Some Things Will Not Happen Unless You Pray

James was a new believer and a member of our church. One day he told me he had the same nightmare every night for eight years. Eight years earlier, when he was a professional bodyguard, he fought and killed a man who tried to attack the client he was guarding.
 
After this incident, James dreamed about fighting this man every night for eight years. Every night it took him until at least 1 a.m. before he could fall asleep. I asked him if I could pray for God to set him free from his nightmares. He said yes.
 
As I prayed for his nightmare to leave in Jesus’ name, he said, “I’m getting an excruciating headache.” Then he said, “I just felt something leave me.” Immediately his head quit hurting. He became sleepy and went home to go to bed at 4 p.m. For the first time in eight years, he slept peacefully all night without dreaming of killing the man—and he never again had a problem with insomnia. This happened over a decade ago and his nightmare has never returned!
 
A counselor, who was also a member our church, heard about his recurring nightmare leaving through prayer. He told me, “We spend years counseling people who have recurring nightmares and can’t cure them.” Jesus said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God” (Luke 18:27).
 
Many things will not happen unless we pray for them to happen. Otherwise, why bother praying? What if I hadn't prayed for his nightmare to leave? He might still be having that terrible dream even to this day.

Prayer is the privilege God has given us where we can appeal to Him to intervene in our situations. I am asking you to FAST and PRAY for God to foil the attempts at voter fraud and He will have His way in the outcome of this election. VOTE for the candidates that uphold biblical values.
Click here to compare WHERE BIDEN & TRUMP STAND ON THE ISSUES
Click here to compare WHERE CANDIDATES IN YOUR STATE STAND ON ISSUES
 
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Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett
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The Future of Our Nation is at Stake

This might be the most important election of our country since 1864, when Abraham Lincoln defeated the Democratic nominee George McClellan. If Lincoln had lost, slavery would have continued and the country would have been torn apart.
 
Do not base your vote on who is the “most likeable.” Vote on the ISSUES.
These two presidential candidates will take the country in two completely different directions. This election will determine if our country will continue in freedom as it was founded, or if our country will turn in the opposite direction and become a socialist nation, where the government takes control of nearly every area of our lives. Some people say the United States would become like Venezuela.
 

Click here to compare WHERE BIDEN & TRUMP STAND ON THE ISSUES
 
Click here to compare WHERE CANDIDATES IN YOUR STATE STAND ON ISSUES
 
As a Christian who believes the Bible, I will vote for those candidates who make decisions based on the values in the Bible. I’ve known people who claim to believe the Bible, but vote for candidates who make decisions that go completely against the Bible. I have to wonder if those voters really do believe what they claim to believe.
 
This election will determine the future world of our children and grandchildren. VOTE for the candidates that uphold biblical values. Pray that God will foil the attempts of voter fraud and that He will have His way in the outcome of this election.
Over 270 printable Bible studies at www.makinglifecount.net
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Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett
www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com
 

It's Easy to Drift From God

Every summer when I was a kid, our family would travel to Florida to go to the beach for a week. One day, I climbed on my inflatable raft and closed my eyes. The gentle waves rocked me like a baby, and I didn’t realize the current was pulling me out to sea.

 
Then a wave splashed me in the face. When I looked up, I was shocked to discover I had drifted so far away I could barely see the shore. The current pulled me away so gradually that I didn’t notice it was happening. I floated away because I wasn’t paying attention.
 
We drift away from God the same way. We quit paying attention to Him, and little by little we move away. The writer of Hebrews warns, “For this reason, we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it” (Hebrews 2:1).
 
When we quit talking with God and reading His Word each day, it’s inevitable that we’ll gradually drift away from Him. It happens so slowly it’s almost unnoticeable. Then something happens that upsets the raft and when we look up, we see how far away we are. 
 
When I realized how far I was from shore, I didn’t get back to the beach by drifting there. I had to swim against the current and paddle my way back. To return to God, you must make an effort to get close to the Lord again. Seek His face. Talk to Him throughout the day. Meditate on His Word. Make sure you are in Christian fellowship. Before you know it, you’ll be back at the shore.
 
Over 270 printable Bible studies at www.makinglifecount.net
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BIBLE STUDY: How did Peter’s shadow and Paul’s handkerchiefs heal people?
 
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Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett
www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com

God's Word Will Not Return Void

A missionary told me this story:
A Christian man named Kendal (not his real name), was traveling on a train with some gospel literature to distribute in China. He couldn’t make his connections and was concerned about getting caught with it. It’s illegal in China to have that literature and he could go to prison.
 
He prayed for wisdom and felt led to go back to the train’s bathroom, which had a hole in the floor. He dropped the papers through the hole, which fell on the train tracks. Kendal felt terrible about throwing away the gospel papers and wondered if he had denied Jesus.
 
