Religion1B The Baytown SunSunday

July 12, 2020

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I devoutly believe in the miracles of prayer I’m writing this article in

celebration of my 46 years of marriage to my wife, Barbara. I’m looking forward to spend-ing the rest of my life with the wife of my youth, five children and 14 grandchildren. We got married September 21, 1974 in Palm Desert, California. I was in California promoting my lat-est recordings, which led to a recording contract with War-ner Brothers Records in Holly-wood, California. Soon after we married, we moved to the Palm Springs area where I continued my music career as a singer and songwriter.

Both my mom, Velma Meek-ins and Barbara’s mom, Lucille Kurtz were sincerely praying for us. I truly believe that God hears and answers the prayers of pray-ing mothers. I believe the clos-est thing to the heart of God is

a loving, com-passionate and praying mom. Even in the life of Christ, those that seemed most faithful were women, especially Je-sus’ mother, Mary. Through the prayers of our lov-ing mothers, Barbara and I found our way

back to the altar of God’s grace where we surrendered our lives to the Lord and eventually to the call of ministry.

In late December of 1976, I had a meeting with my manag-er and record producer. Both of these men were and still are powerful identities in the music

world. Basically, I let them know that I strongly felt the call to full-time ministry and that I was leaving Hollywood and grabbing hold of the Holy wood, the cross of Jesus. For our mothers, this life changing event was an an-swer to their prayers.

I would like to share another story about the miracles of prayer that I believe saved my life. In 1989, I began traveling the world on my first major missionary trip. I travelled to India to min-ister at a large outdoor crusade. In three days, our ministry team ministered to well over 40,000 people. It was an awesome ad-venture. After the crusade we were headed back from India to fly to London, England for a few days of rest.

At the same time, my wife Barbara was 9,000 miles away at home sound asleep. While

sleeping she had a dream; in this unusual dream she was in attendance at my funeral. Yes, I said funeral like in the word, DEAD! She went to church, the following morning and shared the dream with the special guest minister. He said, “Oh my God! Let’s spend the service in prayer and share the dream to the con-gregation.” The minister felt that the dream was a warning from God about a catastrophic event that was about to happen to me and he believed God shared the dream with Barbara so that the church could intervene with great prayer!

When I arrived home, Barba-ra shared her dream with me and about the prayer service on Sun-day morning. She said, all we did that Sunday morning was pray for your safety and supernatural protection.

To conclude this story, I shared with Barbara that as our ministry team was leaving India our plane was speeding down the runway. Then suddenly, we heard a loud explosive BOOM! Later on we found out that one of the engines had blown. As soon as we heard the loud blast of the faltered en-gine, the pilot slammed on the brakes and the plane stopped barely on the edge of the run-way. If the plane did not stop, we would have crashed. If the pilot would have tried to put the plane in the air, we probably would have crashed! I’m so thankful for my wife and all those that prayed for me.

I believe in praying mothers and I believe in a praying church. I believe in the effectual fervent prayers of a righteous man that avails much. Without a doubt, I Believe in the Miracles of Prayer.

TOMMY MEEKINSChurch on the Rock

I don’t doubt that almost every one of you have heard questions similar to the one in the title of this parable. Most assuredly, if you have heard them, they’ve been asked by your optometrist, in the process of exam-ining your eyes. I don’t know about you, but it was the most frustrating experiences I ever had in my life (I said my life). You know the drill. He begins his examination of your eyes, with the goal being to determine what strength lenses will be needed to correct your vision back to 20/20.

Usually, he will begin with a pro-gression of lesser magnification lens-es and get stronger and stronger, until the lenses seem to give you the best, and clearest image possible. This sounds good in theory, however, af-ter each level of lense is switched, he will ask you, “Better there?” Then he will select the last lens he tried, and ask, “Better there?” After hearing this question about 228 times, and trying to remember which lens was better there, you are so completely confused, you couldn’t tell which lenswas better from a jelly sandwich.

I probably couldn’t think of a bet-ter way to do this process, but you know how frustrating it is. Finally,

you are ready to just scream out, “THAT ONE!” Have you been there? Then, the real problem comes when, in my case, I would receive my new glasses. I went in for the ‘fit-ting,’ and then on the way home, I would try to read different things at

different distances and letter sizes. Well, my vision was NO better than it was...maybe even worse! So, I call them when I get home and tell them the problem I was having and here’s their reply...”Well, Mr. Cunningham, your eyes are going to have to adjust to the new lenses.” I couldn’t believe what I heard. My eyes having to ad-just? They didn’t have to adjust when I was sitting in that chair for an hour during the exam. When you pick up a magnifying glass to look at some-thing, do you have to wait until your eyes adjust? Puhleeeze!

