Cartoonist/Illustrator - Jeff Larson
Minnesota
 A while back my wife Mary and I were reading Max Lucado's book He Still Moves Stones. Let me paraphrase the words of Max. The honest prayer of a hurting man, the feeble prayer of a righteous man.. the awkward prayer of the average joe/jane, the timid prayer of those emotionally/spiritually broken down.. the sincere prayer of a sinner, EVEN a 'pathetic prayer of Jeff' .. HAS GREAT POWER and WONDERFUL RESULTS.  This is my rambling paraphrase of.. James 5:16.Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. , and gleaned from the truths found in .. Mark 9:14-29 where the power of God is found not in what we can do but instead when we pray. Max also writes ..Our prayers may be awkward, our attempts may be feeble. BUT since the power of prayer is in the one who 'hears' it and not the one who 'says' it, our prayers make a difference. That is great news for folk like me who can get lost in my real or perceived problems juggling them in my head all while I pray.. awkwardly. These sincere prayers are highlighted with fumbling words sounding confused, anxious, and kind of pathetic.  So do you ever say pathetic prayers. I am sure you don't, it's only me right? But I would like to suggest when we feel lost and/or pathetic simply cry to God "HELP! I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!" That's OK, because God does. I actually have my prayer list hanging on a bulletin board in my office. This simple list of very few words is mostly family, friends, my church, our country, and this tumultuous world.. and gives me a visual perspective that my issues pale by comparison.. LIFE IS NOT ABOUT ME and when I pray for others and trust God I find a peace that was not there when my prayers revolved around ME.  Philippians 4:6-7 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. So let's all agree to bring our prayers to God even when our words are fumbling and our spirit is weak. Speak to God when you feel forsaken, alone, desperate, when your thoughts are riddled with doubts.. AND when life is good (do not let your guard down) . Our perfect Heavenly Father hears our word and His spirit intercedes for us.  Romans 8:26-27 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. May God bless all of you today with the promise of .. when life is difficult.. God says, "Don't worry, I got your back. Blessings Jeff (praying in the Back Pew) Larson  ps - With the 2020 elections upon us.. our prayers are needed. It matters how we vote, and who we vote for BUT our trust is in God alone, not in any man or woman.
So I pray for the people of our nation to return to God. I pray that the Christians of this nation stand strong for God's law, and become more concerned about offending God than offending man. 8/22/2020 Messiah for.. President? The Messiah is here! We will all be saved by the 2020 Presidential Election! ?? hmmm .. not so much I was listening to the radio a few election years back on the way to vote, and there was an interview with a young woman who took her daughter out of school to vote. This woman was so excited to vote for president saying.. “I have hope for the first time in my life. I won’t have to worry about putting gas in my car or paying my mortgage because if I help ‘him’ with my vote.. ‘he’ will help me.” I actually heard this with my own ears… I am not embellishing! I quickly drove to my place of voting hopeful to see if Jesus Christ was on the ballot. He was not. I hope to think her point was made with a broad brush speaking to a big picture of hope, but it still made me cringe. Truth is.. UNLESS the candidate she votes for owns the gas station chain she frequents, and owns the mortgage note on her house .. her hope is NOT found in either candidate. Oh, and who we vote for should be based on God's Truth, and not persuaded by a meddling MSM.
 What this country needs most is a real REVIVAL where the hearts and minds of Americans seek God's first. Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord, not happy is the nation whose god is whoever you want him/her to be. There is only one God .. PERIOD, and America needs to HONOR Him not apologize for Him. ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets (and elections?) hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-39  In conclusion, Pray for our leaders, pray his will to be found in their actions and words.. but Pray to Jesus (our Messiah) as our hope is in the one true God. Back Pew blessings to all and.. in November vote early, and vote OFTEN! ( a little Chicago politics corruption humor) I am Jeff Larson, and I approve of this message. Jeff (voting my faith) Larson |
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Back Pew - Draw Close to God
116 pages of cartoons of 'Clean Humor & God's Truth' CRITICS ARE SAYING..
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©2019 Jeff Larson - All Rights Reserved
11/1/2020
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