The Passage of Time

But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.

Mark 13:32-37

Hello everyone, and welcome to today’s prayers for the week post. We have a lot going on, and this week my thoughts keep coming back to thinking about the passage of time, and how it relates to us in our walk with Jesus. The longer I live, the more I recognize just how short time can be for us all. Take a moment and consider this:

1. Most Biblical scholars put the writing of the book of Mark, our selection for our Scripture for today, in the 65-75 CE (formerly AD) time range.
2. In the 13th chapter, as we read above, Jesus tells us that no one other than the Father knows the date and time when Jesus will come again.
3. For sake of demonstration, let’s suppose that Mark wrote his Gospel in 69 CE, that would be 1,950 years ago.
4. For all of that, in 69 CE Jesus didn’t know when He would be called back, and now, in 2019, we still don’t know when He will be called back to earth, we just know that it hasn’t happened yet.
5. The point of this exercise isn’t to figure out when Jesus will return; the point of all of this is to follow Jesus’ direction explicitly, and to stay awake!

As a 51 year old middle age man, I recognize just how often I have been asleep when I should have been awake and focused on Jesus. I have now been a Christian for 27 years. I made my profession of faith on Easter Sunday at Round Hill Baptist Church, and I have not regretted it for a moment since. However, even though I gave my heart to Jesus, there are times when I let the world get in the way of my devotion to Him. Times when I realize that I let the world system, under the control of Satan, to influence my decisions far more than I should have. Now, I look back, and realize that the passage of time has shown me just how little I have done to advance His Kingdom here on earth.

For sure, that isn’t always the case. I write my prayer post, we pray for you and your prayer requests here and in our Facebook group, and I am involved in my local church and in my Bible Studies; but I also turn a blind eye towards those in need too often. I turn my head to a homeless person as if by doing so they will not be standing on the street corner. That is one area I would covet your prayers over — to make sure that I am all in for Jesus 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, day after day. Are you like this at times also? Well, remember these words from the Apostle Paul, and remember them well:

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1:6

How wonderful is it to know that despite our flaws, despite the times when we don’t put our all in for Him, He still works on us, and will continue to work on us until the day that we are perfect — which will happen the day we see Him face to face. So, my friends, remember, on those days when the world system and Satan get the better of you — on those days when he gets the better of me — God is still with us, and He will still see us through it. Remember, He that is in us is greater than he that is in the world!

Lastly, for our younger generation — generations like those my daughters age — I urge you, do not look in the mirror, see yourself as a middle aged person, and realize that you have not given your all for Jesus. You have a wonderful opportunity before you right now to make a difference in this world — to show the world that, even though you are younger and less experienced, you are no less capable than those older than you. And you can show this world that you are all in for Jesus. When I see the young men at my bible studies, it warms my heart to know that they have Jesus in their lives, and aren’t afraid to share that. Be that generation. Be the generation that makes a stand for Jesus. By doing so, you will also help Him to make the changes our world needs to see happen at the same time.

Now, please join us and pray for our prayer requests and praises.

Prayer Requests & Praises

• Mrs. Lucas starts us off with a prayer request for a friend of hers: “Asking for prayers for my long time friend. She is having brain surgery to remove a large tumor tomorrow morning at 8:30 am. She had a tumor removed years ago and her story about that is nothing short of a miracle. Hoping for that outcome tomorrow! Thank you!”
  • Update #1: “UPDATE! The surgery was five hours long! The surgeon said the tumor was totally removed and my friend should do well!
    Praise God and heartfelt thanks to you for lifting her up in prayer!”
  • Update #2: “Another update. She was released to her daughter. Now she has a fever and vomiting! On her way back to the hospital! Please pray for her! Thank you!”
• Deb has a prayer request: “Prayer request for myself, please. I may have Nasopharyngeal cancer again. My PC doctor ran some blood tests, examined me and checked my symptoms today. The symptoms are almost the same as 2015. She told me to contact my oncologist right away. I may be concerned for nothing but I am scared. I almost died the last time. I just hope I am physically strong enough to do battle again. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated !!”
• Lori has a prayer request: “I’ll be honest in saying I am questioning my ability to meet the expectations of this new job. I did not work for 10 years while in PHX while taking care of my ex-husband’s mother with dementia, and then coming here to NC and working on out-dated systems, I am scared.
  It’s 3:40 in the morning and I cannot sleep.
  I am 14 years behind the times and trying desperately to make it.
  Please pray for me, I am all that I & My Girls have got.”
• Jodi asks for prayers for all in the path of Hurricane Dorian, and if possible, that it would turn out to see and not affect any more people than it already has.
• Please lift up the family of my friend Joey in prayer. Joey’s dad Joe passed away on Tuesday. His service was Thursday at Edenton Street UMC in Raleigh. Please pray for God’s Peace, Comfort, Strength, and Love to surround Joey, his wife Kim, and all of their family and friends. They celebrate Joe’s ascension to Heaven, but they also grieve the loss of their loved one. Thanks everyone!
• Connie has a prayer request: “Asking for prayers for 96 yr old aunt who lost her last child to an accident, and for his family as they grieve and run the current race before them.”
• We also pray for the families and victims of the shootings in Midland and Odessa, Texas, yesterday. All of these shootings are the work of Satan, and the only one that can conquer Satan is Jesus — and far too often, Jesus is cast aside.
• Lastly, there are countless people that are afraid to ask for prayer. Please pray for them, and pray for God to look after them in whatever the desires of their heart might be. He knows the details, we don’t need to know, so pray for them as well.
• Now, please join us in praying the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray:

Our Father, who art in Heaven
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done
On earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not in temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the Kingdom, and Power, and Glory
Forever and ever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer