Hi Bob,
>To this, day by day,
even unto this day, was added an overwhelming list of my
offenses against God, by dreams, remembrances,
associations and other means that, lacking the words, I
can neither >name nor describe. My daily sin confession
occupies a considerable period of time. As one is dealt
with, two more crop up as replacements, extending back to
early childhood. ("Oh, Lord, how could I >have done
this?")
You may already know this
but it came to my mind as I read the above: If our
sins are under the blood of Jesus and forgiven then God
remembers them no more, He even says that he removes them
as far as the east is from the west. If you travel
north or south at some point you will be going in the
opposite direction but if you travel either east or west
you will never be going in the other direction. So
you can be assured that when God has removed them as far
as the east is from the west, that there can be no greater
distance! If you are talking about old sins that you
have committed then it is not God that is bringing those
up to you! To me it is always important to invite
God to change us, and He will if we ask!
Yes, Bob I do have
suspicions about the sinners prayer, but I do also know
that God uses it to save many, many people and for that I
am so excited.
>Like you, I have a
considerable suspicion of the sinner's prayer. Certainly
an unknown percentage of those those uttering the prayer
are making an authentic plea for salvation, communicating
from the >heart, "Lord, I am a lost sinner. I believe
on Thee. Please save me." Most, however, are not. In fact,
I think most utter it in the hope that it is enough to
make the evangelizer go away. And, if the object >of
the evangelizer is merely to persuade the unsaved to utter
the prayer, he is doomed to failure except for acquiring
another hash mark on his scorecard. Have you noticed how
many missions report on >how many sinners prayers were
uttered? And, have you noticed how the prayer is amplified
in infinite varieties of interminable and ponderous
rhetoric? I prefer my three sentence version.
I am glad that you are in child
evangelism and keep up the good work!
David Blackman,