Still needs prayer
from 2/7/23: I have shared in the blog a few times now where my adult children have had to stand up to friends who were sinning. Through the blog because of those situations, I have challenged others to be as strong in their own relationships as my children were. If you love people and respect (fear) the Lord, you tell them God's truth. If you are seeking to please the person, you let them stay in their sin and let them think you agree with them. That's not true love. It's a trap you fell into and is aiding them in their sin. Ignoring it is the same as agreeing with it.
The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.
Proverbs 29:25
God answered prayers in those situations and built my children's faith stronger. They are still friends with all of the people who turned their lives around.
Now we know of a family friend, professing Christian, and a prominent businessperson in the Hampton Roads area who is falling back into alcoholism. They had decades of sobriety under their belt. This friend has walked beside our family through some difficult situations. We are aware of stressors in their life that have probably contributed to their weakening in this regard.
This is going to be a hard thing to address, but someone who cares for them must try to get through to them before they destroy everything they have. Someone needs to join voices with their family.
I think the Church will see more of this sort of thing as we get closer to the Lord's return. The world situation continues to darken and adds stress and despair to daily living. People are turning back to coping mechanisms they know even if the choice is not a healthy one. We must keep our eyes firmly fixed on the Lord. We must cry out for His help and his strength during these last moments of the Church age. We must look after each other.
We, as a Church, need to
- reach out to each other for prayer for our loved ones
- take prayer seriously and battle hard for people as the Body of Christ
- share our own struggles and ask for prayer
- check up on each other more often
- slow down and LISTEN to them
- encourage each other to stand strong and build one another up
- remind them how important they are to God and to us
- remind them that Jesus said these hard things MUST happen but we also know there is a definite end in sight
- remind them that God chose them for this season one earth for a reason
Please pray for Clint and me as we seek the Lord on the best time and method to gently confront this person. We want to let them know others are seeing through the facade, remind them God has already set them free from this, and that this road is very destructive to them, their family, their testimony, and their many businesses. Pray they take our concern to heart and stop the drinking before it gets severe.
I know I have not updated the other prayer requests in a long while. I am waiting for news on some.
