Restore Common Grace, Dear Lord.

Pastor Loran guided our minds through the minefield of grief in this recent tragedy that our nation has suffered. When he spoke about common grace, my minds eye saw the cutting of the cords of common grace in the season that we are now in. We saw these days coming and we have prayed for grace and strength and hope to endure. We saw the removal of the Commandments from the schools and the removal of prayer and the replacement of these things with Videogames. What else can ensue, but that a young man would target youngsters as though they were in a videogame. He and many have no reference of God. Pastor Loran snatched my mind from my man-centered perspective and placed it on the God of all grace who has been grieved and is removing His hand from our nation. This is a more hopeful mental picture for me, because God is our Lord and He is easily entreated and we can beg His grace and the return of His hand upon us. I was hopeful thinking in this way. The cord cutting was a semi-darwinian thought in that I saw us tumbling into "Lost in Space" spiritual condition, ever tumbling away and away from goodness and grace. This state of North Carolina has shown me so much of the beauty of the common grace of God that it is somewhat uncanny that Pastor Loran would be talking about its absence. The beauty of the skyline beautified with lights and kindness and not with sultriness,{not entirely, but much more than my beloved NY}. I can see the common grace of Gods hand blessing, if only for the offering that this state has made in sending Billy Graham across the world to win souls. Common grace is tangible here, they know it and enjoy it. They also take it for granted. They often don't even think that it should be prayed for, as the churches in NY know how to do so well. If we don't ask God in NY, the devil is sure to vanquish us. We know that, who are from NY. So we pray and we believe in prayer. O that God would give us the tradition that stabalizes the hand of God upon us for good and that we would know the grace to pray for the continued presence of God, which we do not deserve, no matter how many Billy Grahams have come from our land. God we trust Your care for us and make us Yours in tradition and in prayer. In Jesus Name, Amen