Give Him A Stone

Give Him a Stone. by Rev A.R.Smith Luke 11:10-11:13 Give Him a Stone. I was raised up in rural parts of appalachia, some said that it would be noon before sun would hit ground. Raised by hard working parents, never tiring of working from dawn to dusk, to provide for their children. One year, my parents moved from home, I was born in, to another house, so that I and my brothers and sister, would be closer to school we attended. We had hard times there, not really fitting in with rest of students, were we poor? Not really, My dad would rise before sun was up, go to work and my mother would always have breakfast on table before we got out of bed.Our clothes were always clean and pressed. Being youngest, I was recipient of many a hand-me down from my brothers. I didn’t mind, some of their clothes were pretty cool. Dad always bought us new clothes before we started school and demanded that we take good care of them. My oldest brother Richard, moved out west, another brother, Ronnie, died, Willie and Carl, went to war, and my sister got married, I felt so alone, in a house that was always filled with love and protection. I was learning what life was really all about. But, all in all, I remembered that what ever we needed as children, growing up, was always there, Love, Food, water, clothing and shelter. Life was Brown Beans and Cornbread. A simple life but one that was filled with Love, one for another.I was taught about Jesus, and how every need we had would be filled by Him, and how a new family would take a part in my life, church. I was taught, ”Ask and you shall receive” I thought that this was great, I thought that there would be no christian that would ever do without as long as we were all in church family. Lets read a little of what I was taught. Luke 11:10-13; For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give Holy Spirit to them that ask him? To me this man Jesus was what I needed in life and because we were in His Fathers Family all our needs would be met. Later in life I strayed from family, trying to do things my way, you know a young man with no worries, problems or fear. But one thing I always kept in back of my mind is words of Jesus. After a number of years, I thought like prodigal son, ”Am I better off without my Father or should I go back and appologise for everything that I have done? ”Luke 15:17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! Luke 15:18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, ;this is how I felt without God. So I returned and He forgave. So I started to minister to any and all that would listen. And more I started to look at Church Family, I found out something very interesting. The family that I had left was nowhere to be found. Things had changed, some for better but some for worst. I found out that being fed with a stone was getting commonplace among church family, that I thought would be first to help. I found it easier to receive a piece of bread from un-believers than from our families in Christ. I found that these words kept coming into my mind, every-time I asked for aid for poor churches and christians; If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?

Night of the Living Dead

For many people, life has become as dull and despairing as death. We suffer from spiritual inertia. We have allowed ourselves to be paralyzed by shallow beliefs and shackled by strong chains of discouragement. We have permitted sacred and holy to be eclipsed by secular and profane. Hearts that were once gay have suddenly become heavy. Men who were once optimistic have become pessimistic. Many who were once willing to greet tomorrow with a cheer, now regard future with nervous anxiety.

What we have here are powerless people who live in night of spiritual darkness. It is a spiritual calamity- a dead situation. It is people whose spirit and life has dried up and artesian springs of their souls has ceased to flow. They are, in essence, like a desert without a living stream of water. They are spiritual carcasses roaming around in night-ness of their wretched existence.

Not only have they lost confidence in our world, but they have also lost faith in themselves and in God. They have become like zombies—carcasses with no life, dry bones in valley, walking dead. Dead, but not dead dead, if you will. The body is alive, but void of spirituality; form without substance. They are like thousands of folks today who have allowed prosperity and privilege to destroy their spirit; destroy their lives – people with everything to live on and nothing to live for; living dead; people with stint of death on them ready for open grave.