Again?

Some mornings when I wake up I ask God, "Again?" Like all Christians I'd like to wake up somewhere else, say like Heaven, rather than here on the old Earth. I have to remind myself that if I wake up here God still has work for me to do. These are the things He placed before me before I was even born. One of these is prayer. As the Bible says, "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17

All too often I hear Christians say, "Well, I guess all I can do is pray for them." Golly, gee whiz I tried everything else so the only thing left to do is pray. What??? Prayer should be the FIRST THING YOU DO as a Christian not the last. This is one of the tasks that God has placed before you. Pray.

For example I have a prayer list. These are people in my life that I take a few moments to lift up to God. I try to do it daily but alas it sometimes turns out to be weekly. God is always listening, always attentive and always there. I have someone right now that is at the forefront of all my prayers, even before a friend of mine dying of brain cancer. He believes I pray in vain and has been verbally abusive about it in his posts on Opposing Views (http://www.opposingviews.com). I consider him my enemy and I love him for that. Seriously, I do love him and feel sorry for his unfortunate circumstances. His name is James Smith (http://www.atheistnexus.org/profile/JamesSmith) and he is a very angry man.

From his blog and posts it appears he was raised Presbyterian by his parents and immigrated from the United States to Brazil some years ago. His anger is directed primarily at Christians and if what he says is true and not just his perception, then he may have some basis for his anger. For some reason God has placed him before me and I am not sure why yet. If I'm planting seeds it's not good ground but that's my opinion.

Here's to you Mr. Smith, May The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

Any tomorrow when I wake up I'll try not to say, "Again?" but embrace the tasks joyfully that God has placed before me. This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

TCH