Pray for the USA

Welcome to another week!

Spring is here. If you’re a gardener, you’ve probably been thinking about how to spruce up your flower beds. Plan on stopping by the annual Atlantic Grange plant auction on Monday, May 5, at 6 p.m. at the International Order of Odd Fellows Hall in Atlantic. You might want to arrive early -- it’s a very popular event.

The Atlantic-area 4-H group, “Bake, Make, and Create,” met on Saturday, April 26. The kids have chosen sewing, baking, scrapbooking, and woodworking projects. The group will meet until the Jamestown Fair with goals of entering projects in the 4-H roundup and in the Jamestown Fair. Leaders Barb Saulsbery, Sharon Shrock, and Marie Schlosser have an energetic group of kids to work with.

Sperry Farms donated eggs for the recent PSSA testing at Jamestown Elementary School. My kids attend JES. Fourth grade moms served eggs every day during testing. I’m not sure how many dozen eggs we used, but it was enough for 42 kids to have scrambled eggs for six days. Thanks a million, Sperry family!

Thursday, May 1, is The National Day of Prayer.

As a nation of free people we have the constitutional right to practice any faith we want. We have the freedom to evangelize our faith, whatever it may be. We may write and speak about it without fear of punishment.

These are gifts from God.

We live in a post-Christian society. It’s discouraging to count the cars at golf courses and softball games on Sundays compared with the number of cars in church parking lots.

The National Day of Prayer is an opportunity to pray for national revival. It can remind us that we have the freedom to tell others about the hope Jesus gives us. We can stop worrying about offending people and tell them the only important thing they ever need to learn: That Jesus is the only way to heaven and the only way to peace. The Prince of Peace is the way, the truth and the life. He’s the key to heaven’s gates.

I’m not telling you anything new. The gospel has been preached for 2,000 years. I think it’s helpful, though, to remind ourselves that the everyday stuff we do probably won’t amount to much.

In the end, the only things that remain after we die are our relationship with Jesus and our influence on the lives of others. Attend a funeral and you’ll get a great idea of how that person’s life impacted others.

One day you might see people in heaven who tell you that it was your witness that brought them to faith in Christ. I don’t want Jesus to say, “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:23). I want him to say, “Well done, good faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).

Have a wonderful week. Blessings!