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THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER VOLUME 4, NUMBER 39, SEPTEMBER 26, 2004 JUST THINKING I was sitting in my office awhile back thinking of how incredibly fortunate we are to be living in this day and time. We have at our disposal technology that enables us to learn and communicate more efficiently and quickly than any generation that has preceded us. Just think about it. We have telephones now that can travel with us wherever we go, including on airplanes. Did you ever think that you would be able to pick up a telephone 35,000 feet over Florida and call your family in Cincinnati? Television is now high definition digital, with hundreds of channels available, and some of them are even interactive making it possible to actually participate in the program from our living rooms. Did you ever think that you would be able to go shopping without leaving your home and without a Sears of J.C. Penny catalogue? If something happens in Jerusalem, we can know about in Kentucky minutes later and if we hurry, we can see the aftermath live on CNN. Let us not forget the computer. It amazes me to think that I can sit at home and log onto the Library of Congress if I so choose. I can write a letter to a person in China and they can read it in a matter of minutes. Back when we had the radio program, it could be heard globally on the Internet. Isn’t that fantastic? Who would ever have believed such a thing just 50 years ago? But there is something about all this that bothers me. Have you ever noticed that when something good is invented and perfected, it doesn’t take very long for someone to turn it to a wicked use? Television, with all of its wonderful capabilities for good, has to be monitored like a hawk because of all the filthiness that is now available on it. The Internet is a cesspool of trash and pornography if a person wants to go that way. Why is that when man uses the intelligence that God has blessed him with to create something wonderful, somebody always feels compelled to find some ungodly, immoral use to make of it? I think of something as wonderful as the telephone, and particularly now, the cell phone. For those who have them, teenagers now have no excuse for not calling home. Remember, “I wasn’t near a phone, Mom?” That doesn’t work now if they have a cell phone. Think of the tremendous good that can be accomplished with that technological marvel. If help is needed, it can be summoned in seconds by dialing 911. Good news can be passed along so quickly and friends and shut-ins can be looked after and checked up on. I can even have a staple item of my diet, pizza, delivered hot and steaming by using the telephone. Unfortunately, this wonderful tool for good is sometimes used in a way that is not so good. James wrote in James 3:8-12, the following, “But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? Either a vine, figs? So can no fountain yield salt water and fresh.” Did you know that sometimes even brethren will use the telephone to talk about their brothers or sisters in Christ in ways that they should not? Did you know that sometimes even brethren will say things about someone to a confidant on the telephone that they would never say to the individual personally? Did you know that sometimes even brethren who never pick up the phone to call a sick saint or a brother or sister who is falling away to encourage and help, will pick it up to complain or gossip? As James wrote, “My brethren, these things ought not so to be.” Greg Litmer PRAYER LIST Submitted by Michelle Woolf Often brethren will fall into the habit of praying for the same things and in the same way. Prayers can become routine. It is good to pray for other things. Sometimes, we just don’t know what to pray for. It is hard to pray “without ceasing” when you don’t know what to pray about. Try using this Prayer List to help you in your daily prayers to God. MONDAY: Your Family. Pray for the health, salvation and well-being of those in your family. Say names. Include in-laws, cousins, grandparents. Pray for your marriage. Pray for better relationships. Pray that your children will make wise choices for their mates. TUESDAY: Your Church. Pray for elders, deacons, preachers (both here and those you know in other places), Bible class teachers. Pray for those who are sick and hurting. Pray for our unity. Pray for more growth and opportunities to use our talents. Thank the Lord for this congregation. WEDNESDAY: Your Community. Pray for opportunities to teach your neighbors and co-workers. Thank the Lord for good neighbors. Pray about your job and the people there. Pray for your child’s school teachers. THURSDAY: Thanksgiving. Thank the Lord. Name your blessings. Remember prayers answered. FRIDAY: Self. Pray for wisdom. Pray for help in making decisions. Pray for strength, health, and to be a better person. Ask God to help you overcome specific sins. Beg for His mercy and grace. SATURDAY: Praise Praise God for all He is and does. SUNDAY: Worship Pray for a clear mind and an open heart to worship. Pray for ears to hear the sermon. Thank the Lord for His grace and love for you.
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