Time for an update,
Since I first posted my prayer requests, I've been pain free. I'm not 100% and am very stiff, but the stabbing intense pain left and has not returned. The difference is nothing short of miraculous. Its hard to explain with words the difference that occured when I woke up the next morning.
I went from doubled over and unable to stand at all without bracing myself with my hands on my knees to standing up straight as an arrow with no "pain" the next morning. I'm still stiff and sore but what I call "pain" is gone, I have mild discomfort and that I can live with.
Next, I got some AWESOME news this morning. My friend, Scott, the blacksmith, came this morning to shoe our horses.
He brought his new Bible with him (somebody gave me "credit" for buying him his Bible, which I had offered to do, but he insisted on giving me the money to purchase it himself and ask me to pick it out for him, which I did.)
We started talking and he asked me what was necessary for him to do to accept Christ. He said he had made up his mind and wanted to know what was required: he asked if there was a special cerimony, ritual, what was the next step.
I told him to forget cerimonies and rituals and that the "next step" was to pray to God. Confess to God that your a sinner in need of Salvation. That you truely believe Jesus Christ is God the Son, and that you truely believe he died and was raised from the dead to pay for your sins and redeem you and provide for you Salvation. I told him to ask God to send him the Holy Spirit, and to ask for faith, wisdom, understanding, knowledge, for whatever "gift" God choses to give him.
Its awesome to watch God transform someone right before your eyes, awesome.
I'm open for suggestions of what to tell Scott next. The first steps always seem the hardest for me. Once somebody is deep into the Bible, I find it gets easier to explain things and teach things but in the very beginning of a new Christians walk, its easy to "overload" them with to much information to process. I try to answer all their questions which in turn leads to thousands more. We've all tried to answer a simple question in our posts and realized that the answers just get deeper and more detailed as we go.
Thanks for your prayers for my back pain and for the prayers for Scott. Keep praying for both of us please, it works!
Pray that I get the wisdom to answer Scott's questions, without overwheming him, and to find him the answers he needs to know. Please pray for Scott to receive the Holy Spirit, and that the Holy Spirit will guide him in truth.
Rejoice, we have a new brother in Christ named Scott! Satan's not happy with us right now, he's lost another one to Jesus!
Thanks again, God bless you all!
Paul2