Family time!



          Few things are as enjoyable as spending time with our family…whether in Iowa or other parts of the country.

          As we write this newsletter, we are in Kentucky visiting Nathaniel and Rachelle, and their five children. What a blessing grandchildren are to us! As you can imagine, there are lots of moving parts with a household of seven. 

          On top of that, Nathaniel and Rachelle are literally building their own home. This is a painstakingly slow process as they are doing all the work themselves and building as they have money to buy the necessary materials.

          So far, Les has helped with installing windows during this visit.

          Is God Hearing our Prayers, Conditional? (Part One)

          What do you think? We know God loves us with unconditional love, but does He hear and answer our prayers unconditionally? The answer may surprise you… 

          First, let me say that God wants to answer all our prayers, but we have a part in whether or not they get answered, and they often get answered in ways we don’t expect. I wish our prayer life was as simple as “what we ask for we would get”, but it’s not.  We find out in scripture that there are certain things that can block or hinder our prayers. In other words, we are subject to specific conditions and requirements for God to move on our behalf.  In part one, we’ll look at two areas that impact our prayers, both of these are relational oriented. 
 

                    1). Lack of harmony in our home life

                        ~ Peter 3:7-9, “You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as
                           with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of
                           life, so that your prayers will not be hindered. To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic,
                           brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving
                           a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. 

                     2). Lack of harmony among the brethren

                        ~ Mark 11:25, “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that
                           your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. [ But if you do not forgive,
                           neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.” ]”

                        ~ Matthew 6:12, 14-15, “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” “For if
                           you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you
                           do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”

          All three of these verses lay out an important truth for us. God wants us to equally have peace with Him and our fellow man. Whether it’s with our spouse or another brother in the Lord, we must strive to walk in an attitude of reconciliation and peace. One of the sad facts is that many believers think they can have “ought” with someone and still be in good graces with God. According to scripture, that’s just simply not true! We have a vertical relationship with God, but we also have horizontal relationships with those in our lives. These two areas need a harmonious balance for our prayers to get the proper attention from God. I’d like to ask you a question, “Do you prefer your prayers are not hindered?” Then, your response is to do all you can do, with the strength of the Lord, to be in harmonious relationships, whether it’s in your home or outside your home. Make it your goal to live a life of Romans 12:18, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.”

          Next month we’ll look at wrong attitudes, poor motives, and misinterpreted passages of scripture that hinder our prayers.

            

          Current Israel Situation:

          We do our best to stay on top of the current Israel situation. The country of Israel has striven to get back to a pre-Covid normal. However, we are aware of a couple of visiting teams that had a tough time in Israel due to unpublicized requirements. We are waiting for some decisions in June related to where/when? we would return, to help us better understand what things look like going forward. Thanks for your continued patience and prayers!

    

          On a side note: this past Saturday evening thru Sunday evening, Israel celebrated Jerusalem Day.  Jerusalem celebrates 55 years of the unification of the city that was divided by a wall and fences from 1948 to 1967. The past couple of years the celebration has been low-key due to Covid-related concerns, but this year there was a huge turnout with much celebration and excitement.