All of this long intro to this parable is to ask the question, “Better there?”,

or “Better there?” This comes up a lot for people facing surgery...Hous-ton or Baytown? Except for two of my 18 surgeries on my right leg, the rest were done in Houston. The two in Baytown in 1984 and 1985 were done by a doctor who was discovered being on cocaine. The next-to-last surgery in Houston ended up with me getting a staph infection in my leg which lasted for nine years. The last surgery I had, a hip replacement on my left hip, was done in Baytown and was absolutely perfect. I would say, if it’s something serious, go to Houston, if it’s routine, Baytown is excellent.

Another big question. Where do you go for salvation, some very large, well-known denomination? Or to a small, down-home atmosphere? What does the Bible say? It’s pret-ty plain when it says in Acts 4:12, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heav-en that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” Then in 1 Tim. 2:5, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.” He’s the only...the best. God bless you.

DON CUNNINGHAMCedar Bayou

Baptist Church

Don’s Parable – Better there?Performance based Christianity tells me how I have

to perform to become a Christian. Then depending on the viewpoint, I am told how I must perform to remain a Christian or to prove that I performed correctly in becoming one. Perfor-mance based Christianity is always confused and uncertain, because my performance is questionable.

Promise based Christianity says that God has promised to bless all humanity in Christ and therefore that blessing is made effective and assured by God’s Will and not my performance. God’s Will, capability, and competence are sure and thus my future is certain.

Performance based Christianity is obviously no great departure from OT Judaism and the vast majority of other religious systems. Please and appease the god(s) and receive divine approval and blessing. Fail to perform and suffer.

Naturally all performance based religion involve a divine threat, which is generally conveyed through human intermediaries. It takes little imagination to conceive of how that intermediary role can become a convenient means of human oppression and self aggrandizement. For the unfortunate who embrace

Commit to put God in control

LITTLE BIDDY BITS

Which way? Camped by a river in

Oklahoma I noticed an in-teresting life application. A gentle breeze had the top of the water rippling to my left, but because of the waterfall close by I knew the current was flowing to my right.

How easy it is for our lives to appear to be going in one direction when in reality we are headed in another. Ev-erything may seem calm and beautiful, but a great fall is ahead. The Bible warns us, not once, but twice, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end is the way of destruction.” (Proverbs 14:12, 16:25) So which way am I really going?

Danny R. Biddy, Chap-lain: Chambers County Sheriff’s Office & Fellow-ship of Christian Cowboys

RICK CROTTSSjolander Road

Fellowship

SEE COMMIT • PAGE 2B

Shortly before Jesus was deliv-ered to be crucified, the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, asked Him: “What is truth?” (John 18:38). Well, we do not have to wonder. The Bible tells us.

• The truth is the Word of God. Jesus expressed in His prayer to the Father: “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17). Truth is not relative, it is fixed and enduring for all time (Jude 3; I Peter 1:22-25). Truth is not based on our feelings, opin-ions, or the wisdom of men, but upon the inspired Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

• The truth will set one free. Knowledge of the truth will set us free from sin (John 8:32, 34; I Tim. 2:3-4). Sin brings spiritual slavery and death (Rom. 6:16-18, 23). Only truth brings liberty and life (John 14:6). Religious error does not set one free, it only en-slaves one to the devil (2 Tim. 2:25-26).

• The truth exposes sin in a

person’s life. Jesus declared: “For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been

done in God” (John 3:20-21). The word of God shines the light of true upon sin and immorality (Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:11-13).

• The truth is to be spoken in love. Paul instructed the saints in Ephesus to do this (Eph. 4:15). At times, the message of the gospel will offend and upset some no matter how kindly it is presented

I know many will agree with me when I say that the horse is one of God’s most beautiful creatures. He designed it pre-cisely, with a majesty that awes us. With its regal lines and flu-idity of movement, it demands to be painted, drawn, sculpted, and more. From their youngest days, most children dream of rid-ing horses, even owning horses, and many grow up to fulfill those dreams. I did.

The horse has been around “forever,” of course. In Genesis 2:18-20, we learn that God cre-ated it and all of the other ani-mals in the Garden of Eden while looking for a suitable helper for Adam. We all know how the sto-ry goes; they didn’t find a “helper comparable to him” among the animals, so God then created Eve and the rest, as they say, is his-tory.

Yet, though the horse wasn’t the helper they were looking for at that time, God surely knew from

the beginning that it would end up walking more closely with man than most of the other animals. With the horse to ride, man was able to move far-ther faster, not being limited to staying at home. With the horse’s assistance, man

could more easily carry his be-longings and trades people could travel far and wide with their goods. With the aid of a horse, the cowboy could manage large herds of cattle. When you really think about it, the horse is abso-lutely amazing.

It’s so amazing that God used it as an example in Job 39:19-25 when He decided it was time for Job to stop complaining and accusing his Creator of being

SEE HORSE • PAGE 2BSEE TRUTH • PAGE 2B

Study what is truth A horse is a horse

Pruett and Lobit Church of Christ

JESSE FLOWERS DR. MARK

TRICE