please note that
the stats are typically updated about five hours from now, but these reflect the
changes overnight.
o Today in 48 countries (Iran new today)
o 81,386 confirmed cases
o 8,867 critical condition
o 2,771 reported deaths (all in China
except 19 Iran, 12 S Korea, 12 Italy, 4 Cruise Ship, 2 each in HK, Japan France and 1 each in Taiwan, Philippines)
- Scott – getting Married March 26th, they will be a
blended and Blessed couple. Thank
you for praying all these years for him and his children.
- Baby Jolie– a
year old struggling to recover from meningitis and kidney failure. Still in hospital. Her leg wound remains a concern and
amputation is still a possibility.
She is responding and VERY SLOWLY getting better. Many hurdles have been crossed with
prayer and great Doctors, with several more to cross before she can go
home. (she will need full-time
nursing care) but it could be as soon as two weeks. Praise the Lord. Family so grateful for all your prayers.
- Savannah – has a very long road to travel.
The 15-year-old granddaughter of Cliff and Beth, diagnosed with a difficult-to-treat,
psychological disorder with potential serious consequences. New meds seem to be helping. She is showing progress with this brain
injury. Pray for her attitude,
wisdom for her health carers, patience for her parents and complete healing.
- USA President Donald Trump – It is our responsibility as Christians to
remember God has a plan through this man. If you doubt the importance of his
appointment, just look at how much antagonism there is against him. Surely Satan is NOT happy and means to
thwart God’s plan. Pray someone
helps President Trump understand the true meaning of a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ, that he will have a driving hunger to read
God’s Word for himself and that God sends a Bible-believing Christian to
regularly disciple him in the Truth and that God shuts the mouths of the
false prophets who circle around him.
- Fred – is making plans to move from California to Tennessee in the first
quarter of 2020. Pray for his wise
attention to details and stamina as he makes this life change.
- Tracey – Pray Tracey finds a new role to satisfy her and allow her to grow
and share her skills and wisdom.
- Me – The Lord has provided me with a short, 4-week project. Thank you for praying. Please pray He finds a way for my laptop
to be fixed soon (if you receive the email version with the full prayer
list, the formatting is different (sorry).
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