Two years later, he was back in China and speaking in an underground church. He told the people how he had smuggled in the gospel literature and dropped it down a hole in the floor of the train. Just then a man jumped up and said, “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be a Christian! One day I was walking and found some papers about Jesus on the railroad tracks. I read them and accepted Jesus into my life.”
 
God had led him to put those papers down the hole to accomplish His will.  Isaiah 55:10-11 says, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth… so will My word be which goes forth from My mouth. It will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”
 
When I was in college, I shared the gospel with another student, who didn’t seem interested in what I said. Thirty years later, he wrote me saying he remembered what I had said to him and that he became a Christian! Let this be a word of encouragement whenever you share the gospel with someone and don’t see immediate results. God’s Word will not return void but will accomplish what God desires.
Over 270 printable Bible studies at www.makinglifecount.net
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BIBLE STUDY: “Do People in Heaven Know What’s Happening on Earth?”
 
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Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett
www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com

How Can Anyone Correctly Interpret the Bible?

Author Peter Lord was on a trip and waiting in the Salt Lake City airport for a connecting flight. A group of men, who were returning from a hunting trip, were waiting to board the same plane. 

After boarding the plane, one of the hunters got seated. He pulled out a book on prayer called Prayer 101 that he would be teaching in a class at his church. He had been praying God would show him how to teach it because he was confused about a few things and was nervous about leading the class.

Peter sat down next to him and introduced himself. “Hi, my name’s Peter Lord.”
With a puzzled look on his face, he said, “I’m Clint. That’s funny, I’m about to teach this book written by an author with the same name.” He showed him the cover.  Peter said, “Yes, I’m the author of that book.”

Clint almost fell out of his seat! He had asked God about how to teach the book and He answered his prayer by sending him the author! For the next two hours, Peter answered every question he had about how to teach it.

Some people say, “There are so many interpretations of the Bible that no one can know understand it. That’s not true. The Holy Spirit is the author of the Bible, and He is the only one who can correctly interpret it. “No prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation . . . but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Pet. 1:20-21).

The Holy Spirit can lead us to the correct interpretation, but we need to remove our preconceived ideas. For further study read “Guidelines in Interpreting Scripture.”
Over 270 printable Bible studies at www.makinglifecount.net
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BIBLE STUDY: Guidelines in Interpreting Scripture 

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Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett
www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com

He Only Forgot to Plan for One Thing

In spring 1981, a young man flew to Alaska to photograph the scenery and wildlife in the wilderness. He diligently planed for everything he would need to make his adventure a success; photo equipment, 500 rolls of film, several firearms, and 1,400 pounds of provisions.

 
Every day he journaled in his diary about the scenery and wildlife he saw. But as the months passed, his diary turned into a horrifying record of a nightmare. He had made plans to live in Alaska for a few months, but he forgot to make plans how to get out!
 
In August he wrote, “I think I should have used more foresight about arranging my departure. I’ll find out soon.” In November, his body was found in a valley over two hundred miles from Fairbanks. An investigation revealed he failed to make plans to exit Alaska.
 
Jesus told a parable about a rich man who was so successful that he didn’t have room to store his abundant crops. He decided to tear down his barns and build bigger ones. He told himself, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry” (Luke 12:19).
 
He assumed he would have many years to live, “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:16-21). God called him a fool because he thought he would live a long time, but he died that night. 

He didn’t prepare for his exit from this life and where he would spend eternity. Have you planned for your departure? Here is how to do it.  

Over 270 printable Bible studies at www.makinglifecount.net
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BIBLE STUDY:  Did 2 different people write the Book of Isaiah?
 
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Making Life Count Ministries
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www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett
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Defeated by Satan's Trumpet

In the war of the Rhine in 1794, the French took over an Austrian village without striking a blow. Here is how they did it. The French were planning to attack the village at ten o'clock at night. However, the six hundred Austrian soldiers who were defending the city found out about the attack and were ready for it.
 
Instead of attacking, the French sent their trumpeter Joseph Werck into the city under the cover of darkness, who slipped in with the Austrian troops. At ten o'clock, Werck blew his trumpet in the Austrian manner for the soldiers to rally, and then a few minutes later he sounded for them to retreat. The Austrians, deceived by the signal, immediately retreated, and the French soldiers captured the village without any opposition!
 
The Austrian soldiers ran away when they heard the French trumpeter sounding from them to retreat. Today multitudes of trumpets are blowing into our ears, telling us to give up without a fight. Satan tries to deceive us by blowing his trumpet of fear, trying to stop us from doing God's will.
 
The devil will try to make you retreat by intimidating you, but God says, “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you” (Deut. 31:6). Which command are you going to obey—Satan's trumpet or God's Word?
Over 270 printable Bible studies at www.makinglifecount.net
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BIBLE STUDY:  Do 2 Samuel 14 and 1 Chronicles 21 contradict each other?
 
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Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net  Twitter: @KentCrockett
www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com